The elite guards were all dead. The only one left on the empty lawn was boss Wilmi, who was lying on the ground asleep and scratching his back from time to time, completely unconcerned about his vanished underlings.
"Everyone, take a moment to recover. I'll explain how to handle Wilmi in a bit." Shi Feng wanted to let everyone relax first. Taking on Wilmi wouldn't be easy; it required intense concentration. If they made a mistake, everyone would be wiped out.
At Shi Feng's command, everyone sat down and began eating and drinking to recover.
Shi Feng flicked his finger, bringing up his status panel.
He had just reached level 2. Thanks to the Abyssal Walker, he had two more free attribute points than other players, giving him more options for how to distribute his stats.
In the early game, 20 points in Agility was enough for a Swordsman. However, he planned to raise it to 30 first. At 30 Agility, his body would become more agile. He then put the remaining points into Strength so he could contend with the boss.
He had three pieces of Bronze Equipment, a Mystic Iron Grade ring, and a magic weapon. His stats were more or less where he wanted them.
Character: Ye Feng (Human) Kingdom: Star-Moon Title: One Against A Thousand Class: Swordsman Level: 2 Health: 520/520 Attack: 88 Defense: 39 Attack Speed: 15 Movement Speed: 13 Attributes: Strength 32, Agility 30, Stamina 24, Intelligence 13, Spirit 13.
With these stats, he had a better chance against Wilmi.
Once everyone had fully recovered, Shi Feng began his explanation. "Wilmi has two major skills. One is Killing Feast, which ignores aggro and randomly attacks multiple nearby players. Heizi and Lonely As Snow, watch your positioning. The other is Death Claw. Kele, you must get away from the boss before it uses this skill, and Lonely As Snow, be ready to interrupt it. I'll warn you when the time comes. One more thing: Wilmi is clever, so don't keep using the same attack pattern. That's all. Kele, start the fight when you're ready."
"Brother Feng, isn't there anything else we need to watch out for?" Heizi walked up to Shi Feng and asked quietly.
This was Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest, and none of them were experts. Yet Shi Feng's explanation had been so brief that Heizi almost thought the boss would be easy. But so many elite parties had been wiped out even on Normal. How could Hell-Grade be easy?
"Captain, aren't there any other details we should know?"
The others were worried too. They looked at Shi Feng expectantly, hoping he would say more and explain the finer points. They were rookies and didn't know a lot of things. What seemed obvious to an expert like Shi Feng might not be obvious to them.
Elites were no match for bosses. The other elite parties had surely been wiped out by the boss. Although their equipment was better, they were all level 1 rookies and knew exactly how little they could handle.
"You're overthinking it. Relax. I'll tell you what to do and when to do it, so there's no need to worry. Kele, go pull the boss. Remember to dodge as much as you can. One healer won't be able to keep up with the boss's damage." Shi Feng smiled. His teammates were more attentive than he'd expected. In his previous life, as the Guild Leader of Shadow Studio, he'd run Hell-Grade dungeons countless times, including many 100-player raids. How could he not know how to guide rookies through a little boss fight?
Kele had no choice but to charge in.
As soon as Kele entered Wilmi's detection range, Wilmi sprang to its feet and stared at him, drooling. Its two steel claws scraped together, throwing off sparks. Kele had clearly awakened Wilmi's killing intent. The boss raised its claws high and rushed at him, impatient to attack.
"Healer, start casting. Everyone else, get ready to attack Wilmi's arms," Shi Feng said as Wilmi charged toward them.
The moment Shi Feng finished speaking, Wilmi was already in front of Kele. Kele didn't even have time to react before the claws came crashing down toward his head.
With a bang, Kele instinctively raised his shield to block the steel claws. They scraped across it, sending out three dazzling sparks and leaving three claw marks in the metal. The tremendous impact sent Kele staggering back five or six steps before he could steady himself. A huge 103 appeared above his head.
Before Kele could attack Wilmi, the boss swung its claws again, sending both Kele and his shield flying. A 105 appeared above him. Only then did the healer's spell land, restoring 43 health—negligible compared to the damage he had taken.
Everyone was stunned. The boss's speed and damage were terrifying. If Kele hadn't had two pieces of Bronze Equipment and blocked with his shield, those two attacks might have killed him.
"Lonely As Snow, Charge Wilmi! Heizi, use Evil Lash!" Shi Feng had expected this and told Heizi to use a control skill.
Lonely As Snow reacted in time, using Charge to intercept Wilmi's next attack and save Kele's life.
However, his attack dealt only 11 damage to Wilmi. Lonely As Snow was stunned. He had two pieces of Bronze Equipment and had put most of his attributes into Strength, yet he'd dealt so little damage. The boss in front of him had 6,000 health.
Heizi finished casting from the side and used Evil Lash.
Five black thorns instantly wrapped around Wilmi's legs, greatly reducing its speed.
Shi Feng took the opportunity to move behind Wilmi. With the Abyssal Walker in hand, he landed a Double Strike on the boss's neck, dealing 66 and 67 damage and inflicting Bleed. It lost 8 health per second for 10 seconds.
The heavy damage immediately made Wilmi switch aggro and attack Shi Feng. But Shi Feng gave it no chance. With 30 Agility, he easily dodged the steel claws and darted five yards away.
"Awwooo!" Wilmi roared furiously and charged at Shi Feng.
"Ranged players, attack now. Kele, come back and hold Wilmi once you've recovered." Shi Feng retreated in an orderly fashion, dodging Wilmi's steel claws without losing his composure.
But the sight was nerve-racking for everyone else. Each of Wilmi's swipes passed right by Shi Feng's head, making his hair flutter in the wind.
Though shocked, the others kept attacking. One magic attack after another hit the boss. Lonely As Snow used Whirlwind from behind, but not a single attack dealt more than 20 damage.
Wilmi's health kept dropping. Whenever Shi Feng found an opening, he would land another couple of hits, taking off another chunk of its health.
Before long, its health fell to 90%. Enraged, Wilmi began wildly swinging both claws and used Death Claw, sending its attack speed soaring.
Shi Feng nearly got hit. Fortunately, he reacted in time and blocked with the Abyssal Walker, taking only 130 damage.
Kele, now back at full health, charged in and slammed Wilmi over the head with Holy Strike, followed by Retribution. Only after a string of attacks did Wilmi switch aggro to Kele.
The aggro switch interrupted Death Claw, returning Wilmi to its normal state.
Seeing Wilmi change targets, Shi Feng unleashed Wind Thunder Flash. Three bolts of lightning pierced Wilmi's body, dealing -92, -116, and -137 damage. The attack also inflicted a damage-amplifying effect, increasing everyone else's damage by 20%. Fighting Wilmi became much easier.
Heizi relentlessly fired Shadow Arrows, each dealing more than 50 damage. The others were also able to deal over 20 damage with each attack.
Wilmi had just turned around to attack Shi Feng when Kele used Holy Strike and Retribution again, pulling the boss's aggro back to himself.
Wilmi turned around once more, and Shi Feng struck it with Slash.
Shi Feng and Kele took turns drawing Wilmi's attention, keeping it from attacking the other players.
Wilmi's health kept falling until it reached 30%. It went berserk, and its body grew larger.
"Melee players, get away from the boss! Heizi, use Evil Lash! Healer, keep me alive!" Shi Feng shouted. In this state, Wilmi was sure to use its major skill, Killing Feast.
As soon as Lonely As Snow and Kele heard Shi Feng's command, they immediately moved away from the boss, leaving Shi Feng to hold it alone.
Just as the two of them passed beyond 10 yards, Wilmi disappeared.
Everyone was confused.
When Wilmi reappeared, it was behind Shi Feng, and its steel claws came crashing down. Shi Feng was ready and blocked the swipe with his sword. But the moment he blocked it, Wilmi vanished again, only to reappear behind him.
In just two seconds, Wilmi attacked Shi Feng from behind seven times. Thankfully, Shi Feng had 30 Agility and could just barely keep up with Wilmi's speed. Still, every attack took away a large chunk of his health, and the healer had to keep restoring it.
-96, -97, +46, -96, -97, +48, +32, -96, -97, +46...
If Shi Feng hadn't had 520 health and managed to block every swipe, he would have certainly died to Wilmi's Killing Feast.
At this point, Shi Feng had less than 100 health left.
"Finish it!" Shi Feng shouted.
After using its ultimate skill, Wilmi would become weak. This was their best chance to kill it.
Everyone unleashed their attacks on Wilmi. At last, they depleted its remaining 30% health, and it dropped four items.
Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Shi Feng checked their status. Sleepy Sloth, the healer, had less than 20% of his Mana left, and the other spellcasters had less than 10%. He hurriedly said, "Everyone, sit down and recover at once!"
The others didn't understand. The boss was dead, so why was there such a rush? Still, they followed Shi Feng's orders and sat down to recover.
They hadn't even spent five seconds eating and drinking when a roar shook the entire Dead Silence Forest. A black shadow sprang out of the woods.
It was a giant werewolf. It looked at the dead Wilmi, then turned its gaze to Shi Feng and the others. Its dark eyes instantly turned bloodred. Just as it was about to roar, Shi Feng charged forward with Wind Chasing Sword and immediately used Abyssal Bind. Nine chains bound the werewolf and covered its mouth, preventing it from making a sound.
Only then did everyone see the werewolf's status. It had two full health bars.
Werewolf Ferrot, Level 3 Lord, Health: 12000/12000.
"Damn, why's another Lord boss showing up?" Heizi couldn't help cursing.
They'd barely killed one boss and had hardly rested, yet another Lord had appeared. Lords were a whole level stronger than leaders. This was ridiculous!
"Everyone, remember: under no circumstances can you let Werewolf Ferrot roar again!" Shi Feng hurriedly warned them.
But the others were clearly afraid. It wasn't the werewolf's size or health that scared them, but its terrifying blood-red eyes, which made them feel as if they could barely move.
PS: I'm timidly asking for a follow and a recommendation!