Chapter 406: 406
The current situation is that about six hundred players remain, spread out and attacking the avatar of the ancient god.

At the start of the battle, everyone noticed something jaw-dropping; aside from the NPCs, no one’s damage exceeded five points.

Powerful mages capable of causing four to five points of damage were considered high achievers, while the regular defensive roles could only deal one to two points.

Only now did they understand what ten points of damage meant. It wasn’t that their damage was low, rather that their enemies’ damage was too high.

At that moment, they realized the function of the Divine Armor, this degree of damage reduction was truly astounding.

If left to Li Yao alone to fight, who knows when the battle would end.

All the players’ attacks combined, could only cause just over a thousand points of damage per round, which was minuscule compared to the ancient god’s forty thousand hit points.

If one had to describe it, it was as if they were fighting a boss designed for five people, but only one person was actually fighting.

Moreover, with each attack from the ancient god, their troop numbers continuously fell; their strength was constantly decreasing.

Every time the ancient god used a skill, it resulted in considerable casualties, with even some masters suffering fatalities.

And yet they had only depleted less than seventy-five thousand of the ancient god avatar’s hit points, while the player casualties were numerous.

“It’s all because of this bastard.”

“He opened the door, how could we avoid getting caught in the ancient god’s trap?”

“Ah, I don’t want to die.”

The players hadn’t put up much resistance, after all, they were prepared for sacrifices when killing such formidable bosses.

However, it was different for the masters, especially the goblins. They were timid by nature and would instantly think of giving up when faced with difficulties. More so now, given they could only reduce their enemies’ hit points by ten each time.

Watching as their fellow players and companions kept falling, the blow to their morale was too great.

“You people have no shame!”, Little Cold Hands said angrily. “You all forced the master to open the door. Even after it was opened, it was you all who rushed in. Now you’re blaming everything on the master. If we were swamped with treasures, would any of you have thanked the master, or thought to spare even a single copper coin for him?”

“Cold Hands, talking about morality with these greedy people is like singing to a cow. They all rush forward when advantages are to be had, but the moment something goes wrong they shirk off responsibility.” Light Flower sneered: “It really is pathetic and pitiable to see you all at this juncture still focused on shifting blame rather than on how to kill the ancient god. You’re demoralising us all. No wonder the master called you all pitiful cannon fodder; he was absolutely right.”

The masters stayed silent when confronted with those words. They felt inclined to argue but arguing with an NPC would be beneath them. If they said nothing, their frustrations would continue to grow.

“Enough.” Li Yao, who had been quietly avoiding the boss’s skills and dealing damage, said coldly: “What are we discussing such pointless matters for at a time like this? I just want to know if you want to live or not. If you want to live, follow my orders. I will try my best to lead you out safely.”

“Cunning fool, our current predicament is all your doing. And you still want to use us? Dream on!”, the old goblin lamented angrily.

“That’s up to you, like it or not. Tan Hua, regroup the team. Whoever wants to get out alive, leave your current team and join the new one. I’m not forcing anyone but those who don’t join the new team will bear no relation to me whether they live or die.”, Li Yao said rapidly.

The situation was very tense now. Every time the ancient god unleashed a skill, someone would fall. It won’t be long before they’ll be obliterated even before they could deplete half of its hit points.

Though many players disliked Li Yao, they could not help but admire his skills and techniques. They all saw that he hadn’t received a single healing effect, which meant he hadn’t been damaged by the ancient god at all.

In the current situation, survival was the most important thing. Moreover, if they managed to kill the avatar of the ancient god, a new announcement would appear. This was no less than a level twenty god, even if it was just an avatar it was still a magnificent achievement.

As for those masters, with their panic-stricken looks compared to the calm and collected Li Yao, it was clear who was superior.

Quickly, all the players joined the team established by Tan Hua.

“Now, following the team, split into four directions: north, south, east, and west and spread out.”, Li Yao quickly commanded. It was strange for the players to be commanded by an NPC in a raid, but this was the only way. If the players were to take command, there simply wasn’t anyone who could make the cut.

“Pitiful mortals, how can you know when your spirit and body are dominated by a god?”

The avatar of the ancient god let out an eerie laugh, and more than a dozen groups of black fog dispersed from its body.

Mental Control!

“All those who possess pets, pay attention. Direct your pets to willingly collide with the gas groups. Hurry,” Li Yao continued, “All mages pay attention. Use Polymorph on the controlled pets and maintain it until they recover their freedom.”

Li Yao’s command was carried out, and all the controlled pets were restrained by the mages’ Polymorph skill, allowing for a seemingly chaotic skill to be resolved without causing a ripple.

Just with his first command, many people had already gained faith in Li Yao. Even those masters who originally had complaints started to see hope and stopped grumbling. Even though they weren’t speaking, they started listening to Li Yao’s instructions because they wanted to survive too.

“Everyone, spread out. Maintain a distance of over ten yards. Don’t get greedy with dealing more damage, reducing output is not a problem. Everyone should scatter in a plum blossom formation with the healers in the center. All healers, focus on accumulating instant heal spells, and promptly restore health to those who are wrapped.”

As soon as the players began scattering, nearly thirty of them were entangled, emitting black mist from their bodies and continuously sending out black shockwaves that spread eight to nine yards around them.

When the skill ended, there were still no casualties, boosting their morale instantly

“MTs that are targeted should act as the leading force. Divide into eight teams in four directions. Hurry. Healers should be placed towards the front, in the middle, focus on healing the MT in the front.”

Shadow Jets.

The ancient god began spraying black liquid, but it was all blocked by the MTs at the front. Their health was critically low, but with the desperate healing from several healers, they managed to withstand this round of attacks.

Due to the sacrifices made earlier, Li Yao had fully understood the boss’s mechanisms, and everyone was following his command now.

It was not difficult to defeat this boss. Only some slow movements, or deadly attacks during the boss’s frenzy, could instantly kill people. At other times, if only non-fragile players were hit by the ancient god’s skills, though it might be dangerous, it wouldn’t cause casualties.

And as the boss’s health was dwindling, Li Yao had begun hoping for the spoils the boss would drop.

This was, after all, an avatar of a god, so even if it only dropped one item, it would undoubtedly be a top-quality item. And for such an item, Li Yao was determined to get it…

ps: This plot line was difficult to write…

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