Whoosh!
Zane, still in stealth mode, fired a strand of spider silk and leaped effortlessly onto a nearby tree.
Parting the dense foliage that obscured his view, he witnessed the chaotic battle unfolding ahead.
It was intense.
The Flamewing Tiger, along with its eight Bronze-tier Tiger Guards, had fully mobilized. Goblins, Silver-Scaled Serpents, Forest War Apes, and other monsters swarmed the battlefield.
Zane's gaze locked onto a towering, blue-skinned goblin radiating an icy aura. With a casual flick of its wrist, Frost Spears shot forth, freezing frontline warriors into ice sculptures or slowing them with frost debuffs.
That was a Bronze-tier Boss—Frost Goblin!
Nearby, a serpent with a trunk thicker than a barrel reared its head, spitting out silver venom needles that poisoned and killed those unfortunate enough to be struck.
That was another Bronze-tier Boss—Silver-Scaled Serpent King!
One by one, the powerful bosses responded to the Flamewing Tiger's command, attacking the players alongside the Tiger Guards.
The players had formed four separate battle groups. The largest faction, around 500 players, was led by Green Mountains and consisted mostly of independent adventurers.
Meanwhile, the Domination Guild, Fireworks Guild, and Skyfall Guild had collectively assembled about 1,000 players.
Of course, the three guilds had lesser members individually, but they had only selected high-level elites for this raid.
Their command structure was well-organized, and each team coordinated seamlessly. Despite the relentless monster onslaught, they held their ground, with steady firepower support from the rear.
In contrast, Green Mountains' faction was less coordinated due to the mix of temporary recruits, resulting in higher casualties.
Yet overall, the monsters were falling at a faster rate!
Many players had already mastered Level 5 and even Level 10 abilities, significantly boosting their combat prowess.
For healers, in particular, high-level skills like group healing, protective shields, and enhanced defense buffs made a huge difference in survivability.
On the offensive side, mages with upgraded spells unleashed devastating firepower.
Despite the monstrous opposition, the players held their ground without fear.
"ROAR!"
A commanding, fearsome roar echoed from the rear of the monster horde.
A shadow spread its wings and soared through the sky—the Flamewing Tiger had finally entered the fray!
Its entire body flickered with flames, resembling a living firestorm in the sky.
Suddenly, a searing pillar of fire crashed down, sweeping through the frontline players!
"Healers, on alert!"
Unyielding Tyrant and his squad shouted in unison.
Swish, swish, swish!
Healing spells and defensive shields enveloped the frontline tanks.
At the same time, the shield bearers raised their defenses, bracing for impact!
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed the battlefield.
The monsters took advantage of the chaos, launching a frenzied assault that knocked down several frontline players.
"Attack!"
Instantly, fiery red fireballs, sharp green wind blades, and blue energy arrows streaked through the air in a dazzling counterattack.
-17
-15
-16
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Flamewing Tiger was struck by the barrage, forcing it to descend to the ground!
At this moment, Zane finally got a clear look at its stats.
Flamewinged Tiger - LV15
Tier: Silver-tier Boss
HP: 280,000
Attack Power: 1,540
Magic Power: 1,510
Skills: Fire Elemental Strike, Blazing Pillar, Fireball Barrage, Windfire Slash, Low-Altitude Flight, Flame Whip, Windfire Impact, Berserk
Description: Ruler of the Lone Wind Mountain, hostile to all intruders.
The moment it landed, the Flamewing Tiger unleashed Windfire Slash and Fireball Barrage in rapid succession.
Blazing flames combined with slicing winds, tearing through the battlefield while explosions erupted all around.
BOOM!
The players were forced to retreat!
"Elite tanks, step up! Hold the line!"
With a series of coordinated shouts, elite shield warriors and tanks surged forward from all four factions.
These players had been pre-selected before the battle, chosen for their durability and resilience. Their mission was singular—lock down the Flamewing Tiger!
If it were allowed to rampage freely, even thousands of players wouldn't be able to withstand it.
With precise coordination between tanks and dedicated healers, they barely managed to contain the beast.
Meanwhile, the remaining forces focused on eliminating the eight Tiger Guards, the Frost Goblin, and other Bronze-tier Bosses.
Clearing lesser mobs was pointless—as long as the Flamewing Tiger lived, more monsters would keep spawning.
However, Bronze-tier Bosses had a longer respawn timer, so eliminating them would allow the players to concentrate their firepower on the main target.
As the Flamewing Tiger's movements became restricted, the battle began to stabilize.
"Perfect. Time to make my move."
Zane confirmed the situation.
With the monsters fully engaged, he no longer needed to stay too far back—it was time to get closer and cause some trouble.
Silently, he descended from the tree and slipped into stealth.
He stopped twenty meters away from the player formations, once again using spider silk to perch himself atop another tree, ensuring that passing monsters wouldn't detect him.
Then, his body shimmered with energy—Clone Technique!
"Alright, you—you do the dirty work!"
Zane commanded his clone to enter stealth mode.
The clone fired a web strand and swung forward, landing swiftly before dashing toward Green Mountains' faction, seamlessly blending into the crowd.
Since Green Mountains' group consisted mostly of independent players, they weren't strict about outsiders.
With new recruits constantly joining the battle from the mountain path, no one suspected a thing.
Like that, Zane's clone reached the front lines.
Three minutes. That was the clone's time limit.
His goal? Get close to the Flamewing Tiger and steal from it!
Why not go himself?
Come on, that was obvious—it was way too dangerous!
Currently, all players were in co-op mode, meaning their attacks wouldn't harm each other—only monsters.
But with countless enemy attacks flying across the battlefield, one stray hit would break Zane's stealth, exposing him to instant death.
However, if it was just a clone, then who cared?
A clone's death meant nothing to him!
And since stealing wasn't considered an attack, its success rate wouldn't be affected by the clone's reduced stats.
In this kind of battle, using a clone to steal from the boss was the perfect strategy.
Green Mountains, Unyielding Tyrant, and the others would never even imagine it—right in the heart of their base camp, an unseen infiltrator had already snuck in.
By the time Zane's clone reached the frontline, half of its duration remained.
"Stealth!"
The clone vanished.
With so many thief class players already using stealth, no one found it suspicious.
Zane's True Sight Eye allowed him to see everything—hidden thieves, deadly traps, nothing escaped his notice.
Effortlessly, he maneuvered past the frontline, slipping unnoticed past dozens of other stealthed assassins.
The battlefield was a chaotic melee of warriors, tanks, and thieves engaging the monster horde.
Zane ignored them all.
Carefully avoiding crowded areas, he darted toward a fiery golden-red figure.
The Flamewing Tiger.
Ten seconds left in stealth!