The King's Avatar

Chapter 8: Breaking the Net with Dead Fish

Just as Midnight Phantom suddenly leaped up, abandoning the continuous attacks on Yang Guan by Moon in Slumber, its claws scratched towards another team member, Yang Guan, who was also under assault.

"Ah, sorry!" Yang Guan, a new member, had no chance to dodge such a fast attack. He quickly apologized because Moon in Slumber had been teaching the three newbies all along, instilling the team discipline that the tank must be the one drawing aggro, not the DPS.

"Stop, don't attack." Moon in Slumber quickly stopped Yang Guan's attempt to counterattack. However, in the blink of an eye, Midnight Phantom scratched Yang Guan a few times and then pounced on another team member.

"Darn it, consecutive off-tanks! Are you kidding me?" Moon in Slumber roared in frustration. The targeted team member, a cloth-wearing mage, was in serious trouble due to the relentless attacks from the enraged Midnight Phantom. Ye Xiu reacted swiftly, immediately instructing Soft Mist to start healing him. However, some things couldn't be solved with just skill. A cloth-wearing mage resisting a hidden boss in a berserk state, even with healing, could only last a few seconds.

The answer soon came - seven seconds. Soft Mist's healing skills had a cooldown, and the Midnight Phantom's relentless scratching, clawing, and biting were seamlessly executed. Moon in Slumber rushed to rescue, but he couldn't regain aggro in time, and the mage player met his demise.

In Glory, when a player dies during a dungeon, they exit and cannot re-enter. In other words, a five-person team becomes a four-person team with the death of one member.

"Damn it, line up and off-tank! Are you trying to kill me?!" Moon in Slumber was in despair. After the mage's death, Midnight Phantom's aggro did not return to him but went directly to another target.

The third member was also a cloth-wearing mage. This time, Ye Xiu didn't ask Soft Mist to heal him. Instead, he redirected Soft Mist's healing to Yang Guan.

Healing a mage could only withstand the Midnight Phantom's attacks for seven seconds. However, within those seven seconds, Yang Guan was about to meet his demise. This was because the berserk Midnight Phantom not only increased its attack speed and damage but also induced a debuff: bleeding.

Unfortunately, Yang Guan was scratched by the Midnight Phantom, causing him to bleed profusely. Ye Xiu immediately noticed his decreasing health. While healing a mage for seven seconds was possible, Yang Guan wouldn't survive those seven seconds due to bleeding. Unless Moon in Slumber could regain aggro within that time.

Ye Xiu calculated a time frame in his mind - thirteen seconds, the time Yang Guan could be kept alive. Moon in Slumber needed to regain aggro during this period for there to be any chance of survival.

At the start, Moon in Slumber was sharp and fierce, but now his attacks seemed to falter. Swing after swing missed its target. Amid curses and complaints, Yang Guan finally fell.

The Midnight Phantom finally turned its attention to Moon in Slumber, and Soft Mist's aggro was now at the bottom of the list, thanks to Ye Xiu's precise control. Moon in Slumber shouted in a desperate attempt to rally Ye Xiu.

"Brother, hold on! Do you still have mana?" Moon in Slumber encouraged Ye Xiu while facing the imminent threat.

"You should be the one holding on." Ye Xiu uttered a sentence.

"Rest assured, with good coordination, we can take it down." Moon in Slumber cheered confidently, but Soft Mist still didn't apply healing at the critical moment.

"Can't heal, or I'll draw aggro," Moon in Slumber saw Ye Xiu's message.

"You..." Moon in Slumber turned around and saw Ye Xiu calmly standing under a tree outside the woods, looking at him coldly. Moon in Slumber suddenly realized something was wrong; this guy wasn't a rookie. Even though the time to draw aggro was far from approaching, how could he make such a judgment error?

"It won't draw aggro; quickly heal." Moon in Slumber had to shout. Still, there was no response.

The Midnight Phantom already scratched Moon in Slumber as soon as he turned back. Anxious, Moon in Slumber used a skill to block the attack, but he was too late. The cat's claw landed on his face.

"Heal, heal, heal!!!" Moon in Slumber yelled frantically.

No response. Soft Mist, who had been timely and precise in her actions, showed no intention of applying healing.

"What do you mean by 'heal'? I only see you bleeding." Soft Mist remarked.

"You..." Moon in Slumber was speechless.

"Unfortunately, if you can solo a hidden boss, you can set the loot distribution mode to leader allocation before starting. Even if team members are dissatisfied and leave the team, the hidden boss is still yours."

"However, it's a pity. Your skills aren't enough. You rely on your team members to kill the boss. So, you deliberately control aggro, let the Midnight Phantom off-tank to bite the others to death. Originally, your healing would bring aggro back during the continuous healing process, but you didn't expect Soft Mist to stop healing one of the mages. Starting from that moment, did this guy already see through your plan? You knew there was no way to save others, so you intentionally controlled aggro, letting your aggro order move up front. When the time comes, you won't receive healing, and you'll die under the Midnight Phantom's claws?"

"Brother..." Moon in Slumber realized that this guy, who had only spoken one sentence all along, had actually seen through his entire plan. Yes, Yang Guan and the others were deliberately controlled by him to let the Midnight Phantom off-tank and kill them. The original plan was that during the continuous healing of three people, aggro would be regained. However, he didn't expect that Ye Xiu would give up healing one of the mages. Could it be that from that moment on, this guy already saw through his plan? He knew there was no way to save others, so he intentionally controlled aggro, letting his aggro order move up front. When the time came, he wouldn't receive healing, letting himself die under the claws of the Midnight Phantom.

"Old pal, there's no need to be so ruthless!" Moon in Slumber tried to negotiate while realizing he had no chance. He had already secretly remembered Ye Xiu's name; he swore to make this guy pay.

"I want whatever I want, and I prefer to have it all!" Ye Xiu replied coldly.

"Well..." Moon in Slumber gritted his teeth. "If the materials don't all drop at once, you can choose first, and I'll give up. We can then roll for the remaining items, and you can take all the equipment." With no healing support, Moon in Slumber knew he couldn't last much longer, so he had to make concessions.

"That's very hard to believe."

"So, what do you want?" Moon in Slumber spoke faster than usual. His life had been reduced by more than half due to the Midnight Phantom's attacks. He couldn't handle the berserk boss, and negotiating with Ye Xiu made the situation even more precarious. He secretly noted Ye Xiu's name, swearing to get back at him.

"I want whatever I want, don't worry about it. Just die in peace!" Ye Xiu's words were cold.

"You... are you crazy? If I die, you won't survive either! By then, neither of us can get the items." Moon in Slumber's life was only one-fourth remaining.

"Brother, there's no need to insist on a fish die, net break situation!" One-fifth of his life left.

"Fool, are you?" One-seventh left.

"Ye Mo Xiao, do you want to ruin your reputation? Do you know how powerful our Tyranny Guild is?" One-ninth left.

"You're finished!" The last strand of life.

"You..." The Midnight Phantom's claw struck, and the world fell silent.

Ye Xiu had yet to make a move, but he hadn't exited combat. After Moon in Slumber fell, the Midnight Phantom immediately pounced towards him.

Ye Xiu smiled slightly, his left fingertip swiftly jumping over a few keys on the keyboard. His right hand slid the mouse, and at the moment when Thousand Machine Umbrella was swung by Ye Xiu's Lord Grim, the umbrella surface was unexpectedly opened. The umbrella bones turned over, and the umbrella surface was directly flipped up, with the umbrella tip gathering and closing. At this moment, the Thousand Machine Umbrella looked surprisingly like a spear.

The closed umbrella bones were precisely pierced into the Midnight Phantom's body.

Combat Mage Skill: Dragon's Tooth.