A melodious horn sounded from Permafrost Island, prompting the teams resting on the ice lake to quickly pack up their camps.
"Kai, every guild sounds the horn three times when they're about to engage a king-level BOSS. This is the first one, meaning they'll start the battle in half an hour!" Hu Yan patiently explained the rules to Jiang Kai.
The guy who claimed to be "never weaker than others" was also awakened by the horn. He rubbed his eyes, got up, and silently began packing up the camp.
Jiang Kai couldn't help but smile, thinking it was amusing that the guy still remembered their mission after a night's sleep.
Once the three of them had packed up the camp, the second horn sounded.
Twenty minutes remained.
Jiang Kai noticed that the nearby teams had also finished their preparations. They stood in place, gazing towards Permafrost Island.
By now, all the tents on Permafrost Island had been packed away, and nearly 200,000 people stood at the island's edge, awaiting the final command to fight.
The third horn sounded, and the atmosphere changed completely.
People made final checks on their armor, weapons, and items—this was the last stage of preparation.
Ten minutes later, a high-pitched trumpet sounded from all directions on Permafrost Island, signaling the Black Tortoise Guild's official attack.
Jiang Kai's expression was serious, and even he felt a bit nervous.
"Kai, once they shatter the Frozen Merman Lord's throne, the battle will officially begin. At that time, the mermen from the entire ice lake will rush towards Permafrost Island, and we must try to hold them off," Hu Yan said, his voice tense. "Their target isn't us, but we don't know how many mermen will breach the defenses, so we must be careful."
It seemed that even though he knew a lot, this was likely Hu Yan's first time experiencing a king-level BOSS hunt firsthand.
Ruan Yu, standing beside them, muttered, "Kai, I kind of want a drink..."
This guy had just drunk last night, so it was definitely not out of necessity but because he was nervous.
Jiang Kai smiled slightly, "Don't be nervous. The ordinary mermen's target isn't us but Permafrost Island. We'll block them if we can, and if not, there's nothing we can do."
"You two stand behind me when the time comes!"
At that moment, a rumbling sound came from Permafrost Island.
A gigantic ice sculpture slowly rose from the center of the island!
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Even from about 200 meters away, Jiang Kai and the others could feel the enormity of the sculpture.
It was a massive ice block over 400 meters tall. Once fully risen, its base had a diameter exceeding 500 meters, towering like a small mountain in the island's center.
The ice was thick yet crystal clear, faintly revealing a gigantic golden throne inside, with a complex structure and intricate carvings.
Seated on the throne was a colossal merman ice statue, with a golden trident standing before it!
Around the throne were eight larger mermen, about 15 meters tall, and 50 slightly smaller ones, around seven to eight meters tall.
Jiang Kai squinted slightly at the giant merman on the throne, "King-level BOSS, Frozen Merman Lord!"
The Black Tortoise Guild's nearly 200,000 members launched a fierce attack on the ice mountain.
Various ice blades madly hacked at the ice layers, and the high-level experts' strikes sent ice shards flying, causing chunks of ice to fall from the mountain.
After nearly half an hour, the ice mountain's range had been reduced by half.
At that moment, Jiang Kai suddenly saw the giant merman on the throne open its eyes.
Those scarlet eyes sent chills down one's spine with just a glance.
Suddenly, everyone in the Black Tortoise Guild stopped chiseling the ice mountain and retreated.
They retreated in squads of about ten, maintaining a certain distance between squads, and their formation became clearer than before.
Suddenly, countless cracks appeared in the incomplete ice mountain, spreading wildly within the ice layers, connecting and forming even larger fissures.
"It's coming out!" Hu Yan's eyes widened.
Before he finished speaking, the entire ice mountain suddenly exploded violently, turning countless ice shards into a white ice mist that covered the sky above Permafrost Island.
Before the white mist dispersed, an extremely sharp cry emanated from its center, echoing through the clouds.
Even though Jiang Kai and the others were hundreds of meters away, they could feel their eardrums suffering severe damage!
"Damn! What is this!" Jiang Kai quickly covered his ears.
The noise lasted for a full minute!
As the noise subsided, Jiang Kai noticed that the fierce winds had stopped, and the blizzard had vanished. From the vast ice surface before them, a massive number of mermen surged forward.
More and more mermen appeared, with blue, brown, and red skin, breaking through the ice layers and charging madly towards Permafrost Island.
With the blizzard and wind halted, Jiang Kai and the others' vision returned to normal, revealing the massive gathering of human squads around them.
As the merman army clashed with the outer human squads, a great battle erupted.
Jiang Kai and his team were positioned on the innermost line of human defense, only 200 meters from Permafrost Island, and had not yet engaged the merman army.
Taking advantage of the brief pause, Jiang Kai glanced back at Permafrost Island.
On the island, numerous powerful mermen had appeared, and the Black Tortoise Guild's elite were working together to hunt down those elite, warrior, and commander-level mermen.
The most attention-grabbing battle was clearly the one involving the king-level BOSS.
There, some people were already engaging the Merman Lord.
Several figures leaped seven to eight meters high, launching frontal attacks on the Merman Lord, while others moved at superhuman speeds, maneuvering and distracting the merman from its sides.
Their speed was incredible, constantly using positional changes and speed to find openings and launch ferocious attacks on the Merman Lord.
However, despite the relentless and fierce attacks, the Merman Lord's defense remained unbroken.
"Those experts must be of high-level professions, and their weapons must be of high grade. The Merman Lord's defense is too strong... My Pursuit Arrow probably can't penetrate its defense," Jiang Kai thought to himself.
The human assault only made the Merman Lord angrier. It swung its massive steel fork at an enemy, its speed disproportionate to its over 30-meter-tall body!
"So fast... My agility can't dodge it..." Jiang Kai was shocked.
Not only could Jiang Kai not dodge it, but the person being attacked also seemed a step too slow.
At that moment, a shadow suddenly rushed in front of the merman. Its speed was so fast that even Jiang Kai's Ghost Eye couldn't see it clearly. In the blink of an eye, it used a spear to block the merman's attack.
The massive force from the collision sent a large amount of ice debris swirling in the air like giant petals.
Although the human expert was knocked back over ten meters, he landed steadily, immediately enveloped in a green mist, and a moment later, he charged at the Merman Lord again.
"The king-level BOSS's strength is terrifying, yet he managed to block that strike..." Jiang Kai's eyes widened.
Even though the human expert was at a disadvantage, it was important to remember that his opponent was a king-level BOSS, with speed and strength far beyond ordinary beasts.
Not being instantly killed was already impressive, let alone having the ability to counterattack after taking a hit.
Jiang Kai looked in the direction behind the expert and saw two humans holding staffs, their staffs glowing green, matching the color of the mist that had enveloped the expert earlier.
"Holy Healers!" Jiang Kai suddenly recalled the Holy Healer he had seen in City 041, who used similar weapons and techniques to help teammates recover during battle.
However, even with the Holy Healers' support, the expert's ability to stand toe-to-toe with the Merman Lord still shocked Jiang Kai.
"This is the power of a Transcendent profession..."
"Kai, the mermen are coming!" Hu Yan's exclamation interrupted Jiang Kai's thoughts.
Jiang Kai quickly turned around to see the merman army tearing through the defenses with unstoppable momentum, surging towards them.