CHAPTER 134: BOSS RAID

It was an abrupt arrival—so sudden that even Xu Tao failed to detect it before it appeared.

All eyes turned to their backs, staring at the giant figure looming over them. Their expressions were filled with shock, fear, and confusion.

Behind them stood a massive monster.

It had a gaping maw, about the size of a house, with four red mandibles extending from either side. Its body was pitch black, with hints of orange at the ends—like flames—especially along its numerous sharp legs.

It had no eyes, as though it had evolved past the weakness of sight. A giant, powerful monster, through and through.

"R-Run!"

Xu Tao snapped back to reality and shouted.

"Steer clear of this monster! Don’t try to fight it!" he clarified.

After all, the deep black name above its head—with glowing red font—told him three things:

One, its name.

Two, that it was a boss-type monster.

And three—

[Nine-Segment Crimson Yang Centipede, Lv. 1000]

—that it was level 1000, a full fifty levels above them.

CLANK!

The centipede snapped its mandibles, almost as if drooling in anticipation. A moment later, it moved.

CLANG!

"Ugh!"

Xu Tao reacted on instinct. He stepped forward and raised his sword—just in time for a barrage of bladed legs to slam against it in rapid succession, like a chainsaw, sending off a spray of sparks.

"S-Sir Tao!"

Jehanne cried out, sensing the urgency. She manifested her spear-flag, spun it once, and struck the centipede’s body.

THUMP!

A powerful impact—enough to stop the centipede’s momentum and force it to back away.

"R-Run..."

"Monster! Run!!!"

"We’re gonna die! Aaaagh!"

With Jehanne’s intervention acting like a fire alarm, panic broke out. Thankfully, despite the chaos, everyone ran in the same direction—toward the tower in the distance.

"S-Saint Joan! We will fight with you to the end!"

"Great Elder, we shall lend our strength and fight!"

But not everyone ran.

Jehanne’s five soldiers and five outer disciples from the Azure Dragon Sect remained, weapons trembling in their hands.

Along with them were Yifa, Wu Zetian, Arthur—and by extension, Achilles as well.

’Right...’ Xu Tao thought, regaining focus. ’We’re not that far behind this monster in terms of level and power. We can do this!’

A small team of elites, all level 950. As long as they fought smart and avoided mistakes, taking down this boss wasn’t impossible.

"Alright!"

Xu Tao barked, raising his hand.

"Jehanne, Arthur—you two take the front! Zetian, Yifa, support from the back! Everyone else, hit from the flanks when you see an opening!"

While barking orders, he dragged Achilles to the back and roughly dropped him onto the sand, then pulled an item from his storage ring—Condensed Qi Pills.

He was completely out of Qi. Though he could still fight with just his sword, without Qi reinforcing his body and weapon, his power would drop to under 20%. Replenishing his energy was top priority.

"Yaaah!"

"Excalibur!"

Jehanne and Arthur stood shoulder to shoulder, intercepting the centipede’s charge.

Given the monster’s size—comparable to a bungalow—the two of them barely managed to stop it.

"Eat this!"

BANG! BANG!

Yifa, following orders, provided backline support—firing her revolver at the monster’s open mouth. She reasoned that the interior would be much softer than its gleaming black carapace.

"Twelve Swords Seal!"

Zetian, meanwhile, fought with her sword.

She couldn’t use her Astral Tower, as it was left active back at base to sustain the Celestial Beasts. That left her with formation and sword techniques, which she used skillfully to restrict the monster’s movement.

Her control briefly stiffened the centipede’s body—giving the others an opening. Jehanne’s soldiers lunged with their spears and retreated. The Azure Dragon Sect disciples unleashed a flurry of techniques from the side, doing all they could.

SCREEEEE!

But there was one problem.

Their concentrated attacks... dealt almost no damage.

No—despite all their attacks, it hadn’t taken a scratch. And now, it was getting angrier!

Xu Tao watched as he circulated the condensed Qi into his body, slowly refilling his empty dantian. From afar, the formation looked stable—but he could tell it was hanging on by a thread. One mistake, and everything would collapse like a house of cards.

"...No choice."

He sighed, then tapped the shoulder of the man still lying at his feet. At the same time, he passed over a sliver of vitality—just enough to jolt him awake.

"Ugh..."

Without delay, the man—Achilles—stirred.

"What... Where am I...?" he muttered groggily.

"You’re up?"

Xu Tao called as he stepped forward, tossing Achilles’ spear and shield toward him.

"Take those and fall back to the tower behind us. You’re just a hindrance right now, so stay there and protect the others!"

There was no mockery in his tone—it was a simple fact. A sleeping man in the middle of a boss fight was a liability. Even now that Achilles was awake, his vitality wasn’t fully restored. He’d only get in the way. Retreating was for the best.

"Hindrance? You dare call me, a demigod, a hindrance?!"

But Achilles, having just regained consciousness, wasn’t having it.

"I’ll show you what a hindrance is!" he roared, grabbing his weapons and charging straight toward the monster. "You’re all the hindrances! STEP THE FUCK BACK!"

"Ah..."

Xu Tao couldn’t stop him—he moved far too quickly. It was like someone had lit a fire up his ass.

Achilles leapt into the air, shield raised, spear aimed for the centipede’s forehead.

"HAAAAP!"

TING!

But as expected, his spear bounced right off. The monster’s carapace didn’t even get a scratch, much less a crack.

"...!"

Caught off guard by the result, Achilles froze mid-air for a breath.

That brief delay... was fatal enough.

SCREEE!

The centipede raised its head, maw wide open. Its mandibles were more like guillotines than pincers—and Achilles was wide open.

"Stand back!"

Jehanne sprang into action. She whipped her spear-flag toward Achilles’ ankle, latching on—and yanked hard, pulling him away just before the monster could strike. He crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

"RAAAGH!"

While Jehanne rescued him, Arthur leapt forward, swinging his sword toward the centipede’s jaw. He aimed to dislodge a mandible, at the very least.

"Shit! Still no effect...!"

He could only grit his teeth.

Achilles scrambled to his feet, about to yell in protest—

"That hurts, you b—!"

—but the words froze in his throat.

He stared at Jehanne as she continued swinging her spear-flag, deflecting each of the monster’s attempts to advance. Her figure, in Achilles’ eyes, seemed radiant—almost glowing.

"...Beautiful," he whispered.

A strange stillness settled in his chest—like awe, or maybe something else.

Just as the exchange of blows intensified—

DING!

—a new notification began blinking in Xu Tao’s view.