Chapter 278: Loud Thunder, Light Rain: Jiang Chen's Defense Battle

Since the Ancient Earth Dragon left, the light outside the Instance gradually faded, and everything returned to silence.

The people outside waited, each maintaining a high state of alert.

Suddenly, space weakly warped, and two figures appeared at the Instance Doorway.

"They're out!" someone shouted loudly.

"Attack!" the Abyss Demon and the Dragon Race launched their assault almost simultaneously.

From leaving the Instance to the end of teleportation took only a brief two seconds, yet enough for them to unleash a wave of attack.

A burst of light blossomed in the air, instantly forming a massive Barrier that enveloped everyone beneath it.

Abyss Demons excel at Barriers, possessing both Skills and various items; within the Barrier even high‑grade random Teleport Talismans cannot function.

Jiang Chen became the joint target of the two races; he must die. This was already the consensus of both sides.

"Protect Jiang Chen!" Ding Genghong shouted loudly the instant they moved.

Over a hundred Human Professionals had prepared in advance, charging forward without hesitation; Ding Genghong surged ahead to the Instance Doorway and activated the Charge Skill.

Skill: Group Protection! A sturdy shield with gentle light appeared, blocking the first wave of attack.

Massive Fireball meteors rained down from the sky, more than one; over twenty Dragon Race mages acted simultaneously, each meteor bearing astonishing power.

Arrow Rain fell densely, covering a large area.

Abyss Demons scattered massive Abyssal Power, like ten thousand swords unleashed, triggering a violent Explosion.

Human Professionals braved the attack and surged forward; mages and Archers launched ranged attacks, striking directly at the Abyss Demon and the Dragon Race.

However, Abyss Demons and the Dragon Race can fly, putting the Human Race at a disadvantage.

Ding Genghong simultaneously faced hundreds of attacks, and the shield shattered in response.

A second shield instantly appeared, taking over his duty.

Huo Yuyao also arrived, only half a second slower than him.

The meteors kept falling, and the shield lasted less than a second before breaking again.

The two exchanged a glance, simultaneously raised their Shields, placing them before Jiang Chen and Qiao Zhixin respectively. No matter what, they would protect each other.

White Light suddenly illuminated their bodies.

Bone Armor manifested on the two, blocking all attacks.

Jiang Chen's voice rang out, "Thank you."

Ding Genghong chuckled, "This is what I should do."

He knew that as long as he shielded Jiang Chen from the first wave, the outcome of the battle was already decided.

He was clear that the Abyss Demons and the Dragon Race were unaware of that.

They were still shouting loudly.

"He's out, kill him."

"We can't let him take the Heart of Earth back."

"He must die; not a single Human Race member here can be spared, kill them all."

Jiang Chen's mouth curled into a cold smile as he said to Ding Genghong, "Let him come down."

Ding Genghong nodded and immediately roared, "Forbidden Void!"

The Shadow Mage in Ding Genghong's squad raised his staff, a beam of light shooting out and exploding in the air.

In an instant, the Forbidden Void Domain formed, and the Abyss Demons and the Dragon Race fell from the sky in terror.

"Bad, they have mages with the Forbidden Void Skill."

"What does Forbidden Void matter? Once we land we can still kill."

"The Forbidden Void lasts only up to a minute; no need to worry!"

The two races screamed wildly, without any fear.

On the ground, one Undead Legion after another suddenly appeared.

Thirteen Undead Legions, totaling 4,290 Skeletons, bearing intense murderous intent

appeared.

"How can there be so many?"

"How does he have so many Summoned Entities? It's practically an army."

"I know why he can grind this fast; it's simply pushing through with sheer numbers."

"Hold on, Forbidden Void is only a minute; just endure it."

By now, the Abyss Demons and the Dragon Race finally understand how Jiang Chen farms the Instance.

Less than forty minutes to clear an Instance once.

It's not some trick; it relies on sheer strength.

But now, saying anything is too late.

They cannot endure the minute.

Jiang Chen will not give them a chance either.

Abyss Demons and the Dragon Race fell into the cold embrace of the Undead Legions.

Jiang Chen's back of the hand heated, then detonated violently.

Skill: Strong Soldier!

Beautiful light fell, all Skeletons were collectively empowered.

Along with Strong Soldier, Qiao Zhixin's Group Collection Technique was also activated.

A dazzling burst of fireworks exploded in the air, enveloping the majority of Abyss Demons and the Dragon Race in sparkling light.

"What is this..."

"Why is it glowing..."

Amid their puzzled murmurs, the Skeleton Warrior and Skeleton Mage's attacks had already landed.

The Skeleton Warrior's skill erupted, and the damage at that instant was terrifyingly immense.

Cries of agony rang out across the battlefield one after another.

Then they were drowned by the Skeleton Mage's spells.

In just a few seconds, the battlefield fell utterly silent.

Under the "Strong Soldier" skill, even Corpse Explosion was unnecessary.

The Skeleton Warrior's power had completely surpassed everyone's expectations.

When he first used the "Strong Soldier" skill back then, it had instantly killed the Abyss Fire Spirit.

Let alone these Ordinary Demons and Dragon Race.

Just as Ding Genghong had thought,

once Jiang Chen made his move, the outcome was already sealed.

Information kept popping up on Jiang Chen's end.

A flood of kill notifications, a flood of experience, a flood of Military Merit.

The Abyss Demons and Dragon Race present totaled over three hundred.

And all of them were above Level 50.

Two thousand Military Merit per person.

Total Military Merit came to nearly seven hundred thousand.

He and Qiao Zhixin split that Military Merit evenly.

The Military Badges on both their shoulders were glittering brightly.

A star appeared on Jiang Chen's Colonel Badge.

One-star Colonel achieved.

Qiao Zhixin's Three-Star Second Lieutenant Badge also transformed splendidly at that moment, becoming a Colonel Badge, though without any stars yet.

Qiao Zhixin wasn't excited about her own promotion to Colonel; instead, she said to Jiang Chen, "Wow, you leveled up."

Jiang Chen's body was suffused with a White Light—he had leveled up.

Running the Instance several times in a row, plus all these Abyss Demons and Dragon Race.

Even though he was teamed with Qiao Zhixin and getting only half the experience, it was still enough to let him level up.

After Level 30, most Professionals need two or three months to gain a single level.

Since Jiang Chen had started fighting monsters with full force, he had gone from just under Level 31 to the current Level 34 in only a little over twenty days.

That speed was already considered very fast.

Not only had he leveled up, Jiang Chen also discovered that his Corpse Explosion Skill had risen by one level.

It had already reached Level 5.

"Body Explosion LV5: Detonate a corpse, dealing damage equal to 30% of the corpse's HP to enemies within a 5-meter radius."

After Perfect Amplification, the skill's kill range reached 200 meters, and the damage reached 12 times the corpse's HP.

Jiang Chen felt that if he could just get enough corpses,

he could blow the Abyss sky-high.

This thought

was ruthlessly snuffed out the moment it appeared—he thought of the Core Area.

There were no corpses at all there; what was there to blow up?

He couldn't bring corpses into the Core Area either.

At most ten-plus minutes after a corpse died, its vitality would be completely drained.

By then, it would be utterly useless.

To unleash the Corpse Explosion Skill's maximum power, you needed fresh corpses.

The Skeletons began stripping the Dragon Race Professionals' equipment.

Dragon Race Professionals always brought plenty of stuff; even if the Human Race couldn't use the equipment directly, they could smelt it down for materials.

Jiang Chen looked at the torrent of information, curiosity showing in his eyes.

"So the Collecting Technique works on Demons too."

"Obtained Demon Core Fragment via Collecting Technique."

"Demon Core Fragment: After use, shrouds the user in demonic aura for one hour."

"Obtained low-grade Dragon Bloodline Essence via Collecting Technique."

"Low-grade Dragon Bloodline Essence: Can be made into potions by alchemists, or used by alchemists and blacksmiths when crafting Battlefield Equipment."

At first glance, the Demon Core Fragment didn't seem very useful.

Being shrouded in demonic aura...

But upon further thought, Jiang Chen understood what these materials were for.

If one day he charged into the Abyss World alone, he might find them useful.

Normally, killing Demons, regardless of level, only yielded Demon Essence Blood.

He hadn't expected that through the Collecting Technique, he could also obtain Demon Core Fragments.

And Dragon Bloodline Essence too.

Unlike the Dragon Monsters he killed in the Otherworld Battlefield Instance.

Since entering the Ancient Battlefield, Jiang Chen had killed these Dragon Race Professionals but hadn't obtained any items from them.

I still thought they wouldn't drop anything; looks like we still have to rely on collecting.

Only by using skills can they be obtained.

Jiang Chen realized that someone like Qiao Zhixin, a Rare Mythic Tier Profession, is useful not only in Instances but also on the battlefield.

In the Human Team, everyone except Ding Genghong and his companions was stunned.

It was clearly a battle with considerable momentum, yet it ended in the blink of an eye.

What skill did Jiang Chen actually use, and how did his Skeleton become so strong all of a sudden?

Not only many, but also strong; otherwise the fight couldn't have ended in just a few seconds.

Suddenly someone pointed at Jiang Chen and shouted, "It's the Primordial Rune Skill."

"That's right, it's the glow of the Primordial Rune; look closely at the back of his left hand, there's a Primordial Rune there."

"No wonder; each Primordial Rune is very powerful. If used properly, it can unleash dozens to hundreds of times the combat power in a short time."

"I'm really jealous; he was only Level 33… oh no, now Level 34. He can obtain a Primordial Rune at just Level 34."

"I envy him too; I've been roaming the Ancient Battlefield for years, and I've never even seen the shadow of a Primordial Rune."

"Ha, even if we let you see it, could you keep it?"

The crowd murmured, their gazes at Jiang Chen full of admiration.

Over three hundred Abyss Demons and Dragon Race, each at least Level 50, were killed so easily.

Even with the aid of a Primordial Rune, it still proves Jiang Chen's own strength!

This battle was nothing but big thunder and little rain!