Chapter 1250: 401. Mechanical boss
“Captain! The Prayer Elite Monster is shielded by a force field; the Burst Bullets can’t harm it!” a female Player Gunner yelled amidst bursts of gunfire.
“We should clear out the minions first, then we can engage the boss! Shift fire! Stop wasting bullets on that mini-boss!” The Player Commander’s voice was calm and composed.
Following his command, the three gun barrels targeting Noland Lee turned and began spewing flames at the surrounding Prayer Skeleton Soldiers.
Noland Lee called up the system message in his mind.
Though he no longer had the Systems Interface, he could still determine how much longer the “Power of Senati” would last by the dynamic countdown information in the system message.
In at most two minutes and ten seconds, he would regain his ability to move.
...
The Prayer Skeleton Soldiers in the Treasure Room were dim-witted fools, only capable of slowly walking toward the metal cage and making clawing motions with their hands, posing little threat.
Relying on these dumb minions to buy time was clearly unrealistic.
Sure enough, just as the countdown was about to reach zero, the last Prayer Skeleton Soldier was taken down, turning into charred debris on the floor.
The Star Thieves and Players taking shelter behind the metal cages were extremely cautious, even after clearing out the minions, they remained hidden within the cages.
The combatants inside the cage adjusted the layout of their shooting ports. On the side facing Noland Lee, they opened up several more ports.
In total, thirteen large-caliber Burst Guns were trained on Noland Lee from about 50 meters away.
“Stop firing! Listen to me!” the Player Commander shouted from inside the cage:
“Unless you hear my command, no one is allowed to leave the Combat Cabin. This cabin has an Anti-death Corrosion Interlayer; as long as we stay in here, the Death Energy outside can’t hurt us! Also, when firing, follow the predetermined Shooting Sequence; do not shoot at random, and make sure there are no gaps in our fire. Everyone got it?” noveldrama
“Understood!” A chorus of responses came from the cage, with approximately eight players among them.
The Star Thieves inside the cage probably couldn’t understand the players’ language, clamoring loudly for the players to get a move on and stop dawdling.
The players couldn’t be bothered with the rants of the Star Thieves.
They completed their self-checks as per their Commander’s request.
Once they confirmed that everyone was ready, the Player Commander shouted:
“Let’s fire a test shot, this boss shouldn’t be hard to take down!”
“Bang!”
A Burst Bullet trailing flames rushed towards Noland Lee.
“Buzz!”
Suddenly, Noland raised his hand, and in front of him, an invisible, transparent Barrier materialized, stopping the Burst Bullet dead in its tracks mid-air.
The high-speed rotation of the Burst Bullet was clearly visible, but it quickly ceased under the influence of the invisible Barrier, and then fell to the Floor harmlessly.
At that moment, the air in the Treasure Room was exceptionally still.
A uniform gasp of shock came from the metal cage.
“Shit! This boss can defend against bullets! We’re in trouble now!”
“No, but seriously, did we get this wrong?! Didn’t the Information say this boss was just a reinforced Elite Monster that could be taken down with firepower? How does it have such an awesome skill to defend against bullets?! Are we in the wrong place?!”
Both the Players and the Star Thieves seemed to have not anticipated that the Skeleton sitting on the Throne had such a trick up its sleeve…
During their moment of confusion, Noland lifted his right hand, his fingers tracing a circle of arcane glyphs in the air.
With his gesture, black mist-like Death Energy erupted from him, flooding in all directions like a tide, instantly engulfing the fragments of corpses.
“Click click click click…”
The sound of bones clacking was endless as Skeleton Warriors rose from the Ground, their empty eye sockets glowing with a chilling green Light.
“Fire! Fire! The front row needs to suppress the boss with fire! The rest take out the minions!” the Player Commander ordered loudly.
“Bang bang bang bang—” Gunfire erupted.
The Treasure Room was once again filled with smoke.
Only this time, the Skeleton Warriors were no longer as fragile as before.
Somehow, they had acquired an invisible Barrier around them, blocking the shrapnel and flames of the exploding Burst Bullets.
If it weren’t for the density of the bullets, the transparent Barrier protecting the Skeleton Warriors couldn’t have been indestructible, and all the combatants inside the cage would have been overwhelmed by the tide of Skeletons long ago.
Noland sat on the Throne, watching the battlefield indifferently, listening to the shouts of panic and frenzied roars emanating from the cage.
He was no longer restricted by the “Power of Senati” and could at any moment sweep the battlefield with the Magic supplied by the “Heart of Magic”.
But he didn’t do so just yet.
He had entered Outer Space to form an army to eliminate the Metal Creation Group and catch the Inner Cosmos’s Metal Ancestor Dragons off guard.
Since it was about assembling an army, why limit himself to magic puppets?
Players like them, fearless in the face of death and willing to work for benefits, could also be prime candidates for his recruitment.
Of course, Noland had to test the Players’ abilities first.
If the Players weren’t as undaunted as he imagined, then Noland would give up on courting their favor and choose magic puppets, which were more reliable.
Hence, the current situation.
Noland was using the “Enslavement of Deceased” to resurrect Skeleton Warriors on a large scale and then protect them with “Wind Clothes Technique,” a Wind Magic Shield, exerting pressure on the players within the cage to test their combat capabilities and willpower.