"Careful, it's moving!"
It was impossible to tell who shouted first, but everyone knew that retaliation was bound to arrive.
The corrupted hawk snapped its beak angrily. Two warriors stood in its way. Seeing the razor sharp, natural weapon about to close on their heads they froze in fear.
An eerie crunch could be heard. The warriors didn't survive. Luckily the game brought their souls back to the graveyard before their body disappeared into the hawk's stomach.
Letting out an almost mocking noise, the world boss scanned the crowd with its murderous gaze. It raised its head high, gathering energy in its throat.
"Tanks be prepared to attack!"
Many could tell that the enemy was about to unleash another skill. They tried to get some order in the chaotic crowd.
It worked to a certain extent as a flawed shield wall formed around the world boss.
They tensed their bodies as the hawk's head lowered, revealing the violet void energy gathered within its maw.
Suddenly spheres of energy shot out in straight lines.
"Careful!"
"Defend!"
"Oh no!"
The tanks attempted to intercept the attacks. But they were quickly shocked by the amount of stance used up.
"Disperse! Quick!"
The leaders watched the situation with grim faces, urging the players to stand further apart, opening some space for dodging.
Soon spheres of void energy passed the tanks, shooting into the crowd.
Quickly another batch of people were weeded out, forced to return from the graveyard.
Those still watching from the distance quickly took notes.
Not only about the boss's skills but also about outstanding players. There were some thieves who saw the opportunity to deal a lot of damage.
Or some tanks who blocked multiple attacks.
Or some healers who managed their skills with great efficiency.
Silver Blade assisted Cyclone and Balm in filtering out talents and noting down their names.
However, they weren't the only one's who were looking to establish a guild in the future. Naturally Earthquake, Star Gazer, and them would also fight to recruit these players.
Discussing with her friends, Cyclone felt a certain urgency in her heart. She couldn't offer much to potential guild members other than the reputation of being the strongest party.
Thus, she realized that she had to attach more importance to achievements. It would be a great help if her party could take down the world boss.
However, looking at the more than a thousand people present and then at her party of ten she couldn't build much confidence.
The world boss didn't care for anyone's ambitions. It closed its mouth after taking a few dozen lives more.
Attacks continuously landed on its sturdy feathers chipping away at its HP.
The corrupted hawk squinted its eyes. A few players suddenly turned sluggish.
Knight of Honor was close to the front, quickly realizing what happened.
"Don't look into its eyes! Keep your heads down!"
Suddenly he felt a sharp pain engulfing his entire left side. The hawk swiped with its claw, hitting a large number of sluggish and distracted players.
Only a few tanks managed to defend at the last second.
But the corrupted hawk wasn't done yet. As soon as it put one claw down, the other one flashed.
The close ranged fighters scrambled to escape. But another batch of players died under the hawk's attack.
An eerie sound came out of the hawk's throat, almost as if laughing at the players.
"Stupid bird! See how we will kill you!"
"Tonight we will have chicken wings!"
The players noticed that the world boss stood still for a few seconds. Blinding swords, blood lusted daggers and more cut at the big bird.
The ranged fighters never stopped attacking, throwing arrows, crossbow bolts, or spheres of magic.
But suddenly one of the mages looked strangely at the soil below his feet. A difficult to detect violet circle had appeared on the black ground.
The mage tapped the shoulder of a female mage next to him.
"Hey, any idea what this is? Has it been here the whole time?"
Puzzled, the female mage lowered her head. Immediately her eyes widened. She hastily jumped to the side while yelling:
"Idiot! That the sign of an attack!"
"Oh!"
This was the mage's last word as violet flames suddenly erupted. The mage's low HP instantly emptied out.
Swiping a drop of sweat from her forehead the female mage moved her eyes away, watching in horror as the same kind of attack appeared all over the battlefield.
Now it was mostly the ranged attackers who had to dodge in a hurry, their leisurely attitudes interrupted.
Anxious yells could be heard from the back. Knight of Honor turned around, drawing a sharp breath.
But he had no way to help. He could only urge the close ranged fighters to put some pressure on the hawk.
A few seconds later a frown found its way on his face.
"Why isn't this skill stopping? Isn't this too unreasonable?"
Knight of Honor watched the dwindling numbers of mages and healers with a heavy heart.
Suddenly someone next to him spoke up.
"Look at the bass's legs. They are surrounded by a bit of energy. Maybe that's the clue?"
"You might be right…"
"Everyone! Focus on the legs!"
Knights of Honor's loud voice could be heard even in the chaotic situation. The melee players immediately followed his directions, cutting at the hawk's legs.
A sound like glass breaking rang out. The layer of energy surrounding the hawk's legs shattered.
The world boss swayed, falling on its butt.
"Attack! Attack!"
"Payback, stupid bird!"
The ranged fighters were indignant about being targeted. They instantly turned towards the hawk and brought out their most powerful skills.
While many players fell, others still arrived, keeping the numbers barely stable.
However, the organized groups still watched from afar.
At this moment the world boss flapped its wings heavily. A strong wind pushed everyone back. They could only watch helplessly as the hawk took to the air.
A moment later feathers rained down again.
On a small hill not far away, Earthquake breathed heavily, getting reckless.
"Let's g…"
"No! Wait!"
The burly orc turned towards the side, gazing at a female human holding an incredibly sharp spear, watching the situation with intelligent eyes.
"What?"
The woman didn't care about Earthquake's rough tone.
"I know you want to attack, but now is not the time."
"But my hands are itching, Callida! That bird has shown all its skills. It's time to bring it down."
"No. From my estimations even if everyone attacks now, we won't stand a chance. We need a large group form the begging."
"All this planning…"
Earthquake scoffed, obviously not resigned yet.
With a wry smile Callida caressed the tall orc's shoulder.
"Patience."
"Hmpf."
Behind the two husband and wife stood a large group of players. Despite being used to Earthquake's temper they couldn't help but snicker.
Instantly Earthquake looked over his shoulder, scanning the crowd with a sharp gaze, causing everyone to shut up.
"Thought so!"
Similar scenes played out among the other groups. They contemplated attacking but ultimately decided against it.
Knight of Honor let out a sigh seeing more and more players dying to the world boss.
Eventually everyone realized that they wouldn't make it. When the first casual players began to escape, a chain reaction ensued.
Soon everyone stopped fighting. Some managed to get away while others fell under the hawk's attacks.
Knight of Honor stayed until the end but eventually even he had to leave.
Only the Void-corrupted White-Striped Violent Hawk remained in the valley. It levitated in the air, staring at the players outside with its murderous eyes.
But it didn't leave the valley. It returned to the towering tree, where its HP quickly recovered.
More than 20.000 points filled up in no time at all.
The atmosphere outside the valley was solemn. Many of the dead players returned, unleashing their anger at the guild players not far away.
"F*ck! Why didn't all of you help? We could've made it!"
"Treating us as cannon fodder. Damn!"
"You know what? We just won't fight at all. What can you do?"
Star Gazer wore an aloof expression. He nodded faintly, speaking up with a smile:
"Good. Then you all can just stay behind and watch how the pros do it."
"What? You think you don't n…"
Before the player could finish speaking, Knight of Honor gazed at him. The rowdy player calmed down, looking away indignantly.
Star Gazer, Callida and the other guild leaders looked at this with a frown. They didn't want to see someone with this much prestige among the more casual players.
Immediately they had the same ideas, sending invitations to Knight of Honor. But the man blocked them all.
Without a change in expression, he addressed everyone present:
"Why don't we all work together? None of us can defeat the world boss alone. And no one wants others staring at their back."
"Who says we can't beat this boss alone?!", countered Earthquake impatiently.
"If you all square off I will beat this stupid bird up with my bare fists!"