Scattered Like Stars

"Vermilion Bird," the world boss, is one of the regrets of the Chinese server players.

Because it had no main body, only dozens of avatars scattered across the world.

At first, players thought that if they killed all of Vermilion Bird's avatars, they would get information about its main body.

But after the last avatar of Vermilion Bird was killed by players from the Russian server, this world boss, designed with Chinese mythology as a reference, died completely in the hands of the Russians, without any so-called main body appearing.

In other words, as long as all of Vermilion Bird's avatars were killed, this boss would die completely.

But the problem was that usually, only Chinese server players had the chance to fight bosses from other countries' mythologies. This time, however, it was the other way around.

For example, Perun and Svarog from Slavic mythology were "run over" by Chinese server players.

This time, it was a rare instance of someone else snatching their own boss.

Coupled with the momentum of the Expedition Cup world competition at the time, players who experienced that period should still remember the mutual accusations and passive-aggressive remarks on the forums.

Because of this, even though there were many world bosses in the first playthrough, Vermilion Bird still managed to hold a place in the players' memories.

Most of the players present still remembered that as a world boss in the level 180 version, stably defeating an avatar of Vermilion Bird required three full-level (level 180) teams, with ample preparation and skilled command, to engage in at least 3 hours of fierce battle.

This was not a boss they should be encountering at their current stage!

Similarly, for the "NPCs" present, this was not a situation they should be facing.

In a world where beings above demigod level couldn't survive, releasing an enemy at the True God rank…

That's cheating!

The burning wings in the sky did not immediately attack the people below. Two transfer instructors at the Hero Rank casually grabbed a few bewildered players and fled into the distance without looking back.

Thanks to the extremely low death rate of those veteran players, apart from Li Li's Saintess and Knights, no one else knew that the Chosen Ones could be resurrected.

So, compared to others, they cared more about these seeds that could eliminate corruption.

The two Saintesses reacted a beat too late.

Although Li Li had given them the order, "If you encounter danger, don't worry about the Chosen Ones; prioritize your own safety,"

Before the two could move, the corrupted deity in the sky launched its first wave of attack.

A clear and high-pitched song pierced through the clouds, echoing in everyone's hearts.

At this moment, Aer felt as if a heavy hammer had struck her head. Blood gushed from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, and she fell to her knees.

Aperria's situation was even worse.

Vermilion Bird's [Soul Annihilation] ignited Aperria's soul, causing her to collapse to her knees, her urine flowing down her leg armor, seemingly turning her into a soulless husk.

Fortunately, a circular black hole suddenly appeared beneath Aperria, pulling her and the members of the Knight Order into a dark space, and then, 3 seconds later, throwing them all onto the open ground not far away.

"He Who Seeks His Own Demise" used up his daily [Shadow Points] in one go, refreshing the negative status effects on the NPCs by detaching from the current space.

This was the standard method for dealing with Vermilion Bird.

"Three Stages of Fighting Spirit" immediately followed up seamlessly. The fire elemental, using [Elemental Burst] that burned his life force, accelerated his over two-meter-tall body to its maximum, crashing into the unconscious NPCs.

The burning fire elemental, carrying the Knights, rapidly flew towards the direction of escape from Vermilion Bird.

Although the fire elemental's body was continuously burning the NPCs' bodies, Compared to "Three Stages of Fighting Spirit," who was only Lv7, the thing in the sky dealt more damage.

The moment the brief burst ended, a [Feather Fall] was cast on the Knights, followed by a gust of wind that carried them further away…

Initial racial traits, Brass Rank's Transcendence abilities…

These most basic means formed the relay for the players.

Veteran players were no strangers to escort missions protecting NPCs.

As for why the players could act freely, it was naturally because they were merely projections manipulating the living dead. Vermilion Bird's soul-burning song could not harm them in the slightest.

With the pride of a deity, [Source of Evil Fire·Cursed Vermilion Bird (Incarnation)] did not stop its singing. Only after the song concluded did the fiery phantom in the sky open its eyes and look at the ants below.

These disrespectful ants not only failed to appreciate its soul-burning celestial song but also interrupted the listeners who were immersed in it. This was undoubtedly blasphemy.

At this moment, Vermilion Bird was enraged.

It spread its vast and powerful wings, its burning crimson divine feathers touching the sky, even eclipsing the sun's radiance. Like the most vibrant color in the sunset, it swooped down towards the ground.

"Damn it, weak plot device kill, I'm leaving a bad review when I get out!" cursed the player controlling the fire elemental, who was flying with the NPCs.

The next moment, an arrow shot from below accurately hit Vermilion Bird's jaw.

From the shadows where the sun could not reach, a winding white giant python surged forward in an instant, biting Vermilion Bird, which was held in mid-air by the arrow.

Foul and blasphemous black flames erupted from the white python's fangs, spreading like an unruly virus across the celestial bird's wings, devouring its extremely vigorous life.

Vermilion Bird let out a painful cry, its divine body curling into a ball, erupting with golden flames far more intense than before, expelling the black flames clinging to its body.

The white python, having successfully ambushed, dissipated, and the human-like phantom that emerged scanned Vermilion Bird's current state.

[Source of Evil Fire·Cursed Vermilion Bird (Incarnation)]

[Level: 197]

[Rank: God]

[Health: 1/77777777]

"Is it locked at low health? The fatality resistance in the first stage is indeed poor. Let me see the stats for the second stage... I'll use this to deal with you."

Beneath the radiance of the sun, among all the shadows, a faintly discernible humanoid phantom image slipped a blue card, which materialized out of thin air, into its belt.

"Po↑sei↑don↓~~~"

As if singing, a strange voice effect sounded. The black shadow's body, burning with black flames, was covered by a cerulean Divine Power, emitting a terrifying strength entirely different from when it had ambushed earlier.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Source of Evil Fire·Cursed Vermilion Bird was transitioning to its second stage, 'Lost a Leg' glanced at the Boss's data in the backend again before switching back to the game screen. He now had a general idea of how to kill this Boss in a short amount of time.

To prevent any accidents, he opened his character UI and checked his current stats once more.

[Name: Lost a Leg]

[Race: Shadowfolk]

[Level: 200]

[Class: Godhead Collector]

[Rank: God]

[Health: 2512363/2512363, Stamina: 4552200/4552200, Mana: 23111190/23111190]

[Traits: Shadowkin Descendant, God Slayer, God Slayer (Group), God Slayer (Individual), High-Tier Transformation Enhancement, Myriad Godheads (Expanded+)]

[...]

[Inventory: God's Mark·Poseidon (*7), God's Mark·Azhdaha (*9), Spirit Calming Needle (*998), Eternal Dewdrop (*99), Regret Pill (*99) (Expanded+)]

[Ember Remaining Time: 57m 31s]