Chapter 447: Chapter 447: Intermediate Boss Spider Tank
Those people weren’t good folk to begin with. When they learnt that these players were their enemies, they felt no guilt in guarding the corpses.
The five of them were stubborn, respawning over and over, eventually even respawning at the respawn point, but it was useless.
They initially aimed to restrict Starfire’s players from entering the dungeon. Killing and then guarding the corpses made perfect sense to them.
By looting Starfire’s gear, they would leave the players powerless in the dungeon, and hence, reduce the threat they posed to the minimum.
To achieve this, they even left people on guard at the graveyard.
As a result, the victims – frustrated, weak from constant respawning – were once again slaughtered.
Having their pride bruised, they couldn’t swallow the humiliation. One after another, they mobilized resources and rallied their comrades.
Among the five, there was a tycoon who never felt the pinch of money. He wasn’t involved with any guilds and was a casual player.
Having been wronged, he directly hired mercenaries, effectively a reshaped professional league.
Though they were expert gamers, they didn’t make their money from beating bosses or grinding levels. Rather, they made their living fighting for others.
No matter the cause, they fought for anyone who paid them. Now that they were nearly at level 20, the sweet spots were at levels 10, 20 and 30. These stages were their favorite.
Even if they lost in these quests, there were no level losses and their fees were comparatively cheaper.
The tycoon hired mercenaries from several professional studios. Together with the reinforcements the others brought, they launched a counterstrike.
And thus, an epic battle broke out. Now being at the highest level dungeon, guilds as well as rogue experts were trying to make breakthroughs, but all were somewhat collateral damage.
Every regular gamer had friends and acquaintances. Those killed in a fight would get in touch with them. Soon, the radius of the conflict widened.
Consequently, more and more players were drawn into the conflict. And with the gradual increase of level 20 players, fights lost levels and became bloodthirsty.
This was afterall the main level 20 dungeon. The main source of level 20 gear was here, with gamers from three different guilds clashing. The excitement was off the charts.
After a day of relentless fighting, things spiraled out of control. It was complete chaos now and the source of the conflict was anyone’s guess.
The battles had been raging for several days with no end in sight. The cost of dying was too high due to severe penalties enforced by the Ancient Gods. Many gamers were cautious of PvP for the fear of losing too much in death.
Now that they were at level 20, death didn’t impact levels. The pent-up gamers were exploding in action.
The situation now was that virtually no team could fully enter the dungeon. Things had gone totally haywire.
Several powerful guilds tried to band together to end the senseless fight, but were unsuccessful. Some guilds even got caught up in the fighting that was now out of control.
Knowing about this, Li Yao, who hadn’t crafted his Mechanical Pet yet, strictly prohibited Starfire members from approaching the dungeon.
Instead, he had the stronger members defeat boss monsters.
Since experience level was secure in death, fighting not only incurred minimal losses but fighting boss monsters also turned out to be the most rewarding. Lead by their elders, members of Starfire Guild started hunting bosses, acumulating gear, and preparing to tackle new mainline dungeons.
Li Yao, on the other hand, was using this time to make parts for his Mechanical Pet and was observing the situation from a safe distance.
Although crafting the Spider Tank took longer than he had anticipated, other guilds were too busy fighting to advance in the game. As such, he was rather unperturbed.
Although failure in inscribing symbols sometimes required the manufacture of question parts up to ten times over, Li Yao was methodical and patient. Eventually, all that hard work paid off, and it was finally time to assemble the Spider Tank.
The assembly faced hurdles of its own because of the issues with symbol inscription. In fact, the actual installation was quite troublesome.
The surface of the Crystal Spider, with its stiff outer layer, extended into steel parts as if it were a creature of steel itself.
Supported by the master alchemist, the assembly went smoothly. After half a day’s worth of work, the Spider Tank finally stood before Li Yao.
The Crystal Spider, or rather, the Spider Tank was a genuine machine of steel now.
Its mere presence exuded an awe-inspiring countenance, signalling its formidable power.
The two massive forelegs of the Spider Tank were reminiscent of a crab’s pincers, intimidating and dominant. Positioned like two gigantic Tower Shields in front, they offered a flawless defense for the tank.
Its body was covered in elegant metal armor adorned with intricate symbol inscriptions.
Moreover, the tank’s body was enormous and had an air of invincibility about it. It also carried a huge barrel at the back. The dark muzzle looked like the mouth of a man-eating beast.
“My lord, have a look at her attributes. You won’t be disappointed,” the master alchemist said, his eyes gleaming. This time, they had achieved big success using various methods and ancient god materials.
Li Yao nodded and started looking at the Spider Tank’s properties with excitement.
Spider Tank
Rank: 20-level intermediate boss
Vitality: 300,000
Armor: 1500
Combat mode: Decent agility, speed increased by 10%, armor decreased by 10%.
Skills: Death Charge, Mechanical Trample, Wild Sword Dance, Ancient God’s Eye: Sweep, Ancient God’s Eye: Charm, Ancient God’s Touch: Entanglement.
Fortress mode: Sacrifices majority of agility for tremendous defense and attack power. Armor boosts 45%, damage reduction heightens 15%, attack boosts 15%.
Energy-saving: Ancient God’s Eye: Shooting, Crazy Gatling, Ancient God’s Summon: Battle Spider, Crystal Shield, Defense Aura, Steel Spur, Bomb Strike, Circular Bomb Barrel.
Qualification: Evolution, mutation, growth available.
Note: With an amalgamation of techniques from the ancient gods, undead and machinery, it bears terrific potential for growth.
As Li Yao inspected the skills and their descriptions, he was dumbfounded. It was truly terrifying, far exceeding his expectation of a meat shield.
“My lord, this is truly beyond heaven! If you find more ancient god materials in the future for its evolution, its powers would be simply boundless. It’s fitting for a queen’s inheritor. It’s no wonder she bestowed upon you the Touch of Darkness. Such a grand opportunity is not something a regular person could possess,” the master alchemist exclaimed with admiration.
Today’s successful experiment had them exuberant. It was their first time reforming a creature with the techniques of ancient gods and the undead.
“It’s all thanks to everyone’s assistance. No room for debate, please accept these vials of ancient god blood,” Li Yao promptly divided several vials of ancient god blood among them.
“My lord is being overly courteous,” the master alchemists accepted without reservation. They might never bump into such a great deal ever again.
Relieved to finally send them off, Li Yao began studying the skills of the Spider Tank…