196: Chapter 196 Is this... the leader's hobby?

A weathered face, etched with hatred and pain, was exposed under the blood-red moonlight.

His eyes were tightly shut, yet a towering rage seemed capable of piercing through his eyelids and setting the entire courtyard ablaze.

"It has been a thousand years..."

Augus's voice sounded as if it were squeezed from the depths of the earth's crust, every word carrying a dull echo, filled with epic sorrow.

"The monarch's elegy burns my soul day and night! Former glory has turned into eternal shackles! And you..."

"Buddy, that's enough."

Chen You really couldn't listen any longer; he raised his hand to interrupt the boss's opening monologue that had been brewing for a thousand years.

"I get the gist of it, can we just start the fight?"

Augus: "..."

That face, full of grief and indignation, visibly stiffened for a moment.

He seemed to be hesitating over whether to skip the "opening cinematic."

The next moment, a crimson health bar appeared.

【Warlord Augus (LV35 · Elite Lord)】

"Oh, so obedient?"

The moment Augus's health bar fully solidified, he moved.

Heaven-Breaking Sword Technique — Startled Swan!

A sword light condensed to the extreme ignored the distance of space, instantly slashing in front of Augus.

But a bizarre scene occurred.

Crack!

The minion nearby holding a long whip lashed Augus's back once more.

A layer of pale golden ripples spread from Augus, forming a translucent shield.

【Absorbed!】

Chen You's sword light struck the shield, only causing a ripple; not even a damage number floated up.

Immediately after, another minion holding a branding iron pressed the red-hot iron firmly against him.

Sizzle—

【+89555!】

A green healing number popped up above Augus's head.

Chen You: "?"

His side wasn't even doing "scratching" damage, yet over there, two minions with a whip and a branding iron were giving a shield and healing?

What kind of S&M combo skill is this?

At the same time, two more figures emerged from the shadows around the courtyard.

They had no physical bodies, appearing as translucent vengeful spirits, and they pointed their hands at Chen You.

An invisible Spiritual Impact instantly enveloped him.

【"Control Below" effect triggered, immune to silence effects.】

【"Control Below" effect triggered, immune to Soul Shackles.】

...

Chen You raised an eyebrow, understanding instantly.

How the people from Moon Gods Radiance were wiped out.

First, the tank rushes in and finds the boss invincible because two minions are frantically providing shields and healing.

Second, the healers and DPS are hit with area-of-effect silence and crowd control by the mobs that pop up, forced to stand there helplessly.

Finally, the boss Augus charges up an ultimate move, taking out this group of sitting targets who can neither damage the monsters nor cast skills in one fell swoop.

A perfect wipe-out loop.

"I see, the mechanics are actually quite simple."

Chen You remained unfazed, only feeling a bit awkward.

So this was what was meant by "couldn't understand it."

Having figured this out, Chen You already had a strategy in mind.

"Whatever, I'll just pull them all together and AoE them!"

To prevent the mobs from scattering, he closed in directly.

Simultaneously, with a thought, the yuhuang sword split into two.

The whip-wielding servant reacted extremely quickly; seeing Chen You rush over, it immediately turned its whip and lashed toward Chen You's face with a whistling sound.

But Chen You was even faster.

Pfft!

The sword light struck first despite being launched later, accurately piercing its throat.

【-21034!】

A massive damage number floated up.

This was only the beginning.

"Chaotic Stars!"

The two thrown jade brilliance blades instantly transformed into two circular sword nets.

Thousands of star-like sword beams erupted.

Puff puff puff puff puff—

Amidst the dense sounds of sword qi piercing through, the vengeful spirit mobs along with the two whip-wielding servants were ground into a sky full of light motes.

The entire process was smooth as flowing water, taking no more than five seconds.

The boss Augus hadn't even had time to release a single skill.

He seemed to have finally recovered from the stunned state of having his lines interrupted, feeling the passing of his companions.

"Roar—!!!"

A roar even more violent and furious than before echoed through the skies!

Crack! Crack crack!

【Warlord Augus has entered a Berserk State!】

【Attack Power increased by 200%!】

【Attack Speed increased by 100%!】

【Obtained new skills: Earth-Shattering Landslide, Devastating Charge!】

Augus stood up abruptly; his nearly thirty-meter-tall frame was full of unparalleled pressure, like a moving mountain.

His crimson eyes were locked onto Chen You.

"Foolish Adventurer... you... have successfully enraged me!"

"Oh."

Chen You's response was simple and plain.

The next second, Augus's massive fist smashed down with a sonic boom that tore through the air.

Chen You didn't dodge or evade, not even bothering to take a parrying stance, simply holding the yuhuang sword horizontally in front of him.

Boom!!!

Fist and sword edge collided, erupting in a deafening explosion.

The violent airwaves kicked up a thick layer of dust from the ground, spreading frantically in all directions.

The dust cleared.

Chen You still stood in the same spot, motionless.

【-189!】

"Decent strength," Chen You commented, and then his figure vanished.

He appeared at the side of Augus's calf and thrust his sword.

Startled Swan!

【-20114!】

Augus roared in pain, swinging a backhanded slap.

Chen You had already appeared on his other side, delivering the same sword strike again.

【-19886!】

The subsequent battle turned into a completely one-sided beatdown.

All of Augus's attacks, whether it was the heavy "Earth-Shattering Landslide" or the extremely fast "Devastating Charge."

When landing on Chen You, they could only cause two hundred damage at most.

Meanwhile, every one of Chen You's sword strikes could accurately take away twenty thousand of his health.

As one side weakened and the other held strong, Augus's frighteningly long health bar was dropping rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"No... impossible..."

Chen You didn't bother to respond at all, focusing solely on his damage output.

Dense damage numbers instantly flooded the screen, completely covering Augus's massive body.

【-28389! (Critical)】

【-19166!】

【-19083!】

...

"I am not reconciled—!!!"

Finally, with a roar of ultimate grief and indignation, the dungeon's first boss, Warlord Augus, fell to his knees once again.

The world became quiet.

Chen You sheathed his sword and stood.

"That's it? What on earth were those people from Moon Gods Radiance doing?"

He shook his head, finding it somewhat dull.

Just as he thought the first boss was gone like that.

Rumble— Rumble rumble—

The entire ground began to vibrate violently.

It wasn't a slight shaking, but rather like an earth dragon turning over; the entire space was trembling.

Chen You immediately stabilized himself and looked around vigilantly.

He saw the dry, straight riverbed in the center of the courtyard; at this moment, billowing black liquid actually emerged from underground, quickly filling it.

The liquid was pitch black like ink, emitting an ominous aura.

Immediately after, in the withered gardens on both sides of the riverbed, the ground cracked inch by inch, and cylindrical stone pillars about a meter high slowly rose from underground.

These stone blocks were arranged neatly and in an orderly fashion.

When they had fully risen, Chen You's pupils shrank slightly.

He saw that the top of each stone block was inscribed with a character in ancient script.

In the garden on his side, the rising stone blocks were carved with bright red "Shi", "Xiang", "Ju", "Ma", "Pao", "Bing"...

And on the opposite bank of that black riverbed, the rising stone blocks were carved with pitch-black "Shi", "Xiang", "Ju", "Ma", "Pao", "Zu"...

Clearly demarcated, a chilling air of slaughter rushed toward him.

【Boss [Warlord Augus] Phase Two has begun】

A cold system notification sounded in Chen You's ear.

Chen You stood in place, looking at the huge, both familiar and strange chessboard before him, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

He finally understood that this was the "couldn't understand it" Arrow of the Moon had mentioned.