The Nightmare Dragon Steed surged forward like a streak of shadow, devouring the distance to the steps of the Mist Veil Palace in a heartbeat. The instant Marcus’s foot landed on the first step, the Cloud-Tusk Lion that had been relentlessly pursuing the Temple Guardian sensed the change.
With a furious roar, the lion spat a blazing fireball. It struck the Temple Guardian squarely and erased it from existence in an instant. The beast spun around without hesitation, its burning eyes locking onto Marcus as it charged.
"Heh," Marcus chuckled calmly as he twisted the key. The massive doors of the Mist Veil Palace groaned as they began to open. Just as the Cloud-Tusk Lion closed half the distance, Marcus slipped inside.
The mont he crossed into the lion’s attack range, another fireball tore through the air toward him, but it was already too late. With a final, thunderous creak, the palace doors slamd shut. The fireball exploded against the ancient wood with a deafening boom, yet not even a scorch mark was left behind. The Cloud-Tusk Lion clawed and battered the doors in rage, its howls echoing across the courtyard, but all it managed to leave were a few glowing claw marks before it finally gave up.
Inside, a vast hall stretched nearly fifty ters ahead of him. Multicolored gemstones embedded in the ceiling cast a steady, brilliant light across the corridor, illuminating every detail with pristine clarity. It was obvious that the great war had never reached this place. Marcus couldn’t help but suspect that the Three-Headed Black Dragon Knight alone had been enough to hold the line in the courtyard, preventing any enemy from advancing further.
He summoned another Temple Guardian, layered it with his usual buffs, and advanced carefully toward the open doorway at the far end of the hall. He had barely made it halfway when the deep, tallic clang of an enormous bell echoed through the chamber. A blinding flash of light followed, and in the next instant, monsters materialized all around him, sealing off every path of retreat.
A system notification chid.
Ding!
"Player Stonehaven, you have entered a Death Trap. If you do not escape within five minutes, increasingly powerful monsters will appear until you are eliminated."
Before Marcus could even react, a storm of attacks crashed down on him.
-500, Miss, -200, Miss, -600, -700...
Blades struck, arrows pierced, and spells detonated against his body in rapid succession. His health plumted alarmingly.
’Damn it.’ Marcus clenched his teeth. A double-damage Lance Charge from a level 40 Headless Cavalryman only dealt around four hundred damage. Judging by these numbers, these monsters were well above level forty.
In monts, his HP dropped to just over one thousand. His Shadow-Stained Gryphon King and Nightmare Dragon Steed were both below half health, while the newly summoned Temple Guardian was barely clinging on with less than five hundred HP remaining. Surrounded on all sides, there was no route to escape.
It was an exceptionally well-designed trap. If his pets hadn’t absorbed part of the damage, he would have been killed the mont it triggered.
"Adamant Shield Wall!" Marcus roared.
The divine artifact responded instantly. The Adamant Shield erupted in dazzling golden light as a translucent image of the shield manifested before him, spinning rapidly and radiating a powerful aura that descended like a blessing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The golden barrier solidified, violently repelling every monster within a two-ter radius and carving out a safe zone around Marcus and his companions.
-50, Miss, -30, Miss, -70, Miss...
The next wave of attacks slamd into the barrier, but the damage numbers were laughably small.
’Incredible.’ A grin spread across Marcus’s face as realization dawned on him. His high Luck stat had amplified the effect of Adamant Shield Wall far beyond expectations, reducing incoming damage by at least ninety percent. He quickly drank a Large Health Potion and summoned yet another Temple Guardian to soak up the residual damage that slipped through. Encased within the golden fortress, he was practically untouchable.
A surge of pride welled up inside him. The sa item could produce wildly different results depending on who wielded it, and in his hands, the Adamant Shield revealed its true power. With this skill active, he was nearly invincible. That was the difference between ordinary gear and a divine artifact. The only limitation was that the shield’s effect couldn’t stack with the Temple Guardian’s own defensive skills, otherwise the guardian would have been utterly indestructible.
"Charge!"
The Adamant Shield Wall only lasted one minute, and Marcus refused to waste even a second of it. He surged forward, leading the push toward the exit. He and his Temple Guardian unleashed relentless waves of Hundred Phantom Strikes, while the Gryphon King wheeled overhead, raining destruction onto every monster within a three-ter radius. Even against enemies above level forty, the combined assault was overwhelming. High damage numbers erupted in a continuous stream, punctuated by frequent critical hits.
It was a slaughter.
Marcus activated Adamant Shield Wall a second ti, maintaining the montum. In less than two minutes, he had carved a bloody path through the horde. Most of the lee monsters lay dead, while the remaining ranged attackers scattered in panic. The far end of the hall was finally within reach.
"Haha..."
What would have been a guaranteed death sentence for anyone else had turned into a personal leveling ground for him. His experience bar had already climbed to ninety percent of level thirty-one. Others struggled for days to gain a single level, yet he was about to break through after only a few hours inside the Mist Veil Palace.
The only disappointnt was the lack of loot. Not a single piece of equipnt or gold dropped from these monsters. Otherwise, he would have hunted down every last one of them. With nothing to gain, he ignored the stragglers and strode confidently through the exit of the grand hall, flanked by his powerful pets.
Shimr.
The next chamber was bathed in soft, radiant light. At its center stood a crystal-clear fountain, its waters a tranquil ice-blue as they bubbled gently, producing a soothing, lodic sound. Yet the fountain itself wasn’t what made Marcus’s breath catch.
Floating beside it were several pieces of equipnt.
A zither glowing with deep purple light. A dallion suffused with the sa regal hue. A long spear wreathed in purplish-red flas. And a strange, needle-like object that pulsed with a sinister black aura.
The Dragon-Horse Lyre. The Dragon’s Crest. The Wyvern Fla Spear. The Boundary Stone Needle.
According to Pegasus Knight Mare, these were all the items he needed, with the sole exception of the Glacier Ice Dragon, the divine beast belonging to the Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna. If he could secure these treasures, his quest would be nearly complete.
There was only one obstacle.
Two massive water elentals patrolled before the floating equipnt, their forms rippling as they moved, their unblinking eyes fixed on the treasures they guarded.
Marcus cast Insight.
—
Mist-Tear Fiend (Level 35 Silver Boss)
HP: 10,000
Description:
Once a Level 50 High-tier Mist-Tear Fiend King ford from the pure negative energy of the Mist Veil Palace’s spring. Over centuries, as the spring’s power was absorbed, its strength waned, reducing it to a Level 35 Silver Boss.
Skills:
Interdiate Water Magic: Can cast all water-based magic of interdiate tier and below.
Misty Veil (Active): Reduces opponent attack damage by 30% for one minute. Immune to water magic.
Aura of Purity (Passive): Reduces movent and attack speed of opponents within a three-ter radius by 30%. All attacks have a 10% chance to inflict a freezing effect.
Mistwater Rebirth (Active): When HP drops below 20%, the fiend teleports into the nearby spring and instantly restores all health.
—
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