The Darkfall and a Sudden Alliance

Having mastered the strategy for defeating the BOSS, the two quickly whittled its health down to 20%. It was at this critical moment that two black-robed figures suddenly appeared.

Upon seeing the pair, the Demon Apostle’s eyes gleamed. He roared, “Numbers One and Two, assist me in killing them! Your three brothers were slain by their hands!”

The leader of the black-robed figures flew into a rage upon hearing this. “You dared to kill my brothers? Number Two, attack! Kill them!”

Ye Jue’s brows furrowed deeply. Had they not discovered a particular trick to fighting the BOSS, these two newcomers would have instantly overwhelmed them. However, the immediate priority was to prevent these newly appeared monsters from troubling Lin Shenyue, yet he was currently restricted and unable to attack them.

After a moment’s thought, Ye Jue coldly scoffed, “Those three fools? Yes, I killed them. It was far too easy. I hope you aren’t as pathetic as they were.”

Upon hearing this, the hatred of the black-robed leader and his second-in-command for Ye Jue surged dramatically, instantly solidifying the aggro.

Lin Shenyue was somewhat speechless. She had never imagined such a method could be used to draw aggro. Fortunately, these monsters possessed extremely high AI; otherwise, a few taunts would hardly suffice to maintain their attention, as it wasn’t a true taunt after all.

Perhaps the return of the black-robed leader and his second-in-command, when the BOSS’s health reached 20%, caused the BOSS to abandon its ultimate attack. Or perhaps the ultimate attack itself was merely to summon these two figures. Consequently, the BOSS’s 20% health ultimate did not activate.

As Lin Shenyue steadily healed Ye Jue, she meticulously observed her surroundings. Ye Jue was unable to do so at this moment, and her task was relatively easier. To prevent any further unforeseen circumstances, she kept a vigilant watch.

Since most of the BOSS’s attacks were blocked, and the occasional attacks from the two elite monsters were also parried, Ye Jue’s health remained consistently in a safe range. Their only concern, however, was the possibility of the BOSS unleashing another skill when its health was critically low, which would place Ye Jue in extreme danger under the elite monsters’ assault.

Lin Shenyue sighed. For now, they could only continue fighting and observe. If Ye Jue were to reposition himself, he would suffer numerous attacks, as the elite monsters were relatively far from him, and he couldn’t move while positioning, or it would fail.

The BOSS’s health slowly dwindled, finally dropping to 500 HP after three minutes.

Lin Shenyue discreetly held back a healing spell. She now understood that for dark-elemental monsters, their final burst of power was often formidable. Likewise, her healing spells would be devastating to them, especially under elemental suppression, causing even greater damage.

The BOSS ceased its attacks on Ye Jue, standing directly in the distance instead of circling the tree with him. It roared furiously, “I will never allow you to sabotage my lord’s plans. Darkfall!”

Ye Jue’s expression changed upon hearing the BOSS’s skill name. “That’s a mutual destruction skill, Yue’er! Finish him!”

Lin Shenyue had already prepared herself as soon as the BOSS began speaking. Without a moment’s hesitation, she cast her healing spell the instant she heard Ye Jue’s command.

[Ding! The BOSS is a demon monster, possessing high resistance to Light-elemental magic. Damage dealt is reduced by 60%.]

“-392.”

Unexpectedly, the skill did not instantly kill the BOSS. Ye Jue’s expression shifted, and he charged forward directly.

The surroundings began to darken, and even the ground trembled slightly. In Lin Shenyue’s eyes, the nearby trees started to warp.

Lin Shenyue pressed her red lips together, her gaze fixed on the BOSS’s last sliver of health.

As the BOSS continued its spell, the surrounding landscape plunged into complete darkness. The entire sky became shrouded in a pall of shadows.

“Holy crap! Players in Novice Village No. 1, look up!” Someone inadvertently glanced skyward and saw a small, black-hole-like anomaly appear out of nowhere in the clear sky, rapidly contracting. This player quickly took a screenshot and posted it on the forums.

“What the hell is this? The end of the world?” Just one second later, the black hole had rapidly shrunk, but everyone had witnessed the phenomenon, and the regional chat channel instantly exploded.

“Could this be caused by two god-tier NPCs clashing?”

****

Inside the Novice Village blacksmith shop, Harick suddenly looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the roof to the black hole. “It’s that move. It seems they’ve pushed those people to the brink. I hope you all return safely.”

As Grove was concocting potions, he suddenly felt something and squinted upwards. “What new trick are those people pulling now? If I weren’t worried about my appearance directly summoning the Demon Realm Captain, I would have slaughtered them long ago.”

In the tailor shop, the usually smiling proprietress’s expression also grew hesitant. “We old folks can’t intervene. Can those Anomalies truly solve the problem?”

In a forest outside the village, a man chopping wood also paused, looking at the sky with a cold expression. In the end, he merely shook his head, saying nothing.

Although much was said, only a single second had actually passed. At this moment, Ye Jue and Lin Shenyue were in an extremely perilous situation.

As the dark curtain rapidly contracted, the two black-robed figures also panicked. “My lord, you promised to ensure our safety!”

The Demon Apostle’s expression remained unchanged. “For my lord’s plan, are you not willing to sacrifice your lives? Or were you merely bluffing me from the start?”

The two black-robed figures’ faces changed, and they finally gave up in despair. Things had progressed to an unstoppable point. No, there was still a chance. The black-robed leader’s eyes lit up, a ruthless glint flashing within them. He looked at the Demon Apostle. “If you are unjust, then don’t blame me for being disloyal.”

To Lin Shenyue’s astonishment, the black-robed leader directly struck the Demon Apostle with a magic arrow, instantly reducing the Demon Apostle’s health to a mere dozen points. Although the black-robed leader’s attack power was high, the Demon Apostle’s magic defense was not low, and he also possessed extremely high dark magic resistance. Thus, it only dealt 90 points of damage, but that was enough. Ye Jue finally reached the BOSS and swung his sword.

“-73.”

The Demon Apostle collapsed in disbelief, looking at the two black-robed figures. His lips moved, but he ultimately fell, defeated.

The rapidly contracting dark curtain suddenly paused, then dissipated.

Ye Jue had no time to examine the BOSS’s corpse; his gaze shifted to the two black-robed figures, adopting a defensive stance.

The black-robed leader gave him a deep look, as if trying to commit him to memory. “Young man, your strength is formidable. We are not your match for now. However, you killed our brothers. From today onward, we will be relentless enemies.” With that, the black-robed leader exchanged a glance with his second-in-command and vanished in a puff of black smoke.

[Ding! You have incurred the hostility of NPC Black-Robed Leader. Affection reduced to: Unending Enmity.]

[Ding! You have incurred the hostility of NPC Black-Robed Second-in-Command. Affection reduced to: Unending Enmity.]

Lin Shenyue was somewhat speechless upon receiving the system notifications. She hadn’t expected these NPCs to simply flee without a fight. However, she was also fortunate for the black-robed figures’ final attack; otherwise, they might very well have perished.

Nevertheless, the BOSS had been defeated. Lin Shenyue immediately stepped forward to see if anything had dropped, as it was unlikely for a BOSS to yield absolutely nothing.