Chapter 282: The Actor

Seeing that he had successfully fooled them, Feng Xue let out a breath and immediately pretended to begin preparing the ritual.

While Feng Xue appeared busy, Delis's gaze remained fixed on Monster X—the demonic dragon that bore a hint of bio-horror qualities—whose karmic response was surprisingly minimal, yet she understood that any being recognized by the Exile Lands as a Demon King could not possibly lack combat prowess.

"So this Demon King must be one who hadn't yet caused major damage—or even one who wouldn't need heavenly intervention, and would be slain by a hero anyway?"

Delis thought this to herself but decided to observe carefully. At this moment, the Professional Player Guild had already made contact with Monster X; colorful sword-type spells slashed through the air in dazzling streaks. Though none had trained deeply in the Hidden Village, thanks to the First-Generation Talisman, these players had developed numerous skills they could use without understanding their origins.

"Damn thief!" Monster X's thick twin tails sliced a player in half, while its sharp dragon claws tore apart every enemy daring to approach in the cruelest manner.

But such exaggerated combat tactics, against players who felt almost no pain feedback, did not instill fear—instead, they brought a peculiar thrill.

Players charged forward like madmen, while behind them, player groups had begun casting coordinated spells.

Unlike ordinary gold-farming players, the real core of the Professional Player Guild lay in advertising endorsements. As a game with a peak concurrent player count exceeding a million and a steady base of hundreds of thousands, looking impressive and gaining fame meant money and traffic.

Flashy skill trails traced patterns resembling magical arrays; within this meaningless combination, a massive fireball surged straight toward Monster X's face.

But this fireball clearly held no threat to Monster X—he didn't dodge at all, merely opened his enormous maw and swallowed the fireball whole, like a whale drawing in water.

"Dragon, is that enough?" Ganner stroked the ring on his fingertip, eager to act. The Dragon Warrior was about to respond when he suddenly remembered something and warned:

"You can strike, but don't use that shrimp-eating move!"

"I get it, I get it—there's so much guild footage! I won't use it!" Ganner laughed it off, then turned to his Four Bi Guards:

"Brothers, get ready!"

"Got it!"

Yet watching their excited expressions, the Dragon Warrior suddenly felt a bad premonition. He immediately turned to Bao Long:

"I'm going in first—you all act on your own judgment!"

Without giving Ganner a chance to move first, he exploded two tongues of fire beneath his feet, propelling himself toward the demonic dragon.

A dense sphere of energy coalesced in his palm, its high-speed rotation producing a piercing hum that hurt the eardrums; with the glowing radiance on his bracers, the sphere turned orange-red. At this moment, just ten meters from Monster X, the Dragon Warrior suddenly raised both hands high:

"Gaia Energy Cannon!"

The energy sphere, originally no larger than a fist, instantly expanded to the size of a villa—and then accelerated a second time.

Monster X, who had been ready to intercept the Dragon Warrior, immediately changed tactics: he clenched his right claw and drew it to his ribs, then roared—and a cyan gale sliced the orange-red energy sphere cleanly into four pieces.

The violent airflow shattered outward, leaving deep gashes across the surroundings, yet the Dragon Warrior did not dodge—he charged straight into the chaos, his body gilded in gold as his left knuckle-duster extended three razor-sharp claws—

"Beast-Slayer!"

"Arrogant fool!"

This thrust was interrupted by Monster X's roar—the Dragon Warrior felt his wrist tighten, the piercing attack instantly deflected, then a crushing blow struck his abdomen, shattering his Armament Aura instantly.

As he awaited his return to the respawn point, a series of ear-splitting explosions erupted beside his ear—and simultaneously, Ganner's annoying voice blared through the player channel:

"Dragon, I'm here to save you!"

Blinding light illuminated the battlefield, but Ganner's showboating lasted no more than a moment. The Dragon Warrior's fleeting hope vanished the next instant as his own severed corpse, along with Ganner—who had just used Taunt + Sun Fist—was blasted away.

"Brother, I'm sorry, big brother!"

Ganner let out a dramatic wail. The Dragon Warrior, already returned to the respawn point, snapped back:

"Shut up! I'm not dead! If you really feel guilty, die and come join me!"

"No way—we still have our ultimate move!"

Ganner's expression instantly turned serious. Seeing Bao Long already engaging the boss, he stepped back two paces, spread his limbs wide, and shouted:

"I'll form the head!"

Hearing his call, Lei Bi, Xue Bi, Shuang Bi, and Ba Bi all stepped forward simultaneously, pressing their wristbands—and amid four-colored auras, they all roared together:

"I'll form the head!" ×4

Light flared. As Bao Long was repelled by the boss, from within the glow emerged a…

"Why are you all forming the head?" The bizarre machine creature, assembled from five robotic heads, rolled about as the black head shouted loudly.

The blue head immediately retorted:

"Why is it always you who gets to be the head? I want to be the head too!"

"Yeah, we want to be the head too!"

The Four Bi's antics left Delis with a headache, but just as the demonic dragon was about to end this absurdity, the five-headed machine creature suddenly launched upward without warning—metal arms extended from the joints between the heads, and with Ganner's signature voice shrieking "You fell for it!"—a fist forged entirely of magical energy slammed squarely onto the demonic dragon's head.

A riot of negative buffs instantly painted Monster X in garish colors. Though no aura was used, as players, they knew exactly what to do next.

Whether players who had trained in the Hidden Village, professional team players, or casual players who had just logged in to watch the spectacle—all surged forward, unleashing their strongest output skills in a saturation bombardment against the boss now bound by the metal giant.

Flying swords and fireballs, holy light and arrows—various attacks overwhelmed the screen in an instant, yet no one attempted to stop.

As players, they had not yet received experience rewards, nor seen any gear drop—meaning the enemy was still alive. So keep firing!

"Aaaagh—"

Amid what seemed like endless firepower, a furious roar erupted—the metal five-headed monstrosity, riddled with wounds from allied attacks, dissolved into light. And at the center of the barrage, Monster X's body suddenly flared with golden-red lightning!

Delis's brow tightened sharply—only now did she realize belatedly that this demonic dragon was, in fact, a Demon God.

When she turned to Feng Xue with fear in her eyes, she found that this "native hero" was smiling—

"So you've finally revealed your true form?"

(End of Chapter)