"Holy crap! Recomposed Words, you're playing dirty!" Moonshadow launched himself like a human cannonball with Meteor Sword. Too bad the skill's glaring flaw was painfully obvious—not just its ridiculously long flashy wind-up animation, but also its snail-paced charge speed.
The four guards sneered at the incoming Moonshadow. Anyone wasting skill points on this garbage clearly wasn’t top-tier material.
They sidestepped effortlessly, dismissing his Meteor Sword as a "trash UltimateArt," then swarmed him the moment he landed.
Trapped after Recomposed Words’ blatant teammate-sacrifice, Moonshadow felt like bursting into tears. He popped Invincibility instantly, countered with an Upper Cut to launch one attacker airborne, then bought precious seconds with basic combos before spamming Charged Thrust and dodges—escape!
"Idiot! Why charge in? Did you actually think we could win that fight?" Recomposed Words didn’t waste breath. Once Moonshadow broke free, they both bolted like scared rabbits.
"Uh, weren’t you ‘preparing’ something?" Moonshadow frantically spammed every Displacement Skill he had while dodging bullet-hell attacks from behind.
"Preparing to run! Did you really wanna stand and fight?" Recomposed Words couldn’t fathom what filled Moonshadow’s head—single-celled organisms seemed smarter.
"Tch. I thought I could be manly for once. Guess we’re still playing the coward." Moonshadow pouted, clearly disappointed he couldn’t PK.
"*You can you up*—if you *can*. If you *no can*, then *no bb*, okay?" Recomposed Words scolded him with bizarre Chinglish.
"Got it. Can’t win, so we run. Simple." Moonshadow switched to his signature goofy sprint animation.
Recomposed Words nodded grimly. This guy clearly wasn’t taking the operation seriously...
...
**BOSS HP—50%...**
**45%...**
**30%...**
**15%...**
**5%...**
High above, Xiaoye batted He Yucheng around like a shuttlecock. He never stayed in one spot—constantly repositioning—but that only revealed Xiaoye’s terrifying strength: her true form was impossible to pin down.
Most of Xiaoye’s combos chained Displacement Skills, warping her position constantly. Coupled with knock-up and knockback abilities, He Yucheng’s camera view spun wildly, making it near-impossible to lock onto her.
No wonder she was crowned "Queen"! Their first clash hadn’t even scratched her true power!
But what stunned He Yucheng more was Lengjiang. Her healing projectiles flew painfully slow—yet packed insane recovery (in this game, faster heals meant weaker potency). At first, he’d thought she was blindly spamming skills, hoping for lucky hits. He was wrong. Lengjiang had perfectly predicted Xiaoye’s knockbacks and knock-ups. Every single healing orb struck true.
Thanks to her, He Yucheng’s HP never dipped below 50%—often staying topped up!
"Time’s up," Xiaoye warned. Though battered and unable to see below, He Yucheng guessed the BOSS’s state.
"I’ll drop down and unleash Flash Strike. I’ll aim to wipe out most of them while shaving the BOSS’s HP. But their formation... I won’t get all ten. The rest is on you."
He Yucheng grunted. He understood why she wouldn’t finish it. Helping him was one thing—but declaring war on these major guilds would ruin not just her own gameplay, but Lengjiang’s too.
*How would she even hide the kill notification?* He Yucheng wondered.
"Going!" Xiaoye’s final downward slam rocketed He Yucheng earthward as she activated "Dive" to plummet after him.
Xiaoye broke her combo. He Yucheng swiveled his view—the BOSS hovered at under 5% HP. Their aerial juggling had lasted far longer than expected.
Unlike dungeon bosses, open-world bosses like this scorpion required ten Hall-of-Famer players nearly twenty seconds just to shave off 1% HP!
Wind whistled past He Yucheng’s ears as they dove. Glancing back, only Lengjiang floated down slowly, her small face etched with worry.
"Honey, if you don’t want to join the fight, just watch from the sidelines," He Yucheng smiled gently. Like Xiaoye, he refused to drag others into his crosshairs.
Lengjiang stayed silent, her usual cheerful agreement absent. Xiaoye glanced up mid-fall but said nothing.
No time for words now—the battle was seconds away!
He Yucheng held back. Xiaoye would strike first. Still, dread coiled in his gut. If she missed... the consequences would be catastrophic.
*Enough.* Second-guessing only weakened his resolve. Focus on the fight.
**100 meters...**
**90...**
**80...**
**51!**
One step closer, and Xiaoye would appear on the minimap.
But she’d calculated perfectly.
**BOSS HP—3%!**
**RAMPAGE ACTIVATED!**
Sandstorms erupted around the giant scorpion. The ten attackers dodged the swirling tempests while furiously DPSing, desperate to finish it off. None noticed the three figures closing in from the sky.
Xiaoye’s blue spear crackled with electricity. Her stance shifted—Mirror Image + Charged Thrust combo primed!
In a blink, her purple silhouette vanished mid-air.
She materialized on the ground, then transformed into a streak of lightning—gone in a flash!
Time seemed to freeze. Her spear struck true, piercing all nine players neatly lined up with the BOSS.
Flash Strike usually ended with a flourish—but Xiaoye disappeared the moment she struck. Two seconds later, the BOSS’s HP plummeted 2%, leaving 1%. The nine players collapsed instantly.
"*That* timing..." He Yucheng’s face paled. He’d just witnessed the true might of the "Red Name List Queen."
Her mastery of the BOSS mechanics. Her prediction of enemy movements. Her split-second item usage...
Most terrifying of all—her absolute command of *time*.
He Yucheng knew her vanishing trick: she’d used a Town Scroll during Charged Thrust’s forced landing. The scroll required a cast time—but Xiaoye had woven it seamlessly into her descent, executing the complex button combo for Flash Strike mid-animation.
Flawless. Even He Yucheng was shaken.
But awe was a luxury. Nine were down—but one remained outside Xiaoye’s strike zone.
*That one was his problem.*
He Yucheng didn’t rush to kill the last player. Landing the killing blow on the BOSS granted first loot rights.
All he needed was the Concealment Jade.
He matched Xiaoye’s descent speed. Sandstorms blinded everything but the scorpion—and the lone minimap dot closing in.
Both he and the survivor were forced back by the raging tempest, waiting for it to fade. The moment it cleared, they’d both lunge for the kill.
He Yucheng had swapped to Stellar Guardian gear. With two Mirror Images and a Charged Thrust, he could reach the BOSS—but his damage was too low. That final 1% could take minutes to chip away.
The storm had broken the survivor’s combo too, stripping damage buffs. He Yucheng wasn’t worried about an instant kill—but no one could precisely calculate that last 1% HP.
To save his Invincibility, he let the sandstorm push him back. The survivor might prioritize killing *him* first. He needed an escape route.
The storm weakened slightly. He Yucheng’s eyes widened—the BOSS’s HP was already dropping!
*Range attacks?!*
*Was his position clear of the sand?!*
His eyelid twitched. He knew nothing about this BOSS, but skill-canceling was core to this game. He’d assumed the storm blocked attacks for both of them—but the falling HP proved otherwise.
*No choice. I have to beat him to it.*
He Yucheng stopped waiting. He had to gamble.
Double Mirror Image + Charged Thrust! Charged Thrust again!
He burned all three Displacement Skills just to close the distance the storm had forced. Through the swirling sand, he glimpsed another figure rushing the dying scorpion.
Teeth gritted, He Yucheng activated Invincibility. The hurricane would one-shot him otherwise. He lunged with a Triple Slash toward the BOSS—
The survivor had the exact same idea.
Cold sweat beaded on He Yucheng’s forehead. His blade and the survivor’s spear both aimed for the killing blow.
*So it comes down to luck...*
His gaze hardened. If he lost the BOSS, he’d have to kill that player immediately.
Xiaoye was right—anyone here ranked among the elites. But if he failed, every major guild would hunt him relentlessly.
He *had* to get that Concealment Jade.
*Whoosh!*
Just as blade and spear were about to strike, a fireball crashed down between them—hitting the BOSS first!
"*SKREEE!*" The scorpion shrieked and collapsed.
**[System Alert] Player "Coldshoulder" has slain Desert Scorpion!**
No Content
