TSA Chapter 86

By now, the team had completely mastered the attack rhythm, and their coordination had become even more seamless. They could now avoid the black serpent boss’s area attacks with little to no danger. Even when one or two players were unlucky enough to get swept away or poisoned, the two Priests could promptly heal them, ensuring their safety.

“I have a feeling this boss might summon mobs. If we have time, we should clear out the surrounding snake eggs,” Ran Qi reminded them at the right moment.

“Yeah, that’s very likely,” Night Owl agreed with a nod. He then turned to Soul Chaser and Plume Ink. “Soul Chaser, Plume Ink, you two take care of the snake eggs. Be careful—don’t get too close.”

There were quite a lot of snake eggs in the cave. If the boss did summon all the hatchlings at once, it would be a serious headache to deal with. Even though the little snakes didn’t have much HP, they were incredibly fast and could shoot paralyzing venom. Because of this, it was best to have ranged burst-damage classes handle them.

“No problem.”

The two of them responded and began clearing the eggs while fighting. Any hatched snakes were swiftly wiped out with area-of-effect attacks, making the process fairly easy.

However, there were far more snake eggs than they had anticipated. They were hidden in corners, cracks between rocks—everywhere. If all of them hatched at once, the entire cave would likely be overrun with snakes.

“This snake sure lays a ton of eggs…” Plume Ink couldn’t help but complain.

“Haha, well, it is a boss, after all,” Soul Chaser chuckled as he scanned the deeper part of the cave. “There are a few more over here.”

When he spotted snake eggs, he didn’t approach them directly. Instead, he drew his bow and shot them from a distance. The moment the eggs cracked open, he followed up with an AoE attack, instantly wiping out the newly hatched snakes, giving them no chance to retaliate.

When the black serpent boss’s HP dropped to 20%, it suddenly raised its head, sending out black shockwaves in rippling waves—clearly preparing a big move.

The next moment, all remaining snake eggs in the cave cracked open at the same time, and tiny snakes began swarming toward the players. Fortunately, they had already cleared out a large number of eggs earlier, so they weren’t caught off guard.

“Four Seasons, keep holding the boss! Everyone else, switch targets to the mobs!”

Night Owl and Blossoming, the two Mages, took turns casting [Firewall] and [Glacier], blocking the small snakes from advancing. The rest of the team took advantage of the opportunity to unleash AoE attacks. The entire cave lit up with various skill effects, looking as spectacular as the high-budget sci-fi movies Ran Qi had seen in his past life.

After eliminating the small snakes, the team refocused on the boss and quickly took it down.

[System Announcement] Silence before the storm—what a stunning first strike! Congratulations to players [Night Owl], [Soul Chaser], [Plume Ink], [Sword at Fleeting Time], [Coke], [Bai Ran], [Windstorm Jiangnan], [Feng Tian], [No Happiness], [Four Seasons], [Raphael], [Smoke], [Shura], [Blossoming], [Thousand Mechanisms] for securing the first kill of the Demonized Black Serpent in the Sea Abyss Dungeon (Boss #2)!  Rewarded [Serpent Slayer] title and [Physical Exchange Coupon *1].

[System Announcement] [Night Owl] struck decisively! The Demonized Black Serpent dropped [Serpent Skin Armor] before fleeing in disgrace!

[Serpent Skin Armor]

Restriction Level: 45 or above

Limited Profession: Warrior

Grade: A

Durability: 200/200

Attributes: Basic Defense+180, Strength+68, Constitution+30, Toxin Resistance+30 (Reduces poison damage and provides toxin mitigation)

The Serpent Skin Armor had excellent defense, and its toxin resistance made it especially useful against poison-type bosses. It was undoubtedly a solid piece of gear.

Their team had three Warriors in total: Gu Le and Four Seasons, who were tanks, and Windstorm Jiangnan, who followed a War God build. All three of them could use the armor. Based on the primary and secondary tank roles, it made sense for Four Seasons to take it. However, as a high-DPS player, Windstorm Jiangnan was also entitled to be in the discussion.

Fortunately, everyone was part of the same team, so they could just discuss the distribution fairly.

“My armor is newly purchased and still in good condition. You two split it between yourselves,” Four Seasons was the first to speak up.

“I don’t need it either—Ranran takes care of my gear,” Gu Le quickly added.

“You guys are responsible for tanking the boss, so you need better gear,” Windstorm Jiangnan said in a deep voice.

Seeing how the three were being so courteous, the audience watching the live stream couldn’t hold back anymore.

[World] Three-Foot Sword: Don’t give it to them! I want it! I want it!!

[World] I’m the Toughest in the World: I’m so jealous my eyes are turning red. Why am I not in a pro team…

[World] Shinian: Because you’re bad!

[World] I’m the Toughest in the World: Why are you speaking such harsh truths?!

“Enough with the politeness. This isn’t the only time we’re running this dungeon, we’ll have more chances to get gear later. This dungeon is tough, so I think we should prioritize strengthening our main tank’s defense,” Night Owl spoke up at just the right moment.

Hearing this, everyone nodded. Since entering the dungeon, each boss had been tougher than the last, and who knew what kind of dangers still lay ahead? Strengthening the main tank’s gear was definitely the right call. And just like Night Owl said, they would be running this dungeon more than once—there would be plenty of opportunities to get equipment in the future.

So, the Serpent Skin Armor was given to Four Seasons. Once he put it on, everyone realized that the armor looked really good. The silver snake scales had a metallic sheen but felt light and flexible to the touch, with excellent breathability. Compared to the heavy armor forged from ores, this was much more comfortable to wear.

Seeing this, the warrior players watching the stream were all tempted to get one for themselves.

“It looks like there’s no other path here. We’ll have to go underwater again,” someone said after the group searched the cavern and found no exit. Fortunately, they still had the speed potions Ran Qi had given them earlier. After drinking them, they all swam swiftly through the water.

Soon, they reached the third cavern, where they immediately spotted two massive crabs—one red, one white—calmly resting on two large boulders.

“This stage has two bosses? Don’t tell me we have to split up and kill them at the same time,” Soul Chaser speculated, recalling the black-and-white mutated boars from the first stage of the Cat Demon Nest.

“I think that’s highly likely!” Plume Ink nodded in agreement.

Hearing their guesses, Ran Qi felt somewhat relieved. Sure enough, the two crab bosses were a pair—one male, one female. The male crab was a fire-type boss with high-damage, wide-range fire skills, while the female crab was ice-type, specializing in powerful crowd-control abilities. If hit, players would not only be immobilized but also take continuous damage over time.

Additionally, not only did the two bosses need to be killed simultaneously, but their HP also had to be kept at similar levels. If one took too much damage compared to the other, they would go berserk due to their partner’s critical injuries. Once enraged, their attack and defense would double, leaving the team with no option but a full wipe.

However, there was no way for Night Owl’s team to determine the crabs’ genders just by looking. They simply sensed the danger. After thinking for a moment, Night Owl said, “To be safe, we should separate the two bosses and observe their skills first. Four Seasons, you tank the red crab. Coke, you take the white one. Ranged classes focus on the red crab, and melee classes on the white one. Everyone, dodge carefully.”

Having run many dungeons before, Night Owl could roughly guess the bosses’ abilities just from their appearance. Fire-type enemies typically had high attack power, and if they landed a critical hit, it could be fatal. Plus, burn effects caused continuous HP loss. Apart from warriors with high health and defense, other classes were at serious risk if they got too close. That’s why ranged classes were best suited to fight the red crab—they could attack from a safe distance while avoiding its skills.

Ice-type enemies, on the other hand, weren’t as focused on raw damage. Instead, they inflicted control-based debuffs. Fortunately, their team had two healers, both of whom had Purification skills to dispel negative effects. Once everyone got used to the boss mechanics, as long as they dodged properly, they could ease the healers’ burden.

“Make sure to keep the bosses’ HP levels close. Even if they don’t necessarily have to be killed at the exact same time, it’s best to be cautious,” Night Owl added after a brief pause.

“Got it, no problem!” the team responded in unison.

Hearing Night Owl’s instructions, Ran Qi felt reassured. Night Owl’s dungeon awareness was top-tier—he had considered every possible angle. Most of the time, Ran Qi didn’t even have to worry.