Chapter 19: Life is Like a Play, It's All About Acting
Arrows rained down in volley after volley, but since the black dragon flew so high, the other spellcasters couldn't shoot that far and could only watch helplessly.
Dragon Breath!
Arrow Rain!
Dragon Breath!
Arrow Rain!
The two sides exchanged attacks, seeming intense, but with absolutely no technical content.
The battle hadn't reached a conclusion yet, but the audience in front of their computers were already displeased —
[What the hell is this crap?]
[Not exciting at all, I want a refund.]
[Could it be that the black dragon is computer-controlled?]
[It's four in the morning now; it really might be that the computer is in charge and the black dragon hasn't woken up yet? Damn, I knew I shouldn't have gotten up in the middle of the night to watch this live stream. It's just so lonely.]
[I was wondering why that black dragon didn't move at all, turns out the person wasn't even there.]
90%, 80%, 70%...
The BOSS's Health Points were getting lower and lower.
The adventurers below had gone from initial tension and excitement to puzzlement and confusion, and finally to a gradual numbness, mechanically shooting arrows.
As the Health Points dropped to 50%, the black dragon still kept spewing fire and occasionally spewing taunts like —
"Foolish mortals, feel the power of the dragon's flames."
"Weak ants, tremble before the might of the dragon."
The problem is, big brother, you're dealing zero damage here.
"I'm feeling that it really might be a computer, acting completely according to a script. Could it be that Morphis himself hasn't even logged on?"
Midnight Mage said, her expression relaxed. If they could score an easy victory here, that would be awesome.
Dawn Divine Sword nodded, agreeing with this speculation. Even if the other party was putting on an act, there was no reason to keep it up for so long. They had already lost half their Health Points. On his face, there was a hint of regret. He had been looking forward to a legendary battle, but the final fight turned out to be so dull, like punching at thin air.
Meanwhile, in the Starshine Company's break room, the manager watching the live stream was in utter despair.
(It's over, we're doomed. Could it be that Mo Fei was bought off by the other side? This is way too obvious throwing of the fight. He's not even pretending anymore.) He lamented inwardly but dared not show it on his face, after all, Mo Fei was technically one of his subordinates.
Wang Ziheng had already turned to look at him, his face indifferent.
The manager knew he couldn't play dumb anymore, "Wait a minute, I'll log on right away and ask him."
Saying so, he jogged to his office, logged into the game – the manager also played World of Sky, but as a Lord player who didn't stream often, just occasionally for fun.
It also made it convenient to contact his streamer subordinates in-game. Upon logging in, he immediately sent a private message to Mo Fei.
Ned Stark (Earl of Rock City): "Mo Fei, what are you doing? Fight properly, damn it. You're not performing for us, are you? The Prince is watching, the whole world is watching. You can't be messing around like this."
Mo Fei looked at the message that popped up and immediately closed it.
He didn't have time to explain anything.
Of course, he wasn't on autopilot; he was in control of the Black Dragon Lord's battle all along. He was waiting, enduring, looking for that one chance to win.
From the start, he understood that the opponents had obvious strategies tailored against him: Grand Elementalists countered his Dragon Breath, and melee was countered by that Dawn Sword. If he fought recklessly, all the opponents needed to do was have Dawn Divine Sword withstand him, the healers and supports to go all out in keeping him alive, and the rest to deal damage for a guaranteed win.
Perhaps Dawn Divine Sword might even find an opportunity to land a fatal blow and end the fight early.
His only chance at victory was to separate Dawn Divine Sword from the group and then eliminate them one by one. Killing Dawn Divine Sword quickly would not be easy, but taking out those adventurers wasn't difficult, and to achieve this, psychological tactics needed to be employed.
Seeing the Health Points drop to 30%, Mo Fei knew it was time! Life or death depended on the performance that followed.
The black dragon in the sky no longer spewed dragon breath but let out an angry roar.
Morphis (Black Dragon Lord): "Pitiful mortals, I did not expect you to be so tenacious, to withstand my full-force attack for so long! I must admit, I have underestimated you."
Everyone... You're acting a bit too fake, aren't you? Aside from your dragon breath, you didn't do anything else, and now a full-force attack...
Yet the adventurers' hearts tightened, thinking the time had finally come! Was this entering the second phase? It made sense; after all, this was the final boss of a forty-person dungeon raid. It couldn't just be a tank-and-spank till it died.
Morphis (Black Dragon Lord): "Hilde Sankes, your master requires your aid!"
Battle tactic 1: Summon Ally—Activate!
Hilde Sankes (Black Dragon Wanderer): "I obey your command, Lord Morphis."
A young black dragon emerged from the darkness, it was indeed Hilde Sankes.
The adventurers were speechless. They had thought some major move was coming, and this was it?
The black dragon's size was two circles smaller than Morphis's. It was just a Terror Grade tier-three boss. Even with the dungeon's boost to health points, it had less than seventy thousand. What use could it be?
However, it turned out to be somewhat useful. The dragon breath flames that Hilde Sankes spat weren't scorching red but a blend of black and red. Besides the flames, it seemed to contain some other power.
The flames actually penetrated the Flame Barrier, causing the adventurers' health points to start dropping for the first time.
"Huh, this little dragon's dragon breath isn't just pure fire damage."
Exactly, Hilde Sankes's exclusive skill was—Hilde Sankes's Shadow Flame. This passive effect allowed its fire-based skills to gain additional shadow damage.
Now its dragon breath hit the Flame Barrier, the fire's power was blocked, but the Power of Shadows penetrated the barrier, steadily draining the players' health points.
"Dawn Divine Sword?"
Dawn Divine Sword looked up at the black dragon in the sky, "Can you guys keep up with the healing?"
"No problem." The healers said as they healed, having been on standby for half the day, they were finally able to be of some use, and were actually quite happy about it.
"Then keep it up," Dawn Divine Sword said, lifting his sword to the sky, unflinching and resolute.
The Midnight Mage felt puzzled but trusted the judgment of Dawn Divine Sword.
"Keep firing, it only has 30% health left."
Not taking the bait, huh? Mo Fei sighed inwardly as he observed the situation below.
It wouldn't be easy to divert Dawn Divine Sword's attention with Hilde Sankes, so it was time to add a little something more.
Morphis (Black Dragon Lord): "Despicable mortals, I concede that you are strong. This battle is over, and perhaps today you may defeat me, but in the end, I will return. And now, please forgive me as I cannot afford to accompany you any longer."
Hearing the black dragon say this, everyone below was puzzled. What did it mean? Was this creature trying to flee? Could a dungeon boss even escape? Surely not.
An adventurer suddenly had a thought, "Oh no, this must be one of the boss's battle tactics, you think it includes retreat or fleeing?"
Everyone gasped upon hearing this, thinking it might actually be the case.
But the dungeon only had one exit; the black dragon would have to come down first before fleeing, right? Then they watched the black dragon suddenly slam into the dome of the cave.
Battle tactic 2: Terrain Remodeling, Mountain Collapse—Activate,
The Midnight Mage felt a chill, thinking it was all over; was this creature about to break through the dome above and fly away?
If that was indeed the case, then they would truly be out of options.
Boom! The massive black dragon slammed into the dome, causing the entire mountain to tremble, as if it was about to collapse at any moment. Fortunately, the dome was sturdy and didn't break, but the black dragon itself was left disoriented, flapping its wings in the air, almost toppling down.
Oh man, is this black dragon trying to be funny? The adventurers burst into laughter, the tension instantly dissolving.
Clack, a piece of rubble fell in front of the Midnight Mage, who looked up at the ceiling and suddenly turned pale, "Not good, the dome's about to collapse, watch out for falling rocks."
The next second, more rocks began to fall in succession.