Delifa's Cringeworthy Singing

Despite the complaints, this Dragonkin leader does possess a certain level of strategic acumen. The monsters previously killed by the White Phoenix Squad were mostly cannon fodder units like the Snow Kobold, along with some elderly and frail Gnoll —mostly Standard Template trash.

Nearly half of the monsters perished in the battle, but only a few dozen Elite Tier monsters died. Of course, the Kobold Boss Tier Mibo was the most unlucky. He was caught off guard by the Butcher's Ground Spike, and the vengeful Butcher lured him back and ganged up on him, killing him. He was the only Boss Tier to die.

The numerical advantage of the monster horde was completely rendered ineffective by the ice cave terrain deliberately created by the White Phoenix Squad. Therefore, the Dragonkin leader Nakitasi sacrificed a group of weaker members to weaken the White Phoenix Squad and make way for the true Elite Tier troops.

Dragonkin and Half-Dragon, driving Earthwalker Dragon and Elite Tier Gnoll and other vassal races, charged towards the ice wall. Some wounded and fallen Kobold, unable to make way, were even Trample over by their own forces.

Boom! Boom!

A series of dull thuds rang out as the combined impact of several Elite Tier Earthwalker Dragon cracked the ice wall.

"Gah ah ah ah..."

With a roar, the Gnoll Boss Tier Hogg leaped high into the air, his scimitar Heavy Cleave force, forcefully blasting a two-foot-wide gap in the ice wall. This was an ice wall over a meter thick!

A dozen or so strong, Elite Tier Gnoll charged forward like sharks that had smelled blood, their Claw and blades flashing as they slashed at the ice, rapidly widening the cracks.

With a deafening roar, the ice wall, besieged by the monsters, collapsed.

Close combat.

"Sister Qiao, cast Soul Melody! I'll have Delifa hold off this Gnoll. Shu Yi, stay with me and focus fire on that Half-Dragon boss!" Bai Xiaowen said in the Team Channel.

Qiao Rui nodded, and her emerald green Soul Flute rose horizontally, its melodious notes spreading outwards. All enemies within a large area began to suffer the weakening effect of the Soul Melody.

Amidst the flashing light, the Soul-Siphoning Banshee Delifa appeared. With a clasp of her hands, a spirit-like spear materialized, and a venomous Impale pierced towards the throat of the Gnoll Boss Tier Hogg.

Hogg completely disregarded this Banshee, who was only at the Elite Tier level. He parried the Parry with his scimitar. Although this Gnoll Boss Tier was a beast, her Battle Specialty were formidable, having developed instincts through countless battles. If he successfully Parry, Hogg's scimitar would swiftly slice along the spear shaft, and he would quickly close the distance, rendering his opponent's Polearm Weapons ineffective.

Furthermore, Hogg felt he didn't even need to be so cautious in the fight. How much power could an Elite Tier enemy have? If he successfully Parry, the opponent would definitely suffer recoil damage and be stunned, at which point he could simply close in and slash them down.

However, just as Hogg was habitually raising his sword, Delifa suddenly flicked her wrist, and the Ectoplasmic Spear trembled violently, its tip transforming into several cold stars that enveloped Hogg's vital upper body.

Hogg's Parry undoubtedly failed, and he was struck in the heart by Delifa's spear, which shifted its position. In addition to suffering Vital Strike, he was also left Severe Bleeding.

This isn't agility attribute Suppression, it's Suppression of Battle Specialty!

"Awooo!" Hogg's ferocity was aroused by the sight of blood. Howl and jumped up, raising his knife with both hands to Heavy Cleave.

Delifa drew her spear, flapped her wings, and nimbly dodged sideways, successfully avoiding Hogg's attack. Using the momentum from her opponent, Delifa slammed her spear down, causing Hogg's scimitar to accelerate its descent and slam into the ice, creating another crack.

This seemingly powerful strike actually revealed a huge opening. By the time Hogg pulled the sword out of the ice crack, he was stabbed by Delifa with a spear, which pierced his throat directly. Although the Severe Bleeding effect cannot be stacked, Vital Strike on the throat ignores defense.

Qiao Rui glanced at Delifa with some surprise and said in the Team Channel, "That Banshee is amazing. If she had Hogg's strength, those two spear thrusts would probably have been enough to kill her instantly."

Bai Xiaowen said, "Delifa's Polearm Weapons Battle Specialty are indeed very strong, and she may have reached the limit of the Awakened level, which is level 10."

Previously, Delifa had demonstrated formidable melee combat skills while killing the Snow Wolf. However, the Snow Wolf was relatively weak, and Bai Xiaowen could only deduce at the time that Delifa possessed Polearm Specialty at around level 8.

But now, facing the high-level BOSS Hogg, whose attributes Suppression her, Delifa is still able to maintain the Suppression, which naturally raises Bai Xiaowen's assessment of Delifa's strength.

Having suffered repeated losses, Hogg finally realized that the Banshee before him was not easy to deal with. It actually abandoned its scimitar, lunged forward, and unleashed its combat skill— Frenzied Bite— as a crimson aura spread outwards!

While Delifa excels in Melee Specialty, her stats are only at level 6 (Rare Elite, Enhanced Elite Tier), a significant weakness that prevents her from taking on a high-level boss one-on-one. Hogg's pounce was incredibly fast, exceeding Delifa's evasion limits. As Mental Specialty Soul-Siphoning Banshee, being hit by this Frenzied Bite would almost certainly leave her with low health, or even instantly kill her.

However, Bai Xiaowen kept a close eye on the battlefield. When Hogg unleashed his Frenzied Bite, he reacted quickly and immediately airdropped a Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier over.

Delifa only took two scratches; the rest of the attacks were all absorbed by the bewildered Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier, leaving only bone fragments flying everywhere.

Delifa flapped her wings, creating a five-foot gap. Two bloody gashes appeared on her chest and abdomen, seeping blood. However, her combat experience was truly rich; she did not simply flee, but instead seized the opportunity while the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier with both hands and stabbing it into Hogg's eyes.

Pfft!

Hogg was unable to move during his Frenzied Bite and his dodging was even worse. Although the attack missed his eye, it pierced his nose, immediately triggering his tear ducts and causing him to let out a deafening howl of pain.

Bai Xiaowen smiled. The Gnoll have an extremely keen sense of smell, which also means that this is a major weakness.

Seeing that Hogg had already used his Frenzied Bite, significantly reducing the threat to Delifa, Bai Xiaowen focused more of her attention on the battles in other areas.

The Dragonkin leader, Nakitasi the Blade-Scale Striker, was indeed formidable, but he was stopped by the thick-skinned Butcher. Under the dual weakening effects of Soul Melody and Rotting Toxin, this Dragonkin BOSS only dealt a few dozen points of damage to the Butcher, which the Butcher could easily withstand.

This was also the result of Bai Xiaowen's Insight. Nakitasi's powerful skills such as "Crushing Stomp" and "Cleave" were ineffective against the Butcher. As for Frost Breath... the Butcher was a slow-moving fat man who relied on rotting to disgust enemies, so being slowed down by the Chill Effect was not a big problem.

The real threat is the Half-Dragon boss, Maji. This agile Boss Tier has Stealth in the shadows since the start of the battle and has not yet appeared. Instead, he has taken up a significant portion of Bai Xiaowen's attention. This is because the Insight show that Maji has a formidable burst of power. If he manages to launch a successful sneak attack, even if it doesn't result in any casualties in the White Phoenix Squad, it will at least cripple one member.

Moreover, Bai Xiaowen's side was outnumbered on the battlefield; the Dragonkin race had far too many Elite Tier.

One reason the Undead Legion was able to maintain such a stalemate was that the undead were fearless—or rather, they had no fear. But an even more important reason was Bai Xiaowen's command, which allowed him to manipulate the entire army into a single entity.

Elite Ghost and Spider Demon formed small teams to divide and dismantle the monster horde. The battlefield was mostly about delaying the enemy, and they gained a combat advantage in one or two limited areas to annihilate them.

Time passed second by second, Goliya remained kneeling. The vortex of dark clouds continued to pour cold energy into the Skeleton Greatsword and into the bottom of the frozen lake.

The battle was fierce, with most of the undead creatures having less than a third of their health remaining. Of course, the Dragonkin monsters were in no better shape, with many having lost more than half of their health.

The Gnoll boss Hogg still has a third of his Life Value remaining, which is a little over 200 points. His opponent, Delifa, is still at a healthy Life Value level, but at the cost of the two Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier that Bai Xiaowen airdropped as support being reduced to fragments.

It's time...

Bai Xiaowen suddenly raised his hand, and Rageclaw appeared behind the Gnoll Hogg, slashing repeatedly.

Bite, Rend!

Hogg's body jolted, and an elbow strike landed squarely on Rageclaw's chest, sending the massive creature Rageclaw back several steps. But this was its last gasp; a Thunderstrike Art landed on its head, while Delifa's Ectoplasmic Spear whistled Piercing its throat once more, and a bullet fired by Bai Xiaowen from dozens of meters away...

Hogg, the Boss Tier of the Gnoll, died suddenly.

With a flap of her wings, Delifa instantly returned to the safest area— Goliya's side. She raised her hands high and began to chant.

"Wandering souls here, awaken! Return to your cold bodies, ignite the flames of your souls, and rise up with malice and hatred for the living!..."

Bai Xiaowen finally understood what the so-called 10-second preparation time meant; this awkward singing was a bit too much...

Without being disturbed, Delifa's chanting ended smoothly. Within the range of her Divine Might, a skeleton slowly emerged from the bodies of all the fallen warriors!

On Hogg's corpse, the skeleton slowly sat up, and the Soul Fire ignited in its empty eye sockets. Crackling sounds filled the air as the newly formed skeleton "looked" around, then raised its rusty sword and slowly approached its enemy.

--Well, Bai Xiaowen also couldn't figure out how this rusty sword appeared; he could only attribute it to the effect of Psionic Particles.

Delifa's Corpse Revival was quite effective on this battlefield littered with dead bodies, instantly reviving over a hundred Skeleton Soldier! Although these Skeleton Soldier were just Standard Template, their sheer number made up for it.

This was Bai Xiaowen's backup plan, and also one of the tactics he experimented with.

The Rageclaw roar to the sky! All friendly units gain a 20% increase in attack power and attack speed!

Bai Xiaowen's cloak— the Commander’s Cloak— moves automatically even without wind, unleashing Commanding Roar! All friendly units deal 15% more damage and take 15% less damage!

In what seemed like an instant, the tense situation on the battlefield was broken, and the undead monsters, their bodies glowing with a red buff, brandished their swords and launched a silent charge!

The Elite Tier undead monsters, who might have otherwise perished, survived thanks to the effect of the Commanding Roar. The Dragonkin monsters, also low on health, were not so lucky and were quickly killed after the newly formed Skeleton Soldier joined the attack!

However, just as Bai Xiaowen pulled off this comeback, a shadow appeared behind him—it was none other than the Half-Dragon Boss Tier, Maji!

Ambush Breaker! Multiple Piercing! Venomous Burst!

Maji had already devised a series of moves; his initial target was Bai Xiaowen, the leader! But Bai Xiaowen was very cautious, and his Divine Might was so strong that it was almost tangible. As long as Maji got close to Bai Xiaowen, he would almost certainly be sensed.

Therefore, Maji had been holding back, and he finally waited until Bai Xiaowen was careless, then immediately sneaked up behind Bai Xiaowen and launched an attack.

A flash of white light, Bai Xiaowen, as if dragged by an invisible hand, flew across the battlefield to Qiao Rui's side. It was Qiao Rui who used the team skill "Tether." The reason why Li Shuyi wasn't allowed to use Tether was because Li Shuyi was fighting several Elite Tier Dragonkin monsters and it wasn't safe for her.

Maji's dagger landed in empty air. Enraged, he lunged forward like a snake, overcoming the obstruction of two undead creatures and giving chase.

"Sonic Strike Array."

Qiao Rui raised her Soul Flute, and a rune suddenly appeared on the ice surface, Imprisonment Maji.

"That's exactly what I've been waiting for."

Bai Xiaowen beckoned, and Li Shuyi, who was prepared, quickly retreated, launching Savage Charge again, aiming directly at the Half-Dragon BOSS, Maji.

With its Rageclaw outstretched, it charged forward, and as Li Shuyi knocked Maji back and caused him to lose his balance, its claws suddenly gripped Maji's shoulders, forcefully pinning him down and Suppression the activation of its ultimate attack.

The Shadow Assassin unleashed his Assassination, the Skeleton Champion raised his greatsword to charge, and Li Shuyi finally activated her Demonfire Dance, thrusting out with both swords ablaze. Bai Xiaowen also began Rapid Fire with both guns in hand...

The White Phoenix Squad demonstrated what it means to switch targets perfectly with their coordinated teamwork.

While it's a bit of a shame that the Butcher's Rotting Toxin doesn't reduce both physical and magical resistance, the Half-Dragon Maji, being an agile boss, doesn't have high armor or magic resistance to begin with. Moreover, the Butcher has always been the main tank fighting against the Dragonkin Boss Tier Nakitasi, so he's already unable to break away and doesn't have the speed to rush over and join the focused fire.

Emerging from stealth, the Half-Dragon boss Maji died in less than 10 seconds, succumbing to the premeditated attack by the White Phoenix Squad, demonstrating with his life what it means to "die in the light."