As Moon Rabbit retreated on the stone bridge, three ice bears had already been dealt with. Edward let out a slight sigh of relief; battling a boss with just the three of them left little room for victory—strategy was key.
But before he could fully relax, disaster struck again. The Blue Ice Guardian charged across the bridge, closing in on Moon Rabbit, now less than ten meters away. Edward and his companions had positioned themselves in an equilateral triangle, aiming to flank the boss and avoid being caught in a single sweeping attack.
However, as the Blue Ice Guardian crossed the bridge, Edward realized their tactical error.
A pale blue mist enveloped the bamboo forest, mirroring the fog from the earlier crossroads—clearly emanating from the Blue Ice Guardian. The moment he encountered this mist, an icy chill pierced through him, as if countless needles were stabbing into his skin. Looking down, he saw his HP plummeting at a rate of five points per second.
"My goodness, this combat suit has a 56% water resistance, and it's still struggling against this mist!" Edward was stunned. Without it, he might have been frozen solid.
Glancing across the way, he saw Motorola suffering from similar damage, while Flying MM seemed unaffected, her winter gear presumably boasting higher water resistance.
As the ice mist thickened, each of them felt as though their legs were weighed down with a thousand pounds, making movement nearly impossible.
"Movement speed is dropping!" Edward shouted. "Don't move—fire!"
In just a couple of seconds, the Blue Ice Guardian was upon them. Three guns erupted simultaneously from different angles.
MP7A1, Desert Eagle, and FAMAS—each firing bullets with different effects: armor-piercing, explosive, and piercing damage. But the damage values displayed were underwhelming—"—79, —1210, —302." Edward was taken aback; the boss's defenses were formidable, even the AE round only did half damage.
Yet, much to their surprise, the sound of cracking ice echoed from the Blue Ice Guardian's chest as it became rooted in place, unable to move.
"Switch! Dodge!" Edward commanded while firing. There was a brief five-second window for everyone to reload. The Blue Ice Guardian lunged at Edward with a swift motion, resembling a predator in flight, forcing him to leap aside.
With a sharp "swish," pain seared through his back as he glanced at his HP—981 points vanished in an instant. He realized he could withstand only a couple more hits.
"Over a thousand damage per claw! Be careful!" he warned, quickly applying a health potion to his thigh.
While Edward's warning resonated in Motorola's mind, Flying MM seemed oblivious. Her initial fear had evaporated; the Blue Ice Guardian's mist, while dangerous, had no effect on the robotic Moon Rabbit. They had it pinned down.
"Watch this!" Flying MM declared, controlling the Moon Rabbit to glide almost directly at the Blue Ice Guardian, unleashing a barrage of bullets aimed at its head. Damage numbers flashed—"—300, —302, —304." She clearly understood the principle of close-range fire amplifying damage.
"Yes!" she cheered.
"Don't! Get back!" Edward shouted in alarm.
Unfazed, Flying MM retorted, "What's there to fear? Rabbit is fast!" Her skillful maneuvering allowed Moon Rabbit to retreat swiftly after landing hits, pulling back a distance of over ten meters.
However, she overlooked a crucial truth: monsters in Star Wars had AI, and they wouldn't simply allow themselves to be butchered.
By the time Edward fired his fourth bullet, his confidence wavered. The boss had lost at least 10,000 HP—it probably had around 20,000 to 30,000 total. This strategy didn't seem sustainable. He sensed a trap; a lingering intuition that something was about to happen, a feeling honed through countless battles.
Sure enough, when Moon Rabbit initiated a fifth close-quarters attack, they all witnessed the Blue Ice Guardian's body begin to shimmer, as if it were gathering energy. A red energy sphere coalesced between its claws.
"Fall back!" Edward roared.
Flying MM's expression shifted; even she realized the danger was imminent.
Unfortunately, the Moon Rabbit wasn't quick enough to escape the impending threat.
With two swift sounds, two beams of red light shot forth. Edward and Motorola froze in shock.
The Blue Ice Guardian's claws detached, morphing into crescent-shaped blades enveloped in crimson light, appearing to burn as they spun toward the Moon Rabbit, crossing in a deadly "8" shape. The attack was sudden and bizarre, making it nearly impossible to dodge.
With a crisp crack, they witnessed the Moon Rabbit slice in half, one half collapsing to the ground, sparking as it fell.
The twelve-element alloy robot was obliterated in an instant. Edward grimly realized that anyone, regardless of their gear, would meet the same fate if struck by those blades.
Chilled to his core, he pondered the possibility of facing a greater boss—if this was merely a minor one, he couldn't imagine the consequences of confronting a major foe.
Flying MM shifted from shock to despair, her voice cracking. "My rabbit! My materials!" she cried, rushing toward the wreckage.
"Get down! It's dangerous!" Edward shouted, urgency gripping him, but Flying MM was beyond hearing. Driven by grief over her destroyed robot, she had lost her composure.
"Swish—thud." As she dove toward the heap of scrap, she too was cleaved in half, her cry stifled before she could utter a sound, dissipating into a flash of white light.
The two blades had returned, curving back with an eerie "S" shape. Edward stood stunned; with Flying MM gone, the remaining firepower was insufficient to contain the Blue Ice Guardian. They were about to face its wrath.
One reckless move had cost them everything; impulsiveness was indeed the devil.
Seeing his sister slain ignited a furious fire in Motorola's eyes. Gripped by rage, he charged forward, FAMAS in hand, fingers squeezing the trigger with reckless abandon.
Flames engulfed the Blue Ice Guardian, but it was futile.
"Watch out!" Edward shouted again as the guardian pivoted, its blades transforming back into claws, rushing toward the furious Motorola.
In a shocking moment, Motorola dropped to the ground, and the Blue Ice Guardian soared over him like an eagle.
As they crossed paths, the air split with a shattering sound, and two damage numbers appeared: "—4128, —2136."
Edward was left speechless.
The golden numbers indicated critical damage, revealing that Motorola had used a gleaming knife—a Tiger Tooth dagger—cutting deep into the Blue Ice Guardian's belly. In that instant, clarity washed over Edward; as a gunner, one should always be armed with a sharp weapon for self-defense.