Twenty-seven minutes pa.s.sed by in the blink of an eye. The battle was still ongoing because the boss had over 2 million HP, and this was despite Beiming Xue and Shadow Chanel helping me from the backline. If I had to fight this boss alone, it could easily take more than an hour. Max HP wasn"t that big of a problem here, pa.s.sive HP regen was!
Suddenly, something changed!
Wind Fury leaped into the sky and raised his b.l.o.o.d.y sword, b.l.o.o.d.y flames surrounding it and waves of energy pressing down on our shoulders like a mountain. The cooldown on the boss"s ridiculously broken skill, Earth"s Fury, had finally finished!
"f.u.c.k!"
My eyes widened, but I couldn"t say anything. Should I run? It would be a futile attempt. Its range was simply too high. There was nowhere for me to escape at all!
We all witnessed how devastating Earth"s Fury was earlier. The girls were all opening their mouths in shock and despair.
"Is it over? In the end, an Epic Rank boss is too much for us…" Lin Yixin lowered her Moonlight Sword and bowed her proud head.
If even the Fruit Knife G.o.ddess had given up, what could the rest of the players possibly do?
Beiming Xue ran to the bottom of the boss and fired an Evil Spirit Volley in hopes of interrupting its ultimate skill. However, she was a Level 86 archer, and Wind Fury was a Level 100 Epic Rank boss. Her last ditch effort was destined to end in failure.
MISS!
MISS!
MISS!
……
The girl stared at the boss with equal frustration and despair. It was a cruel and despairing sight to say the least.
He Yi hadn"t given up yet. She summoned a s.h.i.+eld to her left hand and stood in front of Murong Mingyue. It looked like she was hoping to guard the boss"s ultimate attack.
Shadow Chanel, Moonlight Stone, Moon Dew and the rest of the girls didn"t even bother using a defensive skill. They simply gave in to despair and waited for the boss to kill them.
Shadow Chanel: "I can"t believe it"s going to end like this. I just can"t accept it…"
Beauty Pure Love buffed me with a Death Match before saying, "Take care, Lu Chen. I"ll see you later…"
I shook my head helplessly. "Thank you, but it"s no use. No one can survive Earth"s Fury…"
……
The world was dark, and everyone was feeling like they had hit rock bottom. No one liked to wait for death to overcome them.
Suddenly, a bolt of red lightning cut through the sky and hit Wind Fury with meteoric power! Even more shocking was the fact that the impact had canceled Wind Fury"s ultimate skill and sent it cras.h.i.+ng into the ground like a cannonball!
"Heavens, what is that?"
Too shocked to speak, we all stared at the person floating in the moonlit sky, our savior. It was a beautiful girl clad in an elegant black armor and a dark blue cape, the form-fitting metal accentuating her gorgeous curves in full. She stared at the ground with emotionless eyes that reminded me of the stars, and she was gripping a familiar-looking spear in her hand. It was the Dragonbone Spear!
……
"Xin… Xinran. Is that you?" I murmured in astonishment.
I hadn"t seen Xinran ever since the contract between us had been dissolved, but she should"ve returned to full health after the Frost s...o...b..ll quest, and from the looks of it she was a lot stronger than the last time I saw her. No way she could"ve interrupted Wind Fury"s ultimate skill and knocked him to the ground otherwise.
When Xinran"s gaze matched mine, she bit her lips a bit unnaturally before whispering, "Are… are you doing well?"
I nodded while lowering the Purgatory Sword. I was going to Guard and and heal myself with Tenacity of the Dead and a HP potion when Earth Fury hit me. I never gave up until the last moment; it was my biggest principle when fighting bosses and other players.
……
It was at this moment the sorry-looking Wind Fury burst out of the ground he had been knocked to, got up to its feet and stared at Xinran with cold, hateful eyes. It growled, "Wind Singer! It is you, traitor of the h.e.l.l Shrine and shame of the Purgatory!"
Xinran looked at Wind Fury indifferently before replying, "Silence, you filthy creature. How can I betray something that I never cared about one bit in the first place? And who do you think you are to criticize my actions? There is only one law in the Purgatory, and that is survival of the fittest. And as far as I"m concerned, you aren"t fit to survive today!"
"Pooh!"
Wind Fury spat on the ground furiously before saying, "You think you can beat me? Hahaha! You were wounded by Lord Lin Na and the Sovereigns, and you had to seal away your own power to escape Bing Lan"s detection when you pa.s.sed through the cracks of h.e.l.l and escaped into the Heavenblessed Continent. Do you really think you"re still the terror you used to be?"
Xinran sneered, "You will know that very soon, won"t you?"
Xinran gently dropped to the ground in front of me and lowered her spear. She then asked me quietly, "Would you like to kill Wind Fury with your own hands?"
I was surprised. Was she offering me the boss"s loot and experience?
This is wonderful!
"Mn!"
"Then let us kill him together!"
"Okay!"
I stayed behind Xinran as I gripped my sword tighter. Xinran was the main striker here, not me, not to mention that the priests behind me were too stunned by the sudden change of events to heal me. There was no way I could survive 10 seconds in Wind Fury"s hands without healing, and that was with me overestimating my abilities!
Xinran ran toward Wind Fury and plunged her spear right through the boss"s chest. A ridiculous damage number popped above its head—
290774!
Hah, this is why I love NPC battles. Every strike felt like it could be the last!
However, Wind Fury let out a sinister laugh and gripped the shaft of the spear with his gauntlet. Then, he moved closer, grabbed the loli and swung his sword at her! He wasn"t a general of h.e.l.l for nothing!
Swhoos.h.!.+
The Arctic Storm hit only an afterimage, however. Somehow, Xinran had reappeared behind Wind Fury, grabbed the blade of spear and pulled it through the general"s chest just like the time she fought Cardilla! Not only that, the entire spear was covered in tiny wind blades, and they cut a literal bowl-sized hole in his chest! It was an amazing amount of damage!
"Heh, Wind Singer!"
Wind Fury abruptly spun around and swung his sword downward in War Crush. At the same time, he shouted, "Wind Shackle!"
Swhoos.h.!.+
A magical rune suddenly appeared beneath Xinran"s feet. It turned into many arm-sized wind dragons that wrapped around her!
"Oh?"
Xinran couldn"t help but laugh. "You"re trying to beat me with wind, Wind Fury?"
Xinran stretched her body, puffed up her awesome chest and disintegrated the power holding her down completely. Then, b.l.o.o.d.y eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with pride at her own strength, she raised her left hand and summoned the exact same type of power!
"Wind Dragon Break!"
The powerful attack turned Wind Fury"s right arm into bits. I felt a ripple in my heart as the sword clattered on the ground. h.e.l.l yeah! I wonder if it is a Divine-grade weapon!
"Now is the time!"
Xinran shouted at me as killing intent burned deep within her eyes. Wind Fury"s HP had dropped to the red, and his right arm had been crushed by Xinran. There was no better time to kill him than now!
I rushed forward and swung the Purgatory Sword at his neck! Pardon + Desperate Gambit!
MISS!
9043!
Not dead yet? One more basic attack!
4084!
Wind Fury"s Defense had been shredded so much that two hits were all it took to remove the last chunk of his HP!
"Aaahh…"
Wind Fury screamed as he slowly collapsed to his knees. Eyes overflowing with hatred and reluctance, he shouted, "Wind Singer, you will answer for your sins and be punished! Lord Lin Na and Lady Sophie will avenge me! Watch as the vengeful flames of h.e.l.l turn every corner of this continent into dust, Xinran!"
Xinran replied calmly, "Rest in peace. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."
……
Xinran"s parting words to Wind Fury turned out to be true because the h.e.l.l general—even his sword, the Arctic Storm—literally turned into dust right after she said that. It pained me deeply to see such a powerful weapon scattering into nothing, but at least the boss dropped some loot!
I rushed forward and grabbed everything. There were too many players around here, and I wasn"t going to risk an a.s.sa.s.sin stealing them. That would be a real tragedy.
……
At the same time, a melodious ring resounded throughout Floating Ice City—no, wait, the entire China server!
Ding~!
System Announcement: Congratulations to player "Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand" for successfully killing Iron Skull War General Wind Fury! 10000 points are awarded to the player! Skull Castle has fallen, and the major questline [Reestablishment of the Violet Empire] is a success! Therefore, the three tier 1 cities of the China server will be unlocked! The server will enter maintenance in 30 minutes that will last until tomorrow noon. Moreover, we are announcing the warm-up Night Creature faction patch update, “Nine Sovereigns of the Night Creatures”—
Lin Na the Purgatory Ruler
Sophie the Snow Minstrel
Linda the Whisperer
Ovia the b.l.o.o.d.y Finger
Opero the Nightwalker
Strela the Dark Magma
Coldblade the Infinite Storm
Skullblood the Earth Devourer
Thunder the Blade of Death
……
Everyone was overwhelmed by the sudden news for a time. A new patch was coming, and the tier 1 cities—Sky City, Wind City and Vanished G.o.d City—were about to be opened! I couldn"t wait!
The opening of the tier 1 cities meant that player shops, guild territories and other popular as h.e.l.l systems would be introduced as well. The age of conquerors was right around the corner!
……
But before that, let"s see what Wind Fury left behind for us!