The onslaught of blade energy was terrifying!
Initially, there were only a few dozen streaks, but they quickly multiplied into hundreds, and finally surged to over a thousand. They were so dense that their original forms were indistinguishable. Instead, it resembled a giant silver-white sphere of light, engulfing Bai Ye within it.
After all, these were experts from the Canglong Association, members of their elite squad. When they fought for their lives, they were indeed formidable.
However, the price was that the blade used by the attacker was now ruined.
Bai Ye possessed a similar ability. The Zi Dian effect of Jing Lei Zi Dian and Yan Huang Fei Huo also involved shattering the weapon to unleash terrifying power.
Gao Ming and the others watched with alarm.
The attack unleashed by the opponent was like waves crashing against the shore, or like the sky collapsing and the earth shattering. The silver-white blade energy enveloped the area, and the humming of blades whistled through the air.
In a flash, beneath that single strike, an endless expanse of blade energy surged like a sea, blazing white. From afar, it looked like a silver-white mist spreading in all directions, even surging upwards into the sky, forming a silver waterfall flowing against the heavens.
Within the space occupied by Bai Ye and his opponent, a terrifying aura of annihilation manifested. This strike seemed to bring about a scene of utter desolation, where nothing could survive and all life was extinguished.
Silent yet deadly!
Bai Ye, enveloped by the blade energy, found his colossal Thunder God body continuously being torn apart, constantly vanishing, his physical form shattering repeatedly.
"Hahahahahahahaha…"
The member of the Canglong Association roared with laughter, his face contorted in a savage expression as he growled, "You want to kill me? Let's see who kills whom!"
"Who did you say would kill whom?"
At that very moment, Bai Ye's voice echoed.
From within the fragmented Thunder God body, which had been shattered by the blade energy, it began to reform.
The scattered thunder arcs rapidly converged, and at the center of the blade energy, the Thunder God body reappeared.
Behind Bai Ye, the five Thunder God drums began to tremble.
With each tremor of the Thunder God drums, a sound like thunder boomed. Then…
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Streaks of lightning descended from the heavens, striking the blade energy repeatedly, quickly shattering it into pieces.
Bai Ye stepped out from the scattered blade energy, reborn.
The member of the Canglong Association was utterly stunned.
He was unharmed by this?
Was this even possible?
The member of the Canglong Association never received an answer, because Bai Ye had already raised his massive palm and brought it down with full force.
That palm strike, carrying the thunder, descended!
A bolt of lightning from the heavens, following Bai Ye's palm, struck the opponent. Then…
With a bang!
The power of the lightning surged into his body. The man's form exploded instantaneously, turning into countless pieces of charred flesh that scattered in all directions.
The ground also erupted with a deafening roar, as the descending lightning blast carved a colossal crater at least three to four meters in radius!
"You have killed a participant (Steampunk Civilization World)."
"You have obtained five fragments of God's Stone."
Having dispatched another foe, Bai Ye looked around.
This time, Bai Ye did not pursue.
The desperate attack from the opponent, while it hadn't claimed his life, had at least managed to stall Bai Ye.
The other members of the Canglong Association had already scattered like startled birds, disappearing without a trace.
Although Bai Ye's elemental form allowed him to teleport using his electric field with great speed, with the targets having vanished, Bai Ye was helpless. He couldn't just run around blindly hoping to find them.
Moreover, looking at the corpses scattered around, Bai Ye felt that the spoils were quite satisfactory.
The Canglong Association's failed sneak attack had cost them several lives, marking a significant blow to their strength.
However, there was also bad news.
Bai Ye's original plan was to make his grand appearance when the third-layer Boss was being tackled, catching the Canglong Association completely off guard.
Now that he had revealed himself, the Canglong Association would undoubtedly be on high alert.
But Bai Ye felt the problem wasn't too severe. Even if the Canglong Association was prepared, what could they do?
He hadn't even gotten serious yet.
Did they really think he only had the Goro Goro no Mi as his sole means of attack?
As Bai Ye mused, he turned to Gao Ming and said, "Hey, hey, hey, are you stunned into silence?"
Gao Ming snapped back to attention at Bai Ye's call and quickly replied, "It's nothing. It's nothing. Did the Canglong Association members run off?"
Bai Ye nodded. "Mhm."
Gao Ming asked, "What should we do now?"
Bai Ye retorted, "You're the leader of the Evil Spirit Squad, and you're asking me?"
Gao Ming waved it off with a smile, "You're the commander now. We'll listen to you."
Bai Ye thought for a moment and then asked, "How is the collection of items on the third layer coming along?"
Gao Ming beckoned to one of his men. "Liang Jie, how's the item collection going?"
A middle-aged man stepped forward and said, "We've only managed to acquire seven items so far. There are eight red-quality items that we're unsure whether to bring along as reserves, and also…"
Liang Jie hesitated for a moment before continuing, "It was going smoothly at first. I estimated we could finish within a week, but after these Canglong Association guys showed up, they occupied three of the better game dungeons. And because of the conflicts, our efficiency has plummeted."
After the third-layer Boss was conquered, three red-quality items could be taken away.
However, this did not mean that only red-quality items were produced on the third layer. Wild monsters still dropped black-quality items. Red-quality items had to be obtained from dungeons or by defeating bosses, and even then, it wasn't a guaranteed drop; it depended on probability.
According to Bai Ye's memory, the probability of obtaining a red-quality item from defeating a boss was around 20%. Then, one had to pick and choose, trying to take the best ones. It wasn't easy to gather thirty-six items for an entire team.
Gao Ming said, "Bring up all the reserve items first. We don't have that much time to be picky. As long as it's a red-quality item, it's not a loss. The rest need to be expedited."
Bai Ye replied, "I'll accompany you. It shouldn't be a problem. Have you tracked the refresh times for the dungeons and bosses?"
"We have all of that," Gao Ming said. "After they investigate the situation, they report to me, and I've compiled a schedule for them."
Bai Ye glanced at Gao Ming and then nodded.
Gao Ming claimed to be a strong fighter, but Bai Ye hadn't seen it yet.
At least in terms of combat command, Gao Ming was clearly not qualified. His greatest contribution was shouting that one sentence: "We'll all listen to Bai Ye; everything will be directed by Bai Ye."
However, putting aside his combat prowess, Gao Ming was indeed a talent in terms of internal affairs. He had always performed exceptionally well and was highly valued by Commander Stensen.
Liang Jie took out a small notebook and checked it. "The dungeons are occupied by the Canglong Association, but I've sent people to monitor their dungeon refresh times. The fastest one will reopen in six hours. However, there are two bosses that are about to respawn. One is called General Dong, and it will be ready in thirty minutes. The other is Chi She, in one hour and twelve minutes."