Chapter 55: A Premature Burst and a Swarm of Dragons

“We’re almost at ten percent! Everyone, enter the highest state of alert!”

The poor Green Giant was already charred black, with lightning continuously piercing through his lower back, precisely striking down one player after another.

At this moment, his high defense, high magic resistance, and high HP ironically became one of the culprits tormenting him, ensuring he wouldn’t simply be struck dead by the lightning.

As the BOSS’s HP slowly approached ten percent, Yingning and I tensed up, raising our vigilance.

If we were to snatch the BOSS, it would all depend on the power of its final burst phase!

“Almost ten percent! Everyone, fall back! Maintain the same formation as before… shit!”

Jiangu was still giving orders when his face suddenly darkened, letting out an expletive.

This time, the burst had come early!

Most BOSS’s濒死爆发 (TL Note: a death-throes burst of power) typically occurred at the thirty or ten percent HP mark, a common mechanic across all games. However, this Red Water Dragon chose not to play by the rules.

“Roar!”

Its sharp horn shot up, and its head abruptly reared back.

As if sensing its impending doom, it let out a deafening wail, stunning everyone once again.

This time, Green Giant had no power to resist; dazzling bright white electric light even shot out from his seven orifices, and then his entire body was utterly shattered by the immense energy!

An instant, indiscriminate blast with a one-hundred-meter radius!

One hundred meters!

Both the mage and priest teams were enveloped within its reach!

The lightning circle dealt continuous area damage, but because of the BOSS’s thunderous roar just now, everyone nearby remained in a stunned state.

One hundred meters of stun, one hundred meters of lightning bombardment!

Jiangu instantly felt as if his heart had been squeezed, watching with painful anguish as more and more players fell within the electric light’s range, especially the healers.

Had the healing team endured the stun, they would have had enough time to use powerful healing spells to restore the HP of the other team members, allowing them to escape. But with the healers dead and their sustain lost, even the best gear and strongest players couldn’t withstand more than a few normal attacks from the BOSS.

Regardless of the situation, in a BOSS battle, the most crucial players were always the seemingly weakest healers.

These inconspicuous supports ensured the entire team wasn’t easily cut down like melons and vegetables by the BOSS; they were the lifeline of the team, the guarantee for prolonged combat!

A single warrior and a single healer could attrition a weak BOSS to death, but two warriors could never hope to achieve the same, unless their levels and gear were overwhelmingly superior!

Unconsciously, Jiangu’s gaze fell upon me. Even he didn’t realize it, but because of Yingning’s and my dazzling performance, a faint glimmer of hope had begun to stir within him regarding me.

I didn’t know him, and I couldn’t see his ID, but I had noticed that the burly man I’d previously suspected was the leader of the healing team had always shown him great respect.

Thus, I surmised this man was a high-ranking member of the guild, at least the core commander of this BOSS battle!

The entire front-line priest team was thrown into disarray by this sudden, premature burst, trapped in a stun with no means of self-preservation.

Now, the only active healing classes remaining, aside from the elite team hidden in the shadows, were just me.

‘My apologies, though you have high hopes for me, I haven’t finished resting yet, and I’m not keen on moving.’

‘It would be best if all the players on your front line died. Once they’re gone, the elite team will have to take over, won’t they? As soon as the elite team starts scrambling, Yingning and I will have an opening to exploit!’

However, doing absolutely nothing wouldn’t work either; that would raise suspicion.

So, I let out a feigned gasp of alarm, rushing towards the electrified zone with apparent urgency, standing at its periphery and casting healing spells with a show of terror.

I truly admired my own acting skills… Honestly, if I hadn’t gone into assassinations, a career in Hollywood might not have been a bad choice.

My healing spells consistently pulled individual priests, who were in dire straits and on the verge of death, back to a safe HP level, which visibly relieved Jiangu.

“Excellent, a great presence of mind. You know to save the healers first…”

Catching a glimpse of the man’s relieved expression when I glanced back, I smiled brilliantly.

‘I specifically chose to heal the nearly dead priests. My healing output appeared phenomenal, giving the impression of a savior descending… However, since I lack area-of-effect healing skills and only use single-target spells, while I did heal those dying priests, the others remained in dire straits.’

‘Although it seemed I reduced casualties, the team’s overall HP was still plummeting. Furthermore, among the dying priests in the electrified zone, those were naturally the ones with the worst gear. Even if they survived, their contribution to the team often couldn’t compare to the few wealthy players. As for the priests in blue-tier gear, I “accidentally” overlooked them “because I was too busy.”’

‘My sincerest apologies. As a gleaming holy figure, it is my duty to heal the weak. As for you well-equipped individuals, you’ll just have to fend for yourselves.’

I felt certain my smile was warm, radiating the divine aura of a benevolent saint.

The electric arcs continued, but the stun had already worn off. Many mages with decent gear had endured it and, being on the edge of the electric field, easily escaped.

Consequently, only one-third of the mage team had fallen.

The priest team, being closer to the BOSS than the mages, retreated more slowly. However, with my remote assistance, their casualties were significantly reduced, with half of them falling.

Yet, under my deliberate oversight, some careless elite priests met an unfortunate end, severely diminishing the healing team’s overall capacity.

The melee team, unfortunately, saw all their fragile classes perish, with only a dozen or so shield warriors, high in defense and HP, surviving. The healing team strained to their limits, barely managing to keep them alive.

Of the fifteen hundred players who had arrived, a mere two hundred or so remained.

Only now did everyone recall that this was a World BOSS!!!

And it was the first purple-named World BOSS on Aethel Continent!

A lean camel is still bigger than a horse (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning even a weakened powerful entity is still formidable). The previous fight had indeed been too easy! Perhaps that simplicity was merely to lull them into a false sense of security!

Jiangu gritted his teeth. “So, this was the trap. A mandatory one-hundred-meter stun combined with continuous area damage. If we hadn’t brought the guild’s top-tier elites this time, we would have all certainly fallen at this stage…”

“However, it should be just this much! After all, there are still two hundred people, and the BOSS only has ten percent HP left. We should be able to grind it down…” With this thought, Jiangu quickly opened the guild chat, trying to rally morale.

“Keep fighting! Only ten percent left! None of you want to fall before the finish line, do you? I promise, if we successfully clear this BOSS, every single one of you still alive will receive double KDP!”

A heavy reward will always draw brave men. Jiangu understood this principle well; using shared interests to retain people was a core tenet of guild management.

All existing Sword Sweeping the World players immediately surged forward as if infused with a powerful stimulant. Seeing the electric arcs dissipate and the BOSS showing signs of fatigue, they swarmed it.

However, at that moment, the BOSS looked up at the sky, revealing a disturbingly human expression of triumph!

Simultaneously, a series of bright red messages flashed across the screens of Yingning, all the players in the mountain hollow, and myself!

[Warning! BOSS intrusion! Intruder: Red Water Dragon 5574! Level 43!]

[Warning! BOSS intrusion! Intruder: Red Water Dragon 8969! Level 32!]

[Warning! BOSS intrusion! Intruder: Red Water Dragon 9111! Level 34!]

[Warning! BOSS intrusion! Intruder: Red Water Dragon 9983! Level 33!]

[Warning! BOSS intrusion! Intruder: Red Water Dragon 10086! Level 32!]

As the first Red Water Dragon roared in the sky, its fiery red, electric body crossing the mountain ridge, it was followed by the second, third, fourth, and fifth.

Jiangu was stunned, and every player present was equally bewildered.

At the same time, the name of the original Red Water Dragon, which had only ten percent HP left, also changed: Wounded-Winged Red Water Dragon 10010.

‘Wait a minute, what kind of development is this?’

‘They said purple-named BOSSes were rare, didn’t they?’

‘This creature, judging by its serial number, has at least 10086 brothers and sisters!’