Hidden among the crowd of onlookers, Slaughter members went berserk. The elemental tides surged, and skills lit up the sky. Anyone who got too close to the arena was instantly engulfed.
"Where do you think you're going, DonutWizard?"
Taking advantage of the chaos, DonutWizard avoided the mêlée and was about to make his way to the arena. However, Empress of the Moon and ShatteredCrown, riding the Flame Dragon, suddenly appeared to block his path. They wouldn't give their bitter enemy a single chance to turn the tables.
"Filthy cockroach from the sewers, stay the hell away!" DonutWizard yelled in fury. Though Wedge's holy magic boosted his battle power, breaking through the defenses of these two was not going to happen in such a short time.
"Stop him! If I can't get it, then no one will!" Demon Emperor was blocked by a Storm Dragon Knight, but he merely grinned maliciously. "Go ahead, make your move. Your purpose in life is this moment."
Suddenly, a number of Dragon Knights who had been fighting just moments ago locked onto the Storm Dragon player. Devastating dragon breaths quickly swallowed him whole.
"This guy is truly sinister," Bradley gasped, amazed that these Dragon Knight players were actually Slaughter Guild's secret agents.
Orson raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Naturally. No one can stop someone when their life is on the line."
Demon Emperor, a madman, had even threatened the daughter of the NUK conglomerate. When he went all out, even the wealthiest players would be forced to respect him.
Demon Emperor had successfully claimed the right to challenge the Golden Dragon Knight.
He entered the battlefield at lightning speed, a dark, ominous aura enveloping him. His presence rivaled that of Golden Dragon Knight. With a powerful swing of his sword, he unleashed his strongest attack: "Slash!"
"S-class skill—Curse: King's Slash!"
A black sword beam, dozens of meters long, erupted from his blade, crashing toward Golden Dragon Knight, who had just landed.
"I've won this!" Demon Emperor thought, elated. This strike was nearly guaranteed to land, one of the rare percentage-based true damage skills among warrior classes!
The percentage damage could go as high as 5 times his current health!
With Demon Emperor's 200,000 health, this attack would deal at least 1 million true damage!
Boom!
The black sword beam slammed into Golden Dragon Knight, creating an enormous shockwave that startled the other players into halting their attacks.
A terrifying true damage number appeared!
True Damage -1,020,000!
The arena fell silent, and you could hear a pin drop.
Slaughter Spree: "Is that it? It's this easy?"
Blank furrowed her brows and shot him a glare. "Easy my ass!"
"What… what do we have to do to win this? Is this quest even meant for players?" Demon Emperor muttered in shock, staring at Golden Dragon Knight, who was still standing like a mountain.
Golden Dragon Knight's health was down to 1 point, but that 1 point felt like an overwhelming, terrifying presence.
Soul Contract · Shared Fate.
The golden dragon glowed with radiant light, the strands of golden energy entered the boss's body, and Golden Dragon Knight's health began to skyrocket...
Life Sharing +20,000,000!
Life Sharing +20,000,000!
...
Bibienne smiled playfully, her gaze akin to that of an emperor looking down on trembling subordinates.
This was the absolute might of the Light Dragon Empire and The Golden House!
"Surprised? Unexpected?"
Orson's lips curled into a grin as he laughed at Blank and the others.
"You knew this would happen, didn't you? You let my boss go up there to die!" Slaughter Spree was dumbfounded.
Golden Dragon Knight's health had been drained by half, and yet in an instant, the boss's health was fully restored!
A golden chain appeared between them, binding their souls and bodies together.
Soul Contract · Shared Fate.
Effect: Using their souls as a bridge, life is shared between them. If one falls, both fall.
The mass tactics the players had relied on were now nothing but a joke in the face of the Life Sharing skill.
The idea that players could become the city lord was nothing but a hollow fantasy created by their own delusions…
Blank and James fell silent. James let out a long sigh. "No good deed goes unpunished; it's either deceit or theft."
No wonder this bastard had been so generous when the boss was nearly dead—it was clearly because he'd seen the trap ahead and had lured them to jump right in.
"Can you blame Orson for this? Kid, you were given a chance but failed. Who else can you blame?" Bradley nearly laughed himself into a fit, patting Slaughter Spree on the shoulder. "Learn from this."
"…Invincible," Demon Emperor sighed, knowing that with Golden Dragon Knight at full strength, there was no chance of winning. He removed his armor and chose to die by his own hand.
"Everyone, scatter. You're wasting my time, damn it!"
"With just over an hour left, even another mass tactic won't work. There's no point continuing."
"This is too ridiculous… Same Dragon Knight class, and yet the gap is this huge."
The players in the air stopped their fighting, realizing there was no point in continuing.
The enormous health of the NPC Dragon Knight left everyone in awe. Even if players managed to become Dragon Knights, they could hardly make a dent.
Orson smiled faintly, not agreeing with the prevailing view.
Most NPCs of this type were terrifyingly strong, but their growth potential could never match a player's.
For instance, if Sword God Alexander had more time, by the late game, facing off against a Golden Dragon Knight like Bibienne in a one-on-one battle wouldn't be impossible.
Top-tier players had far more diverse skill options than NPCs.
With the added strength from a powerful Soul Seal, a top-tier player could easily demolish an NPC with stiff battle tactics and average combat intelligence.
"Anyone else want to challenge? Anyone?"
Orson called out to the crowd with a smile, looking around at the onlookers.