hotmtlnovel Chapter 39 introduced a "lock-in" mechanic.
Chapter 39 introduced a "lock-in" mechanic.
Lu Yan surveyed the situation on the platform, his mind racing. Two level 55 bosses—this exceeded the highest level he knew of in the secret realm. A direct confrontation was too risky; he had to control the pace.
He waved his hand and lowered his voice to give the tactical instructions: "Old Zhao, take Adam's aggro. Old Shen, you ride around to the flank and keep Eve occupied, don't let her cast her spell. Captain, Chu Xue, you two focus fire on Adam. Wen Yue, clear out the awakened civilians. Sister Yun Qing, put up your shield, don't worry about me, take care of the front line."
The Eternal Scepter was planted in the ground once more, and golden ripples of enhancement spread throughout the entire hall, enveloping everyone inside.
On the high platform, Adam's eyelids twitched. He opened his eyes and uttered a whisper that echoed throughout the entire palace.
"You are the chosen children. Lay down your weapons, and Eden will grant you eternal peace."
As soon as he finished speaking, the hundreds of civilians who had been sleeping in the hall opened their eyes all at once.
Their eyes had no whites, only empty pupils. They turned their heads, staring intently at the first squad, then strode forward like a tidal wave.
"Get to work!" Zhao Leiguang shouted.
He brandished his Earth Pulse shields and unleashed a savage charge, crashing headlong into the crowd of villagers. War Stomp was triggered, sending the first dozen or so puppet villagers flying in the blast. But there were just too many people; villagers were pushing down every step, blocking any way to retreat.
Wen Yue leveled the crossbow and pulled the trigger. Spread grenades were launched at the feet of the crowd, and high-explosive grenades detonated.
A burst of fire and light ripped through the air, blasting an entire row of villagers into pieces, with debris flying everywhere.
Xiao Qianyu ignored the surrounding interference. She locked onto Adam and launched a teleportation attack.
A crimson afterimage traced a straight line in mid-air. The next moment, the tip of the Crimson Lotus Goddess Spear had already pierced Adam's chest.
A red six-digit damage number popped up.
Adam raised his hand and slapped Xiao Qianyu on the shoulder.
"7".
A tiny, singular number floated out from above Xiao Qianyu's head. She didn't even move her feet.
The damage was so low? Xiao Qianyu paused for a moment. Adam was a level 55 leader.
After a moment's thought, she understood.
The base stats of the Crimson Lotus Goddess Spear are boosted to an extremely high level by the aura, and coupled with the specially enhanced fire elemental damage in the equipment's attributes, it forms an absolute attribute advantage.
"Lu Yan," she asked in the team chat, "were the equipment affixes you gave me specifically chosen for this dungeon?"
Lu Yan squatted behind a pillar in the back row, unscrewing a bottle of water and taking a swig. "I checked the elemental environment of the secret realm before coming here and adjusted it casually."
Thanks.
Xiao Qianyu no longer held back. The chain reaction mechanism of the flash attack was fully activated.
In the center of the hall, bursts of fire erupted one after another, all of them afterimages left behind by her movements.
The spear tip fired rapidly, displaying a dense bar of high damage numbers above Adam's head. A scorching fire effect clung to Adam's exposed skin, crackling and burning. Adam's health bar plummeted at a visible rate.
Lin Chuxue stood at a safe distance, raising her dueling staff high. She fully utilized the advantage of zero cooldown, unleashing a barrage of ice spikes and fireballs. The Blood Mage's stats skyrocketed.
On the high platform, Eve made a move. She opened her arms, and white rays of light shot from her fingertips, precisely connecting with the surrounding villagers.
The villagers connected to the light began to swell in extremely bizarre ways.
Its skin cracked, revealing rough, white scales, and its body swelled to a size larger, transforming it into the deformed monster it had been before. These mutants were significantly stronger than those in the town outside.
"Stop her!"
Shen Xinglin spurred his horse's flanks, and the warhorse neighed loudly, leaping onto the steps. The ever-changing spear stirred up a gust of wind, aiming straight for Eve's face.
Eve was forced to stop, taking a half step back, and the white thread connecting the villagers was forcibly severed. Shen Xinglin did not linger in the fight; he held his spear horizontally and used the mobility of his horse to maneuver around the flanks, occasionally thrusting his spear, forcefully wedging Eve against the edge of the high platform.
Zhao Leiguang, sitting in the audience, felt doubled the pressure. The mutated villagers surrounded him, their claws scratching at the rock shield, sparks flying everywhere.
The Earth Wall held up three times in a row, the shield breaking and being repaired, only to break again. He remained completely calm.
Su Yunqing's Gift of Yao Guang was in full operation, with a white light membrane constantly enveloping him. The "Shield regeneration is uninterrupted during healing" feature played a crucial role, and even when surrounded and attacked by seven or eight monsters at the same time, Zhao Lei's health bar remained firmly at full, without a single scratch.
This fighting style is completely unreasonable. Zhao Leiguang got more and more into it, swinging his double shields with great force, and forcefully pushed the monster horde into a blank area.
The first squad firmly controlled the pace of the battle.
Lu Yan sat on the stone steps, staring at the battle records in the system panel.
Adam's health bar plummeted from 100% to 75%. Meanwhile, Eve, constantly harassed by Shen Xinglin, only lost less than 5% of her health. The difference in health between the two bosses was widening. This disparity in health often foreshadows the triggering of special mechanics.
Adam's health dropped to 70%, and he stopped swinging. A low growl escaped his throat, and a surge of white light erupted from his body. He slammed one hand on the ground.
A wave of air rippled outwards, skimming the ground.
The damage was still insufficient; the impact was immense. Xiao Qianyu and Zhao Leiguang were propelled backward more than ten meters by this force.
Lu Yan stared at Adam's health bar. The moment he pushed Adam, the health bar froze for a moment, then started dropping again as Xiao Qianyu dealt the damage.
65%.
Xiao Qianyu has completely mastered the feel of this new set of equipment.
The teleportation's landing point, the angle of her shot, and the distance she retreated were all so precise that she didn't need to think. The single-target damage combined with seamless movement made her output even more efficient than when she had previously revealed her trump cards. This kind of output had no downtime.
Zhao Leiguang glanced at the monsters through the horde and couldn't help but click his tongue. "Goodness, the captain's fighting style is more insane than any strategy I've ever seen before."
60%.
Xiao Qianyu locked onto Adam again and used Flash to strike him head-on.
The Crimson Lotus Goddess Spear pierced Adam's chest without hindrance, and flames exploded at the wound.
However, the damage numbers that popped up were:
"0".
Not only her, but also the spell cast by Lin Chuxue in the distance produced a string of glaring "0"s.
Zhao Lei slammed his shield down on the head of a mutated villager standing nearby.
"0".
An eerie silence fell over the entire palace.
The monster's movements didn't stop, and all attack judgments failed.
Adam pulled the spear tip out of his chest; no blood flowed from the wound.
His facial muscles twitched, forcing a stiff smile. Undisguised mockery shone in his empty eyes.
"It's a health lock mechanism," Lu Yan immediately said.
The core mechanics of the unique hidden mission have been largely determined.