Chapter 45: Dungeon Cleared

By this time, the Doomsday Armor Knight and the Slaughter Armor Knight had already been defeated. With their health points dropping to zero, they dropped directly to their knees on the ground. The helmets that once flickered with golden eyes had long since turned pitch black, devoid of their only remaining vitality.

Seeing this, Huang Hong's aura surged with fanatical momentum, a boundless fighting spirit burning brightly in his eyes. Now clad in crimson armor, he resembled an invincible king of the battlefield, wielding his long spear to sweep across the domain and overawe the crowd.

Huang Hong's damage output had increased drastically now, completely free of any negative side effects. Moving fluidly around the War Armor Knight, Huang Hong paid no heed to the knight's minor reflective damage, because the damage taken from the reflection was simultaneously converted into health points, compensating for the reduction.

At this moment, the War Armor Knight seemed to realize that Huang Hong was not only capable of matching it blow for blow, but was also gradually gaining the upper hand to overwhelm it. Abandoning its aggressive combat stance, the War Armor Knight's style shifted instantly into a defensive posture to resist Huang Hong's attacks.

"This guy actually stopped attacking and went into a completely defensive stance. How can it be so cowardly? The AI actually chose a defensive posture?"

Seeing the situation before him, Huang Hong could not help complaining, clearly never expecting the War Armor Knight to choose defense to withstand his onslaught.

However, Huang Hong's attacks grew increasingly fierce. Even though the War Armor Knight maintained a continuous defensive posture, it began to buckle under the relentless assault. Naturally, the perfect defensive stance gradually became flawed, allowing the shockwaves of Huang Hong's attacks to strike the War Armor Knight's body.

With a fierce thrust, the spear pierced straight through the shoulder of the War Armor Knight's body, and instantly a flash of crimson-gold radiance coiled around Huang Hong.

"Halberd • Great Spirit • Body"

Boom—

Suddenly, a surge of internal energy swept out from within Huang Hong, filling his entire figure with a special ethereal celestial aura. Channeling this celestial power, he conjured the physical form of a Great Spirit that hovered behind him. The moment the terrifying phantom of the Great Spirit emerged, Huang Hong's depleted health points began to steadily regenerate, a astonishing recovery rate that naturally left everyone astounded.

"Halberd • Peerless • Slash"

Wielding his long spear, Huang Hong leaped into the air and brought the weapon down in a overhead smash. The spear blade was incomparably sharp, carrying a razor-gale directly toward the crown of the War Armor Knight's head.

"The great halberd emerges, a peerless scholar of the realm; the battle song rises, unrivaled across the world."

In just a fraction of a second, the War Armor Knight's health points rapidly plummeted into the near-death threshold, and the effects of grievous wounds became unmistakably apparent. The armor on the War Armor Knight's body shattered piece by piece. With a single downward slash, it was as if a heart-piercing, peerless halberd strike had instantly claimed the War Armor Knight's life.

The golden eyes gradually dimmed and faded away, and the body of the War Armor Knight slowly collapsed to the ground.

"The War Armor Knight has been dealt with as well. Now only the Death Armor Knight remains."

Luo Feng stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching Luo Wei and Qu Zheng engaged in battle with the Death Armor Knight in the distance.

At this moment, Qu Zheng was dressed in silver attire, carrying himself with immense elegance. His pair of dark eyes had long since transformed, swirling with silver radiance, while the daggers in his hands resembled a pair of short swords, razor-sharp.

Luo Wei had fused with the Bronze Puppet, not only gaining a comprehensive boost to all his attributes, but also exhibiting formidable close-combat capabilities. Even Huang Hong could not help but be slightly startled, because the damage values of the skills Luo Wei unleashed were a notch higher than his own.

Under this state, Qu Zheng's footwork was dazzling, darting about in all directions so swiftly that it was impossible to capture his true position. Left with no choice, the Death Armor Knight abandoned its duel with Qu Zheng and went all out in a desperate struggle against Luo Wei. Yet, every time the Death Armor Knight made a mistake or exposed a flaw, Qu Zheng would seize the opportunity to launch a lethal, armor-piercing strike. Under this continuous onslaught, the Death Armor Knight's health point bar had already dropped to fifty percent.

Qu Zheng's figure flashed like a silver streak, rapidly circling behind the Death Armor Knight. The short sword held in his right hand was enveloped by a cluster of hidden light, and instantly Qu Zheng's right hand transformed into a gauntlet.

"Stealth • Silver Vein Gauntlet"

This time, the Death Armor Knight naturally noticed Qu Zheng's movement, and immediately turned around to adopt a defensive posture for defense.

However, Qu Zheng's body once again turned into a silver streak, circling behind the Death Armor Knight. With a light leap, he lunged forward, crossing his arms. Enveloped in the hidden light, his figure transformed straight into a silver ray that pierced through the body of the Death Armor Knight.

At this moment, Luo Wei seized the opportunity. Behind him, a humanoid puppet materialized. Compared to the Bronze Puppet, this humanoid puppet looked remarkably lifelike, almost like a real person when viewed from a distance. Guided by Luo Wei's nimble finger movements and commands, the humanoid puppet flashed past in a blur.

"Mechanism • Thousand Transformations"

Meanwhile, Qu Zheng targeted the Death Armor Knight's right arm, unleashing a ferocious punch. Instantly, the Death Armor Knight's right arm was crystallized and frozen in ice. The next moment, Qu Zheng's figure vanished once again, leaving the Death Armor Knight to face the double-fisted onslaught of Luo Wei's humanoid puppet.

"Mechanism • Thousand Transformations • Fiery Cloud Arm"

The humanoid puppet's arms burst into high-temperature flames, delivering a barrage of blazing punches into the body of the Death Armor Knight. Amidst the interwoven strikes, the Death Armor Knight's armor gradually took on a fiery red hue caused by the intense heat.

Finally, under the fierce assault of the humanoid puppet, Qu Zheng reappeared directly in front of the Death Armor Knight. Directing both fists at the knight's chest, he struck the emblem dead center. A crisp shattering sound echoed, and then the Death Armor Knight's golden eyes gradually dimmed until they went completely dark. Ultimately, the knight was blasted straight against the wall, leaving a deep indentation.

"Phew, that takes care of it."

Exchanging glances, Luo Wei and Qu Zheng both chuckled in relief and let out a sigh. The two returned to their original appearances; Luo Wei's body still bore the traces left by the Death Armor Knight's previous attacks, but they had emerged victorious nonetheless.

With the four armor knights defeated, they each disintegrated and turned into fragments that scattered across the ground.

At this point, Ye Yu and his companions looked at the scene before them and slowly walked toward the armor situated in the exact center. There lay a coffin with a solemn design. The engravings carved into the coffin even seemed to exude a pride originating from royalty. Clearly, the coffin was what the four armor knights had been guarding all along.

"Is there still another boss about to appear?"

Looking at the coffin before him, Qu Zheng unconsciously retreated behind the others, clearly still harboring some apprehension that a boss might suddenly leap out from inside.

However, Huang Hong stepped forward first and pushed open the coffin lid, revealing various collectable items resting inside.

"It's actual reward distribution?"

Luo Feng and Ye Yu exclaimed in unison. Judging by the armor knights upon the throne, they had assumed that was the final boss, never expecting the dungeon to conclude simply by defeating the four knights.

"I honestly thought there'd be a final boss waiting here."

Ye Yu looked at the instantly emptied royal coffin, his expression entirely neutral as he spoke somewhat speechlessly.

"Still, this reward certainly counts as the ultimate reward. Judging by the experience points, attribute items, materials, and so on, the harvest is indeed quite good."

Seeing this, Luo Feng stepped forward alongside Old Hu, who also leaned in for a closer inspection before speaking with a smile.

"Alright, now that the dungeon is cleared, let's head out of here first."

"Agreed."

...

At this moment, 'A Warm Heart Among Men' wore an expression of utter astonishment, the depths of his eyes filled with shock as he stared at Ye Yu and his group, his jaw practically dropping to the ground.

"Boss, you guys... you cleared it!"

Seeing the expression on 'A Warm Heart Among Men', the group did not quite know whether to laugh or not. Ye Yu merely shrugged and smiled wryly, "We had pretty good luck and scraped through. This dungeon is indeed extremely difficult. Tell the brothers in the guild not to attempt it unless they're Level 60; the consequences won't be worth the gains. Plus, there are some slightly terrifying and spooky elements mixed in. The design of this dungeon is quite unique."

Hearing Ye Yu's words, 'A Warm Heart Among Men' restrained his expression and nodded solemnly.

"I understand."

"Mhm."

'Wine Casks Trap Heroes' spoke up at this moment, "By the way, where are we heading next?"

"Let's go to [Knight Town]. I want to check it out. After all, most major event announcements in the [Mystic Heaven] server are currently only seen in [Knight Town] and the upcoming [Capital City] map. So let's go take a look."

It was Luo Feng who made the suggestion. With his arms crossed over his chest, he raised his gaze to look at the others as he asked.

"Sure, since that's the case, let's head over to [Knight Town]. Warm Heart, our group won't be returning to [Vast Void City] just yet. How are the preparations going for the relocation of all guild members to the main base in [Vast Void City]?"

Hearing Ye Yu's question, 'A Warm Heart Among Men' replied, "Basically everyone has been relocated to [Vast Void City] by now. [Vast Void City] has essentially reached Tier 2 city status. Compared to its initial appearance, all basic design configurations have undergone obvious changes and upgrades. The deep interior areas of [Vast Void City] house the branch outposts of the various halls of the [Vast Void Illusion] guild, and the innermost section serves as the main base."

"Alright, sorry to trouble you during this period." Ye Yu patted 'A Warm Heart Among Men' on the shoulder and said.

After bidding farewell to 'A Warm Heart Among Men', Ye Yu and his party headed toward [Knight Town], utilizing the teleporter in the current map to directly teleport into [Knight Town].

"Your skill build is genuinely impressive."

Looking at Old Hu at this moment, Ye Yu said, "Old Hu, the way you play the Guardian class is truly formidable. As a veteran player, I really admire you. Furthermore, the skill combinations on your custom talent skill tree are basically centered around buffs, and you can even stack multiple buffs simultaneously while mixing attributes to compound attribute damage. Because of this, your combat style and methods are exceptionally rich."

Old Hu deflected Ye Yu's praise with a chuckle, "Your custom talent skill tree is no slouch either. The skill you created yourself, [Purple Polarity String Path], is practically like a divine skill. Without even looking, the initial evaluation of your custom talent skill tree must be S, and it might even exceed the S rating. You're also capable of stacking skill buffs to amplify the damage of your subsequent skills. Once you accumulate enough buffs to trigger the effect, the damage of your very next skill can instantly hit explosive damage settlement figures."

"Yes, what you said is correct."

Ye Yu had no intention of denying this. For an old-timer who had survived and thrived at the high end like Old Hu, figuring these things out was hardly difficult. Trying to pull wool over Old Hu's eyes was completely impossible, and since they were now part of the same faction, there was no need to conceal such matters anyway.

Besides, when Ye Yu originally designed his skills, he had tried to simplify his skill set as much as possible. However, he hadn't expected that the [Purple Polarity String Path] he designed would pass the design review—meaning it sat right on the absolute edge of the permitted threshold. Yet this evaluation was also a clever shortcut on Ye Yu's part; in truth, the baseline attributes of the [Purple Polarity String Path] weren't all that overpowered. What made it powerful was the passive skill bonuses and buff attributes built into Ye Yu's personal design, which allowed the skill's output to reach unimaginable heights instantly. This was something Old Hu naturally couldn't have anticipated.

Still, Old Hu remained puzzled as to how Ye Yu managed to design a skill like [Purple Polarity String Path] in the first place. Could the String class be the favored child class of 《God's Demise》?

Ye Yu knew that the String class itself belonged to the fragile category of classes, which was why he had deliberately biased his custom talent skill tree toward enhancing his stability during combat.

Old Hu then patted 'Wine Casks Trap Heroes' on the shoulder and said with a smile, "This Spell King's skills are also quite remarkable. Although most of the custom talent skill tree is built around sacrificing one's own health points to boost attributes, it also possesses the ability to absorb damage and convert it into attack power, while utilizing a certain proportion of it to restore the user's depleted health points. On top of that, it harnesses reflective damage from defenses to stack skill damage. When you calculate it all together, the final numbers are simply unimaginable."

Hearing Old Hu's words, 'Wine Casks Trap Heroes' felt his pupils constrict slightly, and he spoke with a look of feigned disgust, "Tough crowd, let's put an end to this flattery."

Deep down, 'Wine Casks Trap Heroes' was actually quite astonished. Having learned from Ye Yu and the others that Old Hu was a player from the old servers whose strength belonged to the high tier, he now felt his heart skip a beat listening to Old Hu's deductions. Essentially, everything Old Hu had surmised about the skill talents on his custom talent skill tree was spot on. If this kept going, it would spell serious trouble for him, prompting him to cut him off immediately!