TSA Chapter 85

The black serpent boss also noticed them. It warily raised its head, its golden vertical pupils coldly locked onto their direction, hissing as it flicked its tongue.

“This boss likely uses poison-based attacks. Melee fighters, be extra cautious and try to attack from behind. Avoid standing directly in front of it. Ranged DPS, maintain a safe distance,” Night Owl instructed in a deep voice. “Four Seasons will be the main tank, Coke will be the off-tank. Work together carefully.”

“Understood,” the team responded in unison, eager to engage in battle.

The first boss had dropped a rare orange-tier piece of equipment, which only heightened their anticipation for the second boss’s loot. However, Ran Qi was less optimistic. He knew that in Abyss Dungeons, each boss was usually more difficult than the last.

The black serpent boss had three main abilities: Venom Spray – This skill dealt fan-shaped damage within a two-meter range in front of the boss. Players hit by it would be poisoned, suffering continuous damage and a Weakness debuff. Any subsequent attacks they took would deal double damage. This made it crucial for Priests to cleanse these negative effects immediately, or else the team could face a wipeout.

Constricting Attack – The black serpent boss was massive, nearly eight meters long, comparable to a giant python. Besides its venom, it was highly aggressive. During battle, it would swing its thick tail to sweep at distant players. The cavern wasn’t very spacious, leaving little room to dodge. Anyone hit by the tail would be flung into the cavern walls, and when the boss retracted its tail, it would randomly select a player to constrict. The consequences of getting caught? Well, just imagine a prey wrapped up by a python.

Summoning Snakes – The gray-green eggs they saw earlier in the cavern were indeed the boss’s eggs. As its health dropped, the black serpent would summon its offspring to fight alongside it. These small snakes weren’t as venomous or powerful as the boss, but they came in large numbers. Their poison had a Paralysis effect, rendering bitten players immobile for three seconds—enough time to turn the tide of battle.

In short, this boss was extremely dangerous, and they needed to proceed with caution.

“Be careful not to touch the eggs,” Ran Qi reminded them before the fight began.

The boss would only summon its snake minions when its HP dropped below 50%. At that point, its attack power would slightly decrease, making it possible for the team to focus fire on the small snakes and eliminate them efficiently. However, if they accidentally broke the eggs too early, they’d have to deal with both the minions and the boss at the same time—a nightmare scenario.

“Got it.”

The battle started swiftly. Four Seasons secured the boss’s aggro, while the rest of the team unleashed their attacks. Enraged, the black serpent spewed a large amount of venom, covering the two-meter area in front of it with dark green poison. Even the slightest contact would inflict poisoning. This was less of a concern for ranged players, but it posed a significant threat to melee fighters.

Fortunately, Night Owl had warned the melee players to circle behind the boss, allowing them to evade the venom attack. Only Four Seasons of Warm and Cold and Gu Le, the two tanks, remained in front of the boss to keep it facing away from the DPS players, ensuring a safe environment for damage output. As a result, they were the only ones poisoned during the first wave of Venom Spray.

Ran Qi and Feng Tian immediately cast Purification to cleanse their poisoning and swiftly healed them back to full HP.

The black serpent boss launched its second attack soon after, swinging its thick tail violently in a sweeping arc that nearly covered the entire cavern. Due to the cavern’s limited space, even with fast reflexes, dodging the attack was extremely difficult.

The players were struck by the tail, sent flying into the walls, and then crashing back to the ground.

In reality, such an impact would have resulted in serious injuries, but in the game, they merely felt a dull pain that didn’t hinder their movements.

However, Shura and Blossoming happened to land directly on some of the snake eggs, causing several small snakes to hatch and immediately attack them.

Their bodies were instantly paralyzed—poisoned and unable to move. If the boss launched another attack at that moment, they would be in grave danger.

“Heal! Hurry and heal us!” Seeing their rapidly dropping HP, the two panicked and shouted.

“Do you have red potions? Drink one as soon as the paralysis wears off!” Thousand Mechanisms fired several arrows, swiftly killing the small snakes. “We don’t have time to help you right now!”

Shura and Blossoming finally realized that Feng Tian had been swept away by the black serpent boss’s tail earlier. Now, he was tightly constricted by the massive tail, the crushing pressure bearing down on him so intensely that they could even hear the sound of his bones creaking.

Feng Tian’s entire face was flushed red, his HP dropping at an alarming rate. His situation was clearly much more dire than Shura and Blossoming’s.

Everyone launched attacks at the serpent’s body, trying to force it to release Feng Tian. Ran Qi was too preoccupied to heal anyone else—after casting a group healing skill over the crowd, he focused entirely on keeping Feng Tian alive.

Their team only had two Priests. No matter how skilled Ran Qi was, he wasn’t capable of solo-healing the entire party. Saving Feng Tian was the top priority.

Shura and Blossoming understood this well. Instead of complaining, they anxiously watched their own HP bars. The moment their paralysis wore off, they immediately drank a red potion.

Under the team’s relentless attacks, the black serpent boss finally loosened its grip and released Feng Tian. However, by that time, its aggro had become chaotic. It locked onto Night Owl—who had dealt the most damage—and lunged at him with a vicious bite.

Even with Night Owl’s speed, he wasn’t fast enough to teleport away. The sharp serpent fangs sank into his body, dealing massive damage while also applying two stacks of the Poisoned debuff. If not for his high HP, he might have been instantly killed.

Fortunately, Ran Qi’s Healing Spell and Purification landed just in time, quickly restoring Night Owl’s HP and cleansing the poison.

Four Seasons and Gu Le rushed over without hesitation, using their skills to forcibly pull the black serpent boss’s aggro back.

That last moment had been dangerously close, but thankfully, no one had died. Having learned from experience, when the black serpent boss prepared to sweep its tail a second time, the team deliberately positioned themselves away from the snake eggs. That way, even if they got knocked back, they wouldn’t break any eggs.

Watching Night Owl’s team handle the black serpent boss with such composure, players in the World Channel couldn’t help but flood the chat.

[World] Chi Yan: My god, did you see the boss’s AoE damage just now? A single crit was over a few thousand! If it were me, I’d be long dead…

[World] Returning to the Sea: Yeah, if it were my team, we would’ve wiped for sure!

[World] Wangchuan Autumn Wither: Of course, a god-tier team isn’t something we can compare to! But I think the most impressive one is that black-robed Priest. In such a dangerous moment, he not only immediately cast a group to heal but also kept the other Priest’s HP stable.

[World] September Sky: Are you kidding? That’s the number one Priest in the entire server! His skills are no weaker than Night Owl’s!

[World] Eternal Starlight: But why is the number one Priest covering himself up so much from head to toe? Does he have something to hide? [Confused Emoji]

[World] Jia Tu: What’s with the passive-aggressive comments? Can’t people have some privacy? Our Bai Ran is super good-looking, okay?!