Chapter 53: Clearing the Dungeon

Two minutes later, Hansk’s health dropped to 80%.

"For the glory of the Fars Empire!" A silvery-white radiance flashed across Hansk’s dagger.

Lu Yang shouted, "Everyone retreat! Black Armor, block with your shield."

Xiao Liang immediately activated Shield Wall, reducing incoming damage by 40%. Xia Yuwei, Zhang Zibo, and the others quickly retreated beyond ten yards.

"Reverse Blade!" Hansk reversed his grip on his dagger and unleashed a cross-shaped white beam of light around him.

Xia Yuwei and the others followed Lu Yang’s command and retreated in advance, avoiding Hansk’s attack. Only Xiao Liang was hit.

"374"

Xiao Liang’s health was already below 400 points before the strike, and taking another attack instantly emptied his health bar. He hurriedly shouted, "Healers, heal me quickly!"

"57"
"49"
"49"
"49"
"49"

A succession of five heals finally pulled Xiao Liang’s health pool back up from the brink.

"Phew, that was way too close." Xia Yuwei and the others broke out in a cold sweat.

"He could deal that much damage even through a Shield Wall? Doesn't that mean his actual output is over 600?" Strong Wine Breeze said.

"Xiao Liang can only use Shield Wall once every two minutes. Won't he fail to survive the next time?" Zhang Zibo asked.

Xia Yuwei looked at Lu Yang and asked, "What should we do? How do we fight from here on?"

Lu Yang said, "Everyone output at full strength. In the next phase, my damage will cause Hansk to transfer his aggro. Everyone must follow my commands."

"You're going to tank?" Strong Wine Breeze asked.

Lu Yang replied, "Black Armor can't survive the next output. I'm the only one here who can dodge the boss's skills."

"You can even dodge Reverse Blade?" Strong Wine Breeze asked in astonishment.

The casting speed of Reverse Blade was even faster than Fireball, and it was a melee skill as well, leaving almost no room for evasion.

"Boss, it doesn't matter if I die. You don't have to tank for me," Xiao Liang said.

Xia Yuwei said, "Lu Yang, if someone has to die, let Zhang Zibo do it. This is what we should do."

Zhang Zibo also chimed in, "Yeah, expert. Let me do it next time."

Lu Yang smiled and said, "Why does it sound like someone *has* to die to clear this? Just listen to my commands and don't panic. It's just dodging a skill—it's completely effortless to me."

It was nothing more than using Blink to dodge Reverse Blade, the exact same principle as Lu Yang using Blink at the extreme limit range to dodge a warrior's Charge. As long as Blink was used at the exact microsecond the opponent released the skill, Reverse Blade could be evaded perfectly.

Blue Feather and the others did not understand where Lu Yang's confidence came from. They all wanted to continue persuading him but did not know how to broach the subject.

Soon, the boss's health pool was about to drop to 60%.

"Melee, back away. Black Armor, don't use Taunt; I'm about to pull aggro," Lu Yang shouted.

Xia Yuwei, Zhang Zibo, and the others immediately ran off to the sides. Lu Yang ran to the corner of the cabin next to Xiao Liang and consecutively cast three Fireballs directly at the boss's head.

"490" (Critical Strike)
"490" (Critical Strike)
"490" (Critical Strike)

Lu Yang’s aggro was already extremely high, and three consecutive critical strikes instantly transferred Hansk’s aggro onto him.

"For the glory of the Fars Empire!" Hansk’s health pool happened to drop below 60%. A burst of white light flashed across the dagger in his hand, and Hansk charged straight toward Lu Yang.

The horizontal space of the cabin was very narrow. Hansk reached Lu Yang in two steps, leaped high into the air, and a white cross-shaped light emerged from his hand.

"Reverse Blade!"

Lu Yang kept his eyes fixed intently on Hansk’s dagger, waiting for the exact microsecond the weapon was about to pierce him.

"Blink!"

A flash of white light illuminated the area.

Lu Yang appeared right beside Xiao Liang, while Hansk’s Reverse Blade struck empty air.

"Miss!"

"Brilliant!" Blue Feather, Xia Yuwei, and the others had been extremely nervous, terrified that Lu Yang would be killed. But seeing him dodge the boss's skill using that kind of magic, everyone couldn't help crying out in astonishment.

"You can even pull off a move like that?!" Strong Wine Breeze felt a sense of utter disbelief. He realized that fighting this boss alongside Lu Yang had completely upended his understanding of the game.

Xia Yuwei and the others also stared with wide, shocked eyes. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that Lu Yang could evade the boss's skill in such a manner.

"So games can actually be played like this," Zhang Zibo muttered.

"Black Armor, Taunt and take the boss. Everyone back to your original positions; stop standing there like fools," Lu Yang shouted.

Although Xiao Liang had previously witnessed Lu Yang single-handedly take down five of Black Blood’s subordinates, seeing him once again use Blink to evade a boss's skill left him completely dumbfounded.

Hearing Lu Yang’s voice snapped him back to reality. He hurriedly used his Taunt skill on the boss running toward Lu Yang, dragging Hansk back to the corner.

Xia Yuwei and the others also snapped out of their daze and resumed their attacks on the boss.

"Expert, you're too amazing!"
"How on earth did you pull that off?"
"Can you teach us? Please give us some pointers!"

Taking advantage of a gap in their output, Half-Life Morning Light and the other three mages couldn't help asking. This technique was far too important for them.

Strong Wine Breeze, Zhang Zibo, and the rest also looked at Lu Yang, eager to know how he managed it.

Lu Yang said, "There's really no deep technical content to it; it's purely about fast reaction speed. If you want to learn it, practice improving your reaction times more often."

In his past life, when players engaged in PvP, mages using Blink to evade skills had become commonplace. However, although Lu Yang made it sound effortless, mastering this skill was utterly impossible without several months of bitter, rigorous training.

This wasn't something a rogue could accomplish simply by stacking agility; it truly relied on the player's own reaction speed.

The moment you saw the enemy's skill closing in—within a fraction of a second—you had to execute Blink.

A little too slow, and you'd drop dead on the spot; a little too fast, and the boss would cancel their casting animation and launch the skill at you all over again.

Half-Life Morning Light and the others couldn't help swallowing hard as they said, "Expert, we didn't really understand."

Just then, the boss's health dropped to 40%.

Lu Yang said, "You have two more chances. Watch closely, and I'll demonstrate it for you again."

Another three Fireballs struck the boss's head, scoring critical hits and seizing Hansk's aggro once more.

"Reverse Blade!"

Lu Yang stood right where he was, waiting for the exact instant Hansk closed in and thrust his dagger directly toward his chest.

"Blink!"

Lu Yang once again teleported to the side, evading the boss's skill. Xiao Liang swiftly followed up with Taunt, pulling Hansk back into the corner.

"Did you understand it this time?" Lu Yang asked.

The four members of Half-Life Morning Light looked at each other and shook their heads in unison. They still couldn't figure out the exact timing of Lu Yang's Blink.

When the boss's health was reduced to 20%, Lu Yang demonstrated it a third time. Regrettably, no one was able to comprehend it.

There was simply no helping it; learning this skill relied entirely on personal enlightenment, as the timing for Blink varied infinitely depending on the enemy's attack.

Soon, Hansk’s health dropped below 10%.

Lu Yang said, "Everyone step up your output! The gear is right in front of us."

Xia Yuwei, Zhang Zibo, and the others were instantly galvanized by Lu Yang's words. Everyone unleashed their maximum output against the boss. Hansk was the final boss of the Death Cave, and the equipment he dropped was guaranteed to be Silver-grade.

"Shadow Strike!"
"Arcane Arrow!"
"Shadow Bolt!"
"Fireball!"
"Heroic Strike!"
……

All kinds of skills rained down upon Hansk, and his health bar bottomed out.

"Could it be... that the Fars Empire truly has no future left?" Hansk clutched his chest and collapsed heavily to the ground.

World Channel: Players Lu Yang, Xia Yuwei, Strong Wine Breeze, and other party members have successfully cleared the Epic-difficulty Death Cave dungeon! Honor +100.

"We did it!"
"We actually cleared an Epic-difficulty dungeon!"

Everyone looked at Lu Yang with intense excitement. Clearing an Epic dungeon felt nothing short of an unimaginable miracle to them.

Looking at the system announcement broadcasted across the World Channel, they felt a sense of unreality, as if none of this was their doing.

Xia Yuwei looked at Lu Yang, a wave of deep admiration welling up in her heart. Along this entire journey, Lu Yang had single-handedly carried the team through the dungeon purely through his own individual capability.

The explosive output on the first boss.
The god-tier evasion on the second boss.
The Blink-dodge against the third boss's fatal blow.

Xia Yuwei couldn't help walking up to Lu Yang, saying respectfully, "Thank you. Without you, we could never have cleared this dungeon. We owe you yet another huge favor."

Lu Yang looked at Xia Yuwei. The haughty expression on her face was now entirely gone.

Blue Feather also approached Lu Yang and said happily, "Expert, thank you so much this time."

Lu Yang smiled at the two of them. Bringing Xia Yuwei and her group along for this dungeon run had been completely accidental. Originally, he had planned to ask Tu Mu and his elite group to help out. Lu Yang didn't care about the dungeon itself; what he cared about was the hidden boss.

"Don't be so polite with me. I'll need your help with a favor in a moment anyway. Everyone follow me to loot the boss and see what gear dropped," Lu Yang said.

"Quick, let's see if it's rogue gear. It would be amazing if it's for rogues."
"No way, it's definitely warrior gear. Hansk's damage was way too high."

Hearing that the loot was about to be revealed, everyone crowded around. Xia Yuwei originally wanted to ask what favor Lu Yang needed, but seeing the current situation, she held her tongue.