Shi Feng had just been blasted to the ground when the Crystal War Wolves closed in behind him like a gale, three massive gaping maws lunging down to bite.
"Guild Master!" Huo Wu cried out in alarm, launching herself forward and landing a Three-Star Renal Strike on the Crystal War Wolf.
But this disabling skill was useless against the frenzied Crystal War Wolf.
Just as those monstrous jaws were about to snap off his head, in the nick of time, Shi Feng crossed both swords and activated Parry.
Bang!
The ground beneath Shi Feng's feet shattered.
"That's some serious force," Shi Feng said with a bitter smile.
Parry could block a single physical attack, but the impact force couldn't be negated.
With no healer in the party and his HP critically low, one more hit would definitely finish him off in a single blow.
Based on the force, Shi Feng roughly estimated the Crystal War Wolf's combat power after entering its berserk state — not much of an increase in raw strength, but at least a 30% boost in speed.
At this point, equipping the Heavenly Dragon's Sacred Breath was probably the only way to fight it head-on. Otherwise, he'd just be a punching bag.
Unfortunately, reaching 200 Agility was easy enough, but 120 Intelligence was something a Swordsman like Shi Feng could hardly achieve. Moreover, Intelligence-based Swordsman plate armor was exceedingly rare, and nearly all of it was junk.
The Crystal War Wolf's attack missed, then it spun around, its diamond-hard tail lashing out like a whip.
Parry was still on cooldown, so Shi Feng had no choice but to activate his ultimate survival skill — Sword Control Return to Heaven.
His Sword Control Return to Heaven was now at Level 4, capable of negating 9 ranged attacks and 4 melee attacks.
He raised the Abyssal high. Cyan arcs of electricity crackled along the blade as he met the Crystal War Wolf's gleaming claws.
Wind Thunder Flash!
Sword Control Return to Heaven provided complete immunity — both to damage and to impact.
This was one of the fundamental combat techniques of a Swordsman.
First use Parry to gauge the enemy's strength, then follow up with Sword Control Return to Heaven for defense. That was why Shi Feng had used Parry first — to determine the Crystal War Wolf's combat power and make the best decision.
His conclusion: fighting head-on was the only option. Running would only get him killed faster.
The cyan lightning pierced through the Crystal War Wolf's body, dealing -572, -1623, -1204. His luck was only average with just one crit, but it also triggered the Abyssal's Curse of Misfortune, immediately reducing all of the Crystal War Wolf's attributes by 20%.
The Crystal War Wolf, which had gained 30% Agility, suddenly weakened considerably.
But it was far from over. Shi Feng activated Phantom Slash. A duplicate materialized beside the Crystal War Wolf and began attacking as well.
The duplicate had only 50% of Shi Feng's stats, but it inherited all the skills he had learned.
The weakened Crystal War Wolf's speed dropped significantly, but Shi Feng still couldn't easily dodge its attacks. With no other choice, he activated Gravity Release, and his entire body became light as a feather. Like a nimble monkey, he evaded attacks he otherwise couldn't have dodged.
Wind Chasing Sword!
This instantly boosted his attack speed once more.
Double Slash!
Earth Splitting Slash!
Earth Splitting Slash!
Skill after skill landed, each one dealing damage in the thousands.
Going berserk had increased the Crystal War Wolf's speed and attack power, but its defense had weakened. Combined with Wind Thunder Flash's damage amplification effect of an additional 20%, the overall damage dealt was significantly higher.
With Huo Wu and Shui Se Qiangwei also attacking, the frenzied Crystal War Wolf's HP continued to plummet. A full thirty seconds of Gravity Release had driven its health down to 10%.
Seeing that Gravity Release had expired, Shi Feng activated Nine-Headed Dragon Slash. Nine phantom copies of the Abyssal materialized behind him and shot toward the Crystal War Wolf. He then swapped positions with his duplicate, which used Parry and Sword Control Return to Heaven to tank the Crystal War Wolf.
Each phantom of the Abyssal had impressive attack power, dealing over 150 damage with every hit. Nine of them meant over 1,300 damage per second, sustained for 28 seconds.