Chapter Seventy-One: The Grand Duke’s Pet (Part II)

Zhao Nan was not surprised by Ximen Yu's immense strength; after all, he would later become one of the world-renowned superpowerful figures. Such ferocity could not be achieved overnight; it was surely forged along the path of progress, always so. Ximen Yu showed little pride in his prowess. Instead of marveling at outsiders' shock, he was more intrigued by Zhao Nan's abilities. As fellow mages, if possible, he wished to possess Zhao Nan's terrifying spellcasting skills. If his Thunder God's cooldown could be reduced by half, his power would increase by at least twofold.

No one can chase lightning, and lightning cannot chase time.

Ximen Yu had already withdrawn from the battle circle. Due to his fixed damage output, his attacks had surpassed Finnina's Starfall Strike, making him the object of Phoenician hatred.

From dozens of meters away, Zhao Nan peered past Ximen Yu's figure, his gaze fixed on the health bar above Phoenician’s head. At the current pace, this round of combat would require over a hundred more attacks.

...

Time could not be measured, only the steadily declining health of Gao Mingyang, Xu Feng, and Ximen Xiaowu testified to Phoenician's immense vitality, defense, and sheer physical force. The three had now retreated from the fray, leaving only Finnina to continue close-quarters combat beside Phoenician.

Zhao Nan carefully moderated his output, casting Gale Wings on Finnina, while Ximen Yu, having just been relieved by Zhao Nan, was now restoring his mana.

This was the fifty-second attack. Monotonous, tasteless, yet nerve-wracking—any mistake would mean all their efforts had been wasted.

Zhao Nan suddenly remembered Gao Xiang. If he were here, he could unleash armor-piercing magic arrows, making their battle much easier.

The endless stream of small fireballs buzzed like pesky flies, erupting on Phoenician’s head, body, and limbs. Phoenician’s eyes widened, its fur bristling, each strand as rigid as steel.

Clang, clang—!

Even with the Sky Sword Saint’s formidable penetrative power, ordinary attacks failed to breach its defenses. Finnina’s expression changed; the massive claw swung toward her, twice as fast as before.

If struck, she’d likely lose half her health. Gritting her teeth, Finnina unleashed the Sky Sword Saint’s fierce power once again.

There was no time to await Xu Yang’s Glorious Light. Starfall Strike came down with a sweep of her arm, the tremendous impact forcing Phoenician’s claw aside.

Thorn Vines!

Star Combo!

This time, she could not unleash eighteen consecutive vines—only sever a single set. Zhao Nan drew a deep breath; after the long battle, their first unexpected turn had arrived. Phoenician, now accustomed to their tactics, began to disrupt them with its own methods.

"Chosen ones... become my food!"

Who was speaking?

Amidst the tense atmosphere, a voice sharp as a blade rang out, sending chills through everyone’s hearts and slowing their movements.

It was Phoenician... Zhao Nan’s gaze locked onto Phoenician’s three eyes, those cold black pupils now glowing with eerie light. They seemed to pull at the soul like magnets.

Not good... Phoenician had hidden abilities yet unused.

It felt as though countless firecrackers had gone off in Zhao Nan’s mind; clutching his forehead, he struggled to open his eyes. On the field, Gao Mingyang, Xu Fei, and Jiang Lun were writhing, clutching their heads in pain.

Ximen Xiaowu and Xu Feng had fainted outright. Ximen Yu’s face was pale, brows knotted in agony, cold sweat streaming down, barely able to stand.

Finnina braced herself on her sword, forcing herself upright to continue the assault. With everyone else down, if she fell too, all prior effort would be lost. She gasped deeply; though her color was better than the others, her combat effectiveness had clearly diminished.

Precarious.

"Mental Disarray... lasts five minutes..." Ximen Yu gritted his teeth, "That's what the system prompt told me... This rat is no fool..."

Just then, a cool stream of energy flowed into Zhao Nan’s body. He already possessed an ability to halve all negative effects; now, with this refreshing energy entering his mind, his spirit revived, and discomfort faded.

"What is this..."

Zhao Nan turned quickly; behind him, Xu Yang was gasping for breath, chest heaving, sweat pouring down, hands outstretched as a faint glow shone onto Zhao Nan.

Spirit Cleansing.

"Go on..." Xu Yang breathed out the words, closed her eyes, and collapsed beside Zhao Nan. Instinctively, Zhao Nan caught her; her body radiated unusual heat.

Xu Yang was burning up... feverish.

Illness... Players could get sick too, at least until their constitution was high enough to resist all germs.

Zhao Nan recalled Xu Yang’s earlier cough—likely the first sign of her illness.

He gently laid her on the ground, sighed, straightened up, and glanced at the battle ahead. "Ximen Yu, can you use Thunder God once more?"

"The preparation takes longer... At present, this mental disarray will likely interrupt casting... But I’ll try."

"Alright, watch for your chance."

He gritted his teeth, tapped his staff twice for Earthen Aegis, then cast Gale Wings, followed by Listening Wind and Lightfoot Wind, then strode step by step toward Phoenician.

"Finnina, switch—pull them out!"

His voice was quiet but clear enough. A giant dragon’s flaming head appeared before Finnina, lunging at Phoenician, and in that instant, Finnina darted aside, first dragging Ximen Xiaowu from the battle circle, freeing her from combat.

After Dragon Strike came Scorching Ray; Finnina pivoted again, pulling Gao Mingyang out. One by one, in moments, everyone but Zhao Nan was outside the battle circle.

"Finnina, rest a while. Wake the others when the time is up!"

Zhao Nan inhaled, hand trembling as he tucked a bundle of dazzling magic staves at his waist.

---

These were the best staves he’d collected so far. Among them was a purple staff, dropped by the level 10 boss of a routine dungeon.

Hugging this heap of staves, Zhao Nan began circling Phoenician in a wild, feverish dance.

"Is he... planning to hold off this boss alone for four minutes?" Ximen Yu’s lips quivered, unsure whether it was disbelief or lingering mental disarray. "Madness!"

Mad or not, you’d have to see... To Ximen Yu, such madness was no different from courting death. He would rather abandon the rewards and regroup than risk it.

Yet watching, he was shaken to his core.

Zhao Nan truly could do it—his ability to predict Phoenician’s attacks was as precise as a computer. He danced around the boss, his spell accuracy astonishing, his skill combinations nothing short of miraculous.

Fire, water, wind, earth, darkness.

For the first time, Ximen Yu could count the number of different elemental skills Zhao Nan could wield.

Five elements!

Zhao Nan occasionally tossed out staves, each shining brilliantly. These staves exploded like terrifying bombs on Phoenician—one blue staff burst for a direct −500 damage.

How did he detonate staves? Ximen Yu, as a mage, did not yet know, but he was sure that one day he could figure it out.

But... was he really just a mage?

"I almost suspect he could solo this boss outright," Ximen Yu murmured, admiration clear on his pale face. "Of course, I suspect you could too, if you had sufficient supplies..."

He addressed Finnina—the female swordsman, certainly of a hidden class, the strongest he’d ever seen.

Finnina checked the unconscious party members, then replied softly, "Nan won’t solo the boss as long as he’s in the guild. He said, the stronger he acts, the more it limits Mingyang and the others’ growth."

Ximen Yu sighed, nodding quietly, his black staff flickering with faint electricity as he tried to cast Thunder God.

Boom! Boom!

Zhao Nan’s staves were thrown out one by one, Phoenician’s health steadily dropping.

Mired Foot!

Thorn Vines!

Gale Blade Assault!

Even without Finnina’s help, Zhao Nan could instantly sever ten Thorn Vines.

Despite taking damage, Phoenician could not catch the slippery figure darting beneath it, growing ever more frenzied. It strained at the chains binding it—if these snapped, a single breath would blow Zhao Nan away!

But to Zhao Nan, this only made dodging easier. If Phoenician wanted to break free, let’s see who was faster!

From his bundle, Zhao Nan pulled out a purple-quality staff. Reluctant yet excited to see its explosive power, he readied his last self-destruct staff. He’d swallowed countless mana potions by now, their taste bland to the point of nausea.

He inhaled deeply, cast Double Spin, propelling himself skyward, the purple staff burning hot in his left hand.

Phoenician, now wary of staff explosions, saw Zhao Nan rocketing upward and frantically swung its claws. Zhao Nan, expertly controlling Double Spin, adjusted his angle, flashing through the gaps between Phoenician’s claws in a breathtaking maneuver.

This wild assault made Finnina and Ximen Yu gasp—one misstep and his body would be shattered.

There was no limit to madness—only more madness! Ximen Yu sighed, seeing beneath Zhao Nan’s calm exterior the capacity for necessary ruthlessness.

He stepped back, saying lightly, "That should do."

Finnina hesitated; before her, Gao Mingyang’s fingers twitched...

...

The purple staff, shining with terror in Phoenician’s three eyes, as Zhao Nan charged forward. Locking eyes with the beast, Zhao Nan’s silhouette flashed across its pupils, plunging the explosive staff deep into the center eye.

Phoenician instinctively shut all its eyelids, but in that instant, agony tore through its body as the staff pierced through, embedding in the central eye.

"Explode!"

A dazzling flash erupted, blinding all sight, followed by a deafening explosion.

The purple staff detonated, dealing 2000 damage to the mutated dungeon boss.

Zhao Nan crashed to the ground, hastily drinking a healing potion—the explosion was indiscriminate; he lost over 500 health.

Now, the ground began to tremble violently. The blast to the eyes sent Phoenician’s head lurching backward, its body losing balance and collapsing with a thud.

Hiss!

It thrashed its claws and legs, mouth spewing black flames that melted walls and dripped onto the floor, leaving a pockmarked trail.

Zhao Nan kept his distance. With its vision lost, Phoenician attacked in wild, chaotic rage.

Quickly, Zhao Nan deployed a Predator Spider Web, erupting on the ground—white webs ensnared Phoenician, restricting its movements.

Thorn Vines!

---

Gale Blade Assault!

−100! −100! ...

After two skills, a fixed 1000 damage floated up, and Zhao Nan resumed his barrage.

Phoenician’s health bar was now down to about 20 percent. Zhao Nan calculated in his mind—ten percent more to go!

Just ten percent! Zhao Nan inhaled deeply, and with the Predator Spider Web still effective, his attacks would be much easier.

Small Fireball!

Exploding Fireball!

Even Ice Crystal Wall, when it burst forth, dealt some damage!

As he kept casting, suddenly a brilliant golden light fell from above—a massive spear of thunder!

Ximen Yu’s... Thunder God!

"Damn, full revive! Hammer Slash!"

Gao Mingyang’s figure burst onto the scene, leaping high and slamming down a sword beam.

Boom!

"Thanks for your hard work, Nan!" Xu Feng laughed heartily, flashing swiftly to leap onto Phoenician’s body, his dagger gleaming with silver!

Jiang Lun, Xu Fei, and Ximen Xiaowu—

All were now awake and rejoined the battle.

Finnina darted to Zhao Nan’s side. "Nan, Star Combo is ready anytime."

At that moment, radiant colors shone on both of them—Glorious Light!

Zhao Nan turned; Xu Yang was seated on the ground, still gasping, face and forehead flushed, hands trembling, her lips parting, "Go, everyone."

With Glorious Light cast, there was no need to waste Starfall Strike’s single-target damage.

Finnina took a deep breath and shot forward.

Like a raging storm, attacks poured onto the boss. With their rest, everyone’s state was restored; even Xu Fei didn’t need to heal allies. Though the priest’s offensive was minimal, even a few attacks counted.

Who knew how much time passed before Zhao Nan shouted Finnina’s name, casting Gale Wings on her.

Sky Sword Saint! Star Combo!

−100! −100! −100!

A direct 1800 damage!

Now Phoenician’s health finally dropped to ten percent.

Seizing the moment, Zhao Nan quickly moved to the front of Phoenician’s head, his gaze intense as he found the weak point Afanti had mentioned.

Dragon Strike!

Bang!

The last ten percent of the health bar shrank rapidly. Its head began to dissolve into points of light, spreading from the head to the body, vanishing bit by bit.

"It’s over!"

Zhao Nan sighed in relief, relaxing his hands. Amidst the sparkling light, a broad swath of brilliance spread across the ground—the loot from Phoenician’s demise.

A colorful orb slowly landed in his palm among the glittering lights—the secret treasure, Source of Mana.

"But why did it just..." Ximen Yu frowned, clearly unsettled by the boss’s sudden death.

"Weak point attack. Its body had been struck everywhere, with little effect. Only that spot was never touched, so I tried it." Zhao Nan replied calmly.

"I see..." Ximen Yu sensed it wouldn’t be so simple, but didn’t press further. The boss was dead, the scene around them began to shift, fragmenting like shattered glass.

What appeared before them was the original pit. But the beast god statue atop the pit had vanished.

"I got an email from Gao Xiang—thank goodness, he’s safe!" Gao Mingyang cheered, waving his arms.

"My team’s fine too," Ximen Yu said, a hint of happiness in his voice.

He said nothing of the items scattered on the ground.

There was no doubt—the guild "End of the World" had inflicted the greatest damage to Phoenician, and the final blow was struck by Zhao Nan. The dropped items would be protected for a time, belonging to them.

[bookid=3030964,bookname="Supermarket Tycoon in the Apocalypse"]