"For f*ck’s sake man, you are one shameless brat, isn’t that an act of pushing people forward to be the victim instead?" Fatty Han was conflicted with mixed feelings, laughing and berating him at the same time.
Within such a short period of time, one player had been lost, with the remaining three players waiting out for the duration of ‘Chain of Burning Flame’ to expire, before they headed back to the party and did what they were supposed to do.
Zhang Yang then informed, "Fatty, Hunters have it easiest when it comes to escaping the effect of ‘Chain of Burning Flame’, one "Tumble" would do the trick. You’ll end up 10 meters away from the others!"
"Oh yea, I actually forgot to use "Tumble"!" Defiant Monk gave himself a strong slap to his forehead, with a face that looked like he just woke up from a dream.
It was just a mere 30 seconds before Roshan activated the second ‘Chain of Burning Flame’, randomly picking four targets and teleporting them to a spot 100 meters away. This time, they appeared at the 12 o’clock direction.
The healers had it tough. It was like playing a game of tag, having no clue which of the four burning members should they heal first. As the teleportation location was completely random, it was not possible for them to make any arrangements in advance to where the four targeted players would be teleported to in order to heal their health points back. The best they could do was to heal whoever they could.
Compared to the first teleportation, this time, it was handled much better --- or should we say that they were much luckier, the four players had already picked four different directions in the beginning, although they were not running outwards at in an even petal of four, with the support of the Fire Resistance Potion and the usage of red potions, everyone managed to hold on until they were out of the 30-meters distance from each other, none of them was killed.
Although the boss has a "Destructive Smash" that decreases healing effect, it did nothing against Zhang Yang and Han Ying Er, both already possessing a few pieces of Yellow-Gold equipment, basically toying with the boss. Without posing too much of a threat, the only difficult thing was to handle the roll-calls by the boss!
On the third roll-call, another player was killed.
On the forth roll-call, most unfortunately, the four hapless players started running in the same direction, and realizing their mistake, turned around at the same time, turning again…. This went on for a while with everyone constantly running alongside each other. In the end, all of them died except for one. That player survived because of their long health bar, if not for anything else.
On the fifth roll-call, none of them died.
On the sixth…
After experiencing 11 roll-calls, a total of nine members of the party had been killed, while the boss still remained with 38% of health points. It didn’t affect their performance all too much as the deceased members of the party were not the main force of Zhang Yang’s eight core members of the party, there was still hope to turn the table around!
"How was it? I was right, am I? One shall not die with a long health bar!" Endless Starlight was considered to be the lucky doll among the unlucky ones, a total of 11 roll-calls were made by the boss, and Endless Starlight was selected for six of them. With his longer health bar, the other three players were all blown to death, and he managed survive in a most disapproving manner!
"Get lost, what use is there for you to survive without even contributing a tiny bit of damage!" Hundred Shots, clearly disgusted, had a guttural quality to his voice.
"Burning flame, incinerate them all!" Roshan raised his axe again, activating his 12th roll-call with his skill; targeting Han Ying Xue, Wei Yan Er, Fantasy Sweetheart and Defiant Monk!
Initially, the party had 4 healers. One had been killed in a previous roll-call. With the current roll-call, two strong priests, Han Ying Xue and Fantasy Sweetheart had been picked. In an instant, the party was left with only one Holy Knight -- Half Gram Not Two Yuan -- to heal Zhang Yang. Of all times, Zhang Yang had to be carrying the negative effect of "Destructive Smash" at that moment!
This was probably the gravest situation they’ve been in since the beginning of the battle.
Zhang Yang quickly summoned his servant Clear Lotus and activated the "Substitute" skill, instantly acquiring a 5-second invincibility, nullifying all the negative effects he had on him. By doing so, he allowed the Holy Knight Half Gram Not Two Yuan to heal him without interruption while waiting for Han Ying Xue and Fantasy Sweetheart to return.
Furthermore, once the selected players were teleported, they started running around like headless flies.
Han Ying Xue never had any sense of direction to begin with. She activated shield around herself, healed herself, then she literally shut her eyes and ran forward without looking to see if there was anyone in front of her. As a result, Defiant Monk was forced into a rather tragic situation -- he had already used "Tumble" to create distance from the others the moment he was teleported. Wei Yan Er and Fantasy Sweetheart were already running in different directions, but Han Ying Xue quickly caught up to Defiant Monk with her powerful legs.
Defiant Monk suddenly panicked, as he quickly yelled with his top voice, "Vice Guildmaster, you are running at the wrong direction! Turn around! Turn!"
Han Ying Xue heeded his screams and did turn around, except that it was a 360 degree turn, resulting in her continued rampage towards Defiant Monk!
Although the Fire Resistance Potion reduces a lot of damages, it only managed to increase the running time from 3 seconds to 5 seconds. Although Defiant Monk had already gulped down a red potion, with an additional "Healing" from Han Ying Xue, he wasn’t able to keep Han Ying Xue from burning his ass, so he ended up being blasted to death!
"Hahaha!" Wei Yan Er laughed with her hands pressed against her stomach, and she said, "Cousin sis, you are really mean, it was already bad enough to blow others up, and you even healed him, prolonging his suffering! I can’t stop laughing! You’ll be the death of me! You’re a secret operative mole embedded within my army! I shall destroy you on behalf of the moon1!"
Zhang Yang could only bitterly smile at her understandably bad sense of direction. He said, "Witchy Snow, the next time you get selected again, just stand there and don’t run, heal yourself from where you are standing!"
Han Ying Xue smiled with guilt and said, "I am so sorry, Defiant Monk!"
"It’s... It’s alright!" Defiant Monk resignedly accepted his unfortunate fate.
"If I were to die beneath a peony flower, I would still be charming as a ghost2. Queen Snow, you can blow me, blow me to death, I don’t mind!" Endless Starlight was shouting like an anthomaniac.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Starlight, pretty Snow is brother Yang’s type, you should just go to the shade!"
If they had come without any Fire Resistance Potions, the whole party might have been totally annihilated by now. Never underestimate a potion that only increase the survival time of the players by a mere two seconds, because players in ‘God’s Miracle’ can reach up to the speed of 10 meters per second with their full power while running. The game had turned everyone into an Olympic sprinter. Two seconds would allow players to run another 20 meters, and if four players can run in the direction of four axis, they can definitely escape the burn in no time!
It could still be done without the Fire Resistance potion, but it will require absolute understanding among each other and perfect teamwork! With the [Fire Resistance Potion], there is no doubt that it will greatly decrease the difficulty, allowing a much wider margin of error, making the boss much easier to take on!
30%, 20%, 10%!
Two more members were killed afterwards, and the party had successfully pushed the health bar of the boss down below 10%.
"You despicable insects, to be able push me this far! Curse you, I shall teach you all, the terror of provoking a Dwarf King!" Roshan gave out a roar that shook the heavens, raising up both of his hands and lifting the axe up high, his entire body was instantly pulsating beneath a bloody red halo.
‘Ding! Roshan has awoken the ancient power of the kings, damage dealt increase by 50%!’
"Son of a sniper! The boss is entering berserk mode!" Fatty Han was shouting frantically.
"That’s strange, in Normal Mode and Hard Mode, the boss did no such thing!" Hundred Shots scratched his head, having trouble understanding the situation, as the parties that cleared the Normal Mode and Hard Mode of this dungeon were led by himself and Endless Starlight.
"That is why this is called Hardcore Mode!" Zhang Yang replied him.
‘-8,534!’
After entering berserk mode, Roshan’s attack was increased significantly, his basic attack was elevated to a total attack of 12,000, and only the guild’s top tanker could hold on! That tanker was Zhang Yang!
"Speed-kill!"
After the boss entered berserk mode, there was no way to kite and tank the boss, with a single attack surpassing 8,000, and the inconsistent use of "Destructive Smash" that reduced healing effects, Zhang Yang could still buy time using his emergency skills, but even he wouldn’t last indefinitely. The only way left was to speed-kill the boss!
"Burning flame, incinerate these pests!" once again, Roshan did a roll-call and did his teleportation hocus pocus.
Immediately, Sun Xin Yu, Half Gram Not Two Yuan, Hundred Shots and Fantasy Sweetheart were teleported 100 meters way from the boss at a 3 o’clock direction.
Pak!
As the sparks of fire flared out, all four of them began to receive damages of ‘-2400’. With the boss in berserk mode, the damage inflicted by the ‘Chain of Burning Flame’ effect had also been increased by 50%!
With a swift activation of his "Tumble", Hundred Shots quickly blasted 10 meters away, where he continued running, turning around to take a peek to find that no one else was following him. Half Gram Not Two Yuan was all alone in one direction, but Sun Xin Yu and Fantasy Sweetheart were heading towards the same direction.
"Stay where you are, heal yourself!" Sun Xin Yu commanded Fantasy Sweetheart in her cold and icy voice.
The ice queen had a very oppressing aura, therefore, the busty Fantasy Sweetheart who had large, watery eyes immediately stopped and nodded. The abrupt halt jolted her pair of excellent boobies up and down, and they jiggled without any signs of pausing at all. She quickly activated a shield around herself, casting a strong healing skill.
Sun Xin Yu had a total of 7,300 health points, so by theory, she could withstand 3 hits of the ‘Chain of Burning Flame’. However, she had ran towards the same direction as Fantasy Sweetheart and wasted a bit of time, so she had already being burned three times, leaving her with only 100 points health points remaining!
Even if she drank a [level 2 Healing Potion], it would only heal her by 1,000 health points, which was not enough to counter the damage of one explosive attack!
Pak!
Just as the forth explosion happened, Sun Xin Yu waved her right hand and suddenly, her entire body vanished into thin air, before she reappeared again in an instant. She continued to run like hell, rushing to gain 30 meters of distance away from Fantasy Sweetheart!
"Beautiful!" Zhang Yang was watching all events that unfolded, and when he saw that last particular scene, he could not help himself but to applaud her! Just now, Sun Xin Yu had used her skill -- "Vanish", to gain a single frame3 of invincibility. It had such a narrow window of opportunity that it was just enough to avoid the blast damage. It was definitely a performance only masters of masters could pull off!
To use the split-second short of invincibility when activating "Vanish" in order to avoid damage required precise control -- down to the last milisecond at the moment when the explosion happens! Even if it was Zhang Yang, he could not have done it so perfectly!
She would indeed be the number one of the top 10 thieves in the China region. There was no doubt about it now. Just witnessing what she just did, was eyes-dropping!
Other than Zhang Yang, the others also started applauding her, that evasion was just too incredible!
5%, 4%, 3%!
Roshan was once again ready to do another roll-call, but his health bar was already coming to an end. Even with four players dead, it would not change the fate of Roshan was at death’s door!
2%, 1%!
"No--- No! I cannot die, I am the King of the Flaming Dwarfs, I shall snatch all the sacred relics back and conquer the entire Dwarf race, I am... Un..defea..table...!" Pam, Roshan did an odd pirouette as he spun around, the axe falling heavily onto the ground. His fat, short body soon followed, causing a tremor as it hit the ground.
As the blood flowed across the ground, the blood eerily formed a magic circle, emitting some dark lights .
"Haha! We did it!"
Zhang Yang had not expected this to go so smoothly, even with the Fire Resistance Potion, he had never expected them so succeed at their single attempt.
‘Ding! You and your party have acquired the First Clear title for The Poison Fireland Dungeon (Death Mode), as the leader, please insert your party’s name to be published on the list of the Death Mode’s First Clear title, for the world to behold and sing praises!"
Zhang Yang suddenly thought of it, so he asked Han Ying Xue, "So how about it, do we put your company’s name this time? The next time we acquire another First Clear title will be one or two months later!"
Han Ying Xue pondered briefly upon it and said, "Alright, you can use ‘Silky Soft Bra, giving you the most personal care! Lone Desert Smoke’ as the party’s name!"
Zhang Yang blinked dumbly for a second before saying weakly, "Hello, you did not mention that your company sells bras!"
Han Ying Xue gave him a backward eye-roll and said, "You did not ask, I did not tell!"
"Can’t we just put ‘Silky Soft Company’ or ‘Silky Soft Holdings’?’"
"There won’t be any point, then!" Han Ying Xue was speaking in a serious manner, "Silly Yu, you are too chauvinistic, what is wrong with the name Silky Soft Bra, it’s not like they are naughty or perverted words! Are you filling it in or not, I am about to get mad!"
Fatty Han was excited, written all over his face, and he said, "Pretty Snow, your company produces bra, there should be a large number underwear models, right?"
"Of course, every single product of our company is worn by models, to be made into albums and the brochures for the products!"
Fatty Han rubbed both of his hands together and said, "So when are you bringing me for a tour over the changing room... erm, to your company to have a look!"
"Sign me up, sign me up too!" Endless Starlight quickly saw the opportunity and reacted.
Daffodil Daydream spoke out and said, "Sister Snow, the Silky Soft Bra Holdings is one of the top three bra distributor in the whole China, my thesis actually used your company’s sales data. That is one big company with billions in annual revenue! I happen to be wearing a Silky Soft bra myself!"
Zhang Yang could not help but laughed, "Silly girl, you told me that you possess 55% of the company shares, that means you earn at least 500 million per year, right?"
Everyone was staggered, as they tried to comprehend Han Ying Xue’s wealth. Endless Starlight tried to squeeze his pitiful face and said, "Queen Snow, please take me in!"
"Hello, Silly Yu, are you going to fill it in for real or not!" Han Ying Xue put her hands on her waist and started to raise her tone.
"Yes... This would suffice right!" Zhang Yang let out a sigh, if he had known about it a little earlier, he would not have asked. It would be awesome, when the server announcements begin to pop up in red.
After keying ‘Silky Soft Bra, giving you the best personal care! Lone Desert Smoke’ in the column, Zhang Yang gave a sigh, and confirmed the party name entry with the server. The server announcement began to make the announcement in red on the big screen.
‘Server Announcement: Silky Soft Bra, giving you the best personal care! Lone Desert Smoke has successfully acquired the First Clear title for the Poison Fireland (Death Mode), their great deeds will be published on the list of the Death Mode First Clear title (China Region). Please cheer for them!’
Zhang Yang did not even wait to read the following announcements. God damn it, this time, Lone Desert Smoke was about to make every single male player in the guild blush; they might even be called the Bra guild for the rest of their days!