The players were startled as a dense forest suddenly blocked their way. After a brief deliberation most players decided not to enter as the foliage might block their attacks and hinder their movements. They had to go around the forest, delaying them slightly.
Meanwhile the devil servant found himself surrounded by the forest. He let out a bellow and swung his arm, scattering black flames to burn down the trees. But this forest was not a natural forest. It was constantly drawing on mana to resist the flames. At least for now it wouldn't be consumed by the flames.
Phey used the cover of the trees to approach the enemy. Suddenly leaves scattered and a sound spread as if an arrow whistled through the air. But it was no arrow but instead Phey herself, who shot towards the Devil Servant's neck with her two daggers crossed before her chest. A flash of green light could be seen, and a deep wound appeared on the devil servant's neck.
"Ahh! Humans, elves, mortals! You think you can compete with the might of devils? Foolish! Foolish!"
The devil servant raged, its voice torturing everyone's eardrums. Its red eye focused a certain point among the trees.
Blood Axe was also using the trees as cover. He was standing on a thick branch, just about to launch another attack when he suddenly had a sensation of staring death in the eye. He didn't dare to hesitate at all. With a valiant push he shot straight into the air. Simultaneously a red beam of fast-paced flames, like a laser, erupted from the devil servant's eye creating a deep crater where the general had just left. Even the forest's ability to recover was useless.
As the two generals were entangled with the devil servant, the players reached the world boss and started their attacks. However, just as one would expect, every single attack only dealt a pitiful 1 point of damage. And yet the combined might of thousands of players still had some impact on the boss's HP.
"Bunch of ants!"
The devil servant wore a cruel grin. Compared to the two generals, the players were easy prey. Reygorv's huge fist fell from the sky like a meteor, delivering a fierce blow at the rows of tanks.
"Escape! Don't try to block! Run!"
Liam shouted a warning, and he was not the only one realizing the danger. The attack of a level 70 world boss was not something the current players could endure. However, not only was the devil servant's fist powerful, it was also swift. Many tanks couldn't even think things through before the punch reached them. They reacted entirely on instinct, raising their shields above their heads.
Boom!
[Stance -193]
[Stance -211]
[Stance -187]...
The tanks paid a terrible price only to barely cling to life. Without their mounts many would have lost all their stance at once. Those tanks who made the right decision and escaped in time lost around one hundred points of stance which was already quite terrifying.
But the efforts of the players weren't in vain. As the devil servant attacked them, the two generals saw their chance. They struck from two side, delivering additional injuries to the world boss.
With the players added into the mix, the boss was losing HP rapidly. He struck with his fists left and right, forcing the players to constantly escape. Those who were running low on stance didn't stick around stubbornly and instead retreated to the back to slowly recover. Meanwhile the two generals came in and out of the forest, striking fiercely.
"Roaaar!"
Reygorv grew increasingly enraged. He scattered flames and shot lasers from his eyes. Especially the latter attack quickly turned into a nightmare for the players. The attack was just too fast. The players only had a chance to escape if they reacted as soon as the devil servant turned his eye towards them. This led to some chaos among the players as they often tried to evade the world boss's gaze even if he didn't intend to launch an attack.
From time to time the devil servant also attempted to strike the two generals but they were indeed veteran warriors. They moved within the devil servant's blind spots, striking unexpectedly. Even the violent Blood Axe didn't insist on facing the monster head on.
"Die!"
Once again, the human general dashed out of the forest, which had shrunk by more than half. His body burned with a blood-red energy which swiftly converged upon his axe. He jumped, spinning in the air, delivering a terrifying slash towards the devil servant's leg. His aim was perfect. He struck at a previous wound. The axe halted for a moment but then a cracking sound could be heard and under a splash of blood the axe emerged from the other side of the leg, cleanly cutting of one of the devil servant's feet.
"AHHH!"
Pain and anger accompanied the roaring cry. Flames flashed on the world boss's leg and the wound stopped bleeding. But after this attack his HP had already fallen below half and he entered a weakened state.
"Now!"
"He's weakened! Give it your all!"
"Quick! Kill it!"
The players were instantly excited. They launched all their skills. Some didn't even save their ultimate skills. Now that the boss was weakened, they could finally deal some substantial damage.
And indeed. Suddenly the players dealt almost a hundred points of damage. This didn't sound like a lot, but it was a hundred-fold increase. And although some players had retreated and others were on tanking and healing duty, there were still at least two thousand players attacking at once with their strongest skills. The boss's HP plummeted. A look of weariness appeared on the devil servant face for the first time before it was replaced by a fierce expression.
"Mortal! Audacious! Bow before the might of a devil!"
Reygorv let out another shout as the flames covering his body suddenly began to boil. From one moment to the next they spread in all directions. The players were startled but as the flames touched their bodies, they didn't take any damage. Instead the flames surrounded the entire battlefield, separating it from the outside world.
"Yo, what's that? What is he doing?"
"Stay vigilant, guys!"
"No wait, I think I heard about something like this before. Is that a domain?"
While the players showed a mix between anxiousness and curiosity upon being caught in a domain, the two generals had ugly expressions. The power of the domain had instantly destroyed Phrey's forest, revealing their bodies. They were not without injuries, but their overall condition was far better than the devil servant's. However, the domain might change things…
"I never expected a devil servant would be able to construct a domain."
"He must have paid some price."
The two generals were quite solemn, feeling a huge pressure in their hearts. A devil's domain allowed them to temporarily turn the surroundings into their territory, shielding them from the suppressive power of the gods. It was unexpected that a mere devil servant could form a domain. But now that he did so, the power Reygorv could use would greatly increase.
While the players adjusted to the changes, they checked the boss's status and were shocked to realize that his level increased by eight. Even his HP increased again, stopping only after they reached 900.000.
Reygorv appearance also changed as he was engulfed in black flames, his figure growing even taller, resembling a flaming giant.
The devil servant let out a loud roar causing the entire world to vibrate. However, as the flames flickered it actually revealed something to the two generals.
"The domain is incomplete."
"Yes. It is far from stable."
"Haha, so what's there to fear? We can still fight this!"
The two generals nodded at each other and suddenly resumed their attacks. Their blades cut into the flames. Despite their decrease in damage they were fearless in battle.
At this moment the players also realised that the fight continued. They followed the example of the generals and fired their attacks. A bunch of '1' kept popping up around the devil. But the players were unfazed. Earlier, they could only deal a single point of damage and now they still dealt a single point of damage. There was no difference for them.
However, the attack pattern of Reygorv had changed. Flames erupted constantly throughout the domain, their sudden appearance making it difficult for the players to react. At the same time strange dark cores drifted through the domain. When the two generals spotted those their eyes lit up. They ordered the adventurers to destroy the cores as this would weaken the domain.
Of course, the players complied. Destroying the cores would do real damage to the boss. It was way more satisfying than seeing all their attacks only producing minimal results. Thus, the focus of the players changed. Cores were destroyed one by one, and the domain began to flicker unstably. Reygorv roared madly, attacking in all directions, intimidating his enemies. But even the devil servant couldn't hold on forever.