THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 6 - Season 9 Episode 5

“This is bad.”

Autumn Goose muttered as she glanced at the cave’s surroundings. Aside from the Crystal Giants and Icefire Cheetah guarding the cave, she also spotted a group of Crystal Wolves patrolling the area.

As long as they fought within the cave’s vicinity, they would attract the attention of the Crystal Wolves. The monsters would inadvertently catch them in a pincer attack.

The Crystal Wolves were roughly two meters long, and their bodies were made of light-blue crystal. Unfortunately, several hundred Crystal Wolves patrolled the forest.

[Crystal Giant] (Elemental Being, Special Elite)

Level 43

HP 510,000/510,000

[Icefire Cheetah] (Elemental Being, Lord)

Level 44

HP 4,000,000/4,000,000

[Crystal Wolf] (Elemental Being, Common)

Level 41

HP 48,000/48,000

If they took on so many monsters at once, it would be extremely difficult for them to make it to the cave. Furthermore, there were large level gaps between them and the cave’s guardians. They were only Level 35, yet they had to face a Level 44 Lord and over a dozen Level 43 Special Elites simultaneously. This would not be an easy endeavor.

As a monster’s Level increased, not only would its HP increase, but its Attributes also increased.

A Level 44 Lord dealt no less damage than a Level 30 High Lord. The Level 44 Lord might even be slightly stronger.

Facing down a Level 30 Field High Lord would be suicide. Not to mention, they would also have to fight so many Crystal Giants and Crystal Wolves. Every one of these monsters had high HP and Defense.

Without a team of at least fifty Level 40 elite players, defeating these monsters would be incredibly difficult.

Thoughtful Rain frowned at this situation.

“Why don’t we clear away those Crystal Wolves first?” Thoughtful Rain suggested after a moment of thought.

“Mhm. I think it would be wiser to clear take out the Crystal Wolves first as well. If we trigger a battle while trying to enter the cave, with a speed-type Boss like the Icefire Cheetah chasing us, we won’t be able to avoid a pincer attack.” Death Wind nodded in agreement. “After we get rid of those Crystal Wolves, I’ll hold back the Boss while you guys enter the cave. With the Icefire Cheetah’s size, it should not be able to get in.”

Even if he were strong, with only one healer in the party, he could not tank a Level 44 Lord for very long. After all, there was a vast difference between his Attributes and the Boss’s. Moreover, the Icefire Cheetah was a speed-type Boss, the bane of MTs. It was extremely difficult to avoid the attacks of a speed-type Boss. The level gap only made the situation worse.

“Leader, what do you suggest?” Gunfire asked as he turned to the silent Shi Feng, grinning.

The members of the various large Guilds were accustomed to using zerg tactics to solve their problems. Regardless of what kind of problems they faced during a quest, they just needed to send a large group of players to deal with it. Now, however, they only had the strength of a party. Moreover, this quest was located in such a high-level map. Unlike Death Wind, who had long since grown accustomed to high-level monsters and could remain cool-headed in such a situation, Shi Feng would have no idea what to do here.

However, their quest was quite difficult. Normally, they would challenge monsters that were, at most, five Levels higher than them. Even then, the fight would be risky. Now, they had to face a Level 44 Lord. The slightest mistake could cause a party-wipe.

“Me?” Shi Feng glanced at the Crystal Wolves before shifting his gaze back towards the Icefire Cheetah. “I suggest that we charge for the cave. There is no need to waste time on the Crystal Wolves. Once we enter the cave, the Icefire Cheetah won’t be able to follow us. Afterward, we just need to deal with the Crystal Giants and Crystal Wolves. Moreover, the cave is cramped inside, so the Crystal Wolves won’t be able to use their wolf pack tactics. It should be fairly easy to annihilate them.”

In truth, Shi Feng wasn’t overly worried about the Icefire Cheetah or the Crystal Giants; his biggest worry was the Crystal Wolves.

Thoughtful Rain and the others had no idea just how scary those Crystal Wolves were.

Wolves loved to hunt in groups. Naturally, this was the case for the Crystal Wolves in the Crystal Forest. Although they could only see a few hundred in the area, once the battle began, these Crystal Wolves would call for reinforcements. If they could not finish the Crystal Wolves off quickly enough and allowed the monsters to use their Summon Skill…

They would have to fight far more than just a few hundred Crystal Wolves.

If the Crystal Wolves summoned the Crystal Wolf King, tragedy would befall them.

The Crystal Wolf King was the Crystal Forest’s ruler. It was also a Level 50 Great Lord. In Shi Feng’s previous life, countless players, who had ventured to the Crystal Forest in search of ores, had died under the Wolf King’s paws. Hence, after the general populace learned of this beast, many players had tried to avoid provoking the Crystal Wolves. If their party attacked the Crystal Wolves, they would find death waiting for them.

“Charge for the cave?” Autumn Goose was dumbstruck. “How are we supposed to shake off the Crystal Giants and enter the cave?”

Although Death Wind could pin down the Icefire Cheetah for a short time, if the others wanted to enter the cave, they had to deal with the Crystal Giants. The Crystal Giants were Level 43 Special Elites, not Common monsters that even noobs could defeat. They were not easy opponents. The Crystal Giants would flatten them under their fists if they made the slightest mistake.

Meanwhile, the Crystal Wolves would have enough time to join the fray while they had their hands full with the Special Elites. In the end, they would be caught a pincer attack with no path of retreat.

“Leave the Icefire Cheetah to me. Death Wind will attract those Crystal Giants. Blue, you just need to focus on healing Death Wind. Rain, you’ll assist Death Wind by restricting the Crystal Giants from afar. Everyone else, head straight towards the cave,” Shi Feng explained slowly.

Death Wind was a Shield Warrior and had the Crowd Mock Skill. He would have the easiest time holding the Giants’ aggro.

Without the Crystal Giants in their way, the Crystal Wolves wouldn’t have time to launch a pincer attack. Once they entered the cave, without the Lord’s interference, it would be easier to deal with the Special Elites and Common monsters.

Even if the Crystal Wolves summoned the Crystal Wolf King, with how little space the cave provided, all the Crystal Wolf King could do was wait outside with the Icefire Cheetah.

“You’ll tank it?” Thoughtful Rain and the others turned to Shi Feng as one.

Shi Feng was only a Swordsman. Although he had hidden his Level with the Black Cloak, even if he were the same level as the Level 44 Icefire Cheetah, its claws would rend him to death with two or three attacks. Furthermore, he wouldn’t have a healer on him. At most, he could hold off the Lord for a brief moment. That certainly wasn’t enough time for them to make it into the cave.

“Rain, are you sure that there won’t be any issues?” Autumn Goose quietly asked Thoughtful Rain.

It was not that she did not believe in Shi Feng. However, this plan was simply too dangerous. The slightest mistake could compromise their lives. If they lost a Level, it would become far more difficult to complete the quest.

“I trust him,” Thoughtful Rain said with confidence as she looked at the calm, composed Swordsman.

Although she, too, had her doubts, when she looked at Shi Feng’s composure and confidence, she wanted to believe in the young man. She did not know why, but whenever she looked at Shi Feng’s figure, she thought of Zero Wing’s Guild Leader, Black Flame, whom she had met only a few times before. Black Flame always tried something that everyone else thought was impossible. In the end, however, he always proved everyone wrong.

Black Flame had become a legend in Zero Wing. Many members in the Guild admired him.

“Hah… whatever. It’s just one death,” Autumn Goose sighed as she prepared herself to take a leap of faith. Even if the plan failed, she had a backup plan to help Thoughtful Rain and the others escape.

As for Death Wind and Gunfire, they also prepared to die.

After Shi Feng arranged the party’s positioning, he activated Windwalk and dashed towards the Icefire Cheetah.

When Shi Feng was within 80 yards, the Icefire Cheetah woke, discovering the Swordsman immediately. It released a vicious growl.

“Grrawr!”

With its growl, the Icefire Cheetah, which stood over eight meters tall, spat scorching flames.

Immediately, over a dozen massive Fireballs bombarded Shi Feng.

“It’s over…”

When Thoughtful Rain and the others saw the dozen or so Fireballs, their hearts sank. Shi Feng could never dodge all of those attacks.

However, before they could sigh, they saw a streak of blue light cut across the space before Shi Feng, slicing the massive Fireballs in half.