Rank Up! Dark Gold-rank!

Qin Chuan had guessed that Bonecrusher was going to perform a sacrifice.

After all, this was an old Apocalypse tradition.

If you couldn't win, you called for backup.

As for who to call—

Was there anyone better than the ever-present, ever-obliging Death Bringer?

No!

Qin Chuan just hadn't expected Bonecrusher's sacrifice to happen so quickly.

He had only killed one Silver-rank goblin, yet Bonecrusher had wiped out all the rest in one go.

It was ridiculous.

"Sure enough, no one hits their own people harder than their own people."

Qin Chuan muttered to himself.

With the Death Bringer summoned, attacking Bonecrusher again would have been impolite.

Besides, Qin Chuan wanted to see whether the three thousand-plus goblins, along with several Silver-rank goblins, would be enough to raise Bonecrusher to Dark Gold-rank.

The higher the rank, the more sacrifices were needed for a sacrificial rank-up.

Advancing from Gold-rank to Dark Gold-rank was no easy feat.

Perhaps Bonecrusher had long prepared for this final possibility. That was why it had ordered the ordinary goblins to fight to the death.

If too many were lost, the sacrifice's effect would be discounted.

And ordinary goblins alone were not enough. Their souls were too low-quality to satisfy the Death Bringer.

So Bonecrusher had added several Silver-rank goblins to the mix.

In its original plan, it would have been best if those few could help kill the intruder.

If not, they could be used as sacrifices instead.

But those Silver-rank goblins had tried to leave the valley, forcing Bonecrusher to act early.

That was what had led to the reversal just now.

But none of that mattered to Qin Chuan.

He stared into the distance, anticipation in his eyes.

If Bonecrusher successfully ranked up, he would make a killing.

It would not matter even if he killed fewer Silver-rank goblins. Just one useful Dark Gold-rank piece of equipment would make up for the loss—and might even earn him a huge profit.

Besides, Bonecrusher was a physical BOSS. Even if it dropped Strength-based equipment, Qin Chuan could use it as long as it was not plate armor.

Equipment like necklaces and accessories, which had virtually no weight burden, would be even better.

And if, just if, it dropped a usable skill book, he would soar to new heights on the spot.

That was entirely possible.

After all, it was the first Dark Gold-rank BOSS in the entire server. It had to drop something worthwhile.

Moreover, in Apocalypse, a BOSS's loot table contained not only its own equipment and skills, but also some random drops.

The random drop table included, but was not limited to, equipment, items, and skill books.

The Guild Token Qin Chuan had obtained earlier fell into that category.

So he was looking forward to seeing whether he could get some special loot this time as well.

As he pondered, Bonecrusher's sacrifice neared its end. After plundering every soul, the black mist on the field gathered into Bonecrusher's body.

Bonecrusher had already stood four meters tall.

After absorbing the black mist, its body swelled once more, shooting past five meters in height, while its limbs thickened by two full sizes.

From afar, it looked like a small mountain, radiating a crushing sense of pressure.

Besides its size, Bonecrusher's equipment transformed as well.

Its warhammer became larger and heavier, while its armor was covered in grim white bones that gleamed with a cold light beneath the moonlight.

Death Bonecrusher Gada (Dark Gold-rank)

Level: 20

Health: 4000000/4000000

Attack: 12000

Defense: 11000

Skills: Ground Shattering Strike, Heroic Leap, Charge, Thunderous Stomp, Bone Shatter, Inspiring Aura, Death Decree

Description: A goblin that surpassed the limits of its bloodline under death's baptism

Four million health!

Its attack and defense had both broken ten thousand!

With such outrageous attributes, even players at levels twenty or thirty would need to form several parties to challenge it.

And one careless mistake could lead to a wipe.

Of course, Bonecrusher's massive improvement also came from the Death Bringer's blessing.

If it had advanced to Dark Gold-rank solely through its own power, its attributes would not have become this absurd.

The only fortunate thing was that Bonecrusher's skill set had not changed much. It had merely gained the skill Death Decree.

Qin Chuan remembered that this skill could resurrect Corpses.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he saw Bonecrusher drive its warhammer into the ground. Black energy sank into the earth and rushed toward the goblin corpses strewn across the ground.

Then, the dead goblins swayed as they rose to their feet. Their eyes glowed with an eerie green light, harsh wheezing roars spilling from their throats as they charged toward Qin Chuan.

In the blink of an eye, the empty valley became lively once more, filled with resurrected goblins everywhere.

But this resurrection was not a true resurrection. They retained none of their consciousness from before death and were more like zombie-type Undead Creatures.

Their sole purpose was to help Bonecrusher tear its enemies apart.

Qin Chuan had been prepared. He threw out Shadow Throwing Knife and Rain of Dark Erosion in rapid succession.

After being resurrected, the goblins had lost all reason. They only knew to charge forward, completely incapable of avoiding the area covered by Poison Blood Plague.

And that sent them into death for the second time.

But Bonecrusher soon cast Death Decree again, pulling the goblins back up.

Qin Chuan did not hold back, sending them another Shadow Throwing Knife and Rain of Dark Erosion.

What followed was a cycle of resurrection, death, resurrection, and death. The goblins finally collapsed completely, reduced to parts scattered all over the ground, unable to form even one intact goblin.

Their fragile bodies simply could not withstand such frequent infusions of energy. Collapse was inevitable.

Not even the Silver-rank goblin corpses could endure it. They shattered into chunks, their original forms unrecognizable.

"Useless trash! You were useless alive, and you're useless dead!"

Bonecrusher spat, lifting its warhammer as it prepared to take matters into its own hands.

Its power had now reached an extreme.

It would have to properly torment its enemy.

Bonecrusher let out a wild laugh. "Cowardly infiltrator, your death is at hand!"

Boom!

Bonecrusher shot into the sky like a cannonball, crossing dozens of meters in an instant and appearing above Qin Chuan.

Its expression was savage and confident.

Throughout the earlier battle, it had been watching closely and had already figured out this enemy's attack range.

Originally, it had been powerless. Even with Heroic Leap and Charge, it could not get close. But after advancing to Dark Gold-rank, its base attributes had soared, expanding the ranges of Heroic Leap and Charge as well. It could now approach that infiltrator.

When the time came, how could a frail infiltrator withstand its warhammer? That was what Bonecrusher wanted to see.

Though more likely, a single hammer blow would turn the enemy directly into a puddle of flesh.

Perhaps I should hold back a little. Don't kill him in one hit, or how else will I torment him?

Just as Bonecrusher considered how much strength to use to cripple Qin Chuan without killing him, its vision blurred. The intruder's speed suddenly surged by thirty percent, forcing his way out of Heroic Leap's range.

Bonecrusher did not panic in the slightest. It had anticipated this. The moment it landed, it activated Charge.

Now let's see how that infiltrator stops this!

Could Qin Chuan stop it?

Of course he could.

Berserk Dash plus Blink easily took him out of the attack range. Then he waved at Bonecrusher and calmly activated Stealth.

Bonecrusher had been calculating his data, but hadn't he been doing the same?

With its pursuit failing, Bonecrusher's expression turned ugly.

It had guessed that its enemy might be holding back, but it had never expected him to be holding back this much!

The two movement abilities were manageable. There was nothing unusual about them.

But the difference in running speed was simply too great.

That guy had been moving at only around seventy percent of his speed the whole time?

Wasn't he afraid of being torn to pieces by more than three thousand goblins?

But it was fine. This infiltrator's attack range was limited. It still had a chance.

Then Bonecrusher saw a figure appear a hundred meters away. The next instant, a stabbing pain shot through its body, and its health bar plunged sharply.

-143374! (Weakness Attack)

Damn... it had been careless!

That infiltrator had even concealed his attack range!