Calamity Messenger-Chapter 68 - 55: Power of Calamity

Unlike the Pearl Tears Alliance, the Comrades Association has not unlocked the second token of the Blade Warrior statues, it has merely increased their stats. So what is the actual combat effect?

Outside the city walls, three warriors charged straight at the Thunder Frenzy Lion, led by the Dragon-Breaking Warrior clad in massive armor, his height reaching two meters and thirty centimeters after donning the armor, with shoulders nearly a meter wide, making his head appear small. At first glance, he looked somewhat like a dragonfly warrior.

Wielding a long sword as tall as himself, he ran like a mudhead truck charging forward. The Thunder Frenzy Lion seemed threatened, tumbling on the spot to gather power, and its electrified paw struck toward the Dragon-Breaking Warrior!

Clang!

With a loud bang, the Dragon-Breaking Warrior’s arm was bent backward, as the Thunder Frenzy Lion attempted to pursue and attack with consecutive claw swings. But by then, the Blade Warrior wielding the long saber and the Chaos Warrior holding a sword and shield had arrived, circling the Thunder Frenzy Lion, managing to hold this Foundation Establishment Beast at bay!

This is the power of +100 Qi Blood and +100 Agility—even players focused on Qi Blood Agility at level 39 would usually only have around 100 Qi Blood and 100 Agility.

Even if the Demon King’s stats were slightly higher, a +100 in Qi Blood and +100 in Agility is nearly doubling their strength. Moreover, with each additional member from the Comrades Association, the effect stacks, meaning their Qi Blood Agility has already exceeded 300!

Though the exact stats of the Thunder Frenzy Lion are unknown, Yan Qing vaguely remembered that when high-level players opt for Qi Blood Foundation Establishment, the highest starting point upon reaching the Fourth-Turn is around 1000—ordinary players should be a hundred or two lower. Calculating this way, as a Fourth-Turn novice monster, the Thunder Frenzy Lion’s Qi Blood should be between 500 and 800, which means while it still surpasses the three warriors from the Comrades Association, it can no longer kill them with a single blow.

During this short time, both the Chaos Warrior and the Blade Warrior were injured again, but the Dragon-Breaking Warrior’s previously bent arm was restored completely. The formidable recovery power brought by 300 Qi Blood is sufficient to allow them to quickly recover from injuries in battle.

But it’s the same for the Thunder Frenzy Lion.

Despite being wounded countless times by the trio, the Thunder Frenzy Lion’s wounds healed at a visually observable speed, almost stopping bleeding the moment it was injured. If it weren’t for Mansu Forest Land forcing it to attack the Shelter, Yan Qing and the others would have had no chance to kill it—wounded, it would flee to heal, then return to fight, who could withstand it?

But now the Daffodil Mermaid, Funeral Mermaid, and Eagle Shooter have arrived to concentrate their fire, with their interference and control, the Thunder Frenzy Lion’s situation becomes even more difficult, its angry roars shaking the heavens and the earth.

Yan Qing saw the situation was quite stable and decisively controlled ’Jiang Shi’ to leap down the city wall to join the battlefield. Although possessing defensive tokens, engaging in such high-tier melee still presents considerable risk. At the Thunder Frenzy Lion’s speed, six claws per second is entirely possible, ’Jiang Shi’ might get killed instantly.

But Yan Qing trusted more in his skills—Yan Qing felt his dynamic vision and operational precision had surpassed that of his seventeen-year-old self; after changing profession to Martial Arts Messenger, he can fully exploit all character capabilities in-game.

Qian Gongyu, seeing this, also instinctively wanted to rush out, but was immediately held back by Shang Xinlei: "She’s breaching limits; you doing this is seeking your own death!"

"It’s too dangerous," Jie Yuan Shao said: "Why is she in such a hurry? With her talents, she could clearly reach the peak with slow cultivation just the same."

"It’s not so much about urgency as it is about clarity," Shang Xinlei said: "She is different from us... She is very clear about her path, taking each step with no hesitation, not regretting her choices for even a second."

Qian Gongyu was a bit surprised: "Do you mean you guys hesitate and regret?"

"Of course," Jie Yuan Shao’s voice was low: "The family sees me as the one with the best chance to reach the Fourth-Turn in this generation, but is my path right? I’m talented in swordsmanship, blade, and spear arts, but I’ve chosen swordsmanship... Can I truly delve into swordsmanship to its pinnacle and inquire towards Immortal Foundation?"

"I don’t have responsibilities as big as the Eldest Miss Jie, but I’m usually... opinionated, often doing things the family disallows," Shang Xinlei said: "Though I enjoy myself, I occasionally wonder if I’m wrong."

Qian Gongyu said: "I thought affluent bloodlines like yours would have life planned out early on..."

"True nobility doesn’t come from bloodline inheritance, but from determination forged through repeated trials,"

Jie Yuan Shao gazed at the battlefield where life and death interweave, a hint of admiration emerging on his otherwise solemn face: "Although I still don’t agree with her perilous approach, I can’t help but admit..."

"I truly wish to witness her future, everything about her."

After half an hour of relentless grinding combat, the Thunder Frenzy Lion finally succumbed to the torturous ordeal, shaking a few times before collapsing with a final roar. But Yan Qing’s side didn’t fare much better, with all three Comrades Association warriors at critical health, the Funeral Mermaid inadvertently killed, leaving only the Daffodil Mermaid and Eagle Shooter unscathed.

However, as the system prompts appear, all the hard work transforms into joy:

"’Bronze Hunter’ milestone reached."

"Iron Blood Long Saber (Jiang Shi’s exclusive blood weapon) has been unlocked, you can take it out of Mansu Forest Land."

"You have comprehended ’Advanced Footwork’, currently at level 3."

"You have comprehended ’Advanced Blade Technique’, currently at level 1."

"Due to players breaking through the fifth level for the first time, the next wave of monsters will attack in 59:59."

Yan Qing found it odd; for the third and fourth waves, he deliberately let numerous monsters go to help teammates unseal blood weapons, therefore, his current kill count was only just above two hundred, still far from three hundred, how did it suddenly unseal?

Upon careful inspection, he discovered that because he contributed 10% of the output against the Thunder Frenzy Lion, the game rewarded him with 50 kill counts.

This means that solo killing the Thunder Frenzy Lion equals directly killing five hundred monsters. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

But who can kill a Fourth-Turn monster solo using a First-Turn Token? A Seventh-Turn player?

The more Yan Qing plays, the more he feels there are numerous untapped contents in this dungeon, but unfortunately, his level is too low, he can only wait until next year if he wants to return.

"Tomorrow we’ll have half an hour for search time, aiming to break through the tenth level."

"There are Fourth-Turn Demon Fiends appearing in the fifth level; what kind of monsters will appear in the tenth level?" Qian Gongyu lamented.

"Is advancing to the tenth level that important?" Shang Xinlei was very perceptive.

"Very important."

"Then let’s go back and take a good rest; strive hard tomorrow," Jie Yuan Shao said. "Tonight we can discuss the building plans over dinner."

The four stepped into the mist, Qian Gongyu exclaimed, "My iron claw is missing!"

"My flying ring is missing too; didn’t manage to bring it out due to insufficient enemy kills," Shang Xinlei glanced at ’Jiang Shi.’ "Were you able to bring your blood weapon out?"

"Yes."

"Can it be hidden?" Jie Yuan Shao looked at ’Jiang Shi,’ his tone devoid of command, without demand, just a simple inquiry.

Seeing ’Jiang Shi’ readily put away the Iron Blood Long Saber, the group’s mood relaxed a bit, stepping out of the thick mist with lighter, brisk steps.

"Yuanshao!"

"Welcome back, everyone."

"Did the Thunder Frenzy Lion appear in there just now?"

"You defeated the Fourth-Turn Demon Fiend?"

Just as they stepped out of Mansu Forest Land, the group who had been waiting outside for over half an hour immediately surrounded them. Jie Zilong focused on whether Jie Yuan Shao was safe, while Qunyu Book and Chen Linchuan were more interested in what had happened inside, blocking the team of four in front of them full of curiosity and excitement.

Once Shang Xinlei gave a positive reply, Chen Linchuan’s pupils contracted sharply, his mouth opened and shut as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately said nothing; on the other hand, Qunyu Book was very straightforward, directly giving them a thumbs-up, face full of admiration, "Awesome!"

"Do you have the ability to defeat the Thunder Frenzy Lion?"

A pale-faced middle-aged man behind them suddenly asked, "You don’t even have a Third-Turn Messenger; how do you withstand the Thunder Frenzy Lion’s attack?"

Qian Gongyu quickly replied, "That’s obviously thanks to—"

"You’re hungry." Shang Xinlei swiftly covered Qian Gongyu’s mouth, "Sorry, we’re tired and hungry, let’s talk later."

The middle-aged man nodded. Just when everyone thought this topic was temporarily ended, his right hand suddenly stretched out bizarrely, like a poisonous snake attacking ’Jiang Shi!’

Smack!

The first to react wasn’t ’Jiang Shi,’ nor any Third-Turn Messenger, but Qian Gongyu, who was closest and most attentive to ’Jiang Shi!’

She reached out to confront the middle-aged man’s snake-like arm, trading blows thrice in a flash!

"Stop!"

"Lu Xiaoqi!"

The surrounding people immediately separated the middle-aged man from Qian Gongyu and others, Jie Zilong’s face extremely dour, "Lu Xiaoqi, you’ve come all the way to Mansu Forest Land just to control the situation with force? Is this your intention, or the Court’s intention?"

"Lu Wangji," Qunyu Book smirked without a smile, "There’s no need for hands-on approach, let’s discuss things slowly. Your Xiaoqi Guard’s habit of probing people needs to change."

However, the middle-aged man merely stared at his right hand, expression as if seeing a ghost. He glanced at Qian Gongyu behind the crowd, slowly raised his right hand for everyone to see three bloody marks scratched on his palm.

"Lu Wangji, has your power declined to the point even a girl can hurt you?" Chen Linchuan mocked aloud.

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"My Heart-Protecting Mirror is always in effect; her Silk Hand Token is decent, but no way could it break through the Sevenfold Mirror of the Heart-Protecting Mirror." He stated, "Her attack didn’t even break the First Mirror Surface, yet I was still injured."

"Moreover, several breaths have passed, and my wound continues to bleed."

Upon hearing this, Jie Zilong and others’ faces slightly changed, all turning to look at Qian Gongyu. The unprecedented attention caused Qian Gongyu to tense instantly, stepping cautiously behind ’Jiang Shi.’

"Ignoring Token Authority, hindering Qi Blood self-Healing, to my knowledge, only one power can do this."

Middle-aged man Lu Wangji slowly articulated a term Yan Qing found somewhat familiar:

"Power of Calamity."