"Thanks for the compliment."
Akimi grasped Heathcliff's hand and slowly stood up, smiling as he spoke.
Just as he bent slightly, about to rub his tired calf, he suddenly felt a light tap on his waist.
Looking up, he saw Asuna glaring at him with a face full of playful scolding.
Seeing her slightly annoyed expression, Akimi awkwardly scratched the back of his head and softly said, "Ahem, don't be mad. Once we finish the boss, I'll treat you to a big feast."
Only then did Asuna let him off, though she still pouted and said, "I told you not to use such dangerous tactics…"
But Akimi took the chance while she wasn't paying attention to poke her soft cheek with his finger.
He then said, "Alright, you can scold me later," and charged toward the boss, which had just landed.
Asuna was stunned for a second, then bit her lip and also rushed after him.
Watching this scene, Heathcliff smiled faintly and joined the battle as well.
After the elemental dragon died, the boss's HP dropped by an entire bar, and it crashed straight to the ground, still struggling to stand back up.
Of course, Akimi and the others wouldn't let this golden opportunity go to waste—they all swarmed in for a barrage of attacks, including those raid group members who had been slacking off for a while.
The scene quickly turned chaotic.
While people still somewhat kept their formations, it was now nearly impossible to regroup quickly.
Seeing the disarray, Kibaou furrowed his brow, grabbed a nearby DDA member by the collar, and growled, "You guys! What the hell are you running around for?! Wait for my command before attacking in order!"
But unexpectedly, that player slapped his hand away and shouted back indignantly, "It made sense not to let us fight just now, but now that the boss isn't using any new moves, we still have to wait for your command? You're just trying to hog all the contribution points for ALS, aren't you?!"
His words left Kibaou speechless.
After giving him a disgruntled glare, the player raised his weapon and started attacking the boss.
Kibaou was silent for a moment.
Then, wiping his nose with the back of his hand, he shouted with full energy, "Everyone! Quickly reform your formation! Find a suitable position and attack freely! Watch the boss's HP—when it drops to the last bar, fall back immediately!"
After the elemental dragon died, the boss seemed to be completely out of tricks—repeating the same old moves: rain, breath attacks, and tail sweeps.
For the now-experienced players, these weren't threats anymore.
Just like that, the boss's second-to-last HP bar was quickly emptied.
Due to their earlier experience, Kibaou was now much more cautious.
Worried that the boss might enter a berserk phase, he immediately ordered everyone to fall back and observe for any changes.
At that moment, the same DDA member that Kibaou had scolded earlier suddenly spoke up again, breaking the harmony—
"What kind of dumb command is that? The boss already went berserk once—what else is there to be afraid of? Shouldn't we be going all out now to finish it off quickly?!"
That comment, which seemed to make some sense, made the other players hesitate and begin questioning Kibaou's leadership.
Kibaou stared at them in disbelief, his fists slowly clenching—but he quickly relaxed them again.
In a cold tone, he said, "Do whatever you want… ALS members, fall back!"
However, of the two ALS squads, only Team A—personally led by Kibaou—obeyed his command.
Team B, on the other hand, remained unmoved.
The captain of Team B sneered and mocked him, "Figures. Boss Thinker was right—Kibaou, you're nothing but a cowardly piece of trash."
Kibaou's face turned pale green with anger, but he said nothing and led his own team a fair distance back.
Compared to him, Lind looked even worse as he tried to convince his teammates to retreat—out of the nine remaining DDA members, not a single one was willing to fall back.
In the end, only Lind stepped away and joined Kibaou.
Only the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath fully retreated as ordered, following Heathcliff's calm instructions.
Akimi's group also didn't hesitate and withdrew along with the knights.
Meanwhile, the fifteen players from ALS and DDA looked down on them with scorn, preparing to resume their assault on the boss—when suddenly, the nine orbs on the ceiling burst into a dazzling light and slowly fell, flying directly into the boss's mouth.
After swallowing the orbs, the boss soared into the air, circling repeatedly before transforming in a flash of light into a massive golden egg, about five or six meters tall.
The egg dropped into the center of the room, its surface covered in golden scales just like the boss's—looking incredibly tough.
Everyone from the three teams was stunned by the boss's transformation and dared not approach.
However, Team B's captain shrugged it off and said, "The boss is clearly in a recovery phase—this is our chance to dish out damage!"
Without hesitation, he charged forward, raising his greatsword and activating the skill Avalanche to strike the egg—but nothing happened.
Seeing that there was no backlash, the rest of the players rushed over and began attacking as well.
Their weapons clanged against the egg's surface with loud clang clang sounds—but still, there was no visible reaction.
Just as they were about to continue attacking, cracks suddenly appeared all over the eggshell.
Radiant, multicolored light burst from within, followed by a massive dragon claw ripping through the shell.
In the next instant, the egg shattered completely, and a towering figure appeared in the middle of the players' encirclement.
It had the head of a dragon and the body of a man.
Its razor-sharp claws gleamed with an unsettling light, its long tail swayed slowly, and its gleaming scales shone with a vibrant luster.
The BOSS's intensely intimidating eyes swept over the surrounding players, revealing a distinctly human-like expression of disdain.
It let out an ear-piercing dragon's roar, and the deafening sound formed a tangible shockwave that paralyzed all nearby players and instantly cut their HP in half.
Even Akimi and the others, nearly ten meters away, had three members of their group stunned by the blast.
Then, under the terrified gazes of the fifteen surrounding players, it raised its massive dragon claw and slashed at the seven players directly in front of it.
Without exception, all seven received fatal blows—huge wounds nearly covered their entire bodies.
Amid screams of agony, they were killed instantly.
The remaining eight fared no better—they were flung away by the boss's sweeping tail.
While they didn't die on the spot, their HP was left hanging by a thread.
In just an instant, the number of players in the raid group still capable of fighting dropped to 28—since those eight with slivers of HP were as good as gone.
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