Once most of the other mobs were dead, Deathbringer, the boss, became very conspicuous.
Ten-Year Veteran: "Assault team, come with me and fight the boss."
I Am an Angel: "Supports in the goddess team, apply buffs. Control types, block his escape routes. We absolutely can't let him get away."
Qian Xixi wasted no words and had already charged forward with Ten-Year Veteran.
Seeing so many people charging at him at once, Deathbringer forcibly suppressed the little fear he had felt.
"Come on, then. Let's see if you really can't die."
Deathbringer sent the corpse puppets beside him charging at the players.
Ten-Year Veteran: "This guy wants to send these corpses over to blow us up. Defense types, hold the front. Control types, don't let them charge through."
Suicide bombers relied on catching people off guard. Once people were prepared, they had a hard time achieving much.
That was especially true of controlled suicide bombers like these corpse puppets, which were slow to begin with and had no brains.
"Damn it!"
Deathbringer cursed under his breath, but this fellow was quite clever.
He immediately made some of the corpse puppets explode. The dust raised by the explosions filled the entire cave, while the remaining corpse puppets used its cover to get as close to the players as possible before blowing themselves up.
This did blast a few players who had charged too far ahead back to the respawn point.
However, the dust from the explosions also blocked Deathbringer's own vision.
Ten-Year Veteran, I Am an Angel, Qian Xixi, and several other players also used the obscuring smoke to rush past the corpse puppets and reach Deathbringer.
Wang Zhongwang: "Watch my first Soul Skill: Tiger's Roar in the Mountain Forest!"
Wang Zhongwang's Soul Skill briefly stunned Deathbringer.
I Am an Angel: "First Soul Skill, Light Slash!"
I Am an Angel's attack struck Deathbringer, dealing double damage. Deathbringer screamed and came out of his stunned state.
"Aah!"
Meanwhile, Ten-Year Veteran hurled the Formation-Breaking Overlord Spear in his hand, sending it straight through Deathbringer's body.
Against an ordinary person, that blow would definitely have inflicted serious injury or even killed them outright.
However, Ten-Year Veteran's strike dealt very limited damage to Deathbringer.
Seeing this, Ten-Year Veteran quickly worked out the reason.
Ten-Year Veteran: "This boss has very high physical damage reduction. I Am an Angel, looks like we'll have to rely on you for most of the damage."
I Am an Angel: "No problem. Just watch me."
"Do you really think I'm a soft persimmon you can squeeze however you like?"
Deathbringer spoke furiously, but no one cared what he was saying.
Unless a boss's dialogue involved game mechanics, no player would listen to it.
Ten-Year Veteran, Qian Xixi, Wang Zhongwang, and the other players kept Deathbringer occupied, while I Am an Angel seized every opportunity to pour on the damage.
For this purpose, Qian Xixi even bought a Mental Stimulant Potion from the game shop and gave it to I Am an Angel.
The Mental Stimulant Potion could greatly reduce Soul Skill cooldowns.
Then, as the mobs throughout the cave were cleared out, all the players came over and surrounded Deathbringer.
Attacks came from every direction. In the players' eyes, the boss's health bar kept dropping, faster and faster.
When the boss had only one-tenth of his health left, Ten-Year Veteran gave a warning.
Ten-Year Veteran: "When the boss's health bottoms out, he'll very likely use an ultimate move. He might also unlock a second form. Everyone, be careful."
Deathbringer was merely an early-game minor boss and had no second form at all, but he certainly had an ultimate move.
"All of you, die! Hahahaha!"
Deathbringer was ruthless toward others, and naturally ruthless enough toward himself as well. In fact, this fellow had long since ceased to qualify as a living person.
A red light began flashing in his chest. Clearly, bombs had been planted inside his body too, and the bombs inside him were even more powerful.
Qian Xixi: "Oh no! He's going to blow himself up. Focus fire and burst him down!"
Ten-Year Veteran: "Third Soul Skill: Overlord's Armor Break!"
I Am an Angel: "First Soul Skill, Light Slash!"
Wang Zhongwang: "Second Soul Skill: Fierce Tiger's Roaring Wave!"
All the players' attacks landed on Deathbringer, completely emptying the last of his health bar. No one bothered to care who had landed the final blow.
Although Deathbringer, the boss, had been killed, the bomb's detonation did not stop.
Ten-Year Veteran: "Run!"
Unfortunately, it was already too late. With a boom, an explosion engulfed the entire cave.
The ground shook as though a small earthquake had struck.
All the players were blown to death and waited to respawn. Meanwhile, the mission rewards were distributed.
[Congratulations to the players for completing the first stage of the story mission. Participating players are rewarded with +1 Soul Power level, 10,000 gold spirit coins, and one Hundred-Year Spirit Ring Upgrade Card.]
A Hundred-Year Spirit Ring Upgrade Card could directly increase the age of a particular Soul Ring by a random amount between 100 and 900 years.
Everyone received a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring Upgrade Card, but how much of an increase they got depended on their luck.
The rewards for clearing mobs and fighting the boss differed from person to person.
Some who had slacked off only gained one Soul Power level, while Qian Xixi gained three levels with the experience potion's boost, plus the one level awarded by the system.
Qian Xixi's Soul Power level had also reached level 33, tying with Ten-Year Veteran.
I Am an Angel was slightly below them, at level 32.
Some others, such as Wang Zhongwang, Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior, Primordial One, and other players, also reached level 30, unlocking new Soul Rings and Soul Skills.
Meanwhile, the Shrek Supervisory Group naturally noticed the disturbance as well. After all, it was so great that it would have been strange if they still failed to notice it.
"Teacher Zhou, what's happening up ahead? Could the people from Death's Hand have discovered us?"
"Impossible. Yuhao just scanned the area. He didn't find any enemies within the range of his Spiritual Detection."
"Could it simply be an earthquake?"
Huo Yuhao spoke, and Zhou Yi nodded.
"That's possible. Death's Hand's lair is just ahead. Ma Xiaotao, take the official team members ahead to investigate."
"Yes!"
Ma Xiaotao took his teammates and soon found the cave, while the players who had just respawned were staying in front of it.
Ma Xiaotao and his teammates all saw the players too.
"Are they from Death's Hand? Why don't they really look the part?"
Gongyang Mo spoke, and Yao Haoxuan nodded too. "They really don't. There's not the slightest trace of Evil Soul Masters about them."
The players also received a new story mission.
[New story mission unlocked: Exchange with Shrek. Rewards will be determined by mission completion. Players, please keep up your efforts and complete the mission perfectly.]
Before you continue