"I am the Song of Despair."
The dark figure slowly rose from the dust, his body shrinking as he approached the group.
"I am the unyielding incarnation of the Dark Spirit Clan..."
His face was handsome yet effeminate, with crimson red pupils that were eerie and seductive. His height was nearly double that of a normal human.
"I am your father! Get lost!"
ShatteredCrown suddenly erupted in anger, fed up with this bizarre figure speaking nonsense.
He raised his legendary weapon high.
The six-pointed star, red and blue, shone brightly. ShatteredCrown's usual playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a serious expression as he announced, "Abyss of Hell!"
Fierce flames and swirling snowflakes appeared together.
It was a strange sight where fire and ice intertwined, quickly merging to create a surge of combined magical power.
An ice-and-fire prison formed around the dark figure.
A sharp, screeching wail followed as the two extreme magical elements collided, creating a deafening explosion.
In the next moment, the prison rapidly compressed, binding the dark figure with insane force.
The dark figure, standing at over ten meters tall, began shrinking quickly. Space itself tore open, revealing a world of death, where both fire and ice coexisted.
"A-class dual-element fusion magic, Abyss of Hell?"
Orson's eyes widened. This was one of the signature moves of S-rank Fire-Ice Grand Mages, known as the most powerful single-target skill below S-rank.
This skill suppressed the target's size, health, attack power, and other basic attributes.
It created an ice-and-fire prison with ten times the caster's health, and if the target couldn't break free within ten seconds, they would be temporarily banished to the Abyss of Hell, taking massive single-target mixed magic damage while exhausting all their mana.
"Are you sweating yet, master?" ShatteredCrown gave Orson a sly wink.
"Dammit, this move feels like it's tailor-made for me," Orson cursed inwardly. This skill was a nightmare for 1v1 mages. Even if someone survived being banished, they'd be left with zero mana and no way to fight back.
"The wind-up time is too long," Empress pointed out, "You stand there for so long doing all that, Orson could kill you seven or eight times before you finish."
ShatteredCrown blinked, then awkwardly chuckled.
The skill did indeed have a long wind-up time, and its casting speed was slow. It was effective for fighting bosses or low-level players, but against someone like Orson, it was a death sentence unless maxed out.
Clang...
A sharp sound rang out, and ShatteredCrown's face froze in shock.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Within the ice-and-fire prison, cold light flickered, and sword blades shot into the sky.
Critical hit -16,000!
Critical hit -20,000!
...
A crisp cracking sound echoed, and the prison shattered, as the Hellish Rift began to close.
ShatteredCrown: "What the hell? This damage is insane! My attack power was reduced by at least 40%, and my prison broke after just three hits?!"
Empress: "What kind of boss is this? Every hit is a critical!"
"The Dark Spirit Clan will annihilate everything."
The dark figure continued speaking in a low, mocking voice, his tone filled with a god-like arrogance.
Behind him, six wings with a metallic sheen transformed, becoming six red battle blades, each held by six long, slender, and bizarre arms.
"Six-Winged Inferno Dragon. I knew the Crack-Mouth King was just a lackey..."
Orson's gaze sharpened as he checked the boss's attributes.
[Six-Winged Inferno Dragon · Avenger Barenkas: Level 50]
[Saint-level Entity]
[Dark Dragon King's Blood Blessing / Dark Spirit Clan Blessing]
[High-level Dragon · Rebirth of Nirvana · Thief Mode]
HP: 90 million
Attack Power: ???
Skills: ???
ShatteredCrown: "Damn, so many buffs! No wonder my skill didn't work."
Everyone stared at the overwhelming number of titles and buffs above the boss's head, shivering with fear.
The Dragon King's Blood Blessing granted 100% critical hit rate, while the Dark Spirit Clan Blessing added 5000 attack power.
Moreover, the boss had two different forms: the Six-Winged Dragon form and the humanoid Thief form.
Each form changed the effects of its buffs.
Empress: "This time, I'm saying we can't win. You got any objections?"
Orson smiled bitterly and cursed inwardly, "High-level dragons... I just came in here for a Soul Seal upgrade, and this is what I get?"
A Saint-level high dragon appeared while grinding in the Dragon Nest?! Who do I talk to about this?
Even lower-level dragons, at their peak, were huge and unwieldy, making them easy targets to be focused down in battle.
Although the damage from their breath was terrifying, in the eyes of high-level players, an attack that couldn't hit the target was useless.
But high-level dragons didn't have this problem. Their ability to switch between two forms allowed them to maintain a perfect balance of power.
The Six-Winged Inferno Dragon combined the flexibility of a thief with the strength of a dragon. Even a top-tier guild would be slaughtered if they tried to ambush it.
Another wave of danger arrived.
Dark clouds gathered above, and Orson looked up: "Great, now we have enemies from above and below."
[Flying Dragon Imperial Crossbowman: Level 50]
[Elite-level Entity]
HP: 2.7 million
Attack Power: 4000
Skills: Armor-piercing Crossbow Bolt, Rapid Fire]
There were over twenty hybrid dragon warriors mounted on flying dragons, each with the strength of an elite boss.
Among them were the exceptional Lord-Class Flying Dragon Imperial Spearmen.
It was one of these that had just destroyed the Crimson Lizard King's wing.
"Guys, time to pull back!" Orson immediately made a decision. This was a deadlock. The game clearly didn't intend for them to clear this dungeon perfectly.
He opened the Battle Space and forcibly interrupted the Crimson Lizard King's ultimate Breath attack, sending it into the space rift.
Seeing the Flying Dragon Imperial Crossbowmen dive down at high speed, Orson quickly activated the effect of the Emperor's Earring.
Magic Eye!
Mirror of Folding!
He stretched the teleportation distance to the maximum and quickly transported the group into the spatial net.
"You have been locked onto by the Six-Winged Inferno Dragon."
As soon as Orson and the others exited the portal, a system warning immediately rang out.
"You have taken what doesn't belong to you."
Orson's scalp tingled. A figure actually followed them through the magic mirror.
Wang Defa!?
ShatteredCrown was stunned: "What the hell? This boss is so messed up!"
Empress: "How did it know we were coming through the portal? Is this a boss or a player?"
"What doesn't belong to you?"
Orson's eyes flashed. He started to think carefully about the meaning of that phrase. Was it referring to the dragon egg? Or the chest?
Before he could contemplate further, the six-winged The Flame Dragon bent its legs, launching itself like a missile toward them, its speed astonishing.
Orson broke out in cold sweat. He quickly re-entered the Magic Eye and activated another teleportation.
"You have been... locked..."
The warning flashed again. Orson froze.
He had never encountered a boss that could follow through space teleportation.
The first time could be considered a coincidence. But the second time?
This boss's intelligence clearly far exceeded that of ordinary dragons.
This was going to be a major problem.
"Keep retreating! Don't look back!"
Magic Eye reappeared, and Orson decisively ordered the others to move ahead.
He then raised his staff, and the Chaotic Six-Pointed Star unleashed a wave of power.
Earthquake!
Wind God's Sigh!
Quagmire!
Three control effects were cast, and Orson hoped to block the path, then teleport again using Mirror of Folding.
But on Barenkas's effeminate face, a look of disdain appeared.
In the next moment, six arms swirled wildly, and the world changed color. The ground caved in, and countless blades of light ravaged the area like a hurricane.
Break!
Break!
...
Orson's face turned ashen. All his control skills were instantly shattered, but he wasn't planning to surrender just yet.
"The Flame Dragon!"
Orson whispered, triggering multiple special effects. Three The Flame Dragons roared, and all of them charged toward Barenkas.