027 You Are No Match for Me!

In the late stage of the team battle, both sides had few members left, and their survival skills were nearly exhausted. Victory would go to those who could endure to the end. Morning Breeze and Outlas found themselves at the perfect moment to collect kills, while Dark Bat and Death Mantis dared not act so brazenly. Whether they would dare to stop Morning Breeze and Outlas became the real question.

“Are you bold enough to kill me?” The Golden Dragon watched as Morning Breeze unleashed Dark Assassination, blasting away half his health, astonished at the outcome. He immediately activated Bottomless to restore his life.

“So what if I kill you? I just don’t like the look of you!” Outlas emerged from underground, his tail’s venomous stinger striking the Golden Dragon and stripping away his invincibility. Morning Breeze followed up with a bloody chain strike from the ground.

A sneak attack!

Death Mantis ambushed from behind, failing to stun Morning Breeze but interrupting his burst. Dark Bat descended from the sky, hitting Outlas with a Black Flame Impact that dealt 3500 damage, plus ongoing damage of 500 every two seconds for ten seconds. Death Mantis instantly opened up his Feast of Slaughter, appearing behind Outlas for a rapid bombardment. Morning Breeze kept attacking the Golden Dragon, offering no aid to Outlas.

Down!

Without invincibility, the Golden Dragon was too late to activate any survival skills, and Outlas was slain by Dark Bat and Death Mantis. Was this an exchange of lives? It seemed like a considerable advantage for Death Mantis’s side.

Shadow Step!

Ambush!

The moment Outlas fell, just as Death Mantis appeared, Shadow’s Corner leapt behind him, launching an ambush for 1600 high damage, immediately triggering Shadow Dance for a relentless barrage of ambush strikes.

Gwen also emerged from stealth, reverting to human form and instantly resurrecting the fallen Outlas in battle. Outlas, once revived, quickly picked up and equipped his dropped gear, then used a surprise ground spike to stun Death Mantis, this time without failure. Death Mantis was stunned but activated his badge to remove it, attempting to flee. Dark Bat unleashed a sonic wave for crowd control, but everyone activated their badges in response.

Battle resurrection! They must have forgotten that both Morning Breeze and Gwen possessed this skill.

Death Mantis believed slaying Outlas had sealed their victory, unaware that Outlas had deliberately let himself be killed. Earlier, when Morning Breeze restored Outlas’s mana, he remembered he had the resurrection skill; their opponents likely hadn’t anticipated this. Thus, exchanging lives via resurrection was an excellent tactic.

Death Mantis knew he was doomed, unable to escape. His final attack targeted Gwen, his eyes firing two red beams that dealt over 4000 damage—Gwen had no time to dodge and lost half his health instantly. Dark Bat summoned three bat bomb imps that charged Gwen, finishing him off.

“Damn!” Death Mantis fell, never expecting Gwen to possess battle resurrection and bring Outlas back into the fray. He thought trading the Golden Dragon for Outlas was a worthwhile exchange. The Golden Dragon could have acted as a shield, but ultimately did not; had he made Morning Breeze feel unable to kill him and help Outlas, things would have been complicated. In the end, the Golden Dragon sacrificed himself, unable to activate the Blazing Defender resurrection skill in time—he waited too long, and as soon as Outlas was confirmed dead, it was too late; Morning Breeze’s finishing move instantly ended the ongoing bleed, taking his last sliver of life.

Battle resurrection!

Morning Breeze reverted to human form and revived Gwen, who, upon standing, immediately activated Outlas, rapidly restoring his mana. In Shadow’s Corner, Outlas, Morning Breeze, and Gwen stood together, leaving Dark Bat with no choice but to retreat.

“Retreat!” Dark Bat could only issue the command; if they stayed any longer, more would die.

Soulshade saw Death Mantis’s avatar darken and knew things were dire. Without Death Mantis, they couldn’t withstand Morning Breeze and Outlas’s onslaught. In the end, everyone retreated. Morning Breeze and Outlas tried to pursue, but Dark Bat’s summoned bomb imps were terrifying—Morning Breeze nearly died from them, so he abandoned the chase.

“Damn, that Dark Bat is so despicable!” Morning Breeze cursed outright. If not for that guy chasing him, his kill count would have been more than one. The once most savage killer, Morning Breeze, was completely suppressed by Dark Bat, but ultimately, victory was theirs.

Morning Breeze’s side had few survivors—besides the four, only Wang Xiaodie and Shade remained, all others had perished. Wang Xiaodie’s survival was thanks to her Ice Butterfly Heart, which converted damage into mana consumption; her output was minimal in normal combat, limited to polymorph and slowing effects, using deep freeze to control others as much as possible. She was purely supportive, and with her strong survival ability, few bothered to target her.

In the end, Shadow’s Corner abandoned protecting Shade and Wang Xiaodie to secure Death Mantis’s kill and victory. Besides the four main members, it was surprising that Shade and Wang Xiaodie, both exceptional supports, survived until the end—no one expected their resilience. Outlas was most surprised by Wang Xiaodie’s survival.

Death Mantis dropped a purple leather gauntlet, claimed by Shadow’s Corner; Golden Dragon dropped a purple ring, Windchaser King dropped a pair of purple iron boots, and so on. The loot was remarkable. Morning Breeze had previously obtained an orange leather shoulder pad from Serpent’s drop and wanted nothing else.

Were it not for the upcoming Dragon Treasure, Outlas would have loved to go to the Twilight Tavern for a drink. The monks and others revived by corpse-running picked up some gear as compensation and were in good spirits. Their victory in the team fight, killing two legendary beast gods, was a tragedy for the enemy.

After their resurrection, Death Mantis and his team gathered, none expecting to lose the team battle. The key reason for their defeat was Serpent’s death.

“My apologies, I was too careless!” Serpent had to admit fault—he died far too quickly. He never expected Morning Breeze to insert a video mid-battle, catching him off guard. As a consequence, he dropped an orange leather shoulder pad, much to his distress.

Since he started playing, it was the first time Serpent had been killed—he never imagined Morning Breeze would trick him to death. Outlas had devised the video insertion tactic, understanding Serpent’s personality. The Druk Team had the technical capability to insert recordings during live streams, so they succeeded in deceiving Serpent and lowering his guard.

Serpent also didn’t expect Outlas to have a Blackbone Sand King clone—another mistake. Overconfident, he underestimated Morning Breeze’s strength and was ultimately counter-killed. Morning Breeze’s reactions were much faster than he anticipated. As a psychic assassin, he felt Morning Breeze possessed abilities akin to his own.

“Battle resurrection—I never imagined they had this skill.” Death Mantis lost because of it; had he known, the final collision would have turned out differently.

“It’s not your fault, I didn’t expect them to have battle resurrection either. Looks like both Druids and Shapeshifters have it,” said Dark Bat, recognizing Death Mantis’s efforts. Outlas could have been taken out if not for resurrection. Without it, victory would have been theirs.

Dark Bat paused, then added, “Outlas still hasn’t mastered the rogue class. His ambushes are impressive, but he isn’t used to Blackbone Sand King’s fighting style, and his mana is a weakness—he can’t sustain himself well.”

“In fact, we’ve already fallen behind,” Soulshade continued. “Morning Breeze and Outlas’s clones both possess legendary beast god abilities. After this, it’ll be much harder to kill them.”

The gap had widened. Windchaser King already knew—he was one or two levels behind Morning Breeze, and now the distance grew. Golden Dragon once could duel Morning Breeze, but now lacked the ability. That was the difference: Morning Breeze and Outlas kept moving forward, their backs ever more distant. Even Death Mantis felt the gap, mainly in confidence and methods. Morning Breeze and Outlas had tactics he lacked.

“Find a way to catch up. Equipment must be earned—no matter how you stack it. If you want to match Outlas and Morning Breeze’s pace, you have to rely on yourself.” Serpent wasn’t yet left behind, but knew he must act. Soulshade’s team had already fallen behind, and catching up would take time.

Only behind-the-scenes forces could help them catch up—by researching and crafting equipment. Death Mantis started his own quests, needing more orange gear for support. Dark Bat had relied on air superiority; otherwise, even he couldn’t withstand it. Now he had to strive harder, or risk falling further behind.

“We should hunt for some treasure to improve ourselves. Otherwise, when they return, we truly won’t be their match.” Serpent wasn’t ready to rally teammates; everyone had their own tasks. He believed this team could win against Outlas’s group, and wanted to defeat Morning Breeze at least twice, to prove himself superior. His earlier death was just an accident—a moment of carelessness.

Keeping up with Morning Breeze and Outlas would be difficult without extraordinary luck or wealth. With the backing of the Divine Wing Association, Outlas and Morning Breeze were never short on funds, and their wealth only increased. The engineer’s purple gear and gold composite sets sold for massive profits. The game brought them huge financial gains—none expected Morning Breeze’s crafting plans to yield so much.

This was just early profit; more would come. Now, purple composite gear and gold sets were being sold, while advanced purple sets and custom gear based on personal attributes were rare due to high material and time costs—only a few could enjoy them.

Both Cobra and Acid Rain organizations were buying up gear at high prices, needing to catch up with Outlas’s team. They had to invest heavily, or they’d fall behind. Yet Outlas’s team quickly acquired several sets, distributing them among their members. Over the past few days, Outlas’s team’s strength had risen again; another team fight would reflect this.

The location of the Dragon Treasure was in this region. Morning Breeze and his companions did not rush in. It was the territory of the most powerful boss in the Bone Burial Grounds—the Whitebone Dragon. Entering risked instant death.