Chapter 21 - 18: Encountering Six BOSSes
```
Blood Sea Wave ate while watching TV, the 24-hour live broadcast of Hero News.
Blood Sea Wave really wanted to know the extent of the sensation he caused in the China Region after revealing his special skill in the newbie hall. He searched for Admiral, and then the noon 12 o'clock live broadcast video came out. Blood Sea Wave perked up, this Hero News was really quick to respond and well-informed.
Host, "Hello everyone, the latest news, a rare special skill Admiral player has been born in our China Region. This player caused quite a stir by publicly demonstrating his special skill in the newbie hall. Here we have a live interview with the captain of the Star Team, Mr. Jiang Dawei. Captain Jiang, what do you think of this account, Captain Jiang, hello!"
"Host, hello!"
"Please share your thoughts on this Admiral."
Captain Jiang, "Heroic Creation Era has a considerable ocean area, and a large number of islands and small lands. More importantly, the Old World and the New World have oceanic otherworld channels connecting them, so naval combat type heroes have a very strong strategic value. In fact, maritime navigation is also one of the major selling points of this game. Currently, just in the China Region, there are already 100,000 players who have chosen the seafaring merchant profession. As more and more players turn their attention to the sea, the value of heroes with naval combat special skills will be more prominent."
Host, "So how do you estimate the value of this hero?"
Captain Jiang laughed, "We only care about battles, not money. If I had to compare, I think potentially they'll be able to take on the Japan Region's Mobility Master at sea."
Host laughed, "Does that mean the Star Team is willing to offer $10 million to buy this account?"
Captain Jiang laughed, "This, at present, our team is still planning for land warfare to seize mines instead. In short, this is the owner's business, but here I want to congratulate this player. If they're interested in joining our Star Team, we would definitely welcome them."
Blood Sea Wave burst out laughing! Star? Does he really think he represents the national team? Ridiculous! Once I finish this newbie trial, I'll immediately start establishing Blood Sea Studio. I want to be the OnePiece of the China Region! By then, I'll recruit those so-called goddess gamers and let us brothers enjoy! Wahaha!
Host, "Thanks to Captain Jiang's interview. Now the game has been open for three and a half days, let's pay attention to the current world level rankings. Currently, the first place in level rankings is still the 24th level Vampire Princess from France, Natasha, far ahead of the second place 22nd level Griffin Breeder from China Star Team, Little Pig Run, and the third place 22nd level Siege Master from Russian War Angel Team, Bapulov. Meanwhile, the Swedish player Vitne, deemed as the world hero with the highest valuation, is ranked outside the top 100,000 at 20th level. How does Captain Jiang view this ranking?"
Captain Jiang laughed, "Natasha, is that how to call it? She was born an Undead Race's level 4 Vampire, which gives such an early-stage advantage, she doesn't even need to bring a single soldier to take on challenges alone. In comparison, although our team's Little Pig Run starts with a level 4 Griffin, I have to say, as fellow level 4 flying soldiers, the Griffin's individual combat and sustainability can't compare to a Vampire who incessantly drains life to fight."
Host, "Even though in a one-on-one fight, the Griffin won't beat a Vampire, the game emphasizes troop cooperation. Compared to the Undead Race's generally slower troop speed, the Vampire seems out of place and totally dares not plunge deep alone. However, the Griffin's high-altitude dive doesn't have this concern, as it can take out the opponent's magic and long-range troops and retreat intact. That's something a Vampire can't compete with."
Captain Jiang laughed, "Exactly. As for the Russian player Bapulov's Siege Master, he's completely hampered by the pitiful move speed and assembly speed of the crossbow, but precisely because it's laborious to assemble a crossbow, they must focus on big victories, so the bosses he defeats and the treasures he collects must be the most. So his combat power is definitely number one in the world. After all, the crossbow's early-stage monster-fight advantage is just too great, and his talent just happens to increase crossbow attack and defense by 1 point every two levels. At level 10, he'll have a huge advantage over ordinary crossbow players."
Host, "What about Vitne's Death Lord?"
Captain Jiang said solemnly, "The Death Lord's talent is incredibly overpowering, allowing half of the undead units encountered in the wild to join the player's army unconditionally, whether it's a level 7 Bone Dragon or a level 1 Skeleton. If we had this account, the first thing to do would be to find a way to enhance the Undead Dominance Skill to increase hero command power, as well as do tasks to earn positions in the Undead Empire to further increase command power, followed by planning quick city-building. All the troops he can't carry would be transported back to the city for storage. So, for him, troop limits are the most important, and level is just floating around, so it's understandable that his current level is low, but his power is undeniable."
Host, "Indeed, it seems our China Region faces a lot of pressure..."
Captain Jiang, "Yeah, so the only thing we can do is level up quickly, clearly divide tasks, and develop rapidly."
...
Seeing the dynamics of top players from around the world, Blood Sea Wave, who was also a God-level Hero, couldn't sit still, wolfed down his steak in a few bites, and immediately jumped back into the game to keep fighting. He planned to power through the night to reach level 10! Get the Magic Book! Obtain the sunken ship!
...
In the sunken ship's gun cabin, Da Fei disassembled the remaining crossbows and collected some intact parts to barely repair the damaged crossbows. It had to be said, this was a troublesome aspect of mechanical play, needing spare parts on hand at all times, and parts cost money. So, mechanical flow wasn't something every player could afford.
In any case, the upcoming battle couldn't let the crossbows be completely destroyed.
Da Fei used the key he had obtained to open the iron door behind the gun cabin, and a rancid air hit him.
This was the stairway entrance to the lower deck. Generally speaking, there are always three decks below the deck of large sailing ships, and with such a large gun cabin on the upper deck, the lower decks must be cargo holds to balance the ship's center of gravity, or else it would easily capsize in high winds. If locked with an iron door, it must contain very valuable goods! Treasure? Here I come!
Da Fei activated Stealth to enter the lower deck, crouching by the stairway to observe the situation. The dim, narrow, and empty ship belly had barely a few ordinary barrels or cargo boxes, let alone treasure chests! Ridiculous!
Da Fei took a few steps closer along the cabin wall for a better look, and saw a floor full of bodies! Although he didn't understand why there were so many bodies in a cargo hold, there was nothing to be said, there was no way out except to clear the monsters!
Da Fei retreated to the stairway; the spot there was just enough to set up a crossbow, and since there were walls on three sides, monsters couldn't flank the crossbow from behind, so there were no worries. This terrain was definitely meant for players to use a cannon!
Da Fei stealthily assembled a crossbow using the spare parts in his Space Bag, finishing after ten minutes, and loaded two crossbow arrows into the magazine. Then he took out the new player's tool kit provided by the system, took out a torch, and lit it, illuminating the ship's hold. That's how Blood Sea Wave lured the monsters last night.
They started moving! The bodies on the ground slowly rose, and several tall ones stood out among them. Da Fei tensed up, thinking they were bosses? Impossible! BOSSES were not produced in bulk! At most, they were just some stronger-than-average mutant zombies. Steady now!
Da Fei's Basic War Machine Science's crossbow attributes were: Attack 10, Defense 10, Basic Damage 2-3 (Total Damage=Basic Damage×Total Hero Attribute Points), HP 200, Attack Speed 5, Move Speed 1, Special Skill: Knockback, Pierce.
Da Fei was level 8, with 7 attribute points, making the crossbow's total damage 14-21. Zombies' 2 points of defense mitigated the crossbow's 2 points of attack to leave 8 points. Each additional attack point increased damage by 5%, or 40% total, changing it to 19-29, then reduced by the zombies' intermediate-level defense skill for a 20% damage reduction, making the crossbow's final damage to zombies 15-23! Plus, the Crossbow Master could fire two consecutive shots to definitely insta-kill 17 HP zombies without discussion! And with the crossbow's 200 HP and 10 defense, it exceeded the HP of level seven soldiers and had the defense of level four soldiers. No matter how many zombies there were, so what?
The zombies began slowly moving towards Da Fei, who aimed at the densest bunch of them—Fire!
—Boom! Boom! The crossbow fired twice in rapid succession, the crossbow arrows whistling through the air!
—"-17" "-3" "-17" "-6"
Two zombies fell with a crash, the arrows continued piercing through, dealing 3 and 6 damage to two zombies behind them! One of the bolts even caused a knockback effect!
This feeling, super cool! Continue!
Da Fei quickly reloaded crossbow arrows and kept a close eye on the movements of those large zombies, noticing they too were moving slowly with no sign of leaping, which was good!
After reloading, continue—"14" "-7" "-11" "-10!"
Two zombies with remaining health fell, as the pierce effect dealt further knockback damage to the zombies behind, exacerbating the slowness of their measly move speed of 4!
—System Prompt: You've collected incomplete information on Assault Zombies!
Hit the big guy! Knowing oneself and one's enemy was the key to winning every battle, and since the crossbow reloaded slowly and time was ample, Da Fei quickly checked the info column.
—Assault Zombie.
Type: Small undead leader unit.
Attack: ?
Defense: 2
HP: ?
Damage: ?
Attack Speed: ?
Move Speed: 4
Special Skill: Heavy weapon, Intermediate Defense Skill, ?
...
Da Fei's eyes narrowed in shock!
Leader unit! No way, it really was a BOSS, and it had a heavy weapon! Da Fei looked up in shock to see the oncoming BOSS clutching a glinting axe!
What was a heavy weapon? For instance, Da Fei's gunner's special skill was long weapon, meaning I can hit you but you can't hit me. Heavy weapons like axes and hammers had special effects that boosted damage against large creatures, gates, and war machines, meaning double damage on a crossbow cannon!
This meant these six BOSSES were specifically designed to counter crossbow cannons? Da Fei was stunned!
If this BOSS had 200 HP like the zombies upstairs, maybe he could take down one, but not two, let alone six! The system couldn't possibly set up a trial that newcomers couldn't beat! Could God-level Hero trials actually require defeating six BOSSES? That was nonsense!
Unless this BOSS had less HP! But, leader units typically didn't have low health, even if only 100 HP, he still couldn't take six! Unless their damage was low! Even then, a leader unit's damage isn't low and would probably be at the level of a five or six-star troop. Double the damage meant he would go down! Must this require reaching master level with 600 HP upgraded crossbow cannons for a chance?
But he had no way out! If he fled, leaving the cannon was impossible! Once the crossbow was smashed, there were no parts to repair with anymore! Without a crossbow, how could he get by later? Was this a scam? Besides, upgrading to master-level crossbow wouldn't matter! Without enough parts, the crossbow would only show 200/600 HP, unfilled! It might still not hold up!
Could it only be beaten with clever tactics? Watching the zombie horde slowly advance, Da Fei was drenched in cold sweat, his thoughts racing, desperately recalling legendary tactical reversals from gaming history all centering around terrain, positioning, kiting, guerrilla tactics, etc.! Kiting and guerrilla were impossible, the terrain was fixed, positioning?
Yes, positioning it was!
Wahaha! Having suddenly grasped the trick, Da Fei laughed heartily and without hesitation aimed at a BOSS firing two rapid shots "−20!" "−22!"
```