Who Exactly Are the Players Here?
Having been publicly humiliated, the Corpsefire now truly enraged.
However, the Corpsefire is indeed the boss of the Den of Evil, and it does have some cunning (of course, it could also be a system design reaction).
He shook his head and said, "It's alright. There are countless powerful Undead Warrior in the Den of Evil, which are definitely not something those adventurers can easily fight against. They are just courting death by coming here."
But--
At this point, Corpsefire glanced at the group before him, "If any of you are willing to support the leaders guarding the checkpoint and assist them in fighting those adventurers, that is entirely permissible. If you perform exceptionally well in the battle to annihilate these adventurers, I wouldn't mind giving you some appropriate rewards."
[System prompt: The dungeon quest [Adventurers Must Die] has been triggered. Assist the four guardian bosses of the Den of Evil in fighting against the invading adventurers.]
Mission success conditions: Annihilate all three waves of invading adventurers; the Corpsefire must survive.
Mission failure condition: The Corpsefire and the adventurer kills the player.
Xiao Yu noticed a pattern: almost every dungeon seemed to have a related quest. Poli Village had a quest given by the Undead Isaac, and this dungeon also had a quest given by Corpsefire. Moreover, the quest rewards were experience points upon completion. It seemed that to level up quickly, he had to clear the dungeons.
He first checked the combat process of this dungeon. Because it was a normal difficulty dungeon, unlike the beginner dungeon in Poli Village where you could respawn and try infinitely, this dungeon only had four chances to revive.
These four opportunities mean four boss battles. According to the rules in the dungeon description, teams of monster players can join the battlefield to support the boss battle when adventurers and bosses are fighting. Once the adventurers in the boss battle are defeated, a new team of adventurers will take over the challenge.
After defeating three teams of adventurers, the dungeon is considered cleared and won. However, if the boss guarding the dungeon dies, Xiao Yu and his group must retreat to the next boss, and so on. If the Corpsefire is killed before all three waves of adventurers are wiped out, the dungeon is considered a failure.
Considering that this dungeon can only be run once a week, Xiao Yu felt he absolutely couldn't fail, as the experience gained from this dungeon quest was extremely generous.
Xiao Yu then checked the information on several bosses in the dungeon. There were four bosses in total in the Den of Evil: the Flesh Giant in the Hall of Blood, the Skeleton Knight in the Hall of Bones, the Ghost Wizard in the Hall of Rest, and finally, the Corpsefire in the Hall of Evil.
It's basically the same as the dungeons in typical fantasy games, except this time they're the monsters guarding the entrance.
Xiao Yu glanced at everyone and said, "Alright everyone, I won't go into the strategy for this dungeon, since I've never done it before. Just follow my instructions. Remember, we only have four chances. I can accept poor skills, but if anyone wipes out because they don't follow instructions, don't blame me for not warning them. They won't get any loot, and they'll never team up with anyone again."
"If there are no problems, let's set off."
After saying that, Xiao Yu led the team forward, and the group soon arrived at the Hall of Blood on the outermost edge of the Den of Evil.
No sooner had they entered the Hall of Blood than the adventurers rushed in after them.
There were ten adventurers in total, representing a variety of classes including spellcasting and melee combat, and they all appeared to be at a relatively high level, around level four or five.
They approached the BOSS, and each of them exclaimed in surprise.
"Damn, this BOSS looks really awesome!" a Warrior exclaimed.
"You're so naive, aren't you? These Big Build bosses are just easy targets, nothing special," a mage said dismissively.
"Don't worry, these gatekeeper bosses are usually given away for free," a Priest reassured him.
"What's there to be afraid of? Our captain has done this dungeon before, just follow orders." The speaker was a rogue.
Listening to these adventurers' words, Xiao Yu felt a pang of doubt. (Damn, are these adventurers really not players?)
At this moment, the boss guarding the gate seemed to have also noticed these adventurers.
The flesh giant. "Who dares to invade this Den of Evil? Foolish living beings, I will take your flesh and blood to make my body even more magnificent."
The NPC-like accent of this flesh-and-blood giant made Xiao Yu feel particularly at ease.
Meanwhile, the adventurers on the other side were surprisingly normal in appearance.
Just like a typical player-run raid group, they surrounded the entrance to the boss's dungeon.
A barbarian wearing a horned helmet and wielding a double-edged greatsword—clearly the captain—began to speak.
"Listen up, everyone. Once the boss fight starts, follow my instructions. Otherwise, don't blame me for saying this upfront: you won't get any loot from the boss drops."
"Damn it, "Xiao Yu thought to himself, "This guy copied my lines!" His teammates, however, all looked at Xiao Yu, wondering if all team captains in the world used the same opening lines.
The barbarian captain continued, "Alright, melee preparations, Priest Druid give each other a buff, then get ready to go!"
This adventurer team has six classes in the front row: two Warriors, one barbarian, one Paladin, and two Priest.
A Priest clad in iron armor stepped forward first, raising a mace in his hand.
"Brave Warrior, the God of War Tempus, is watching you. Summon your courage and fight for glory!" -- Mass Inspire!
This guy seemed to be the Priest of the God of War. Suddenly, an invisible aura seemed to emanate from the six or seven melee fighters in the front row.
Another Priest, dressed in leather armor, also raised his steel scepter.
"Brave Warrior, boldly attack the evil creatures ahead! The glory of the Sun God will forever shine upon you!" -- Mass Bless!
The crowd shimmered with a blessed aura, appearing quite magnificent; this Priest was none other than the Priest of the Sun God, Pelor.
Immediately afterwards, another Druid stepped forward.
"Forward, warriors! The power of nature will be with you!" -- Mass Barkskin!
In an instant, a protective layer resembling tree bark appeared on everyone's bodies.
With these buffs, the six melee adventurers suddenly looked much more formidable.
"Damn, I have a bad feeling about this situation. Do we have any buffs we can give them?"
The Red-Braised Ribs behind Xiao Yu suddenly asked.
"What's the big deal? We're monsters, twice as many as them, and we have a big boss tanking in front of us. What are you afraid of? Listen to me: all melee fighters, flank and attack the backline. All ranged fighters, move closer to me and focus fire on the boss from behind. I'll cover you. All ghosts, go heal the boss. The boss absolutely cannot fall. That Guiying Wuzong, I'm the Ghost Assassin, right? You seem like a pro, so I won't assign you any tasks. Just roam freely. But if possible, find an opportunity to kill the enemy mage."
In the blink of an eye, the tasks were assigned.
Meanwhile, on the adventurers' side, with the buffs applied, the barbarian captain roared, and the battle decisively began.
Because the game has become more realistic, the traditional tank-healer-DPS trinity is no longer relevant.
In theory, all melee classes, as long as they are tough and have enough health, can be considered tanks to charge in and absorb damage.
Therefore, the six melee adventurers will line up in a row, including two Priest, one Paladin, two Warriors and one barbarian, and rush towards the BOSS.
The remaining four—a mage, Druid, a ranger, and a rogue—stayed in the back and began providing ranged attacks.
Despite its enormous size, the flesh giant was clumsy. Although its massive flesh club was incredibly powerful, its attacks were slow and easily dodged. Surrounded by six melee fighters, it was clearly a sitting duck, subjected to a relentless, dog-walking-like attack.
He circled around for ages without hitting a single person, but his body was covered in countless wounds. Luckily, he was tough and had a lot of health, so he wouldn't die anytime soon.
Xiao Yu thought to himself, "This BOSS is really unreliable." "Alright, let's go!"
With Xiao Yu's shout, the Undead surged out from the hidden door of the BOSS room.
"Holy crap, watch out! The boss is summoning minions! Everyone be careful!" The thief, with his sharp eyes, was the first to notice.
"Damn, how come there are so many monsters? This doesn't make sense," the mage complained.
"Damn it, this dungeon has a bug, I'm going to complain to the GM later," the barbarian captain shouted.
As Xiao Yu listened to the adventurers' conversation, a strange feeling suddenly arose in his heart, as if he really was a monster in the game, and the other side was the player.
"Damn it, what's with all the arguing? Let's all attack together!"
Nine melee Undead players—skeleton Warrior, zombies, ghouls, and mummies—all flanked the enemy's backline from both sides.
The four adventurers in the back row were not afraid. The thief put away his light crossbow and swapped it for two daggers, while the ranger threw away his bow and arrows and swapped them for two scimitars, immediately engaging in melee combat.
The Druid summoned a forest wolf, and the mage summoned a skeleton soldier, instantly turning the situation from 9 vs. 4 to 9 vs. 6.
This plan to quickly cut through the backline in close combat immediately fell apart, plunging the team into a chaotic melee.
Several ghosts, whether evil spirits or demons, rushed to the BOSS, some healing the BOSS, others applying debuffs to the enemy melee fighters. Only the Ghost Assassin, Guiying Wuzong, followed Xiao Yu's instructions and disappeared without a trace.
Xiao Yu, along with two skeleton archers and the skeleton mage "Sword of the Fallen Angel," hid behind the BOSS.
"Alright, listen to my command, release the Priest in front of the target BOSS!"
The Priest was preparing to dodge a blow from the flesh giant's club when he was struck by a fireball and two arrows simultaneously. He was blasted backward and could no longer dodge. The flesh giant's club struck him squarely, killing him instantly.
"Good job, that's it! Don't aim to kill them, just stun them and let the BOSS finish them off," Xiao Yu. These players seem to be pretty skilled.
Seeing one of their teammates die, the barbarian captain was clearly enraged. "Damn it, those annoying mobs! You guys go and take them down, mage, cast Enlarge, Priest, cast Divine Favor, I'll tank the boss for a bit."
Enlarge! The mage cast a buff on the barbarian captain, who suddenly grew to a size of over three meters tall, almost as tall as the flesh giant.
Lesser Divine Favor! The Priest also cast a buff on the barbarian captain, who immediately gained a layer of golden protective aura.
Enrage!
He then immediately unleashed the Barbarian's signature skill, Enrage Spell! His eyes glowed with a Bloodlust red light, and his muscles instantly swelled up like hams, turning a deep red.
With a swing of his two greatswords, Cleave! With a clang, he actually managed to clash evenly with the flesh and blood giant.
Upon seeing this, his other four melee adventurers immediately rushed towards Xiao Yu.
Just as the mage finished casting Enlarge and was about to unleash a Flame Missiles to instantly kill the skeleton Warrior in front of her, a dark shadow suddenly appeared behind her.
Backstab! With a soft thud, a Ghost Blade pierced straight into his back.
But then, Guiying Wuzong suddenly appeared behind him.
As a second-tier advancement of ghosts, the Ghost Assassin has already entered the realm of advanced Undead. They can materialize their ghostly body and weapon in an instant to launch physical attacks. Although this can only last for a very short time, they are excellent at Cheap Shot and assassinations, especially against fragile characters like mages. The mage, confident in the protection of his teammates, did not cast any defensive spells and was immediately caught off guard.
This attack was immediately effective, instantly killing the mage. Without the summoner's control, the skeleton soldier also turned into a pile of broken bones with a crash.
The battle in the back row suddenly turned into a 9-on-4 fight, and the adventurers were instantly in grave danger.
At the same time, the four melee adventurers rushed up to Xiao Yu and his group in the back row.