Chapter 70

Bolunia was originally a city in ruins, and due to the game's design, almost all the paths that couldn't be taken were blocked by collapsed buildings, leaving only one path to follow. The small monsters on the path were mostly the same three types that the first group had encountered, with no significant changes. Li Huailin's team fought smoothly, without any major incidents.

After clearing the small monsters for about ten minutes, the group arrived at a larger area, which was the central square of the original Bolunia city, now a complete ruin. In the middle of the square stood a tall lizardman, clearly a boss-level character, with no other small monsters around, just him.

His name was displayed in red as General Dekrik. However, when Li Huailin used his detection skill, he found it was all question marks, indicating that this was a boss above level 21. The boss wore a set of golden armor, slightly faded, that almost completely covered his body. He held a large red sword, which glowed faintly.

"This is the first boss, General Dekrik," Hongyue began. "I've only fought the normal version of this dungeon. I'll tell you about the skills he uses in the normal version, but remember, this is the abyssal version, so the skills might be different. Pay attention and be ready to adapt. Follow my commands."

"Okay," the group nodded.

"The boss in the normal version has a physical attack of around 200, and he can use a fire breath skill. The trigger time is uncertain, and each breath deals about 200 damage in an area. So, Huailin, you'll need to stand behind him to avoid being hit."

"Every so often, the boss will charge at a target, dealing about 300 damage. During the charge, the boss is immune to any taunt skills and can knock back anyone in his path, reducing their threat. However, he won't charge the main tank (MT). As long as the MT isn't knocked back, the boss will immediately target the MT with the highest threat. There shouldn't be any danger as long as I'm not knocked down. So, everyone, don't stand behind me, or the boss might charge you and mess up the threat."

"The boss's third skill is summoning fire pillars, which deal 200 damage per second. It's quite painful, so you need to run out immediately. But remember, don't run behind me during the charge."

"The normal version of the boss has these three skills. The fight can get chaotic, but it's not too difficult. We cleared it on our second try," Hongyue summarized.

"In short, avoid the fire pillars and don't stand behind me to avoid being charged," Li Huailin said.

"The two healers, don't stand together, or you might both get hit by the same fire pillar and can't heal. Stand apart so that if one gets hit, the other can still cast. If you get hit by a fire pillar, stop casting immediately and run out, or you'll die," Hongyue added.

"Got it," Hongyan Heishui and Hongfei Cuwu nodded.

"Huailin and Yanyu, control your damage. Our output should be enough, but don't overtake the tank (OT)," Hongyue said. "Alright, everyone understands. I'll start the fight and see if there are any changes."

"Let's go," Li Huailin said.

Hongyue nodded and charged at the boss.

"Where did you come from, you little brat? Where are my guards? Never mind, I'll deal with you myself!" General Dekrik shouted and charged at Hongyue, starting the boss fight.

Li Huailin and Hongchen Yanwu didn't rush to attack. The tank needed to build up threat first, or the fight would get chaotic. However, they were already in position and ready to attack at the right moment.

"The boss's physical attack has increased to 300, it's a bit tough," Hongyue said immediately.

"No problem, we can handle it," Hongyan Heishui, the main healer, replied. "As long as it doesn't crit."

Just then, Hongyue's health dropped by half, indicating a critical hit.

"Hey, what's with that?" Li Huailin said.

"If it crits, Cuwu, heal me. Otherwise, save your mana," Hongyue calmly instructed.

"Got it," Hongfei Cuwu replied.

After the critical hit, the boss immediately used his fire breath, spewing a large mouthful of fire at Hongyue's face.

"Damage is close to 300, both healers, full heal," Hongyue shouted. "Threat is about right, start attacking."

Li Huailin immediately moved in and struck the boss's back, dealing -431 damage. Even without using his Heroic Strike, the damage was low, indicating that the boss's physical defense was indeed high.

"Ice Arrow deals 270 damage, magic resistance is slightly higher than the small monsters," Hongchen Yanwu reported.

"Keep attacking like this. Now... wait, what's this?" Hongyue suddenly noticed a new debuff in his debuff bar.

"What's wrong?" Li Huailin, who noticed Hongyue's expression, asked.

"The boss has a new skill. My debuff bar shows a 10% increase in fire damage, which appeared after the fire breath. I suspect it stacks after each breath, and the fire damage will become significant," Hongyue answered loudly.

"How long does the debuff last?" Li Huailin asked.

"30 seconds," Hongyue replied.

"Switch tanks. I'll take over the threat, and we should switch every three stacks," Li Huailin suggested.

"Agreed. Healers, pay attention. When we switch, heal the tank facing the boss," Hongyue decided.

"Understood," the healers replied.

"You've angered me, Hongyan Heishui, I'll charge and kill you!" The boss suddenly used his second skill, Charge.

"Huh? Why me?" Hongyan Heishui, seeing the boss charge, instinctively tried to run.

"Don't move, or you'll hit others," Hongyue said.

With a "bang," Hongyan Heishui was knocked back several meters, taking 300 damage and 140 fall damage. However, after the charge, the boss immediately abandoned Hongyan Heishui and returned to Hongyue.

"Good, the threat is still the same as the normal version, just a bit farther. Heishui, run back and heal," Hongyue said.

"This annoying boss," Hongyan Heishui said, running and casting a healing spell on herself.

"Fire!" The boss suddenly roared, and a fire pillar appeared under Hongchen Yanwu's feet. Fortunately, Hongchen Yanwu had good awareness and immediately stopped casting Ice Arrow and ran to the side. However, the fire pillar's range started to expand, forcing Hongchen Yanwu to keep running to avoid the flames, unable to cast.

"The fire pillar's range has doubled," Hongyue shouted to Hongchen Yanwu. "Yanyu, how much damage does the fire pillar deal?"

"About 350 damage. Standing there for 3 seconds will kill you," Hongchen Yanwu replied.

"Everyone, avoid the fire pillars," Hongyue shouted, then looked at the boss's health bar. "84% health left. Healers, report your mana."

"70% left," Hongyan Heishui replied.

"92% left," Hongfei Cuwu replied.

"Healer mana is fine. Keep fighting like this. The debuff is the biggest concern. If the fire damage stacks, the healing required will increase, and the healers' mana will drain faster. We can't let it stack too much," Hongyue said, looking at his debuff bar.

"Three stacks, Huailin, pull the boss over," Hongyue said, looking at the debuff bar.

"Got it, no problem," Li Huailin nodded. "Boss, you bald-headed lizard, I'll stand here and let you hit me. I'm begging for blood, for abuse, for humiliation. Come at me if you dare."

The boss completely ignored Li Huailin and continued to attack Hongyue.

Hongyue: "..."

Hongchen Yanwu: "..."

Hongfei Cuwu: "..."

"Damn, he's ignoring me!" Li Huailin shouted.

"Why did you use verbal taunt? Use your skills, you idiot!" Hongyue couldn't help but shout.

"Huh?" Li Huailin realized. "Shit, I'm so used to using verbal taunts that I forgot they don't work on monsters..."

"Explain later, use your skills now!" Hongyue shouted.

"Got it," Li Huailin immediately used a taunt skill and a high-threat Heroic Strike, and the boss immediately turned to face him.