Chapter 161
Chapter 161
Within the devastated Snowflake City…
With the help of an adventurer’s item, three projections of god-tier powerhouses from the Eastern Region charged straight at Zhou Ming.
“How can he possibly survive this?”
Adventurers, natives, and the viewers watching through the livestream all had the same thought.
At this moment, every powerhouse in the Hope Faction was already fighting an opponent of their own.
Even if they split their attention to protect Zhouyou Shijie, they could not possibly stop attacks from three equally ranked powerhouses with ease.
“Do we have any more summoning scrolls like that?” someone among the gods asked.
Although victory looked all but certain, they remained uneasy if they could not personally intervene.
“We do, but they cannot be used again,” Shui Zhanqiu explained frankly. “An item that allows adventurers to summon our projections can be used at most once per battle.”
“What a shame!”
The gods sighed.
The rules were not so easily circumvented. Otherwise, the city’s capacity limit would be nothing but a joke.
Even so, being forced to follow rules in everything left them deeply irritated.
Bzzzt!
Purple lightning coiled around Lei Qianjue. He appeared before Zhou Ming in an instant and threw a heavy punch.
Wild lightning surged, filling the air with ten thousand electric arcs!
“Die!”
Lei Qianjue did not dare hold back. He feared suffering another disaster and accidentally killing Xuanniao.
Clang!
At the critical moment, a muscular man who stood only as high as Zhou Ming’s waist stepped in front of him. Wielding a massive Dwarven shield, he blocked Lei Qianjue’s attack.
BOOM!!
Thunder rolled.
Harrison, an elder of the Dwarves, stopped Lei Qianjue’s strike, but its force drove both him and Zhou Ming more than ten meters backward.
“I have not yet advanced to god tier, so I cannot hold him off for long,” Harrison said solemnly. “If you have another plan, use it quickly!”
“Thank you for your help!”
Zhou Ming was sincerely grateful.
He had not been entirely without a way to block that attack, but the Dwarf elder’s willingness to intervene had greatly reduced the pressure on him.
Seeing three god-tier powerhouses rapidly converging upon him, Zhou Ming decisively activated every powerful method at his disposal.
Ding!~
[System Notification: You have used the skill [Flame Soul Art]. All Attributes +120% until the end of combat. As a penalty, once the skill enters cooldown, Level -5 and you will enter a Weakened state for 5 hours!]
Ding!~
[System Notification: You have used the skill [Forbidden · God of Blazing Flames]. All Attributes +200%, Attack +200%, all damage is converted into fire-element damage, and the damage of all other skills increases by an additional 200%. Duration: 30 minutes!]
…
Flames surged, transforming Zhou Ming into something resembling a god within the fire.
“???”
The Tsar Region’s players stared in disbelief.
Could players already reach such a level?
“He used the Life-and-Death Pact to take Flame Giant King’s ultimate moves!” The Demon Gods’ expressions turned ugly.
“Renee!”
Zhou Ming activated Shadowless Step and accelerated toward the center of the battlefield. He shouted, “Use your full strength! Protect me with Bedrock Shield!”
Back then, Renee had endured attacks from two Demon Gods for a long time. Now, with only one opponent to handle, she should have a relatively easy time and could spare a moment to help him.
Moreover, the present situation was entirely different. In the battle at Juyan City, everyone had known defeat was inevitable and could not openly interfere with Zhou Ming’s duel against Flame Giant King. This time, there was no need to consider such things.
Victory was all that mattered!
“All right!”
Under Sovereign of the Seas · Watt’s water-element barrage, Renee remained unmoved in her form as a massive golden stone. Her stone body suddenly trembled, releasing a streak of light.
“Futile!”
With Lei Qianjue held back by Harrison, only Long Kun and Gu Yuchen remained. They attacked Zhouyou Shijie from both sides, dismissing his methods with contempt.
His skills might be powerful, but Zhouyou Shijie’s base stats were still far too low!
Ding!~
[System Notification: Bedrock Sovereign · Renee has used the skill [Forbidden · Heaven’s End Stone]. Defense +500%, Damage Reduction +60%, and every attack received reflects damage equal to 200% of her Defense. Movement Speed -200%. Duration: 30 minutes!]
Ding!~
[System Notification: Bedrock Sovereign · Renee has used the skill [Bedrock Shield], granting Flame Venerable · Zhouyou Shijie 50% of Bedrock Sovereign · Renee’s total Defense before he takes damage and immediately dealing damage equal to 600% of Attack to the enemy unit. Duration: 20 minutes after the skill triggers!]
…
A golden barrier appeared around Zhou Ming.
Soul Plunder!
Zhou Ming continued stacking his stats by plundering 10% of Long Kun’s Panel Attributes.
Although the stats gained this way could not be further multiplied by percentage bonuses, the benefit was already terrifying.
Besides…
He still had a trump card!
Ding!~
[System Notification: You have used the talent [Sovereign’s Descent], successfully copying Bedrock Sovereign · Renee’s talent [Towering Majesty] (S Rank) and increasing its rank by 1!]
Ding!~
[System Notification: Your talent has transformed into [Imperishable] (SS Rank)!]
[Imperishable] (SS Rank): Defense +50%, Damage Taken -20%.
This was exactly what he needed most!
For now, he could ignore everything else. He only needed to maximize his Defense and stall for as long as possible.
The next second, Long Kun’s and Gu Yuchen’s attacks sent Zhou Ming stumbling several steps backward. He steadied himself and did not die.
-1,266,408!
-1,266,858!
“!!”
Everyone stared in disbelief.
He was alive!
He had endured it!
“What the hell is that thing?!” Watt could not understand.
Zhouyou Shijie’s buffs accounted for only ten or twenty percent of his ability to withstand attacks from god-tier powerhouses. The truly outrageous factor was Bedrock Shield.
That little girl was ridiculously tanky!
Half her Defense was enough to let Zhouyou Shijie endure attacks from god-tier powerhouses for a short time.
“Struggle all you like. A hard-won victory will only make me more excited!” Long Kun said with a vicious grin, immediately activating a skill that ignored Defense.
Soul Refinement!
Zhou Ming forcibly controlled him for one second, then seized the opportunity to retreat.
“Chirp, chirp!”
Xuanniao flew out of the pet space and cast Misfortune Divination on Long Kun, then applied Holy Light’s Blessing to Zhouyou Shijie.
Gu Yuchen attacked from the side. Zhou Ming met him head-on with Heavenrend, relying upon its guaranteed hit and guaranteed Suppression to barely delay him.
Shrrk…
Elsewhere, sword qi swept across the battlefield. Unable to defend against everything at once, Zhou Ming was struck by the Defense-ignoring attack and died instantly, only to revive on the spot through Holy Light’s Blessing.
“He’ll still lose…”
The crowd saw the situation clearly.
Zhouyou Shijie was fierce, but not fierce enough to contend with god-tier bosses.
“I’m still a little short!” Zhou Ming gripped the Sacred weapon tightly. He knew that exchanging even a few moves with them using Renee’s Defense had already pushed him to his limit.
From this point onward, there was truly nothing else he could do.
With that thought, he shouted, “Cangxuan!!”
…
In the sky…
Sword intent chilled the air as blood energy towered into the heavens.
Clang, clang, clang…
Cangxuan wore a grave expression as he traded blows with Wu Xing, steadily losing ground.
Wu Xing had already advanced beyond the half-step god tier!
Even with all his strength, Cangxuan could only delay him. Victory was entirely impossible.
The only hope of turning the situation around rested with Zhouyou Shijie and the Hope Faction’s other members.
“Cangxuan, I can give you one final chance!” Wu Xing shouted, murderous energy raging around him. “Rejoin the Dark Faction, and I guarantee you can remain the Second Demon God!”
Cangxuan answered coldly, “I have my own path to uphold. If I become a fence-sitter, I will no longer be worthy of holding a sword!”
“Good, good, good! You’re still the same stubborn Cangxuan I remember!”
Wu Xing laughed in fury. “In that case, I’ll grant your wish!”
“Cangxuan!!”
Just as the two prepared to clash again, Zhouyou Shijie’s shout came from below.
“Hm?”
Both men seemed to sense something and looked down at the same time.
Shrrk!
The Heavenrend greatsword came howling toward them, with Zhou Ming riding atop the sword as it crossed the sky.
…