Chapter 107 - 103: Life and Death in 3 Minutes

Chapter 107: Chapter 103: Life and Death in 3 Minutes"Die!" Xiao Jie faced the Level 18 boss, and even though he knew the opponent was a glass cannon of the magic system, he couldn’t help but feel a bit tense. But that did not hinder his performance, the drills of opening up new territories and fighting in groups for over a decade, the countless encounters with different bosses, and the training in all sorts of desperate situations. It made him extraordinarily calm during the battle. Helical Slash! Double Blade Continuous Slash! Xiao Jie fiercely chopped at the boss in front of him, well aware that this kind of magic system boss relied entirely on skills, and if he allowed the opponent to use their skills, he himself would be in danger. Perhaps a big move could take him out in a second; he had to keep attacking relentlessly, leaving no chance for the boss to retaliate. And indeed, as he expected, the boss was forced back under the continuous attacks, having a substantial amount of blood volume but powerless to fight back, repeatedly failed attempts to cast spells were interrupted. "Get lost, you bastard!" Lin Yutian suddenly bellowed, his right hand transforming into a ghastly ghost claw, reaching out to grab Xiao Jie. Soul Stealing Touch! Hawk Roll! Xiao Jie reacted almost instantly, rolling away just in time to evade the attack. Missing with his strike, Lin Yutian immediately reached for his bell, but a shadowy figure suddenly emerged from behind him. Backstabbing! Chuh! -47! It was Ye Luo, who had used her profession ability to stealthily move behind the boss. After the backstab, she followed with a Flowing Cloud Sword Dance, and the sword light, bolstered by Inner Strength, made Lin Yutian groan repeatedly as his attempt to shake the bell failed again. Ding ling! Ding ling! On the other side, Corpse Chaser Zhao Qi’s bell continued without rest, and the walking corpses around him were driven away in all directions under his command. Seeing this, Lin Yutian became both shocked and furious, and once again reached out with his Soul Stealing Touch! Ye Luo dodged in a flash, using Assassin’s Step to side-step and evade. Lin Yutian was about to ring his bell again when Dongfang Sheng caught up. He dared not engage in melee combat—that was a Level 18 boss, after all. He raised his hand and cast a Thunder Talisman at him. Boom! A bolt of lightning directly interrupted Lin Yutian’s actions, causing a slight flinching. "Well done, keep throwing!" Xiao Jie shouted as he advanced with his sword once more. Gritting his teeth, Dongfang Sheng flung out another Fire Talisman—boom! Flames exploded on Lin Yutian, creating a burning effect. Although it looked impressive, Dongfang Sheng felt his heart bleeding. Those things cost several thousand cents each, which could translate to tens of thousands of RMB. A single hit incurred mere dozens of points in damage, wiping out his two months’ salary in an instant. It was damn expensive. But there was no helping it. If he couldn’t get close, he had no choice but to throw talismans; he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Ye Luo also launched an attack from behind, and at this time, the wandering horse bandits pulled back to prepare for a second charge. Surrounded and battered by the group of four, Lin Yutian’s blood volume dropped by half in the blink of an eye. "Just like that, Ye Luo continue with the Sword Dance, let’s wear him down together!" "Don’t stop, Cheng Xian keep controlling the Control Demon Man!" "Dongfang, don’t stop either, keep throwing talismans!" Seeing the situation turning greatly in their favor, Lin Yutian finally became anxious. "Ignorant mortals, how dare you insult me—die!" Corpse Chasing Secret Technique—Accumulated Corpse Qi! His chest and abdomen suddenly heaved, and then he violently opened his mouth, spewing out a stream of green liquid carrying poisonous breath. This attack turned out to be a channeled skill, spraying while turning his head, and directly covered a large fan-shaped area. Except for I Want to Be Immortal, who controlled the demon from a distance and was not affected, the three others were all sprayed over. In an instant, all three were poisoned. [System Notification: You are afflicted with Bone-Eroding Corpse Poison.] Xiao Jie didn’t take it seriously at first—corpse poison wasn’t something new to him. However, he soon realized that this corpse poison seemed different from the last time as his blood volume started dropping fast. -5! -10! -5! -10! In just a few seconds, a quarter of his blood volume was gone. Xiao Jie got a fright; this stuff clearly wasn’t the same as the corrosive corpse poison he previously encountered. Fortunately, he was prepared for corpse poison and quickly performed a Hawk Roll to gain distance, taking out a glutinous rice cake and eating it. Dongfang Sheng and Ye Luo also retreated and quickly consumed their glutinous rice cakes. But eating took several seconds to complete, and seizing the moment, Lin Yutian hurriedly took out his bell and started to shake it. Ding ling! Ding ling! His bell’s sound was evidently much more powerful than that of the Corpse Chaser’s, and the walking corpses, which had almost disappeared from sight, immediately turned around and started running back. However, he had only shaken the bell twice, when the wandering horse bandits once again charged under the command of I Want to Be Immortal. "Let me stop you from ringing that bell—die!" As the horse bandit charged with his spear, Lin Yutian could not be careless. While the damage might be just one hit, it was indeed fatal. In the moment before being pierced by the Riding Spear, he suddenly fell backwards. movement technique—Zombie Fall! This skill might appear ridiculous and unremarkable, but when used at this moment, it created an unexpected effect. With a thud, he fell to the ground, and the spear’s thrust hit nothing but air. movement technique—Zombie Stand Up! With a leap, Lin Yutian stood back up. Zombie Fall and Zombie Stand Up were linked skills, much like Rolling and Lazy Donkey Roll. The horse bandit missed his thrust and couldn’t turn back, so he charged ahead to an empty space to turn around. Lin Yutian took the chance to start ringing his bell again. But by then, the three had already cured their corpse poison, and Dongfang Sheng raised his hand and cast another Thunder Talisman—boom! Once again, Lin Yutian staggered. Before he had stabilized, Xiao Jie was already upon him. One Cut, Two Pieces! Whoosh! The strike directly severed the arm that Lin Yutian was using to hold the bell, completely shattering his hopes. Ye Luo then launched a backstabbing attack from behind, a vital strike that pierced through the target—-78! "No, this can’t be!" Lin Yutian stared at his severed arm and the sword blade protruding from his chest in disbelief. "Do you really think you’ve won, wishful thinking!" Soul Stealing Touch! Suddenly turning around, Lin Yutian grabbed Ye Luo, who was about to follow up with a Sword Dance after backstabbing. He caught her in the act. Ye Luo’s eyes instantly rolled back, her face becoming rigid as if she’d just lost her soul. "Be careful, I can’t control my character anymore!" Ye Luo exclaimed in alarm. Lin Yutian’s face twisted grimly as he screamed, "Kill—kill them all!" At his command, Ye Luo, without a word, transformed into a shadow and instantly appeared behind Dongfang Sheng. Dark Walk—Backstabbing! This Dark Walk was actually the core skill of a Nightwalker, which allows one to stealth and even teleport short distances by utilizing the night and shadows. The shadows used can also be those of units, so if utilized well, one can effectively achieve instantaneous teleportation. Dongfang Sheng had never seen such a high-level skill and was completely unprepared when the backstab penetrated right through him. Whoosh, -91 (Vital Strike)! In one strike, half of Dongfang Sheng’s blood volume was gone. "Damn it, no, sister! Don’t!" Dongfang Sheng let out a shrill scream in terror, but Ye Luo remained unmoved, emotionless, her long sword raised high, ready to unleash a set of Sword Dance moves upon him. Cloud— Exorcism! Swoosh, a white light fell upon Ye Luo, and just as she was about to begin her murderous assault, she finally regained control. It was Xiao Jie, who, in a critical moment, used a Divine Wood Talisman to break the curse on her. "No! This can’t be, kill him, kill—" Helical Slash! Long Spear Thrust! Flowing Cloud Sword Dance! The three of them weren’t about to let him rant, raining down a flurry of blade, spear, and sword onto Lin Yutian, Dongfang Sheng no longer bothering with talismans, instead rushing in with his long spear, stabbing wildly after nearly being scared out of his wits by the previous attack. Under their fierce assault, Lin Yutian’s health bar finally hit bottom. With a resentful scream, he collapsed. Simultaneously, the wandering horse bandits and the corpse chaser Zhao Qi also fell. Not too much, not too little, just three minutes on the dot. "We won! Hahaha, we really won! Screw you, you mongrel, thinking you can screw me over! Ahahaha...aha..." Dongfang Sheng cried out in a mix of shock and joy, eventually, no one could tell if he was laughing or crying. He probably hadn’t faced anything this thrilling in his life before. "Sorry about that mate, actually when that hit came down, it wouldn’t have killed you, only the backstab was fierce, you could have dodged the following Sword Dance..." Ye Luo apologized somewhat awkwardly. "It’s, it’s alright, this wasn’t your fault... Give me a moment to catch my breath." Dongfang Sheng vented for a while and recovered his spirits, regaining his composure. Xiao Jie wasn’t surprised by their victory; in his past gaming experience, he had faced far stronger adversaries, but as long as every factor was taken into account and he formulated a foolproof plan with each team member doing their part, victory was usually within reach. It was just that when the cost of failure became too great, even the most secure of plans could become nerve-wracking. In fact, based on his calculations, as soon as it was confirmed that the corpse chaser Zhao Qi could disperse zombies, the victory was already secured. Of course, it was still possible that someone might die if luck was not on their side, but it was fortunate that his control-breaking move was timely. "That’s right, we won. Don’t just stand there, let’s loot the bodies and divide the spoils. The temple still needs our help—Cheng Xian, you loot the bodies!" Xiao Jie remembered that I Want to Be Immortal’s Luck was quite high; after all, in that old barn, he had managed to find a spirit stone seal in an ordinary chest that shouldn’t even be appearing in Newbie Village theoretically. It’s okay for him to loot ordinary little monsters, but for a rare boss like this, they definitely needed him to do it. I Want to Be Immortal nervously reached out, his concern not whether they’d get loot—as a story boss, the drops couldn’t possibly be bad—but rather where he ranked in contribution value. The system’s criteria for determining contributions were unclear; he hadn’t actually made a move during the entire boss fight but had controlled two demons throughout. If contribution value wasn’t counted for him, that would be terrible. But to his great delight, the first looting rights were indeed his, followed by Xiao Jie, Ye Luo, and Dongfang Sheng. It seemed the damage dealt and actions taken by the demons were indeed counted towards his contribution value; those two Demon Talismans were well spent. Although Ye Luo dealt a substantial amount of damage, she was controlled by the boss once and nearly killed a teammate, leading to a penalty, while Xiao Jie’s act of breaking the control was a big positive. As for Dongfang Sheng, there was no need for an explanation, he was only along for the assist, fortunately, contributing by throwing a few talismans and dealing a significant amount of damage during the final mobbing, ensuring he wasn’t excluded from the looting rights (if the contribution value was too low, it might be impossible to obtain task items). A drop list appeared before them all, but they were unable to loot, having to wait for those ahead of them in order to have their turn. Seeing the looting sequence, Xiao Jie thought to himself that this system seemed pretty scientific, and they might as well use this method for loot division in the future—it seemed quite fair. "Hurry up, don’t dawdle, the village chief and the others are still waiting for our rescue." I Want to Be Immortal quickly looked toward the equipment, becoming even more excited to see that the boss had dropped a total of five pieces of equipment, which meant that as the first looter, he could pick two.