As the Skeleton Hunter fell from the dome, Heathcliff was the first to raise his cross shield.
"Spread!"
Fifty players moved simultaneously to the four corners of the hall. The massive skeletal body slammed into the central ground, creating a circular shockwave that pushed even the front-line shield warriors backward.
The boss did not pause after landing.
Two scythe-like forelimbs spread to the left and right. The left bone scythe went straight for the shield formation that had not yet settled in. Heathcliff stepped forward to meet the blade head-on, and the cross shield collided with it.
The metallic roar made the entire hall tremble.
His feet slid backward, leaving two marks, but he managed to prevent the scythe from crossing the shield.
At the same time, the other bone sickle swept to the right.
Kirito and Asuna charged forward one after the other. The Elucidator and the Dark Repulser crossed to support the scythe's blade, and the rapier pierced the side of the bone scythe. Sparks flew from all four weapons, and both of their HP dropped simultaneously.
The bone sickle is still pressing forward.
Lin Yuan cut in from beside the two, his sword, " Nameless," pressed against the inside of the scythe. He didn't take the hit head-on, but instead pushed the sword upwards in the direction the Boss was swinging.
The bone sickle, half a foot higher, swept over the heads of the three people and slashed into the wall behind them.
" Heathcliff holds off the left scythe, Kirito and Asuna take care of the right scythe! The rest of you attack the torso!" Diabel immediately gave the order.
Agil, Klein, and several squads charged toward the Skeleton Hunter's flank. Heavy axes, scimitars, and spears rained down on the bones, and the first health bar finally began to slowly decrease.
Lin Yuan, however, did not follow up with the attack.
The bone scythe in the wall was suddenly pulled out and slashed back along the same path. Kirito and Asuna raised their weapons again, and Lin Yuan stepped back two steps, leaving them to face him.
The two of them could hold them off.
The real danger lies elsewhere.
The Skeleton Hunter unleashed dozens of bony legs simultaneously, like a row of spears piercing the attacking team gathered on the flank. The three players at the forefront were caught off guard by their sword skills and their bodies were pierced by the bony legs.
Blue fragments exploded among the white bones.
Before the first scream had even faded, a long, thin tailbone swept across from the other side. Two players who tried to help were flung into the air, one of whom lost all his HP before even hitting the wall.
"Attack team, retreat! Do not stand directly to the side of the bony foot!"
Diabel changed formation without pausing his voice.
Lin Yuan stepped onto the still-retracted bone foot, using its upward momentum to leap over the Boss's back. His " Nameless " slash struck the tailbone that was swinging towards the back row, pressing the sharp spike at the end into the ground.
Agil immediately stepped in front of the wounded, while the others took the opportunity to use their healing crystals.
"It's covered in weapons..." someone said breathlessly.
The Skeleton Hunter raised its skull, and blue flames lit up in its eye sockets simultaneously. The two bone scythes were still being held back by Heathcliff and Kirito and Asuna respectively, but its body was crawling at high speed along the edge of the hall.
The frequency of the foot falling suddenly increased.
Lin Yuan leaped back to the ground from the Boss's back. As soon as he landed, three bone spikes came chasing him from different angles. He dodged the first one by side, deflected the second one with the back of his sword, and the third one grazed the hem of his clothes and embedded itself in the stone slab.
The system monsters don't need to worry about joint limits. Each leg can find its own target, and its tail can even reach over its body to attack the back row.
Another player shattered in the distance.
"We can't just focus on those two scythes!" Kirito shouted through gritted teeth.
The words had barely left his mouth when the bone scythe on his right suddenly pressed down. Asuna's rapier was knocked away, and Kirito's twin swords were pushed towards his chest.
Lin Yuan turned and rushed back to the right.
The Nameless sword struck the sickle blade from below, absorbing the next heavy blow for the two men. He then twisted his wrist, guiding the sickle towards the ground, causing the stone slab beneath his feet to crack.
On the other side, Heathcliff remained alone behind his cross shield. Each time the bone scythe struck, he raised his shield again, never retreating into the attacking force.
This level of defense is enough to amaze any player.
But Lin Yuan didn't have time to look at it much.
The Skeleton Hunter arched its spine, and all its bony feet lifted off the ground at the same time. Its massive body was supported only by two bone scythes, while its tailbone rose from above, like a spear aimed at a crowd.
"The next round is coming," Lin Yuan said.
Kirito and Asuna stood on either side of him again.
Lin Yuan heard someone call out the name of the deceased behind him, but the sound was immediately drowned out by the deafening sound of bone feet slamming into the ground. There was no way to temporarily escape the battle, nor was there a way to retreat using teleportation crystals. As long as the Skeleton Hunter was still moving, everyone could only remain within its attack range.
Diabel ordered two squads with full health to fill the gap, while the players who were originally responsible for attacking raised their shields to escort the wounded. Within minutes of the start of the battle, the planned formation had already been forced to change three times.
Five members of the raid team have already disappeared, and the boss's first health bar has only just run out.
Nobody knows how many people will be left in the next round.