Chapter 55: Power of Calamity
Unlike the Pearl Tear Alliance, the Comrade Alliance’s synergy had not unlocked the second token for statues like the Blade Warrior— it simply increased their stats, so how effective was it in actual combat?
Outside the city walls, three warriors charged ahead toward the Thunderstorm Lion, with the Dragon-Breaking Warrior clad in massive armor leading the charge.
With armor equipped, his height reached 2.3 meters, and his shoulders were nearly a meter wide, making his head look disproportionately small—at a glance, he resembled a dragonfly warrior.
He wielded a greatsword as long as himself, charging forward like a dump truck.
Sensing a threat, the Thunderstorm Lion rolled in place to build up power, then slapped its paw down with thunder and sparks at the Dragon-Breaking Warrior!
Clang!
With a loud crash, the Dragon-Breaking Warrior’s arm was bent backward, but as the Thunderstorm Lion tried to follow up with a claw flurry, the Blade Warrior with his long blade and the Chaos Warrior with sword and shield had already arrived.
The three circled the Thunderstorm Lion, surprisingly managing to withstand this Foundation-stage beast!
That was the power of +100 Vital Energy and Blood and +100 Dexterity—even players focused on those stats would only have around 100 each at level 39.
Even if the Demon Lords had higher stats, the boost was still nearly a doubling of strength for them.
Moreover, the Comrade Alliance's effect stacked with each member, so their Vital Energy and Dexterity were now above 300!
Although the exact stats of the Thunderstorm Lion were unknown, Yan Qing vaguely remembered that top players who built around Vital Energy would start at about 1000 at the beginning of the Fourth Job Change—ordinary players would be a hundred or two lower.
Calculating from that, the Thunderstorm Lion, as a new Fourth-Stage monster, should have around 500–800 Vital Energy.
Though still superior to the three warriors, it could no longer kill them with a single strike.
During this time, the Chaos Warrior and Blade Warrior got injured again, but the Dragon-Breaking Warrior’s previously twisted arm had fully recovered.
The strong recovery from 300 Vital Energy was enough to heal them mid-battle.
But the same was true for the Thunderstorm Lion.
Though slashed repeatedly and covered in wounds, its injuries healed visibly fast, almost stopping the bleeding the moment it was hurt.
If not for the Mansu Woodland forcing it to attack the shelter, Yan Qing and the others would’ve had no chance to kill it—it would flee, heal, and return at will. Who could beat that?
However, with the Narcissus Mermaid, Funeral Mermaid, and Eagle Archer now in position and focusing fire, the Thunderstorm Lion was in even greater trouble, its furious roars shaking the heavens.
Seeing the situation stabilize, Yan Qing decisively controlled “Jiang Ten” to leap off the wall and join the battlefield.
Even with a defensive token, it was extremely risky to join such a high-end melee—the Thunderstorm Lion could potentially land six strikes in a second, and “Jiang Ten” could be instantly killed.
But Yan Qing trusted his own skill more.
He felt his dynamic vision and precision had surpassed his seventeen-year-old self.
As a Martial Messenger, he could now fully utilize every performance feature of his game character.
Seeing this, Qian Gongyu instinctively wanted to rush out too, but Shang Xinlei immediately held her back: “She’s pushing her limits—you’d just be throwing your life away!”
“It’s too dangerous,” Jie Yuanshao said. “Why is she in such a rush? With her talent, she could’ve reached the top with steady cultivation.”
“Rather than ‘in a rush,’ I’d say she’s ‘clear-minded,’” Shang Xinlei said. “She’s different from us… She knows her path with certainty. Every step she takes is without hesitation. She’s never regretted a single decision for even a second.”
Qian Gongyu looked surprised. “Do you two hesitate and regret?”
“Of course,” Jie Yuanshao said in a low voice. “My family sees me as the one most likely to reach the Fourth Job Change in this generation. But did I really choose the right path? I have talent in swordsmanship, blade techniques, and spearmanship… but I chose swordsmanship. Can I truly master it to the pinnacle and attain Immortal Foundation?”
“I don’t have as big a family burden as Miss Jie,” Shang Xinlei said. “But I’m more… opinionated. I often do things my family forbids. Although I enjoy it, sometimes I do wonder if I made the wrong choice.”
Qian Gongyu said, “I thought nobles like you would have your lives planned out from early on…”
“True nobility doesn’t come from bloodline—it comes from the determination forged through countless trials.”
Jie Yuanshao watched the battlefield where life and death intertwined, her usually stern face showing a look of admiration. “Though I still don’t agree with how recklessly she acts…”
“I really do want to witness her future—everything about her.”
After a grueling half-hour of bloodletting and fierce battle, the Thunderstorm Lion finally couldn’t withstand the torment and collapsed after one last roar.
But Yan Qing’s side wasn’t in much better shape.
All three Comrade Alliance warriors were at critical health, the Funeral Mermaid had been accidentally killed, and only the Narcissus Mermaid and Eagle Archer remained unharmed.
However, as the system message popped up, all their hardship turned into joy:
“‘Bronze Hunter’ milestone achieved.”
“Blood-Forged Long Blade (Jiang Ten’s exclusive Blood Weapon) has unlocked its seal. You may now carry it out of Mansu Woodland.”
“You have comprehended ‘Advanced Footwork,’ currently at Level 3.”
“You have comprehended ‘Advanced Blade Technique,’ currently at Level 1.”
“Due to the player clearing Stage 5 for the first time, the next wave of monsters will attack in 59:59.”
Yan Qing found it a bit strange.
For the third and fourth waves, he had deliberately let many monsters through so his teammates could unseal their Blood Weapons, which meant he had only around two hundred kills—still some distance from three hundred.
So how had it suddenly unsealed?
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that because he contributed 10% of the damage to the Thunderstorm Lion, the game rewarded him with 50 kill credits.
In other words, killing the Thunderstorm Lion alone was equivalent to killing five hundred monsters.
But who could solo a Fourth-Stage monster with First-Stage Tokens?
A Seventh-Stage player?
The more Yan Qing played, the more he felt there was still much to explore in this instance.
Unfortunately, his level was too low; he could only return next year.
“Tomorrow we’ll have half an hour to search—let’s aim to clear Stage 10.”
“If Fourth-Stage monsters are already appearing at Stage 5, what kind of monsters will show up at Stage 10?” Qian Gongyu exclaimed.
“Is pushing to Stage 10 that important?” Shang Xinlei asked keenly.
“Very important.”
“Then let’s rest up tonight and give it our all tomorrow,” said Jie Yuanshao. “Let’s discuss our building plans over dinner tonight.”
The four stepped into the mist.
Qian Gongyu let out a cry, “My Iron Claw is gone!”
“My Throwing Ring is gone too—guess I didn’t kill enough enemies to bring it out,” Shang Xinlei glanced at “Jiang Ten.” “Your Blood Weapon made it out?”
“Yeah.”
“Can you hide it?” Jie Yuanshao looked at ‘Jiang Ten’, her tone neither commanding nor urging—just a simple question.
Seeing ‘Jiang Ten’ obediently put away the Blood-Forged Long Blade, everyone relaxed a little and stepped lightly out of the Dense Fog.
“Yuanshao!”
“Welcome back, everyone.”
“Did the Thunderstorm Lion appear inside?”
“You actually defeated a Fourth-Stage demon?”
As soon as they exited the Mansu Woodland, those who had been waiting outside for over half an hour immediately surrounded them.
Aside from Jie Zilong checking on Jie Yuanshao’s safety, Qun Yushu, Chen Linchuan, and others were more interested in what had happened inside.
They crowded in front of the four-person team, their faces full of curiosity and excitement.
When Shang Xinlei confirmed it, Chen Linchuan’s pupils shrank, his mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to speak, but in the end said nothing.
Qun Yushu, on the other hand, was straightforward—he gave them a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration. “Impressive!”
“You managed to defeat the Thunderstorm Lion?”
A pale-faced middle-aged man behind them suddenly asked, “You don’t even have a single Third-Stage Messenger. How did you withstand the Thunderstorm Lion’s attacks?”
Qian Gongyu blurted out, “Well of course we relied on—”
“You’re hungry.” Shang Xinlei immediately covered Qian Gongyu’s mouth. “Sorry, we’re exhausted and starving—can we talk later?”
The middle-aged man nodded.
Just as everyone thought the topic had ended, his right hand suddenly extended strangely—like a venomous snake—striking at ‘Jiang Ten’!
Smack!
The first to react wasn’t ‘Jiang Ten’, nor any other Third-Stage Messenger, but Qian Gongyu, who had been paying the most attention and was closest to her!
She reached out and intercepted the man’s snake-like hand, and within a flash, they exchanged three blows!
“Stop!”
“Lu Wangji!”
The surrounding crowd immediately separated the middle-aged man and Qian Gongyu.
Jie Zilong’s face turned extremely grim. “Lu Wangji, did you come all the way to Mansu Woodland just to try to assert control through force? Is this your own decision or the court’s?”
“Lu Wangji,” Qun Yushu sneered, though his smile was insincere. “If there’s a problem, let’s talk it out. Why the hands-on probing? Your Xiao Cavalry Guard’s habit of testing others really needs to change.”
However, the middle-aged man simply stared at his own right hand, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
He glanced back at Qian Gongyu behind the crowd and slowly raised his right hand for all to see—his palm had three bloody scratches.
“Lu Wangji, have you declined to the point where even a little girl can injure you?” Chen Linchuan mocked.
The middle-aged man shook his head.
“My Heartguard Mirror was active the entire time. Her Silk Thread Glove Token is decent, but there’s no way it could pierce the Heartguard Mirror’s seven-layer reflection.”
“She didn’t even break through the first layer… and yet I was still injured.”
“Moreover, several breaths have passed, and my wound is still bleeding.”
At that, Jie Zilong and the others’ expressions changed slightly as they turned to look at Qian Gongyu.
Never before receiving such attention, Qian Gongyu immediately grew nervous and tiptoed behind ‘Jiang Ten’.
“To bypass token powers and suppress Vital Energy’s self-recovery—there’s only one force I know that can do that.”
Middle-aged man Lu Wangji slowly uttered a term that sounded faintly familiar to Yan Qing.
“Power of Calamity.”