"Keep up!"
Shen Xingchen led the ranged players into the fray. Many of them clutched Zhaojian Talismans, locking onto the boss and igniting them. Instantly, over a hundred Zhaojian Talismans were burned. Shen Xingchen’s objective was clear: Lin Zhao’s Zhaojian Talismans came from Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua, both Twelfth Realm sword immortals. Even with their power significantly weakened in the players' hands, they were still the strikes of Twelfth Realm sword immortals. If the power was insufficient, they would compensate with sheer numbers, unleashing a barrage of attacks to heavily injure Lu Xiuyuan first. This would minimize subsequent losses.
As a result, skies filled with sword light danced, and the sound of dense impacts was incessant. More than a hundred sword lights descended together, striking the blood-red demonic aura surrounding Lu Xiuyuan. The aura shattered, sending splinters flying. Shen Xingchen was greatly disappointed. Over a hundred Zhaojian Talismans had failed to completely breach the demonic aura. They had only depleted a portion of Lu Xiuyuan’s spiritual energy, which was likely his mana.
"Binding Talismans!"
Shen Xingchen shouted, "Once he's bound, unleash full firepower!"
Immediately, players led by agility-focused classes like Mo Yin entered the battle. One to two players per second ignited Binding Talismans and tossed them towards Lu Xiuyuan. However, Lu Xiuyuan’s cultivation foundation could not be simply categorized as Eleventh Realm. After all, he was a peak Twelfth Realm great demon, with profound reserves. Even after his decline in realm, his strength was not comparable to ordinary Eleventh Realms.
"With just you lot of trash?"
Lu Xiuyuan laughed heartily. With a wave of his hand, two golden wings shot out, piercing through the bodies of several heavy-armored players with a "thwack." Even Luo Man was instantly reduced to critical health, staggering backward. The several heavy-armored players behind her were instantly annihilated. Facing the fierce spells of a Ghost-God level boss, compounded by the realm suppression, survival was difficult.
"Everyone, be careful!"
Lin Zhao descended from the sky once more. His flying sword, Mingyue, "swished" through Lu Xiuyuan's body from behind, enveloping him in a layer of frost. Lu Xiuyuan was helpless. Of everyone here, Lin Zhao was the one he most wanted to kill, yet Lin Zhao was as elusive as the wind, incredibly cunning, and simply didn't give him the chance.
As a result, Lin Zhao unleashed his full power, hovering in the air on his flying sword. He unleashed a Sword Breaking Strike from above. A circular sword intent expanded behind him, and countless flying swords shot out, "boom, boom, boom," striking Lu Xiuyuan's body and dealing continuous damage. Moreover, Lin Zhao possessed the highest realm among them. The fierce offensive of a Golden Core sword cultivator was something the Eleventh Realm could no longer completely ignore.
"Xiao Xue, crowd control!"
After unleashing a barrage of spells, Shen Xingchen retreated slightly, staff in hand, and said, "The melee group desperately needs support."
"Mm."
Mo Chenxue stepped within forty yards and, with a raise of her hand, cast a Shepherd God onto Lu Xiuyuan’s forehead. Lu Xiuyuan looked up at the human girl from afar and couldn't help but laugh, "A petty trick!"
However, the next moment, the Shepherd God's effect erupted, instantly dealing a critical spell hit to Lu Xiuyuan and causing him to enter a brief state of confusion. Lu Xiuyuan’s next spell was immediately aborted. Simultaneously, Mo Chenxue cast a Revitalizing Storm, healing the melee players who were surrounding and attacking Lu Xiuyuan.
"Flying sword attack, full firepower!"
Lin Zhao once again utilized his flying swords in the air. Hao Ran and Mingyue descended, "swish, swish," dealing fearsome damage. Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, Lu Han, Bu Su Liren, and others also unleashed their flying swords. In an instant, countless flying swords filled the air, launching a fierce assault. Within moments, Lu Xiuyuan's last layer of protective demonic aura dissipated.
"Now!"
Shen Xingchen shouted, "Throw out all Zhaojian Talismans, let's finish this in one go!"
Instantly, hundreds of Zhaojian Talismans were ignited. Even Lin Zhao, mid-air, continuously ignited two of Xiao Jiu'er's Zhaojian Talismans, bombarding Lu Xiuyuan in the center of the crowd. In an instant, countless sword lights ravaged, causing Lu Xiuyuan to howl in agony. It was hard to imagine that a former Twelfth Realm demon would end up in such a plight, being mobbed by a group of players to such a devastating degree.
...
"You scoundrels!"
Lu Xiuyuan roared, spreading his arms. Artifacts flew out from his sleeves, scattering wildly into the crowd. Chen Xue, Luo Man, and others repeatedly defended, but they still couldn't hold. In moments, the fifty members of the melee group were reduced to less than twenty. The number of Paladins lost was particularly high; the casualty rate was terrifying.
Lin Zhao, while controlling his sword, said grimly, "Sword masters and berserkers, move up to fill the gaps. Don't let Lu Xiuyuan kill our ranged damage dealers!"
"Mm!"
The players advanced, while Shen Xingchen continued to direct the ranged team for maximum output. There was no other way. Lu Xiuyuan's level and realm were too high, and the damage dealt by players was significantly reduced. Without so many Zhaojian Talismans, killing him might have been impossible. Even with Zhaojian Talismans dealing significant health damage, the losses sustained by the players remained considerable.
Lu Xiuyuan's gaze turned icy. With a spread of his palm, streaks of emerald green leaves flew from his sleeves, giving a sense of plucking flowers to attack. In moments, more than ten ranged players were killed. An Eleventh Realm great demon had too many methods of killing.
"Maintain control!"
Lin Zhao descended from the air, knocking Lu Xiuyuan away with a Dragon Ascension Strike, and said in a deep voice, "Binding Talismans to keep the groups in order, maintain one to two Binding Talismans per second! Melee, don't just tank the damage; use Speed Talismans to evade when necessary. Don't hoard your talismans. We've invested so much into this; if we can't kill Lu Xiuyuan, it'll be a huge loss!"
"Understood, boss!"
The group regrouped, and at this moment, no one dared to be careless.
"The resurrection point at the nearby graveyard isn't far."
Ding Chi frowned. "Those who died, hurry back and rejoin the ranks. The more people, the better."
Not far away, players kept returning from the woods.
...
Not long after, Lu Xiuyuan's long health bar only had 27% remaining. At this point, the great demon in a blue robe was covered in blood, with wounds everywhere. However, the vitality of an Eleventh Realm great demon was too strong; every half minute, a large portion of his health recovered, nearly making Lin Zhao, Shen Xingchen, and the others vomit blood. It was incredibly difficult.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared on the hillside. Their ID was blood-red; it was a Divine Archer from the Quan Yuan E Ren guild.
"Ah?!"
The Divine Archer was startled. He hadn't expected Lin Zhao and the others to be backdooring. If their ancestor, Lu Xiuyuan, were killed, his Quan Yuan E Ren lineage might be severed!
"Damn it!"
The Divine Archer's face turned pale with shock. He hurriedly spoke in the guild channel, "Boss, boss, this is bad. The Feiyue Knights are backdooring. Bai Yi, Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue are all here. They're killing your master, Lu Xiuyuan. Lu Xiuyuan now has less than 30% health left, and he looks pathetic..."
"What?!"
Ding Chunqiu, who was engaged in a standoff with a group of players from the Xinghe Guild at Jiuzhangyuan, was furious. He spent 5,000 general currency on a server-wide announcement to curse them.
"Ding!"
System Announcement (Player Ding Chunqiu's shouting): Bai Yi, aren't you afraid of having no sons when you grow old? You assassinate my master while I'm away from the sect. Have you no shame? What kind of 'Lord of Xueyu Tianchi' are you? You're simply a treacherous and cunning scoundrel! If you have the guts, wait until I return!
He was agitated.
Ding Chunqiu's shout directly informed all players in the country about what was happening. At that moment, from the east side of Jiuzhangyuan, the laughter of Canglong Guild's leader, Yi Shi Cang Liang, could be heard: "Hahahaha, I was wondering why Alliance Leader Bai Yi suddenly went quiet. So he was backdooring! Hahahahaha, good job, good job! They should kill Lu Xiuyuan and leave these Quan Yuan E Ren dogs homeless!"
"Hahahaha~~~"
Wu Wang Alliance's leader, Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng, also laughed heartily. "Although the elites of the Feiyue Knights are strong, killing an Eleventh Realm might still be difficult. No matter, brothers, scatter and search Jiuzhangyuan. Find the Quan Yuan E Ren members and don't let a single one return to their sect. Since Bai Yi dared to lead the Feiyue Knights to backdoor, we must lend some support!"
On the hillside, Su Xinghe, holding a blood-stained long sword, looked down at Ding Chunqiu and the others below. He couldn't help but chuckle, "Want to return to your sect? Not happening. It's hard to even die. Since Lin Zhao is going to kill Lu Xiuyuan, you won't be able to help at all! Brothers, switch to AoE attack mode. Don't kill them, but don't let them return to the city. Keep them here until the Feiyue Knights finish off Lu Xiuyuan!"
At this moment, numerous guilds in the country were united as never before!
...
Wuzhui Mountain.
The Zhaojian Talismans in Lin Zhao's inventory were completely depleted. In exchange, Lu Xiuyuan now had a 6% health bar remaining. The rest would be killed by the Feiyue Knights players themselves. This time, it was purely player attacks. Although Zhaojian Talismans assisted in the assault, as long as no NPCs were involved, the chance of receiving the first kill reward was quite high.
He frowned, pointing his sword in the air. Two flying swords shuttled back and forth, attacking the target from a distance. An Eighth Realm Golden Core was truly powerful. The attack range of flying swords increased with realm. Lin Zhao could even control his flying swords to attack Lu Xiuyuan from a hundred meters away, dealing completely damage-free attacks, unless Lu Xiuyuan could intercept the flying swords, which was impossible. Under the relentless assault of hundreds of elites led by Chen Xue and Shen Xingchen on the ground, Lu Xiuyuan simply couldn't spare the attention to deal with him.
Moreover, this was a player's boss-clearing operation. Therefore, under the restriction of "heaven and earth rules," Lu Xiuyuan could not escape by riding the wind. This was also a game rule, otherwise, the players' morale would surely collapse.
On the ground, Feiyue Knights players were constantly falling, and many had fallen twice already. However, as long as Lu Xiuyuan could be slain, it was all worth it.
Time ticked by. When Lu Xiuyuan's health dropped to 1%, there were still over 200 Feiyue Knights elites on the mountaintop. Everything was secure, waiting for the sound of the first kill reward bell.
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and looked to the south.
His Zhaojian Talismans were used up. Perhaps it was time to find an excuse to visit Fus Changcheng, have a drink with Miss Lin, and have her nurture some more Zhaojian Talismans for him. Life without Zhaojian Talismans was simply unbearable!
Eighth chapter completed. Brothers, recommend tickets!