Getting kited?

While directing the other players to block the boss's attacks, Huang Kun told a player beside him, "Send word back immediately, then bring people over to surround and kill this boss."

"Got it." The player nodded at once.

Bang!!

A crash rang out as the player holding off the boss had his weapon knocked from his hands.

But just as he was about to die, the players beside him stepped in to help.

His cultivation level had risen.

As a result, many of Wang Tiezhu's existing injuries had also healed.

On top of that, his strength had increased dramatically after his advancement.

Although plenty of players surrounded him, they could do nothing to him.

However—

As Wang Tiezhu attacked the players, he kept a constant watch on his surroundings.

In that short span of time,

two more of the bandits he had brought along had been killed.

Although they had been killed by Otherworlders,

the bandits would not truly die.

Still, the three-day respawn period was hardly short, in a sense.

Wang Tiezhu never forgot their mission.

They were to kill as many Otherworlders as possible.

If all the bandits were lost here, then no matter how powerful he was, how many could he kill alone with just two hands and a saber?

Suddenly, Wang Tiezhu's saber strikes grew vastly more powerful, accompanied by what sounded faintly like a tiger's roar.

His deadly saber cut straight through the players' defenses and cleaved one of them in two.

Then Wang Tiezhu seized the opening and broke straight out of their encirclement.

After that, he cut down several more players who were fighting the bandits.

"Retreat!"

At his command, the other bandits immediately abandoned their opponents and fell back while fighting.

Wang Tiezhu, meanwhile, had already rejoined the bandits.

The sudden turn of events left the other players unable to react in time.

But soon,

Huang Kun's furious voice shattered the brief silence. "Stop them! Don't let them get away!"

At this point,

if they let the boss escape, all their efforts would be wasted.

As for why a boss would suddenly leave,

Huang Kun had no time to think about it.

A player had already gone back for reinforcements. As long as they stalled long enough, this boss would be theirs, so they absolutely could not let their prize slip through their fingers.

"You go. I'll cover the rear," Wang Tiezhu said.

The other bandits withdrew as ordered.

Whenever a player tried to pursue them, his saber forced them back.

But when those players tried to surround him, Wang Tiezhu stopped attacking, turned around, and ran.

He repeated this maneuver over and over.

Not only did they fail to catch a single bandit or surround the boss, they even lost several more players in the process.

Huang Kun nearly went mad with anger at the sight.

What was this?

Were they getting kited?

They were players, and a boss was actually kiting them!!!

This had caught him completely off guard.

After all, even the occasional intelligent bosses in past games had fallen far short of players. With a little thought, players could surround and kill them.

Neither Huang Kun nor any of the other players had ever experienced anything like this, where a boss kited them.

For a moment,

Huang Kun was unsure what to do.

White light flashed within the respawn circle.

Liu Qinghong, Fu Moyan, and the others appeared there.

"Whoa! Is that Liu Qinghong? And Fu Moyan?"

"Who's strong enough to kill both of them and send them back here to respawn?"

"No way... judging by this, did their whole party get wiped out?"

The sight of the two men, along with the white lights that kept appearing, sparked a flurry of discussion among the nearby players.

Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan were both well-known figures in Novice Village No. 23012.

After all, there were only a handful of experts at the Fourth Level of Martial Entry or above.

Neither Liu Qinghong nor Fu Moyan paid any attention to the chatter around them. Both were stunned by the system message.

You were killed by the Liangshan Stronghold Chief!

The Liangshan Stronghold Chief?

Which Liangshan Stronghold Chief?!

Both of them inevitably thought of the incident that had sparked heated discussion among countless players.

News that a boss had destroyed Beginner Village 10021 had already spread all over the forums.

As the first Novice Village to be destroyed by an NPC, it naturally drew every player's attention.

Although Liu Qinghong, Fu Moyan, and the others had not checked the forums, the name Liangshan Stronghold Chief was still very familiar to them.

After realizing who had killed him, Liu Qinghong looked at Fu Moyan with an exceptionally grave expression and said, "I never expected this boss to turn up on Mingai Mountain.

"With such terrifying strength, it's no wonder he managed to pull that off."

"Mingai Mountain is off-limits now, but I'm worried we might be his next target."

Fu Moyan's expression kept shifting.

Clearly, the Liangshan Stronghold Chief's appearance had shaken him deeply.

That terrifying saber strike in particular still made him shudder.

It was an overwhelming disparity in strength, one that had already reached an entirely different level.

Seeing that he had fallen back to the Fourth Level of Martial Entry, Fu Moyan winced.

He had spent two whole days advancing from the Fourth Level of Martial Entry to Martial Entry Fifth Level.

But now,

two days of hard work had gone straight down the drain.

During the early stages of the game, that was a huge setback.

Moreover, every player he had brought along had respawned once. Their collective strength had effectively dropped an entire level, leaving them further behind other players who had previously been their equals.

That gap would not be easy to close.

Afterward,

Liu Qinghong and Fu Moyan exchanged a few brief words, then went their separate ways, each weighed down by his own concerns.

The Liangshan Stronghold Chief taking over Mingai Mountain

was no small matter.

One careless misstep, and they might suffer the same fate as Beginner Village 10021.

Besides—

if they could kill a major boss who had destroyed a Novice Village, how many precious items might he drop?

Although both men knew how terrifying the Liangshan Stronghold Chief was,

deep down, they still clung to that faint hope.

Inside a room,

Liu Qinghong and over a dozen other players had gathered.

None of them looked happy, and a few still seemed to harbor lingering fear.

Liu Qinghong looked at everyone and said gravely, "No one is to reveal that the Liangshan Stronghold Chief is on Mingai Mountain. Is that understood?"

"Understood."

The others nodded.

Then Zhang Jie asked in confusion, "Do you have something in mind, Brother Liu?"

"The Liangshan Stronghold Chief managed to destroy Beginner Village 10021, so he's certainly a rare major boss. But the stronger a boss is, the more valuable his drops will be if we can kill him."

Liu Qinghong paused.

"But no matter how strong the boss is, that's only temporary. For now, we'll pour all our resources into raising our cultivation levels, then find a chance to kill the Liangshan Stronghold Chief for his drops."

"But we aren't the only ones who know the Liangshan Stronghold Chief is on Mingai Mountain. What if Fu Moyan..."

"Don't worry. Fu Moyan won't say anything either."