Chapter 1 The Ambush

On a flat hillside in Azurewave Rock, Xinghen and the others were stationed, their excellent vantage point allowing them to easily grasp the surrounding situation. The only trouble was the rapid monster respawn rate, requiring constant cleanup.

At this moment, Xinghen and the others were clearing out dozens of respawned level 62 Cliff Stone Golems.

"Xinghen, Boss, new situation! Su Yuan and his team are under attack by Zero Wing members, requesting our immediate support!" a level 57 ranger suddenly reported.

"Zero Wing dares to attack first?" Xinghen, who was commanding the battle, chuckled. "Looks like the previous lesson wasn't enough. Immediately notify the nearest team to provide support, and tell the other teams to head over as well. We absolutely can't let them escape!"

Upon hearing this, the level 57 ranger immediately relayed the message to the nearest team.

This meant the closest team would arrive in just three minutes. By then, the two teams would be enough to hold Zero Wing's people. The other two teams would arrive within five to ten minutes, forming a net that would make it difficult for Zero Wing to escape.

After issuing the order, Xinghen immediately had everyone withdraw, ceasing the cleanup of the Cliff Stone Golems and heading straight for Zero Wing's location.

Although Xinghen believed that four teams would be enough to handle Zero Wing's hundred-man team, the vice guild leader, Hunduan Shifang's (Soul Severing Ten Directions), order was something he had to take seriously. Just in case, it was necessary to go there himself.

On the other side, Fierce Serpent and the others were killing with increasing vigor, causing the members of the Miracle team to dwindle. The second-tier Elementalist leading the team watched with growing horror.

"What exactly is going on?"

The leading second-tier Elementalist looked at Fierce Serpent and the others in disbelief.

Fierce Serpent and the others were actually getting stronger and stronger in battle. They initially had many weaknesses, but as the battle progressed, these weaknesses were gradually disappearing. At the same time, the amplitude of their body movements was constantly decreasing, and unnecessary actions were becoming fewer and fewer.

It was as if Fierce Serpent and the others had just obtained a new body, and were now becoming increasingly adapted to it. His magical attacks could initially cause Fierce Serpent to become flustered, but now Fierce Serpent could chase after him while defending against his magical attacks.

As the leading second-tier Elementalist watched in shock, Fierce Serpent's control over his body grew stronger. He didn't even need to defend anymore, and directly used the basic combat technique, Wind Shadow Footwork, which he had never been able to master before. It was as if he had transformed into a gust of breeze, easily passing through the incoming magical attacks.

In just a few moves, he dodged all the magic and instantly invaded the Elementalist's space, slamming his giant axe down.

Second-tier skill, Thunderous Strike!

Instantly, the giant axe transformed into a bolt of lightning, crashing down with a force and speed that the second-tier Elementalist couldn't block or dodge.

Boom!

A cyan thunderbolt struck, blasting a large pit in the ground. The second-tier Elementalist, who had only a third of his health remaining, shattered along with his magic shield and vanished into the forest, leaving behind a magic robe.

The remaining members of the Miracle Guild were plunged into despair at this scene.

The leading second-tier Elementalist was a true expert at the Micro realm. He could take on several ordinary second-tier players by himself, but now that the leader was dead, how could they, with their remaining numbers, possibly deal with Fierce Serpent?

"Run!"

An instinctive reaction prompted the Miracle Guild members to scatter and flee.

"Run? Can you escape?" Fierce Serpent picked up the magic robe and chased after the other Miracle Guild members to kill them.

The Beginner Combat Armor had elevated their life levels and greatly improved their basic attributes, no less than activating a small burst skill. Among them, the increase in health was the most significant, directly doubling it. At the same time, there was also a considerable increase in speed. Fierce Serpent was now not inferior in speed to those second-tier assassins equipped with top-tier gear.

In less than a minute of fighting, the Miracle Guild's hundred-man elite team was completely wiped out, while not a single one of Fierce Serpent's team had died.

"Fierce Serpent, Boss, the other teams from the Miracle Guild are heading your way," assassins scouting in Azurewave Rock suddenly reported in the team chat. "The fastest team will probably reach you in two or three minutes."

"Two or three minutes?" Fierce Serpent thought for a moment and looked at the other second-tier members, asking, "That should be enough time, right? Brothers, rest for a bit. We should have no problem welcoming the next wave, right?"

"Fierce Serpent, Boss, you're underestimating us. We haven't even warmed up yet."

"Yeah! Fierce Serpent, Boss, you were too cunning just now. You fought their team leader by yourself, leaving us to deal with the fodder. We didn't even get a chance to try out our new combat techniques."

Everyone had no objections to this. On the contrary, their fighting spirit was high. Through the battle, they had discovered the power of the Beginner Combat Armor. Because of the elevation of their life levels, they were now able to forcibly use combat techniques that they couldn't use before. This was of great help to them in mastering these combat techniques later.

Of course, these combat techniques couldn't be used carelessly, because any combat technique consumed a lot of stamina, not to mention that they were forcibly using them, which consumed even more stamina. Therefore, they had to use them on powerful enemies. Experts of first-tier professions simply weren't qualified for them to use these techniques on.

"Alright! I'll let you have the next one!" Fierce Serpent said with a wry smile.

After Fierce Serpent and the others rested for a while, a team from the Miracle Guild arrived. Before they could even assess the surrounding situation, Fierce Serpent and the others charged forward.

This time, having adapted to the Beginner Combat Armor, Fierce Serpent and the others' combat power soared once again. After eliminating the arriving Miracle team at an even faster pace, they immediately withdrew, leaving the two teams that came later empty-handed.

"What did you say? Zero Wing only used twenty people to wipe out two teams?" Xinghen listened to the report from below, his face turning ashen. After calming his anger, he said in a cold voice, "Send me the battle videos from the teams. Have all the teams merge in pairs and search. I'll be there soon!"

Afterward, Xinghen hung up and began watching the battle videos that had been sent over.

"How could this be? When did Zero Wing have so many powerful experts?" Xinghen watched the battle videos of Fierce Serpent and the others. His initial anger instantly vanished, and his expression became solemn.

Twenty people had wiped out two hundred-man teams, and they couldn't even hold out until reinforcements arrived. He initially didn't believe it, even if Fierce Serpent and the others were all second-tier professions, it shouldn't have been to the point where reinforcements couldn't arrive in time. But after watching the battles of Fierce Serpent and the others, he finally understood why reinforcements couldn't arrive in time.

Although Fierce Serpent and the others hadn't reached the Micro realm, they possessed superior attributes, extraordinary perception, and reaction speed. Coupled with the footwork and combat techniques they used, they had reached combat powers close to that of top experts. Even if it was just one Fierce Serpent, he was confident he could take him down, but it would take a lot of time.

If he had to face two or three experts at Fierce Serpent's level, he could only run for his life. And this twenty-man team was composed of people roughly at this level. It was, of course, easy for them to deal with a hundred-man team of experts. Even if he led a hundred-man team into the fight, they would probably lose.

"Xinghen, what's wrong?" Seeing Xinghen's sudden change of expression, the level 58 second-tier ranger beside him asked curiously.

"It's nothing," Xinghen shook his head and slowly said, "Immediately notify all teams to abandon the search for the Zero Wing team."

"Abandon it?! But that's Vice Guild Leader Hunduan's order!" The second-tier ranger looked at Xinghen in surprise.

"I understand. I'll report to Vice Guild Leader Hunduan myself," Xinghen nodded.

"Even if you abandon it, you should at least have a reason, right?" the second-tier ranger asked.

"A reason?" Xinghen said with a bitter smile, "Would the fact that the twenty Zero Wing members we're hunting are all experts with combat powers close to that of top experts count as a reason?"

What a joke!

Twenty experts close to the level of top experts. It wouldn't be a problem if their three thousand people engaged in a frontal battle, but hunting these twenty people in this complex forest was an impossible task. Even though Azurewave Rock wasn't big, it would require ten times the number of people!