Chapter Forty-Six: The Great Battle Against the Corpse Demon

The team's overall damage output was quite decent; in the first round alone, they managed to shave off over three thousand points of the Corpse Fiend Overlord's vitality. Unfortunately, Sword of the City and Drunken Longing couldn't maintain their full offensive power, as they needed to avoid provoking the boss's aggro. Sword of the City dared not unleash her triple Thunder Slash in quick succession, and Drunken Longing could not frequently cast her most powerful Lightning Strike; otherwise, their efficiency in slaying the monster would have been much higher. At this moment, it was Ye Chen, the not-too-weak yet not-too-strong Dark Priest, who could let loose with his spells, unexpectedly becoming the main damage dealer of the party.

After donning the Dark Demon set, Ye Chen's attack power had risen to nearly four hundred points. Each Dark Fireball could deal almost six hundred damage—neither too high nor too low, just enough for Ling Yue to safely maintain aggro.

With the priestess handling poison removal, the Corpse Fiend Overlord’s deadly poison spell became useless, rendering this once-dangerous silver boss as harmless as a toothless old tiger. Left only with basic attacks, the creature posed no threat whatsoever. The only truly troublesome aspect was its Life Drain skill; every time it used it, it would sap three hundred points of Ling Yue’s health, restoring three thousand points to itself—a tenfold conversion that made Ye Chen and the others grit their teeth in frustration. Life Drain was instant-cast and required no incantation, so even Silence spells had no effect. All they could do was watch helplessly as its health climbed, then grit their teeth and redouble their assault.

This Life Drain skill seriously prolonged the boss’s time to death. They had thought it would take only five minutes to defeat it, but even after ten minutes of relentless fighting, the creature still stood. The less health it had, the more frequently it used Life Drain. Often, just as the party shaved off over two thousand points, the boss would immediately heal for three thousand, leaving everyone sick with frustration but utterly powerless, forced to slowly wear it down.

After another five grueling minutes, they finally reduced the Corpse Fiend Overlord’s health from thirty thousand to ten thousand. Before anyone could celebrate the impending demise of this troublesome foe, a new problem arose: once the boss’s vitality fell below ten thousand, it abandoned its normal attacks and used only Life Drain. In this state, their damage output was less than the rate at which it healed itself. Watching the boss’s health steadily climb, Ye Chen exchanged a grave look with Sword of the City and the others; they all realized the seriousness of the situation. At this rate, they might not be able to kill the Corpse Fiend Overlord at all.

“We can only try an all-out assault. That way, we can knock off over three thousand points in a round; even if it heals for three thousand, we can still whittle it down. Besides, Ling Yue’s aggro should be rock solid after all this time.” Sword of the City frowned, unable to think of a better strategy.

Drunken Longing and the others agreed to Sword of the City’s proposal. Although Ye Chen felt uneasy, he did not voice an objection, but he decided to quietly contact 2058—if Sword of the City’s plan failed, perhaps 2058 would have another solution. After all, they couldn’t just give up after all this effort.

“I’m going in. Everyone, give it everything you’ve got!” Sword of the City called out, electricity crackling along her longsword as she unleashed three rapid strikes—Thunder Slash, triple in succession.

The girls immediately swallowed the special elixirs Ye Chen had given them and unleashed their most powerful skills.

A torrent of damage numbers burst from the Corpse Fiend Overlord’s head, stripping away thirty-six hundred points of its vitality in an instant. Sword of the City’s triple Thunder Slash alone accounted for eight hundred, while Drunken Longing’s Lightning Strike exploded for nearly a thousand.

Although the boss continued to cast Life Drain, its health nevertheless dropped by six hundred points overall. Now, with little more than nine thousand vitality remaining, it would last no more than two minutes before falling.

Seeing hope at last, the women fought with renewed vigor, but Ye Chen felt a nagging sense of unease. Unfortunately, 2058 was still gathering information and hadn’t offered a better plan. For the moment, Ye Chen could only let Sword of the City and the others proceed, praying nothing would go wrong.

One round, two rounds, three rounds…

The boss’s health had dropped to five thousand. Even Sword of the City and Drunken Longing were starting to show smiles. But just then, the Corpse Fiend Overlord let out a furious roar, spun around, and locked onto Drunken Longing, its arms flaring as a blood-red light enveloped its body.

“Damn, the aggro shifted!” Ye Chen, who had been watching the boss closely, immediately shouted a warning.

-300. The blood-red damage number floated above Drunken Longing’s head, instantly draining two-thirds of her health bar. For Ling Yue, Life Drain was little more than an annoyance, but for the fragile mage, it was nearly fatal.

“Priest, heal Longing!” Sword of the City snapped, her brows knitting in alarm.

“It’s too late—take an instant-recovery pill!” Seeing the boss already raising its arms a second time and the priest’s healing spell only halfway chanted, Ye Chen made a quick judgment.

Drunken Longing reacted swiftly, raising her hand to swallow a Blood Coagulation Pill.

+200

-300

Two numbers appeared in quick succession above her head: a green healing number, then a red damage number. Luckily, she had heeded Ye Chen’s warning and taken the pill a moment earlier—otherwise, she would have perished on the spot.

At last, the belated healing spell landed, pulling her from fifty to four hundred seventy health. Ling Yue quickly regained aggro, and the crisis was temporarily averted. Still, Drunken Longing no longer dared to unleash her most powerful spells; if she used Lightning Strike repeatedly, she would surely draw aggro again—and next time, she might not be so lucky.

With Drunken Longing and Sword of the City now forced to hold back, the Corpse Fiend Overlord’s health began to creep upward again. The situation deteriorated, and the women’s spirits sank.

“Big Sis, do we keep going? We can’t kill the boss like this—it’s just a waste of time.”

Sword of the City and Drunken Longing exchanged a helpless glance. Drunken Longing nodded slightly; Sword of the City was silent for a moment before speaking hoarsely: “Looks like we’ll have to give up. Get ready to withdraw, everyone.”

“Do we really have to quit? This is a silver boss, after all!” Ling Yue’s voice trembled with unwillingness.

Sword of the City shook her head bitterly. “There’s no other way. If we keep going, we’ll waste all our potions and time, and something worse might happen. We’ve already put in so much effort—I don’t like it either...”

As she spoke, Sword of the City signaled everyone to fall back and prepare to leave the stone chamber. The women retreated, their faces clouded with frustration and resignation.

“Wait, I have a way!” Suddenly, an excited voice rang out in the chamber. The women turned to see the only man among them—Ye Chen—speaking up.