LWGP - Chapter 133
Chapter 133: Test
Before the 50% reduction, fighting thirty Silver BOSSes with average attributes over 1000 would have been terrifying, and it would have been a tough fight even for all three teams combined. But with the help of Spirit Power and skills, everyone still had some confidence. After all, the human brain was a good thing; various cooperative strategies and combat techniques could be flexibly applied.
But after a 50% attribute reduction, 3000 became 1500, and 2000 became 1000. It was like going from a motorcycle to a bicycle; the change in speed was no small matter.
Moreover, there was already a huge gap in durability and vitality between players and BOSSes. Look at Xie Lu, a top-tier combatant from the military—even with average attributes several hundred points higher than a Silver BOSS, he had only barely managed to take one down.
So after the reduction, the thirty Silver BOSSes were almost unstoppable killers to them.
Of course, there was an advantage that could change the situation—powerhouses like Wang Jiu and Luo Sheng, whose average attributes were over 2500 or even 3000, were still far stronger than these Silver BOSSes even after the reduction, provided the minions were cleared out.
When Luo Sheng saw these Silver BOSSes swarming toward them, she made a decision in an instant—should they flee, or continue to fight?
"Fight! She cleared the minions specifically to fight these Silver BOSSes. She must be confident. We'll stay and provide support. At the very least, we can get a wave of resources."
Luo Sheng was decisive and resolute, and her judgment actually matched Zhong Qing's. He didn't want to leave either.
It was good to have a big tree for shade. The fact that he could follow Luo Sheng's guidance as a strategist meant he was a clear-headed person. Now that an even more formidable Wang Jiu had appeared, what couldn't be compromised for the sake of game resources? Even if it was just getting the scraps and leftovers, it was worth it.
So, they would fight!
Since Luo Sheng's group wasn't leaving, Diao Guang and the others, who were committed to being their shadows, naturally didn't leave either. They all subconsciously moved closer to Wang Jiu's side.
At that moment, the tall tree had just been blasted apart. The broken timber tilted and fell, crashing to the ground with a thud. But Wang Jiu, Xie Lu, and the other high-attribute individuals had already leaped onto other tall trees.
Wang Shu and the others, however, fell. As soon as they landed, Mei Qingshu and her group, with incredible agility, immediately dodged behind other tall trees despite some minor fall injuries, and all of them entered a defensive stance.
At this time, the thirty mutated mini-BOSSes were very clever. They didn't spread out but moved as a group, surrounding them at a steady, dense pace. However, wary of Wang Jiu's area-of-effect attacks, they adopted a circular formation instead of clustering together.
Swoosh. The moment Qiao Xuejing landed, she activated a hidden trap she had set up earlier. The others hid behind the tall trees, evading the second wave of the BOSSes' ranged attacks, then dashed to the trap's location and entered a hidden state.
"They're hiding?! There are still people over there, kill them!"
Qiao Xuejing and her group were hidden, but Luo Sheng and Diao Guang's teams were still exposed. They had originally intended to join forces with Wang Jiu's team, but Qiao Xuejing, a formation master, had come prepared. It was probably part of that Lao Wang's plan.
The two teams had become bait yet again!
This time, Luo Sheng wasn't frustrated. She just glanced toward the hidden trap. In that single glance, she caught not only the movements of Qiao Xuejing's group after they hid, but also one person who hadn't hidden!
Wang Shu!
"Ah, what kind of crappy item is this!" Wang Shu, ever the coward, had used a small spring gadget that was supposed to launch him onto another tall tree the moment he landed. His intention was to leap gracefully onto another tree like the agile ninjas in Naruto. But he was fat, his balance wasn't as nimble as Wang Jiu's group, and he had no combat talent. Unfamiliar with the gadget at the time, he ended up…
Bang!!
His entire body slammed into the tall tree like a big grizzly bear, limbs splayed, his face a bloody mess.
The effect was like something out of a cartoon where a clumsy bear messes up.
"Idiot!"
A ranged mutated BOSS locked onto the Fatty. After shouting an insult, it aimed the light sphere in its mouth at him.
Buzz! The instant the light sphere was fired, a Flowing Light projectile collided with it. Bang! It was like an exploding firework. Amidst the dazzling display, the ranged mutated BOSS was blinded!
Blinded, it couldn't dodge the three-meter-long blade qi from the rapidly approaching Wang Jiu, and was thus dismembered.
This time, Wang Shu was the bait, and she was the swift, stealthy assassin.
The BOSSes were not low on intelligence. Seeing through her plan, they all began to shriek.
Flesh and blood splattered as the first ranged BOSS was taken out in a single blow. But on the other side, the remaining BOSSes were both furious and ecstatic to see her approach for close combat.
However, Wang Jiu extended her hand, and Spirit Tentacles shot through the ground, entangling a BOSS that was sneak-attacking her from behind. She sidestepped, and under the stealth of her Mountain Ghost's Night March state, the mountain ghost's aura permeated the air. Her figure slid and flashed, and with a single slash, her blade seemed to have a piercing effect—under the effect of level 9 Weapon Mastery, her weapon techniques were nearly on par with professional melee skills like backstabs and piercing strikes.
This was the terror of a peak level 9 mastery, especially for a technique-based skill like Weapon Mastery. It was a comprehensive combat enhancement.
Just like now. With a single slash from Wang Jiu, the ambushing BOSS was sent flying into the air. But she didn't rush to attack and claim her second BOSS kill. Even though she could have easily killed a Silver BOSS with an all-out assault, she only wanted to break through their encirclement.
Was she afraid of being surrounded by them?
That would go against her wishes!
"Brothers, surround her!"
In an instant, numerous BOSSes shrieked and charged, many using speed-enhancing skills. Each one became a blur as they rapidly closed in on her, and the glow of various skills continuously descended upon Wang Jiu's body.
Debuffs, entanglements.
On the perimeter, four ranged BOSSes took aim at Wang Jiu, about to fire their light spheres!
In terms of offense, Wang Jiu was formidable.
But when it came to self-preservation, Wang Jiu had always been excellent.
Her timing was precise, her rhythm crisp.
A silver radiance spread out as Wang Jiu quickly activated her barrier. Her body was swiftly enveloped in a spherical shield of light.
A dense wave of attacks, a mix of radiant skills and melee strikes, descended upon her.
Just as these attacks were about to bombard the barrier.
A barrier? One of the BOSSes, with a nimble body and emerald-green eyes, gave a sinister smile and activated its innate skill.
Silence!
BOSSes had Silence skills too?!
It was over?!
Zhong Qing watched as Wang Jiu's barrier vanished the moment it appeared. He was shocked, but almost in the next second, the vanished barrier reappeared.
Exemption!
The Silence was dispelled, and the barrier manifested.
Bang, bang, bang!
Thud, thud, thud!
Because there was a defense, there were resounding impacts.
The high-density attacks bombarded the barrier, but failed to kill her while she was unprotected.
Zhong Qing's surprise wasn't because Wang Jiu could nullify Silence; after all, his own Silence had been nullified by her before.
He was astonished because Wang Jiu had probably known all along that this BOSS had a Silence skill. Otherwise, the BOSS had intentionally waited until the attacks were about to hit to silence her barrier. If she had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, even with Exemption, the barrier would have been canceled, leaving her defenseless and certainly dead.
However… even with a barrier, it wasn't foolproof.
Because right now, her barrier was trembling constantly, visibly on the verge of its defensive limit.
The damage the barrier was taking was increasing without end.
The System began to warn Wang Jiu.
"Quick, break it! Her barrier is about to fail!" The green-eyed BOSS was furious that its trick to silence the barrier had failed. It roared for the other BOSSes to focus their attacks. But at this stage, they momentarily forgot one thing—their concentrated attack might not have been their own will, but had in fact fulfilled Wang Jiu's wish.
This time, the bait was Wang Jiu herself.
After Wang Jiu had drawn the full attention and aggro of the BOSSes, swoosh, Xie Lu and the others, who had ended their hidden state, along with Luo Sheng's two teams who had anticipated this strategy, set up a layer of offensive attacks on the perimeter, all while having taken no damage themselves.
Luo Sheng: Set up Triangle Amplification Puppets. The three puppets raised their flags, and lines of light connected to form an amplification array, granting a group-wide 20% attack buff!
Zhong Qing: Silenced the green-eyed BOSS's skill that was buffing the other BOSSes with a blood frenzy effect! Plus a group-wide frost immobilization.
Diao Guang: Minor Blade AoE Formation.
Mei Qingshu: Critical Damage Arrow Rain.
Qiao Xuejing: Gold Array Disk amplification + Hunting Cage + Explosive Trap Art!
Xie Lu: Flowing Light Swordfall!
Dao Dao: Earth Mastery + Minor Earthquake!
Liao Luo: I don't have any AoE, I can only ambush and single-target kill, fuck!
Mei Qinghe: I have one, I have one, hahaha!
Wang Shu: I have one too, and I have an Arcane Sprite for sustained DPS. I can cast several in a row!
With a unified mass attack and various status skills, the first person Luo Sheng focused on wasn't anyone else, but Wang Shu.
This fatty?
The Arcane Sprite was an advantage, but his skill set seemed very complete, his system's framework connected. Most importantly, his attributes were the lowest, but his damage output actually surpassed people with average attributes thirty to forty percent higher than his.
What did this mean?
It meant his growth potential was very strong!
Luo Sheng's attention strayed for only a moment before she returned to the main task. After all, she was an extremely cautious person. She then focused on and calculated the damage output of everyone's perimeter assault.
Of the 29 BOSSes, about two-thirds were effectively hit, and a rough calculation showed they had lost about one-tenth of their health bars on average.
Just one-tenth.
They were BOSSes, after all. If they weren't under the 50% reduction status, it would have been at least two-tenths, but now it was just… too weak!
After one wave of mass attacks took away 10% of their health, what then?
The BOSSes' damage output was still ongoing. The moment the barrier was about to reach its breaking point, Wang Jiu dispelled it, not even bothering with defense, and took the damage directly. Then… the instant she would have been killed, the Serpent Phantom appeared, taking all the damage. She timed it perfectly with the BOSSes' skill cooldowns, spun the scepter in one hand, gathered dark energy, and unleashed her Spirit Power: Nightmare Descent + Heavy Strike + 40% Blood Wrath + Black Flame Swamp area-of-effect burst.
The black swamp spread, leaving no escape within a 20-meter diameter, catching them right after they had lost their ability to attack and had just taken a 10% hit.
With this burst from Wang Jiu, her amplified attributes completely surpassed her original 3500 average attribute level, giving her 150% armor-piercing damage against all BOSSes. If she were at her peak, she could probably one-shot half the BOSSes, but even now, she could still inflict heavy damage, right?
Not only that, Bai Bai shot out from underground and immediately cast a buff skill—a skill it had devoured from a bat BOSS. It wasn't a high-level skill, just a 20% attribute buff, but it was enough to elevate Wang Jiu's already high base stats to another level. Then, with the glow of the Purple Gold Glory Badge on her, her total 80% critical damage directly doubled her damage output.
The effect was comparable to having 4500 average attributes.
The combination of Luo Sheng's amplification puppets + level 8 Heavy Strike + Dark Altar + Mountain Ghost's Night March + Blood Wrath + the magic critical damage from the Purple Gold Glory Badge was terrifying. It actually produced a critical hit even while her attributes were reduced by 50%!
A vast spray of blood bloomed brilliantly, like fireworks on New Year's Eve.
The green-eyed BOSS anticipated her damage and forcibly used a special escape skill to break free from the binding effect of the Black Flame Swamp, leaping out of the damage circle and letting out a shriek. Blood Frenzy!
All the BOSSes entered a frenzied, buffed state.
Armor increased, they endured!
There was a sound like a vast expanse of iron shells cracking, an irresistible dark radiance, and a wild surge of blood and black qi radiating outwards from the 20-meter radius.
It howled and swept over them. The people attacking from the perimeter only heard their clothes flapping violently and felt a chilling cold on their faces, as if their very souls were being cleansed by a negative energy.
The feeling was a bit complicated—it was clearly an ally's attack, but there was always a sense of panic, like being crushed by a villain from a higher dimension.
Probably because Lao Wang really didn't seem like a good person.
Then, the result became clear.
Under the effect of Blood Frenzy, 16 of the 29 BOSSes with increased armor held on, but 13 were instantly killed. Their bodies were about to thud to the ground.
The 16 that survived, including the green-eyed BOSS, let out a piercing shriek. Even without a translation, its meaning was clear—kill her!
At that moment, having unleashed a massive attack that consumed 1500 Spirit Power and left her pale and severely dizzy from the blood loss of Blood Wrath, Wang Jiu's eyes were extremely calm. She simply said, "Holy Light."
Holy Light!
Three people across the three teams had the Holy Light skill, and under their respective captains' orders, they simultaneously cast the group heal.
The pillars of light were gentle. Wang Jiu's own level 2 Holy Light, combined with the others', instantly refilled her blood, restoring her condition. But the attacks from the green-eyed BOSS and the others had already arrived.
They were here?
Bang, bang, bang! The combined attack of the 16 BOSSes was about to slam into Wang Jiu's reactivated barrier. The barrier hadn't completely collapsed before, and repairing the damage to restore it to a perfect state only cost 300 Spirit Power. No matter, she could afford it.
After all, compared to the 1000 Spirit Power it would cost to repair it after it shattered, this was very little.
The barrier represented perfect defense, but the green-eyed BOSS used Silence again.
The barrier was gone.
Wang Jiu was about to use Exemption again, but found that its cooldown had been forcibly extended by half an hour.
The skill timing she had perfectly calculated was disrupted.
Hmm? She did remember that one of the BOSSes had a skill like that.
These BOSSes were clearly more formidable than previous ones. They coordinated with each other and knew how to change strategies based on the battle situation. Look at how well-timed this skill usage was. Wang Jiu's brow twitched slightly. With Silence un-exemptible and her barrier unavailable, the attacks of the 16 BOSSes would arrive as scheduled?
Even if she used Golden Armor, she still wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Wang Jiu smiled, immediately located that BOSS, and used X-Ray Dissection to detonate its injuries. With a bang, the BOSS's skill output was completely interrupted. It was heavily wounded and coughed up blood, and the cooldown effect on Wang Jiu's skill disappeared.
Exemption!
The barrier had been able to withstand the full force of 29 BOSSes for a few seconds, so holding against these 16 was much easier. And in those dozen or so seconds it held, Wang Jiu cast Black Flame Swamp a second time, simultaneously locking onto the green-eyed BOSS. Dark Curse + Flowing Light + Dissection!
The green-eyed BOSS was extremely cunning. With a quick stealth move, it burrowed into the ground. It was a high-IQ BOSS with average attributes approaching 2000, yet it was more troublesome than some BOSSes with 3000 average attributes because it had seven or eight skills, each one very practical. It was truly extraordinary.
But the other BOSSes didn't have such quick reactions or durability. They were heavily wounded again. Then, the second wave of group attacks from Mei Qingshu, Luo Sheng, and the others arrived, timed perfectly with their skill cooldowns.
This time, it was a complete bombardment!
After the bombardment, 16 - 10 = 6.
It was impossible to know who got the kill credits because the attacks were too dense.
And the battle was not over yet.
The 6 BOSSes, with less than 30% health remaining, entered a frenzied state early due to the green-eyed BOSS's Blood Frenzy. However, they didn't intend to continue the head-on fight but planned to retreat. But… Xie Lu and the other melee fighters, buffed by Holy Light, had already charged into their midst.
Group attacks were powerful, but when it came to the highest damage, single-target attacks were king.
The green-eyed BOSS was escaping underground, but before it had gone seven or eight meters, it sensed the presence of a monitoring eye—the monitoring eye system within Trap Art, commonly known as a formation master's third eye.
It was especially reliable in the earth element, capable of detecting almost all enemy stealth movements within a certain range.
Exposed!
Just as the green-eyed BOSS was about to dodge, Dao Dao had already rushed over. On the surface, it used Earth Mastery + Minor Earthquake.
The green-eyed BOSS, already hanging on by a thread of health, felt a wave of nausea and was forced to cancel its earth-burrowing state and surface…
The moment it emerged, just as it was about to use a skill to counteract the debilitating effects of the earthquake, it suddenly felt an icy chill behind it. It was a sword, released from its wielder's hand, flying like a bird—elegant and agile, sharp and nimble.
Homing Bird Sword Art!
This was the highest-level single-target attack skill among the people Wang Jiu had encountered so far. Even she herself currently had no single-target blade skill superior to it. Of course, with her own critical damage bonus, her Dismemberment could surpass it.
After all, Xie Lu only had a 30% critical damage bonus.
Pfft!
The green-eyed BOSS, afflicted with Dark Curse and various other negative statuses, exploded.
The longsword flew back into Xie Lu's hand. He turned to assist Mei Qinghe and the others in killing the remaining BOSSes. At this point, the 6 BOSSes were no longer a terrifying enemy, but treasure chests glowing with golden light.
Finish them off, loot the bodies!
Three minutes later, it was all over.
To ensure everyone benefited from the buffs, the three teams had temporarily grouped up. This was a temporary team system recognized by the game. Of course, Wang Jiu's team was the main one; she was now the king of them all.
In that case, there was no question of ownership. The system would calculate their participation with perfect clarity. Wang Jiu's main team would receive a certain boost, but overall, the strong would reign supreme.
The current participation ranking was as follows.
Wang Jiu: 50%
Bai Bai: 9%
Luo Sheng: 8%
Xie Lu: 7%
Mei Qingshu: 5%
Zhong Qing: 4%
Qiao Xuejing: 4%
Diao Guang: 3%
The remaining people split the last 10%.
In a team of thirty, a few strong individuals could account for 90% of the output. Wasn't that terrifying? But considering the multiples of difference in their attributes and skill damage, it was also normal. However, four points were shocking.
1. Bai Bai's output was second only to Wang Jiu. But its attributes were high, and it was a BOSS itself. In a one-on-one fight, even Luo Sheng couldn't beat it, so this was normal.
2. Xie Lu's attributes were not higher than Luo Sheng's or Zhong Qing's, but he managed to surpass them through sheer combat skill and critical damage.
3. The advantage of a formation master like Qiao Xuejing was as self-evident as Luo Sheng's. She had pulled ahead.
4. Wang Shu, with the lowest attribute level, ranked 20th in participation. This was the biggest upset of all.
Luo Sheng took a closer look and realized there were several people with high potential in Wang Jiu's team. Was it simply because of the advantage of Wang Jiu being the main team's captain?
Not necessarily.
Their class talents must be very strong.
With this judgment, Luo Sheng's gaze quickly swept over these people, and then she thanked Wang Jiu. "Thank you, Lord Lao Wang, for your generous rescue and for leading us in such a beautiful battle. I really don't know how to repay you."
Wang Jiu was sitting on a rock to rest, her face slightly pale, but she lifted her eyes lightly. They were like the lonely, simple light of a midnight streetlamp on an empty path.
Her voice was very soft, with three parts coolness and seven parts faint charm: "Well then, how about you give me half your rewards?"
Hearing this, Luo Sheng lightly grabbed Zhong Qing's arm beside her. "Big Zhong, didn't you have something to tell me just now?"
Zhong Qing understood in a second. "Yes, let's go talk over there. Apologies, Lord Lao Wang, we'll take our leave first."
Ah, they must have known each other since childhood. Their coordination was truly seamless. They left so quickly.
Wang Jiu scoffed lightly and patted the head of Wang Shu, who was diligently looting the bodies beside her. "Pretty women are all liars. Ah Shu, you must be careful not to be deceived in the future."
Wang Shu: "Master, I feel that after spending so much time with you, I wouldn't even be afraid if Daji or Wu Zetian showed up."
Her disciple had really grown up. Even his compliments were laced with a passive-aggressive, sarcastic edge.
Wang Jiu smiled and told him to cook after he finished looting the bodies. She was hungry.
"I don't really like this dungeon. It's a bit annoying. You have to eat after every few fights. So crude, no class at all."
Everyone else: You fight like Kayako from The Grudge possessing the Black Mountain Old Demon every time. What class do you need?
Although they were joking, they were all hurrying to loot the BOSSes. The three teams had tacitly agreed to let the ones with lucky hands do the looting, while the others took a break.
Over here, Luo Sheng and Zhong Qing were talking privately.
Zhong Qing: "I think it's still better to follow them. Look, our team got a total of 16% participation, which is roughly equivalent to the rewards from 4.8 Silver BOSSes. And with no deaths, it's an incredibly profitable venture."
Luo Sheng: "It is very profitable. The main thing is that the difficulty of this dungeon is already at a level we can't handle. Only by surviving can we get resources. I'm not against following her."
Zhong Qing: "I just don't know if she's willing to let us follow."
Luo Sheng: "Her primary principle is her own self-interest. Having us at her disposal will, to some extent, increase her power to clear the dungeon. After all, our team does have strength."
Zhong Qing: "That's true. Our skills are useful, especially your puppets…"
Just as the two finished speaking, all the BOSSes had been looted. The system notified them that a certain lord had, without asking for anyone's opinion, picked out what she wanted and then randomly distributed all the resources.
The members of the other two teams were stunned and wanted to offer a few tactful complaints, but were then notified that they had been kicked from the team by the captain. The temporary team was disbanded.
This???
What a domineering, unreasonable woman!
The two: "…"
Luo Sheng, who had been the reigning socialite in Hong Kong for many years, touched her small ear, the corners of her mouth turning down.
A bit humiliating, Comrade Lao Wang.
After the 30 BOSSes were looted and the rewards distributed, while everyone was happily sorting through their resources, they had originally planned to cook and eat here. However, Luo Sheng glanced at Wang Jiu and suggested, "We made too much of a commotion here. The Research Institute might have a follow-up move. It would be safer to leave this place."
"It doesn't matter. They've already gotten what they wanted."
As Wang Jiu spoke, she picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it at the crown of a nearby tree. Bang! A device that had been placed among the dense leaves and branches fell down.
Everyone was surprised. Xie Lu picked it up and examined it, frowning. "It's a detection-type device. It should be able to capture human bio-energy data."
This kind of thing was already in the hands of the core government departments of the most advanced nations in their world, so he could identify it.
In fact, he had a feeling that the technological level of this world was slightly higher than their own.
Even though this was just a small town.
"So, the Research Institute was using these mutated monsters to test our strength?"
Upon learning this fact, everyone felt a subconscious chill in their hearts.
Just a test? Then when would the real thing begin?
And the person behind the scenes, what were they doing now?
While Xie Lu and the others were fiddling with the device, its sensor inadvertently swept past Wang Jiu's side. When it paused for a moment, it happened to meet Wang Jiu's casual glance as she took a slice of bread from Wang Shu.
She looked at it once, then lowered her gaze without a ripple of emotion, and took a light bite of the bread. Her pale yet slightly warm lips pressed against the bread as she slowly began to sort through the resources from the BOSSes. Of course, besides that, there were also the resources from the other 3000 Bronze mutated minions.
This basically belonged to Wang Jiu's squad. The other two teams… well… there was no consolation prize for being bait.
In terms of actual strength, Wang Jiu's squad still couldn't compare to Luo Sheng's. That's why Luo Sheng's team received the largest share of the 10% from the BOSS group. Liao Luo and the others couldn't compare, but their final gains were far greater than those of the ordinary members of Luo Sheng's team.
It was all because of those minions.
Bronze equipment, basic skill books, special small gadgets, occasional low-level puppet cards, plus small dolls, manor materials, basic living materials, and so on—a massive batch of resources.
The harder and more advanced the dungeon, the more profitable even killing a single minion was!
So Liao Luo and the others had struck it rich!
Especially Mei Qingshu and Qiao Xuejing. One racked up output with Arrow Rain, the other farmed participation with traps. Their share was even higher than Xie Lu's.
With a huge pile of resources from both BOSSes and minions, they were absolutely rich! Qiao Xuejing did a quick calculation. After equipping the useful resources and selling the useless ones, and then converting the funds into effective resources, her attributes could increase by an average of 400 points after this wave.
A huge windfall.
If they had done so well, then what about Wang Jiu?
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