Chapter 44: Forest Ruins Raid (Part 2)

Soma Town – Forest Ruins – Orwin Empire

Although the moment guilds heard about the boss spawn they all sprang into action, organizing a proper raid team and prepping equipment wasn’t something that could be done instantly.

Which meant—for now—the Forest Ruins still remained under the watch of the regular players who had been here all along.

Of course, with a Boss-level Dark Bat prowling nearby, even the most hardcore grinders had trouble focusing on leveling.

Accidents and distractions became frequent.

Some gave up on grinding entirely, shifting to full-time spectating.

A few quick-thinking players snapped photos, filmed videos, and uploaded everything to the forums—riding the “Dark Bat King” trend to temporary fame.

***

Nightwish and Dewdrop also weren’t feeling up to grinding.

They poked at a few stray bats while keeping their eyes on the massive shadow deeper in the ruins.

“Good thing you reacted fast, A-ya. Otherwise, I’d probably be having nightmares tonight…”

Just imagining being instantly flattened by that boss was enough to make Dewdrop stick out her tongue and shiver.

They had been within just ten meters of the boss when it spawned.

If Nightwish hadn’t pulled her away immediately, they’d both be dead.

“It’s nothing,” Nightwish brushed it off.

But her eyes were still locked on something beyond.

“What is it?” Dewdrop blinked.

“Dunno. Just… a bad feeling.” Nightwish rubbed her twitching eyelid. “Let’s level up a bit more—fast. Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Why?”

“Because when those guild players show up…”

Nightwish didn’t finish the sentence.

Her gaze sharpened toward a nearby commotion.

Dewdrop followed her eyes— and spotted someone in the crowd rallying nearby players.

“Think about it! Once those big-name guilds get here, we won’t stand a chance. Now’s the time to act!”

Whether the speaker was just persuasive or everyone was thinking the same thing already, a few people quickly raised their hands.

“I’m in! Better to get wiped fighting than just sit here doing nothing!”

“Same here. No point grinding if our hearts aren’t in it.”

Others soon followed.

In just a few minutes, nearly eighty players had formed a spontaneous raid team.

“Textbook agitation tactics,” Nightwish muttered. “The first ones to agree were clearly planted to set the mood.”

“But… they can’t beat that thing,” Dewdrop blinked. “Why would they even try?”

“Probably just a death wish,” Nightwish shrugged.

Regardless, the mob of players moved out under the original speaker’s command.

They divided into three sub-teams based on class ratios and began to encircle the boss.

Most other players paused their own activities to watch the trainwreck unfold.

Nightwish and Dewdrop included.

The front-line warriors approached slowly.

At around fifty meters, many began to sweat.

The sheer size of the Dark Bat King made their palms clammy.

52m… 51m… 50m.

The moment the invisible line was crossed, the boss let out a piercing shriek—

and lunged.

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat.

But the tanks didn’t flinch.

“CHARGE!”

A dozen warriors surged forward.

Even the mighty boss staggered and briefly的世界 fell into a Stunned state.

“It worked!!”

Cries of joy erupted as blades rained down.

Behind them, mages and archers unloaded spells and volleys from afar.

A storm of magic and arrows filled the sky like a mini-apocalypse.

-5

-7

-12…

The numbers were small, but with so many hits stacking up, the boss’s HP visibly dropped.

Just a sliver.

But it dropped.

“See? It’s just a big sack of HP!”

A surge of confidence washed over the raiders.

Healers buffed the party.

Paladins deployed protective auras.

Even stealth rogues couldn’t resist diving in from behind.

Dozens of onlookers joined the battle too, stirred by the sudden momentum.

But it was all too good to be true.

When the boss recovered from Stun, it shrieked in rage.

A black mist—composed of countless tiny bat shadows—exploded outward.

“Defend! DEFEND!”

“Pull back! STOP attacking!”

Rogues who were still in close range got instantly deleted.

The tanks and paladins scrambled to activate damage mitigation skills.

Clerics rushed to heal the bleeding front line.

Then it happened.

The Dark Bat King took flight— disengaging from the melee block, it soared into the air, then dived straight into the rear line like a missile.

No tanks. No barriers.

Just rows of squishy mages, warlocks, priests, and archers.

The boss tore them apart like a wolf in a henhouse.

A single sweep of black fog sent a flurry of damage numbers into the air.

The tanks tried to reposition… but the fleeing rear-line players blocked their path, creating pure chaos.

One skill.

That’s all it took to shatter their formation.

And in that moment, the team’s fatal flaws were exposed—

No structure. No commander. No coordination.

Aside from a few players who ran early, everyone else died.

“That was brutal…” Dewdrop winced at the carnage.

“That guy’s suspicious,” Nightwish muttered coldly. “The one who organized the raid.”

“Huh? Which guy?”

“No way—he was in the front too! He died, didn’t he?”

“Watch more carefully. He didn’t really fight. He was on comms the entire time. That ‘death’ was just to avoid blame.”

“Wait… you think they were used?” Dewdrop gasped.

“Used as fodder. To scout the boss’s skills and patterns… for the big guilds.”

“That’s messed up!!”

“Just a theory,” Nightwish said. “But probably true.”

As if to confirm it, a loud ruckus came from the forest entrance.

Well-geared players stepped into view, each bearing matching crests on their chestplates.

“The elite squads… have finally arrived.”