The Blood Hand Society headquarters was like an underground labyrinth, full of twists and turns, with plenty of Level 30 Blood Hand Society knights patrolling the area. These knights wore red leather armor and carried long lances, their HP reaching a full 200,000. These NPCs moved in groups of ten each time, and their coordinated attacks were devastatingly effective.
Even if Shi Feng and his group charged in, with even a first-tier swordsman like Kate by his side, the outcome wouldn't change — they'd still be wiped out in an instant by these Blood Hand Society knights.
But even if Shi Feng's group had the strength to take down these Blood Hand Society knights, charging in would still mean death. The area was riddled with all sorts of traps and magical formations. In his previous life, Xiong Ba Tianxia had paid a steep price for rushing in blindly.
Naturally, Shi Feng wouldn't be as reckless as Xiong Ba Tianxia. So he chose to take a detour, avoiding any direct confrontation. After all, the area was interconnected in all directions — as long as they were careful, they could always find a way around.
After spending a considerable amount of time, Shi Feng's group finally arrived at a massive, tightly shut stone door.
Beside the stone door, three large characters were carved: Control Room.
This was the place that operated all the traps and magical formations throughout the entire Blood Hand Society headquarters. If they could shut down every trap and formation, then the whole headquarters would no longer be a threat.
Ke Le had barely pushed open the heavy stone door when he spotted a one-eyed old man in black robes inside the control room. The old man held a red-wood staff and was manipulating a magic circle.
Inkahit, first-tier Elementalist, Level 30, HP 1,000,000.
"Good — just as expected. Only Level 30, not a Level 50 second-tier mage." Shi Feng looked at Inkahit and smiled faintly.
If not for this expedition quest, Inkahit would have been an extremely tough opponent to deal with. Despite being only Level 50, as a second-tier mage, he would be terrifying. Killing a first-tier Level 50 player would be as easy as crushing an ant for him — let alone fighting a second-tier NPC.
"Guild Leader, a Level 30 first-tier Elementalist could be a real problem. Maybe we should call in more people?" Ke Le was well aware of his own capabilities. His level was only 22. Against a first-tier Level 20 Elementalist, he could still hold the line, but a Level 30 first-tier Elementalist was a different story. The tier suppression alone would add significant damage. And that wasn't even counting the level suppression — with both stacked on top of each other, even as a tank, he couldn't withstand the barrage from a first-tier Elementalist like a fortified turret.
"Don't worry, you won't need to tank," Shi Feng said with a smile, then turned to his direct subordinate guard, Kate. "Kate will be our tank. You're support — just keep the magic resistance aura active and use Protection Blessing on Kate at critical moments."
Ke Le suddenly remembered that Shi Feng had a direct subordinate guard like Kate, whose HP totaled 18,000 points — far more durable than himself as a tank.
A first-tier Level 30 Swordsman. Although his HP was far lower than Inkahit's, when it came to close combat, a first-tier Swordsman was overwhelmingly superior to a first-tier Elementalist.
"Kate, take the front and engage Inkahit directly. Ziyan Liuyun, keep healing Kate. Ke Le, watch for the Protection Blessing," Shi Feng commanded.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kate charged straight at Inkahit. A single sword strike landed, dealing over 4,000 points of damage. Compared to a high-tier boss like the Starry Cloud Tiger, Inkahit's defense was far lower.
"Damn intruders — become my lab rats, all of you!" Inkahit used Blink to dodge Kate's sword skill, then swept his staff, and a water-blue magic shield materialized around his body.
The magic shield was one of the most commonly used defensive skills for Elementalists, capable of absorbing a significant amount of damage.
Inkahit then waved his hand again, summoning an ice wall that blocked Kate's advance. But Kate was no ordinary guard. He immediately activated Wind Chasing Sword and leaped into the air, vaulting over the ice wall's obstruction, landing several consecutive strikes on Inkahit's body.
The magic shield shattered abruptly on Kate's fourth hit. Inkahit then unleashed Ice Ring — a wave of frigid energy expanding outward from the ground. Kate sprang into the air, and Inkahit immediately began chanting a spell. Fireballs streaked toward the airborne Kate one after another.
Kate twisted mid-air, sword light flashing in every direction, cleaving apart each incoming fireball.
The exchange between Kate and Inkahit was lightning-fast, leaving both Ke Le and Ziyan Liuyun watching from the sidelines in a daze.