The Battle Really Had Grown More Intense

Su Mu looked at the string of numbers, his expression slightly tense.

This combat power is now on par with the gatekeeper lord he encountered in the Hell-level Land of Buried Bones.

The Golden Armor Imperial Guard, the Blood Curse Shaman, the Rock-Splitting Thrower, and the Shadow Fang Assassin —each of them, taken individually, is not much weaker than the bosses guarding the tenth or fifteenth waves of Hell difficulty.

The Crimson Crown Commander is even close to the level of the gatekeeper lord of the twentieth wave of the Hell dungeon.

After the five bosses took their positions, the Crimson Crown Commander glanced across the entire Lion Camel Ridge, his gaze finally settling on Su Mu in the sky.

"To have made it this far means that you are among the elite and powerful members of your human race."

It paused, then suddenly raised its head and looked up at the gray sky, as if speaking to something higher up.

"However, this is the end."

Su Mu was slightly surprised.

But the surprise I felt was completely different from when I first encountered a boss with intelligence.

He had already cleared the Hell difficulty dungeon and seen the five bosses of the Ten Thousand Bones Commander, who could speak, analyze, and assign tasks.

Although these five beings before me can speak and possess the arrogance and scrutiny of royalty, they are still a step below the five beings of the twenty-fifth wave of Hell.

However, it's already very close.

Su Mu quickly assessed in his mind: these fifteen waves of BOSSes were comparable to the hellish difficulty he had fought before.

Because they possess intelligence, can cooperate, communicate, and even speak to the "sky." But clearly, they are still far from being a true boss in Hell, although that gap is rapidly narrowing.

"Little Drill Wind, White Bone Spirit," Su Mu telepathically transmitted via Soul Link, "Fight according to the standards of the Hell difficulty. Dismantle the team's coordination first."

Little Drill Wind stood at the front of Lion Camel Ridge, his short sword tucked diagonally into his waistband, his dark blue scales gleaming coldly in the crimson mist.

It looked at the five bosses, its narrow eyes showing no sign of tension, but rather as if it had seen something familiar.

The White Bone Spirit came from the direction of White Tiger Ridge. In her form as a girl in plain clothes, she gently flicked the bone whip at her waist, and gray-white flame patterns lit up.

She didn't make any unnecessary movements, but simply stood quietly to the side and behind Little Drill Wind.

The two monsters were already used to this level of combat.

The Crimson Crown Commander raised his hand and waved it forward.

The Golden Armor Imperial Guards advanced, shields raised, each step sending bone dust flying from the ground.

The Blood Curse Shaman tapped his bone staff on the ground, and a dark red aura of curse spread from beneath his feet, covering an area of a hundred meters.

The Rock-Splitting Thrower made the first move, swinging his arms and sending three stone spears hurtling through the air, their tips wreathed in dark red demonic energy.

The Shadow Fang Assassin vanished completely into the demonic aura, leaving no trace.

The Little Drill Wind started moving.

Instead of facing the Golden Armor Imperial Guard head-on, it sidestepped, skimming past the trajectory of the stone spear, and drew its short sword.

With a flash of light, the first stone spear was cleaved in two, the second was used as leverage by the spear under its foot, and the third grazed its scales and flew past before embedding itself in the mountain wall behind it.

The White Bone Spirit attacked simultaneously.

The bone whip swept across, and a gray-white curtain of fire spread out in front of them, turning the path of the Golden Armor Imperial Guards into a sea of fire.

The Golden Armor Imperial Guards raised their shields to withstand the attack; runes on the dark gold shields lit up, effectively blocking the curtain of fire.

"It has resistance." Su Mu could see it clearly from high above.

The Blood Curse Shaman's curse aura spread again, suppressing the grayish-white flames for a moment. The Rock-Splitting Thrower continued to hurl stone spears, while the Shadow Fang Assassin remained hidden.

The Crimson Crown Commander stood at the rear, his gaze calmly sweeping across the battlefield. Suddenly, he spoke, "Golden Armor, Left-handed. Shaman, cast Blood Curse on him. Shadow Fang, wait for the opening after the White Bone Spirit makes her move."

The coordination among the five bosses changed instantly.

The Golden Armor Imperial Guards moved to the left, tilting their shields to block the direction of the White Bone Spirit's fire curtain.

With a swing of his bone staff, the Blood Curse Shaman unleashed a dark red curse upon Little Drill Wind. Little Drill Wind's speed abruptly halted, and fine, blood-red patterns appeared on its scales.

The Shadow Fang Assassin has appeared.

It emerged from hiding less than three meters behind Little Drill Wind, its twin blades crossed, aiming straight for the back of Little Drill Wind's neck. The timing of this attack was extremely tricky, catching Little Drill Wind at the very moment it was slowed down by the Blood Curse.

But Little Drill Wind seemed to have eyes in the back of its head.

It didn't turn around; with a backhand flick of the dagger, the blade clashed with the double-edged sword, sparks flying.

The Shadow Fang Assassin missed its attack and immediately retreated, its figure blurring once more. But Little Drill Wind gave it no chance, pushing off with its left foot, its dark blue figure shooting out, the short sword chasing after the afterimage and slashing down.

"Bite..."

The Shadow Fang Assassin was forced to reveal itself, its twin blades crossed to parry. Little Drill Wind's second slash had already slashed upwards, the blade cutting into its ribs. The Shadow Fang Assassin let out a sharp screech, its figure disappearing back into the shadows.

However, Su Mu noticed that Little Drill Wind's slash had not caused a fatal wound.

A dark golden chain of light shone from the Golden Armor Imperial Guard's shield, connecting to the Shadow Fang Assassin. At the same time, the Blood Curse Shaman's bone staff also lit up, and a crimson healing spell landed on the Shadow Fang Assassin, rapidly repairing its severed ribs.

Shared defense, remote healing, and command and dispatch.

Su Mu narrowed his eyes. The mechanics of these five bosses were indeed very close to the prototype of the five bosses in the Hell instance.

The battle lasted a full ten minutes.

The Golden Armor Imperial Guards stood at the forefront, their massive shields blocking almost all of the White Bone Spirit's frontal fire curtain. The Blood Curse Shaman continuously cast curses and heals, maintaining the entire team's condition. The Rock-Splitting Throwers provided sustained damage from the back row, raining down stone spears.

The Shadow Fang Assassin repeatedly stealthily attacked, each time precisely timed to coincide with the openings after Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit unleashed their skills. Meanwhile, the Crimson Crown Commander remained in the rear, constantly adjusting tactics and occasionally raising his hand to release a crimson aura, strengthening the other four bosses.

But Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit were all too familiar with this rhythm.

Little Drill Wind weaves through the monster horde, no longer seeking a one-hit kill, but instead constantly severing the light chains and curses between the bosses.

It discovered a shared defensive light chain between the Golden Armor Imperial Guards and the Shadow Fang Assassins, and prioritized severing the light chain nodes. The White Bone Spirit's bone whip no longer spread fire indiscriminately, but instead narrowed into a thin line of fire, precisely scorching the Blood Curse Shaman's bone staff.

Ten minutes later, the Blood Curse Shaman's bone staff was snapped in two by the White Bone Spirit's whip, and the curse aura disappeared.

The Golden Armor Imperial Guard's shield was cleaved in seven consecutive blows at the same spot by Little Drill Wind, finally shattering.

After losing healing and shared defense, Shadow Fang Assassin was caught up by Little Drill Wind and killed with three strikes. Rock-Splitting Thrower was blocked from retreat by White Bone Spirit's fire curtain and burned to pieces.

Finally, the Crimson Crown Commander faced the combined attack of Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit alone, and held on for nearly a minute before Little Drill Wind pierced his skull with a single blow.

The fifteenth wave resulted in total annihilation.

Su Mu stood high in the sky and slowly exhaled.

The intensity of the battle has indeed increased.

The coordination, intelligence, and mechanics of these five bosses are comparable to the hellish difficulty level he encountered before. Even an ordinary SSS-level examinee, or even a Snow Queen like Ye Qingxue, would struggle greatly against this wave.

But Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit had fought their way out of the Hell difficulty and were already used to this kind of intelligent and coordinated boss battle. They fought very steadily, even with ease.

Then, the panel started flashing.

[Current wave: 15]

[Total number of bosses defeated: 29]

[Integral coefficient: 1000]

[Core Card Status: In Good Condition]

Su Mu's pupils contracted.

The integral coefficient jumped directly from 500 in the fourteenth wave to 1000.

He stared at the number for two seconds, then his heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, the coefficient for this integral varies depending on the difficulty level.

The coefficients increased relatively gradually in the earlier waves, but starting from the fifteenth wave, the coefficients doubled. This shows that the Secret Realm's assessment of "intelligent and coordinated BOSS waves" is on a completely different level compared to the earlier ones.

Su Mu took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.