Absolute Death Game

When his attention returned to the screen, the translucent figure had already disappeared inside the stronghold. It took over half an hour before the figure returned.

As the Primordial Spirit and the physical body united as one, Bai Yunfei's character stood up once again.

"I've finished the reconnaissance," Bai Yunfei said in a voice that was not loud but very clear. "There are three silver-ranked bosses in total. The first boss is that Hunter Boss, called the Pursuer, Zhou Kaihuang, accompanied by five elite hounds. Besides that, there are no other minor monsters nearby."

Zhou Kaihuang! Xiao Buli was taken aback upon hearing this. It wasn't for any other reason than the fact that Zhou Kaihuang was the very same hunter from their village. How did he end up as a boss in the copy? And why did he end up hunting us in the first place? Could it be related to Li Baocheng?

But that seemed excessive.

"The second boss is a mounted military commander boss named Guardian Wang Borang, with no followers."

Another familiar face; Wang Borang used to be the guard captain of the caravan. Xiao Buli couldn't help but feel that something strange was afoot upon realizing that he had also defected to the bandits.

"The third boss wields dual blades, called Traitor Luo Zhan, with two elite monsters capable of Stealth as his followers."

Wanderer Li Chuang suddenly spoke up, "I know this Luo Zhan; isn't he the Assassin Trainer from Nine Dragons City? I found it odd when I noticed the Assassin Trainer was replaced a few days ago. I wondered where this fellow had gone. Turns out he ended up in the copy."

Everyone else also expressed their amazement. It seemed that NPCs becoming bosses in a copy was indeed a novel occurrence. Bai Yunfei continued, "Besides that, I found a rare elite in the dungeon named Interrogator Duan Yimao. He shouldn't pose much difficulty. There are also a few NPCs imprisoned in the dungeon which might trigger quests."

"Have you figured out what the backstory of this copy is?" Zhang Yaoyang asked. In general, copies in games didn't just spring up out of nowhere; they often had some story background, unlike many domestic online games.

Since there must be a reason behind the appearance of a copy, it seemed a bit far-fetched for the Black Mountain Bandits to set up a stronghold on this desolate mountain for no reason at all, especially since there were no trade routes or loot to speak of.

Bai Yunfei hesitated, "It seems like they are building something. At the end of the copy, I saw many captured slaves, all yellow-named neutral units, constructing an altar-like structure. That might be the reason why they came here."

"Heh, just as I thought; no matter what this altar is about, there might be a follow-up story. Alright, guys, let's get ready to start, but let's set up our tactics first."

"The first boss is a ranged boss with followers, so we'll use our usual method. Wu Tao and Zhang Qiang will start by pulling the minor monsters away, then Zhao Yunlong can keep charging the boss. That should do it."

"Everyone prioritizes clearing the minor monsters, then kills the boss. Any questions?"

"Hold on, I need to assign the healing," Hua Yueying spoke and then said to Xiao Buli, "Report your skills, and I'll arrange the healing assignments for later."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Xiao Buli listed all his support skills. After thinking it over, Hua Yueying remarked, "Looks like your sect is quite different from mine. I don't even have some of these skills. Ethereal Armor is an excellent support skill. Let's do it this way; I will handle the main healing duties, you take care of anyone continuously losing health, and make good use of Ethereal Armor as a clutch rescue skill.

When you see someone in danger, give them a boost to prevent unnecessary casualties. Also, remember to manage your mana."

Xiao Buli nodded. This was all within his expectations, and there were no problems.

Seeing no one else had anything to say, Zhang Yaoyang nodded, "Then let's begin."

The bandits inside the copy were clearly much stronger than those outside, all of them elite monsters, and even their names had changed.

Black Mountain Lackeys (Demonized Human), Black Mountain Looters (Demonized Human), Black Mountain Raiders (Demonized Human).

"Eh, why are they demonized monsters? I thought those were only in the Dark Forest!" Wu Tao, sitting next to Xiao Buli, couldn't help but blurt out.

"Demonized monsters? What's that?"

Upon Xiao Buli's question, Wu Tao explained, "The Dark Forest used to be called the Thousand Pines Forest. According to the official NPCs, a few months ago, an evil Strength suddenly emerged within the forest, starting to corrupt nearby creatures and residents. Whether it was humans, wild beasts, or even plants, none could escape fate of being devoured by this Strength.

Any unit that was controlled had a suffix like (Demonized XX), and their abilities became considerably stronger than ordinary humans or wild beasts. Last month, the higher-ups suspected that a copy or a big outdoor boss might have emerged, so they sent the White Tiger Group to scout and clear the area. But they couldn't find the way, and many died; in the end, they had to return defeated."

Xiao Buli was still unfamiliar with the Dark Forest, but he now had a rough idea of what demonized monsters were. Could it be that Zhou Kaihuang was also demonized?

While thinking this through, he followed the group and cleared the minor monsters. Fearful of accidentally drawing aggro, his pet Coal Ball was set to passive mode, closely following beside him.

Although the minor monsters were significantly stronger, they weren't a challenge, and the group made swift work of them, eventually arriving at the first boss who sat on top of a doghouse, watching the five hounds below tearing apart a human corpse.