Chapter Sixty-Six: The Boss Is About to Awaken

Although she very much wanted to lash out at the woman’s back, a voice within her kept warning: don’t do it, or something terrible will happen.

Just as the woman with the deadly weapon clenched her fist for the third time, the long-tongued man drifted to her side. His vacant eyes glanced at her, and he shook his head.

“Put away your little tricks, or you’ll die!”

With a flick of the soul-summoning banner in his hand, Zhao Bai awoke.

The two exchanged a glance and quietly retreated to the side, as if Leah’s presence brought upon them a tremendous and unknown pressure. It was a fear as instinctive as a mouse encountering a cat.

...

Mutian Yihua had already breathed his last.

Charlie lay sprawled on the ground, his mangled, bloody hand oozing fresh blood.

Not far away, Marcus had returned to human form, clearly spent and powerless, coughing up blood with every breath.

Zhao Tai had regained some strength, thankful that his abilities were of the healing kind.

Marcus coughed blood violently, his gaze fixed on Qi Guannbei with a complex expression. “Qi Guannbei, why—why would you do this? This…”

Yorick shook his head and smiled lightly. “So, is the warm-up over? How disappointing. Has the team of Awakened become this feeble?”

He turned to face Qi Guannbei, eyes narrowed. “To think the one who killed my subordinates is this easy to defeat. Have I frightened you senseless?”

Qi Guannbei kept his head lowered, unmoving, his eyes as vacant as ever.

Yorick’s brow furrowed, his expression turning strange as a sudden realization struck him. He took a single step forward, closing the distance between them.

Standing so close, Yorick fixed Qi Guannbei with a peculiar stare, looking straight into his eyes.

Their gazes met, but Qi Guannbei’s eyes remained empty.

Yorick raised an eyebrow, then slowly reached out and tapped Qi Guannbei’s forehead.

An astonishing scene unfolded.

A red light began to radiate from Qi Guannbei’s body, and a sudden murderous aura filled the air.

As if some sealed power had been released, a different Qi Guannbei was awakening.

---

Yorick immediately stepped aside, wisps of black smoke beginning to seep from his body.

Qi Guannbei’s face remained expressionless, his eyes still dull, but the killing intent around him only grew more intense.

Leah instinctively glanced at Xiao Zhang, who watched Qi Guannbei intently, his expression grave.

“Xiao Zhang?” Leah called.

Xiao Zhang forced a bitter smile and replied in a low voice, “Don’t ask me, I have no idea what’s going on. Honestly, I haven’t known Qi Guannbei that long! Maybe this is some kind of ability of his.”

At that moment, Qi Guannbei began to speak. “So, you ants are the ones who dared intrude upon my Dragon Palace?”

Just then, everyone’s task descriptions changed.

Notice: The White Dragon Boss has returned to life through a host. Defeat or survive the Boss phase to clear the dungeon. Countdown: two hours.

Player Alert: Boss awakening imminent. Boss awakening imminent.

The great hall’s doors swung open, and a dense throng of shrimp and crab soldiers surged in, marching in orderly ranks!

Upon the dais, the body of the White Dragon slowly transformed into a stream of white light, which flowed into Qi Guannbei. The stone skins on the few guards before the dragon also began to crumble away.

“Get ready for a real fight!” Leah sounded delighted.

“Fight my ass! The boss is about to wake up—run!” Xiao Zhang didn’t want to abandon the others, but with their ragtag group of the wounded, sick, and weak, there was little they could do. As for Qi Guannbei, he’d just have to look for a chance to save him later.

From above, the ever-increasing mass of shrimp and crab soldiers looked like a moving swarm of black ants, converging upon them.

Yorick shouted, spreading his arms wide and bellowing, “Deal with these minions, don’t waste too much here—once the boss is weakened, we’ll return!”

“Our usual plan,” Yorick said quickly. “Stick with me, we break through toward the main hall! Let the Awakened behind us take the brunt!”

He charged toward the main doors, the woman with the deadly weapon and the long-tongued man following close behind.

“Pace yourselves,” Yorick said, eyeing the oncoming monsters. “Don’t rush to use your skills; we still have to deal with the guards.”

...

“Move! Everyone, stick together!”

As soon as the doors burst open and the monsters poured in, Xiao Zhang dragged Zhao Bai over to where Zhao Tai and Marcus were. Leah shrugged and followed, knowing Marcus’s spot offered the best defense.

---

As Xiao Zhang passed by Charlie, he released Zhao Bai and forcibly dragged Charlie by the leg over to the others.

The group scrambled behind the stone platform where Marcus sat. Looking at the advancing shrimp and crab soldiers, Xiao Zhang felt a chill—though they weren’t fast, their dense, orderly ranks were unnerving.

“Don’t hold back! We just have to survive this wave!” he called.

He glanced at his companions, sizing up who could still fight—Leah, Marcus, and himself.

Zhao Tai looked somewhat better, but could barely stand or walk.

As for Zhao Bai…

“Zhao Bai,” Xiao Zhang barked, “protect your brother and that other guy!”

Zhao Tai exhaled and nodded. “Got it.”

Now that the system had unlocked, Xiao Zhang drew his Spider Cutter.

Leah had already brandished her twin blades. The mass of monsters seemed to excite her even more; she shot Xiao Zhang a look and smirked. “Less chatter! All of you, stay behind me!”

The dark tide of enemies surged before them. The silent, stone shrimp and crab soldiers said nothing, but their grim ranks exuded a murderous aura.

Suddenly, a grinding noise came from one of the guards.

Its arm moved first, then the entire stone shell fell away. It swung its hand, and a long spear dropped into its grasp.

Then the second, third… all the guards awoke.

The last guard was different from the others—though humanoid, it had nine heads.

The hydra suddenly drew the sword from its waist and swung it forcefully.

At that moment, as if on cue, the guards split into two formations.

The front ranks of shrimp soldiers raised their shields, while the loach archers behind drew their bowstrings taut…