Chapter 701 - 664: Divine Equipment in the Blacksmith Shop

As Selvia’s mysterious harp music began to play, the already congested Demon Army seemed to fall into further disarray.

Anlicia was not content to be outdone by others, and with a wave of her hand, a dazzling Demon Light shone, and suddenly a large number of Illusion Army troops appeared beside the battle formation. These Illusion Forest Goddess Army troops took the initiative to charge towards the Demon Army, attempting to further disrupt the Demons. Illusion magic like this, of course, doesn’t work well on players but is quite effective against computer-controlled monsters, distracting a portion of the Demon Army and changing their charge direction instantly.

And so, under the exhibition of Divine Skills by various heroes, the entire battlefield was absolutely controlled by Da Fei, with thousands of Flesh Demons becoming live targets for Da Fei’s troops, falling in succession, until finally their continuation waned and defeat was a foregone conclusion.

Amidst his roaring laughter, Da Fei also began to review the gains and losses of this battle with a sense of relief.

In this battle, everyone unleashed their Divine Skills, and there was nothing much to say about that. The biggest highlight was Billbo; without him, our army wouldn’t have had it so easy. The biggest regret was not fully utilizing the 20% speed boost of the Divine Artifact Bow.

Now, thinking it over carefully, Da Fei of course knew where the problem lay. A mere 20% speed increase only boosts 10 speed up to 12 speed, which indeed isn’t a very significant advantage.

However, if one is fully equipped with gear that pushes attack speed to the limit, a 20% increase would be absolutely terrifying. It would mean not just striking before the opponent, but striking two or even three times before the opponent’s troops can even react. That’s the essence of extreme high-speed combat, and it’s the high-speed approach that South Korean experts were so keen on during the open beta. Coupled with the Elf Clan’s well-known talent for rapid assault, it often meant that right from the start of a battle they could shoot like machine guns and mow down the opposition.

High-speed is indeed cool, but it is the most difficult attribute to acquire in the game. Leveling up doesn’t increase Attack Speed, and neither do most achievements or quests; usually, equipment is the only way to boost it. And gear that increases Attack Speed often doesn’t add to attack and defense. Da Fei’s Captain’s Sword, with its +1 to every attribute, is a rare gem that increases both Attack Speed and attack and defense damage, although these enviable attributes now seem barely worthy in Da Fei’s view.

In summary, pursuing high-speed comes with the cost of falling behind in attack and defense attributes, where hitting the opponent twice may not hurt as much as the opponent hitting you once. This places extremely high demands on troop types and the hero’s own attributes; it’s truly not a play style that average players can afford.

But Da Fei is not an average player! With his many side jobs, his attack and defense attributes are now sky-high, and his troops are formidable, so pursuing high-speed comes without burden. To bring out the 20% Attack Speed increase power of the Divine Artifact Bow, he would need to stack gear that boosts speed.

While Da Fei claims to be fully geared with Divine Artifacts, in reality, he’s only got a Divine Artifact Shield, Divine Artifact Necklace, and some very high-end trinkets. The rest of the main pieces, like the Captain’s Sword, Spider Demon Armor, Spider Demon Boots, Blood Wolf King Set, look pretty pitiful! Aside from an A-grade Speed Cloak given by the American during the last National War, Da Fei has no other speed-boosting gear.

And what does it mean that the American had an A-grade Speed Cloak so early on? It implies that the American had been preparing the high-speed strategy for some time. The reason why Da Fei hasn’t felt the power of the opponent’s strategy in this competition may be because his Elina cleared the field with one shot, or perhaps because the opponent’s high-speed strategy hasn’t fully formed yet. Once given more time, it would be quite dangerous for Da Fei to face a master of high-speed techniques.

Now, Da Fei resolved: It’s time to lead the trend and embark on the high-speed approach.

The requirements for normal high-speed aren’t too high; just adding 1 or 2 points of speed to each gear piece, accumulating 10 points of Attack Speed can immediately show effects, allowing one to shoot an extra arrow compared to ordinary archers without speed stacking. The rest is about seeking to further improve high-speed troop types. But with Da Fei’s Divine Bow in hand, there is no need to bother with any high-speed troop types.

During this period of contemplation, the situation on the battlefield began to settle rapidly. As the number of demons on the battlefield declined, so did the number sharing the Magic damage with Elina, enabling Elina’s magic to finally start showing its power.

Now, nearly a thousand Flesh Demons lay strewn across the wilderness, with the remote reinforcements far from catching up, leaving the Sealing Array wide open to Da Fei’s troops.

Passing the test was just that simple! Da Fei burst into laughter and waved his hand, "Charge, all troops!"

The troops stepped over the corpses of the Flesh Demons to reach the Sealing Array, as a golden light descended from the sky: Ror, here to break the Sealing Array, spoke, "Warrior, you have lived up to expectations by successfully destroying a Sealing Array. However, the Demon reinforcements are about to arrive, I suggest you retreat and regroup immediately."

Retreat after just one fight? That’s not my style, is it? Da Fei looked around; everyone seemed fine, but Billbo was drenched in cold sweat and pale—a clear sign of aftershocks from a powerful skill.

Ah well, nothing more to say, times are different now, time to retreat. After all, to Da Fei’s team, these monsters are just grist for the mill providing renown, and he can come back for another round after regrouping.

With Da Fei’s troops retreating, the entire Despair Plain was once again overrun by the floodlike Demon Army.

"I’m truly sorry, I didn’t even get a chance to act," Tachiusu said with a laugh.

Da Fei laughed heartily, "No need for Miss Tachiusu to take action on goods of such quality. But it really has been tough on Billbo!" He said so while patting Billbo’s shoulder, "How are you holding up? Can you handle it?"

Billbo gritted his teeth and said, "Lord City Lord, I can do it!"

Ah, I knew the lad liked to put on a brave front. Da Fei laughed heartily, "Good, after you rest up back in town, we’ll continue!"

Tachiusu sighed, "Are the Demons here endless? It’s a shame, all these Demon corpses. If the Nasir Ancient Tree were here, it would be truly delighted."

Da Fei was suddenly shocked! Nasir Ancient Tree? Damn it! Why didn’t I think of that? A being like it, unrivaled in the mortal realm, should definitely come here to show off its power! I need to have these Demons contribute to my prestige while alive, and to my fertilizer when dead!

However, there’s a prerequisite. Can a construct creature like Nasir even be teleported? Even if it could, its Command Value is as high as 1000, which is not something that the current Nightmare Crystal can teleport. Anyway, first I need to fill up the Divine Artifact Crystal with energy in the Nightmare Space and give it a try. If it really can be teleported here, who knows how much it can be fattened up? Mwahaha!

Amidst the cheers of the Angels on the city walls, Da Fei’s troops returned to Divine Punishment City.

Ror was already at the city gate with a beaming smile, "Warrior, you have now successfully taken down a Sealing Array. According to the agreement, you’ve earned a Crusader spot, but only Lord Sazer has the power to advance you. So, Warrior, you must wait until Lord Sazer is available."

Da Fei laughed heartily, "No problem, no rush, no rush. We still need to fight seven times in and out and gather more spoils of war to strengthen our military preparedness."

Ror smiled, "Exactly. Please, Warrior, rest up and prepare. When you’re ready to strike again, come find me."

"Understood."

Now Da Fei had a lot to do. This time, after killing nearly a thousand Flesh Demons and obtaining over a hundred Demon Essences, plus the 400-plus from the Elite Demons killed in the morning, Da Fei could exchange for another Angel and still have some leftover. However, Da Fei had already resolved to take the high-speed route, so he couldn’t help but glance at the display in the neighboring blacksmith shop, which he had found quite impressive and expensive in the morning.

Blacksmith Will said pleasantly, "Welcome, our Warrior. Now, you will enjoy a 10% discount in our city. Is there any equipment you need?"

Da Fei cleared his throat, "I need to enhance my Attack Speed with some strategic equipment. Can I take a look at that type?"

Will laughed heartily, "Good question, Warrior! I do have the best Attack Speed gear, typically I don’t even bother showing it to ordinary people. But you, Warrior, are different. You are worthy of this equipment. Let me find it!" Saying so, he eagerly started rummaging through his stock.

Sure enough, only when you have the right reputation will NPCs show players the good stuff that ordinary players can’t see. Da Fei chuckled, "Take your time, no rush."

While Will was searching, Da Fei checked the Mercenary Army’s hiring list again, pondering over how best to spend his precious 500 essences—well, 450 essences—to exchange for what kind of Angel. According to his original plan, he definitely needed the Stamina-replenishing Wisdom Angels and Power Angels in number to be effective. But now, the situation had changed. He had a team now, and he no longer needed to fight prolonged battles, so the significance of replenishing mana and stamina was gone. What he needed now was a powerful clearing force, like the long-axe-wielding Power Angels.

This made Da Fei hesitate.

In his moment of indecision, Blacksmith Will held up a pair of silver, shimmering gauntlets and laughed, "Found it!"

——Wind God’s Strike: S-level strategic equipment, glove slot, Troop Attack Speed +3, Damage +1, Attack +10, Defense +10. (Price: 9000 Demon Essences)

Achoo! Da Fei sprayed blood from his nose! Holy crap, top-notch! Super top-notch! As a pair of gloves, just having +10 to both attack and defense is already pretty badass, and it even adds +3 Attack Speed! Not +1, not +2, but +3! And it comes with a bonus of +1 damage for the whole army! Mother of god, who says gear that boosts Attack Speed always has trash attributes? That’s because they haven’t encountered the real deal! Worthy of Divine Punishment City, worthy of an Angel Level blacksmith, worthy of a hellish scene!

But the problem is, 9000 Demon Essences! Does that mean the original price was 10,000? Does that mean I just need to farm it a hundred times, a hundred times, and it’s mine? The question is, should I expand my team with Angels first or save up essences to get Divine Equipment?

Oh heavens, oh earth, why did you have to show me such good stuff? The agony of indecision! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)