In less than ten minutes, the Ember Team, Breeze Team, Little Deer Team, and Magic Sound Team had all arrived. Coupled with the two teams led by Lin Zhao and Chen Xue, all six teams of the Scarlet Moon Knights were in position, totaling nearly 6,000 people. A vast expanse, they rendezvoused and Lin Zhao, with Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Roman, and others clearing the path, officially entered the S-grade refinery territory.
From a distance, the refinery was situated in a valley, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. A dense mass of Tianji City players congregated at the valley entrance, with members from guilds like Seek Immortal, Unwavering, Guanghan Palace, All Villains, and Knight of Azure visible. Within the valley, streaks of green light shot upwards, and one could even see thorny vines dancing in the air, each impaling a player who then let out agonizing screams before dissolving into white light and respawning.
"Hmm?!"
Lin Zhao looked up, sensing trouble.
Just then, a group of people broke through the crowd and galloped forward. Leading them was Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng, the alliance leader of Unwavering. He frowned and said, "Ten minutes ago, Xian Bai led at least 5,000 main force members of Seek Immortal into the valley to fight the boss. The boss guarding this S-grade refinery is an eleventh-tier treant, a terrestrial boss. They want to get both the boss first kill and the refinery. If Xian Bai succeeds, it will be difficult for us to resist Seek Immortal's fierce counterattack."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao glanced at the valley and said, "Let them have the first kill of the terrestrial boss. We cannot let them hold the S-grade refinery buff for too long, or Seek Immortal's advantage will grow, and it will become truly troublesome. Alliance Leader Qing Feng, how many people do you have left? Clear a path for us. I will lead the 6,000 main force of the Scarlet Moon Knights to charge in and fight them. Once I obtain the guardian token, you can come in and take over!"
"Alright!"
Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng's eyes lit up, and his chest swelled with heroism. In reality, if the Scarlet Moon Knights secured the S-grade refinery, they could occupy it themselves. With the Scarlet Moon Knights' overall combat power, coupled with this 15% attack and defense bonus, even with only 8,000 people, they would be an absolute powerhouse on this map!
However, the white-clothed figure before him chose not to do so, instead opting to fulfill his promise. In that moment, Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng felt a surge of joy. Collaborating with such a person was a true pleasure in life!
"Make way!"
Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng, sword in hand, strode forward and boomed, "Clear a path straight into the valley for our allied guild. Brothers in front, break through Seek Immortal's defenses from the left flank, no matter the cost, open a path quickly, and swiftly!"
Instantly, the Unwavering guild members roared and focused their attacks on the left flank of the enemy's defenses. The Seek Immortal guild, however, had too many troops dispersed. Xian Bai had already led over 5,000 elites into the valley. Subtracting those who had fallen and hadn't yet arrived, the number of players blocking the valley entrance was small, at most 3,000, and they were not elites. They were no match for the concentrated assault of the Unwavering and Guanghan Palace guilds.
Ahead, a path was successfully cleared.
Lin Zhao, sword in hand and on horseback, led Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Roman, and others swiftly forward. Shen Xingchen, Mo Chenxue, Lu Li, and others followed with their ranged teams. The group charged through the passage opened by the Unwavering guild and into the valley. Just as they were about to enter, dense lines of Seek Immortal guild defenses appeared again.
At the center of the Seek Immortal guild's defenses, a swordsman clad in golden armor stood proudly on his horse. He had short golden hair and a handsome, almost mixed-race face. His ID was "Xian Lin," the vice-leader of the Seek Immortal guild.
Chen Xue rode closer to Lin Zhao and whispered, "Xian Lin, Xian Bai's cousin, he's a mixed-race. He's in charge of Seek Immortal's internal affairs and is very strong. In the 'Conquest' era, he was once ranked in the top 20 of the China region."
"Oh..."
Lin Zhao nodded without any particular expression. Chen Xue felt a bit speechless; his expression clearly showed he didn't take Xian Lin seriously.
"Scarlet Moon Knights!"
Xian Lin pointed his sword from afar and said with a laugh in standard Mandarin, "Seek Immortal and we have always been cordial and have no quarrel. What is the meaning of this, colluding with Unwavering and Guanghan Palace to target Seek Immortal? This is too much. My brother has already shown you considerable courtesy. Otherwise, when you marched through Ningzhou, do you think Seek Immortal couldn't have done the same to cut off your retreat?"
Ding Chi also pointed his sword, "Then why didn't you? And why are you acting like a good person now? This past week, how many times has Seek Immortal ambushed our Scarlet Moon Knights' leveling parties in small-scale skirmishes across the various maps of Tianji City? The competition for Tianji City has long begun, why speak of etiquette and morality now?"
Lin Zhao smiled, remaining silent.
Behind them, Shen Xingchen had arrived with the ranged team and said softly, "Lin Zhao, don't waste time with their nonsense. Xian Lin is trying to stall for time. Once Xian Bai defeats the boss and gets the guardian token, it will be trouble."
"En!"
Lin Zhao nodded, raised his hand, drew his Ben Lei Sword, pointed its blade forward, and said with a smile, "Xian Lin, I apologize... Tianji City only spawned these few treasures to incite conflict among players. We, the Scarlet Moon Knights, are poor and ambitious, so we have no choice but to snatch them from your hands. This battle is not about justice; we are all fighting for survival."
"Tsk tsk..."
Xian Lin sneered, "Such fine words, Alliance Leader Bai Yi, we..."
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Zhao charged out first, "Kill!"
Xian Lin couldn't help but twitch his lips. He wasn't even allowed to finish his sentence? This was a bit unsportsmanlike...
...
Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Roman, Zhang Jun, and others charged alongside him. Instantly, the enemy's ranged attacks rained down. Lin Zhao bore the brunt of it, activating a powerful sword aura to protect himself. Then, his body sank as he swung a "Sword Qi Cage" forward, enveloping Xian Lin and the group around him.
"Not good!"
Xian Lin paled in alarm, "It's the sixty-level swordsman's ultimate skill, Sword Qi Cage! Retreat, quickly!"
He instinctively launched a horizontal sword qi clash, sending himself flying backward. But the moment Xian Lin was propelled away, a sword qi enveloped his head – it was Lin Zhao's Sword Qi Collision. Xian Lin had already used his Sword Qi Collision skill and couldn't dodge it with another Sword Qi Collision. Gritting his teeth, as Lin Zhao charged forward, Xian Lin lowered his stance and performed a "Drawing Sword Slash" with a 3-yard horizontal movement, narrowly dodging the stunning effect of Lin Zhao's Sword Qi Collision.
However, before he could regain his footing, a roaring sword qi erupted from the ground, sending him flying into the air.
"Ascending Dragon Slash," he was hit!
Lin Zhao, at extreme range, daringly used Ascending Dragon Slash. The sword light chilled as he, horse and all, moved sideways and launched a series of attacks: normal attacks + "Heaven and Earth Spurned" + "Heavy Slash." He then charged "Qi Rushing to the Bull" for 0.5 seconds. The Seek Immortal guild players watched in disbelief as their usually invincible vice-leader let out a whimper and fell under the onslaught of swordsmanship. A single "Qi Rushing to the Bull" could deplete over 13,000 of Xian Lin's health; it was insane!
At this moment, Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, and other Scarlet Moon Knights' swordsmen "peng peng peng" crashed into the enemy frontline, followed by streaks of flying sword light with extreme armor penetration. Instantly, a sword rain fell upon Seek Immortal's frontline. It wasn't just swordsmen and berserkers; even Temple Knights couldn't withstand the sharpness of the flying swords from their swordsmen, their shields and armor pierced, causing heavy damage. The nomads in the rear frantically waved their staffs, unable to save them.
When the Seek Immortal players attempted to resist, Chen Xue, Roman, and other elite Temple Knights from the Scarlet Moon Knights arrived, each wielding a holy sword for both offense and defense, overwhelming the enemy's frontline once more, leaving the Seek Immortal defense team completely demoralized.
"Damn it!"
A level 79 guild leader from Seek Immortal roared, raising his war bow and shouting, "We are Seek Immortal... the undisputed T1 guild of the national server! How can we fall like this? What if they have more numbers? Brothers, reorganize our defenses and push back the Scarlet Moon Knights!"
However, before he finished speaking, a golden rain descended from the sky – it was Mo Chenxue's divine skill "Shepherd's Song." In the next moment, a large group of Seek Immortal ranged players fell into a state of chaos, followed by a barrage from the Scarlet Moon Knights' ranged artillery like Shen Xingchen and Lu Li, causing them to fall quickly.
"Break through, quickly!"
Lin Zhao, sword in hand, charged at the forefront, taking down weakened Seek Immortal players one by one. He undoubtedly killed the most in this battle. The bloody red hue of his equipment grew more intense. He had stacked "God Slayer Blood Drink" countless times, and the effect was obvious; a single normal attack could deal over 4,000 damage.
"Breakthrough, quickly!"
Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Roman, and others led their respective teams of elite heavy cavalry to break through, then counterattacked from the enemy's rear, completely annihilating this approximately 1,000+ strong blocking force of the Seek Immortal guild. In the rear, Shen Xingchen also led the ranged team into the valley, and the situation inside the valley was almost decided.
Lin Zhao rode his horse into the depths of the valley. From afar, a massive ancient tree stood before the golden refinery, rooted in the earth. Numerous vine arms were raised, with sharp spikes at their tips. These spikes were continuously piercing the bodies of Seek Immortal players. This was an upper-five-tier monster, a top-tier creature of its kind!
"An eleventh-tier boss, still formidable."
Lin Zhao frowned and clicked on the headcount. Xian Bai led over 5,000 people into the valley. Subtracting the 1,000+ guarding the entrance, there should actually be 4,000 people fighting the boss. But it seemed far fewer than that, with at most over 1,000 remaining. This meant... it seemed this upper-five-tier terrestrial boss had already eliminated nearly 3,000 of Seek Immortal's men; even a human wave tactic couldn't suppress it!
At this moment, the boss's health bar was at 10%, on the verge of defeat.
...
"Frontline, hold!"
Xian Bai, while commanding, glanced into the distance and saw Lin Zhao, Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue, Ding Chi, Roman, Mo Chenxue, and others standing neatly in the distance, observing. Xian Bai cried out in dismay. What was this? After fighting for so long, someone else was reaping the rewards? This... playing like this, he really wanted to delete his account.
He frowned. This game was becoming less interesting this way...