Chapter 89: Capturing the Boss

After four hours of fierce battle, the players finally repelled four waves of attacking monsters. The number of fallen bosses was countless. By now, nearly half of the players defending the southern gate had fallen. The ranks of the Blazing Flame guild had dropped from 4,200 to just around 3,000, and together with the remaining independent players, there were about 10,000 defenders left.

Glancing at the coins and equipment scattered all over the ground, Blazing Flame's commander issued his next orders, “Anyone who wants loot or money, go down and collect it yourself. But if anyone tries to snatch something, I’ll kill them on the spot!” He managed the situation with strict order. The independent players were equally delighted; many leaped down to join the scramble, and the scene grew lively and chaotic. But the monsters cared nothing for their excitement—on the distant horizon, a vast, black tide of monsters pressed relentlessly toward Dragon City.

A few minutes later, I finally got a clear view of the approaching monsters. The first to appear were creatures over three meters tall, with human bodies and lizard heads, their mouths filled with long, sharp fangs, and each claw gripping a massive broadsword—clearly, these were not creatures to be taken lightly.

Lizard Warriors, level 50, elite monsters. Description: Lizard-like half-orcs from the desert beyond the Bloodstained Wasteland. Each breeding season, they return to the depths of the Forest of Death to reproduce, and they possess considerable intelligence.

At the same time, more varieties of lizard monsters and other beasts began appearing on the field, and above them, an enormous flock of flying monsters filled the sky. There were Windwing Birds at level 40, Ironclaw Eagles at level 44, Golden Eagles at level 46, and even elite Beast Griffins at level 55. Countless other avian monsters of all levels were too numerous to name.

Players on the city walls had already spotted the approaching dark cloud of birds, and a brief moment of panic spread. “Archers, intercept those birds! Summoners with flying companions, send them up too! Don’t let any of them into the city!” Blazing Flame shouted.

Orders were quickly relayed. Mages and warriors on the walls continued intercepting the monsters’ assault. Within seconds, flocks of eagles and griffins arrived overhead. On the ground, archers raised their bows, aiming at the monsters above, while the players’ own aerial units took to the sky.

At that moment, a massive silver-grey eagle soared above me, and someone leapt down from its back—it was Purple Moon.

As soon as she landed, she called out, “Get on, we’re going to hunt a boss.”

“Hunt a boss? What do you mean?” I asked.

Purple Moon glanced at Illusion Moon and me. “Of course we’re going to kill them for their loot. Why else?”

I asked, “Why choose us?”

Impatient, Purple Moon replied, “You talk too much. Are you coming or not? If not, I’ll find someone else.”

I quickly answered, “Of course! Illusion Moon, you’re coming too, right?”

Illusion Moon nodded. Purple Moon commented, “I didn’t expect you and Illusion Moon to be so close, Weiwei Dragon!”

I felt flustered and said, “No… it’s not like that, we’re just friends.”

“Hmph, who would believe that?” she scoffed. The giant eagle descended, and after we climbed on, I saw four others already aboard. Purple Moon asked, “Is everyone ready?” And everyone nodded.

“Let’s go. We’re flying straight to the west gate. I just spotted a level 37 boss there—the Minotaur Lord. That’s our first target.” As we flew, a rugged-looking man turned to me and said, “Hey, brother, I’m a level 35 Thunder Elementalist, called Ten Thousand Volts. What’s your name?”

“Weiwei Dragon, level 40 Beastmaster.” (I forgot to mention, I leveled up once grinding monsters earlier.) At the same time, a female mage noticed Illusion Moon and said, “Hello, I’m a level 35 Wind Elementalist, Wind Dancer. It’s an honor to fight alongside the top-ranked player today.” She extended her hand, and Illusion Moon shook it.

“Weiwei Dragon, we meet again.” A melodious female voice came from behind me. I turned to see Heart Moon, but her attire puzzled me. Instead of mage robes, she wore armor resembling a warrior’s, with a large gourd strapped to her back and a shield.

I asked, “Heart Moon, I didn’t expect to see you here. Did you change class? Can a priest even use a shield?”

Heart Moon smiled, “I’m a level 37 Alchemist now. It’s a niche class branching from Priest. Its defense rivals a warrior’s, but it lacks offensive power and is quite expensive to play. However, my support skills are much stronger than a regular Priest’s. Speaking of rare classes, we have another friend here with an even more unusual class.” She gestured to a woman beside her, dressed in a tight-fitting purple-red outfit with a golden belt buckle at her waist, metal gloves inlaid with golden crystals on her hands. The suit hugged her figure, accentuating her slender legs, wasp waist, and proud chest. Though her hat concealed her face, I was sure she was a beauty.

Her class surprised me—she was a level 40 Arcanist. This class, a mage’s second specialization, was the rarest among the three options. Few mages chose it, and among the fifteen major second-tier classes, it was probably the least favored. Its attack power was unimpressive, its skills lacked flair, its mobility was average, and, most critically, it lacked the teleportation ability the other mage specializations possessed. This alone made it unpopular among mage players. For a class renowned for rapid leveling, the Arcanist was simply not appealing, since most of its abilities dealt only single-target damage. However, its one advantage was its extremely long casting range.

After some conversation, a griffin appeared before us—a level 55 elite monster, its massive body as large as a bull, with wings spanning over ten meters, truly a ruler of the skies.

Bang!

A sharp sound echoed around us as the Arcanist stood up, raised both hands, and unleashed a white beam of light, striking the griffin square in the chest from below.

The griffin’s tough hide cracked under the impact, and a surge of energy burst forth, arcing across its body like electricity.

—780 points of damage appeared. Against a griffin with over 10,000 health, that might not seem like much, but as the beast was flying, it shrieked, lost its balance, and tumbled from the sky, falling hundreds of meters to crash into a pack of beasts below, rolling a few times before being swallowed by the endless horde.

That single shot, downing the griffin, was a clear signal to attack. The players, encouraged, unleashed their abilities as the airborne monsters entered range, turning the sky into a dazzling display of summoned creatures and magical effects.

On the ground, players also showed their might, bringing down hordes of beasts and birds with firestorms, wind blades, meteors, icicles, and volleys of arrows and sword auras.

But there were simply too many monsters. They threw themselves at the players’ firepower, sacrificing flesh and life to exhaust them. The main mage teams had switched to rotating in three shifts, but with so many people cycling in and out, there were inevitable gaps in firepower. During those moments, large numbers of monsters broke through, closing to within just three hundred meters of Dragon City.

The monsters’ all-out assault had finally begun. Many of them possessed ranged energy attacks. They unleashed torrents of fireballs, wind blades, and even poison clouds, targeting the mages on the walls.

But inside the city, waves of warrior players charged out, meeting the monsters in brutal melee combat.

Meanwhile, we reached our destination. On the ground below, a five-meter-tall Minotaur Lord was swinging a giant axe, cleaving through the players who dared face it. One blow was enough to take any player’s life, and swarms of lesser monsters crowded around, raising their heads as they spotted us above.

The Minotaur Lord let out a thunderous roar, its voice shaking the earth. Hundreds, even thousands of monsters around it howled in response, raising their heads and opening their jaws. Wind blades, fireballs, and energy spikes shot upward, raining furiously toward us in the sky.