Chapter 197: The Radiant Dragon Falls!
"Go find Guo Li Cheng!"
Facing a move that could completely derail the entire Crusade, the Executive Officer once again issued an "unreasonable" command.
The team members had extreme trust in the Executive Officer, to the point of dependence. The moment they heard the command, they acted immediately, responding at maximum speed, as if by instinct.
But as they lunged towards Guo Li Cheng's location, they couldn't help but question it in their minds.
This definitely won't work, right?
We'll die halfway!
And it will be from bone spurs the thickness of a wrist catching us from behind, exploding us on the spot!
Hiss! If that happened, it would be fine to die instantly, but the fear of not dying instantly just made one's nether regions ache with phantom pain.
Even if the character limited maximum pain, there would still be basic foreign object sensations and slight stinging! This was the deadly part; except for certain non-mainstream sexual orientations and various XP enthusiasts, most players absolutely did not want to experience it!
However, when they finally reached the base of the dome wall and rendezvoused with Guo Li Cheng's players, nothing happened behind them.
What's going on?
Is the BOSS stuck?
"Get in quickly!"
Black Smoke pulled over Cao Yuan and Guo Li Cheng, who were somewhat stunned and still wanted to look back.
Crack!
An instant later, the thousands of sonic booms from the bone spurs bursting forth combined, and the resulting sound wave made the entire massive dome tremble.
The deadly 【Rain of Pear Blossoms】 then poured down.
However, after the killing move, everyone was surprised to find that on the team panel, not a single member's icon had gone dark.
No one died?
How could this be!
No matter what magic the Executive Officer had cast or what cheat he had used, since there were no casualties, they had to continue fighting!
"Brothers, keep going!"
Cao Yuan regrouped and led the charge towards the BOSS.
"Oh my god! Incredible!"
The live commentators outside the arena exclaimed in unison at this moment, because they clearly saw what had just happened.
'Sorry everyone! My attention was drawn to the battle just now, so I didn't pay attention to the Engineer team's perspective. As a result, they—somehow built a fort!?'
On the east, west, south, and north sides of the arena, the Engineer team, with their backs against the concrete walls, used their shields as prefabrication panels to quickly assemble four makeshift Porcelain Gold Forts!
These shields were designed with quick-install buckles from the beginning, allowing them to interlock. After extensive practice in the camp, the Engineers could complete the entire construction process in less than 15 seconds.
This was the "civil engineering work" Lu Yuan mentioned earlier!
Now, each makeshift fort had at least 5 bone spurs embedded in it, most of them partially penetrating and stuck in the armor, with not a single one completely piercing through.
"They actually used building construction to resist damage—that's too cunning!"
"Who would have thought that the building system in this game could be played this way in a dungeon!"
"This reminds me of Zelda, Fortnite, and the operations in many RTS games where you block units with buildings. Ah~ my childhood, it's all coming back!"
From above, Lu Yuan smiled slightly.
I'm so strong!
Although he had to maintain his cool persona on the surface, he could still feel a sense of pride deep down.
In fact, the streamers outside only got half of it right.
After discarding the melted parts of the Engineers' shields, the remaining thickness was only barely enough to withstand one Dragon Breath, let alone the armor-piercing electromagnetic bone spurs.
Otherwise, if everyone just carried a shield into the arena and blasted the BOSS, there would be no need to divide into six teams and arrange complex tactics.
The reason Lu Yuan dared to let the makeshift forts withstand the 【Rain of Pear Blossoms】 was actually because he detected the BOSS's "overheating."
Previously, the drones and Engineer team entered from multiple directions, forcing it to continuously spray two full-coverage plasma Dragon Breaths, which inevitably caused its body temperature to rise rapidly.
Subsequently, it was blasted in the face with a large amount of plasma energy bombs in a short period, further increasing its body temperature.
Of course, as the top predator of Emerald Star, the Radiant Dragon, like other species, certainly knew how to use the Entropy Zero Element to reduce the accumulated heat in its body.
But when Lu Yuan saw that the red-hot armor plates on the Radiant Dragon's body did not recover quickly, he was already able to confirm that the "heat management" within this giant beast was out of control.
High-temperature environments not only affect the quality of electricity storage but also cause the biological superconducting tissues used to create strong electric fields to gradually fail.
The latter was particularly "fatal."
To put it simply, high temperatures caused the electromagnetic bone spurs to require more time to charge, and their power was also greatly reduced.
This not only gave players ample time to hide inside the makeshift forts but also prevented the cover from being pierced by the bone spurs!
"Team Four, enter!"
Lu Yuan shouted.
Dan Ta led the sniper team with the best marksmanship, entering through the passageway second only in height to Lu Yuan's. They held the latest model of laser rifles, aiming at the Radiant Dragon's elytra.
"Concentrate fire on the left elytra! Try to cut it off at the base! This will disable the BOSS's flight ability faster!"
"Understood!"
Those on the ground weren't idle either. Ma Lou led Team Five, emerging from the underground tunnel that Lu Yuan himself had personally cleared earlier!
They were in groups of 10, carrying a large number of blue laser cannon components, and quickly rushed into the makeshift forts temporarily built by the Engineers to construct heavy firepoints on site!
The Radiant Dragon's resistance to strikes was very strong, but that was only relative to single-person weapons. Blue laser cannons were gunboat-level firepower!
Teams Two and Three continued to provide suppressive fire, and even the Engineer team quickly ran back to the tunnel, took out the rocket launchers stored there earlier, and unleashed a barrage of explosions.
At this point, the Radiant Dragon finally felt the threat of death.
It had already lost over a third of its elytra and was now struggling to maintain flight, spiraling erratically beneath the confined dome, its spine constantly hitting the concrete walls, frantically biting and clawing at the surrounding enemies.
Due to the high concentration of personnel, the player side began to suffer rapid casualties.
"It's 【Dragon Dance】! Team Six, go!"
"Alright!"
Ye Xing leaped forward, leading his subordinates into the battle.
Cang Yuan's last chess piece was finally placed on the board.
All members of Team Six carried four times the nuclear batteries and dual-wielded long-range weapons! This wild equipment setup was for nothing else but to maximize burst damage, emphasizing sheer firepower!
They flew in a dense formation, approaching from the Radiant Dragon's blind spot at the rear, cutting into its flight path, and unleashing the most ferocious wave of firepower since the start of the battle.
Accompanied by a deafening roar, the Radiant Dragon crashed to the ground.
Its elytra were severely damaged, and it could no longer fly. Its body was covered in wounds and blood, but it still did not give up fighting, even fighting with renewed vigor, its sharp claws gripping the ground tightly, assuming the standard 【Mouth Cannon】 charging posture.
And this also made the Radiant Dragon a completely stationary target.
"Fall for me! This game is so agonizing without a health bar—"
"Why isn't it running? This doesn't look like its nest, and there are no young ones around. Why is it so stubbornly fighting to the death?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know! Keep firing!"
Bang!
Although weakened by high body temperature, the Radiant Dragon still completely collapsed a makeshift fort with its mouth cannon.
Immediately after, the second and third forts. It released 【Gravity Trap】, temporarily controlling the closest group of players, then turned its aim to the last heavy firepoint on the field.
"Hold the line! No one is allowed to run!"
In the fourth fort, Jubian maintained his ability to make calm judgments.
"As long as we hold out, we can buy a window of time for others to output firepower!"
Boom!
No sooner had he spoken than the last fort was reduced to ashes.
In front of Lu Yuan, the team members' avatars went dark one after another, the rate of attrition was heart-stopping.
By the end of this battle, there was no more strategy, no more counter-moves, no more intricate scheming.
Only the most primal, bloody combat remained. Players who ran out of ammunition pulled out plasma daggers and charged at the BOSS, then were sent flying by a claw. The next second, that claw was severed at the tendon by a long, slender figure sweeping through the air with a greatsword. Let's end this—
From above, Lu Yuan's gaze was cold. He seized the opportunity and raised his old friend, the plasma crossbow.
This crossbow had been upgraded and modified by its inventor, Nan Guo de Xue. Its volume and weight were doubled, an electromagnetic acceleration device was added, and the special crossbow bolts weighed a staggering 7 kilograms each, practically short javelins, utterly brutal.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled the trigger.
The heavy crossbow bolt shot from 300 meters high, passed between the Radiant Dragon's two elytra, then, at an extremely tricky and precise angle, plunged into the gap between the armor plates of its knee and thigh, severing a large number of tendons.
Immediately after, the metal hydrogen battery exploded deep within the flesh.
Boom!
The Radiant Dragon's front and rear limbs on the same side of its body were severely wounded. Its only remaining foreleg was also injured, making it difficult to support its weight of over 3000 tons alone, causing it to fall to its knees.
"Let's decide this!"
Seeing this, Guo Li Cheng suddenly leaped high, activating rocket boosters in mid-air, and slammed into the Radiant Dragon's head with immense force, her figure instantly disappearing into the rising dark dust.
"Cease fire!"
Cao Yuan shouted urgently.
"Guo Li Cheng! Have you lost your mind? Get away from the BOSS quickly! Otherwise, we'll hit you by mistake!"
Guo Li Cheng's avatar was lit up, and her heart rate in the vital signs display even rose to 220, but she remained unresponsive.
The Radiant Dragon also made no further threatening moves. The magnificent light previously emitted by its elytra had vanished before anyone even had time to notice.
"—Guo Li Cheng, can you hear me?"
Cao Yuan subconsciously lowered his rifle.
As a professional warrior, he was the first to notice the sudden change in the battlefield atmosphere.
It suddenly became very quiet around them. Lu Yuan said nothing, activated his flight pack, and leaped down from above. As his feet touched the ground, the dust also happened to disperse.
He saw Guo Li Cheng kneeling on one knee, her helmet somehow knocked off, and her greatsword broken, its blade deeply embedded in the Radiant Dragon's eye socket, the hilt nowhere to be seen.
She gently placed one hand on the motionless giant dragon's head, her eyes half-closed, muttering to herself, seemingly praising the opponent's strength and bravery.
"How's the situation?"
Lu Yuan walked over.
Guo Li Cheng turned her head.
"Boss, it seems—it's dead!"
Everyone was silent for a full ten seconds.
Then, cheers echoed through the sky.
【Rare Achievement Unlocked: Primal Hunter; Defeat a combat unit from humanity's golden age without using any vehicles. Earn 20 exchange points.】
【Archaeological site fully excavated. Please confirm event results as soon as possible.】