Chapter 53: A Reckless Strategy

When Wu Shaochen arrived, the first thing he saw was the giant serpent surrounded by hundreds of people. Upon observing the damage done to the serpent by the group of Aoxian Tianxia and the flashing lights from the serpent’s wounds, he shook his head and said to Aoxian Tianxia, “This is what you call being on the verge of being killed? Using people’s lives to fill this up, even if you eventually kill it, it’s just not worth the cost.”

“Hmph, this is my BOSS, none of your business. If you hadn’t come, we’d have killed it sooner or later,” Aoxian Tianxia retorted angrily.

“Give it up, there’s no need for this. It’s just a silver BOSS,” Wu Shaochen said, trying to persuade him.

“No way, no one can stop us from killing this BOSS,” Aoxian Tianxia replied coldly.

“Then you all go ahead, I’m just here to watch,” Wu Shaochen said, suddenly shrugging and stepping aside.

At this move, both Aoxian Tianxia’s group and the crowd behind them were left bewildered.

Wait a minute, brother, didn’t we risk our lives to rush in here to fight for the BOSS? Are you really just here to watch?

Wu Shaochen ignored the confused thoughts of others and casually walked to the side, finding a bamboo to lean against with his arms crossed, acting as though he was genuinely here just to observe. As soon as he arrived, he checked the attributes of the giant serpent:

[Blue-scaled Giant Serpent] – Silver BOSS
Level: 16
HP: 550,000
Physical Attack: 1,100
Physical Defense: 680
Magical Defense: 620
Movement Speed: 110

Skill 1: Toxic Mist – The serpent sprays toxic mist in a 5-meter radius ahead of it. Targets hit by the mist will be poisoned, taking 200 points of toxin damage per second for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.
Skill 2: Tail Sweep – The serpent sweeps its tail forward, dealing 160% physical attack damage and knocking back targets within a 5-meter radius. Cooldown: 30 seconds.
Skill 3: Constriction – The serpent coils around a target, immobilizing it. The target takes true damage equal to 50% of the serpent’s physical attack per second for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

This BOSS, apart from its attack and speed, isn’t much different from the Black Wind Village leader. However, its burst damage isn’t as high, and it lacks the ability to heal itself. If enough people are involved, they could slowly wear it down, but the losses would be significant. Given the current level of the players, especially those in silver equipment, the BOSS’s tail sweep could deal up to 1,700 damage, which means most players will be wiped out. Only shield warriors with black iron or bronze armor might survive.

Wu Shaochen didn’t jump in immediately, partly because he didn’t want to expose his strength, and partly because of the serpent’s third skill, Constriction. He wasn’t sure if his Void ability could break free from it. If it couldn’t, things could get troublesome. Even though 10 seconds wouldn’t be enough to kill him, it would get close, and for those 10 seconds, he’d be immobilized. That would give Aoxian Tianxia’s group an easy chance to strike. So, he decided to let them continue fighting for now and see if any opportunities arose.

Aoxian Tianxia’s group, the three guilds, and a bunch of random players were all looking at each other, not sure what to do. Aoxian Tianxia’s group was afraid of Wu Shaochen betraying them from behind, and the random players, without Wu Shaochen leading them, didn’t dare directly confront Aoxian Tianxia’s people. The situation became awkward.

“What does he mean by this? He just came here to watch?” Luanxing Xiong asked Cold Moon and Mantiang Xingguang.

The two shook their heads, not understanding what Wu Shaochen was up to. Cold Moon secretly sent Wu Shaochen a private message.

Cold Moon: “What’s going on?”
Wu Shaochen looked around. With so many people, he didn’t spot Cold Moon, so he replied in the private chat, “Nothing, just watching the show.”

After reading Wu Shaochen’s reply, Cold Moon thought for a moment and said to the other two, “Let’s step aside and watch them fight for now.”

The three guilds quietly moved away, and the random players, after exchanging glances, also retreated, keeping a distance as they observed Aoxian Tianxia’s group battling the BOSS.

Now, it was Aoxian Tianxia’s group who was in an awkward position. With so many people watching, they were torn between fighting or not. If they fought, they would surely pay a heavy price. But what worried them more was the possibility of someone stealing the BOSS after all that effort. The random players didn’t pose much of a threat, but Wu Shaochen was a different story.

“What should we do, boss?” Aoxian Jueqing asked Aoxian Tianxia.

Aoxian Tianxia furrowed his brows. “How long until the rest of our people arrive?”

“Ten minutes at most. Everyone from our guild will be here,” Aoxian Fangyu replied.

Aoxian Tianxia gritted his teeth and said, “Keep fighting. Once everyone arrives, we’ll surround the BOSS and make sure no one else gets close.”

There was no way he was going to give up on this BOSS. His confidence stemmed from the fact that in just three days since the server launch, they had already gathered over 30,000 members. If it weren’t for the terrain limiting their ability to gather all their people in one place, they could have taken down the BOSS more quickly.

So, Aoxian Tianxia’s group continued to fight the BOSS in front of thousands of spectators. With flashes of light from the serpent’s wounds, more and more players rushed in. However, the damage they were dealing was minimal. Aoxian Tianxia’s team was losing members fast, and the BOSS’s damage output was so high that players without black iron or bronze equipment didn’t stand a chance.

After more than ten minutes, Aoxian Tianxia’s main force arrived. Three thousand players surrounded the BOSS, sealing off the area. The outside spectators could no longer see the battle.

At this point, some random players started to leave. They realized that not only was it nearly impossible for them to do enough damage to the BOSS, but even if the BOSS was defeated, the chances of getting any loot from Aoxian Tianxia’s 30,000-strong army were slim to none. There was no reason to stay here wasting their time.

Once one player left, others quickly followed suit. In no time, nearly all the random players had retreated, leaving only a few small guilds who were still hesitating. The three large guilds were now in a difficult position.

“What should we do?” Mantiang Xingguang asked.

Luanxing Xiong shook his head. He had no idea what to do either. They came here in full force just to watch the drama unfold?

Cold Moon glanced at Wu Shaochen, who was still standing by the bamboo, seemingly unconcerned. She coldly muttered a word.

“Wait!”

Though Aoxian Tianxia’s people had arrived, the bamboo forest was full of obstacles, limiting their ability to make full use of their numbers. Only about a hundred players could attack at once, meaning the BOSS’s health was dropping slowly. However, their casualties were mounting quickly. A BOSS tail sweep could wipe out nearly all their melee players, forcing them to constantly replenish their ranks. This left the ranged players unable to deal consistent damage. In an attempt to maximize damage output, Aoxian Tianxia had even pushed their priests to the outer edges, leading to a situation where melee players who got hit by the toxic mist were almost guaranteed to die. Aoxian Tianxia’s strategy was brutal: if there were potions, take them. If not, get in a couple of hits before dying.

Under this reckless strategy, the BOSS’s health was indeed slowly whittling down.