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Otherwise, it would restore the Ender Dragon's health.
Finally, after painstakingly destroying the purple crystals, the players realized that this boss was on a whole different level of difficulty.
With tough dragon scales as armor, arrows couldn't scratch it at all.
They waited and waited, hoping for it to land. When it finally descended and perched on the ground, it flapped its massive wings, making it impossible for anyone to approach.
And if someone did manage to get close? A single blast of dragon breath would wipe them out.
The players were being mercilessly tortured by this beast.
It was obviousāthe Ender Dragon wasn't a foe they could handle with their current strength.
Originally, Tianheng had also wanted to give it a shot. But after several party wipes, he gave up the idea.
He reported the situation to Yonghui honestly.
"Boss, this thing's unbeatable! It's immune to ranged attacks!"
"And even when we get close, it just takes one blast of dragon spit, and we're toast!"
While speaking, Tianheng sent Yonghui a video of their previous battles.
After watching the footage, Yonghui got a basic understanding of the Ender Dragon.
Though powerful, it wasn't entirely invincible.
Ranged attacks did nothing, but he noticed that when the dragon landed and players approached, one of them managed to hit it with an iron sword.
Yonghui paid close attention. When the player landed the strike, the dragon's health bar shifted ever so slightly.
That meant it could be hurt.
If it could be hurt, it could be killed!
Yonghui always played games with one rule: if there was even the smallest chance to chip away at an enemy's health, victory was possible.
If one person in a group of 1,000 could shave off a sliver of the Ender Dragon's health, then increasing the numbers would work, right? With 10,000 people, they'd deal more damage. If that didn't work, then 50,000. And if that wasn't enough, 100,000!
Eternal Glory had over 50,000 members. The Eternal Guild had more than 20,000. Add in Tianheng's guild, with another 20,000 plus players.
100,000 players togetherāsurely they could bring down one Ender Dragon!
The Eternal Glory Guild never lacked manpower.
Besides, it wouldn't take the entire guild to beat one boss.
Players could hurt it. The damage was just too low.
If that was the case, why not increase the damage output?
Iron swords weren't cutting it. But what about TNT?
The guild members had stockpiled gunpowder from their mining expeditions, so explosives weren't in short supply.
They just needed to load up on TNT and go head-to-head with the Ender Dragon.
Unlike HIM, the dragon didn't have a mind of its own. It was just a series of codeāthere were countless ways to deal with it!
With that thought, Yonghui replied to Tianheng.
"Mobilize more people and mass-produce TNT."
"No matter what, we'll take it down, even if we have to smash through it!"
---
At the Cloud Soar Guild baseā¦
After walking for over an hour, Ah Long and his group finally approached the Cloud Soar Guild's territory.
"Are you sure it's here? There's not even a single building in sight."
"This was the location I was toldā¦ I doubt they'd lie about it."
"Strange. Did the Cloud Soar Guild just vanish? No responses to private messages, and now we can't find their base?"
"ā¦"
The group chatted idly as they combed through the area in a grid search.
Suddenly, a player searching the northern side screamed like they'd seen a ghost. "What theā¦?!"
Ag Long's group quickly rushed over.
Before them was a massive crater. Scattered throughout were charred remnants that looked like matchsticks.
Among the debris were fragments of equipment and resources strewn everywhere.
Though everything was blown to bits, it was clear that this had once been a bustling settlement.
Judging by the symbols on the tattered flags lying around, this had been the Cloud Soar Guild's headquarters.
Or, more accurately, what used to be their headquarters.
Everyone stared, frozen in shock.
"Holyā¦ What happened here?!"
"This placeā¦ went through some kind of hell!"
"If I'm not mistakenā¦ this was the Cloud Soar Guild's base, right?!"
"Yeahā¦ only the battle-scarred versionā¦"
"ā¦"
The scene left Ah Long's group completely stunned.
They were so shocked that they forgot to grab any of the scattered loot.
Ah Long, equally baffled, muttered to himself.
"Didn't they kill HIM? Then who the hell did this to their base?"
His friends shook their heads.
"Could it have been another guild, out of jealousy?"
"No way. Defeating HIM meant they had powerful cards to play. Combined with HIS loot and treasures, who'd dare challenge them?"
"True. From the destruction here, it doesn't look like something players could pull offā¦"
"ā¦"
The words sank in. Ah Long's eyes widened as a chilling thought occurred to him.
"I have a bold theoryā¦"
"Could HIM be responsible?"
His friends paused, digesting the idea.
"No wayā¦ Didn't they kill HIM? The video was verified as real!"
"Yeah, plus there were the loot dropsā¦"
Despite their protests, the sight before them made it hard to dismiss Ah Long's suspicion.
The only entity capable of such devastation was HIM.
But HIM was supposed to be dead, proven by footage.
Were there two HIMs in this game?
A Long shook his head.
"Who else could do this?"
"Think about it. Right after Cloud Soar Guild announced HIM's defeat, I contacted them. Within an hour."
"But they didn't reply."
"With so many players complaining on the forums, it's clear no one from Cloud Soar answered."
"That means, at that time, they were either in the middle of something or had already experienced something terrible."
"If they were in the middle of it, we'd be witnessing a slaughter with no time to respond."
"If they'd already gone through it, they'd be too ashamed to reply."
"And why would they be ashamed? They'd just killed HIM, so they should be basking in glory!"
"The only explanation isāthey got humiliated. By HIM."
No one argued. Deep down, they'd suspected HIM's involvement, but it was too terrifying to admit.
Ah Long's logic was sound.
As much as they wanted to deny it, everything pointed to one truth: HIM wasn't dead.
"If it really is HIMā¦ could he still be around?"
"Don't scare meā¦ is he watching us right now?!"
"Calm downā¦ HIM wouldn't bother with us nobodiesā¦"
"True. After obliterating Yunteng, he probably left."
"What do we do now? Grab what we can and get out?"
"ā¦"
After a moment of thought, Ah Long nodded.
"You guys loot. I'm starting a livestream."
This needed to be exposed.
The silence of Yunteng's players meant they were hiding the truth.
That left everyone believing HIM was dead, making them vulnerable.
Ah Long agreed with Steve's approach. Avoid HIM, hinder his progress, and only then would there be a chance for victory.
Without spreading the truth, everything Steve did would've been for nothing.
Ah Long opened the forums and went live.
His stream's title was blunt and to the point.
[HIM's Fake Death: Cloud Soar Guild Annihilated!]
At first, only a few curious players joined, thinking it was clickbait.
But when they saw the desolate scene, their jaws dropped.
"Whatā¦ is this?!"
"Isn't thisā¦ the Cloud Soar Guild's base?!"
āāāāāāāāāāāāā
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