The Iron Cyclone trembled at the words, his knees hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
"You have to protect me! Everything I did, I did to help you!"
The man in the room waved a dismissive hand. "What’s the deal with that Adventurer? How could he force you into such a pathetic retreat?"
"It’s that Red-Name Status player. His Attack Velocity and damage are terrifying. His attacks even chain lightning—a single arrow wipes out dozens of us at once."
A cold, murderous glint flickered in the man’s eyes.
"So it’s him. To think he’d dare interfere with our plans while carrying such heavy Infamy Points."
The Iron Cyclone chimed in eagerly, "Exactly! That brat is way too arrogant. We have to teach him a lesson."
"I’ll have The Queen issue a Queen's Edict. I'll send an Imperial Guard Captain to haul him in and lock him up for a fortnight. We’ll deal with him properly once The Throne War is over."
"Wise, truly wise. I'll take my leave now."
Liam was oblivious to the conspiracy.
He had already tracked down the spawning grounds of the Level 45 Blood-Backed Black Turtle.
He stood beside a small lake. Its waters were a murky, dark ink, giving off an eerie vibe as if the depths reached straight into the underworld.
Liam scanned the area. Blood-red stones were scattered across the shore in a seemingly deliberate pattern.
However, these weren't stones—they were Blood-Backed Black Turtles deep in slumber.
Blood-Backed Black Turtle (Normal): Level 45
HP: 6850/6850
Attack: 518
Skills: Blood-Thirsty Shell, Water Orb
The common monsters in Twilight of the Gods remained as underwhelming as ever.
Even for a Level 45 tank-type monster, its attributes weren't particularly impressive.
To Liam, these turtles were one-shot fodder. Thanks to Chain Lightning, a single arrow could drop over a dozen of them simultaneously.
The real reason Liam had chosen this spot was to lure out the Elite Grade and Black Iron Grade variants.
With Liam’s hunting efficiency, it took less than fifteen minutes before an Elite Grade Blood-Backed Black Turtle emerged.
Blood-Backed Black Turtle (Elite): Level 45
HP: 51375/51375
Attack: 928
Skills: Blood-Thirsty Shell, Water Orb, Water Arrow, Magic Water Shield
With over fifty thousand HP, it could finally withstand a few of Liam's Basic Attacks.
Given his current damage, if he deliberately avoided hitting weak points, the turtle could survive five hits.
It only lasted that long because of its powerful health-regeneration passive and the Blood-Thirsty Shell skill.
Blood-Thirsty Shell: Absorbs a portion of incoming damage to heal the user.
Whiz!
Whiz!
Liam’s Attack Velocity had already surpassed 8.0. Combined with the Gale-Runner Set’s bonus—which stacked Attack Velocity and Move Speed with every Basic Attack—his speed easily broke the 10.0 threshold.
Even an Elite Grade couldn't last a full second under his relentless barrage.
This was exactly why Liam didn't care about his inability to level up right now.
As long as his attributes kept climbing, leveling would eventually become child's play.
[System Prompt]: Due to your mass slaughter of Blood-Backed Black Turtles, the Blood-Eyed Dragon Turtle is displeased. It has dispatched a swarm of Blood-Eyed Black Turtles to hunt you down.
Liam cocked an eyebrow. "Finally, they're here."
The Blood-Eyed Black Turtle was a Black Iron Grade boss.
However, in a Level 45 zone, a Black Iron boss was merely a vanguard, unlike in the Novice Village where they ruled as undisputed kings of their species.
One by one, turtles with glowing crimson eyes crawled out of the dark lake.
Blood-Eyed Black Turtle (Black Iron): Level 45
HP: 1284375/1284375
Attack: 5680
Skills: Blood-Thirsty Shell, Chain Water Orbs, Chain Water Arrows, Blood-Venom Art, Water Dragon Pulse, Water Pillar Burst, Berserk, Unstoppable
Below Level 50, Black Iron Grade bosses rarely broke the one-million HP mark unless they were inside a Dungeon or a Secret Realm.
Liam raised his hand.
An arrow tore through the air.
-14,298!
The damage was substantial.
However, Blood-Thirsty Shell triggered immediately, and healing numbers popped up over the boss's head.
+2859
+500
One heal came from the shell, the other from its innate passive.
Liam didn't mind. The longer the Blood-Eyed Black Turtle survived, the more benefits he reaped for his stacks.
Ten arrows per second. Over a hundred thousand damage per second.
The boss lasted barely twelve seconds before collapsing.
[System Prompt]: You have achieved the World First for Blood-Eyed Black Turtle. A Server-Wide Broadcast is about to commence. Would you like to hide your name?
"No."
[Server-Wide Broadcast]: Congratulations to player Frost Monarch for achieving the World First kill of the Blood-Eyed Black Turtle! We hope all players continue their hard work.
[Server-Wide Broadcast]: Congratulations to player Frost Monarch for achieving the World First kill of the Blood-Eyed Black Turtle! We hope all players continue their hard work.
The announcement echoed across the Star-Rank The Astral Kingdom, and several keen-witted players immediately connected the dots.
"Send someone to Black-Water Lake. I suspect the one who killed Valerius Geryon is Frost Monarch," Misty Snow commanded, her eyes sharp.
Ever since Demon King Geryon issued the bounty, she had dispatched over a dozen Assassins to find the marked player.
With the Demon King’s mark, his identity would be confirmed the moment they got close.
It wasn't just Misty Snow; other top clubs were suspecting Liam as well.
At this stage, who else but Frost Monarch could possibly slay a son of a Demon King?
There was also that Red-Name Status player, of course.
But rumors were already circulating that the Red-Name player and Frost Monarch were the same person.
After killing the first boss, Liam moved on to the second.
As vanguards, these Blood-Eyed Black Turtles spawned in groups of five at Black-Water Lake.
Clearing all five took him exactly one minute.
"Boring," Liam sighed. The five bosses had granted him less than two thousand bonus HP.
"I suppose I'll have to force the The Dragon Turtle to spawn and use it to stack my health."
Liam sat to the side, sorting through his loot while pondering if there were any better spots to farm HP.
The answer was no.
Without completing his Class Change, he couldn't enter zones above Level 50. For anything below that level, this was the optimal spot.
The best move now was to force the Blood-Backed Black Turtle Dungeon to spawn.
Once the dungeon opened, the mobs on Hell Difficulty would have significantly higher HP than their open-world counterparts—they were essentially "super-buffed" versions.
Furthermore, Liam was waiting.
He was waiting for Leona.
He had killed Valerius Geryon; it was about time she delivered his reward.
Just then, Liam noticed a unit of soldiers approaching.
"The Royal Guard!"
Liam’s eyebrows shot up. Judging by their pace, they were heading straight for him.
As they drew closer, a smirk played on his lips.
There were twenty-one guards in total. Twenty were Level 50 Bronze-rank guards, led by a commander who was a Level 50 Silver Grade guard.
Generally speaking, these palace guards rarely left The Royal Palace.
When something abnormal happened, there was usually a "demon" behind it.
Liam walked toward them directly.
Are you here to give me trouble? he wondered.
If so, that’s fantastic. I was just worrying about finding strong enough mobs to stack my HP!
He had a hunch.
The letter he’d found back in Black-Wind Stronghold proved that the bandits were working for a high-ranking official in the Star-Rank The Astral Kingdom.
The arrival of the Royal Guard was almost certainly linked to that.
"Evil-doer! Your crimes are many, and you have slaughtered the innocent. I have orders to apprehend you. Surrender now, and save yourself the pain!"
Bingo.
The Imperial Guard Captain’s words confirmed Liam’s theory.
"Apprehend me? On whose authority?" Liam asked.
"That is none of your concern," the Captain snorted. "Surrendering is your best option."
"Surrender?" Liam grinned playfully. "Why don't you try and make me? If you dare lay a hand on me, I'll slaughter every last one of you."
The Captain's brow furrowed. His spear suddenly lashed out like a viper, lunging straight for Liam’s throat.
Liam shifted his weight, letting the spear bite into his shoulder instead of his neck.
-54,982!
A massive damage number floated above Liam’s head.
As a Level 50 Silver Grade guard—and an elite palace official at that—his damage output was at the top tier for Silver Grade bosses.
[System Prompt]: You have been maliciously attacked. You may now retaliate freely.
Liam’s lips curled up. This was exactly what he wanted.
Whiz!
Liam retreated instantly, firing an arrow in the same motion.
"All together!"
The Captain didn't underestimate his opponent. Before leaving, The Queen had made it clear: failure was not an option.
Besides, as Royal Guards, their true strength lay not in duels, but in coordinated unit tactics.
The twenty Bronze guards began to encircle Liam.
Liam immediately fired a Quintuple Shot and began kiting with everything he had.
With a Move Speed over 14.0, he was just as fast as these Bronze guards.
"Dragon-Snaring Spear!"
At the commander's shout, the guards simultaneously hurled their spears.
Liam adjusted his footing, but he realized the spears weren't aimed at his body—they were meant to wall off his escape routes.
Each spear was thrown at a treacherous angle. If Liam’s reactions were even a fraction slower, his legs would have been pinned.
"You think this can trap me? In your dreams."
Liam kicked off the shaft of a grounded spear, vaulting into the air.
He twisted mid-flight and unleashed another Quintuple Shot.
"Vaulting into the air in front of me? Death wish!"
A cold light flashed in the commander's eyes. He blurred, appearing directly beneath Liam, his spear thrusting upward.
The freezing glint of the spear tip rushed toward him. Liam performed a mid-air 360-degree flip, the spear scraping past his armor.
The moment he hit the ground, another arrow was already in flight.
The commander swatted the arrow aside with his spear and lunged again.
A spectral image of a roaring tiger coiled around his weapon.
Liam sensed the danger. As he fired a Quintuple Shot, he dumped all 100 of his accumulated AP into Move Speed.
Once Move Speed passes 10.0, each AP only grants 0.05 speed. Still, those 100 points gave him a solid 5.0 boost.
With his Move Speed now over 19.0, Liam flickered out of the way, but he couldn't entirely clear the tiger phantom's AOE.
-87,958!!
Another staggering damage number.
Even a glancing blow was enough to shave off a massive chunk of his health.
However, the Gale-Runner Set’s stacks were now fully active. His Move Speed was over 20.0, and his Attack Velocity had broken 10.0.
He could heal through Life-Steal.
Quintuple Shot!
The commander could deflect the arrows, but the Bronze guards weren't that skilled.
With Liam’s blistering Attack Velocity, their reactions couldn't keep up.
Four arrows would deal over fifty thousand damage, while simultaneously restoring nearly twenty thousand HP to Liam.
Between the 1% Max HP heal from the Bloodstained Necklace and the 5% Life-Steal from The Ninefold Longbow, Liam's sustain was incredible.
Now that his speed had crossed 20.0, Liam finally had the breathing room to kite the Bronze guards.
But the Silver Grade commander charged again.
He transformed into an afterimage, tearing right through Liam’s position.
-125,820!!
A gargantuan damage number erupted over Liam’s head.
Liam sucked in a sharp breath, but his hands never faltered.
Ten Quintuple Shots per second.
Each Quintuple Shot restored over twenty thousand HP. In a single second, he could recover over two hundred thousand HP.
Thus, as high as the commander's damage was, Liam could still out-sustain it.
"Dragon-Locking Claw!"
The commander barked another order. The Bronze guards instantly swapped their weapons for flying claws attached to iron chains.
They began swinging the claws, building momentum.
The commander’s spear hummed with a low vibration as he charged once more.
As he reached Liam, he executed a high-speed flicker, appearing directly behind him.
Liam reacted with a sideways Tactical Scramble. Even though his reaction speed was peak-human, the Level 50 Silver Grade boss was faster. Liam had barely started the movement when the commander’s spear caught him, launching him into the air.
The moment Liam was airborne, the flying claws shot toward him like a web.
Liam’s expression tightened. Under normal circumstances, he’d be a sitting duck.
But he had the Purifying Jade Amulet.
He possessed 80% immunity to knock-up and displacement effects.
Instead of a long flight, his momentum was cut short, and he dropped back to the ground almost instantly.
The claws whistled through the air where he should have been, catching nothing but wind.
The commander blinked in surprise as Liam landed.
Liam seized that split-second hesitation to put as much distance between them as possible.
Recovering, the commander leaped high and thrust his spear.
In a flash, a beam of spear-qi arrived.
Liam had started his dodge the moment the commander moved, but the qi was too fast. It clipped him.
CRACK!
A sharp snap echoed.
The pauldron on Liam’s left shoulder shattered into fragments.
The durability had hit zero—the piece was destroyed!
Liam’s face darkened.
He was highly compatible with the Gale-Runner Set, and losing a piece so early into the fight stung.
Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!!
Arrows continued to rain down.
For a moment, Liam considered using The Tome of Mortality.
Then he dismissed the thought.
He needed these guards to farm his HP. If he used the Tome, he’d waste this perfect opportunity.
Moreover, a high-intensity battle like this was the perfect forge to hone his combat techniques.
If he messed up now, the worst that could happen was a trip back to the Altar of Rebirth.
But once The Cataclysm arrived, a single mistake would mean eternal oblivion.
"Dragon-Binding Shackles!"
The commander roared again, and the Bronze guards swapped their weapons once more.