A golden crown, a golden sword, and a purple robe—all of them were symbols of the mage's past achievements.
Launching fireballs to drive away intruders and summoning minions to protect himself were both effortless for him.
The Archmage Liches ruled over the barrier domains of the Dusk Swamp, the Dark Forest, and the Snowy Forest.
Even though their bodies had long since turned to bones.
These Archmages weren't very talkative, and they had quite nasty tempers.
Mark understood that perfectly well now.
"Why did he suddenly turn into three?!"
He'd attacked without a word, and in the blink of an eye, he'd split into three.
The mage's strength was far beyond what Mark had expected.
Worried about Jett, he wanted to end the fight quickly, so he pulled out his golden sword and charged straight at one of the Liches.
Bang!
The golden sword swung down and collided with a golden shield, sending sparks flying.
Mark was certain he'd hit the boss, but the result was shocking.
The Lich hadn't lost any health!
"Could he be making clones?!"
Looking closely, Mark saw that two of the three Liches looked fainter. They were clones.
Changing his angle, Mark dodged a Magic Orb and attacked the original.
Bang!
The golden sword collided with the golden shield again, still failing to deal any damage.
It was the same with his bow and arrows. Mark was completely stunned.
He hurried back down the nearby passage, sealing it off with blocks to keep the Lich from following him.
Downstairs, he could see Jett, who was barely holding on, eating food to recover.
Relieved, Mark hurried over.
"How are you? Are you okay?!"
"Oh my God! Why was there a hole in those damn stairs? I almost died!"
The good news was that Jett was still alive. They hadn't lost a teammate.
The bad news was that his leg was broken, and he needed time to recover.
Even worse, Mark realized that he couldn't deal any damage to the Lich at all.
Ranged attacks didn't work, and neither did melee.
This boss was impossible to beat!
He'd thought not being able to find the boss was the worst torture in the Dusk Swamp.
Mark had never imagined he could run into something even more torturous.
"If we can't do it, nobody else can!"
"Let's catch our breath first..."
Black Palace.
The Blond Elder looked deeply troubled as he stared intently at the screen.
"Why can't they hit the boss? What's the intelligence department doing? Have you figured out how to combine the Magic Maps I asked you to study?"
Ever since Mark had entered the Dusk Swamp, Free Nation had ramped up its research efforts.
Unlike impoverished Jiuzhou, they had deep pockets and plenty of notice boards to consult.
But that was only worthwhile if the information was useful.
No matter how much money they had, they wouldn't be foolish enough to waste items for nothing.
The head of intelligence hurried over, sweating profusely with anxiety.
"Sir, we're working as hard as we can on the research. And we're not the only ones."
"Experts from countries all over the world are trying to decipher how Gu Yu combined the maps, but progress has been extremely slow."
"We've deduced some of the possible materials, such as fireflies, Twilight Oak Logs, berries, leather, and feathers. We're already far ahead of everyone else!"
They really were more efficient than the Samurai Nation. By analyzing the footage frame by frame, they'd managed to deduce some of the materials used to make the map.
But that wasn't enough to satisfy the Blond Elder.
"I want a monopoly. I want an overwhelming lead. What good is it to be ahead of other people?"
"The most important thing is to surpass Jiuzhou and get ahead of Gu Yu!"
"Our hero is in trouble right now. Tell me as quickly as possible how to break the shield and kill the boss!"
The intelligence chief showed him the footage and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
After watching, he suspected the answer was related to a certain mechanic: perhaps they needed to perform a specific action to break the shield.
When he explained his theory, the Blond Elder's expression darkened further.
"Do you think I'm an idiot? What exactly do they need to do?"
"Forgive me, sir. I don't know. We estimate it'll take three days to figure out..."
"Three days? By then, Mark will be dead and buried! Get out!"
Unwilling to face the Blond Elder's fury, the intelligence chief hurried out.
It wasn't that they were ignorant. They were already the world's top team. The Samurai Nation, India Nation, and the others would need at least five days, maybe even longer, to figure it out.
Three days was already extremely fast.
Knowing what the Blond Elder was worried about, the secretary tried to reassure him.
"Sir, Mark and the others don't know what to do. How would anyone else? Everyone's facing this monster for the first time. They'll all get stuck here!"
As he spoke, the secretary switched the screen to Jiuzhou's perspective.
It showed Gu Yu, who had gotten the first kill and made a map. His team was among the fastest to make progress.
"Even Jiuzhou, the fastest of them all, has only just reached the Lich Tower. They're stuck too, aren't they?"
"The Dusk Swamp is a brand-new world. It's more complicated than the Nether and has far more content!"
"In some ways, it's even more fully developed than the previous civilization. Everyone will need time to get used to..."
The secretary's voice grew quieter and quieter.
As he watched Gu Yu's perspective, the Blond Elder had just started to relax and was about to take a sip of tea.
The moment the tea reached his lips, he spat it out.
"Everyone needs time to adapt? Adapt to what, my ass!"
"They just broke the Lich's shield?!"
"Without an Elytra, traveling around is such a pain."
Following the map, Gu Yu found a nearby Lich Tower.
It looked close on the map, but the journey was much longer than it seemed.
He had to clear out zombies and keep checking his position. It took him quite a while to reach the Lich Tower.
The sky was beginning to brighten, but the Sudden Change zombies didn't burn up and disappear.
The Zombie Horde was smaller than at night, though, making it easier for the players to move around.
As usual, he dug his way into the tower. Inside, books were arranged on shelf after shelf.
Gu Yu's eyes lit up.
"I remembered right. There really are a lot of books!"
Books didn't have many uses, but they were essential for one thing.
Enchanting!
Books were needed to make an Enchanting Table, and more books were needed to upgrade it. A lot of books, too.
Every Veteran Player knew how important enchanting was.
Equipment with a full set of enchantments was completely different from equipment without any!
It could greatly boost your stats.
He stuffed them all into his backpack without hesitation.
"Books? Are those things useful?"
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone collect them. People mostly use them as decorations!"
"Some crafting recipes are found in books, but I'm sure there's nothing like that in this tower!"
"Heh, keep wasting your time. Enjoy your last moments!"
"Let's guess: will Gu Yu fall down the stairs and die, or will the boss beat him until he gets so frustrated that he kills himself?"
"That monster isn't meant to be fought by normal people!"
After seeing what happened to Mark, viewers from Free Nation mocked him.
The shield seemed to grant immunity to all damage, and they couldn't think of a way to break it.
Back when he was a beginner, Gu Yu had gotten stuck on the Lich's mechanics for a long time too.
"That was then. This is now."
After finding the right spot, he didn't go in through the tower.
There were Monster Spawners everywhere, zombies, and a broken staircase. Going that way would waste too much time.
Instead, he dug an opening into the tower from the outside and built his way up with blocks.
With no monsters or skeletons to interfere and no chance of anything going wrong, he made his way straight to the Lich's room.
He blocked off the stairs to keep the monsters below from sneaking up on him, then switched to his Nether Alloy Sword and shield.
"Lich, are you ready for me to challenge you?"
Before you continue