Chapter 140: The Mysterious Expert

As we charged into the opposing stronghold, a sudden roar shattered the air, and in an instant, three summoned beasts spearheaded a ferocious charge. Following right behind them came a barrage of wind blades, falling meteors, razor-sharp ice shards, and blazing fireballs, raining down upon us with reckless fury.

"Everyone, scatter!" Panic rippled through our ranks as people scrambled to dodge. However, my Sonic Werewolf had charged too far ahead and was instantly blasted down to critical health. I immediately recalled it.

Ahead of us stood the Class 7 players, fully clad in gear and waiting in formation. There were about thirty-two of them.

"Damn it, they left this many players behind! What do we do?"

"State the obvious—charge! Crush them!" I gave a faint smile and led the charge.

While there were only about ten of us against their thirty-odd members, giving them the numerical advantage, our quality was vastly superior.

"Crap, these guys are way too arrogant!"

"Let's get 'em! To think they'd look down on us so much!"

Over a dozen players surged forward.

Then, a majestic dragon's roar echoed across the battlefield as my beloved pet, Dragon Warrior, descended.

*Swish, swish, swish!* Its black sword sliced through the air with a series of piercing shockwaves, followed by a massive sweep of its razor-sharp tail that instantly sent numerous enemies flying. With a sudden burst of speed, Dragon Warrior lunged forward, letting out a piercing shriek. Moving faster than anyone else, it cut through the front line of players, immediately followed by a chorus of miserable shrieks.

Those with low health pools were instantly eliminated, while the tankier ones were left on the brink of death, frantically chugging potions to recover. Roaring fiercely, Dragon Warrior possessed 3,000 attack power and over 6,000 health. Plunging into the enemy ranks, it was utterly unstoppable. It continuously breathed torrents of dragon flames and slashed wildly with its black sword. Neither summoned beasts nor players could put up any resistance; the air filled with uninterrupted wails, screams, and the sickening crunch of breaking bones and tearing flesh. The remaining enemies in the backline watched in absolute stupor.

"Big bro is mighty, keep it up!"

"Bro, you can't have all the fun of showing off by yourself, I'm joining in!" Ye Shuang charged forward without hesitation, though Dragon Warrior alone could easily handle the enemies right in front of them.

"Class 7 has nobody left! Today's battle ends with our class victorious!" Ye Shuang thrust his spear forward, piercing straight through the body of an opposing Swordsman player and launching him into the air. At that moment, an enemy Knight attempted a sneak attack from Ye Shuang's blind spot. With a single sweep of its tail the moment the Knight leaped, Dragon Warrior struck the player. Blood spurted from the man's seven orifices, his body spinning like a snapped kite as he flew dozens of meters away before crashing heavily onto the ground, moving no more. His mouth hung wide open in a silent scream. "Wretched—!" The rest of his words remained trapped in his throat.

After Ye Shuang swept away the surrounding players with a horizontal strike of his long spear, Dragon Warrior followed up with a swing of its black sword, instantly wiping out another group. Landing gracefully on the ground with the divine demeanor of a king, its dragon eyes stared coldly at the dozen or so enemies still left standing and trembling in retreat.

Ye Shuang took a few steps forward and smiled at the surviving dozen. "Friends from Class 7, you might as well just surrender and head off to remedial classes."

Ye Shuang glanced over at me and said, "Bro, have the confidence to compete with me on who takes down more players? No summoned beasts allowed, though."

I twirled my Ruyi Staff, smiled faintly, and replied, "No summoned beasts? If you want to compete like that, do you take me for a mere Warrior?"

Ye Shuang laughed heartily, hoisting his weapon. "Come on, bro, you're even more freakish than a Warrior. If I let you use summoned beasts on top of that, wouldn't that be defying the heavens?"

I shrugged. "Fine, no summoned beasts it is. Amaterasu, Dragon Warrior, go dismantle the energy nodes."

"Yes, master!"

"Understood, Brother Dragon! Anyone who dares block us will be shown no mercy!" Amaterasu let out a resounding shout, taking a heavy step forward and charging right through. Intimidated by her aura, the surrounding players instinctively shrank back, but quickly recovered and surged forward to intercept.

"Class 7 is devoid of talent; who dares stand in my way?" Ye Shuang sidestepped, sweeping out with his Golden Sacred Spear and sending seven or eight charging players flying with a single strike.

While Ye Shuang and I kept their main force occupied, our other teammates skirted around to attack the energy nodes. The energy node had a durability of ten million. While ten million sounded like a huge number, it was actually nothing special. Working together in perfect synergy, Ye Shuang and I were completely unstoppable—enemies fell left and right, one coming meant one dying, two coming meant a double casualty.

The Knight player from earlier shouted, "Damn it, damn it! The people from Class 11 are freaks, too many high-level players!" as he brandished his long spear and rushed forward, only to be effortlessly dismantled by Ye Shuang's combo.

Right after him came another challenger—Level 44, Beastmaster. Equipment: Dawn Iron Rod (Green equipment), others unknown.

Well, what do you know, a colleague of mine. He immediately summoned four beasts: two intermediate beasts, one advanced beast, and one top-tier beast, all evolved to their final forms.

Man and four beasts lunged forward simultaneously.

I let out a low hum, drew the Chilling Light Sword from my back, and cleaved one intermediate summoned beast in half with a single slash. I then kicked away the second intermediate beast, leaving the advanced beast for Ye Shuang to handle. Simultaneously, the top-tier beast lunged at me. I instantly drove the Chilling Light Sword deep into its belly and triggered Ice Core Explosion, shattering the beast into frozen residue.

Switching back to my Ruyi Staff, I sprinted straight toward my colleague, delivered a swift kick to his stomach, and followed up by smashing the staff right across his face. He crashed heavily to the ground, after which Shatter Strike, Energy Explosion, and Assault were unleashed in quick succession, sending him packing out of the arena.

However, the open clearing was massive, and reaching the inner energy node wasn't easy. Dragon Warrior, being able to fly, reached the node first and began hacking away wildly. Meanwhile, our classmates had also broken through Class 7's defenses. A moment later, a loud explosion echoed from the front, followed by our lead player being struck by an unknown projectile and blasted backward. A dark figure flashed through the crowd, and a flurry of damage numbers popped up: *-2000, -2100, -2401...*

"What's going on?" Ye Shuang gasped in shock. The dark figure swiftly circled around our position, and our classmates began dropping one by one until only Ye Shuang and I remained on the field.

"A bunch of trash, what's there to fear? Daring to call yourselves experts, utterly laughable," a male voice rang out.

In the blink of an eye, a dozen people around us had been eliminated. Just who on earth was this guy? Then, a figure dressed in night-walker garb, with a silver short sword strapped to each forearm, walked out and said, "You two can keep me entertained."

"Brat, don't get too cocky! Let your Grandpa Moon show you what's what!" Ye Shuang shouted as he charged forward. His strike landed with extreme speed, bringing a brief smile to his face, but that smile instantly froze. The opponent's body suddenly transformed into a scarecrow, and a dark shadow materialized behind Ye Shuang.

"Ah!" Ye Shuang let out a miserable scream as a spurt of blood burst from his back. *-1290 damage!* Ye Shuang spun around, but his target had already vanished once more. Panicking, Ye Shuang looked all around, only for another spray of blood to erupt from his chest. *-1100 damage!* Blood continued to drip from his wound, and a constant stream of numbers appeared above his head: *-10, -10, -10...* He had clearly entered the bleeding status. Ye Shuang frantically drank potions, but his opponent moved with terrifying speed and bizarre footwork, making it impossible for Ye Shuang to keep up. He was slashed repeatedly, his health steadily ticking away.

"Damn it, if you've got guts, stop hiding and come face me head-on!" Ye Shuang yelled.

"Very well!" Accepting the challenge, his opponent materialized right in front of Ye Shuang and rushed forward. Seeing his enemy fall right into his trap, Ye Shuang smiled and thrust his spear forward. The opponent sidestepped to evade, and I noticed several throwing daggers materialize in his hands.

"Uproot the weeds and eliminate the roots!" the opponent muttered coldly, releasing five throwing daggers. Ye Shuang deflected two with his Golden Sacred Spear, but the remaining three slashed across his left knee, left cheek, and right shoulder respectively, leaving deep, bloody gashes. Nevertheless, Ye Shuang refused to yield and charged again.

This time, the opponent didn't dodge. Standing his ground, he offered a cold sneer.

"Don't look down on people!" Ye Shuang roared. His Golden Sacred Spear burst with golden light as he delivered a heavy strike followed by a rapid three-hit combo. But the result left not only him, but even me, dumbfounded.

*Miss!*
*Miss!*
*Miss!*
*Miss!*

"How is that possible?!" I was horrified. A single miss could be chalked up to coincidence, two to luck, but three or four made it hard to explain. Was his drop rate of luck just that explosive?!

"Too weak!" the opponent whispered. Like a venomous snake, the short sword strapped to his forearm plunged deep into Ye Shuang's stomach before being violently yanked out. *-2310 damage!* Ye Shuang staggered back a few steps and coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Damn it..."

"Get lost, trash! I have no interest in you!" the opponent declared harshly.

Ye Shuang immediately retorted, "I am not trash!"

The opponent replied, "You are. The lowest grade of trash, now get lost!"

"Ye Shuang is no trash!" I shouted to him. "Get up, Ye Shuang! Don't go down so easily, I believe in you! Come on, show him what you're made of!"

Ye Shuang's expression darkened. "Thanks, bro. You're my best friend. In my life, I've never been a badass—I've always been messing things up, and I've let everyone down. It's true I can't beat him, but I'll make sure he sees that I'm not to be bullied either! Behold my Landslide and Earth Shatter!"

Ye Shuang screamed, dashed forward a few steps, and leaped high into the air, driving his spearhead fiercely downward at his opponent.

The enemy backflipped to evade, but he hadn't anticipated that Ye Shuang's strike against the ground would create a circular barrier trapping both of them inside. Countless throwing daggers filled the air within the enclosure, accompanied by Ye Shuang's continuous, roaring battle cries...

Twenty seconds later, the circular barrier shattered. The player in night-walker garb stood there unscathed, dusting off his hands. At that moment, Ye Shuang collapsed to the ground, covered in wounds and several puncture holes.

The man muttered, "That was somewhat amusing," before pointing his finger at me and declaring, "Your turn."

"Alright, bring it on!"