The battle continued for over an hour, and the BOSS's health had been whittled down to 15%, but Ao Shi Qunxiong was facing an awkward situation: all their melee fighters were dead.
In over an hour, Ao Shi Qunxiong had lost more than 10,000 players, all of them warriors and shield-bearers. While mages and archers had suffered fewer casualties, they had run out of mana and had to be replaced repeatedly. At this moment, Ao Shi Qunxiong's entire contingent of over 10,000 warriors and shield-bearers had been wiped out.
"Where is everyone? Don't they know to come back after dying?" Ao Shi Tianxia roared angrily.
"Boss, it's hard for the brothers to level up. Dying once means losing a level, and now their levels are below the average. Let's just let those who died go level up on their own," Ao Shi Fangyu replied.
"Then send the assassins and priests to the front. We're almost there; we can't fail now," Ao Shi Tianxia ordered.
"Alright," Ao Shi Fangyu replied helplessly and passed on the orders.
Soon, reluctant priests and assassins were sent to the front lines.
Faced with these fragile players, the Green-scaled Python showed no mercy. It could take down an assassin with a single normal attack, and a sweep could kill several at once, followed by a poison mist that wiped out a group. The death rate was even higher than before, but the BOSS's health continued to drop bit by bit.
At this moment, the members of the three major guilds also started to get restless. Apart from them, only a few small guilds remained, hoping to pick up some easy loot.
"Have you made up your minds? Now is the best time to act," Man Tian Xing Guang said.
"Let's do it. Ao Shi Qunxiong has suffered huge losses in this battle. We don't need to fear them anymore. Sooner or later, we'll have to fight them. If we let them kill the BOSS and get stronger, they'll come after us next. It's better to strike a heavy blow now. But we must agree: our three guilds must stand together. If Ao Shi Qunxiong targets any one of us, the other two must help. We can't let them pick us off one by one," Luan Shi Xiaoxiong said.
"Agreed," Leng Yue and Man Tian Xing Guang nodded, then gave their orders.
At this critical moment for Ao Shi Qunxiong, the onlookers suddenly rushed forward, heading straight for the BOSS and attacking Ao Shi Qunxiong's players without hesitation.
"You…! How dare you…!" Ao Shi Tianxia's face was filled with rage and shock. He had believed that with the prestige of the top ten guilds, no one in Jinling City would dare oppose Ao Shi Qunxiong. The challenge posed by Chen Feng had already been hard to accept, and now the guilds he had always looked down upon dared to attack them. Ao Shi Tianxia was furious.
"Leave 200 people to keep the BOSS from regenerating health, and the rest of you, counterattack! Damn it, anyone dares to take on Ao Shi Qunxiong now!" Ao Shi Tianxia roared.
However, he underestimated his opponents and overestimated his own strength. They had over 10,000 players left, and the three major guilds had brought over 10,000 players as well. The numbers were roughly equal, but the three major guilds had a full complement of classes, whereas Ao Shi Qunxiong lacked crucial frontline fighters. The two sides clashed quickly, but without their frontline, Ao Shi Qunxiong was at a severe disadvantage.
The intense battle between the two sides continued, with members from both camps constantly falling. Both sides were so engrossed in the fight that they failed to notice a key figure in the field.
Wu Shaochen scratched his nose, contemplating, "Should I steal this BOSS or should I steal this BOSS?" Then, he activated stealth and quietly sneaked towards the BOSS. At that moment, Ao Shi Qunxiong's 200 players were still employing various tactics to stall the BOSS. To minimize losses and delay the BOSS as long as possible, they had a clear division of labor. Each player would shoot an arrow to draw the BOSS and then run, eventually being caught and killed by the BOSS. After the BOSS returned, the next player would take over. This method was surprisingly effective at prolonging the fight, preventing the BOSS from sweeping through a large group quickly.
However, Wu Shaochen's arrival would disrupt their efforts. With the BOSS's health down to just over 60,000, Wu Shaochen saw an archer leading the BOSS away and followed quietly.
Meanwhile, the battle between the guilds raged on. Amid the chaos, Ao Shi Fangyu had a nagging feeling that something was amiss but couldn't pinpoint what it was. As he scanned the battlefield, he suddenly realized that Chen Feng, who had been leaning against a bamboo tree, was nowhere to be seen. Alarmed, he hurriedly reported to Ao Shi Tianxia:
"Boss, Chen Feng is missing!"
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ao Shi Tianxia replied, not yet grasping the gravity of the situation.
"No, Boss... the BOSS!" Ao Shi Fangyu exclaimed.
Shocked, Ao Shi Tianxia abandoned the ongoing fight and rushed towards the BOSS's location with a few others. Upon arrival, they found most of the hundred players they had left behind still there, but the BOSS was nowhere to be seen. Grabbing a nearby player, Ao Shi Tianxia shouted, "Where is the BOSS?"
The trembling player pointed in a direction, saying, "Xiao Feng led it over there..."
Throwing the player aside, Ao Shi Tianxia and his group hurried in that direction. After a short distance, they saw the massive corpse of the python lying on the ground, but there wasn't a single copper coin in sight.
"Ah!!! Chen Feng!! I swear, I will be your mortal enemy!" Ao Shi Tianxia roared, his voice filled with a mix of anger and bitterness. Throughout his life, everything had gone smoothly for him, and never had he felt such fury. Behind him, Ao Shi Fangyu and the others stood in silence, not daring to utter a word.
Having left the Purple Bamboo Forest, Wu Shaochen suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he thought to himself, "Did I go a bit too far this time? Maybe I should have left them a couple of copper coins at least. After all, they sacrificed so much to fight this BOSS. Hmm... next time. Next time, I'll definitely leave a few copper coins."
Then, looking at the pile of items in his backpack, his eyes crinkled with joy. This was by far the easiest haul he had ever collected. Killing the giant python had earned him 42,000 experience points. Since he hadn't summoned Silver Wolf, he kept all the experience for himself, boosting his level to LV17: 32406/90000. He had also obtained 3 gold and 68 silver, two silver-tier items, two bronze-tier items, five black iron-tier items, a potion called [Bloodline Elixir], and a [Fog Scroll]. The drop rate was pretty average, but the ease of acquisition made it worthwhile.
The silver-tier items were:
- [Green-Scaled Armor]: Silver-tier: Health +600, Physical Defense +50, Magic Defense +30, Reflects 10% of damage taken. Additional attributes: Constitution +18, Stamina +17, Strength +17. Equipment requirements: Warrior, Shield Bearer.
- [Green-Scaled Leggings]: Silver-tier: Health +500, Physical Defense +40, Magic Defense +30, Health regeneration +5%. Additional attributes: Constitution +17, Stamina +18, Agility +16. Equipment requirements: All classes.
The rest of the items were less impressive to Wu Shaochen, except for the two silver-tier ones. The leggings were just what he needed; he was currently wearing Black Iron-tier Bear King Leggings, the only Black Iron item he had. After equipping the new leggings, he now wore five pieces of silver-tier gear, with the rest being bronze-tier. His gear far outclassed that of most other players.
After equipping the new items, his stats were:
- Health: 6530
- Physical Defense: 642
- Magic Defense: 631
- Speed: 449
- Attack Speed: 107%
He decided to save the 10 attribute points from leveling up for later, feeling adequately tough for now and preferring to see what he might need next.
The [Bloodline Elixir] turned out to be for improving a pet's potential, but its effectiveness depended on compatibility. Higher compatibility meant a higher success rate. Since Silver Wolf wasn't suitable for it, and because the elixir was only effective up to S-rank pets, Wu Shaochen reluctantly put it back in his backpack.
The last item, a [Fog Scroll], created a fog in an area, obscuring vision for both allies and enemies. An idea formed in Wu Shaochen's mind, and he smiled, putting the scroll back in his backpack.
After checking all his loot, the next step was to auction off the equipment, promising another substantial income. The thought made Wu Shaochen very happy.