112: The final boss, Black Coffin Dragon Emperor's Revenge 2

At the same time, the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor announced a decision during the first general assembly of the Ten Thousand Races Alliance:

"I want to give those players one last chance to choose."

Three days later, a video forcibly popped up on the interfaces of all online players.

In the footage, the Dragon Emperor's dragon pupils stared directly into the camera, as if he could see every player personally through the game interface.

"Visitors from another world, I know you can hear me."

The Dragon Emperor's voice reached every player's ears through the System channel.

"You call this world a 'game' and call us 'NPCs'."

"But I want to tell you, every inch of this land is real, and every life has its own Soul."

"When you hunt elves, they wail in agony."

"When you destroy cities, civilians cry out."

"When you extract Souls, those Souls endure eternal pain."

"Now, I give you two choices."

"First: Exit this 'game', delete your game accounts, and never step foot into this world again."

"You can return to your own real lives and forget everything that happened here."

"Second: If you choose to stay and continue treating this real world as a playground, then you must abide by the new rules."

"You have 20 years to defeat me."

"If you fail, the ten thousand Blue Star worlds where you reside will be completely destroyed by my power."

"This is not game plot, and this is not an expansion pack trailer."

"This is a real countdown to the end of the world."

"Choose."

"Make your decision before you log in next time."

The video ended.

The forums exploded once again:

《Does the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor have self-awareness?》

《Terrifying thought: If what the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor said is true...》

《Game Quitting Statistics Thread: How many people plan to delete their accounts?》

The statistics for the number of people who deleted their accounts came out within 24 hours—less than 0.3%.

Almost everyone chose to stay.

The reasons were varied:

"Are you kidding? I've spent over a hundred thousand Universe coins; you think I'll just quit because you said so?"

"It's definitely an immersive plot designed by the game company to make NPCs have self-awareness. This technology is awesome!"

"Even if it really is a real world, so what? Survival of the fittest is the Law of the Universe."

"I must get the rewards promised by Lord Narsst."

"20 years? That's enough for us to grind to max level and one-shot it."

...Su Cheng gave a speech on the guild's internal channel:

"Everyone, the stronger the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor is, the more bountiful the rewards will be after defeating it."

"Lord Narsst is watching us. The time to prove ourselves has come."

Greed overwhelmed the last trace of conscience.

The Black Coffin Dragon Emperor monitored the players' choices through special means.

When he saw the 99.7% retention rate, he closed his eyes.

"Then... let the game begin."

...In the first year, the players launched the "Spring Offensive."

Three million players formed an allied army, attacking the Ten Thousand Races Alliance' fortresses from seven different routes.

They adopted mature game tactics:

Tank classes in the front to absorb damage, damage-dealing classes in the back to attack frantically, and healing classes constantly restoring health and resurrecting.

In the previous life, these tactics were invincible.

NPC AI always followed patterns; as long as one found the "mechanics," clearing the stage was easy.

But this time was different.

Orc warriors learned to feign retreat to lure the enemy deep,

Elf archers hid in the tree canopies, specifically picking off healing classes,

Human mages set up joint magic circles to disrupt the players' skill casting on a large scale.

The most terrifying one was the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor himself.

He no longer stayed put in the Abyss of Eternal Night like in the previous life, but instead became a ghost of the battlefield.

He would suddenly appear on the eastern front, evaporating five thousand players with a single dragon breath,

Then appear on the western front the next second, crushing a ten-thousand-man formation with a sweep of his dragon tail.

Players died, resurrected, fought again, and died again.

A month later, the Spring Offensive ended in total defeat for the players.

Loss statistics: Players died an average of 37 times each, consuming resurrection currency totaling three hundred million Universe coins.

Meanwhile, the casualties of the Ten Thousand Races Alliance... were almost zero.

For the first time, cracks appeared in the optimistic sentiment on the forums.

《Is this difficulty too ridiculous?》

《The NPC AI has definitely been rewritten; this isn't the difficulty a normal game should have.》

《Does anyone feel like... the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor seems to be able to predict all our moves?》

...Su Cheng organized a tactical analysis meeting:

"Don't panic; this is just because we aren't familiar with the mechanics of the new version yet."

"Collect data, analyze the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor's action patterns, and formulate new tactics."

She didn't know that the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor could indeed "predict,"

Because he had experienced an entire future... In the third year, the "Abyss Blockade Battle."

The players changed their strategy.

Since a direct assault didn't work, they would use a war of attrition.

They established twelve frontline bases on the outskirts of the Abyss of Eternal Night, organizing small squads to harass daily, hoping to exhaust the Dragon Emperor's strength.

The Black Coffin Dragon Emperor's response was simple: he flew high into the sky and breathed dragon breath onto the twelve bases in sequence.

That dragon breath was not fire or frost, but a strange "erasure of existence."

Players who were hit didn't even produce light particles; they simply vanished. Their resurrection records showed "Character data abnormal, please recreate character."

Twelve bases, thirty minutes, total annihilation.

Seven hundred thousand players needed to level up new accounts from scratch.

《BUG! It's definitely a BUG!》

《Report the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor for using illegal skills!》

《Where are the Game Masters? Where is Lord Narsst? How are we supposed to play this?》

...The players' complaints were like stones sinking into the ocean.

Narsst never responded to any complaints.

To him, both players and NPCs were test subjects.

He only wanted to see how this "game" would develop.

Su Cheng gritted her teeth:

"Continue. The higher the difficulty, the better the rewards. Notify all guilds to initiate the 'Ultimate Cultivation Plan'."

The so-called Ultimate Cultivation Plan was to concentrate all server resources to cultivate a group of super players.

They hunted rare NPCs and extracted Souls to craft Divine Artifacts.

They farmed World Bosses to obtain top-tier Materials.

They even began researching Forbidden Magic,

Forbidden techniques that required sacrificing a large number of NPC lives to cast.

Casualties began to appear in the Ten Thousand Races Alliance.

In the fifth year, an elven border village was massacred, and three hundred elves were captured alive and sacrificed just to craft a "Soul Wail Staff."

In the seventh year, three cities of the human kingdom were slaughtered, with players collecting "Souls of Despair" to enhance their equipment.

In the ninth year, the Ancestral Spirit Totems of the orc tribes were stolen by players and turned into Demonic Weapons that could summon orc heroic spirits to fight.

The Black Coffin Dragon Emperor could not protect everyone.

The number of players was too great.

Hundreds of billions of players.

Even if only a fraction could be online at once, it was still a terrifying number in the hundreds of millions.

But he was also "cultivating" the players in a roundabout way.

Occasionally, he would deliberately make a "mistake" on a battlefield, allowing players to successfully kill an ancient behemoth.

Occasionally, he would be "too late" to rescue an important stronghold, letting players obtain rare resources.

Occasionally, he would be "forced" to retreat when fighting Su Cheng, letting her obtain the achievement reward for "Repelling the Final Boss."

He was giving the players hope, making them believe that if they just kept working hard, they could win... In the fifteenth year, the players had completely changed.

After fifteen years of the "game," the earliest batch of players had invested almost all their real-world time into it.

Many of them quit their jobs and lived off game trading.

They became estranged from their families, immersed all day in the world of "God Realm Expedition."

Their thinking was gradually assimilated by the game.

When seeing animals in reality, they would subconsciously think, "What Rank of monster is this?"

When seeing knives, they would evaluate, "What is the approximate attack power of this weapon?"

Su Cheng had become a myth among the players.

She held three Divine Artifacts, wore five pieces of legendary equipment, and her Rank reached the System cap of level 999.

The Alliance of Dawn she led had eighty million core members, and the total number of players in the top ten guild Alliances exceeded two billion.

But they still could not defeat the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor.

Over the fifteen years, they organized seventeen ultra-large-scale suppression battles, each crushed by the Dragon Emperor with overwhelming power.

The closest they came to success was in the thirteenth year during the "Starry Sky Fall Plan."

Players sacrificed three million NPC lives to summon a meteor to strike the Abyss of Eternal Night.

The Black Coffin Dragon Emperor simply looked up and spat a dragon breath at the falling meteor.

The meteor disintegrated and dissipated a thousand meters above the ground, as if it had never existed.

At that moment, for the first time, many players felt true fear in their hearts. Was this really an enemy they could defeat?

But greed and sunk costs made it impossible for them to quit.

Fifteen years—too many people had invested too much time, money, and even their entire lives.

Quitting the game meant admitting those fifteen years were meaningless, losing all the status and power they had gained within the game.

The atmosphere on the forums gradually shifted:

《Is it possible... that we'll actually lose?》

《That 20-year countdown, only five years are left.》

《I had a nightmare last night, dreaming that my world was truly destroyed.》

《Stop the defeatist talk! Guild Leader Su Cheng said the final general offensive strategy has already been formulated.》

...Su Cheng had indeed formulated a new tactic.

She spent three years preparing, uniting all guilds and concentrating all server resources to prepare for the "War of the End."

Meanwhile, the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor learned of all this through spies lurking among the players—some who had been persuaded or had a change of heart.

It decided it was time to deal the players a final blow—not a physical one, but a psychological one... Year 19, Month 11.

On the outskirts of the Abyss of Eternal Night, players built the largest frontline base in history.

Over five billion players were online—the limit of what the System could handle—divided into a thousand legions, each with dedicated tactical commanders.

Su Cheng stood on the high command platform, looking out at the dense army of players.

Her heart raced—not with fear, but with excitement.

After nineteen years of preparation and countless failures,

She had finally found a way to "defeat" the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor.

Or rather, she thought she had.

"Everyone!"

Su Cheng's voice spread across the entire battlefield via magical amplification.

"Nineteen years! We've gone from being crushed by the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor at the start to being able to face it head-on today!"

"We've gone from being unable to even pierce its scales to now being able to wound it!"

She pulled up a battle record video. On the screen, during a small skirmish, her star blade successfully left a shallow wound on the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor's flank.

That was intentional on the part of the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor.

It needed to give the players hope; it needed them to believe they were becoming stronger.

"According to the data we've collected over nineteen years, the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor has a hidden mechanism,"

"When its health drops to 1%, it triggers 'Near-Death Berserk,' increasing its attack power by 500% but reducing its defense to 0."

Su Cheng announced,

"This is our only chance."

"We need to focus fire with all our strongest skills the moment it triggers its berserk state and complete the kill within 0.5 seconds!"

The players cheered; they finally saw a clear strategy for the raid.

"In this battle, we will make history! In this battle, we will prove that players are invincible!"

"In this battle, we will obtain the power beyond imagination promised by Lord Narsst!"

Su Cheng held the star blade high:

"For rewards! For glory! So that our world will not be destroyed! Attack!"

Five billion players surged toward the Abyss of Eternal Night like a flood breaking through a dam.

The Black Coffin Dragon Emperor rose from the abyss. For nineteen years, it had been waiting for this moment.

It could feel the surge of the Devil King's Origin power within its body—a power that could easily destroy stars. It had been suppressing it, not fully releasing it.

Now, it was time to end this "game."

But first, it would give the players one last bit of hope.

The battle began.

The players employed a brand-new tactic:

No longer a disorganized swarm, but a well-structured echelon attack.

The first echelon consisted entirely of defensive classes, using their lives and resurrection counts to exhaust the Dragon Emperor's skills,

The second echelon consisted of control classes, constantly applying slow, root, silence, and other effects,

The third echelon was the true main damage-dealing force.

The Black Coffin Dragon Emperor fought "with difficulty."

It "accidentally" got hit by the players' control skills and was "forced" to take a massive amount of damage,

Its Dragon breath "just happened" to miss a certain damage-dealing position,

Its defense "seemed" to be gradually weakening.

A massive virtual health bar appeared above the battlefield.

100%... 87%... 4%... 42%... The players went wild.

For the first time in nineteen years, they saw the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor's health drop below 50%!

It really was possible! What the Guild Leader said was true!

"Keep up the damage! Don't stop!"

Su Cheng roared into the command channel. She personally charged at the front line, her star blade leaving sparks on the Dragon Emperor's scales with every strike.

The health bar continued to drop: 31%... 22%... 15%... The Black Coffin Dragon Emperor began to "go berserk."

It let out an "angry" roar, its Dragon breath becoming even more violent, and the rate of player deaths soared.

But this also meant it was almost finished!

"All reserved skills, get ready!"

Su Cheng ordered,

"On my command!"

Health bar: 8%... 5%... 3%... 2%... On the battlefield, fewer than a billion players remained alive. But it was enough! As long as they completed the final blow!

1%!

"Now! All skills—fire!!!"

Su Cheng and all the top players simultaneously released the ultimate skills they had prepared for years.

The brilliant light of the star blade, the shrill wail of the Soul Wail Staff, the orc spirits summoned by the Ancestral Spirit Totem, the Forbidden Magic exchanged for a million lives... All attacks converged into a torrent of destruction, blasting toward the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor.

It hit!

The players held their breath, waiting for the System notification they had anticipated for twenty years—

【Congratulations to player Su Cheng for killing the final BOSS, the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor, and obtaining the server-wide first kill...】

But the imagined notification did not appear.

Because the moment the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor's health bar dropped to 1%, it suddenly refilled.

100%.

The battlefield fell into a dead silence.

All players, including Su Cheng, stared blankly at the full health bar.

Then, they saw the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor slowly raise its head, and for the first time, a clear emotion appeared in its Dragon eyes—it was mockery.

"Good performance, wasn't it?"

The Dragon Emperor's voice echoed across the battlefield,

"For nineteen years, I've been playing this 'boss raid' game with you."

"Now, I've played enough."

It spread its wings.

This time, there was no holding back, no suppression. The Devil King's Origin power was fully released.

The mere pressure caused all players within a thousand miles to fall to their knees.

Their health bars dropped frantically—not from being attacked, but from being harmed by pure "Existence Rank Suppression."

"Did you think those wounds were my true weakness? Did you think that 1% health was the key to the raid?"

The Dragon Emperor laughed, a laugh filled with coldness,

"That was just an illusion I showed you, an illusion I wanted you to see."

"Just like the illusion you showed our world,"

"Treating our real pain as your game data."

Su Cheng struggled to stand, but she couldn't even move a finger.

She finally realized the truth.

In these nineteen years, all their "progress,"

All their "tactical Breakthroughs,"

All their "hope,"

Were all traps meticulously designed by the Black Coffin Dragon Emperor.

It was cultivating their hope only to completely crush it at the end.

"Why..."

Su Cheng asked hoarsely,

"Why do this..."

"Why?"

The Dragon Emperor looked down at the woman who had killed him in his previous life,

"Because you gave us a choice: either become playthings in your game, or resist."

"We chose to resist."

"And you, when faced with a choice,"

"Whether to quit the game to preserve your own world,"

"Or to continue the invasion for the sake of greed,"

"You chose the latter."

It raised its front claw and gave a light swipe.

The billion players still alive all turned into points of light.

But this time, the points of light did not fly toward the resurrection points,

Instead, they were imprisoned in place by the Dragon Emperor's power,

Condensing into a massive orb of light.

"Tell all players,"

The Dragon Emperor said to the orb of light,

"There is one month left until the twenty-year deadline. I will be here, waiting for your final general offensive."

The orb of light exploded, and the billion players were reborn at their respective worlds' resurrection points, each receiving the Dragon Emperor's message.

It was an ultimatum.