Chapter 73: Beyond the Speed Limit
Liam was currently Level 50. Facing Level 100 Gold-grade bosses, their control effects received a significant bonus against him. This was why, despite his 90% crowd control reduction, he was still being hit by a continuous chain of stuns.
But Liam didn't care. Down below, Blackwind City was already reaching its limit. If he continued to stall, the city's fall was only a matter of time.
The Realm War Liam had been expecting still hadn't started. It seemed King Abraham had sensed something and didn't want to trigger the total conflict so soon. After all, in his previous life, figures like Archmage Abyr and General Flynn hadn't appeared until long after the Realm War began. Now, they were making their moves before the war had even officially started.
Another sixty seconds passed.
Liam’s HP plummeted to one million, but this time, he didn't use Lunar Purge. Its cooldown was ten minutes, and it wasn't ready yet.
Besides... with Purification as his backup, he couldn't let them lose hope just yet.
The primary reason the Realm War hadn't ignited was likely because they believed Flynn and Abyr could finish him off. Once Liam died, two Level 100 Gold-grade bosses could join the main battlefield and instantly reverse the situation in Blackwind City. Since their plan was to kill him, Liam decided to play along and let them "succeed" once.
And then... Instant Rebirth would plunge them into true despair.
When his HP hit 700,000, Verdant Rebirth triggered. Currently at four stars, the skill restored 40% of his maximum HP. In just a few breaths, his HP surged back up to over 3.5 million.
Flynn and Abyr were starting to feel numb. Killing this Frost Monarch was proving to be a nightmare. More importantly... Flynn’s mana was running dry.
Though only two minutes had passed, they had been forced to chain their skills every 0.5 seconds to keep Liam locked down. Even with Abyr sharing the burden, Flynn still had to fire off one or even two skills every single second. Despite his vast arsenal, he had already burned through over a hundred skills in those two minutes.
As a warrior, his core attributes were resistances, HP, and Attack Power; his mana pool wasn't particularly deep. In this high-intensity struggle, Flynn’s mana was on the verge of depletion. Abyr’s mana was still plenty; as a mage, a massive mana pool was a necessity, and his gear provided significant bonuses to it.
Flynn realized he couldn't keep this up.
"I'm low on mana. Take point; I'll support you."
As he spoke, Flynn quickly downed a mana potion.
Liam’s lips curled into a sneer. "Now!"
Chugging a potion only took an instant. But in that fleeting opening—a window of less than 0.2 seconds—Liam had already put distance between them. Simultaneously, a flurry of arrows poured out.
"Rampart of the Earth!"
Abyr waved his staff, summoning a massive earthen wall that intercepted all of Liam’s projectiles. "You think you're getting away to heal? Dream on!"
Liam gave a playful smirk and dove straight toward the ground. He was a sitting duck in the open sky. Better to leave the air and vanish into the chaotic battlefield below.
"Where do you think you're going!" Flynn charged after him in hot pursuit.
Liam equipped the Bangle of Fortune and unleashed a berserk offensive. Within a second, Skyfire Meteor triggered. Flaming meteors rained from the heavens, dealing catastrophic damage. Naturally, the blast indiscriminately incinerated several Demon's Den Night-Walkers.
The Veiled Overseer frowned at the sight from a distance but remained silent. He noticed that as soon as Skyfire Meteor hit, Liam’s HP recovered by over three million!
"So this is the Frost Monarch? A single skill and he’s back to full health."
Skyfire Meteor counted as a skill, not a Basic Attack; otherwise, a single trigger would have topped Liam off completely. Even so, the sight made Abyr and Flynn’s skin crawl.
Liam’s survivability was terrifying. It bordered on the impossible.
"Lock him down! Don't let him heal again!" Abyr roared, his composure fracturing. He had never encountered anything as absurd as Liam. High HP, massive damage, and insane recovery. Was this even human? Could a Level 50 adventurer really be this powerful?
"I can't! My mana is spent!" Flynn shouted. He was already low, and the two movement skills he used to chase Liam had sucked the last of his reserves dry.
"Arthur Thorne, do it!" Abyr called out toward the distance.
Liam’s brow arched. This wasn't good. Across the field, the Veiled Overseer’s eyes narrowed as well.
Arthur Thorne!
The younger brother of Alistair Thorne, Grand Marshal of the Astral Kingdom. His strength was rumored to be on par with his brother’s. Recently, Arthur had been cozying up to King Abraham, and rumors suggested he had already surpassed Alistair. Whether he had or not, his sheer power was an indisputable fact.
"Sweeping the Thousand Armies!"
Arthur descended from the sky like a comet. His spear flashed, and a single horizontal sweep annihilated hundreds of Night-Walkers. It was a terrifying display.
"So that’s Arthur Thorne..." Liam muttered. To deal such astronomical damage with a single AoE skill... this wasn't the kind of power a Gold-grade Second Advancement character should possess.
Unless... Arthur Thorne was Platinum-grade!!
Liam fixed his gaze on the newcomer.
Arthur Thorne (??): ???
HP: ???
Attack: ???
Skills: ???
He could see the grades and levels of Abyr and the others, but Arthur was a total blank. Either Arthur was one of the very few Third Advancement experts in the Astral Kingdom, or he was Platinum-grade. Or, most likely, both.
Regardless of the reason, Arthur was an absolute powerhouse. He wasn't someone Liam could face head-on.
"Hiding behind a mask, are we? Let me end your life right here!"
Arthur blurred into a phantom. His spear pierced straight through Liam's body.
CRITICAL!!
-689,801!!
A staggering damage number popped up. Liam sucked in a sharp breath. The damage was insane. Before Arthur’s first strike even faded, his second attack was already lunging for Liam’s throat.
Liam’s pupils shrank. He executed a sudden backflip, narrowly dodging the blow.
Arthur sneered. "Nice reflexes. But against absolute power, your little tricks won't save you."
In a flash, Arthur appeared behind Liam, his spear thrusting toward the back of Liam's head. A Weakness Attack! If this landed, Liam would lose hundreds of thousands of HP in a heartbeat. Arthur wasn't significantly faster than Liam, but the natural advantage of a melee class closing in on an archer was overwhelming.
Liam had no room to dodge.
Twilight of the Gods was a game designed for team play. Priest, Burst Mage, Control Mage, Array Mage, Guardian, Berserker Warrior, Knight, Sumonner, Burst Archer, and Utility Archer—the ten essential classes for any raiding party. A standard team required two Priests and two Guardians, making a twelve-man party the norm. Most dungeons in the game capped their player limit at twelve for this very reason.
As for Assassins? Assassins didn't belong in a party! Their single-target burst was high, but their sustained damage was trash, they couldn't tank, and their short range meant they usually died right after dumping their combo. You were always better off bringing another Mage or Priest. A geared Mage dealt as much damage as an Assassin from a safe distance without getting one-shot.
Liam was powerful, but he had never truly played in a party. His "team-ups" with players like Bulwark Pagoda didn't count; he was just power-leveling them. Now, the weakness of a solo player was laid bare. Being cornered by a high-tier warrior like Arthur was almost too much to handle.
This was exactly why he was training Monty and Barney. No matter how strong a person was, they always had a blind spot. With his current stats, if someone could just distract Arthur, Liam could kill him in under a minute. But right now, he was on his own.
CRITICAL!
-319,850!!
Another massive chunk of HP vanished. Liam didn't hesitate. He immediately dumped 185 AP into his Movement Speed, bumping it up to 20. With a speed of 20, he was finally on even footing with Arthur.
Arthur’s expression shifted. "How are you moving that fast?!" He was genuinely shocked. "A Level 50... with this much speed?"
Liam was indeed Level 50, but he had amassed thousands of unspent AP. And he wasn't finished. He realized that at 20 speed, he was only matching Arthur—perhaps even slightly slower. He spent another 400 AP, boosting his Movement Speed to 30 in one go!
Why? Because he had points to burn! This single burst of 585 AP would have been enough to propel a player to Level 117. Even after this massive expenditure, Liam still had over 2,300 AP left.
He briefly considered dumping another 2,000 AP into Attack Speed, but decided against it for now. 20 Attack Speed was sufficient. His problem wasn't damage or frequency of fire; as long as he had the space to work, he could melt Arthur in a minute. He just lacked a frontline to hold the line. Barney would have been perfect for this; with his attributes, he'd be an absolute wall.
However, with his Movement Speed now at 30, Arthur could no longer keep up with him.
"Goddammit! This is impossible!" Speed wasn't Arthur’s strongest suit, but he never imagined a Level 50 adventurer could outrun him.
"Galewind Wings!"
Arthur took to the air, his speed surging as he began to close the gap. Liam’s lips curved upward. He finally understood the true value of Movement Speed. In his past life, he lacked a top-tier innate talent and couldn't afford to focus on speed. But now, the sudden boost made him feel like he could dodge basic attacks just by walking. Watching the gap between him and Arthur widen again was surreal.
"If speed is this good, let's go higher!"
Liam dropped another 800 AP into Movement Speed. His pace exploded. Even while flying, Arthur was now barely keeping pace.
"No way! How is he so fast?!"
Liam glanced back at Arthur and grinned. "Nice flying. But I can go faster."
Another 800 AP. Movement Speed: 45. Remaining AP: 780.
Now, even with his wings, Arthur was falling behind.
"Son of a bitch! Stop running!" Arthur roared. "Void Shroud: Heartpiercer!"
Liam’s eyes narrowed. A homing skill. Arthur turned into a blur, appearing in front of Liam in the blink of an eye.
Stab!
-358,214!!
Another terrifying number appeared. Liam gritted his teeth and immediately repositioned. Arthur was livid. Liam was too fast. Even with Galewind Wings, he couldn't maintain contact. He could use homing charges to close in for a split second, but Liam would just slip away again instantly.
To make matters worse... even while kiting, Liam’s arrows were still systematically slaughtering the City Guard.
"So this is what it feels like to be fast," Liam thought. He felt like a high-speed glitch in the system. It didn't matter how strong the enemy was if they couldn't touch him.
Arthur’s face was beet-red with rage. He felt like a dog being taken for a walk. No matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't catch the man leading him around.
"Infuriating! I'll tear you apart!"
Arthur stopped running. He stood his ground, pointing his spear toward the heavens. "Primordial Thunderlance!"
The moment the words left his lips, Arthur rocketed into the sky before transforming into a bolt of light, hurtling toward Liam with terminal velocity. A primal sense of danger flared in Liam’s chest.
"Invincible Aegis!"
At the absolute last possible millisecond, Liam activated his invulnerability.
"Die!" Arthur’s face was twisted in a sadistic grin. He refused to believe anyone could survive his ultimate move.
-IMMUNE!!!
Two plain, unremarkable words floated above Liam’s head.