Countless spells rained from the sky, crashing onto the Fallen Treant Lord’s thick hide.
Damage numbers popped up above its head, ranging from a low of twenty-something to a high of fifty, mostly from Yoyo and the other fire mages.
Even if it wasn’t as tough as a regular boss, the Hard mode dungeon buff gave the Fallen Treant Lord impressive defense.
Roaring under the barrage, the Fallen Treant Lord swung its vines, hurling scattered boulders from the altar at the frontline.
Shuiyan, quick on her feet, adjusted her stance and activated Shield Wall, meeting the boulders head-on and absorbing most of their impact.
Despite the defensive boost from Defensive Stance, Shuiyan’s health still dropped to half.
Two beams of white light followed, instantly pulling her health back near full.
As holy knights, Galaxy Vast, Doran, and Dream Cradle dealt damage to hold aggro while closely monitoring the frontline’s health.
Their healing wasn’t as strong as a priest’s, but it eased the pressure, showcasing why holy knights were so popular among players.
With the holy knights sharing the load, Elk had it easier.
She only needed to ensure her heals landed precisely on low-health teammates.
But she knew the healing pressure would grow as the boss’s health dropped.
Everyone in the team had their roles.
The only ones in an awkward spot were An Tong and Nightwish.
With the boss’s aggro locked on Shuiyan and the other frontline classes, its current size—surrounded by warriors and holy knights—left no room for the two rogues to land backstabs.
As attacks pounded the Fallen Treant Lord, its health steadily approached the 80% mark.
“Hold your skills, everyone. When the boss starts eating trees, hit it hard to cut down its healing.” Red Coral said, lowering her staff and warning the team in advance.
Many guilds had figured out the Fallen Treant Lord’s mechanics.
Its tree-devouring skill restored some health, but higher damage during the process reduced the recovery.
Rumor had it Stormwind once completely negated the healing effect.
As a rival guild member, Red Coral didn’t buy it.
Seeing her pause, other backliners hesitated, stopping their spell chants.
But An Tong’s next words prompted them to resume. “Don’t worry, Coral. Just keep DPSing.”
Lacking clear experience, they trusted An Tong more.
Red Coral, though puzzled, recalled An Tong’s past decisions always had reasoning and didn’t press further.
Doran, up front, frowned slightly, wondering what An Tong was planning.
She had to admit, the little one always delivered surprises.
But Doran didn’t realize this surprise would be overwhelming.
Under the team’s full DPS, the boss’s health hit 80%.
With a deep, muffled roar, the Fallen Treant Lord’s vines stretched dozens of meters, wrapping around trees near the altar and pulling them into its gaping maw.
Though the trees were decayed, their corrupted aura seemed to fuel the boss’s unnatural vitality.
Its health, below 80%, began climbing, while its size grew larger than a typical Treant.
Seeing this, the team instinctively wanted to ramp up DPS.
But An Tong’s command stunned them. “Except for the frontline holding aggro, everyone else stop attacking.”
Countless question marks flooded their minds.
Letting the boss heal now would waste their earlier efforts, unlike before when there was a reason to keep attacking.
“Trust me~” An Tong said, winking at the team.
Her adorable act, paired with their trust, made everyone but the frontline watch as the boss’s health rose to around 95%.
Roughly three-quarters of their previous damage was undone.
Only after the Fallen Treant Lord finished its last tree did An Tong order the team to resume attacking.
The backline, pent-up, unleashed their strongest skills the moment she spoke, making even An Tong sweat at their intensity.
The boss fight settled back into a steady rhythm.
The only change was the increased healing pressure from the boss’s larger size and wider attack range.
Even so, the Fallen Treant Lord’s health dropped steadily: 90%, 85%, 80%, 75%…
Soon, it neared 75%.
Since the tree-devouring skill triggered every 20% health loss rather than at fixed percentages, the boss roared again, signaling the skill’s activation.
Surely they’d ramp up DPS now?
The team readied their strongest skills, eager to make up for last time.
But then, a cute yet devilish loli voice rang out. “Frontline, keep holding aggro. Everyone else, stop DPS~”
“??????”
Even more question marks than before appeared on everyone’s faces.
Even the usually stoic Shuiyan glanced back.
Doran, Red Coral, Nightwish, and Autumn Waters couldn’t guess what this little one (Teacher) was thinking, let alone the others.
Some wanted to question her, but An Tong brushed them off with, “You’ll see soon, trust me~,” charming her way through.
They could only watch as the boss’s health climbed back to 90%.
This had to be the last time.
That’s what everyone, including Shuiyan, thought.
They had no idea the nightmare was just beginning.
70%—
“Frontline, hold aggro. Backline, stop~”
“??????????”
65%—
“Phew, brothers and sisters, you’re working hard. Take another break~”
“…”
60%—
“Yawn…”
°(￣ー￣)/° (Stop)
After so many repetitions, the team’s spirits were numb.
They felt less like they were fighting a boss and more like solving a math problem—
Question: Based on the above, when the boss’s health reaches 50%, what is the team’s actual damage output? (4 points)
A. 8000, B. 9600, C. 11200, D. 12800, E. 14400, F. 16000, G. 17600, H. 19200
If the team hadn’t prepared ample recovery items for this dungeon, they’d think they’d run out of resources before the boss got its fill.