CH 17

As the skeletons rushed towards him, Midnight Dharma God blasted them with a powerful fireball. Though his magic was strong, it proved ineffective against the skeletons’ ability to regenerate.

An adventurer cried, “It’s useless, these things can’t be killed, but as long as you kill the boss these mobs should disappear naturally.”

Midnight Dharma God knew this, but the boss was no easy feat with 190,000 health and seemingly no vital point. Even after Dawn Excalibur split open the dragon’s head, it remained alive.

The undead creatures’ ability to regenerate was the most frustrating part, especially when dealing with a super giant undead.

On top of that, the constant siege of monsters made it impossible to effectively output damage.

As the adventure team found themselves in a fierce battle, Mourphy felt a glimmer of hope rise in his heart. Perhaps there was still a chance to defeat them.

Suddenly, a sharpshooter let out a cry and deviated from the team’s defense line, only to be quickly swarmed and killed by a group of skeletons.

The team’s lack of melee fighters became apparent as they struggled to hold off the relentless surge of undead. Their only option was to rely on pure damage to whittle away at the enemy’s numbers, but their mana reserves were not infinite.

Several thieves attempted to rush forward with knives, only to be overwhelmed by the skeletons. The druids, who were primarily focused on healing, transformed into giant bears to fight back. However, as healing builds lacking the talents of skin strengthening and beast tenacity, they too were quickly subdued.

As a last resort, the war priest charged forward with his mace, determined to disperse the undead and protect his team. But even with his fierce determination and plate armor, he knew it was an uphill battle that may ultimately prove futile.

“Fall back! Retreat to the corner!” ordered Midnight Dharma God, prompting the adventurers to quickly retreat while fighting until they reached a corner of the boss room. With their backs against the walls on both sides, they only needed to focus on the enemies in front of them and concentrate the spellcasters’ power on attacking the front.

The power of magic tore apart the approaching skeletons, and the battle began to turn in their favor. However, the crisis was far from over.

Midnight Dharma God watched the cooldown timer of his skill, a daunting 30 minutes. Now, with 27 minutes having already passed, they only needed to hold out for another three minutes…

Murphy was both surprised and elated to see that the adventurers had been forced into a corner, with Dawn Excalibur fighting the BOSS alone while lacking healing from the back row. It was clear that they could not sustain this forever. As long as the skeletal dragon could hold out for just a little longer, they would be able to stabilize the situation.

The skeleton dragon continued its relentless attacks, with additional skeletons attempting to join the fray. Despite this, Dawn Excalibur remained calm and composed, continuously dodging and rolling to evade their attacks. He resolutely dropped his sword to the ground, causing the surrounding skeletons to be swept away by the dragon’s tail and shattered into a pile of bones. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly drank another life potion.

Whenever he found a moment of respite, he would strike back with a swift backhand slash at the skeleton dragon. Although the damage inflicted was only average, he was used to playing MMORPG games like an action game, and he kept on exchanging blows with the enemy.

“Why won’t you die already?!” exclaimed Mo Fei, watching anxiously as the giant bone dragon continued to strike. This time, Dawn Excalibur chose to block with his sword, and the sheer force of the attack sent him flying seven or eight meters away, leaving deep furrows on the ground from his legs and feet.

Dawn Excalibur was gasping for air, and the skeleton dragon was also on its last legs, with its body collapsing and the power of death oozing out.

As the lone warrior and the dragon stared each other down…

“Fire Storm!”

A magnificent vortex of flames erupted once again, pulling hundreds of skeletons into its inferno.

In an instant, the entire battlefield was engulfed in flames.

“It’s finished,” Murphy sighed in relief. With the skeleton army wiped out and the adventurers rejoining the fray, it was only a matter of time before the skeleton dragon was defeated.

Although the skeleton army could still be resurrected, it was too late.

Finally, with only 10% of its health remaining, the skeleton dragon collapsed.

Santazak, Death’s Doorstep: “Master Morpheus… I’ve failed you…”

The sound of an explosion filled the air as the skeleton dragon crumbled into a heap of shattered bones. The body was in ruins, with only the upper torso remaining, twisted and disfigured without its arms. The face remained the same, but it was clear that the remaining 10% of its health was insignificant. The adventurers closed in on the remains and began to finish the job, with the outcome already determined.

Murphy observed the scene and sighed. “Well, old San, you did your best.”

This battle was an improvement over the two previous boss battles. It not only depleted a significant amount of the adventurer team’s resources but also resulted in the deaths of seven adventurers. If it hadn’t been for the cooldown on the last skill, it might have helped the enemy escape.

At the same time——

”It’s over, seven people died, aren’t we screwed?”

Despite having won the battle, everyone’s spirits were low as they prepared to face the final boss. They knew that they needed the best possible lineup to stand a chance, but unfortunately, a large part of their combat power had been weakened.

“Can’t they just resurrect?” asked someone.

“The resurrection point is too far away. It would take at least a few hours.”

Midnight Dharma God’s expression soured as he produced two scrolls, “Take out the Orange and Blazing Sun scrolls and use them to revive the remaining dead.”

These were Resurrection Scrolls, which could only be obtained as a reward from the Goddess of Life’s missions, with a very low chance of dropping. They were valued at 10,000 yuan each, but were incredibly difficult to acquire due to the lack of market availability. The most broken thing about these scrolls was that they could even be used during plot battles.

Although they would only revive adventurers, even one revived adventurer could make a significant difference in combat power during a critical moment.

Murphy’s heart was heavy, but he was relieved that Midnight Dharma God had only two of these precious scrolls.

He looked at the third set of strategies he arranged, but they still didn’t seem to work.

Although his hand-to-hand combat ability surpassed that of the skeleton dragon, living dragons had their weaknesses, and one could not afford to be careless in a fight, lest they take a debilitating strike.

Furthermore, the giant skeleton dragon could summon an army of skeletons to impede the adventurers, but he would have to face everyone’s attacks and fend off Dawn Excalibur alone.

Even if he managed to injure Dawn Excalibur, the existence of healers meant that the swordsman could fight again with a renewed vigor.

It was clear that a change was necessary, but what could be done? He had already tried three different strategies to no avail.

His gaze fell upon the lineup of battle strategies, each one having been thoroughly considered.

Perhaps summoning Princess Catherine could be an option, but it seemed like a risky gamble. Murphy couldn’t predict what twist the plot might take.

Would the princess fall in love with him and prevent the adventurers from attacking? That seemed like a far-fetched idea that belonged in a tragic love story.

Or maybe he could kill Princess Catherine himself, causing the enemy’s morale to crumble, and making them easier to defeat? However, it was unlikely to work, as the adventurers didn’t seem to be driven by any particular motivation, and they might even go berserk if pushed too hard.

In any case, Murphy was not one to rely on uncertain possibilities, especially not in such a crucial moment. He was not a gambler by nature.

Despite the strength of Dawn Excalibur, Murphy noticed a weakness in the enemy’s strategy: their layout was focused on attacking a flame dragon, leaving them vulnerable to other types of attacks.

“It would be impossible to kill Dawn Excalibur quickly, but their weakness may lie in those adventurers. If there was no hero to hold me back, I could completely sweep that miscellaneous trash. So maybe…”

A plan began to form in Murphy’s mind, but he wasn’t entirely certain. Time was running out, and he didn’t have the luxury of thinking everything through.

[World Announcement: In the year 1437 of Firmament Era, the human hero Midnight Dharma God slew the Dragon Cult Priest Santazak in the Dark Dragon Nest. This event has been recorded in the Sky Chronicle.]

[System Message: All the monster leaders under you have been killed, and the final battle is about to begin. Will the ending of “Song of the Dragonslaying Warrior” be a hero defeating the dragon and saving the princess, or the dragon killing a hero and continuing to live fiercely? The ending is about to be revealed.

As the final boss and the biggest villain of this plot battle, please prepare yourself. 】

In the monitoring screen of the crystal ball, the enemy has already started to move towards the room of the final boss, and there is no time to hesitate.

Murphy gritted his teeth and made a decisive choice.

At the same time, there were hurried footsteps in the passage outside Longmian Cave.

Here they come!