As soon as they entered the dungeon, Zhang Cheng spoke up first: “I think we should try a different approach this time.
“Since this dungeon has a clear leaderboard, the designers probably wouldn’t create a boss without a viable way to defeat it. Previously, our strategy was to spread the damage from that 10% health phase among everyone, but even with maxed damage reduction, we just couldn’t survive it.
“After so many failed attempts, a vague idea came to mind—maybe the number of attacks the boss makes is related to how many players are still alive on the field.
“From what I vaguely recall, there were a few times when we managed to bring the boss down to 10% health only after losing some teammates, and during those times, the boss seemed to hit us fewer times in the first wave. I want to stress, though, that I can’t guarantee this theory is correct.”
Many of the toughest challenges in the dungeon had been overcome thanks to Zhang Cheng’s analyses, and by now, the team was basically convinced of his intelligence and willing to listen.
Hearing Zhang Cheng’s speculation, the team’s archer paused, then recalled: “I think that might be true. I was already dead and watching you guys fight from the ground. Although we still failed in the end, the boss seemed to attack fewer times that round.”
“Yeah, I remember that too,” another chimed in. “I was dead lying there once, and it seemed like the boss attacked less.”
With several voices backing him up, Zhang Cheng grew more confident and presented his conclusion: “So here’s the plan. When the boss is about to drop to 10% health, everyone should give all their defensive buffs to the healers. Then the DPS and the twin-footed wyverns should ‘sacrifice’ themselves. Only two tanks and one healer remain alive on the field. After the boss finishes that attack wave, the healer can revive the fallen DPS one by one.”
Everyone was stunned. The method sounded unreliable, but recalling Zhang Cheng’s previous success, they finally decided to trust him.
After all, they had tried all other conceivable methods already, and within such a short time frame, they could barely manage two attempts per boss. Even if this plan failed, they still had one last chance.
Plus, no one else could think of anything better, so they might as well try this bizarre sacrificial tactic.
*****
In the dungeon where the Peak Strategy Group’s first team was located, the commander was analyzing earlier footage for the members.
“Look carefully, up to this point, the boss has attacked over 60 times. Some waves overlapped, so I estimate it’s about 70 attacks total. But just now, in the fight we had, there were only 56 attack waves.
“The biggest difference is that we lost two players during that fight, which fits perfectly with the idea that the boss attacks each player seven times.
“To survive, some players simply can’t die. If someone dies, the boss refreshes its skills, and even level 100 tank-class players wouldn’t be able to withstand that.
“So we need to focus on keeping a few people alive and abandon the squishier ones early on.
“The priest must be kept alive since only they can resurrect, and we need at least two tanks…”
*****
Meanwhile, the Python Guild’s first team was experiencing a similar situation.
Such scenarios were playing out in many places simultaneously.
Lu Qiuchen sat in the dungeon, cradling the young dragon’s soul shard, watching the “surveillance footage” before her.
She zoomed in slightly on the footage; where there had once been a dozen or so windows on the monitor, now only four large ones were displayed.
These were the four player teams Lu Qiuchen had selected as having the best chances of clearing the dungeon first.
Though the scenes in each window differed, the boss’s health was roughly at 10% in all of them. In two of the windows where the boss’s health was lowest, it was already casting its ultimate move.
Suddenly, something went wrong in one of the windows.
The commander of the [Family of Mourning Love] first team looked at the front line of his team with despair in his eyes. The magic shield suddenly shattered completely, the massive MT’s figure slowly collapsed, and the radiant twin wings that had blossomed behind the knight disintegrated, scattering into tiny white light particles in the air.
The dissipating mist in front solidified again in the blink of an eye, and razor-sharp blades made of black fog reappeared before him.
All this happened because the team’s second healer, seeing the MT’s health bar wildly fluctuating like an elevator, panicked and mistakenly cast the Healing Light meant for the MT on herself.
“Blown it! All for nothing! It’s because of this boss’s cronies! What use is good gear or skill if your mental strength is this poor!” the commander cursed inwardly.
But it was too late to fix it. He could only “accept defeat” and, along with his nine teammates, lie down on the cold floor, eventually turning into streaks of light as they left the dungeon.
Seeing this team’s demise, Lu Qiuchen expressionlessly closed that window. Another window automatically filled its place—this was because she had sorted the footage earlier based on boss health.
A familiar silhouette flashed in the new window, causing Lu Qiuchen’s gaze to pause, a sudden unease welling up inside her.
She didn’t know why she felt this way, but at this moment, she simply didn’t want to see Zhang Cheng.
It was like a rat hiding in the dark sewers occasionally sneaking out to the streets and feeling ashamed after peeking at the bright, shiny humans.
She wanted to close it, but for some reason felt reluctant, so she left it open.
Shaking her head, Lu Qiuchen pushed the strange feeling aside and stopped paying attention to that window.
In yet another window, something unexpected happened—within seconds, the entire team turned into white light and disappeared.
A few seconds later, the old window was closed, and a new one appeared automatically. Lu Qiuchen no longer focused on it, instead concentrating on the first two windows.
Those two windows showed the dungeons of the [Peak Strategy Group] and [Python].
At this point, the two teams’ progress was nearly identical, although they didn’t know each other’s situation and were racing against time.
Both teams had just safely survived the boss’s ultimate move at 10% health, with priests frantically reviving fallen teammates while chugging MP potions and casting healing spells.
The priests’ resurrection cooldown was a full 120 seconds. After reviving the two DPS players with the highest damage output, the ten-person teams temporarily became six-person squads.
Moreover, the recently resurrected players were suffering from a five-minute debuff reducing their attack power by 50%, so the final 10% of the boss’s health was taking an unusually long time to whittle down.
Fortunately, the two tanks and healers were still alive, and the boss’s normal attack cycle wasn’t too threatening. Even if it took longer, they could slowly chip away at it.
Once the resurrection cooldown was over, the priests repeated the process, pulling two more teammates back into the fight.
Lu Qiuchen casually glanced at the other two windows and noticed that Zhang Cheng’s team had also survived the boss’s ultimate at 10% health, and the boss’s health was now plummeting rapidly!
Compared to the other two teams, Zhang Cheng’s momentum was even stronger!
Curious, she shifted her gaze and saw a twin-footed wyvern going all out on the boss, while three priests simultaneously revived three teammates.
She suddenly understood.
They had waited until after the boss’s health dropped below 10% to release the twin-footed wyvern!
The three teams were neck and neck. As the boss neared 1% health, their progress was essentially tied!
After five days of fierce competition for the first kill, the moment to decide the winner was approaching. Lu Qiuchen only stared at these three teams, feeling a faint tension stir inside her.
This tension gave her a strange sense of déjà vu. Her expression clouded as if transported back to her university days, sitting in the dorm with three roommates, watching a game together.
She shook her head again to shake off the memories and gave a bitter smile. Why was she suddenly so sentimental over watching surveillance footage? Had she somehow foreseen death coming and was already caught in a mental carousel?
Lu Qiuchen refocused on the “big screen.” Now all three teams had finished their battles, but their expressions were very different.
The [Peak Strategy Group] first team’s faces showed a mixture of satisfaction and relief, bathed in the white light of leveling up.
Members of the Python Guild’s first team wore expressions of unwillingness and disappointment, especially knowing they were just seconds away from first place.
As for the third team, chaos reigned in their dungeon.
Though the [No-Brain] Guild only secured second place in the end, this was still a huge victory!
Regret was inevitable—they were just over three seconds behind the first-place [Peak Strategy Group], a result they had never even dreamed of before.
For them, just seeing their name on the leaderboard was enough.
The teammate who had just cried from joy, now dried her tears. The one who had tried to run naked but failed because of her underwear gave up and put her gear back on. The two close friends who had been hugging tightly now let go.
After the celebration died down, everyone regained their composure. The group gathered to distribute the loot.
But that was a huge challenge.
When the boss’s black mist fully disappeared, a dazzling golden armor appeared before everyone, its light reflecting across the floor and illuminating the surroundings.
Everyone’s eyes were drawn to it. Except for Zhang Cheng, none of the other nine had ever seen such a radiant glow.
Panda’s gaze was fixed on the silver-white half-body armor. The others nearby weren’t much better, swallowing nervously.
Rationality ultimately won out. Panda fought the impulse to claim the armor for himself and looked at Zhang Cheng, his voice trembling slightly: “Brother Feng, you contributed the most. You didn’t take anything last time either. You should pick first…”
Zhang Cheng was indeed interested in the armor. After thanking him, he stepped forward—only to hear an angry voice from behind.
“Why should he choose first? It should be distributed based on effort!”
“Yeah!”
“That’s right!”
Several voices immediately chimed in agreement.
“That’s right!”
Several voices immediately chimed in agreement.