Chapter 321: Warband Symphony: The Stargazer

The content revealed by the analysis made Jiang Zhou's heart pound violently.

Numerous opportunity events shared by players on the forum rapidly surfaced in his mind.

Behind every event described therein, the involved player had reaped rich rewards.

These players were dubbed by the forum as: Children of Destiny.

Could it be... that the chance to get rich suddenly arrived so unexpectedly?

But recalling the analysis indicating that a special lifeform guarded the semi-independent space, he felt he might lack the strength to explore this area.

Filled with doubt, he chose to seek help from the Guide.

"Brother Guide, with my current strength, if I go in to explore, can I obtain resources?"

[No, the monsters guarding inside have a Hunting Level of 179; with your strength, it would be difficult even to break their defense.]

"Then is it possible to steal the resources stored inside?" Jiang Zhou asked again, harboring expectations.

[The probability is zero; the spatial scene inside is not large, and upon entering, you will immediately encounter the special lifeform guarding it, making death certain.]

The Guide's response made Jiang Zhou unable to help but sigh.

Since the analysis stated that resources were stored within the semi-independent space, it proved there was wealth to be taken.

Alas, this opportunity was temporarily beyond his reach.

"Forget it, I'll just continue my delivery mission."

Glancing at the fishhook still stuck in the formation diagram, Jiang Zhou decided to give up on it.

The fishhook clearly could not be taken away, after all, this spatial teleportation gate would only open again in one day.

But the fishing line bought at a high price naturally could not be abandoned; he decisively pulled a dagger from his spatial inventory.

Placing the blade against the end of the fishing line, which was stretched taut, he began to saw vigorously.

Seemingly slender, the fishing line remained utterly unscathed no matter how hard he tried.

Helpless, Jiang Zhou had to change his posture.

Bracing his feet against the edge of the coral formation diagram, he gripped the fishing line tightly with his left hand while holding the dagger in his right, using the tension of the line to continue sawing back and forth.

Only after his arms grew sore did a few thin strands at the end of the fishing line snap.

Feeling that sawing like this was futile, he summoned the Strength Axe and switched to a chopping stance.

However, exerting force underwater was difficult, and coupled with water resistance, the effect remained poor.

In the end, he reverted to the sawing Cultivation Mode, determined to take this expensive fishing line back with him.

If he couldn't make a profit, he absolutely could not suffer a loss.

As for the semi-independent space within the formation diagram, he planned to return and explore it when his strength grew greater in the future.

He had already memorized the location coordinates.

The opportunity would sooner or later be his; all he needed to do was continue developing and growing, striving to return soon and claim the wealth destined for him.

Just then, Challenger prompts rang out consecutively in his mind.

[Challenger Prompt: Congratulations on discovering a Domain Node region; Reward Sacrificial Power: 1000 Sacrificial Power.]

[Challenger Prompt (All Channels): Rule Node "Quantification" discovered; occupying the Domain Node yields rich rewards.]

Mission Reward: Quantification (Rule - All).

Mission Duration: Infinite (until the node is occupied).

The sudden prompt left Jiang Zhou stunned.

He also realized that the chance to get rich was now completely beyond his reach; at best, he could only claim the consolation prize of 1000 points of Sacrificial Power.

The appearance of the Rule Node ignited the forum.

Gathering, Enlightenment, Divine Turn... every territorial rule allowed all players to benefit from it.

The early Gathering rule allowed the strength of the Food Qi Soul to continuously increase as the number of players grew.

The First Generation Soul could always remain at the pinnacle of the version's T0 tier; even without leveling up the soul, its recovery efficiency gradually improved as the number of embedded players increased.

The Enlightenment Shop brought by the Enlightenment rule was the same.

Many tactics so brilliant they made one's scalp tingle were accomplished by purchasing items from the Enlightenment Mall.

The video of Tourist No. 1 commanding the "Million Flowing Light Counter-Attack" still ranked first on the video popularity list to this day.

The strength of the Divine Turn rule was in no way weaker than the previous two.

It completely eliminated the problem of certain souls being incompatible, allowing magic-system players to embed souls like Scattered Arrow that primarily boost physical attributes, and the same applied to Qi and Blood system players.

Although the specific effects of the Quantification territorial rule were not yet clear.

Players already held expectations for it.

Numerous warbands immediately launched operations, preparing to head to the Rule Node region marked with a golden star to participate in the impending Containment War.

But the appearance of a post on the forum shattered many players' beautiful fantasies about containing the new territorial rule.

[Brothers, let me pour a bucket of cold water; containing the Quantification Territory is probably impossible at the current stage; detailed analysis follows]:

Poster: Super God Little Chick.

Content:

I just asked the Guide in detail about the situation regarding the new rule territory.

Next, let me tell you brothers about this newly appeared rule territory.

The Quantification Territory is already marked on the map, so there is no issue of not finding it, but after you arrive, you will discover it is a semi-independent space.

It only opens during specific time periods.

Every 23 hours and 57 minutes, it opens for 23 minutes.

This was originally the time when the clan that created the space entered the semi-independent space to gather resources; at all other times, it remains sealed.

Inside, a monster with a Hunting Level of 179 sits in guard; its strength is extremely high, and without killing it, one cannot access the Space Node Crystal beneath it.

If it were only this, it wouldn't be a major problem.

The tricky part is that the bearing area within the semi-independent space is limited, accommodating at most ten thousand players.

To operate with flexible mobility, the scale must be reduced to below one thousand players.

This results in the infinite resurrection sustain tactic being completely unworkable; only elite small-group combat is feasible.

But at the current stage, no group possesses the strength to defeat a monster with a Hunting Level of 179.

Even the "Veteran Band," recognized as one of the strongest forces at present, cannot achieve this.

The Veteran Band's best record was during the Kongyuan Peak Campaign, where they activated the Tyrant Dharma Aspect to repel six Snow Ridge King Beasts with a Hunting Level around 130.

I estimate that during his burst phase, Elder Tie's combat power can reach around level 140.

It seems there is only a 39-level gap between him and the guarding lifeform in the semi-independent space, but this gap is even larger than the difference in strength between an initial player and a level 39 player; even if the entire Veteran Band attacked together, they would not be enough.

As for fighting via a war of attrition, that is also unfeasible.

I asked the Guide, and the creature guarding the node inside possesses extremely strong recovery abilities, capable of drawing node energy to heal injuries.

One day is sufficient for it to recover from critical health to full health.

Here, I propose a relatively reliable containment plan.

That is to let the forum's research faction consult the library, attempting to crack the semi-independent space and completely shatter the spatial barrier at the coordinate location.

In this way, the Domain Node would detach from the semi-independent space and be exposed to the outside world.

Once successful, a mere monster with a Hunting Level of 179 could be easily killed under the onslaught of our players' infinite resurrections.

Therefore, all members of the research faction, stop sleeping; it is time for you to contribute to the player race.

Fellow countrymen need your assistance.

This post dampened many players' enthusiasm for containing the new rule territory.

A Hunting Level of 179 was simply too high in terms of strength.

Under the restriction of player numbers, achieving victory was incredibly difficult.

Only by attempting to crack the spatial barrier was there any possibility of successfully containing the "Quantification Rule."

Yet, some player groups refused to give up.

Hearing others speak on the forum was one thing; trying it out personally was another.

After learning the space unsealing time from the Guide, a large number of warbands went to challenge it.

The result was that a massive number of players congested within a single spatial scene.

Amidst various shouts and curses, many players could not move at all, forcibly blocked in place by their own fellow countrymen.

Ultimately, they were all easily slaughtered within the semi-independent space scene by a creature named "Doll No. 2."

After the video was uploaded to the forum, it triggered a chorus of wails.

Many players gave up hope.

Facts proved that players at the current stage were simply insufficient to contain this Rule Node.

The next day, the vast majority of players chose to give up, but some player teams still went to challenge it.

Without the phenomenon of players blocking each other, many elite warbands still fell defeated before the super-combat power of Doll No. 2.

Generally, within about five minutes of entering, they would be sent back to Emperor Tomb Village.

The 23-minute entry window was enough for four elite groups to participate in the challenge.

One week later.

Players had basically all given up.

But there was one player who had not.

Emperor Tomb Village Library.

Fine rain drifted outside the window as Ding Xiao sat in a seat by the glass.

A forum interface floated before his eyes; he was currently replaying recordings from recent days of elite warbands from various guilds challenging Doll No. 2.

When the playback reached the footage of the Starfall Warband's annihilation, Ding Xiao couldn't help but chuckle softly:

"These fellows still have the same old flaw; they are too fond of balanced combat."

If other players heard this remark, they would likely be astonished.

The Starfall Guild boasted extremely high renown on the player forum; it was a potential guild that had risen rapidly recently and had now established a united warband.

Their unified commander, "Ye Lan," had demonstrated outstanding command capabilities on multiple occasions during node territory containment campaigns.

The "Tidal Rotation Tactics," specifically devised to counter the Black Black Tide system and hotly debated on the forum at the time, were invented by Ye Lan of the Starfall Guild.

Ding Xiao was no stranger to Ye Lan.

Back when the Land of Sin was still flourishing, the Starfall Guild led by Ye Lan and the guild he had established had clashed over interests multiple times.

Without exception, however, the Starfall Guild had always emerged defeated.

Upon entering "Monster World" this time, he had chosen not to rebuild a war-type guild.

It was not that he had grown weary of the blood-pumping thrill when vast armies collided and slaughtered one another, but rather that he had suddenly realized something.

True command art lay not in how many people one could lead, but in how much potential one could squeeze out of them to the extreme.

Therefore, after entering Monster World, he founded the "Stargazer Guild," an elite guild with only 512 members.

There were no redundant departments, nor complex hierarchies; there were only the purest tactical executors.

For him, this was a new challenge and a new source of enjoyment.

Every member of his team was an elite among elites; some had followed him from old games.

Others had been recruited on the Winter Snowfield battlefield or through private messages on the forum.

In the old games, the ID "Breaking Ten Thousand Armies" was a golden signboard, and it remained applicable in Monster World.

Regrettably, he was part of the third batch of veteran players in Monster World; this ID had long been claimed by players recruited in the first two batches.

Thus, for every recruitment, one had to report their old game ID to enhance the guild's appeal.

Having experienced Monster World for a year and a half, his main battlefield now lay within the Adventurer Dungeons.

Leading his team to constantly challenge high-difficulty dungeons was the source of his joy.

The semi-independent space currently hotly debated on the forum had sparked his keen interest.

However, with too many teams challenging it in the early stages and the hype now subsiding, he felt the time had come to make his move.

On his desk, an open virtual notebook recorded the vast amount of information he had noted while reviewing the footage.

This included a series of combat characteristics of "Doll No. 2," the guardian of the semi-independent space, as well as many potential issues.

One reason recent challenge teams had perished in droves was that every warband appeared fully equipped, with participation numbers generally exceeding a thousand.

Unlike open battlefields, the semi-independent space had limited room.

For a warband of a thousand, the players' activity space was restricted; they could not exert their due combat power, and even avoiding damage became difficult.

He had drawn the spatial map onto the virtual notebook, concluding that around 600 people was the most suitable challenge scale; any more would cause mutual interference.

However, before initiating the challenge, he needed to perfect his tactics.

The scenes within the semi-independent space gradually became clear under his pen; lines outlined the spatial contour, followed by a set of precise movement trajectories.

Ding Xiao's pen tip paused lightly on the paper's surface, drawing a conspicuous red circle.

This marked Doll No. 2's "Absolute Domain"; any player stepping inside would trigger its berserk mechanism.

Interestingly, after repeatedly studying the recordings, he discovered that this guardian monster, which appeared terrifying in combat power, was actually far simpler than those cunning, high-intelligence monsters found in the wild.

Doll No. 2 resembled more a precise killing machine, operating according to pre-set programs.

Every lift of its hand, every rotation, and even every tug of its threads followed discernible patterns.

It was merely that Doll No. 2's behavioral logic was relatively complex, making it appear to act with complete autonomy.

He recorded these pieces of information one by one in the virtual notebook.

[Whenever a player approaches the Absolute Domain, an area-of-effect strike will erupt.]

He outlined this range with a red circle.

[Within 1.5 seconds after the sound of weeping appears, all thread attacks will experience a brief delay....]

The video continued playing, but Ding Xiao's pen tip suddenly halted.

He rewound the footage, then pulled up seventeen different recordings of warbands' annihilations, freezing the frames on Doll No. 2's movements when it initiated super-large area strikes.

He discovered that in all the footage, at this stage, the ring finger of Doll No. 2's right hand bent at the same angle, as if vaguely grasping an invisible flower.

"So that's how it is."

An additional line of text appeared on the notebook:

[Before super-large area strike: Doll No. 2's right ring finger curls inward in advance.]

He recorded these details one by one in his tactical notes, gradually piecing together a strange conclusion.

All of Doll No. 2's behaviors resembled dance moves that had been scripted.

As long as one found the rhythm, one could predict its every step.

Such monsters were extremely rare in Monster World.

Villains like the Ground Bully and the Lord of Bliss possessed exceedingly high intelligence, even surpassing that of players.

These creatures, which followed rules and fought as if running on a set program, were more like the "retarded monsters" from old games.

Or rather, they were like low-intelligence robots. He had even discovered a fatal flaw in Doll No. 2: during its attacks, if the previous action was not completed, the next command could not occur.

In other words, its ability to adapt to changes was half a beat slower than that of players.

With a Hunting Level of 179, yet so clumsy, this was the first time he had encountered such a creature in his year and a half of playing Monster World.

Even monsters created by those weak races possessed intelligence levels surpassing Doll No. 2.

It was as if a divine weapon capable of cutting through iron had been placed in the hands of an ignorant child; Doll No. 2's strength and intelligence level were completely mismatched.

Theoretically, no race would create such a low-efficiency combat unit to guard a resource treasury.

He did not understand the specific reasons.

But this discovery gave him greater confidence in defeating Doll No. 2.

The sound of rain outside the window gradually subsided; the weather system in Emperor Tomb Village began to shift. Moonlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the tactical plan he had just completed.

It was already covered with dense markings and arrows, weaving an invisible net,

and Doll No. 2 would become the trapped beast within this great net.

Half a day remained before the semi-independent space opened.

Ding Xiao began organizing personnel, requesting guild members to assemble in the Colorful Mist Coast region.

The guild team usually challenged difficulties in the Adventurer Dungeons; upon receiving the notification, they flocked to the Colorful Mist Coast region, following Ding Xiao as they advanced toward the semi-independent space.

Along the way, Ding Xiao began deploying tactics through the guild chat group.

He reconfigured the Star Vein combinations for the guild members.

During this period, using images, videos, and other content, he detailedly interpreted Doll No. 2's series of ability manifestations during combat and reasonable countermeasures, much like giving a lecture.

Next, he assigned different combat functions to different players.

Compared to large-scale team battles requiring operational plans for different sub-groups, the advantage of a small group was that tasks could be assigned to individuals.

He divided the space in the footage into 500 grids, numbering each grid from 1 to 500.

Before the battle began, he required every player to memorize the specific location of each grid to facilitate rapid response and mobilization during command.

Time progressed to the sunset twilight of the afternoon.

Led by Ding Xiao, the team arrived at the region marked with a golden cursor on the map of the Pale Star Sea, after which the members one by one jumped off their vehicles and plunged into the sea.

At the entrance to the semi-independent space, the original formation diagram was currently distorting.

As they waited, it transformed into a vortex-shaped spatial entrance.

Ding Xiao led the 512 members of the Stargazer Guild in a steady stream through the entrance.

What presented itself before their eyes was a ring-shaped canyon, with Doll No. 2 positioned at the center of the scene.

Its body, over ten meters tall, appeared to be crafted from ceramic material, its surface covered in cracks, resembling a broken toy that had been pieced back together.

On its blurred facial features ran a crack spanning across the cheeks.

Sensing the players' entry, Doll No. 2 rotated its neck, its fingertip threads condensing into a silvery-white spiderweb.

"Tanks to the front, activate Blood Walls. Mages and Archers, disperse according to the previously designated matrices. Warriors, prepare for the advance. Healers, maintain the Life Link cycle."

Ding Xiao's commands were issued rapidly.

As the members of the Stargazer Guild adjusted their positions according to Ding Xiao's orders, their eyes quickly scanned the surrounding scene.

Based on the 1–500 numbered scene grids Ding Xiao had divided earlier, they pieced together a rough outline of the scene in their minds.

Although they lacked the embedded Brain Overclocking Soul, the attribute buffs also brought improvements at the level of logical thinking.

Furthermore, those capable of entering the Stargazer Guild were all super-elites among players, demonstrating efficient tactical coordination the moment they entered.

The 512 individuals moved like precise gears, spreading out around Doll No. 2.

One hundred and three Tank-Flow players instantly pressed forward; crimson qi surged around their bodies, and the released blood qi ultimately formed connected Blood Walls that sealed Doll No. 2 within.

In the rear, mage players gathered Lightning, Fire, and Ice elemental energies in their palms.

Archers stood at the very back charging up; the blood qi arrows condensing at their fingertips glowed with a bloody light.

Warriors dispersed to both sides according to tactical markers, with Gang Qi coiling around their Rune Resonance weapons.

Healer players occupied the center position of the battle formation; Life Link tethers flowed among team members like streams.

Doll Number Two moved at that moment, its blue pupils locking onto the front-line Damage Absorption build as a sound wave resembling weeping erupted from its mouth.

A mental shockwave struck, but it was blocked by the protection of the Blood Wall.

"Once the weeping starts, threads will sweep across the entire field; move on my command. Mages and Marksmen, aim at the fissure on Doll Number Two's left chest and prepare to attack."

Speaking thus, Ding Xiao activated his Eagle Head Demon Perception and Brain Overclocking traits, then used his Mark Soul to place a marker on the fissure in Doll Number Two's left chest.

Just then, the silver-white threads in Doll Number Two's hand danced wildly, sweeping across the scene like a laser matrix.

The Qi and Blood Barrier established by the Damage Absorption team was instantly sliced apart and shattered.

The players within the guild team swiftly began maneuvering according to Ding Xiao's commands.

Yet this maneuvering did not involve moving to fixed locations; every second, Ding Xiao's orders changed, keeping the players in constant motion throughout.

In this initial engagement, facing the dense dance of silver threads, three players soon made positioning errors and were instantly struck by the silver-white threads.

Fortunately, the Life Link trait of the Support team activated, preserving their lives.

However, in that instant, the team's combined health pool dropped by 23.38%.

The remaining players quickly adjusted, using the Blood Soul Tether Chains to yank the mistaken players who had entered the danger zone back to safety.

But the crisis was not resolved; the chaotic dancing of the silver threads offered no respite, requiring them to maintain combat output while dodging.

"Fierce Horse, stay put; the rest of the Damage Absorption team, retreat to row three."

With those words, Ding Xiao marked the location of row three on the map.

Once the order was issued, the Damage Absorption players retreated in unison, leaving only one player remaining in the danger zone.

This player's role was to make Doll Number Two perceive an enemy still before it, triggering a close-range area explosion specifically targeting melee fighters.

Sacrificing this player would buy twelve seconds of output time.

A few seconds later, just as Ding Xiao had planned, Doll Number Two initiated an area bombardment.

The Damage Absorption player, whose Life Link had already been severed, instantly turned into black smoke.

The other players immediately struck out, pouring their full output into the location Ding Xiao had marked.

The elemental bombardment from the mage players struck first, followed closely by the Qi and Blood energy arrows of the marksmen, exploding into brilliant sparks along the suture lines.

This was the "Energy Conduction Weak Point" that Ding Xiao had specifically located using his "Spirit Eye."

Only by fiercely attacking this weak point could they hope to kill Doll Number Two.

At the five-minute mark of the battle, Doll Number Two suddenly spun in place, curling the ring finger of its right hand inward.

This was precisely the "Precursor to Area Attack" that Ding Xiao had noted in his tactical notebook.

"All marksmen, mark the Spirit-Sealing positions."

Under the effect of the Spirit Eye trait, the flow paths of energy on Doll Number Two's body were clearly visible.

After Ding Xiao placed markers on the nodes of the energy flow, a rain of arrows struck the marked positions the very next second.

Boom!

Multiple Spirit-Sealing effects instantly extinguished the massive area attack Doll Number Two was about to unleash.

"Damage Absorption, move up! Teams One, Two, and Three, activate Blood Soul Tethers and cast Stone Gaze to immobilize; the rest, activate Slowing Restrictions."

Once the order was issued, all Damage Absorption players quickly closed in on Doll Number Two, releasing Blood Soul Tether Chains to wrap around the marked positions on the doll's body.

They then decisively activated their Stone Gargoyle forms; their bodies were plated with a layer of pitch black, transforming into iron stakes nailed firmly to the ground.

The remaining Damage Absorption players simultaneously activated their Slowing Domains.

Instantly, Doll Number Two, which had been attempting to enter its next high-frequency output phase, was forcibly bound in place, its movements visibly slowing.

"Focus fire on the marked position! Warrior team, prepare to charge. Tianfeng, go to grid 39 and prepare to sacrifice."

Seizing the moment before Doll Number Two could unleash powerful output, Ding Xiao's roar echoed through the guild voice channel as all players began attacking with full force.

The marksmen's Qi and Blood arrows shot forth like a meteor shower, blasting dense breaches into the left knee joint.

"Deactivate Slowing Domains! Petrification squad, prepare to retreat. Beef, activate Wind-Breaking Domain, lead the team in an explosive round, and withdraw on my command."

Once the order was issued, the lead warrior decisively activated the Wind-Breaking Aura, leading the other warrior players to rapidly close in on Doll Number Two, their blades stabbing straight into the joint gaps.

When Doll Number Two entered Berserk Cultivation Mode, indicated by a red halo appearing on its surface, Ding Xiao immediately issued the retreat order without hesitation.

Facing a monster with such extremely high damage output, greedily pursuing damage would only result in a total wipe.

Survival was the core key to victory.

The silver threads danced wildly once more, and the battle rhythm entered the dodging phase again.

During this process, various items came into play one after another.

First came the series of buff items purchased from the Enlightenment Mall, followed by various amplification potions that carried aftereffects.

The battle gradually entered a phase of item competition; Doll Number Two's attack logic became increasingly chaotic, and as more players were actively sacrificed, Ding Xiao began to feel the pressure.

Throughout the entire engagement, the guild members remained in constant motion, daring not to pause for even a moment.

This included Ding Xiao, who was in charge of command; he issued orders while moving, for otherwise his body would be sliced by the silver threads the very next second.

During this period, the most brilliant display was the mutual pulling of the Blood Soul Tether Chains between the warriors and the Damage Absorption players.

In positions where dodging was unavoidable, they relied on the Blood Soul Tethers to instantly pull teammates trapped in danger out of harm's way.

Within the death grid woven from silver-white threads, the Blood Soul Chains drew arcs of redeeming crimson light.

The tactics were adjusted once again.

Following Ding Xiao's orders, Assassin build players approached their own Damage Absorption allies; after the Damage Absorption players grabbed the assassins' arms, they suddenly erupted with Gang Qi to boost them, flinging them rapidly toward Doll Number Two.

After unleashing a round of close-range output, the Assassin players were then yanked back to safety by the Blood Soul Chains.

At this stage, the Assassin build players had become throwing weapons in the hands of the Damage Absorption players, tossed out to deal a round of damage before being reeled back in.

Every strike was executed under Ding Xiao's precise calculations.

The moment the silver thread grid contracted, the Assassin players once again became blood-feathered arrows released from a bowstring, burning with Gang Qi as they pierced the air, precisely grazing the gaps in the death grid while their blades triggered a chain of explosions at Doll Number Two's joints.

Having completed another round of output, just as Doll Number Two's counterattack was about to reach them, the Damage Absorption players simultaneously yanked the chains on Ding Xiao's command.

The chains condensed from Qi and Blood instantly dragged the Assassin players back; like birds returning to their nests, their bodies grazed the edges of the silver thread trajectories as they landed.

"Again, prepare Life Link!"

Ding Xiao's commands acted like a conductor's baton for an orchestra, observing Doll Number Two's movement trajectory to keep the beat.

Under his control, the warband transformed into a precisely operating killing machine.

Every strike was like a carefully arranged accent in a musical movement; the assassins became a swarm of blood-colored meteors stabbing outward, tearing through the air propelled by the Damage Absorption players.

They followed the safe curves predicted by Ding Xiao, like swifts weaving around a storm.

The instant the silver thread grid contracted each time marked the moment the blood-colored blades returned to their sheaths.

In this high-intensity battle, a single player's minor mistake could cause the entire team's health to plummet by over ten percent instantly.

While the Star Gazer Guild team demonstrated an efficient combat rhythm, total annihilation could also occur in the blink of an eye.

When the warband's losses reached two hundred and thirty members, their output efficiency had already dropped significantly.

Since they could not see Doll Number Two's health bar, there was no intuitive way to judge how much more damage the doll could withstand.

However, Ding Xiao's team had undoubtedly refreshed the record for battle duration.

From entry until the space closed, they had remained inside for thirty-two minutes, staging a performance of artistic coordinated combat throughout.

Facing Doll Number Two, which still had the strength to continuously output damage, Ding Xiao knew this round of the challenge would most likely end in defeat.

While the players in the guild warband still had strength remaining, he chose to go all in:

"Everyone, prepare your positions; I will activate the formation in ten seconds."

During the lull in this round of attacks, the remaining players spread out with Ding Xiao as the center.

At this moment, Ding Xiao raised his right hand; a War Formation Brand erupted from his palm, a bronze halo rippled around his body, and the phantom of a giant Dharma Image appeared behind him.

The spectral arms, massive as mountains, gripped broken chains, while blood-colored flames danced in the Dharma Image's pupils.

Spirit patterns spread from Ding Xiao's position across the ground beneath his feet; the guild players quickly fell into formation, continuously charging the War Formation.

The Dharma Image phantom gradually solidified, surging with elemental torrents that enveloped the players within the formation; activating each "War Formation Attribute" triggered an energy resonance.

The entire process was completed in less than three seconds.

At that moment, the Dharma Image phantom punched out, and the surging elemental torrent swept toward Doll Number Two.

The battle officially entered its final sprint phase.

However, this strike failed to cause any substantial effect on Doll Number Two; the silver-white threads quickly coiled around.

The War Formation's health plummeted rapidly.

In the end, the Star Gazer Guild team held on for another twelve seconds before being sent back to Emperor Tomb Village by the dense onslaught, resulting in a total wipe.

One hour later, the figures of Ding Xiao and his teammates reappeared at the resurrection point.

After spending an hour in the small black room repeatedly reviewing the battle recording, Ding Xiao gained a new understanding of Doll Number Two's strength.

Its extremely high defense made it difficult for players to inflict effective damage, which was ultimately the cause of their total wipe.

He contemplated and adjusted multiple tactical plans, but none seemed feasible.

"Boss, why don't we borrow some people from a few top-tier guilds?"

The vice leader's voice rang out in the guild chat channel.

"That is exactly my intention," Ding Xiao nodded.

Their current warband of five hundred and twelve players could still be expanded by about eighty more; any more would affect combat coordination.

With his intent clear, Ding Xiao summoned his contact list.

He located "Wo Si Ni Die" from the Fan Zui Guild and sent a message:

"Brothers, sisters, lend me a batch of elites; an old friend is in trouble."

It did not take long for Wo Si Ni Die to reply:

"Who the hell is your buddy? You wouldn't even agree to invite me into your guild, and now you have the nerve to ask me to lend you people... Speak, what exactly is going on."

Ding Xiao offered no explanation, instead sending over a video of the challenge against Puppet No. 2.

Before long, Wo Si Ni Die sent a reply:

"How many do you need to borrow, and who? Or should I help you ask the God King to lend you a few super tank-spec players?"

"Many thanks. Remember to call up your grandfather's veteran corps; I'm still short 80 elites, so I'm counting on you to mobilize your connections."

"No problem... By the way, Old Wan, do you truly have no intention of rebuilding a top-tier warband anymore?"

"It's too exhausting; I'm getting old. Nowadays, I just want to run a small elite group."

"You aren't even thirty yet. If you're impotent, just admit you're impotent; don't blame everything on age. I'll go rally people for you right now."

Closing the private chat window, Ding Xiao rubbed his temples.

After so many years, that madwoman from the Fanzuigong Society still spoke with such a biting tongue.

But with her support, he felt even more confident about defeating Puppet No. 2.

Here are 8,300 words; tomorrow will be a massive update~

(End of Chapter)