Chapter 550: No More Tricks, Only Victory
Being able to take down Elder Eagle without taking a single hit was the ideal outcome. Against a Level 70 Gold-tier boss like Elder Eagle Morta, it wasn’t strictly necessary. Marcus already had more than enough damage to bring the boss down in a straightforward fight if he played it well. There was no real need to complicate things.
Still, if he could develop the skill to defeat powerful enemies without taking damage, it would become invaluable later. Sooner or later, he would have to face Mythic and even Divine Beasts, opponents that wouldn’t forgive a single mistake. Mastering that kind of precision now could mean the difference between life and death later. Knowing your own strengths and limits was always the first step toward defeating an enemy.
Besides, although Knight was still the class he loved most, he had already chosen Mountain Roarer as his subclass. Ignoring half of his abilities would be foolish. He needed to fully understand both classes and find a way to blend them together naturally in combat. One plus one shouldn’t just equal two; it should become something even greater.
Unfortunately, Elder Eagle’s senses were simply too sharp. Wraith Shadow wasn’t enough to fool him, so that strategy would have to wait for bosses with weaker perception.
By now, Lily and FreshwindElara had already restored Marcus to full health, but instead of rushing back into battle, he remained near the entrance, quietly observing the battlefield.
Maybe... there was still a weakness he hadn’t noticed.
Out in the hall, Elder Eagle continued cutting through everything in his path. Razor-sharp feather blades flashed through the air as Pebble desperately tried to hold on, but his health had already fallen below half. Then the boss suddenly closed the distance.
"Eagle’s Peck!"
Three lightning-fast sword strikes landed almost instantly, moving with the same relentless rhythm as Marcus’s own Triple Surge: -3000, -3500, -3200. Nearly ten thousand damage in the blink of an eye, and Pebble collapsed before he had any chance to recover.
Together, Marcus and Pebble had only managed to shave 13,580 HP off Elder Eagle’s enormous health bar; this boss was no pushover.
After finishing Pebble, Elder Eagle slowly surveyed the hall. His sharp eyes quickly found the two Sea Demon Souls and five Royal Sorcerers standing farther away. Without hesitation, he pivoted, spread his wings, and launched himself into the air, sword gleaming as he dived toward them like a hunting hawk.
Once combat began, his awareness clearly expanded; he could detect enemies from nearly fifty yards away.
"Scatter!"
Marcus immediately ordered the Souls and Royal Sorcerers to retreat toward the edge of the hall. Elder Eagle gave chase, but only until he reached a point roughly eighty yards from the Azure Vortex. As soon as the summons crossed that invisible boundary, the boss slowed to a stop. A moment later, he turned around and calmly returned to the vortex, resuming his guard as if nothing had happened.
Just as Marcus had suspected, the boss was leashed to the area.
Once his targets left his patrol range, Elder Eagle completely lost interest and walked back to his original position.
Marcus’s thoughts immediately began racing. They had dealt 13,580 damage; it wasn’t much, but it proved the boss could be worn down. If he could keep landing small bursts of damage, retreat outside the leash, reset, then repeat the process over and over... a grin spread across his face. Maybe he wouldn’t even need the Adamant Shield.
His plan formed almost instantly: use Wraith Shadow to sneak in, unleash a burst of damage, activate Wanderlust to blink back to the teleport point before Elder Eagle could counterattack, then repeat the cycle until the boss eventually fell.
The more he thought about it, the more confident he became.
’Heh...’
Marcus couldn’t help laughing to himself. ’So that’s the loophole. I really do think of everything.’
Feeling rather pleased with himself, he flashed the girls a smug smile. For a brief moment, he even found himself wishing Elder Eagle were a Mythic Beast instead. If this strategy worked, it could become an incredible method for farming bosses far stronger than himself.
Then Lily quietly pointed toward Elder Eagle. "Marcus... his health is full again. I don’t think that’s going to work."
"...Full?" Marcus immediately turned around. Sure enough, just as Elder Eagle settled back beside the Azure Vortex, a bright red healing number floated above his head: +13580. Every point of damage they had dealt disappeared instantly, and at the same time, the boss’s combat status reset completely.
Marcus stared blankly for a second. "...Seriously?" His expression twisted in disbelief; the system really had thought of everything.
He let out a long sigh through gritted teeth. Skynet’s AI truly left no room for cheesy tactics; Dominion had been designed to shut down exploits before players could abuse them.
So much for being clever. Looks like there was no shortcut after all. If he wanted this victory, he’d have to earn it the hard way: a real, head-on fight.
Marcus resummoned his entire force. Pebble returned first, followed by the Sea Demon Souls and the Royal Sorcerers. Lily and FreshwindElara immediately began layering every blessing and enhancement they could cast over him. Once the final buff settled into place, Marcus stepped forward without hesitation.
No more tricks, no more experiments. This time, the battle wouldn’t end until one of them was lying on the floor.
As he closed to within fifty yards, he refreshed every remaining buff while running, making sure nothing expired before the clash, and then he unleashed everything.
"Corpse Demon Wraith!"
"Dragon Soul Aegis!"
Power surged through every part of his body as his attributes soared. The feeling was almost intoxicating. Right now... he felt unstoppable.
"Pebble, move!"
Pebble activated Wraith Shadow and vanished from sight. Slipping between the wandering undead sailors, he quietly advanced until he was within twenty yards of Elder Eagle.
"Mountain Fang Shot!"
Three diamond-tipped arrows tore through the air. Although Blazing Explosive Arrows was still on its three-minute cooldown, Mountain Fang Shot alone packed impressive power. Each arrow dealt roughly three thousand damage, and one of them struck a critical hit.
"Eagle Feathers!"
Elder Eagle roared in anger, hurling a razor-sharp feather blade toward Pebble before immediately taking to the air in pursuit.
But Pebble had already received his orders: the instant he fired, he turned and fled without the slightest hesitation, urging his mount into the air and deliberately drawing Elder Eagle farther away from Marcus’s position.