With someone wanting to challenge the Wither, Fu Zhu certainly wasn't going to stop them. After all, with him watching from the side, he could handle anything that might happen.
Besides, Silver Wolf and the others were now considered players. The real danger for them wasn't death, but the process of suffering from the Wither effect.
Fu Zhu immediately stepped aside to make room, then looked at the four of them. "Alright, are all of you going to give it a try?"
Herta and Ruan Mei hesitated for a moment before shaking their heads in unison.
This surprised Silver Wolf, who glanced at Herta. "Herta, you're not going to try?"
She knew that whenever something new appeared, Herta was usually the first to charge in. Why was she backing down now that they were facing the Wither?
Especially after Fu Zhu's condescending words just now!
Silver Wolf herself couldn't stand it. According to Herta's personality, she should have found it even more unbearable to be looked down upon by Fu Zhu.
Seeing Silver Wolf's questioning gaze, Herta huffed and shot her a look. "Little shorty, don't tell me you think I'm scared, do you? Pity, but I'm not backing down because I'm afraid of the Wither. I just don't want my smooth skin to turn into dead wood again."
She was very curious about the Wither and wanted to prove that she could defeat it right in front of Fu Zhu.
But having personally experienced the Wither effect before, she had no desire to turn into an old hag in front of him.
Ruan Mei also disliked the effect on her skin, but that wasn't the main reason she declined the challenge.
"My curiosity lies with the Wither itself. Proving myself is not important to me. Since someone else is challenging it, I am content to be a spectator."
Fu Zhu nodded, acknowledging Ruan Mei and Herta's reasoning, before turning his gaze to the only person present who hadn't stated their intention: Screwllum.
The others also turned their eyes towards him. Screwllum placed a finger on his chin in thought, then took a step forward to stand beside Silver Wolf.
"When I first witnessed Herta being afflicted with the Wither effect, a question formed in my mind. This world is undoubtedly miraculous; no food here can be understood with the logic of the real world. In that case, can the Wither effect, which absorbs the life force of biological entities, have an equivalent effect on a mechanical lifeform like myself? To answer this question, I too would like to participate in this trial."
"Alright then. Get ready."
Fu Zhu flashed to the side, clearing the stage for Silver Wolf and Screwllum. At the same time, he pre-entered the command to summon the Wither in his control console, waiting only for the moment they were ready.
Preparations, in this case, didn't amount to much. They had already gotten a general idea of the Wither's attack patterns from watching Fu Zhu's fight.
Screwllum turned to Silver Wolf beside him. "Miss Silver Wolf, I shall handle the defense. The offense I will leave to you."
"Are you serious?" Silver Wolf frowned, not understanding Screwllum's decision.
In terms of raw power, Screwllum was far superior to her. The most efficient strategy would be for them to attack together.
Screwllum let out a soft chuckle and explained, "This is an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your strength, is it not?"
Silver Wolf let out a "tch," but didn't deny it. She understood Screwllum's meaning. He was simply worried that if he joined the attack, the fight would end too quickly, leaving her with no chance to act.
Seeing that Silver Wolf had tacitly agreed to the arrangement, Screwllum turned and nodded at Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu immediately executed the command, summoning the Wither. He also made sure to pull Herta and Ruan Mei further away to avoid drawing its aggro.
The moment the Wither appeared, Screwllum deployed a thick energy shield around himself and Silver Wolf. Meanwhile, Silver Wolf projected a pixelated blade from her right arm, preparing to mimic Fu Zhu's earlier tactic of reflecting the Wither's attacks.
Herta, watching from the side, turned to Fu Zhu with a teasing tone. "I'm afraid this fight will end just as easily as yours. That little shorty might not be very strong, but with Screwllum here, his energy shields aren't something just anyone can break through."
"Although this Wither looks imposing and possesses the power of the Path of [Destruction], it seems to only be nearing the level of an Emanator, not as terrifying as that Ender Dragon."
In response to Herta's teasing, a cryptic smile played on Fu Zhu's lips.
"I wouldn't be so sure. The Wither may look simple, but it's a mechanics monster. Underestimating it will cost you."
Fu Zhu's confident tone made Herta a little less certain. She could only humph softly in response.
"We'll see."
Back on the field, after a brief moment of stillness, the Wither flew directly above Screwllum and Silver Wolf, launching several azure skulls at them.
Silver Wolf grinned and raised the pixel blade on her right arm to strike the incoming skulls. Just as the blade was about to connect, in the very next instant, her blade passed straight through them.
"What?!"
Silver Wolf was stunned. She had clearly seen her blade accurately strike the Wither Skulls, so why did it pass right through?!
Boom!
The Wither Skulls slammed into her shield, triggering a small-scale explosion.
Screwllum, who had been observing the entire process, was a little surprised that Silver Wolf's attack was ineffective, but the force of the explosion put him at ease.
The blast radius was roughly 3x3x3 meters. The power was low. It was manageable.
However, in the next second, Screwllum, Ruan Mei, and Herta all watched as Silver Wolf fell to one knee. A large chunk of her energy shield had been blown away, and her skin was rapidly decaying.
"How is this possible?"
Screwllum was the most shocked. He was the one who had deployed the shield on Silver Wolf; he knew better than anyone how much of a beating it could take.
An attack like that should not have been able to damage the shield at all!
Ruan Mei and Herta were equally surprised, but they didn't voice their thoughts to distract Screwllum and Silver Wolf. Instead, they turned their puzzled gazes toward Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu stood with his arms crossed, a faint smile on his face. He raised a finger and pointed at the azure Wither Skulls being launched by the Wither.
"I told you not to underestimate the Wither. Its attacks are special. Even if you put up the strongest defense imaginable, the moment its attack lands, that defense will be reduced to a minimal level. So, even if Screwllum's energy shields can block an Emanator's attack, the Wither can still shatter them with ease."
(The Wither fires two types of skulls: black and azure. The azure skulls, when hitting a block, will forcibly lock the block's hardness to 0.8. In other gaming terms, it's akin to defense reduction, defense ignore, and so on.)
"And also…"
Fu Zhu turned his head towards the two women beside him and held up two fingers.
"Don't forget the second phase the Wither showed earlier."