Though most of the team had grown numb to the ordeal, some great minds still questioned it from the depths of their souls.
Mushui, considering herself one such great mind, wanted to complain.
But seeing Nightwish slip behind the now-massive boss to deal damage, she turned to Autumn Waters instead. “Autumn-jie, when will these days end?”
Autumn Waters found it amusing, her curved brows framing eyes like shimmering pools. “Don’t make it sound like you’re an oppressed peasant.”
“I don’t even know what’s the point of all this. Do you, Autumn-jie?” Mushui said, waving her staff to conjure sharp ice spikes that shot toward the Fallen Treant Lord, her lips pursed in frustration.
“Haven’t you noticed the boss’s size keeps getting bigger?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Autumn Waters smiled without answering.
Doran, Red Coral, and Nightwish had also noticed something.
Though not fully certain, they saw the next moment as a chance to test their suspicions.
53%, 52%, 51%…
Despite the team’s numbed DPS, the boss’s health inevitably reached 50%.
Roar—
The Fallen Treant Lord glowed with a sickly gray light.
With a swing of its massive arm, it slammed the ground, sending out a gray shockwave.
Except for Doran and Shuiyan, who braced themselves, the other frontline members were knocked aside.
As the shockwave spread, small black Flower Sprites, Vine Monsters, and Withered Man-Eating Flowers crawled from the darkened soil it touched.
Nearby, several massive trees in the forest stirred to life, uprooting obstacles and lumbering toward the team by the altar.
If left unchecked, these mobs would disrupt the team’s DPS rhythm.
But focusing on them would leave the boss unchecked, causing major issues.
This phase of the boss fight tested a team’s decision-making the most.
Yet, I paid the mobs no mind.
Watching the Fallen Treant Lord prepare to devour more trees, I smiled slightly. “Other frontline, hold the mobs. Everyone except mages, prioritize clearing them. Shuiyan, keep the boss. If you can’t hold, pull back for no more than ten seconds, with at least a minute between retreats.”
“For mages…” I continued. “Full DPS!”
Not just the mages, but even the others readying to intercept the incoming mobs froze at my words.
After my “training,” they’d nearly developed a reflex to stop attacking when they heard my voice.
Reacting, the mages, including Red Coral, lit up with excitement.
Though some still had concerns, even Yoyo hesitated. “Won’t this cause an OT?”
With only Shuiyan tanking, full DPS would overwhelm her aggro, causing the boss to target others—a situation most teams avoided at all costs.
“No worries, just trust me.” I said, patting my petite chest.
It’s because we trusted you that we ended up like this! the mages thought, grumbling inwardly.
Still, they faithfully began chanting their strongest DPS skills.
After all, I’d been designated as the commander before entering the dungeon.
Plus, this order wasn’t exactly bad for them.
Red Coral doubted Stormwind’s claim of interrupting the boss’s tree-eating recovery due to the OT risk.
Stormwind’s team composition was similar to theirs.
Interrupting required full DPS, which would cause an OT.
Even Stormwind couldn’t handle both mobs and the boss.
Still, Red Coral didn’t stop her output.
Part of it was venting her suppressed attack urges, but mostly, she had a faint hunch.
Though uncertain, she trusted her instincts.
And her instincts proved right.
Under the mages’ unrestrained barrage, the Fallen Treant Lord’s tree-devouring recovery weakened, eventually stopping entirely.
The excessive damage enraged it.
Roaring, it locked onto the fire mages in the distance.
But as it tried to charge toward Yoyo and the others, it couldn’t move.
No matter how furious, it could only flail its arms in place.
Doran, Red Coral, Nightwish, and Autumn Waters exchanged knowing glances.
Yoyo, seeing the boss stuck, burst out laughing after a moment. “Pfft, haha, this idiot ate so much it got stuck in the altar!”
Others noticed the boss’s predicament, showing surprise and amusement.
“It can work like that?”
“I can’t hold it in, hahaha!”
“Serves you right for eating so much.”
It wasn’t entirely the Fallen Treant Lord’s fault.
Tormented by the team, it had eaten trees at least seven times.
Normally, teams reaching 50% health would trigger only three or four devouring phases.
The altar wasn’t large, and the six indestructible totem pillars trapped the now-oversized boss.
Unable to reach the backline, the Fallen Treant Lord vented all its rage on the frontline.
Even Nightwish, sneaking backstabs, couldn’t retaliate.
Shuiyan bore the brunt of its fury.
Despite Elk’s full healing, she soon dropped to critical health under the relentless assault.
Then Shuiyan remembered something.
She raised her shield and retreated, watching the boss flail aimlessly without a target.
Mindful of my instructions, she returned to the frontline within ten seconds after her health was healed to a safe level.
Though stuck in the altar, unable to hit distant players, the boss still required aggro management.
Due to a special mechanic, if it lost a target for too long, it would reset to a non-combat state, preventing teams from exploiting kiting strategies.
“Not only did she find a safe method, but she accounted for so many factors.” Doran said via whisper to Red Coral, while tanking two summoned Treants.
Letting the boss eat trees earlier was deliberate, maximizing its size before 50% health to trap it.
It was all part of her plan.
Trapping the boss in the altar was simple, yet none of them, including Doran, had thought of it.
It showed An Tong’s extraordinary reverse thinking.
Most players instinctively interrupted recovery skills, not let them proceed.
That alone defied common logic.
“This little one’s surprises are endless. I suspect she’s hiding more secrets than we think.” Doran whispered.
“Getting more your type, huh? Honestly, I’m tempted too.” Red Coral replied.
“Only if you can recruit her to our guild.”
“Maybe we could get closer in real life?” Red Coral suggested.
“No chance. Her aunt keeps a tight leash. Only those guys know her real-world address.” Doran said, glancing at [REDACTED], shaking her head.
Though reluctant to admit it, she envied Nightwish’s group for knowing An Tong’s aunt.
She’d never stoop to asking them.
Mushui, free to cast spells without worry, noticed Autumn Waters’ holy glow and recalled her earlier words. “Autumn-jie, did you already figure it out back then?”
“I was just guessing.” Autumn Waters replied.
“Still impressive. I couldn’t have thought of this.” Mushui said.
Autumn Waters smiled faintly.
If anyone was impressive, it was the little cutie with her bizarre strategies.
Watching that petite figure, a hidden glint flashed in Autumn Waters’ bright eyes.
Caught slacking by my aunt and forced to deal with mobs, I felt a chill down my spine, glancing around instinctively.
“What’s wrong, Teacher?” Nightwish asked, having just killed a small Flower Sprite.
“I feel like someone’s watching me.” I said, tilting my head.
“…Need me to take them out?” Nightwish paused, gripping her dagger tightly.
Being targeted by a future god-tier rogue would be brutal.
I inexplicably worried for the culprit and shook my head.
“Might be my imagination. Besides, I don’t know who it is. By the way, Nightwish, tweaking your attack style could boost your damage.”
Though the topic shift was obvious, Nightwish was more interested in improving her skills, her attention hooked. “How, Teacher?”
“Hold your dagger like this for most situations. When hitting, angle the blade to pierce easier…” I explained, sharing past-life rogue tricks.
After finishing, I noticed no response and looked up to meet Nightwish’s deep gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, heart skipping, wondering if she’d noticed something.
“No, I just think you’re really amazing, Teacher.” Nightwish said.
“Hehe, it’s not that big a deal~” I replied, a bit shy but pleased, puffing up proudly.
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