16: Chapter 18 Guarding the Stone General: A Fierce Battle (Part 2)

The bronze palace doors slowly closed behind them, the heavy sound echoing through the empty hall.

Lin Ye and the other six stood at the entrance of the third layer space, the sight before them making everyone hold their breath.

This was a giant hall a hundred meters high. The walls were no longer cast from bronze, but a type of pitch-black rock with dark golden patterns flowing across the surface. In the center of the hall stood a ten-meter-tall stone statue—a general clad in heavy armor and wielding a giant axe. Even just standing still, the pressure it emitted made the air stagnate.

At the feet of the statue, ninety-nine small stone statue guards surrounded it. Each was three meters tall, holding a halberd, and arranged in some ancient battle Formation.

"Is this the third layer's guardian?" Chen Hao swallowed hard, his grip on his spear tightening instinctively.

Su Qingyue's beautiful eyes flickered with solemnity: "Those small stone statues... I feel energy flowing inside them."

Lin Ye's gaze fell upon the giant stone statue in the center. A translucent information box that only he could see appeared before him—this was the hidden talent [Eye of True Sight] granted by the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, capable of seeing the rough attributes of targets no more than thirty levels above himself.

[Ancient Palace Guardian Stone General (Elite Boss)]

Rank: ???

Health: 1,000,000/1,000,000

Traits: Extremely high physical defense, immune to control-type skills (consecutive control effects diminish within 30 seconds)

Skills: ???

Weaknesses: ???

One million health!

Lin Ye's heart chilled. In his memories of his past life, the Hell difficulty Guardian Stone General of the Bronze Ancient Palace was indeed one of the most difficult bosses during the server's Early Stage. However, he hadn't expected the sense of oppression to be so realistic when facing it in person.

"Listen up, everyone." Lin Ye's voice rang clearly through the hall. "The one in the center is the boss, and the ninety-nine surrounding it are elite mobs. My Domain can only cover a thirty-meter range, so we must control the battlefield within this distance."

He quickly assigned tasks: "Chen Hao, take Wang Iron Pillar and Li Qingshan to handle the left flank. Qingyue, take Zhao Xiaoyu to handle the right flank. Zhang Meng and I will pin down the boss from the front. Remember, the small stone statues must be cleared first. They have a linkage mechanism; the more of them that remain, the higher the boss's attribute bonuses will be."

"Linkage mechanism?" Su Qingyue keenly caught the keyword.

"Yes." Lin Ye nodded. "For every small stone statue present, the boss's total attributes increase by 0.5%. If all ninety-nine are there, the boss's attributes will increase by 49.5%, nearly doubling. So, before engaging the boss, we must clear at least half of the small stone statues."

Everyone gasped.

What did a 49.5% attribute bonus mean? It meant the boss, who was already difficult to damage, would reach a level of defense that would drive one to despair.

"But Brother Lin," the team's shield warrior, Zhang Meng, scratched his head. "These small stone statues don't look weak either. How are the seven of us supposed to clear fifty of them before starting the boss?"

Lin Ye pointed around the hall: "Look at those dark golden patterns. This is a variation of the 'Spirit Sealing Formation.' The small stone statues aren't activated all at once, but in batches. Based on the changes in the pattern's brightness, I judge that twenty-five will be activated first. After they are killed, the second batch of twenty-five will activate, and finally, the last forty-nine will activate simultaneously."

He paused and added: "We need to clear the first batch quickly. For the second batch, we should slow down appropriately and keep some—because if all the small stone statues die, the boss will enter a 'Fighting Alone' state, and its attack power will skyrocket by 100%, making it even harder for us to withstand."

The tactical thinking was clear.

Controlling the number of small stone statues without killing them all was a balance that heavily tested the commander's judgment.

"Lin Ye, how do you know so much?" Zhao Xiaoyu couldn't help but ask. This girl with a ponytail was the team's healer, holding a verdant staff.

Lin Ye had already prepared his excuse: "When entering the Ancient Palace, I received a hidden task, 'Ancient Palace Researcher,' which requires recording the Formation patterns inside. This information was given in the task prompts."

The half-true explanation, combined with his careful observation of the Formation patterns along the way, was plausible.

Everyone was enlightened, their gazes toward Lin Ye filled with a bit more admiration. To be able to record Formations while distracted in such a tense situation was truly a level of calmness beyond ordinary people.

"Get ready." Lin Ye took a deep breath. "In five seconds, I will use the Chaos Domain to trigger the Formation, and the first batch of small stone statues will activate. Chen Hao, Qingyue, your speed on the flanks must be fast. Zhang Meng, follow me to protect the healer."

Everyone nodded and took their positions.

Lin Ye stood at the very front of the team. Inside his wheel sea secret realm, the golden Sea of Bitterness surged, and the life spring gushed with majestic Divine Power. With a thought, the myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo floating above the Sea of Bitterness vibrated slightly, and a wisp of gray mother qi flowed through his Meridians to the surface of his body.

"Three, two, one—"

Lin Ye slammed his right foot onto the ground!

"Buzz!"

Centered on him, a gray Domain instantly expanded, covering a thirty-meter radius. Within the Domain, the air became viscous, light distorted, and an ancient, chaotic aura that encompassed all things permeated the area.

[Chaos Domain] activated!

Enemy units within range: All attributes -30%

Friendly units within range: All attributes +20%

Duration: Until Divine Power is exhausted or manually canceled

Current Divine Power consumption: 100 points/second

Almost at the same time the Domain expanded, the dark golden patterns on the hall walls suddenly lit up!

"Crack—crack crack—"

The sound of stone statues shattering rose one after another.

On the left and right flanks, the stone shells of twelve small stone statues each peeled away, revealing bronze-colored bodies inside. Crimson light lit up in their eye sockets, and they raised their halberds, stepping forward in unison.

"Boom!"

Twenty-five stone statue guards stepped forward simultaneously, making the entire hall tremble.

[Bronze Stone Statue Guard (Elite)]

Rank: 25

Health: 50,000/50,000

Attack: 800-1200

Defense: 600

Skills: ① Halberd Thrust (deals 150% physical damage) ② Battle Array Linkage (for every additional stone statue guard nearby, all attributes +2%)

"Twelve on the left, twelve on the right, and the one in the center is unactivated—exactly twenty-five!" Chen Hao's eyes lit up, no longer doubting Lin Ye's judgment. "Kill!"

"Azure Dragon Army Breaker!" A green light glowed on Chen Hao's spear. He charged out like an arrow from a bow, the spear tip piercing directly into the chest of the foremost stone statue on the left flank.

-1,288!

A decent damage number popped up. Under the buff of the Chaos Domain, Chen Hao's attack power had already broken the one thousand mark, and combined with the skill bonus, he dealt considerable damage.

"Frost Bolt!" On the right flank, Su Qingyue tapped her staff lightly. Three crystal-clear ice bolts condensed and shot out, accurately hitting the joints of three stone statues.

-966! -988! -1,021!

The ice bolts carried a slowing effect, and the movements of the three stone statues became noticeably sluggish.

"Prepare Healing Rain!" Zhao Xiaoyu raised her staff high, verdant light gathering at the tip, ready to cast a group heal at any moment.

At the front, Lin Ye and Zhang Meng did not take the initiative to attack. Their eyes were fixed on the giant stone statue in the center—the Guardian Stone General.

Sure enough, the moment the small stone statues were activated, two clusters of golden flames lit up in the Guardian Stone General's eye sockets. But it did not move immediately, instead "watching" the battlefield situation coldly like a true general.

It was waiting.

Waiting for the small stone statues to consume the invaders' strength, or... waiting for the invaders to show a weakness.

"Such high AI." Lin Ye's heart chilled. In his past life, he had heard that high-level bosses in the middle and Late Stages of the covering the heavens era possessed near-realistic combat intelligence. He hadn't expected it to already show signs in a hidden dungeon at the start of the server.

"Four cleared on the left flank!"

"Three cleared on the right flank!"

Reports from Chen Hao and Su Qingyue came in. In just twenty seconds, seven small stone statues had turned into rubble, but the remaining eighteen had completed their encirclement, their halberds stabbing from all directions.

"Shield Wall!" Zhang Meng roared, slamming his heavy shield into the ground. A faint golden wall of light rose in front of the team.

"Clang clang clang clang—!"

The halberds struck the wall of light, producing a dense sound of metal clashing. The wall of light fluctuated violently, and Zhang Meng's health bar dropped by a chunk at a visible rate.

-320! -298! -355...

Eighteen attacks, even with the 60% damage reduction from the Shield Wall, the cumulative damage exceeded five thousand points. Zhang Meng's total health was only eight thousand; this round of volleys took away more than half his health.

"Healing Rain!" Zhao Xiaoyu's Spell finally fell.

The verdant rain of light covered a fifteen-meter radius, restoring 200 health points per second for 10 seconds. Zhang Meng's health began to steadily recover.

"We can't tank the volleys head-on!" Lin Ye judged the situation. "Chen Hao, Qingyue, change tactics, pull the Formation apart! Zhang Meng, step forward three paces with me to draw the frontal fire!"

Before his voice faded, Lin Ye had already stepped forward three paces, and the bronze lamp he had obtained from the Great Thunder Sound Temple suddenly lit up.

"Buddha's Light Shines Universally!"

This was the first active skill he had figured out for the bronze lamp—consuming 500 Divine Power to release a fan-shaped Buddha's light, dealing extra damage to undead and Puppet units, and carrying a "Deterrence" effect that reduced their desire to attack.

Soft bronze-colored Buddha's light sprinkled over the nine stone statues in front.

-1,588! -1,602!...

A series of damage numbers popped up. The Buddha's light's counter-effect against Puppet units was significant. More importantly, the red light in the eye sockets of those nine stone statues flickered, and their stabbing halberds showed a momentary hesitation.

Now!

"Void Step!"

Lin Ye's figure suddenly blurred, appearing behind the side of the nine stone statues in the next instant. This was a footwork technique he had comprehended from the Void Scripture Incomplete Manual. Though only at the entry level, its short-distance dash effect was extremely outstanding.

"Chaos Fire!"

His Heart God-Palace roared as a wisp of gray fire emerged from Lin Ye's palm and attached to the bronze lamp. He swung the bronze lamp and slammed it hard into the back of a stone statue's head.

-3,288! Critical Hit!

Chaos Fire was excellent at burning metal and stone units. Combined with the weakness judgment of the back of the head, this strike directly took away nearly one-tenth of the stone statue's health.

"Beautiful!" Chen Hao's spirit was lifted upon seeing this. "Brothers, follow Brother Lin and hit the weaknesses! The stone statues' joints, back of the head, and eye sockets are all weak points!"

The battle situation began to tilt.

Under Lin Ye's demonstration, everyone no longer output damage blindly but consciously attacked the stone statues' weak points. Damage efficiency increased by at least 30%.

Two minutes later, the first batch of twenty-five small stone statues had all turned into rubble.

"The second batch is coming." Lin Ye looked up at the surrounding walls. The dark golden patterns were flickering at a faster frequency. "It's twenty-five again, but their positions are more scattered. Qingyue, use your new ability to control the field."

Su Qingyue nodded slightly. After consuming the sacred fruit in the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land, her awakened "Vast Cold Spirit Body" talent had been slowly waking up. Just before entering the Bronze Ancient Palace, she had finally mastered her first exclusive skill.

"Moonlight Ring."

She chanted softly, her staff drawing a perfect circle in front of her. A pale blue halo spread out with her as the center. Wherever it passed, the air temperature plummeted, and a thin layer of frost condensed on the ground.

This was a continuous area-of-effect slowing Domain, consuming 80 Divine Power per second. The movement speed of enemy units within range was reduced by 40%, and their attack speed was reduced by 20%.

"Crack—"

The second batch of twenty-five stone statues activated.

They surrounded from further away, but after entering the Moonlight Ring's range, their movements became noticeably sluggish, as if they had fallen into a mire.

"Focus on killing the stone statues near the healer first!" Lin Ye commanded.

The battle entered a phase of pulling and kiting.

This time, everyone did not aim for quick kills but selectively cleared the most threatening targets. Ten minutes later, eighteen of the second batch of stone statues had been cleared, and the remaining seven were deliberately kept—this was the result of Lin Ye's calculations, neither allowing the boss to gain too high a bonus nor triggering the boss's Berserk state by wiping out the small stone statues.

When the seventh stone statue fell, the Guardian Stone General, which had stood still for twelve minutes in the center of the hall, finally moved.

"Boom—"

It raised its right foot and took a step forward.

The entire hall shook violently, and rubble fell from the dome. The golden flames in the Stone General's eye sockets burned fiercely as it slowly raised the giant axe in its hand, which was a full six meters long, the blade flowing with dark red blood-light.

[System Prompt: Ancient Palace Guardian Stone General has entered combat state!]

[System Prompt: 7 Bronze Stone Statue Guards detected on the battlefield. Guardian Stone General gains a +3.5% bonus to all attributes.]

"Not bad, only a 3.5% bonus." Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Ye, however, frowned: "Don't celebrate too early. The real battle starts now. Zhang Meng, prepare to take the first axe!"

Before his voice could finish, the Guardian Stone General's giant axe had already slashed down!

There were no fancy skills, just a simple vertical chop, but the power, speed, and momentum made everyone's scalp tingle.

Before the axe even arrived, the gale had already reached them.

Zhang Meng gritted his teeth and pressed his heavy shield firmly in front of him. The shield's surface lit up with a thick, earthy yellow light—this was his trump card survival skill [Unshakable as a Mountain], lasting 3 seconds, during which his block value increased by 100% and damage taken was reduced by 50%.

"Clang—!!!"

A deafening explosion of sound erupted.

The giant axe struck the shield, sparks flying in all directions. The ground beneath Zhang Meng's feet cracked inch by inch, and his entire body was smashed down by half, his legs sinking into the stone slabs.

-4,888!

A terrifying number floated above Zhang Meng's head.

Even with the damage reduction skill active and the shield block, this one axe still took away more than 60% of his health!

"Heal! Quick!" Chen Hao shouted urgently.

Zhao Xiaoyu's staff had already lit up, and a thick green pillar of light fell on Zhang Meng.

+1,200! +1,200!...

Three consecutive heals pulled Zhang Meng's health bar back to a safe range.

"Is this the attack power of a million-health boss..." Wang Iron Pillar's voice trembled. He was the team's off-tank and asked himself if he would have been on the verge of death if he had been the one to take that axe.

Lin Ye's eyes were sharp: "More than that. This axe has a 'Defense Break' effect; Zhang Meng's block was partially ignored. Everyone pay attention from now on—every attack from the boss might carry special effects. Do not rely on conventional defense calculations."

As he spoke, the Guardian Stone General's second axe had already swept across.

This time, the target wasn't Zhang Meng, but Chen Hao on the left!

"I can't dodge it!" Chen Hao's pupils contracted. The coverage of the giant axe was too large; with his speed, he couldn't possibly escape the attack range.

"Void Step!" Lin Ye's figure disappeared again, appearing in front of Chen Hao.

He didn't use a weapon to block—the bronze lamp was a good Buddhist artifact, but it wasn't essentially defensive gear. Directly taking this axe would likely damage it.

He chose to meet attack with attack.

"Chaos Heaven Opening—Prototypical Form!"

Lin Ye held his hands out as if embracing something. The myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo within his wheel sea vibrated frantically, and a wisp of pure Chaos Qi surged through his Meridians, condensing into a blurry gray blade-glow in front of him.

This wasn't the complete Chaos Heaven Opening Divine Ability yet, just a prototypical application from his comprehension process. It consumed a huge amount of energy, and its power was far from its Peak.

But it was enough.

The gray blade-glow collided with the dark red giant axe.

There was no loud crash, only a strange sound of annihilation. The moment the gray blade-glow touched the giant axe, it swallowed, decomposed, and assimilated the energy attached to the axe blade. Although it also collapsed afterward, the giant axe's power was weakened by at least thirty percent.

The remaining power struck Lin Ye.

-2,166!

Lin Ye's health bar dropped by a chunk. His current total health was 5,800 points; this strike took away more than a third.

"Brother Lin!" Chen Hao's eyes turned red.

"Don't get distracted!" Lin Ye barked. "Output! Take advantage of the boss's attack window and output with everything you've got!"

He swallowed a health recovery pill while simultaneously driving the Chaos Domain—the consumption increased from 100 Divine Power per second to 150 points, but the effect also strengthened: enemy units' total attributes -35%, allies' total attributes +25%.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

Stronger debuffs, stronger buffs.

"Ice Chains!" Su Qingyue seized the opportunity, pointing her staff to unleash three icy blue chains that wrapped around the Guardian Stone General's right arm—although they were shattered the very next second, they successfully slowed the Stone General's third attack by half a beat.

It was this half-beat that allowed Zhang Meng to step in just in time, using his shield to take the axe blow.

-3,222!

The damage was reduced; on one hand, it was because of the strengthened debuff from Lin Ye's Domain, and on the other, Su Qingyue's interference had prevented the axe blow from reaching its full potential.

"We've got a chance!" Li Qingshan said excitedly. As the party's ranged archer, he drew his longbow repeatedly, his arrows targeting the Stone General's eye sockets.

The battle entered a stalemate.

Every attack from the Guardian Stone General was heavy and powerful, requiring Zhang Meng and Lin Ye to take turns tanking, with occasional assistance from Chen Hao, the spearmaster, to help block. Zhao Xiaoyu was under immense healing pressure, and her mana was dropping at a rate visible to the naked eye.

But the party's damage output was also progressing steadily.

Lin Ye's Chaos Fire dealt extra burning damage to metal and stone units, dealing 300 fixed damage per second, which could stack up to three times. Although Su Qingyue's ice Spells were partially resisted by the Stone General's earth and stone attributes, their slowing and interference effects were significant. Chen Hao's spear targeted the gaps in its joints, Li Qingshan's arrows aimed for its eye sockets, and Wang Iron Pillar maneuvered around to finish off any remaining small stone statues that occasionally approached.

Five minutes later, the Guardian Stone General's HP had dropped by 15%.

Ten minutes later, its HP dropped to 70%.

"Keep the rhythm!" Lin Ye said, dodging a cleave from the giant axe while observing the Stone General's attack patterns. "Its attacks have a three-part cycle: Cleave, Sweep, and Ground Slam. Ground Slam is an AoE skill; everyone watch for the red light indicator at your feet and jump to dodge in time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Guardian Stone General suddenly raised its giant axe above its head and smashed it fiercely into the ground.

A circle of red ripples lit up on the hall floor, rapidly spreading to a radius of twenty meters.

"Jump!" Lin Ye shouted.

Everyone jumped in unison.

"Boom—!!!"

A terrifying shockwave swept through; even in mid-air, they could feel the force that shook their internal organs. If they had still been on the ground, they would have taken at least 3,000 points of AoE damage, accompanied by a 3-second stun.

"That was close..." Zhao Xiaoyu stumbled slightly upon landing. Her jumping ability was the worst, and she had almost failed to dodge the edge of the ripples.

"Healer, watch your positioning," Lin Ye frowned. "Next time it uses Ground Slam, Xiaoyu, move to the edge early; don't be greedy for damage output."

"Understood." Zhao Xiaoyu's face turned pale. If she had been hit by that last wave, once she, the healer, was stunned, the entire team would have collapsed.

The battle continued.

The Guardian Stone General's HP dropped slowly and steadily: 60%... 50%... 40%...

When its HP dropped to 30%, a sudden change occurred.

The Stone General suddenly stopped attacking and threw its head back, letting out a silent roar—although there was no sound, everyone felt a mental impact.

[System Prompt: The Ancient Palace Guardian Stone General has entered the 'Stone Heart Resonance' state!]

[System Prompt: All stone fragments on the battlefield are beginning to converge!]

Everyone looked on in horror as the fragments of the small stone statues that had been smashed earlier now floated into the air, flying toward the Guardian Stone General as if attracted by a magnet.

The fragments merged into the Stone General's body; its already massive form expanded once more, and dense bronze patterns appeared on its surface.

[Ancient Palace Guardian Stone General (Elite Boss)]

Status: Stone Heart Resonance

HP: 300,000 / 1,000,000 (Restored to 30%)

Effects: Defense increased by 100%, attacks include 'Stone Shrapnel Splash' (deals 30% splash damage to all units within 5 meters of the target).

Duration: Until the end of the battle.

"Its HP recovered?!" Chen Hao gasped.

"No, it's not recovery; it absorbed the stone fragments and converted them into temporary HP," Lin Ye said, his eyes solemn. "Plus, its defense has doubled, and it has splash damage... This is going to be tough."

The worst part was that the Guardian Stone General's attack pattern had also changed while in the Stone Heart Resonance state.

It no longer used the fixed three-part cycle, but instead began releasing skills randomly: giant axe swings released three axe beams to strike the back row from a distance; a heavy single-foot stomp triggered ground spikes to attack from beneath their feet; and it would even occasionally throw its giant axe for a long-range sniping attack.

The pressure on the team increased dramatically.

"Ah—!" A scream rang out.

Li Qingshan was grazed by an axe beam. Although he rolled to dodge in time, the splash damage still took 1,800 HP from him—he only had 3,500 HP in total, so he was crippled by that single blow.

"Heal!" Lin Ye roared.

Zhao Xiaoyu's Spell landed on Li Qingshan, but the next second, a red light lit up beneath her own feet.

Ground Spikes!

"Watch out!" Su Qingyue wanted to help, but she was too far away.

At the critical moment, Lin Ye's Void Step showed its power once again.

He appeared beside Zhao Xiaoyu and pushed her away, but he himself was pierced through the lower leg by three ground spikes.

-1,555! -1,488! -1,602!

Three consecutive damage numbers floated up, and Lin Ye's HP instantly dropped to the danger zone.

"Lin Ye!" Su Qingyue's voice carried clear anxiety for the first time.

"I'm fine." Lin Ye gritted his teeth, pulled the stone spikes out of his leg, and swallowed a second HP recovery pill. "Keep attacking! This state can't last; the energy from the stone fragments it absorbed will constantly drain. As long as we hold out, we have a chance!"

His words gave the team confidence.

Yes, this strengthened state must have a price. The stone fragments only provided temporary HP and energy; once depleted, the Guardian Stone General would even enter a weakened state.

The question was, could the team hold out until then?

Zhang Meng's heavy shield already had cracks, Zhao Xiaoyu's mana was down to one-third, Chen Hao's left arm had been grazed by splash damage and his movements were becoming sluggish, and Wang Iron Pillar and Li Qingshan were both at low HP, only able to maneuver on the periphery without daring to get close.

Only Su Qingyue was in relatively good condition; her Vast Cold Spirit Body granted her a higher limit of Divine Power and faster recovery speed, and her Moon Halo was constantly maintained, continuously slowing down the Stone General's movements.

But it still wasn't enough.

"If this continues..." Lin Ye thought rapidly.

Fragments of his past life's memories surged. Regarding the strategy for the Bronze Ancient Palace Guardian Stone General, he remembered a few key points: the Stone Heart Resonance state would last for three minutes; after the state ended, the Stone General would have a ten-second stun; and... the true weakness was not on the surface.

Where was the weakness?

Lin Ye stared intently at the Stone General's movements, his True Sight Eye operating at full capacity.

A sweep, the axe blade cutting through the air.

A cleave, the patterns on the axe handle flashing.

A ground slam, the heart guard mirror on the Stone General's chest glowing slightly—

Wait, the heart guard mirror?

Lin Ye's pupils constricted.

He remembered! In that circulated strategy post from his past life, there was a very vague description: "The secret of the Stone General is hidden in the stone heart. Only when the mirror is broken will the true form be revealed."

At the time, no one understood the meaning of this sentence because the vast majority of teams wiped out before even reaching the Stone Heart Resonance stage. The few teams that did reach this point just tanked for three minutes, waiting for the Stone General to end the state automatically before seizing the chance to attack; no one had paid attention to any "heart guard mirror."

But now it seemed...

"Everyone!" Lin Ye suddenly shouted, "Focus fire, attack the heart guard mirror on the Stone General's chest!"

"What?" Chen Hao was stunned, "But that's its highest defense location!"

"Do it!" Lin Ye had no time to explain. He charged out first, Chaos Fire igniting on the bronze lamp once again. "This is a hint from a hidden quest I received; the heart guard mirror is its energy hub. Breaking it will end this state early!"

A half-truth, but it was enough.

The group's spirits lifted, and they unleashed all kinds of skills onto the Stone General's chest.

-288! -255! -301...

The damage was pitifully low. The Stone General's own defense was already high, the heart guard mirror location had additional damage reduction, and with the 100% defense bonus from the Stone Heart Resonance state, the group's attacks were like scratching an itch.

But Lin Ye's goal wasn't really to break the heart guard mirror—that was indeed impossible.

He wanted to verify another hypothesis.

Sure enough, in the third second of the group focusing fire on the heart guard mirror, a tiny anomaly appeared in the Guardian Stone General's actions: it canceled the Ground Slam skill it had been preparing to release and instead used its left hand to protect its chest.

It was protecting the heart guard mirror!

"I knew it!" A sharp light flashed in Lin Ye's eyes. "The heart guard mirror isn't a weakness, it's a decoy! What it's really afraid of is us continuously attacking the heart guard mirror—because doing so would expose its true core!"

His gaze shifted to the Stone General's back.

Below that heavy stone armor, right in the middle of the spine, was a stone plate of a slightly different color. He had always thought it was decoration, but now it seemed...

"Chen Hao, Qingyue, keep feigning attacks on the heart guard mirror! Zhang Meng, prepare to use Taunt to hold its aggro! Everyone else, follow me!"

Lin Ye's figure flashed, and he circled behind the Stone General.

The short-range displacement of Void Step showed a huge advantage in this kind of fight. Although the Stone General sensed something, it was pinned down by the frontal feints, and its turn was half a beat too slow.

It was this half-beat that allowed Lin Ye's bronze lamp to smash fiercely into that discolored stone plate.

"Break for me!"

He poured all his power into the Chaos Fire, the Buddha light of the bronze lamp overlapping with the annihilation power of the Chaos Fire.

-8,888! Critical Hit!

A golden damage number floated up, accompanied by the crisp sound of the stone plate shattering.

"Roar—!!!"

For the first time, the Guardian Stone General let out a substantial roar—a harsh, screeching sound of grinding rock. Its massive body trembled violently, the bronze patterns on its surface flickered, and the light of the Stone Heart Resonance state began to fade rapidly.

[System Prompt: The 'Stone Heart Core' of the Ancient Palace Guardian Stone General has been heavily damaged!]

[System Prompt: The Stone Heart Resonance state has ended early. The Guardian Stone General has entered the 'Energy Disruption' state, all attributes reduced by 40%, lasting for 15 seconds!]

"We did it!" A flash of pleasant surprise appeared in Su Qingyue's beautiful eyes.

"Great job, Brother Lin!" Chen Hao shouted excitedly.

"Attack! Full damage output!" Lin Ye ordered, panting. That last strike had almost drained his remaining Divine Power, but his gaze remained sharp.

The fifteen-second weakened period was the key to victory.

Everyone unleashed their skills without reservation. The Stone General's defense was reduced by 40%, and the group's damage numbers started to become substantial.

-2,888! -3,022! -2,755...

The Stone General's HP dropped rapidly: 25%... 20%... 15%...

When only three seconds of the weakened state remained, the Stone General's HP had already dropped to 10%.

"It's making its final stand!" Lin Ye keenly sensed the abnormal gathering of energy within the Stone General. "Everyone, disperse! Fall back to twenty meters away!"

The group retreated without hesitation.

Almost at the same time, all the bronze patterns on the Guardian Stone General lit up with blinding light. Its body began to expand and crack, terrifying energy compressing and compressing again within it—

"Self-destruct?!" Zhang Meng exclaimed in horror.

"No, it's..." Lin Ye didn't finish his sentence.

The Stone General exploded.

But it wasn't a total release of energy; it was the disintegration of its shell. Amidst the flying debris, a stone statue core, only three meters tall and flowing with dark golden light, was revealed.

That was the true body of the Guardian Stone General.

[Ancient Palace Guardian Stone General · Core Form]

HP: 50,000 / 50,000 (10% of total HP)

Status: All defense bonuses removed, Attack Power increased by 300%, Movement Speed increased by 200%.

Trait: Immune to control, lasts 15 seconds; if not killed after 15 seconds, it will re-form its shell and restore to 30% HP.

"It's an execution mechanism!" Lin Ye understood instantly. "We must deplete this last 50,000 HP within fifteen seconds, or it will recover!"

"But its attack..." Chen Hao looked at the energy giant axe forming in the hands of the dark golden stone statue and swallowed hard.

What does a 300% increase in Attack Power mean? It means that if an axe blow could hit Zhang Meng for 4,000 damage before, now one blow could be 12,000! Whoever gets hit dies.

"Whoever it chases, run! Everyone else, full damage output!" Lin Ye said, gritting his teeth. "This is the final test; hold out and we win!"

The dark golden stone statue moved.

Fast, fast to the extreme.

Its first target was the healer, Zhao Xiaoyu.

"Xiaoyu, run!" Su Qingyue shouted urgently.

Zhao Xiaoyu turned and fled, but how could her movement speed compare to a stone statue with a 200% increase? It looked like she was about to be caught—

"Taunt!" Zhang Meng gave it his all, forcibly activating his Taunt skill.

The stone statue's movement paused, and its aggro shifted.

But the next second, the energy giant axe in its hand slashed toward Zhang Meng.

This axe blow was unavoidable.

"It's over..." Zhang Meng closed his eyes.

"Clang—!!!"

The excruciating pain he expected did not come.

Zhang Meng opened his eyes to see Lin Ye standing in front of him, and in Lin Ye's hand, that gray, misty little cauldron that had suddenly grown larger.

The myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo had manifested autonomously at Lin Ye's moment of life and death, taking the axe blow head-on.

The cauldron body trembled violently, fine cracks appearing on its surface, but it didn't shatter in the end. Lin Ye spat out a mouthful of blood, his HP bar instantly hitting the bottom—with only 23 points left.

"Lin Ye!!!" Su Qingyue's voice was choked with tears.

"Attack..." Lin Ye spat out the two words weakly and collapsed to the ground.

Chen Hao's eyes turned red.

"You beast! Die—!!"

His long spear, like a dragon, thrust toward the stone statue's back.

Su Qingyue held her staff high, all the cold air converging into an ice crystal spear, which she threw with all her might.

Li Qingshan's arrows, Wang Iron Pillar's war blade, even Zhao Xiaoyu gave up healing to start chanting damage Spells...

Everyone's attacks reached their Peak at this moment.

The dark golden stone statue's HP bar dropped rapidly.

It still wanted to pursue, still wanted to swing its axe, but the group's coordination had reached the Peak of tacit understanding: Su Qingyue's frost slow, Chen Hao's knockback spear beam, Li Qingshan's stun arrow... although the control effects were significantly weakened, the continuous interference meant it could never complete an effective attack.

Ten seconds.

Stone statue HP: 30,000 / 50,000.

Twelve seconds.

15,000 / 50,000.

Fourteen seconds.

3,000 / 50,000.

The last bit—

"Break for me!!!" Chen Hao's long spear pierced into the stone statue's eye socket, and the Azure Dragon phantom within the spear shaft roared out.

-3,888!

The dark golden stone statue's movements suddenly froze.

It lowered its head to "look" at the crack on its chest, then "looked" at Lin Ye, who was collapsed on the ground, and the golden flames in its eye sockets slowly extinguished.

"Boom..."

The stone statue disintegrated, turning into countless points of light that dissipated.

In the center of the hall, only a pile of glowing loot remained, along with seven golden beams of light shooting into the sky as they leveled up.

They had won.

On the seventh day of the server launch, at a time when their average level was less than 20, seven players had killed an Elite Boss with a million HP, at the cost of everyone being heavily injured and their core member being on the verge of death.

The server-wide first kill was about to be announced.

But at this moment, no one cared about that.

Everyone gathered around Lin Ye, and Zhao Xiaoyu's healing Spells fell like they were free of charge.

"Lin Ye, are you okay?" Su Qingyue knelt beside him, her ice-crystal-like, cool eyes filled with mist.

Lin Ye forced a smile, looking at the System prompt appearing before him, his voice weak but filled with laughter:

"We... succeeded."

His vision began to blur, and the last thing he saw was Su Qingyue's stunningly beautiful face filled with anxiety, and behind her, in that pile of loot, a glimmer of dark golden light...