No matter what the others thought, dozens of player teams had already stepped within forty yards of the Dark Bat King in the blink of an eye.
Hiss.
Sensing its territory being invaded, the Dark Bat King let out a sharp screech.
Its massive wings flapped, and waves of bat shadows surged outward like a black tide.
“Shield Warriors, Paladins, take the front! Activate defensive stances and auras. Priests, keep an eye on your marked targets. Paladins, assist from the front.”
Black King Caesar made a snap decision, issuing commands through the team channel while retreating to the second line under the cover of Shield Warriors and Paladins.
Starry Myth, Epic of the Empire, and others didn’t fall behind, quickly forming solid defensive lines.
Other guilds, though less organized, followed suit.
The endless black mist crashed against the defensive line formed by Shield Warriors, Paladins, and other tank classes.
Thanks to skill buffs and base stats, the bat swarm—lethal to regular players—caused minimal casualties upon contact.
Healing lights from the backline completely blocked the black mist outside the defensive line.
“Switch lines! All Warriors, prepare to charge. Archers, apply Weakness Marks. Mage Teams 1, 2, and 3, start DPS. Rogues, stealth and close the distance, then stand by. Cypress, take over command.”
“Got it. Warlocks, keep refreshing buffs and hold your positions.”
After issuing his final command, Black King Caesar led his Warriors in a charge, piercing through the defensive line like a dagger.
While other guilds weren’t as decisive, they had their elite Warriors follow close behind.
The sight of hundreds of Warriors charging was like an ancient army clash, unstoppable in its momentum.
The Dark Bat King flapped its wings, seemingly trying to take flight to dodge the impact.
But Black King Caesar wouldn’t let that happen.
Using the charge’s momentum, he slammed into the beast.
Though it caused only a brief 0.1-second pause, it was enough to interrupt the boss, pulling it into the encirclement of over a hundred Warriors.
Bang, bang, bang.
Consecutive charges slammed into the Dark Bat King.
Though each stun was brief, the cumulative effect was deadly.
The elite team members in the back needed no orders, seizing the chance to unleash maximum DPS.
Fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, lightning, meteors…
Combined with countless effect-enhanced arrows, the scene was like a chaotic battlefield from a bygone era.
Under this barrage, the Dark Bat King’s health dropped noticeably.
Hiss.
Pain snapped the Dark Bat King out of its stun.
Its terrifying red eyes blazed with fury, enveloping all players within forty yards in a pitch-black canopy.
Twilight Domain.
“What’s going on? Did it suddenly turn night?”
“I can’t see the monster!”
“Damn, its defense spiked so much—it barely takes damage now.”
The reduced visibility threw many players into chaos.
Ranged classes could only vaguely make out the boss’s outline in the darkness, causing many attacks to miss.
Priests and Warlocks couldn’t see frontline players, forcing them to cast healing spells blindly.
Melee classes fared better, only suffering a weakened state with reduced attack power.
Their close proximity meant visibility wasn’t as affected, but without Priest heals, the Paladins’ support alone couldn’t withstand the Dark Bat King’s increasingly ferocious attacks in the dark.
Swish.
Its sharp claws easily pierced three Warriors’ armor, instantly wiping out their half-depleted health bars.
Spurred by the spraying blood, the Dark Bat King grew even more frenzied.
With a screech, it summoned another wave of bat-shadow black mist, sweeping toward the surrounding players.
In the few minutes of darkness, the frontline melee classes suffered heavy casualties.
“Don’t panic! Stormwind, regroup on me. Tighten the defensive line, activate defensive stances and auras.”
Amid the chaos, a deep voice rang out.
Stormwind’s elite Warriors and Paladins, as if finding their anchor, quickly rallied toward it, joined even by members of other guilds.
On the other side, Stormwind’s vice president, Cypress Forest, kept his cool, issuing rapid commands through the team channel.
“Paladins, use Holy Judgment to mark the target. All ranged, aim at the marked position and direction for DPS. Priests, rotate every 10 seconds to cast heals behind the mark.”
Starry Myth, Epic of the Empire, Roseheart, and other guilds quickly regained their composure, directing their teams to take proper precautions, keeping casualties to a minimum.
Though they minimized losses and fought back, the Dark Bat King, with its lifesteal ability, maintained healthy HP in its dark home field.
But when the darkness lifted, its advantage vanished.
As the black canopy overhead dissipated, players unleashed their fiercest firepower on the now-visible massive monster, venting their earlier frustration.
Boom, boom, boom.
Countless explosions accompanied splashes of blood.
Under the relentless assault, the Dark Bat King’s health plummeted from healthy to about 60%.
But as the frontline Warriors and Paladins raised their weapons to teach the beast a harsher lesson, they were stunned to find it had vanished.
Where did it go?
That was the thought in most players’ minds.
A sudden commotion from the ranged teams in the back answered their question.
Transforming into a black shadow, the Dark Bat King swept through the frontline, draining most of their health before targeting a mage from Eternal Spire casting a fireball.
“Urgh!”
The mage had no time to react before being pounced on by the shadow, her frail health bar instantly depleted as she fell into the embrace of the Goddess of Light.
“Dodge! Warriors, charge back to support!”
“Warlocks, interrupt it now!”
But before Eternal Spire’s team could reach their backline, the Dark Bat King vanished again, turning into a ghostly shadow and darting away.
Its next target: Stormwind’s backline.
After wreaking havoc among Stormwind’s squishy classes, causing significant casualties, the Dark Bat King turned into a shadow again before Black King Caesar and his Warriors could arrive.
Its final target was Epic of the Empire, aiming to repeat its devastating attack on their backline.
But this time, things took a different turn.