Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

[Armstrong the Destroyer is about to unleash his skill, Dark Tide!]

"Back off! Back off! Cease fire! Everyone except defenders, retreat! Priests, focus on healing!" Tiffany's voice crackled in the chat, her near-hoarse tone sounding more like a scream. The Elf Queen stood atop a cluster of protruding crystal blocks, bow drawn and arrow nocked, her head tilted to the right, the virtual screen almost touching her face. The Crystal Blue Dragon Kristor stood beside her, maintaining the barrier, and additional magic created a simple virtual sandbox for her.

After several casualties, with dozens of people turning into tombstones, the Dream Elf finally learned the skill of dodging Armstrong.

The cracked mountain of flesh quickly reacted. A thick black mist rose around the front-line defenders, applying three types of life-reducing debuffs and initiating a tug-of-war between the defenders and the priests' continuous cleansing and healing. Then, serpentine tentacles burst forth from the mist, engulfing the crystal platform. The pristine white crystals were instantly stained a deathly black, swallowing all the tombstones standing on the battlefield. The seemingly endless mist pressed closer and closer to the players, almost within reach. Separated by an invisible boundary, those facing the mist could even hear whispers within it, like the fluttering of wings of insects shivering in the cold wind.

The black mist came and went quickly. Under the Queen's urging, they seemed to be driving the black mist away, returning to the edge of the few defender tanks.

Dorodo swung his giant axe, hacking fiercely at Armstrong's flesh. The withered flesh peeled away hadn't even grown back yet, and Armstrong was already somewhat numb. Only the damage numbers flashing on the axe blade proved his efforts hadn't been in vain. Dorodo looked up at the BOSS's enormous health bar. "This meat-eating beast's health bar could stretch from my house to the Elders' Council!"

The upright stone shield blocked the vines that pierced through Dordo. Charles pushed forward with the shield, and the stones on the shield shattered into fragments that embedded themselves into the mountain of flesh. The Defender Knight held his breath and roared at the monster before him.

"How could the Sleeper have given birth to such a deformed thing like you! If I were Him, I would definitely stuff you back in!"

The tank taunted the enemy, and Dorodo rolled his eyes at his brother, saying, "Taunt skills don't need to read out lines, do they?"

Charles remained serious and composed. "I feel that reading it aloud is more effective."

Looking at the healing light constantly flashing above Charles's head, and comparing it to his own bloodied body, Dorodo said with some envy, "It's so nice to have a priestess watching over you!"

Charles glared at him. "The one who hits always talks more than the one who gets hit."

The players were initially quite serious, but the game-like Nightmare BOSS's attacks were very predictable, and the system announcements and skill range warnings eased their tension somewhat. For the multiple players, this level of pressure was far less than the assassin squad's invasion, and for a moment they were even in the mood to joke around.

Duolu was quick and swift, slashing at the cluster of tentacles with a whirlwind attack. His voice was steady, though accompanied by the sound of spinning wind.

"You know what I mean. Essen and we've been old friends for decades. I don't see you're opposed to it, so how about we finish this game and..."

Charles slammed a board onto the tentacle, causing a collision with Dorudo that brought his little spinning top to a stop.

"Shut up! You're planting a flag for me when we're fighting the boss, you're a spy hired by the Sleeper, aren't you! I'm the main tank."

Dorodo smiled knowingly and teased his best friend, "Why have you started believing in metaphysics? The Priestess of the Moon cannot tolerate a heretic partner."

"I didn't believe it either... until some berserker got an epic trinket from a dragon."

Dorodo wore a necklace around her neck, the obsidian pendant edged in blood red, exuding a mysterious aura.

"Sacrificing parts of the prey to the War Eldest Son is a custom I learned from the Berserker tribe, and I think it's good to follow local customs. Your professions must have some unique characteristics, right?"

Charles seemed not to hear, only shouting excitedly a few times when he caused massive damage.

"For the Queen!!!"

"For the Queen!!!"

The same cheers echoed among the defenders, the exhilarating sounds resonating. Tiffany, who was directing the attack, paused for a moment, then, the elven queen, overjoyed, drew her bow with even greater force, thinking how rare it was that her people remembered her kindness in times of crisis. She released the bowstring, and the flying arrow struck a spawned monster that had ambushed the group from the flank. Tiffany's level was low, and the arrow only inflicted a superficial wound, but it didn't matter. Several more arrows followed like cannon fire, tearing the blood clot to shreds. [Hunter's Mark] proved highly effective in pinpointing attacks amidst the chaos of battle.

Tiffany stretched her neck, her beautiful blonde hair dancing on the crystal mirror. She thought, "We still have a chance. The situation is good. We've dealt enough damage, the boss's health is steadily decreasing, and the players still have reserves. When Nightmare goes berserk with low health, we can definitely burst it down in one combo. There will be losses, but we can handle them."

Tiffany's gaze drifted to the tombstone in the center of the battlefield. The assurances of the gatekeeper angel and her godmother Susanna strengthened her resolve. They had only fallen; as long as we triumph, my people will rise again. We will win! We must win!

Tiffany stared at the slowly decreasing health bar of [Armstrong the Destroyer]. She wasn't the only one with that gaze, but for some reason, an ominous feeling resonated in the hearts of Tiffany and the others.

Armstrong has 80% health remaining.

[The shackles of holy light are broken, and the mind is liberated]

The cracks in the mountain of flesh opened and closed, and a deep sound echoed in everyone's ears.

"destroy……"

[Skill activated, Annihilation Barrage]

Dozens of thick synapses grew from the flesh, elongating continuously until their shafts contracted and thinned, and spherical fruits condensed at their swollen tips. Crackling sounds echoed as the "fruits" opened their eyes, dozens of large, floating yellow eyeballs staring blankly at the players. A blood-red mark appeared above the players' heads as they were stared at, and before they could react, a barrage of dark beams of light shattered them into tombstones.

"Dodge!!! Get out of the way!!!" Tiffany screamed as a priest player was just ten meters in front of her. The beam of light engulfed his figure, and the scream only reached its beginning before the rest was finished by others, the survivors who had witnessed their teammates' destruction up close.

"Cannot dodge!!" the hunter yelled before his body was completely destroyed.

"I can't hold them off!" The first defender was eliminated.

"Druid! Push forward!!"

Tiffany was the battlefield commander, every casualty report reaching her mind. Dozens more. She was the brain issuing commands, the focal point of all emotions. They could fall, they could scream, they could be frustrated, but she couldn't! She simply put down her bow and arrows, focusing all her attention on analyzing the intelligence in the chat channel.

I thought to myself, "What a carnivorous beast! I was so naive. A gamified Nightmare is still a Nightmare. I should have known it wouldn't operate according to the administrators' designed logic. I was still... too reliant on them." So far, the boss Armstrong has only used two skills: [Dark Tide] and [Annihilation Bombardment]. Dark Tide can be completely avoided, but [Annihilation Bombardment] is a targeted skill, meaning it forcibly kills a target. Forced casualties after reaching a fixed health limit? What a disgusting mechanic.

Tiffany looked up. The Armstrong's giant eyeball turrets hadn't stopped firing after a round of shelling; they were now continuously spraying small-scale lasers to cut through the battlefield, thus increasing their attack methods.

The players' survival environment is becoming increasingly difficult, so Tiffany has made a tough decision.

We can't delay any longer; we must deal with Armstrong before the situation worsens.

"Hold no reserves! Attack with all your might! Before the annihilation bombardment wipes us all out!"

Tiffany even imagined something worse.

"The Shackles of Holy Light? That means the Destroyer has other sealed powers!"

By the way, what does mental liberation refer to?

At the front of the battle line, the lashing tentacles lashed at Dorudo's waist and abdomen, sending him flying more than ten meters while vomiting blood. He roared and swung his axe back to strike.

"Watch out, this bastard can change his attack and cancel the recovery animation!"

Chapter 751 The Last Moment

You must keep a clear head and sharp eyes, otherwise, the next second you will be tricked by the BOSS into using a combo of wrist and foot strikes and be instantly killed, or you will be left to die quietly with seven or eight additional curses.

The system alerts were no longer reliable; Armstrong, now with a completely unleashed mind, was utterly defying attack logic. Where sweeping attacks were expected, he used piercing strikes; when roaring and AFK were supposed to be, he used area-of-effect attacks; and when a powerful attack warning appeared, he resorted to defense and healing. It was impossible to tell who was controlling whom anymore; front-line DPS and tanks were suffering terribly, and even Tiffany, the commander, was overwhelmed by Armstrong's various underhanded attacks. After sacrificing over a dozen players, Tiffany, with her lightning-fast learning ability and hunter's eagle eye, completely deciphered the boss's attack patterns. Casualties decreased due to excellent command; however, the time lag between issuing and completing orders required individual player skill to compensate.

Gradually, this world boss raid has eliminated many low-level and poorly skilled new players, raising the overall player skill level and making Tiffany's command much easier. Moreover, the damage output efficiency not only didn't decrease but actually increased. However, Tiffany still couldn't be happy. Armstrong's 60% health threshold was approaching, and they would face another targeted bombardment.

The powerful beam cannon fire was impossible to withstand by ordinary means, so Tiffany came up with a solution, albeit a somewhat cruel one.

Based on observations, [Annihilation Barrage] is a single-target skill, meaning that no matter how thick the beam of light is, only one person will die. This was observed from a survivor of the barrage: a hunter player used his pet to block the attack. What did he do wrong? He just wanted to hug his little turtle before he died. Although the Hunter Pet Protection Association strongly condemned this beastly act, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief and recalled their pets that were biting tentacles at the front of the battlefield.

The resurrection ritual for hunter pets requires a lengthy process and incurs significant costs, which is meant to encourage players to care for animals. Using your beloved pet to shield yourself from a beam of light is not something to be encouraged.

Although hunters can survive now, the number of pets is too small compared to the total number of players.

If there's no pet to shield you from the cannon fire, who will?

[Armstrong, the Destroyer, has reached 60% health]

[The shackles of holy light are broken, and the bones are freed]

[Skill activated, Annihilation Barrage]

Tiffany clenched her fists, staring at the blood-red markings on the battlefield. She bit her lower lip and quickly began calling out names.

"Rauf, protect General Charles."

“Sincera, protect Priestess Esenna.”

"Luke, protect your teacher."

……

As the orders were issued, the expressions on everyone's faces varied. Those called upon were all young people, full of potential and with a promising future, but still appearing somewhat naive at the moment.

Use the weak to protect the strong, and let the main force hide under the wings of those who help.

Dorudo's veins bulged, and the mark on his skin and head turned a uniform blood red. He maintained the berserker's booming voice throughout the battle, but now it was only slightly hoarse.

"Luke."

His student appeared exceptionally small compared to the physique of the berserker; Luke spread his arms wide, like a fledgling trying to stretch its wings.

Dorodo heard his voice and laughed heartily.

“Don’t worry, teacher, this is just a game. I…” The blinding white light engulfed the young man, and the berserker stood still, his eyes fixed on the tombstone in front of him.

“It is my honor to die for the general, even in a game.” Charles did not speak, but his words became hard stones and sharp spikes that struck Armstrong’s massive body, small yet sharp.

Tiffany even deliberately selected victims with whom they had close relationships to boost their morale, and it must be said that the effect was remarkable.

The victims died joyfully, while the survivors wore somber expressions. This scene made Christo sigh, and it seemed that Susanna's barrier against corruption had become even more solid.

Unable to retaliate, Susanna looked at the gatekeeper angel standing beside her. He didn't join the other NPCs in fighting the players. The will of the Holy Light tugged within the world boss's body, while a portion remained to maintain the souls of the dead within the tombstones. Preventing the Nightmare from corrupting and assimilating his loot required considerable power.

With their combat strength further concentrated, Tiffany breathed a sigh of relief. Her gaze drifted to Kylo Siren, who was standing not far from her. Tiffany understood immediately and shook her head. "You are the main damage dealer. My level is low, so my life or death is irrelevant. Lord Blue Dragon just connected to the channel for the dead. Even if I become a tombstone, I can still command from my corpse."

Kylo Siren's gaze was sharp, his eyes like the cold edge of a blade.

"Only the Queen can declare victory; you are our leader, our banner."

Tiffany smiled and answered Kylo in the same tone as the young men, "Of course, my captain of the guard, but this is just a game, and I will cheer for your bravery even after I fall."

As Kylo Ren looked down at Tiffany's condescending smile, he felt a little embarrassed, like witnessing the warm sunlight filtering through the leaves. He turned his head away, thinking, "Even in the game, I won't let you die. You can only die by my hand, my queen."

"Moreover, we have more than one banner." The Elf Queen's golden hair was blown by the storm, and thunder and storm roared behind the crowd. Behind the emerging emerald curtain, the Queen of Dreams raised a new banner in the hearts of the crowd.

Claudia, making a powerful entrance into the battle. Her delicate, branch-like wing bones are covered in flowers and leaves; her wings, entirely formed from the power of dreams, make her appear like a goddess descending to earth. Tiny, heart-shaped scales stand erect on her shoulder blades and collarbones, while the emerald scales on her arms and cheeks give Claudia a bewitching and dangerous aura. The half-dragon queen, wielding a storm-swirling artifact, surprisingly outshines Armstrong in terms of presence.

"Storm! Liberation!!" The demonic sword, crackling with lightning, slashed vertically, and the wind, thunder, and lightning snakes that stirred the clouds bombarded the mountain of flesh.

【Ahhhhhhyyyyyy】A twisted shriek rang out from Armstrong’s body, his tentacles thrashed wildly in the electric current, and the beams of light emitted by his twitching demonic eyes turned into a fine rain of light.

"All units on alert! Third round of artillery fire!!!"

With divine assistance, Claudia single-handedly reduced the BOSS's health by nearly 15%. Armstrong's second liberation, the Bone Liberation, greatly enhanced his defensive capabilities. Bone spikes growing from his flesh could both defend and pierce, like wearing a set of armor that reflected damage.

Armstrong has reached 40% of his health limit.

[The shackles of holy light are broken, flesh and blood are liberated]

[Skill activated, Bone Storm]

[Skill activated, Annihilation Barrage]

It wasn't just the deadly beam bombardment; the flying bone fragments were like a deadly blizzard. Players eliminated by the bombardment were left to struggle under the full force of the attack, their skin torn and flesh embedded by sharp bone fragments. Warriors endured the pain and sustained the attacks, while mages maintained their spells despite the excruciating pain throughout their bodies. Like an avalanche, Tiffany's defensive line collapsed, and the falling tombstones became a tidal wave of despair sweeping over the players. In this pale world, everyone would fall into slumber.

A gentle green light fell amidst the stark whiteness, the drifting specks of light as soft as leaves, the power they carried refreshing the slumbering soul.

"Dreams and awakenings, my people stand at the pinnacle of dreams." Claudia's gentle yet aloof voice spoke as if stating a fact, yet it carried an air of elegant arrogance.

The players opened their eyes, and their pupils, which were of various colors, turned into the same bluish-green as Claudia's. Their eyes seemed to be shrouded in layers of illusion, and the dragon and its followers were connected.

Armstrong, the Destroyer, seemed to sense a threat. His body swelled and expanded like boiling porridge, his already enormous flesh growing again, even swelling and becoming almost invisible. The release of his new abilities prevented Armstrong's health bar from increasing dramatically. The release of his flesh granted Armstrong powerful regenerative abilities and evolutionary speed. If left unchecked, he would fully recover and even grow into an invisible state, impervious to physical attacks.

Without any time to think, Claudia immediately activated the artifact's equipment skill once again. The Dream Elf player was already in danger, and the only option was to finish the battle quickly.