Chapter 72: Great Harvest
Ye Li Meng, as the best-equipped Player, despite being blessed with the Taiping Talisman, was actually killed by Jian Shuo in just one encounter!
Although it was already known that Jian Shuo was powerful.
They did not expect him to be this ferocious.
This was even stronger than two or three Xu Fengs combined!
After killing Ye Li Meng, Jian Shuo’s health once again recovered, showing that his lifesteal ability was not a one-time use, but that each enemy he killed, or even each time he inflicted damage, would grant him replenishment.
As long as he maintained the rhythm in this situation.
He could almost fight until the end of time!
Jian Shuo once again turned into a spirit-form state, riding his horse calmly among the Players, and all attacks were unable to harm him.
With a sweeping motion of his great halberd.
He took down two Players with a basic attack.
"Fuck, this guy can ignore attacks, this is totally unplayable!" Street Slayer shouted unwillingly.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge quickly calmed everyone down: "Everyone stay steady, don’t panic, no battle mechanic is truly unbeatable."
Judging from the current situation.
Jian Shuo was stronger than Feng Xu and Xu Feng.
Aside from his powerful attacks that could instantly kill Ye Li Meng, plus the mobility granted by his warhorse, the most troublesome abilities were his spirit-form and his lifesteal attacks.
The former allowed him to ignore the Players' attacks.
The latter allowed him to sustain himself through continuous recovery.
If they could not quickly figure out a way to counter this, everyone would soon face complete annihilation.
Brother Ma suddenly spoke up: "If this guy’s spirit-form could truly avoid all attacks, why was he almost burned to death in the fire and forced to flee?"
Exactly!
Why?
Salted Fish Thrust and Black-Eyed Rui Ge were immediately enlightened.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge immediately said: "Could it be that his spirit-form can only evade physical attacks, but cannot avoid magic attacks?"
At this moment, Little Bell fired a Flame Arrow that hit the spirit-form Jian Shuo, but like a normal arrow, it passed straight through his body.
"Useless!"
"Magic attacks can also be dodged!"
"At least the strength of this magic attack is still not enough!"
At this time, Salted Fish Thrust had an idea: "I get it, he can only go spirit-form when he is not taking damage; if he is currently taking damage, the skill would be disabled."
Brother Ma: "Makes sense, he couldn't use the skill inside the fire because he was constantly being burned!"
Jian Shuo launched another attack.
He speared Midnight Pig Slayer to death with one thrust.
Although Jian Shuo’s abilities were extremely powerful, during the attack he must materialize, and this brief gap was enough for experts to seize the opportunity to strike.
Lone Boat turned into a shadow and instantly appeared in front of him, the Blood Mark Sword like a venomous snake, stabbing straight for Jian Shuo’s throat.
However, Jian Shuo reacted extremely fast and swiftly parried it, bouncing the attack away.
Clang!
Sparks flew.
During the defense, Jian Shuo did suffer some damage, but it was negligible and had almost no effect, and he seized the opportunity to stab Lone Boat.
Good chance!
Black-Eyed Rui Ge quietly approached.
He threw a clay pot that shattered against Jian Shuo’s body.
Although it caused no damage, Jian Shuo was drenched in concentrated toad oil.
"Not good!"
Jian Shuo realized something was wrong.
He tried to enter spirit-form to evade attacks.
Chimera Wraith had long been charging her Flame Arrow; she seized the fleeting opportunity and hit the target, not only causing significant damage but also successfully igniting Jian Shuo, inflicting persistent burn damage that was difficult to extinguish.
Jian Shuo let out a furious low growl.
The great halberd glowed red once more.
A fierce sweeping slash sent several Players flying, instantly killing two of them.
During this process, various arrows and spells struck him, and Black-Eyed Rui Ge occasionally threw another homemade oil pot to keep him burning continuously, causing his health bar to deplete at a terrifying speed.
"Hahaha!"
"His skill is disabled!"
"In this state, he really can’t go spirit-form!"
"Nor can he heal with lifesteal attacks!"
Lone Boat, Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Salted Fish Thrust, and the others were overjoyed at the sight; luck was truly on their side.
Even after figuring out the combat mechanics, killing this guy was not an easy task.
"Jian Shuo!"
"You’re done for!"
"Surrender now!"
The morale of the Players soared, and they launched a frenzied assault.
Although Jian Shuo’s most troublesome ability was temporarily suppressed, as a level 7 top elite monster, he was still not to be underestimated, especially with his red glowing halberd technique that even the best-equipped Ye Li Meng couldn't withstand.
However.
This skill had a long cooldown time.
Mad Blade Old Wang, Salted Fish Thrust, and Street Slayer, all warriors, activated Iron Armor under the blessing of the Taiping Talisman and engaged Jian Shuo in close combat, neutralizing his mobility advantage.
Bang!
The warhorse fell first.
Jian Shuo switched from mounted combat to ground combat.
This made his disadvantage even more obvious.
Rui Ge, Lone Boat, Little Bell, Chimera Wraith, and others attacked from mid-to-long range, and before long, Jian Shuo’s health bar was nearly depleted.
Although the Players suffered significant casualties, more than half survived, with the core fighting strength mostly intact.
However, at this moment.
Jian Shuo suddenly ceased his attacks.
"Although your strength is mediocre, you are quite good at cooperation!"
Hearing him speak, the Players immediately became highly alert, fearing that this BOSS had a second phase.
Even if he was near death, he could not be underestimated!
"This battle shall count as your victory."
"We shall meet again soon."
"I hope you have the same luck next time!"
While speaking, Jian Shuo stabbed his halberd into his own body, clearing his almost empty health bar completely, then fell to the ground, dropping a white loot light cluster.
"He committed suicide?"
"What’s going on?"
"Maybe he just wanted to die with dignity!"
"What did he mean by his last words?"
"Haha, who cares, as long as loot drops, it’s all good!"
"..."
Rui Ge and the others hurried to pick up the loot.
【You have picked up loot: Essence +3600, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +8000, Corrupted Gem +10, Bloodthirsty Great Halberd +1!】
【You have picked up loot: Essence +2500, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +5000, Corrupted Gem +10, Shadow Thunder Necklace +1!】
The Players discovered.
Even if a monster did not die directly at the hands of a Player, as long as 80–90% of its damage was caused directly or indirectly by Players, the drop rate would not be affected.
Thus, the loot this time was very generous.
【Bloodthirsty Great Halberd】: Tier-One Equipment, White-Grade High-Quality, Attack +19, Strength +6, every time it deals effective damage there is a chance to restore a small amount of health, Durability 19/30.
【Shadow Thunder Necklace】: Tier-One Equipment, White-Grade High-Quality, Lightning Spell Amplification +10, Lightning Damage Immunity +10, Spirit +2, Durability 15/30.
Seeing the dropped items.
Everyone was overjoyed.
Two top-grade pieces of equipment for the current stage had dropped again.
Especially the Bloodthirsty Great Halberd, which was no less than the Blood Mark Sword, boasting extremely high attack power and lifesteal effects, making it especially suitable for warriors!
"Good fight!"
Hang Yu had watched the entire battle from the main camp via the Lord’s Perspective.
Except for Jian Shuo, Feng Xu, and a few monsters, the other small bosses and the vast majority of the monsters failed to escape the sea of fire.
The Players achieved a tremendous victory at minimal cost despite the great disparity in strength.
After about an hour.
Although the flames had not completely gone out, the Players couldn’t wait to enter the fire field to retrieve the dropped loot, minimizing the loss of Essence.
【Player A Sword Comes from the West has died, Essence +900!】
【Player Zha Jiang Mian has died, Essence +1250!】
【Player Brother Ma has died, Essence +900!】
【……】
Nine Players died while scavenging loot, earning Hang Yu several thousand extra Essence points for no reason.
However, thanks to the Players' efforts, the vast majority of loot was successfully recovered.
Although a small part was lost, it was still a massive profit.
Lone Boat, Black-Eyed Rui Ge, and Artist Faction Leader directly leveled up to level 7.
Artist Faction Leader, who contributed the most, received a large share of the Essence, becoming the fastest leveling Player so far.
The number of level 6 Players.
Instantly increased by six more.
The generous loot greatly boosted the Players' strength.
The Calamity Army then recaptured the River Pavilion Blessing Point, once again opening the teleportation point between the main camp and River Pavilion, thus regaining control of the crucial forward base.
A complete and overwhelming victory!
An incredibly rich harvest!
Time to pop the champagne in celebration!
Would the Calamity Army be satisfied with this?
Of course not.
Players were notoriously greedy, and besides, the threats had not yet been completely eradicated.
Shortly after, eighty Players gathered for a meeting.
On one hand, they divided up the loot.
On the other hand, they planned their next big move — taking advantage of their momentum to directly challenge the big BOSS, Ma Yuanyi!
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was right before their eyes!
The defenses of the core contamination zone were now extremely weak!
Ma Yuanyi was almost a commander without an army!
The Players had regained the River Pavilion teleportation point, making troop reinforcement very convenient!
Eighty against one.
They could even rotate in battle.
In such a situation, how could they possibly lose?
Thinking of this, the Players became very fired up!
If they could resolve the issue before Ultimate Darkness descended, they would surely obtain perfect mission rewards, not to mention Contribution Points and Essence would pour in endlessly.
Who could resist such temptation and benefits!
"Roar!"
"Charge!"
"There's no time!"
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
"This will definitely be a BOSS fight for the ages!"
"First time challenging a Commander-level BOSS — to be honest, I’m a little nervous!"