The players who were charging forward stopped in their tracks and went back to spectator mode.
The reason is simple: the title above the BOSS's head is still there, but the health bar has disappeared.
What does this tell us?
This marks the return to a phase where NPCs are willing to sacrifice themselves.
All they need to do is dodge the area-of-effect attacks and wait for Xilǐ'er to die again before they can start attacking the boss like an ant swarm.
The zombie siege scenario is indeed very tense, but judging from the current battlefield situation, the players are actually playing the role of the zombies.
Bennett glanced at Xilǐ'er, who had already put his helmet back on, and then at the players who had suddenly stopped attacking. A creature came to mind—
Vulture.
Xilǐ'er spurred his horse forward and charged out from the crowd, and in the blink of an eye, he was once again locked in battle with Bennett.
Having already resolved to die, Bennett no longer held back. The bone armor on his four arms not only defended against Xilǐ'er's fierce attacks but also seized the opportunity to strike back.
Bennett did not believe in true immortality, and he had noticed that although Xilǐ'er's attack movements were the same as before, the force was slightly less.
Considering that the other party was a Living Metal armor, his brain, which had not been used for a long time, worked at lightning speed and guessed most of the drawbacks of Xilǐ'er losing some weight after being resurrected.
He believed Xilǐ'er could be killed, whether ten times or twenty times, as long as the other could truly be killed...
Thinking of this, a surge of bloodlust welled up in the vampire's heart.
It's ironic, really. As a human lord, he didn't choose to fight to the bitter end when faced with an overwhelming horde of Blood Corpse, but now, as a Blood Corpse, he's willing to sacrifice his life in the face of a human attack.
Two minutes later, a giant hand covered in bone armor pierced Xilǐ'er's chest, leaving a waist-deep hole, and the forced resurrection program started running again.
This time, the players saw that the boss's health bar, which had entered a combat-ready state, had dropped to around 70%. Their combined attack, unfamiliar with Bennett's attack patterns, had only reduced his health by less than 10%, and given his ability to heal...
The players started calculating in their minds, feeling that as long as they didn't blindly feed the enemy, Xilǐ'er would only need to die twice more at most.
Thus began a terrible cycle: Bennett replenished his health with players and Blood Corpse, Xilǐ'er was constantly resurrected through the blessings left on his chest by the Twin Kings, and players emerged continuously from the Resurrection Tree behind the city walls, repeatedly rejoining the battlefield.
All three sides were using cheat codes, and the area outside White Wax Town was as lively as a battle of gods.
After several tens of minutes, Bennett's health bar was finally whittled down to less than 10%. Because a few newbies didn't understand the commands and blindly gave away their lives, the players' plan had to be extended by one round to succeed.
At this moment, Bennett had only two and a half of his four arms left, and only a few pieces of the bone armor that could move and change freely on his body remained. He looked like he was about to die.
Xilǐ'er had just been resurrected, and everyone began another period of waiting.
Xilǐ'er had become much weaker, was successfully resurrected. However, he was no longer a half-dead being from another world. His empty interior made him at most a pickup truck from another world, and he was looking down, reminiscing about the past.
But just then, a call reached everyone's ears, including those of Bennett, who had completely lost his mind:
"My lord, we have been defeated. I will lead you to retreat first!"
[ Aluode ] stands atop a pile of corpses, holding a dead human (an extra) in his hand, and shouts loudly at Bennett, who is surrounded by enemies.
Bennett was stunned for a moment, then saw the [ Aluode ] he hated so much charging towards the humans, trying to break through the relatively thin encirclement and join him.
Beside him, the seemingly endless group of eerie humans had settled into a state of observation, while the armored knight in the distance was deep in thought.
Bennett suddenly realized that he might be able to escape the battlefield, and once this thought arose, his fighting spirit began to die out as quickly as a campfire in a downpour.
After only a moment's thought, he decided to answer [ Aluode's ] call and began his breakout in the direction the enemy was charging.
Of course, Bennett wouldn't abandon [ Aluode ] for such a tremendous achievement. He had decided to knock him to the ground as soon as he met him and let the humans beat him to death, so that he could at least buy himself some time to escape.
After defeating the humans blocking his path, Bennett quickly reached [ Aluode ]. Just as he was about to sacrifice his only capable subordinate, he suddenly heard some moving words:
"Sir, please leave quickly! I'll hold them off here!"
After a brief hesitation, Bennett agreed to the other's suggestion and made a final decision in his heart regarding [ Aluode ], who was about to give his life for him:
A good subordinate is one who is a little stupid.
The two passed each other. Bennett looked at the open road ahead and decided to turn back and see how this subordinate who had tricked him so many times had died.
Before he could even turn his neck behind him, a sharp and hard triangular thorn pierced through his chest.
Although Bennett's bone armor was almost completely gone, it still protected the most vital parts of his body, including his chest and the back of his head.
While bone armor is powerful, it is not without its weaknesses. Although it is very strong against external impacts, it is significantly weaker against internal impacts.
At this moment, the three-edged dagger pierced through the chest from behind, and several pieces of bone armor near the heart were sent flying out and completely out of sight.
Bennett assumed that [ Aluode ] had died instantly at the hands of the enemy, so much so that he was caught up before he could even run two steps.
He forced his head to turn, only to witness a scene that horrified him to death—
The one who pierced his body with sharp wooden spikes was none other than his loyal, foolish, and only wise subordinate, [ Aluode ].
At that moment, he was holding a severed human hand covered in three-edged thorns, and he used it to pierce himself.
"Surprise! Lord Count.
"This strike should serve as a warning against arrogance and impetuosity!"
[ Aluode ]'s face was no longer expressionless; only a sinister smile that stretched almost to his ears remained.
Seeing his contribution points steadily increasing on his long-term quest log, [ Aluode ]'s heart nearly leaped out of his chest. His barely suppressed excitement, tinged with a broken accent, reached Bennett's ears:
"My mission is complete!"