Unhealthy Health Points

Outside the castle at this moment, over two hundred people had gathered. Most of them were well-equipped, and they stood in positions divided according to their roles.

"Our guild should be the first to clear this place. The hidden boss of the beginner zone, the Decayed Lord Roder, is a level 20 boss," said the bald man at the front, speaking to the girl beside him.

"Miss Su Qiao, those solo players have already been wiped out by us. They don’t dare come in here, so there’s no need to worry about other players stealing our rewards."

Hearing this, the girl merely scoffed. "A bunch of poor losers don’t deserve to play with us. Next time they dare get close, our Sky Eagle Guild will issue endless kill orders on them until they quit the game for good."

The game Final Sword was a global phenomenon, the only fully immersive virtual reality game that allowed players to sync their consciousness into the virtual world, experiencing all five senses in perfect synchronization. It completely overshadowed every other game on the market.

According to exaggerated claims online, not playing this game was practically the same as giving up on life.

This was a game with true realism—whether it was the sensation of pain or the feeling of wind brushing against one’s face.

"Let’s go! Take down this hidden boss’s first clear. I, Su Qiao, will become the number one on the leaderboards!"

"Move out! We’re starting the dungeon raid now! If we get good gear, I’ll send a 100,000-yuan red packet in the group chat!"

"Yes, Guild Leader!"

Hundreds of players marched into the castle in a grand formation. The warriors and tanks led the way, drawing aggro, while healers in the middle focused on keeping the frontline fighters alive. The mages and archers in the backline handled the damage output.

A few rogues were also scattered among them, scouting for threats.

But with so many guild members, there was no need for careful exploration—they could just bulldoze their way through.

Clack, clack, clack.

As soon as the hundreds of players entered, the monsters inside the castle awakened. Skeletons wielding weapons charged forward, but against an army of hundreds, their numbers—merely a few dozen—were pitiful.

"Skeletons are weak to magic! Attack now!"

Before the skeletons could even get close, they were obliterated by the mages’ relentless bombardment.

Though they were just basic fireball spells, with dozens of mages continuously chugging mana potions, the attacks never let up.

"Pathetic. So pathetic. For a hidden boss, these mobs are ridiculously weak," Su Qiao sneered as she watched the skeletons get wiped out without even putting up a fight.

"At this rate, the boss probably won’t even survive one round of spells."

Other players recorded the process—after all, clearing a hidden boss like this would only boost their guild’s reputation.

"Miss Su Qiao, the hidden boss seems to be a mage-type enemy. And since hidden bosses always drop rare gear five levels above the current cap, you’ll definitely become the top player in the game."

"Eh, it’s whatever," Su Qiao said, though the slight curl of her lips betrayed her satisfaction.

Just then, one of the frontline warriors suddenly shouted, "Guild Leader, there’s an elite mob ahead!"

An elite mob?

Elite mobs weren’t unusual—they were just one tier below bosses, usually with higher stats. But when the bald man saw that there was only a single massive skeleton standing in the distance, he remained unfazed.

"Just one? With our numbers, we’ll crush it instantly."

The mages in the backline immediately raised their staffs and, once in range, unleashed another volley of spells.

Dozens of fireballs streaked through the air like meteors, crashing down onto the skeletal guardian.

But contrary to expectations, there was no explosion. The spells struck the skeleton’s body—only to be eerily absorbed by a dark energy swirling around it, vanishing without a trace.

The skeletal guardian remained motionless, silently standing its ground, a massive shield held firmly as it guarded the passage behind it.

"Magic doesn’t work?" The bald man was stunned. Skeletons were supposed to have low magic resistance—there was no way the attacks should’ve done nothing.

"All mages, prepare another volley!"

The guild’s mages obeyed, gathering mana for another assault.

This time, even more fireballs were launched, but they sank into the skeletal guardian like pebbles into the ocean, not even eliciting a reaction.

"What’s going on?" Su Qiao frowned. "Why aren’t the mages’ attacks doing anything?"

The bald man seemed to realize something. "I get it, Miss Su Qiao. This elite mob must have a special mechanic—maybe only physical attacks work or something. It is the hidden boss’s minion, after all."

"Then have the archers attack," Su Qiao waved her hand impatiently, signaling him to hurry.

"Archers!" Archers weren’t the best against skeletons, but with magic ineffective, arrows were the next best option.

A rain of arrows descended upon the skeletal guardian, some embedding into its shield, others piercing its body.

Soon, its form was riddled with arrows.

Yet it still didn’t move.

"The attacks are landing, but why isn’t it reacting?" the bald man muttered in confusion.

"Maybe it’s just a decoration, not an actual mob?" Su Qiao snapped. "Hurry up. If another guild finds out and comes to steal our kill, we’ll lose our chance."

"Maybe it really isn’t a mob," the bald man agreed and ordered the warriors to advance.

The frontline fighters relaxed and moved forward—but the moment they stepped within a certain range, the skeletal guardian’s eyes suddenly ignited with ghostly flames!

"It moved! Guild Leader, it’s reacting!"

"So you have to get close to activate it?"

"Warriors, go in and pull aggro!"

The warriors and tanks rushed forward, raising their shields and using taunt skills to draw the monster’s attention.

"ROOOOOAR!!!!!"

But the skeletal guardian let out an earth-shaking roar, the sheer force of its voice sending the frontline fighters flying backward!

"What the—?!"

Clack, clack, clack.

The skeletal guardian raised its shield and charged straight into the guild’s formation.

Like a freight truck plowing through ants, it instantly shattered their ranks.

The warriors at the front barely got grazed—yet their health bars were instantly emptied, the damage numbers flashing on-screen leaving them stunned.

"What the hell?! I got one-shot?!"

"Someone heal me! I got clipped by its fingernail and I’m almost dead!"

"What kind of elite mob is this?!"

"Attack now!" Seeing this, the bald man immediately rallied the guild for an all-out assault. No matter how high its damage was, its HP had to be low by now!

"ROOOOOAR!!!!!"