Chapter Ninety-One: The King of Eight-Headed Serpents (Even Later)

A few seconds after the tremors began, the ground beneath everyone’s feet suddenly exploded open. The event was so abrupt that all they had time to do was cry out in alarm before, in a flash, three dark shadows shot out from the fractured earth like lightning. It happened so fast—these three massive shadows lunged at them in an instant.

The attack was utterly unforeseen. In a heartbeat, the first of them bit through Ten Thousand Volts, cutting him cleanly in two, his agonized scream cut short. Next came a sickening crunch as another monstrous shadow bit off more than half of the scorpion summoned beast belonging to Purple Moon. The third to be attacked was Purple Moon herself; the creature went straight for her head. In this desperate moment before death, she activated her beastmaster’s Guardian skill, instantly swapping places with her giant eagle in midair. The monstrous shadow then bit into the giant eagle’s left shoulder and half its chest and abdomen, tearing away half the great bird’s body with a gruesome snap. The horrifying pain and the bird’s dying wails filled the air as the remains crashed to the ground, barely clinging to life.

Purple Moon herself escaped with only minor injuries. The others were still reeling, unable to comprehend what had erupted from beneath their feet.

It was the Eight-Headed Serpent King—a level 50 boss. According to legend, it boasted eight heads and a colossal body; seven of the heads were decoys, with only one being the true head. Born in ages long past, it once terrorized the world, laying waste to buildings and threatening all life, until a powerful Sealmaster finally confined it, restoring peace. Now freed once more, its strength was diminished, yet none could afford to take it lightly.

“That’s the final boss! If we kill it, victory is ours!” I shouted.

The Serpent King roared. The central black snake head spewed forth a torrent of searing flames, immolating players and monsters alike, reducing them to charred husks. Then, it surged toward Dragon City at terrifying speed, leaving devastation in its wake.

The monster advanced relentlessly toward the eastern gate, its massive form disregarding the players as though they were nothing. All eight heads struck in turn, swiftly battering down a section of the city wall. Many players tumbled into the horde of monsters and were trampled to death. Enemies poured through the breach like a tidal wave.

If the monsters broke into the city and destroyed the Town Hall, the defense would fail—everyone would perish. But human ingenuity is boundless. The players of Dragon City formed countless squads, using the city’s buildings for cover, transforming the streets into a guerrilla battlefield.

The Serpent King itself entered the city, and the defenders began their counterattack. Mages hurled their spells at the boss, but the damage numbers were pitiful—mere dozens, sometimes only single digits. Countless warriors unleashed waves of sword energy, but each strike barely registered. In retaliation, the boss’s eight heads unleashed a barrage of breath attacks. The players could not withstand even half a minute under such devastation before falling.

In the face of the boss, death was instantaneous. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of monsters surged into the ranks of players, flashes of white light signaling their demise as the number of defenders sharply declined. Some were killed by the boss’s skills before they even realized what was happening. The situation was dire.

Soon, everyone fell back to the inner city. Players from the other gates converged, focusing now on protecting the Town Hall above all else. They hastily organized, knights and swordsmen forming a living wall at the front, using their own bodies to halt the boss’s advance. But the boss was too powerful, its hide too thick; ordinary attacks barely scratched it, inflicting less than a hundred damage each time. The monsters also launched a frenzied assault, but the players fought desperately. Still, white flashes—deaths—continued unabated, as the monsters, led by their king, pressed forward rapidly.

“Is everyone alright?” I asked, climbing out of a heap of monster corpses.

“We’re fine. Where are the others?” Phantom Moon replied, standing up as well.

Purple Moon returned, having retrieved her dying giant eagle. Wind Dancer and Heart Moon had also survived, as had the arcane mage. Aside from Ten Thousand Volts, everyone was alive. Together, we looked toward Dragon City, where the Eight-Headed Serpent King was still rampaging unchecked.

“We have to act, or Dragon City will fall,” Wind Dancer urged. We all nodded and dashed toward the city.

“Master, summon me!” Suddenly, Amaterasu’s voice sounded in my mind. I realized she had awakened from her slumber and immediately summoned her. No one paid her much attention at first; they simply assumed she was another player who’d joined mid-battle.

Inside Dragon City, chaos reigned. The ground was strewn with the corpses of monsters and players alike. We hurried to the Town Hall, where few defenders remained, but at least my own team was intact.

“Only one boss left,” said Beacon Flame. “If we work together, we can take it down!”

But only seven from Beacon’s group remained, four from Snow Night’s, and fourteen from Flame Sovereign. Besides them, Silver Moon, Lone Sword and his top-tier cleric, Little Chick, and the last survivor of Sky Battle—Sky Tyrant—were present. Some twenty-odd independent players whose names I couldn’t recall were left. All the rest had fallen gloriously.

“We can’t face this boss head-on! Scatter!” Flame Sovereign’s Heavenly Soldier shouted, activating his Knight’s Suppression skill, stunning the boss for three seconds. Everyone charged, unleashing their skills, and damage numbers exploded across the boss’s body.

“Out of the way!” Little Chick yelled, transforming into a green giant. One of the boss’s heads slammed into him and instantly sprouted tender green shoots and secreted green sap. Vines erupted from between the scales, quickly enveloping the entire head in a tangle of greenery—a terrifying sight.

“Haha! Watch me devour you!” Little Chick laughed jubilantly, but his laughter froze as purple smoke began to rise from the captured snake head.

“Let go!” I shouted, but it was too late. In the next instant, Little Chick’s entire body turned purple and dissolved into a puddle, logging out of the game. At the same moment, the boss’s other head bit off the one ensnared in vines, and then, unfazed, continued its assault.

As Little Chick escaped, Beacon Flame and Beacon Fortress both leaped at the boss, each landing a blow—damage numbers of -1200 and -1270 flashed up. The boss roared in fury, lashing out with its tail.

With a sickening crack, Beacon Fortress and Beacon Flame were struck almost simultaneously, utterly pulverized and reduced to a bloody paste.

Another head lunged for Lone Sword, but he deftly leaped away, his Thunderfire Sword erupting in fire and lightning before he brought it down, severing the head. On the other side, a head crushed Sky Tyrant, but was then chopped off by Flame Sovereign’s Heavenly Soldier.

Nearby mages and archers kept up their attacks. Their numbers weren’t high, not enough to draw the boss’s attention, but over time, their damage added up.

Silver Moon unleashed a Meteor Arrowstorm, then pummeled a snake head with a flurry of martial arts strikes, taking off more than two thousand health. She retreated, loosing four blue-flamed arrows that pierced the head, dealing nearly three thousand more. With a final, rapid shot, she exploded the snake head.

Meteor Fire Rain, Flame Vortex, and Exploding Fireball spells burst from Long Xin’s hands, tearing through the boss’s health. The boss turned to charge her, only to be continually thwarted by Little Xi’s traps and bombs.

In short order, half the boss’s heads were severed. But then, its tail swept through the crowd, sending everyone flying and transforming many into flashes of white light—their numbers fell sharply. At that moment, the central black snake head let out a chilling laugh, and the severed heads regenerated before our eyes.

The situation had become truly grim.