Encouraged by You Baiye, everyone gradually emerged from their tension and anxiety, beginning to lure monsters and pull aggro, slowly adjusting the rhythm of battle.
But just as a Shield Warrior was about to draw in the frozen ordinary Outsiders—
The freeze that should have lasted ten seconds wore off in less than five. The six ordinary Outsiders moved as if they had planned it all in advance, swarming the level-38 Shield Warrior in a rush. They attacked from every direction with astonishing precision, their angles vicious and merciless.
The Shield Warrior tried to dodge, but their attack speed was mind-bogglingly fast. Evading even two of them was difficult enough, let alone all six. Even raising his shield to block, he still took hits from two Outsiders that pierced through his guard and slammed into his body.
In an instant, the Shield Warrior's HP plummeted by four to five thousand points. Two hits stacked together meant roughly ten thousand damage—more than half his health gone in a heartbeat.
When the Shield Warrior tried to retreat, four Outsiders locked him in place, holding him completely immobile. Even using skills to knock them back proved futile. The remaining two ordinary Outsiders wore sinister, mocking grins as they drove their weapons into the Shield Warrior again and again, drawing out agonized screams of pain.
As if all of this were deliberately staged for everyone to see, they were in no hurry to finish him off.
Despite the healers in the back row frantically spamming recovery spells and other players rushing to help, the sheer damage output combined with the other Outsiders' interference meant the Shield Warrior could only watch himself get chopped down. Up to the very moment of death, he couldn't break free, his eyes filled with deep, primal terror…
The sight sent a chill through everyone's hearts. Fear surged endlessly from the depths of their souls.
Were these things really just monsters?
The thought pierced into every player's mind like a blade. Never before had they seen monsters coordinate with such seamless teamwork—actually joining forces to take down players…
Players' greatest advantages lay not only in their diverse skills but above all in their ability to cooperate with one another, compensating for stat gaps and allowing them to challenge high-level, high-tier bosses. If monsters could grasp that same edge, players would lose more than half of their edge.
"Everyone, keep your distance from these Outsiders as much as possible. Don't let them surround you!" Though You Baiye was shaken to the core, he reacted immediately, fully grasping just how dire this mission was, and bellowed the order.
But the Outsiders had no intention of giving You Baiye's group time to think. In groups of three to five, they charged straight for the back-row magic users, completely ignoring the front-line tanks and melee fighters—as if these Outsiders weren't monsters at all, but seasoned players themselves.
You Baiye had no choice but to abandon the standard monster-fighting playbook and switch to player-vs-player raid tactics. All melee classes formed up around the mages and ranged fighters, trying to intercept the charging Outsiders while fighting a retreating battle.
It had to be said—You Baiye truly deserved his reputation as a legend among Divine Realm players. His command ability was top-tier, and his battlefield observation and prediction were frighteningly precise. He was like a finely tuned machine: knowing exactly who should do what and when, where gaps needed filling, and which skills should be deployed at any given moment. It felt as though every member of the team was You Baiye himself.
And yet even with all of that, the number of players on You Baiye's side continued to dwindle.
On the Outsiders' side, meanwhile, losses were negligible. Even when focusing fire on a single ordinary Outsider, each player's damage topped out at two to three hundred, with crits reaching around five hundred at most. Against a pool of 1.5 million HP, it would take an eternity—and that was before accounting for the Elite and Leader-grade Outsiders.
The stat gap between the two sides was simply too vast. No amount of brilliant command and adaptation could bridge it.
As You Baiye's group was pushed back step by step, gradually moving away from the Silver Giant Dragon, the Outsiders followed them in retreat—pulling far enough away that Shi Feng finally had an opening to sneak up to the Silver Giant Dragon's side without being noticed by anyone.
Now that the pitch-black liquid had departed the Silver Giant Dragon, the creature's color had shifted from its original silvery-grey to a lustrous silver-white. Even unconscious, the aura it radiated was terrifying—powerful enough to immobilize ordinary players within a thirty-yard radius. Even Shi Feng felt his movements grow sluggish the closer he got.
But the nearer he drew to the Silver Giant Dragon, the stronger the Heavenly Dragon's Holy Breath reacted.
"Could it be that I need to obtain the Dragon Heart?" Shi Feng couldn't help but tilt his head up to gaze at the colossal Silver Giant Dragon, his brow furrowing at the daunting prospect.