LWGP - Chapter 100
Chapter 100: Silver Boss
As expected, the Fish King's patrol range was within twenty meters. Wang Jiu and her team rode the Fishman Chieftains, keeping their distance while attacking from afar.
The Fish King's stamina was immense, and they could only whittle down its health bit by bit. It was a good thing they had a large contingent of Fishman Chieftain puppets; otherwise, the few of them combined wouldn't have been able to inflict much damage at all.
"My stamina is running out."
"I'm having trouble keeping up. The underwater consumption is huge."
"Master, I can't hold my breath much longer."
Amidst the group's mounting frustration, Wang Jiu produced a jar of honey. The substance was water-soluble, but as long as it wasn't agitated, consuming it quickly would result in minimal loss.
She scooped out a mouthful for herself and then shared it with the team.
"Take turns replenishing."
The others finally remembered the stamina-replenishing honey. Their relief was mixed with a new thought: were these dungeons all interconnected?
From Simple, Normal, and Dangerous to Nightmare, there always seemed to be items that linked them.
The underwater puppet BOSS, Jenkin's alchemy bag, the honey… it all seemed designed to serve later dungeon stages. Or were they just incredibly lucky?
"You're overthinking it. They probably have similar items, and maybe they got them even earlier."
Wang Jiu had learned that over 150 players had already acquired small territories. She'd assumed Nightmare difficulty wasn't that hard, but now it seemed those players had likely obtained their territories by grinding through multiple vortexes, from Simple to Dangerous.
They had painstakingly scraped together 100 Reputation from 20, 40, and 60-point gains, probably securing their territories yesterday. Unlike her, who could only tackle Dangerous difficulty today.
Stamina running low? Weren't there items to restore it?
They must have had more people and more items, pooling them together for use.
Sigh, there were still advantages to having more people.
Wang Jiu figured this out and sighed inwardly. If she had gotten this honey earlier, she could have secured a territory yesterday too. But it was no use dwelling on it now; she had to find another way.
While Wang Jiu was pondering about territories, Wang Shu and the others were discussing the puppets.
"They just don't have underwater puppets, but they surely have plenty of land-based ones. Once we're on land, we'll be at a disadvantage."
The average skill level of the opposing team was so high that if it weren't for the difficulty of moving underwater, they would have been wiped out nine times out of ten in that last fight. It was only because Lao Wang made a decisive call to drive them away.
Otherwise, according to the BOSS ownership rules, even if their team had higher participation, if the final blow was stolen and the other team then killed them all, the entire BOSS's loot would still be taken by them.
Final blow + original owning team wiped out, ownership jumps to the team that dealt the final blow.
That's the order of succession.
But at their current pace against the Fish King, even with restored stamina, half an hour would be tight. After thirty minutes, they'd have to surface for air, and they might get ambushed by Zhou Guican's group.
While the others worriedly focused on fighting the BOSS, Wang Jiu seemed unfazed, remaining very steady. No one knew what she was planning; they just followed her commands, steadily managing aggro and distance, chipping away at the Fish King's health bar bit by bit.
Of course, the precious honey was being consumed by everyone, and also continuously dissolving in the water.
However, Wang Shu and Dao Dao controlled their consumption; since their damage output was limited, they didn't want to waste it.
"It's at 15%! It'll definitely go berserk at 10%!"
"I can't hold my breath much longer!"
Their stamina was holding up, but Liao Luo and Wang Shu couldn't hold their breath any longer. It was almost thirty minutes, and they couldn't last, their attack power weakening significantly.
Only Wang Jiu and Zhao Shanxiao could still hold on for now. The latter asked Wang Jiu in the team channel: "I can last another ten minutes. What's the plan for the 10% berserk phase? Do you have some kind of ultimate move?"
He saw how steady Wang Jiu was and assumed she had a trick up her sleeve.
Could it be a new class skill?
But the people who had just died didn't drop any. Instead, a lot of Strengthening Stones, equipment, basic skill books, and manor materials had dropped.
"No. On my command, we'll unite for one final push."
That's it?
Zhao Shanxiao didn't detect any new strategy and was skeptical. But since it wouldn't benefit him whether they killed it or not, he didn't ask further, just readying his class skills along with the others.
14%, 13%, 12%…
Just as it hit 12%! Wang Jiu suddenly heard a strange gurgling sound from the dark area behind the Fish King.
That single sound startled Wang Jiu, and she gave the order ahead of schedule: "Attack!"
Boom!
The Fish King suddenly shot forward, its agility triggered!
As everyone's attacks erupted, its massive maw swallowed Liao Luo, Wang Shu, Jiang Kaikai, and Dao Dao in one gulp, along with their attacks.
However, on the other side, the attacks from Qiao Xuejing, Zhao Shanxiao, and the other puppets also burst forth. This time, they spent a considerable amount of spirit power.
Bang! The Fish King's head tilted slightly, and its health bar dropped from 12% to 10%, triggering its berserk state!
HP surged, and the moment it entered its berserk state, its body unleashed a powerful tidal wave. It opened its mouth, and boom! A torrent of water blasted out. In a single hit, even though Qiao Xuejing and Zhao Shanxiao were prepared, they were instantly critically injured, almost one-shotted.
But on the other side, Wang Jiu had also activated Blood Wrath, drawing on 20% of her blood.
Blood Wrath + Flowing Light, a dual-skill combo.
The brilliant radiance of Flowing Light shot out like a cannon, boom!!
The 10% health in its berserk state dropped directly to 5%.
If the 10% health in its berserk state wasn't depleted in one go, the subsequent berserk state would gain a layer of berserk armor, and its attributes would skyrocket.
Its average 800 stats all jumped to an average of 900.
So its health bar depleted even more slowly.
But the damage she dealt alone far surpassed the combined output of the several puppets, Qiao Xuejing, and Zhao Shanxiao.
This was the terrifying power of burst-damage skills; the damage dealt after breaking through armor was fearsome.
However, drawing 20% of her blood at once brought her to the brink of the human body's safe blood limit. For someone with lower stamina, they would have likely fainted from excessive blood loss.
But Wang Jiu only felt dizzy for a moment.
In that brief moment, the Fish King roared and lunged over.
Its 900 agility allowed it to reach Wang Jiu in an instant, its massive maw opening to swallow her whole…
Hum!
The radiance of Holy Light descended, covering her, Qiao Xuejing, and Zhao Shanxiao. The light even slipped through the gaps in the Fish King's teeth, reaching Wang Shu and the others who had been swallowed.
Being swallowed alive wasn't an instant death.
Wang Jiu's cast of Holy Light directly healed many of their injuries; at the very least, their superficial wounds were restored.
But they weren't important. What was important was herself.
She had no external injuries, but the consumed blood was instantly restored by 5%. As soon as the blood was back, she drew another 5% to unleash Blood Wrath and Flowing Light, which had just come off cooldown.
On the other side, the recovered Qiao Xuejing and Zhao Shanxiao, though stunned, seized the opportunity to attack in unison with the Fishman Chieftains.
Boom!! The Fish King, its health dropping to 3%, sensed the threat of death and thrashed its tail wildly.
Block? Or keep attacking?
Attack!!
Qiao Xuejing didn't even try to dodge, directly launching her final attack.
Zhao Shanxiao managed to dodge but was still injured. However, he didn't see Qiao Xuejing die, because they were healed again.
The feeling of being healed when you're hanging on by a thread of health is just too good!
Holy Light after Holy Light.
Blood Wrath after Flowing Light.
Amidst the brilliance, Wang Jiu unleashed a continuous barrage of skills!
3%, 2%… just as the Fish King's health dropped to 1%.
Just as Wang Jiu's hand moved, a black shadow shot out from the water current diagonally behind her, using the blade attack class skill, 「Demi-Frost Slash」.
A skill learned for 100 spirit energy, the strongest single-target attack skill seen so far, even enhanced with a level 4 Heavy Strike.
Bang!!
Caught off guard, Wang Jiu took the hit, but her Golden Armor activated in time, and the Heart of Bear Courage was also enabled.
Boom! A ferocious aura enveloped Wang Jiu's body. The attribute boost, layered over her Golden Armor, protected her form. She managed to withstand the bulk of the damage, and the remaining impact only caused a stinging pain in her back.
However, while she was tanking the damage, the ambusher had already switched to a silver bow and was aiming at the Fish King.
But Wang Jiu paid him no mind. Under the Holy Light, she once again used Blood Wrath + Flowing Light.
It was faster than the arrow.
Boom!! 1%->0%.
Empty.
The Fish King's corpse collapsed with a thud.
Seeing this, the ambusher saw Wang Jiu raise her hand to attack him. Whoosh! He immediately swam upwards.
He fled.
It must have been someone from Zhou Guican's team, with a special stealth skill.
He was really patient. She had almost been assassinated.
Wang Jiu didn't pursue him. With her HP below 20%, she took a mouthful of honey to restore her stamina, then quickly cut the barely breathing Wang Shu out of the Fish King's stomach.
She cast a Holy Light on him.
"Loot the corpse, quickly! Something feels wrong!" Wang Jiu kept her eyes fixed on the area the Fish King had been guarding. She could feel that gurgling sound getting more and more distinct.
A sense of unease filled her heart.
She asked the System. The Dog System didn't pretend to be offline this time, but its response was: "You ask me about everything. Am I supposed to be your personal detective?"
You've been spending too much time online.
But Wang Jiu understood this bastard. The more it refused to answer, the more likely something was wrong.
Wang Shu was still reeling from the nauseating experience of being inside the Fish King's stomach. The feeling of almost being digested was terrifying. If Wang Jiu hadn't healed him, he would have died.
Didn't you see Dao Dao, its eyes rolled back, vomiting? Qiao Xuejing felt sorry for it and was patting its back.
However…
"You guys go up for air first. Stay far from the shore, don't get close."
Wang Jiu gave this warning with a frown. Wang Shu's unlocking process was almost complete. As the others swam upward, not only Wang Jiu but even Wang Shu perceived the roars emanating from the darkness.
Holy shit, Master, there's a monster?!!
Wang Shu was terrified. His hands and feet trembled, and the unlocking process instantly finished.
Bang! The moment a pile of items exploded out, Wang Jiu grabbed his collar with her left hand, swept up the items with her right, and kicked her legs to swim upwards.
The boost from the Heart of Bear Courage was still active. Her speed was incredible as she dragged the Fatty Wang Shu swiftly upwards. But just as they left…
A strange, long shadow shot out and wrapped around the lingering phantom of the Fish King that had just exploded. But it caught nothing but air. It seemed to roar in anger, and then a faint silver glow began to swim rapidly upwards from the darkness below.
Its speed was terrifyingly fast.
"Holy shit! A Silver BOSS!" Wang Shu howled in the team channel. Above, Liao Luo and the others turned pale with fright. Their weakened state from holding their breath vanished as if they were at full health, and they frantically scrambled upwards.
"Master, Master, I'm fat, let me go! It's fine if I die, but if you die…"
Wang Shu babbled on, thinking of sacrificing himself to save Wang Jiu. Annoyed by his chatter, Wang Jiu knocked him out with a single chop and then directed the group of puppet BOSSes to charge downwards.
The puppet Bosses were killed one by one.
All of them were one-shotted.
By sacrificing the puppets to obstruct the terrifying creature, she bought time for the group. In the end, Wang Jiu surfaced with only the two strongest puppets, the ones with a three-day time limit.
They had just broken the surface, still a dozen meters from the shore. Zhou Guican's group, lying in ambush on the bank, was about to attack and kill Wang Jiu's team as they emerged, but they saw the puppets blocking their way.
Clearly, Wang Jiu was prepared. But… what was that thing?
Beneath the water where Wang Jiu and the others had jumped out, a massive dark shadow loomed.
And it glowed with a silver light.
Zhou Guican's group, who had been about to launch a second attack, were horrified.
"Silver Boss, retreat!"
"Stop fighting, retreat!!"
"Nightmare Dungeons are too terrifying!"
A Silver BOSS in a Nightmare Dungeon… unless its level was very low, they truly couldn't handle it.
Zhou Guican made a swift decision, ordering his people to retreat immediately. As they fell back, Wang Jiu's team had just leaped onto the shore. Ignoring their weakened state, they frantically dashed into the forest on the other side.
Looking back, they saw an enormous Silver BOSS emerge from the water.
It was a three-headed octopus with sixteen tentacles.
Three-Headed Octopus King (Nightmare Dungeon Silver BOSS, Larval Stage, Level 10)
Strength: 1000
Agility: 1000
Stamina: 1000
All three attributes were over a thousand!
Never mind that their collective combat power was now less than thirty percent of what it was; even at their peak, they couldn't have beaten it.
Of course, the same was true for Zhou Guican's team.
Both teams fled into the dense forest simultaneously, thinking they would be safe on land. But none of them noticed what happened after they entered the woods.
The giant Three-Headed Octopus King crawled onto the shore, using its tentacles to track everyone's scent.
Sorry, it's an amphibious Boss.
Furthermore, not only did it crawl ashore, but it also emitted a subtle sound, as if transmitting some kind of message.
At the same moment, in the deepest part of the island, a strange black shadow in the darkness lifted its head from a bloody human corpse.
It smacked its lips on the brains in its mouth and muttered, "More tasty treats have arrived."
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