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This was the most suffocating boss Zane had ever encountered.

It possessed absurdly inflated stats, yet from start to finish it had been completely suppressed by Treka, unable to land a single hit. Every single skill it attempted to use was interrupted without exception.

Watching its HP drop from 2,000,000 to 1,800,000, then steadily fall to 1,000,000, it had taken no more than five minutes. Although she was a Light Elf, her archery skills were no less formidable.

Did she have an endless supply of arrows? The question crossed Zane’s mind, but he did not voice it aloud. By all logic, starting from Epic-rank onward, bosses should possess a certain degree of intelligence, reaction capability, and even background lore.

Lordsey was a perfect example of that. But this guardian spirit, aside from its monotonous combat pattern, showed no other reactions whatsoever. It was practically no different from a puppet.

Had its talent points been completely misallocated? No one could answer that.

Another five minutes passed.

Just before the countdown ended, Treka fired a heart-piercing arrow. Under the combined effects of a weak point hit and a critical strike, it wiped out the boss’ final 10,000 HP in a single blow.

It was worth mentioning that the Tempest Field had been forcibly canceled earlier when she crashed through it using Lightstorm.

“Hah…” The elf panted heavily, a flush rising to her face as she caught her breath.

In contrast, the Wind Guardian Spirit before them had its core shattered, its fragmented wind elements returning to the four stone pillars.

They flickered faintly like flames, but the energy within was visibly weaker now, to the point that it looked as though it might extinguish at any moment.

The countdown hovering above the center vanished, and the stone gate opened on its own, the grating sound of stone scraping against the ground sending chills down one’s spine.

‘Is it over?’

The boss dropped nothing, and the experience bar did not move in the slightest.

“Does this count as… a success?” Zane asked.

Treka shook her head. “No. This is only the beginning.”

As soon as her words fell, the ground erupted with brilliant, multicolored light. Fiery red, earthy yellow, watery blue, and verdant green intertwined, forming a dazzling radiance. As if guided by consciousness, the lights flowed toward the four stone pillars.

‘Where did these come from!?’ These differently colored lights seemed to carry immense energy, restoring strength and vitality to the withered wind.

**Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—**

In the blink of an eye, the Wind Guardian Spirit took shape once more.

What!? Hadn’t it already been defeated? What’s going on? The challenge gave him no time to think. The countdown reappeared, still set at 09:59!

Seeing this status window, Zane nearly suffocated. ‘Holy crap, it has evolved on the spot!?’

“Treka! What exactly is going on!?” Zane finally shouted. If he died here, the consequences would be something he simply could not bear.

“As you can see…” Treka replied between heavy breaths. “If we don’t leave in time, the challenge will loop.”

“Whether or not the guardian spirit is defeated within the time limit, those energies will still appear. Every challenge means it gets strengthened again.”

“Before you arrived… I had already defeated it seventy-five times.” The elf spoke lightly, but the exhaustion and emptiness in her eyes betrayed her true state.¹　

***

* **Crimson Plains.**

After the version update, there were barely any players to be seen here.

Had this land somehow avoided being attacked by the Dark Faction? It was still being developed in an orderly fashion, and some players could not help but wonder. But that was as far as such thoughts went.

Traveling from Wynwater City to the Crimson Plains took at least half a day without mounts or high-movement-speed equipment, and there was always the risk of being killed by mobs along the way.

After Polly went missing, this goblin camp lost its only repair merchant. It was only natural that players could no longer be retained.

The only thing that truly drew attention was that massive beetle. After the battle at Wynwater City, perceptive players had already realized that the territory in the Crimson Plains was definitely connected to Stardust.

Perhaps… she had been controlling the monsters to build it!

But this was not something ordinary players could interfere with. The major guilds were currently overwhelmed, busy tallying postwar losses and distributing resources. They had no spare energy to deal with this, at most assigning a single player to keep an eye on things.

At this moment, Yalu sat anxiously inside the main tent.

After sensing that astonishing power of light, he simply could not muster the courage to follow Starry into the Spiritwood. This was a deep-seated flaw ingrained in goblin bloodlines.

At least, that was how he saw it.

It had been the same back in the Valley of Luminara. He knew full well how terrifying the Dark Faction was, fear filling his heart. He had even fled south to the Crimson Plains with his people without knowing whether his father, Yaho, was dead or alive.

At the time, escape had been the only option left in his mind. Too shameful… no, he had already lost the pride of a Snowfeather Goblin.

“Chieftain!” Kanrel burst into the tent in a fluster.

“What is it? Why are you in such a panic?”

“There’s some pitch-black guy outside saying he wants to meet the person with the highest authority here. We tried to question his identity, and he directly attacked us, killing two of our clansmen!” Kanrel said in alarm.

“What!?” Yalu slammed the table and stood up. Who would dare to cause trouble like this!? “Where is he? Take me to him at once!”

“No need.” A cold, shadowy voice came from outside the tent. A gray-black arm lifted the tent flap. Clad in a gray cloak that concealed most of his skin, faintly visible within were a pair of sharp, slender ears.

Kanrel collapsed to the ground in fright. “Ch-Chief, it’s him!”

“Goblins building a home in a place like this? Heh… heh, interesting.”

“Whoever you are, since you’ve killed my people, don’t think you’re leaving here easily!” Yalu’s expression turned icy as frigid energy surged in his hands. A massive ice spike immediately formed behind him. It did not matter if it shattered the tent. Nothing could quell the fury burning inside him right now.

“Oh?” the intruder said in surprise, seemingly unable to imagine that a goblin could possess such strength… and such courage. Had the power he revealed still not been enough?

“In that case…” the gray-black figure said in a magnetic voice, “you’d better not die too easily. Without someone to point the way… it’ll be hard to find her.”

“You’ll pay for your arrogance!” Yalu swung his right hand, and the ice spike shot forward in response. Its sharpened tip carried terrifying cold. This strike was meant to blow a huge hole straight through his body!

“Chieftain, be careful! That guy’s a vampire!” Kanrel shouted in warning.

“What!?”

**Crack—!**

The enemy grabbed the sharp tip of the ice spike with one hand and crushed it apart in an instant!

Looking at the wound on his hand, he extended his tongue and licked it.

“Not bad…”

Yalu’s heart skipped. This time, he had truly run into serious trouble!

Just then, the tent flap was lifted again.

“Lord Yalu, I heard things were noisy here, so I came to take a look. Do you need any help—uh…?” A girl wielding twin daggers poked her head in, her ID displaying ‘Lulu.’

That’s right. After hearing that this place was connected to Starry, Duskwraith had sent Lulu over first to keep watch. Who knew, she might even deepen her relationship with Starry. If they became close friends, she could pull Starry into Nether Dawn!

“Ah… did I come at a bad time?”

Yalu’s spirits lifted. “Adventurer, you came at exactly the right time! Help me capture this intruder!”