The integration of Beast Clan’s Secret Area into the Death Land was a slow and tedious process.
John and the women with him waited idly on the sidelines.
To pass the time, John took out the Beast Clan technique manual, Overwhelming Battle Energy, and decided to learn it immediately.
[Ding! You have learned Overwhelming Battle Energy. Current level: 1.]
[Overwhelming Battle Energy: Level 1. Increases 1 point of constitution and 2 points of strength per level. 10 skill points required to level up.]
John noted with interest that the technique could be upgraded using skill points.
However, he hesitated-10 skill points for just 3 points of basic attributes seemed wasteful.
Still, all of his other skills had already been maxed out.
Advancing them further would require reaching the seventh tier, but having just advanced to the fourth tier, the seventh was still a distant goal.
John checked his remaining skill points: 3,110.
Given that it would be a long time before he could make use of these points for anything else.
It seemed sensible to invest them into the Overwhelming Battle Energy. Leaving them unused would be a waste.
With this in mind, John decided to upgrade the skill.
[You have consumed 10 skill points. Overwhelming Battle Energy has advanced to level 2. Constitution +1, Strength +2.]
[You have consumed 10 skill points. Overwhelming Battle Energy has advanced to level 3. Constitution +1, Strength +2.]
…
[You have consumed 10 skill points. Overwhelming Battle Energy has advanced to level 100. Constitution +1, Strength +2.]
[You have comprehended the passive skill, Drunken Moon.]
[Drunken Moon: Passive Skill. Cannot be upgraded. Physical attacks and skills inflict an additional 10% true damage.]
[Note: True damage ignores defense.]
As the notification flashed before his eyes, John was stunned-then overjoyed.
He had unlocked a skill that dealt true damage.
Drunken Moon was an unbelievably powerful skill.
One of the biggest challenges in battling high-level monsters was breaking through their defenses.
But with Drunken Moon, John could ignore those defenses entirely, inflicting true damage that bypassed any form of protection.
John had never heard of such a powerful skill before.
With his current physical attack damage reaching 140,000, this meant that regardless of how strong his enemy might be—even if it were a god-he could inflict at least 14,000 points of damage.
And his physical skills, dealing up to 400,000 damage, would inflict over 40,000 points of true damage.
John even felt confident that he could take down that seventh-tier demon emperor.
“Let’s keep upgrading!” John thought excitedly. The Overwhelming Battle Energy had granted him the formidable Drunken Moon skill at level 100, and he wondered if there were more skills to be unlocked at higher levels.
[You have consumed 100 skill points. Overwhelming Battle Energy has advanced to level 101. Constitution +1, Strength +2.]
After reaching level 100, each subsequent level required 100 skill points, yet only increased his attributes by 3 points.
John sighed. Fortunately, he had the Plunder talent; otherwise, it would have been nearly impossible for an ordinary player to level up the Overwhelming Battle Energy to this extent.
…
[You have consumed 100 skill points. Overwhelming Battle Energy has advanced to level 121. Constitution +1, Strength +2.]
After reaching level 121, John was left with only 10 skill points, which wasn’t enough to continue upgrading.
He also hadn’t unlocked any new skills.
It seemed that he might need to reach at least level 200 to unlock another skill.
John felt a twinge of frustration, once again realizing how scarce skill points were. He knew he would need to find more ways to acquire skill stones in the future. Relying solely on the Plunder talent to gather skill points was too slow.
Rustle, rustle…
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the forest outside the Secret Area.
“Benefactor, there are enemies nearby!” Anna’s eyes narrowed as she stared toward the forest, her brow furrowed.
She sensed a familiar yet unpleasant aura that made her uneasy.
“It seems to be another elf,” Yuel added, her tone filled with dislike.
“An elf? Could it be…” Anna’s eyes widened as a realization dawned on her.
From the dense forest, hundreds of small, agile figures burst forth. Clad in black, tight-fitting leather armor and shrouded in large cloaks that obscured their faces, they wielded daggers as they swiftly closed in.
“Dark elves!” the blood-red demon wolf roared, his eyes blazing with fury as memories of being tortured and imprisoned by the dark elves resurfaced.
A chorus of enraged roars followed as the beast army charged forward.
“Attack!” A cold voice rang out as the dark elves launched a fierce assault on the Beast Clan forces.
Anna and Yuel exchanged a glance before leaping into the fray to assist the beasts against the
dark elves.
This group of dark elves was formidable; the weakest among them were at the fifth tier, while the leader had already reached the seventh tier in strength.
With Black Turtle, Ice Phoenix, and the fire phoenix occupied, it fell to Judy to engage the leading seventh-tier dark elf.
“Stop!” John shouted, intending to subdue the dark elves rather than kill them.
But no one heeded his command. Instead, the dark elves intensified their assault.
John swiftly joined the battle, driving back two dark elves who were attacking Anna. “Anna, is there any way to subdue them?” he asked.
“Master, don’t even think about it. These creatures have long been corrupted by darkness. They are selfish, cruel, and inherently evil,” Anna replied, her voice filled with disdain for the
dark elves.
Realizing that these dark elves were indeed fundamentally different from Anna and Yuel, John abandoned the idea of recruiting them and threw himself into the fight.
“Trap Formation!” a voice called out as a powerful dark energy erupted from the dark elves,
linking them together.
It was a formation.
“Hurry, don’t let them complete it!” Succubus cried out in alarm, attacking the dark elves
with all her might.
The Trap Formation was a deadly tool against the Beast Clan, with effects similar to the Sealing Demon Pill. It was effective against any race.
If they were trapped, death was inevitable.
Boom!
With a thunderous impact, Succubus and the blood-red demon wolf managed to break a gap
in the formation. However, instead of escaping immediately, they turned to John, urgently warning, “Kid, get out now! The Trap Formation works on you too!”
John, feeling a surge of anxiety, knew better than to underestimate the situation. Leading his
group, he charged toward the gap in the formation.
“Too late to run now!” sneered the leading dark elf as she swiftly evaded Judy’s attack and
sealed the breach.
Buzz!
A hum resonated through the air as the formation closed, and a powerful dark energy began to flow. John felt an invisible pressure, realizing with a start that his magic was being sealed off.
He frowned. These dark elves were even more sinister than the elemental golems he had
encountered before.
“Surrender or die!” the cold voice of the dark elf echoed through the space.
“You filthy creatures think we’ll surrender? Keep dreaming!” the beasts snarled back in
defiance.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind surged as Avis tried to fly upward.
Bang!
A loud crash followed as he collided with an invisible barrier and plummeted back to the
ground.
Avis shook his head, dazed, and looked at John. “Master, we can’t escape by flying. What do
we do?” John’s expression grew more serious. Even with the Drunken Moon skill, without the ability to use his magic, defeating a seventh-tier opponent seemed nearly impossible.
“Kid, just hold on a little longer,” Black Turtle called out, noticing the trouble and hastening
the fusion of the Beast Clan’s Secret Area.
“Black Turtle?” the leading dark elf recognized him, her tone dripping with disdain. “Your
time is up.”
“Kill them all! Take back Death Land!” she ordered, charging straight at Judy.
Slash!
Judy’s scales shattered under the assault, blood spraying as she was overpowered. With her
abilities sealed, she stood no chance against the seventh-tier dark elf.
Boom!
A loud crash echoed as the dark energy trembled.
Ice Phoenix managed to momentarily break free and launched an attack on the Trap
Formation. “You’ll pay for that!” the leading dark elf cursed, her blade gleaming as she threw her dagger at Ice Phoenix, then darted out of the formation to confront her. Though both were of the seventh tier, it was clear the dark elf was the stronger of the two.
“Finish them quickly!” Within the formation, the remaining dark elves pressed their attack on John and his allies.
The beasts and elves were forced into a defensive stance, struggling to avoid the onslaught.
“Stop resisting and enter Death Land,” John urged, trying to pull the beasts and elves into Death Land, but nothing happened.
Anna quickly explained, “Master, the Trap Formation seals off space. We can’t enter Death
Land.”
John was now completely out of options. He turned to Black Turtle, shouting angrily, “Old man, forget about the Secret Area for now! Deal with these dark elves!”
Black Turtle, equally frustrated, replied, “You think I don’t want to? I can’t break away right
now.”
“Big brother, let me help you!” Suddenly, Jean appeared, half emerging from Death Land. John was startled and immediately warned, “It’s dangerous here. You shouldn’t come out.”
Jean, despite her weak powers as a newly turned summoner, was vulnerable to the dark elves’ attacks. A single hit could kill her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Jean smiled gently, touching The Tree of Life.
Rustling…
The branches of The Tree of Life began to sway as if it had come alive. Several vines shot out,
wrapping around the dark elves.
The dark elves were terrified. They had been born from The Tree of Life, and now, facing it again, they felt an instinctual fear.
With the pressure on him eased, John focused on breaking the formation with all his might.
“Charge!” Suddenly, the sound of battle cries filled the air. Another army emerged from the forest, clad in battered armor but exuding a powerful aura that matched that of the dark elves. There were over ten thousand of them.
“What’s going on here? This place is a total mess,” John muttered, frowning. He hadn’t even finished dealing with the dark elves, and now a powerful new force had appeared. “Master, it’s the Undying Legion! The Undying Legion!” Judy exclaimed as she rushed to Ada’s side, her voice filled with astonishment.
Ada, equally surprised and overjoyed, stared at the approaching soldiers. John glanced at the two women, puzzled. This newly arrived army didn’t seem to be enemies.
“Princess, we’re here to rescue you!” The leading general charged forward, his spear
thrusting like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, striking hard at the Trap Formation.
Boom!
The ground shook as a massive surge of dark energy rippled through the air. The Trap
Formation finally collapsed under the force.
With their powers no longer suppressed, the beasts charged out, joining forces with the soldiers to annihilate the dark elves.
Around them, vines continued to strike from the shadows, making it impossible for the dark
elves to defend themselves.
One by one, the dark elves were ruthlessly cut down.