The "Vermilion Bird" World Boss was one of the regrets of the Chinese server players.
Because it had no true body, only dozens of incarnations scattered across the world.
At first, players thought that if they killed every incarnation of the Vermilion Bird, they would obtain information about its true body.
But after the Russian server players killed the Vermilion Bird's final incarnation, this World Boss based on Chinese mythology simply died completely at the hands of the Russians, without spawning any so-called true body.
In other words, once all of the Vermilion Bird Incarnations were killed, this Boss would die completely.
But the problem was that Chinese server players were usually the ones stealing Bosses from other people's mythology. This time, the tables had turned.
For example, Perun and Svarog from Slavic mythology had been run over by Chinese server players.
This was one of the rare occasions when someone else had stolen their homegrown Boss.
Coupled with the drama surrounding the Expedition Cup World Championship at the time, players who had lived through that period should still remember the hostility on the forums, with everyone blaming each other and making snide remarks.
That was precisely why, despite the many World Bosses in the first run, the Vermilion Bird still held a place in the players' memories.
Most of the players present still remembered that, as a World Boss from the Level 180 version, reliably taking down a Vermilion Bird Incarnation required three max-level teams—Level 180—fighting for at least three hours with ample preparation and proper command.
This was not a Boss they should have encountered at this stage!
Likewise, this was not something the NPCs present should have faced either.
In a world where anyone above demigod rank could not survive, dropping an enemy at the True God rank here...
That was cheating!
The burning wings in the sky did not immediately attack the people below. The two Hero Rank class advancement instructors casually grabbed several players who were still frozen in shock and fled into the distance without looking back.
Thanks to the veteran players' extremely low death rate, aside from Li Li's saintesses and knights, no one else knew that the Chosen Ones could resurrect after death.
So compared to everyone else, they cared more about these seeds that could cleanse corruption.
The two saintesses reacted half a beat too slowly.
Although Li Li had ordered them, "If you encounter danger, do not worry about the Chosen Ones. Your own safety comes first."
Before the two could move, however, the corrupted deity in the sky launched its first wave of attacks.
A clear, soaring song pierced through the clouds and echoed within everyone's hearts.
In that instant, Aer felt as though her head had been struck by a heavy hammer. Blood poured from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears as she dropped to her knees.
Aperria was in even worse condition.
The Vermilion Bird's Soul Annihilation ignited Aperria's soul, making her legs give out as she knelt on the ground. Urine ran down her leg armor, as though she had become an empty shell devoid of a soul.
Fortunately, a circular black hole suddenly appeared beneath Aperria, pulling her and the members of the Knight Order into a dark space before throwing them all onto an open patch of ground nearby three seconds later.
'He Who Seeks His Own Demise' used up all of the day's Shadow Points in one go, refreshing the negative statuses on the NPCs by separating them from the current space.
This was the standard method for dealing with the Vermilion Bird.
'Three Stages of Fighting Spirit' immediately followed without pause. The Fire Elemental used an Elemental Burst that burned health points, accelerating his over-two-meter-tall body to the limit as he slammed into the unconscious NPCs.
The burning Fire Elemental hugged the knights and rapidly flew in the direction away from the Vermilion Bird.
Although the Fire Elemental's body was constantly scorching the NPCs.
Compared to the Level 7 'Three Stages of Fighting Spirit,' the thing in the sky dealt far more damage.
The instant the brief burst ended, Feather Fall was cast on the knights. Then a violent gale rose, carrying them farther away...
The traits of their starting races, the extraordinary abilities of the Brass Rank...
These most basic methods formed the players' relay.
Protecting NPCs during escort missions was not something veteran players were doing for the first time.
As for why the players could move freely, it was naturally because they were merely projections controlling Living Dead. The Vermilion Bird's song, specifically meant to burn souls, could not harm them in the slightest.
The pride of a deity kept Source of Evil Fire · Cursed Vermilion Bird (Incarnation) from stopping its song. Only after the tune ended did the fiery phantom in the sky open its eyes and look down at the ants below.
These insolent ants could not appreciate its immortal melody that burned souls. Worse, they had interrupted listeners immersed in that melody. That was undoubtedly blasphemy.
At that moment, the Vermilion Bird was enraged.
It spread its broad, powerful wings. The crimson divine feathers burning atop them reached the heavens, even overwhelming the sun's radiance for a moment, before it dove toward the ground like the most brilliant color in the evening clouds.
"Fuck, what kind of brain-dead scripted kill is this? I'm leaving a bad review the moment I get out!" the Wind Elemental player carrying the NPCs cursed.
The next moment, an arrow shot upward from below and struck the Vermilion Bird squarely beneath the jaw.
From the shadows untouched by sunlight, a winding white giant serpent surged up in an instant and bit down on the Vermilion Bird, which had been restrained midair by the arrow.
Filthy, blasphemous black flames gushed from the white serpent's fangs. Like an uncontrollable virus, they instantly crawled across the immortal bird's wings, devouring its vigorous life force to nothing.
The Vermilion Bird let out a pained cry. Its divine body curled into a ball, erupting with golden flames far fiercer than before and driving away the black fire clinging to its body.
The white serpent that had succeeded in its sneak attack dissipated, and a humanoid phantom emerged from within it, scanning the Vermilion Bird's current state.
Source of Evil Fire · Cursed Vermilion Bird (Incarnation) Level: 197 Rank: God Health: 1/77777777
"Health locked? Its first phase's death resistance really is terrible. Let me see the second phase's stats... I'll use this against you."
Beneath the sun's radiance, within every shadow, a faint humanoid phantom tucked a blue card that had appeared out of nowhere into his belt.
"Po↑sei↑don↓~~~"
As if singing, a strange voice effect rang out. The shadow's body, burning with black flames, was covered by azure divine power, radiating a terrifying force completely different from the earlier sneak attack.
While Source of Evil Fire · Cursed Vermilion Bird transitioned into its second phase, 'Lost a Leg' glanced at the Boss data in the backend again, then switched back to the game screen. He already had a rough idea of how to kill this Boss in a short time.
To prevent any accidents, he opened the character UI and checked his current stats again.
Name: Lost a Leg Race: Shadowkin Level: 200 Class: Godhead Collector Rank: God Health: 2512363/2512363, Stamina: 4552200/4552200, Mana: 23111190/23111190 Traits: Shadowkin Descendant, God Slayer, Godslayer (Party), Godslayer (Solo), High-Tier Transformation Enhancement, Myriad Godheads (Expand+) ... Inventory: God's Mark (*7), God's Mark (*9), Spirit Calming Needle (*998), Eternal Dewdrop (*99), Regret Pill (*99) (Expand+) Remaining Ember Time: 57 minutes 31 seconds
Before you continue