Chapter 1251: 401.Mechanism boss_2
In Noland Lee’s heart, players just needed to force him to stand up from his chair to meet his own cooperation demands.
If the players couldn’t do even that, then Noland Lee would only regretfully shake his head, erase them from the underground, take the Death Artifact himself, and leave on a ship.
“Bang bang bang bang—”
Bullets fired from within the iron cage created a metallic tide, sweeping across the Treasure Room and striking the Skeleton Warriors approaching the cage.
With the protection of the “Wind Clothes Technique,” the Skeleton Warriors were much more resistant than before; they were no longer the weaklings that scattered upon a single touch.
Seeing that the left outer wall of the iron cage was about to be touched by a few Skeleton Warriors, the Player Commander knew that they couldn’t hold back anymore, otherwise they would eventually be submerged by the sea of skeletons.
...
“Raise the laser turret! Fire the Burst Laser! Give it a 360-degree sweep!”
“Roger!”
With a clang, the iron cage opened the skylight, and a mechanical arm holding a laser turret extended from it.
The turret, resembling a rugged metal mortar, appeared crudely made, yet its power was exceptionally remarkable.
Driven by the metallic mechanical arm, it circled around the iron cage, performing a 360-degree wide sweep.
The half-meter-thick red laser, shooting from the cannons, swept through the Skeleton Warriors like slicing tofu, raising the temperature of the entire Treasure Room by several degrees in an instant.
Any Skeleton Warrior that was struck by this laser turned into greyish white mush, collapsing softly onto the ground like a melting candle.
The “Wind Clothes Technique,” a spell for deflecting bullets, was utterly ineffective against lasers!
Laser weapons were exceptionally effective!
With a sweep from the laser weapons, the crowded Treasure Room immediately became more spacious, and the air filled with the burnt smell of bones.
“Oh yeah~”
“Woo-hoo~”
The players cheered and jumped for joy within the iron cage.
“Don’t get too happy too soon! Aim the laser turret at that boss! Fire another round!” the Player Commander called out calmly.
“Roger!” The player operating the mechanical arm aimed the turret at Noland Lee.
While waiting for the turret to recharge, other players unloaded their firepower on Noland Lee with Burst Guns to prevent him from damaging the laser turret.
Seeing the mini-boss sitting on the throne being suppressed by the firepower and unable to free himself, the players’ joy gradually surged.
When the laser turret buzzed and shot out a red laser beam, a few players had even started to cheer and jump for joy.
However, the scene that followed plunged them into an ice cave.
The red laser beam shot out and quickly reached in front of the mini-boss, only to be forcibly suspended by an invisible force, turning from a long strip into a glowing red spherical orb of light, hovering beside the mini-boss.
“Gulp..”
Sounds of swallowing saliva came from inside the iron cage.
“This isn’t scientific!” a player shouted in surprise, exclaiming like a duck:
“Isn’t this supposed to be a one-time minor dungeon for the Death Artifact?! How come there’s a boss that can control lasers?!”
Another player also cried out:
“This boss looks like a skeleton, but why can it manipulate energy like the Telekinetic Series? What kind of weird boss is this? Can we even beat it?”
“It seems like a boss that’s proficient in both the Summoning Series and Telekinetic Series. If it has other skills, then we’re in trouble.”
“Yes, it doesn’t matter if we die, but these NPCs definitely won’t make it out alive. If the NPCs die, our faction’s reputation will suffer, which really is bad luck.”
The players discussed among themselves.
The Star Thieves cursed and urged the players to quickly figure something out.
As the players said, they themselves were not afraid of death, as they could utilize the game mechanics to respawn indefinitely.
But as NPCs in the eyes of the players, the Star Thieves were one-time consumables; once dead, they were dead for good.
Upon seeing the skeleton on the throne able to mold a laser beam into a sphere, the Star Thieves felt a cold sweat break out, their voices filled with palpable terror.
Now, whether the Star Thieves lived or died was in the hands of the players.
If the players could escort the Star Thieves out, then perhaps these few Star Thieves might survive.
This was clear not only to Noland Lee, but also to the Player Commander.
“Alright, everyone be quiet.”
Player Commander said,
“It’s impossible to lose reputation. We finally got the reputation of the Split Bear Star Thieves to the Friendly Stage, just a point away from reaching the Revered Stage, and then we’re supposed to buy a second-hand ship from them. How could we possibly lose reputation here?”
The Player Commander paused,
“Listen up, everyone. The information for this mini-dungeon is incorrect. Let’s first escort the NPC out, and next time we’ll come back prepared to fight. Start the power device, we’ll take off and burst through the blasted opening.”
After the mechanical arm and the laser turret retracted into the combat cabin, jets and heat waves emanated from the bottom of the combat cabin, causing it to rise steadily.
The Burst Gun kept firing at the boss, covering the cabin as it withdrew.
“Don’t you think this boss’s desire to attack isn’t strong?” a player remarked,
“It can turn lasers into a light sphere, but it just holds it and doesn’t shoot the laser ball at us. If it had thrown the laser ball, we might not have been able to get away.”
No sooner had the player finished speaking than Noland Lee felt a thrill, waved his hand, and threw the laser ball above the combat cabin.
“[Expletive]! You really have the mouth of a crow!” came a terrified shriek from inside the cage.
“Boom!”
The laser ball exploded above the combat cabin, and the swirling force caused the combat cabin to become unsteady, tilting to one side and nearly flipping over in mid-air.
It seemed there was some device inside the combat cabin that prevented it from flipping over, as it managed to stop the flipping motion in time and slowly returned to a horizontal position.
Noland Lee wasn’t about to let this bunch of players leave just like that. He casually snapped his fingers and caused a small-scale air explosion on the side of the combat cabin, using the force to flip the entire cabin over.
“Boom, boom, boom—”
The combat cabin did a full 180-degree turn in the air.
The tail flames that propelled the cabin upward now forced the cabin to slam down toward the ground.
People inside the combat cabin were thrown all over the place, screaming in pain.
“This boss is messing with us!”
“It’s done for! We can’t flip the cabin back! We can’t get out!”
“A bunch of idiots! Think of something fast!” This rude voice undoubtedly came from the mouth of a Star Thief.
The Player Commander shouted,
“Quiet! I think I’ve figured out this boss’s mechanism! Everyone stop, don’t fire!”
The troops, hearing the words of the commander, managed to control the pain from the fall, bore their discomfort, and calmed down.
The Player Commander said, noveldrama
“You see. As long as we don’t undertake offensive actions, the boss won’t hit us.”
That might not necessarily be true~
Noland Lee thought about hitting the combat cabin with another air explosion, to slap the face of the Player Commander, but a second thought paused his action, and he decided to listen to the other party’s ideas.
The Player Commander said,
“Look at the information again. This Prayer Elite Monster is sitting on the Throne of the Death Artifact. We just need to lure it away to open the Door Inside, and then search for the Death Artifact behind the door. So, the key is how to lure it from the Throne, not to defeat it. Maybe, in the initial intent of designing this mini-dungeon, this boss is supposed to be unbeatable!”
Seeing that the boss hadn’t launched an attack for a long time, the players suddenly felt that the captain’s words were plausible!
“It really could be the case!”
“So it’s a mechanism-type boss, no wonder it’s so powerful.”
A so-called mechanism-type boss is one that can only be overcome by following specific rules rather than a straightforward combat confrontation.
There are many types of mechanism-based bosses, either requiring the correct answer to its questions, handing over the right items, or reciting the correct Spells.
Either way, it means that using brute force to overcome a mechanism-type boss is unwise.
The players, exchanging thoughts and analyzing the mechanics of the mini-boss, eventually concluded:
First, open the Cabin Door and try to communicate with the boss.
The Player Commander volunteered to take the risk of dying and losing Experience.
Amid a hissing sound from an airlock, a man clothed in tattered Power Armor came out from the door inside.
“Click, click, click…” Noland Lee slightly turned his head to look at this Player Commander, his gaze emotionless and unfeeling.
The Boss did not immediately launch an attack!
The players remaining inside the cabin let out a suppressed cheer, then quieted down.