A Massive Haul
Su Mu's heart skipped a beat as he watched this scene.
Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit went from barely holding their own at the beginning, to gaining a slight advantage, and now gradually suppressing each other.
Their combat skills are improving rapidly; every strike and every whip is more precise and efficient than before.
Ye Qingxue saw it too. Her eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly.
How come Su Mu's two cards get stronger the more you fight?
If she hadn't known that Su Mu couldn't possibly hide his strength, she would have suspected that Su Mu was doing this on purpose. Otherwise, how could he have gone from having only a slight advantage at the beginning to completely overwhelming his opponent later on?
Crushing.
It wasn't a matter of overwhelming superiority in attributes, but rather an overwhelming superiority in combat skills.
Every strike from Little Drill Wind landed precisely on the Golden Bone Guardian's weak points, making the Golden Bone Guardian's blocking movements appear like slow-motion replays. The White Bone Spirit's bone whip swung precisely to anticipate the Iron Crown Bone General's movements; before the bone spear even touched the ground, a curtain of fire was already waiting in its path.
The five bosses were forced to retreat in defeat.
Iron Crown Bone General let out a frustrated roar, "Something's wrong! How can these monsters be so strong?"
The Poison Bone Priest's voice was filled with panic. "We're doomed! We should have prioritized attacking one of us!"
The Ten Thousand Bones Commander remained silent, his dark red Soul Flames dimming slightly.
Its Soul Link shares the damage, but the cost of this sharing is that its own health is also rapidly decreasing.
Every attack from Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit Demon landed precisely on the light node, severing the Soul Link runes one by one.
Time flies.
Health dropped to 30%.
Twenty percent.
Ten percent.
Little Drill Wind's final strike cleaved through the center of the Ten Thousand Bones Commander's skull, piercing the crown adorned with nine soul gems. Simultaneously, the White Bone Spirit's bone whip wrapped around the Iron Crown Bone General's cervical vertebrae, flames seeping into the bone crevices and blasting its skull into fragments.
All five bosses were wiped out.
Su Mu stood there, panting heavily.
At that moment, he finally understood what Hell difficulty meant.
The first twenty-four waves were just an appetizer.
Although those skeleton soldiers, elite monsters, and gatekeeper bosses have high stats and are numerous, they can still be easily overwhelmed by the superior combat power of Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit.
The real challenge is this last wave.
It's not just these monsters that can cooperate.
Iron Crown Bone General ranged suppression, Golden Bone Guardians withstand direct attacks, Poison Bone Priests weaken and support, Shadow Bone Hunters flank and ambush, Ten Thousand Bones Commander coordinates and directs all operations.
This kind of coordination is tricky enough, but more importantly, they are intelligent.
They can adjust their tactics in real time according to the battlefield situation, analyze the opponent's weaknesses, assign tasks, and even exchange opinions with each other.
Upon discovering that the Snow Queen had become stronger, the Ten Thousand Bones Commander immediately ordered the Shadow Bone Hunters to eliminate her.
When Iron Crown Bone General discovered that Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit Demon were blocking the Shadow Bone Hunters, he even remarked, "These two monsters actually saw through our tactics and are preventing us from passing."
That ability to adapt to changing circumstances and make tactical adjustments goes far beyond the realm of "instinct."
All the dungeons Su Mu had previously fought, including the twentieth wave of the Nightmare Land of Buried Bones boss, involved splitting up and coordinating, but that kind of coordination was more like a pre-programmed routine.
The monsters act according to fixed logic and lack true adaptability. Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit, with their combat instincts far exceeding those of their peers, can easily crush them.
But these five bosses are different.
They can talk, analyze, and judge. They can react within a few breaths to every tactical change made by Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit.
If it weren't for Little Drill Wind and White Bone Spirit constantly evolving during the battle, from barely holding their own to gaining a slight advantage and then completely suppressing each other, the outcome of this battle would have been very uncertain.
Of course, these bosses' teamwork is still inferior to that of humans who truly know how to cooperate.
Their communication methods are crude, and their tactical adjustments are not particularly fast.
But keep in mind, this is only a level 15 monster. If we consider higher-level monsters, just how intelligent and cooperative would they be?
Su Mu remembered what Ye Qingxue had said before.
As time goes on, some nests will form teams, armies, and even beings with intelligence surpassing that of humans will emerge.
That must be incredibly powerful.
But he has faith in the world of Journey to the West.
Once the Journey to the Journey to the West world truly matures, especially when he obtains the real version of Sun Wukong — the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the monkey who pierced through the Heavenly Court with his Golden Cudgel —then even the most intelligent ones will be useless.
Because at that point it will be pure numerical domination. No matter what tactics or on-the-spot adjustments you make, one blow and you'll be reduced to dust.
Thinking about it.
A notification tone sounded in my ear.
[Level Up: 15 → 16]
Su Mu was taken aback. He had run the Nightmare Lair several times before, and his experience had only increased by 30%.
These last five bosses directly gave him a 20% increase in experience.
Meanwhile, Ye Qingxue's level also changed.
[Level Up: 15 levels → 20% increase from level 15]
Su Mu looked towards the center of the battlefield.
Five cards lay quietly on the ground, each gleaming with a dark red light.
He walked over and picked them up one by one.
[Name: Iron Crown Bone General - Class Card (Ranged)]
[Grade: C]
[Level: 1]
[Class: Ranged DPS]
[Blood: 28000/28000]
[Attack: 2600/2600]
[Defense: 1500]
[Agility: 180]
[Combat Index: 26400]
[Skills: Bone Spear Throw, Iron Crown Command, Barrier of the Dead, Soul Chains ]
[Note: Forged from the remnant soul of a hellish gatekeeper lord. A rare class-based card with independent class positioning and tactical intelligence.]
[Name: Golden Bone Guardian - Class Card (Tank)]
[Grade: C]
[Level: 1]
[Class: Defensive Tank]
[Blood: 38000/38000]
[Attack: 2000]
[Defense: 3200]
[Agility: 120]
[Combat Index: 25200]
[Skills: Bone Blade Sweep, Steel Skeleton, Guardian's Oath, Taunting Roar]
[Note: Forged from the remnant soul of a hellish gatekeeper lord. A class-specific card with independent class positioning and tactical intelligence.]
[Name: Poison Bone Priest - Class Card (Support)]
[Grade: C]
[Level: 1]
[Profession: Support Nerf]
[Blood: 22000/22000]
[Attack: 1600]
[Defense: 1100]
[Agility: 210]
[Combat Index: 18200]
[Skills: Pervasive Poison Mist, Touch of Corrosion, Undead Blessing, Poison Explosion]
[Note: Forged from the remnant soul of a hellish gatekeeper lord. A class-specific card with independent class positioning and tactical intelligence.]
[Name: Shadow Bone Hunter - Class Card (Assassin)]
[Grade: C]
[Level: 1]
[Occupation: Assassin/Sneak Attack]
[Blood: 20000/20000]
[Attack: 2400]
[Defense: 900]
[Agility: 380]
[Combat Index: 19800]
[Skills: Shadow Assault, Bone Limb Consecutive Slashes, Afterimage Double, Weakness Perception]
[Note: Forged from the remnant soul of a hellish gatekeeper lord. A class-specific card with independent class positioning and tactical intelligence.]
[Name: Ten Thousand Bones Commander - Class Card (Commander)]
[Grade: C]
[Level: 1]
[Class: Ranged Commander]
[Blood: 42000/42000]
[Attack: 2800]
[Defense: 1800]
[Agility: 260]
[Combat Index: 33200]
[Skills: Ten Thousand Bones Command, Soul Link, Commander's Domain, Death Declaration, Bone Rebirth, Absolute Domination]
[Note: Forged from the remnant soul of a Hell-level End Lord. A rare class-specific commander card, possessing extremely high tactical intelligence and command capabilities.]