Chapter 321: Pathfinder Monsters (1)

At 10 o'clock sharp, the skies darkened and the clouds began to churn. Terrifying bolts of lightning flashed through the sky, while menacing booms of thunder sent all forms of life cowering in fear. They wept and lamented; almost as if they could feel the oncoming catastrophe.

The players gathered at Soundwave Temple raised their heads to look past the ocean’s water and towards the stormy skies above them, and a feeling of solemness washed over them. The calm ocean waters began to roil, and a large shadow suddenly appeared in the sky, painting a scene like the one back at Eight Trigrams Field. The six Sect Leaders and Four Guardians of the Southern Sea, along with Zhang Wudi, stood at the vanguard of the battle line. Behind them was Bai Hua, the Guardian’s disciples, and the six Lead Disciples. Further behind them stood the players and NPCs from the Six Great Sects.

"They’re here, ready yourselves!" Distant Tyrant of the Mara Hall was the first to speak. His voice was loud and distinct, clearly making its way towards everyone present. It was actually a little too loud and caused Shen Jingbin and company’s ears’ to throb in pain.

In that instant, the telltale light of various skills being activated could be seen. Everyone began buffing themselves and summoning their battle pets. Gentle Flower added a few more buffs to her companions, while Shen Jingbin summoned her four Divine Beasts.

The moment they appeared, the Four Divine Beasts took on their original form; the sacred inviolable Azure Dragon, the murderous White Tiger, the Vermillion Bird whose body was surrounded by fireballs, and the benevolent Black Tortoise who always carried itself in a dignified manner. Each of the Four Divine Beasts took their positions to form a protective circle around Shen Jingbin.

The players who were nearby all sighed in shock and admiration.

The faint roar of wild beasts could be heard from the ocean’s surface.

Poison Toad immediately began issuing commands when the sound of heavy objects hitting the water could be heard. “Disciples of the Lich Palace, heed my command: activate the barrier!”

"Yes!" Answered the Lich Palace players and NPCs in unison. They then began forming mudras with their hands, and an enormous golden dome appeared on top of everyone’s heads, enveloping the entirety of Soundwave Temple and the surrounding areas.

The Southern Sea wasn't actually that large, but since the battle between good and evil was being held there, the development team had made some modifications to the map. With Soundwave Temple and Reincarnation Pavilion at the center of the map as their focus, they opened up several parallel realms, making the map large enough to accommodate all the players.

The moment the golden barrier was activated, countless large objects smashed against it. Fortunately, this barrier was created through the efforts of all the players and NPCs of the Lich Palace, so it was extraordinarily resilient, and it only trembled slightly when faced with the vicious onslaught.

Suddenly, the Black Tortoise beside Shen Jingbin made an indescribable sound, and all the players from the Lich Palace who were conjuring the barrier felt their energy being replenished. The golden barrier was also affected, and it now boasted a mustard coloured radiance that caused all the monsters that smashed against it to bounce off it.

"Disciples of the Swordmaster Pavilion, heed my command! Exit the barrier and exterminate these monsters!"

"Disciples of the Nymph Abode, heed my command! Protect our comrades from the Dragonkin Tower!"

Fennel and Lu Yinzhou issued their orders at the same time. The result was an awe-inspiring roar from both NPCs and players of both sects. After which, the combined force of disciples crossed the barrier and smoothly worked with one another to cut through the Shinra Sect’s advance force of Pathfinder Monsters.

There were four different stages in the final battle between good and evil. In the first stage, the Pathfinder Monsters that the Shinra Sect sent out weren’t all that strong, but they came out in droves. The second stage would involve players battling against the Shinra Sect’s Guardian Monsters. The third stage consisted of the players on the side of good clashing head-on with the players of the Shinra Sect. The last stage was, of course, the battle against the five elders and the founder of the Shinra Sect - Jue Tian.

What's worth mentioning was the fact that players would only be able to proceed to the second stage if they exterminated all of the Pathfinder Monsters. From the second stage onwards, the rest of the stages would have individual time limits. The players from the good sects only had an hour to prevail against the Shinra Sect's Guardian Monsters. After an hour had passed, the third stage would begin, and the players from the Shinra Sect would enter the battlefield regardless of whether they’d managed to defeat the Guardian Monsters or not. From there, they’d only have another hour before the start of the fourth stage.

In short, if they wanted to have an easier time in the later stages, they’d have to kill as many Guardian Monsters and Shinra Sect players as they possibly could.

Taking into consideration the few players that were on the Shinra Sect’s side and the massive number of players that were on the side of the righteous sects, it was made such that players on the side of good wouldn’t be able to rejoin the battle once they died. Moreover, players from the Shinra Sect would be revived three times before they were eliminated from battle.

To win, players on the side of good had to work together to seal Jue Tian. On the other hand, the Shinra Sect players would win if they managed to destroy the Lamp of Life within the Watchtower of Longevity that was located on the west side of the Southern Sea.

The players on the side of good would gain a point if they killed a Pathfinder Monster, two points if they killed a Guardian Monster, and three points if they killed a player from the opposing faction. Once the battle ended, a leaderboard displaying the number of points each player had amassed would appear. Regardless of which faction they were from, the overall top three players would receive a mysterious reward.

Therefore, this battle which was to take place across the entirety of the Southern Sea was fated to be a difficult one.

The Pathfinder Monsters that the Shinra Sect had sent outnumbered twice that of the players on the side of good. Furthermore, these monsters were of varying races and levels, making it quite the problem to deal with.

Some players managed to eliminate the enormous monsters that they faced, only to be attacked by the poison of small parasitic animals that lived within these monsters. They would then go on to die from the poison before the Nymphs could heal them, and just like that, their part within the battle would come to a regretful close at the very first stage.