Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Facing the Blood-Devouring Queen’s ferocious charge, Zhou Ming raised his guard.
Demonic Flame Armor!
Fire coiled around his body, forming a domineering suit of armor over his skin.
Hiss!
His sword tore through the air and dragged the wind behind it.
Flames surged with the slash. Man and sword became one, forming the savage head of a dragon that opened its enormous jaws and charged forward, annihilating everything in its path.
Flame Dragon Roar!
BOOM!!
Raging fire surged beneath the dragon’s power. With damage as high as 800%, every minor monster nearby was instantly erased.
-42,351!
-45,136!
-46,899!
…
“Hiss!”
Damage numbers exceeding forty thousand made the spectating players’ ghosts suck in a cold breath.
Rumble!
The domineering flame dragon soared for a hundred meters, scattering fire and sending thick clouds of dust rolling through the ruins.
At the same time, Zhou Ming’s HP returned to full.
That was the effect of his weapon. Fire-element attacks restored HP equal to 1% of the damage dealt.
“That skill is ridiculous!” Gaibang Laoer said, his scalp tingling.
The Boss had landed one sneak attack, and Zhouyou Shijie responded by unleashing his ultimate!
After clearing away the minor enemies, Zhou Ming swiftly returned. Blazing Heaven Sword crashed down, followed by Rending Slash, and the Blood-Devouring Queen’s HP began to plummet.
Truthfully, only Gaibang Laoda’s Harmony was powerful enough to give Zhou Ming the stats needed to fight this Boss. Without it, he would have had almost no chance of overcoming this trial.
“You have some strength, but…”
Blazing Slash!
-12,357!
Zhou Ming said nothing and continued using his skills in silence.
“Outrageous!”
After suffering setback after setback, the Blood-Devouring Queen flew into a rage and activated Super Bloodlust. Its Attack Speed and Movement Speed rose by 60%, and it immediately counterattacked.
[Blood-Devouring Queen has used Toxic Deluge. All attacks now inflict poison, reducing the target’s Movement Speed by 30% and Attack Speed by 20%, and dealing an additional 500 damage!]
-2,255!
Zhou Ming’s HP plunged.
“He’ll definitely die if they keep trading damage!” a player declared.
No matter how thick Zhouyou Shijie’s health bar was, it couldn’t possibly compare to a Boss’s!
Holy Flame Purification!
The moment his HP fell to 80%, Zhou Ming decisively used the new skill he had learned yesterday. Firelight bathed his body, restoring 20% of his HP and removing every negative effect.
+5,012!
A massive green healing number rose above him.
His HP was full again.
“Damn it!”
One of the Priests couldn’t help cursing.
He was obviously a melee class. How could he heal himself too?
80%!
60%!
Both health bars fell rapidly, but Zhou Ming was clearly still losing the exchange.
“Is this all you’re capable of?”
At a certain moment, black light surfaced around the Boss.
[Blood-Devouring Queen has used Demon God’s Blessing. All Attributes +50% for 5 minutes!]
“Oh, fuck off!”
Zhou Ming immediately used Blazing Heaven Sword to inflict Suppression, then widened the distance between them.
“Zhouyou Shijie has no trump cards left!” Gaibang Laoda saw the signs.
“Don’t be so sure!”
Completely unruffled, Zhou Ming took a green stone from his inventory.
[You have used the Rare S-Rank item Windrider Stone. Damage Reduction +20%, Movement Speed +50%, and Attack Speed +50% for 3 minutes!]
Gaibang Laoda: “…”
Fuck!
How had he forgotten Zhou Ming still had that move?
Even with the Windrider Stone, however, Zhou Ming still couldn’t match the Blood-Devouring Queen while Demon God’s Blessing was active. He could only fight while retreating and drag out the battle by force.
Until twenty minutes later…
Xuanniao, which had refused to respond to Zhou Ming ever since reviving, flew out of the pet space and offered its help.
Whoosh!
Xuanniao spread its wings, sending out a streak of black light.
[Celestial Spirit Beast ยท Xuanniao has used Misfortune Divination. Blood-Devouring Queen receives Luck -99 for 2 hours and the random debuff: All Attributes -60% for the next 3 days!]
“Holy shit, Brother Bird! You’re amazing!”
Zhou Ming was so excited his voice nearly cracked.
This move was far too important. It gave him the power to turn the whole battle around!
Brother… Bird?
Xuanniao gave its master a strange look.
Zhou Ming had no time to wonder what it was thinking. He raised the Flamecloud Sword and charged back into battle.
MISS!
The Blood-Devouring Queen’s first attack after being cursed missed outright.
Such was the terrifying power of Luck.
The stat might appear vague and insubstantial, but it affected a whole series of hidden, probability-based attributes, including Accuracy, Critical Rate, equipment Drop Rate, and random reward draws.
After its first attack failed, the Blood-Devouring Queen fired the bone-piercing stinger from its tail.
A flash of intuition struck Zhou Ming. He swiftly dodged to the side, and the venomous stinger brushed past his shoulder, missing him by a hair.
MISS!
“How can this be happening?!”
The Blood-Devouring Queen refused to believe it. As it closed the distance, it stabbed at him with the stinger on its tail.
-1,612!
The damage was well within what Zhou Ming could endure. The calculation had clearly landed near the Blood-Devouring Queen’s minimum Attack and Zhou Ming’s maximum Defense!
Once Xuanniao intervened, everything abruptly became easy.
The pressure on Zhou Ming plummeted, allowing him to harvest the Boss’s HP with ease. High in the sky, Qianying was no longer at any disadvantage against three opponents either.
40%!
20%!
The entire battle had been overturned.
Within a few short minutes, Zhou Ming miraculously eliminated the final obstacle of the siege.
[Congratulations! You have killed Blood-Devouring Queen (Gold Boss) and received the following rewards: Current Level EXP +32.55%, Fame +100, Gold Coins +1.8!]
“Damn him!”
The Demon Gods watched it happen. Despite all their unwillingness, they had no choice but to flee in disgrace.
Xuanniao’s undispellable debuffs had greatly increased the pressure they faced against the Divine Ember Queen. They no longer had any confidence in victory.
Continuing the battle would be far too risky, with nowhere near enough benefit to justify it!
As the Demon Gods vanished beyond the horizon, the system chime marking the event’s end slowly rang out.
[Congratulations! Qingshui City’s adventurers have completed the main quest Hold the Line (Difficulty: S). The points leaderboard has been locked. Calculating results…]
“Haa… Haa…”
“I won!”
Covered in blood, Zhou Ming gasped for breath. He silently collected the loot, then dropped heavily onto the ground outside the city lord’s residence. Corpses and bones lay everywhere, adding a desolate air to the setting sun.
“I won!” he shouted at the sky.
“…”
No one answered.
The civilians had been evacuated long ago, and the gods hid their faces, too afraid to appear.
Only the city lord’s residence remained standing in the entire city.
Not one player besides him had survived.
Whoosh!
Xuanniao folded its wings and landed on his shoulder. It calmly preened its feathers without leaving.
The dead players who had watched until the very end stared at Zhouyou Shijie with complicated expressions, unsure what they could possibly say.
About three minutes later, the system finished its calculations and distributed the rewards.
[Qingshui City has withstood the monster invasion and remained standing after the baptism of war. It receives the following compensation: Building Repair Speed +500%, Wall Durability +200%, Regional Resources +50%, Drop Rate +10% and EXP Gain +20% for all residents and adventurers belonging to this power. Duration: 3 days!]
[Congratulations! Adventurer Zhouyou Shijie has placed first on the points leaderboard and will receive…]
…