Nothing... Was... Over

The Black Dragon had already been at the end of its rope. Struck by a barrage of spells, its health bar instantly bottomed out, and it plummeted straight from the sky.

Boom! The colossal beast crashed into the dust, crushing a swath of low buildings. The Black Dragon lay helplessly amid the ruins, Lava Blood gushing from wounds all over its body and forming a pool of lava around it. At this moment, it had only a little over thirty thousand health left and had completely entered a near-death state.

(It's over, it's over! I'm definitely dead this time!) Mo Fei despaired.

In the sky, the Black Dragon Lords were stunned. Mortal power could actually be this formidable. They had originally only feared Dalaran's network of defensive towers and had not wanted to directly confront those mage towers. But now they realized that even mages separated from the towers still possessed the power to threaten them.

Agnes (Black Dragon Lord): "Should we go down and rescue him?"

"No." Nefarian spoke coldly. "This is the path Murphys chose for himself. The surprise attack has failed. It's time to leave."

With that, he let out a roar, and the Black Dragons still fighting in the sky began to retreat...

(Is everything over?)

Watching the Black Dragons begin to withdraw from the sky, Mo Fei thought helplessly, (It's over, Murphys. This time, it's truly over.)

Murphys (Ancient Black Dragon): "As long as I... am not dead... nothing... is... over!" he muttered, lying there without moving.

Mo Fei sighed inwardly. Even at a time like this, Murphys still had not given up hope. He had to admit that he was starting to admire him.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he struggled, it looked like there was no hope left.

Just then, someone suddenly leaped onto his body. It was an adventurer, a level-thirty-something assassin.

He pulled out two daggers and stabbed them into the dragon's body.

-

-7! -8! -11! -9! The damage was pitiful, but the assassin persisted. If he could take advantage of this chance to finish off the Black Dragon, casually grabbing a few of the drops would be enough to buy a seaside villa. He had held back until now just for this moment.

Clearly, quite a few others had the same idea.

Adventurers kept crawling out from every nook and cranny.

"Over there, over there!"

"Quick, quick, quick! The boss is about to die! Get in there!"

"Damn, it only has a sliver of health left! Brothers, charge!"

The adventurers surged forward and launched their final attacks against Murphys. The Black Dragon's health bar had only a sliver remaining. It was practically a feast platter laid out right before them.

The temptation was so immense that everyone frantically rushed toward the Black Dragon.

At this point, Dalaran's mages had also hurried over from the city walls. Seeing the sea of adventurers, they immediately got a headache. "Move aside, you idiots! That Black Dragon isn't dead yet."

Antonidas raised his staff, but he could not fire off his magic. No matter how badly he wanted to act, the adventurers were, after all, "righteous allies." He could not simply slaughter them.

Kel'Thuzad and Kael'thas beside him looked even more livid. Those damned adventurers truly deserved to die!

Still, although they were angry, Dalaran's mages were not worried. The Black Dragon was about to die anyway and certainly could not turn things around. They were merely annoyed at having their kill stolen.

And things indeed seemed to be going that way.

Facing the siege of hundreds of adventurers, the Black Dragon tried to struggle, but in its near-death state, both its speed and strength had been greatly weakened. When it swung a claw, the targeted adventurer easily dodged.

Dragon Tail Sweep sent several adventurers flying, but the damage was nowhere near enough to kill them instantly. Only two unlucky fools fell into the lava pool and were scalded to death by the flames.

"Hahaha, this dragon is done for!"

Yet Murphys still did not give up. He spread his wings, swung his dragon claws, and used his final strength in a desperate struggle.

Occasionally, adventurers were struck or fell into the lava pool and were scalded to death. In fact, with the battlefield so chaotic, quite a few people died in the lava pool.

But the Black Dragon's health was also dropping rapidly. The adventurers did not deal much damage, but there were simply too many of them. Its thirty thousand-plus health fell to just over ten thousand in the blink of an eye. The adventurers went even crazier, constantly pressing forward as more people fell into the lava amid the chaos and burned to death.

Antonidas (Dalaran Archmage): "Heh heh, a beast is still a beast. No matter how desperately it struggles, it is nothing more than a dying struggle."

Yet before his words had even faded, a dazzling golden light suddenly blossomed over the Black Dragon's body.

(It leveled up! Holy shit, it actually leveled up!) Mo Fei's heart instantly soared from the depths to the sky.

Murphys had killed who knew how many adventurers that night. He had also destroyed a group of magical constructs and a Magic Colossus boss, gaining an unknown amount of experience. Mo Fei had never expected him to level up at this exact moment.

Whether it was pure luck or something Murphys had planned from the start, he truly could not tell.

But no matter what, this was wonderful news. Leveling up increased the Black Dragon's maximum health by 5,000 points. With the campaign buff, that became 25,000 points outright.

And that was not all. Without hesitation, Murphys put all fifty attribute points gained from leveling into Constitution, instantly increasing his maximum health by another 25,000 points.

Leveling up had also granted him one basic talent point. Murphys did not hesitate and directly put it into Dragon Toughness, a talent Mo Fei had long forgotten.

[Dragon Toughness: Increases the health bonus you gain in story campaigns by an additional 10%.]

In the past, Mo Fei had considered this talent almost worthless. But at this moment, it was a lifesaver. His maximum health rose once more.

This series of actions instantly restored the Black Dragon from a near-death state with only a little over ten thousand health remaining to a dying state with nearly one hundred thousand health.

Near death and dying differed by only one word, but the difference between them was worlds apart.

Near-death state = Movement speed reduced by 80%, all attributes reduced by 50%, on the brink of death, unable to fly.

Dying state = Death Berserk...

The Black Dragon, which had seemed to be waiting for death, suddenly let out an excited roar. Its injuries healed by more than half in an extremely short time, and it regained its vitality.

The surrounding adventurers were all petrified by the dragon's might, while Dalaran's mages stared in astonishment, having no idea what had happened.

Before they could recover their senses—

Dragon language magic—Dark Descent!

The instant darkness covered the sky, Murphys beat his wings without the slightest hesitation and flew toward the heavens at full speed.

Antonidas and Kel'Thuzad reacted swiftly, casting the spells they had prepared at the first possible moment.

Supercharged Explosive Fireball!

Superconductive Polar Ray!

The two spells struck the Black Dragon at the same time, instantly taking another huge chunk off his health.

But that damage was not enough to keep the Black Dragon behind. By the time the mages dispelled the darkness, the Black Dragon had already become a tiny black dot on the horizon.

[World Announcement: With the Black Dragon Legion's full retreat, the "Black Dragon Dance" story campaign has officially come to an end. This event has been recorded in the Sky Annals.]

[In this story campaign, although Dalaran's mages bravely repelled the Black Dragon Legion's invasion, the city of Dalaran still suffered a devastating blow from the Black Dragon Legion. The city was reduced to ruins, and its people suffered grievous casualties. The Kirin Tor Council gradually came to realize that although the Eastern Continent had known peace for centuries, all manner of danger still lurked in the darkness of this world.

This served as a tremendous warning to them and led to a major shift in Dalaran's future strategy. They became more proactive and aggressive, rather than passively responding to the invasions of evil.

And because of this defeat, the Black Dragon Lords of the Black Dragon Legion also realized that the mortal races were not as weak as they had imagined. Without a powerful leader to guide them, the Black Dragon Legion would likely continue facing defeat. Some Black Dragon Lords attempted to find the long-missing Deathwing, while others hoped to seize power for themselves. A struggle for power was about to unfold within the Legion.]

[System Notification: Because you played a pivotal role in the "Black Dragon Dance" story event—as the evil commander leading the Black Dragon Legion—and because you killed a large number of adventurers during this story campaign, raided Dalaran's ancient treasury, and stole a great deal of precious treasure, your atrocities have once again shocked the world. People spread your infamy far and wide, and terrifying tales of you circulate in taverns. You have gained 5,481 story points.]

[System Notification: Your boss rank has increased. You are now a second-rank World Tier boss. You have unlocked new skill points.]

He had actually escaped. Listening to the string of system notifications and watching Dalaran grow farther and farther away behind him, Mo Fei let out a long breath. This really was an unexpected delight.

Now the ten million was in the bag. He had to admit, this feeling of winning without doing anything really was great.

Unfortunately, the company had gotten off cheap this time. Ten million for a second-rank World Tier boss account—what a bargain. Should he ask for a higher price?

"Holy shit, Murphys, you're incredible. You actually escaped." Mo Fei could not help but praise him.

Murphys (Ancient Black Dragon): "Heh heh heh, you finally said something that sounded human, Mo Fei. See that? This is my true power!"

"Fine, fine, you're amazing, okay? Now let me control the body. By the way, how do I switch perspectives again?"

As Mo Fei spoke, he tried to take back control of the body. But the moment he exerted himself, he realized something was wrong. Forget controlling the character—he could no longer even feel the Black Dragon's body. He was completely in spectator mode. All character-related game functions were unusable, with only the most basic system functions remaining, such as adjusting the volume, enabling cheats, and logging out.