I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

"insect."

The voice was slow, each word carrying a viscous, fel-like echo that bounced repeatedly within the circular space.

The demon overseer turned around.

Its face wasn't as grotesque and twisted as other demons. Instead, it had an almost human-like face—if you ignored its eyes burning with green flames and the two enormous, backward-curving horns on its forehead.

【Demonic Overlord Mal'Ganis (Leader)】

[Level: LV52]

[HP: 800000/800000]

Eight hundred thousand.

When Zhui Feng saw this number, his legs went weak.

"Eight... eight hundred thousand blood?"

His voice was very low, but everyone could hear it in the quiet space.

Eight hundred thousand blood.

What does this mean?

The Abyss Watcher, with 300,000 HP, took Li Wu one minute and forty seconds. The Fel Warrior, with 350,000 HP, took one minute and twenty seconds.

Eight hundred thousand, based on the previous output efficiency, would take at least four minutes.

Four minutes doesn't sound like a long time.

But what does four minutes mean in front of a level 52 boss? It means you have to survive four minutes of its full-force attack while maintaining full power output without a single second of pause.

"And it has a shield," Mohen added.

Yes, that giant shield.

In the previous battle, the Abyss Guardian's shield was already difficult to deal with - although it could not block arrows from the side, it could at least block frontal attacks.

And this shield is three times larger than the guard's.

"Don't be intimidated by the numbers," Li Wu said steadily. "It's only 800,000 blood."

When he said that, he truly meant it.

His Ice and Fire Spiral Arrow, combined with the Multi-Arrow Field, deals over 40,000 damage per arrow. At one arrow every three seconds, twenty arrows would amount to 800,000 damage.

One minute!

Of course, this is the ideal situation. In actual combat, it's impossible to hit every weak point with every arrow, nor is it possible to maintain a completely uninterrupted output. But even if it's a tug-of-war, two to three minutes should be enough.

In Li Wu's mind, 800,000 blood was nothing.

What really bothered him was something else.

"Wind Chaser, use Eagle Eye to take a look at that shield."

Zhui Feng took a deep breath, steadied himself, and golden light flashed in his pupils as the Eagle Eye skill was activated.

"The shield... the shield has a protective layer of fel runes." He looked at it for a few seconds, then his voice changed. "That protection isn't ordinary physical protection; it's... something governed by rules. I can't see the specific effects, but I dare say this shield is definitely not simple."

"Regular protection?" Mohen frowned.

"Let's fight first and figure things out later." Li Wu didn't think much of it. "Same as always. Hua Zitong will be in charge of tactical coordination, Ye Feng will scout out weaknesses, Mo Hen will prepare for control, and Zhui Feng will report positions throughout."

"So, where should we stand?" Hua Zitong asked.

"Spread out," Li Wu said. "This space is big enough for you to run. Its target should be me—I'm the only one who can hurt it. Spread out in all directions and keep your distance."

"clear."

The four people quickly dispersed and each found their own spot.

Li Wu stood alone at the entrance of the circular space, facing off against the Demon Overlord twenty meters away.

Malganis looked down at the tiny creature that was only ankle-high in front of him.

"Are you their leader?"

Its sound echoed through the space.

Li Wu did not answer.

"A bunch of insects." Mal'Ganis slowly raised the serrated greatsword in his hand. "Level 30-something ants, how dare you trespass into my territory."

The sword tip pointed downwards, and it lightly touched the ground.

boom!

A green shockwave emanated from it and spread outwards, causing everyone to be knocked back two steps.

-876!

The shockwave alone took away nearly half of Li Wu's health.

"Holy Healing!" Li Wu fully restored his health and then drew his bowstring.

"Battle begins."

Ice and Fire Spiral Arrow!

A streak of red and blue light detached from the bowstring and shot straight toward Mal'Ganis's chest.

Li Wu aimed for the very center of the chest—that's usually the core of a demon-type monster, and also its weak point.

The arrow sliced ​​through the air at an extremely high speed.

Then--

clang!

A deafening metallic clang rang out.

Mal'Ganis raised his giant shield.

The giant shield blocked the arrow between him and his chest. The ice and fire spiral arrow struck the shield, scattering ice and fire energy and making a hissing sound.

The damage numbers are displayed.

-267!

Li Wu was stunned for a second.

Two hundred and sixty-seven?

His Ice and Fire Spiral Arrows deal four to five thousand damage per shot to level 50 elites. With the implosion effect, the total damage exceeds ten thousand.

But now—two hundred and sixty-seven points?

"President?" Chasing Wind's voice came from the side, tinged with uncertainty.

"I saw it," Li Wu said in a low voice.

Two hundred and sixty-seven.

What does this number mean?

This means that his strongest single-target skill would have its damage reduced by more than 95% after hitting that shield.

He quickly did a calculation: the normal damage of the Ice and Fire Spiral Arrow was about 5,000 plus 10,000 from the implosion, totaling around 15,000. Now it had only dealt 267 damage, which meant—

"That shield reduces damage by at least 98%."

Hua Zitong's voice came from another direction; she had also figured it out.

Ninety-eight percent.

This isn't a shield anymore, it's an iron plate.

Li Wu's gaze fell on the giant shield. The fel runes on the shield surface were emitting a faint glow, and the green protective layer was activated the moment the arrow struck.

Zhui Feng is right, this is not ordinary physical protection.

This is rule-based damage reduction.

"Try another spot." Li Wu circled around to the side and fired another arrow.

Ice and Fire Spiral Arrow, aimed at Mal'Ganis's side.

A soft sound.

-289!

It's still over two hundred.

"Its entire armor has damage reduction?" Inkmark exclaimed from afar.

Li Wu remained silent. He circled around to the back and fired a third arrow.

-312!

A little over three hundred is a bit high, but still devastatingly low.

Mal'Ganis chuckled softly. The laughter echoed in the empty circular space, carrying a condescending mockery.

"See that? Insects." It slowly turned to face Li Wu. "My fel armor is forged from primal fel energy from the depths of hell. Your attacks, you ants, can't even break my skin."

Li Wu ignored its words, her mind racing.

Two to three hundred damage.

Eight hundred thousand blood.

Based on 300 arrows per shot, it would take—

More than 2,600 arrows.

Even if he shoots an arrow every three seconds, it would still take him nearly two hours.

Two hours?

Are you kidding me? His teammates couldn't last two hours either. Maintain a two-hour battle against a level 52 boss? It's not a question of difficulty; it's a question of absolute impossibility.

"I need to think of another way," Li Wu said to himself.

Mal'Ganis wasn't going to give him time to think.

"Go to hell."

The warlord raised his serrated greatsword.