Five minutes later, as white light flashed, twenty-four people reappeared one after another inside a room in the Kazdel Mobile City.
Everyone looked at each other—wanting to say something, but not knowing where to begin.
All eyes eventually turned to Huangtian Houtu. Resting his chin in one hand, he thought for a while before finally speaking:
"Our level being too low is one major factor. Secondly, each boss clearly has its own strategy. I think our group composition was the problem."
He began analyzing calmly:
"The Vampire boss, Zosia, seems to have extremely high elemental resistance. His Originium Arts make crossbows and spell bullets ineffective—we'll need a team that focuses on heavy physical damage.
"As for the other Vampire boss, Luna, she doesn't have Arts that block ranged attacks, and her physical defense is quite low. The left side should be handled by our snipers for sustained guerrilla attacks.
"Then there's Giles—his elemental defense isn't that high, but his physical resistance is enormous. That area should be handled by our casters for bombardment."
No wonder he was the leader—everyone nodded in agreement. After hearing the other groups' reports, he quickly pieced together the general strategy for all three bosses.
"It's still tough," said Cheng, raising his hand. "Over here, Luna's output is ridiculous—our Defenders can't last more than a few hits before they're down. I think we're approaching it wrong, just like that Rainy Knight fight last time. Maybe… we weren't even supposed to trigger these bosses in the first place?"
Yang Yan XF added, "We also need to make sure our vanguard troops stay alive… though before we wiped, most of them were already gone anyway."
After a moment of thought, Huangtian Houtu nodded. "We'll first try using the method I mentioned earlier. But before we go in again, I want everyone to carefully observe the terrain and check the interiors of the buildings. There might be usable items or untriggered conditions we missed.
"The recommended level might be 55, but there's no reason it should be this hard right from the start. I think we're missing something."
He turned toward Cheng, gave a light nod, and clapped his hands. "Repair your gear—then we'll give it another try."
The Dynasty Squad and the raid groups had taken a serious beating. Hundreds of other players who had obtained the instance crystal also entered the dungeon—most siding with the victors of the previous battle, Babel / Tomorrow's Development.
Unfortunately, some unlucky souls were instantly crushed by falling boulders the moment they spawned. Others fell into traps and died on impact.
That alone brought back some traumatic memories—many old players even joked that it felt like their ancestors' "Vietnam campaign." So this time, everyone treaded carefully, step by step, like they were walking on landmines—true PTSD behavior.
Once they reached the slums, they were once again met with the combined assault of all three bosses. Some teams tried to focus on one boss at a time, intending to deal with the other two later—but the moment they engaged, the remaining bosses wiped out their vanguard forces and flanked them from both sides.
A beautiful triple-sandwich annihilation.
On the forums, countless players complained about the dungeon's absurd difficulty and massive map size. Simply figuring out the bosses' weaknesses wasn't enough—their special moves and attack ranges required pure trial and error.
The combined team of Dynasty team and the raid group was wiped out four times. Something was clearly off—maybe there were conditions they hadn't met yet. Frustrated, they turned into white light again and decided to try something different.
This time, they switched sides—to the defenders: the Military Commission of the Kazdel Mobile City.
After all, if you can't beat them… join them. Sound logic, right?
When the white light faded, they found themselves inside the slums, behind a short defensive wall—the first line of defense of Kazdel's moving city. Looking around, they noticed another Sarkaz squad stationed on the opposite side of the wall.
Just like during the Rainy Knight event, they had replaced a defending unit.
[Objective: Repel the Vanguard Army]
Perfect. Now the tables had turned. A wide grin spread across Huangtian Houtu's face.
If attacking was this difficult, how could the other side possibly break through now that they had three powerful bosses on defense?
He was practically ready to pop open some champagne.
That was—until their field of vision caught something unexpected.
A figure was approaching—a woman in an elegant high-ranking uniform… an elderly lady.
Everyone immediately tensed up.
Normally, enemies appeared in groups. If one was walking in alone… that only meant one thing—this was a boss.
"So, what now? Do we go down and meet her head-on?" asked Cheng, eyeing the tense mercenaries of the Military Commission beside him. "We can't just let her stroll into the city like she owns the place, can we?"
"Prepare for battle!"
The instant Huangtian Houtu gave the order, the old woman opened her mouth—
—and suddenly, the mercenaries on the walls turned their weapons on each other, fighting like they'd lost their minds. Within seconds, the whole squad had collapsed to the ground, blood pooling beneath them.
"What kind of Originium Art is that…?"
Cold sweat rolled down Huangtian Houtu's back. Could this be some kind of hypnosis-type ability?
"Malatang, get up there!" he shouted.
"I know, stop rushing me!"
Cursing under his breath, Malatang vaulted over the wall. The remaining twenty-four players followed his lead, jumping down one after another in proper formation. He took point, raising his shield as he charged toward the lone figure ahead. As he drew closer, the boss's name appeared above her head:
[Mantra]
A wave of invisible sound rippled through the air. Malatang's vision immediately blurred as a Confusion debuff appeared on his status bar. Behind him, Huangtian Houtu and Yang Yan XF were also struck, their movements slowing, their expressions twisting in disarray.
Thankfully, the medics in the group acted quickly, cleansing their debuffs in time. Malatang exhaled in relief and swung his greatsword down at Mantra.
Boom!
A shockwave burst from Mantra's body, gathering into a violent gust that shot forward in a straight line. The dozen or so players caught in its path shared the impact damage evenly—but when the AOE subsided, they realized their HP bars had dropped to critical red.
"Tch… we need to spread the damage!"
Cheng barely finished his sentence before realizing something horrifying—every player hit by the shockwave suddenly went berserk, attacking their own allies. This wasn't some shared-damage mechanic. It was a Defender execution move!
The confused players turned their weapons on their teammates, slashing wildly. The medics were sweating bullets, trying to heal and purify at the same time, but there were too many debuffs and too little time. Within moments, their own allies had cut them down—each death more tragic than the last.
Huangtian Houtu felt utterly defeated. What kind of monster is this? The Vampire bosses were bad enough, but this? Was this even legal design?
The upper-level bosses from Babel were on a whole different level from the Vampires. Even as he got stabbed to death by a confused teammate, Huangtian Houtu was still thinking—How the hell do you counter a boss that attacks with sound-based mental waves? Even maxing out mental stats won't save us!
Once again, the players wiped completely and reappeared in the respawn room, their avatars dissolving into white light.
After a long silence, Huangtian Houtu finally muttered, "Maybe… we should just focus on clearing the Babel / Tomorrow's Development route first."
"Brilliant idea, sir. Truly brilliant."
"Yeah, this Military Commission side is insane—no way actual players are supposed to defend that."
"I just wanna know why this old hag wasn't helping us when we were on the other side!"
The new instance had players everywhere crying in frustration. Meanwhile, far away in Dossoles, another group of players faced real trouble—they were being surrounded by True Bolívarian soldiers.
Dandao Dantart wiped his blades clean, trying to keep his durability up as he cursed under his breath.
"Our outpost's been compromised, Captain. What now?"
Sorlesar leaned against the window, parting the curtain just enough to peek outside. Though the streets were lit, the shadows between the lamps hid several figures in officer uniforms. Among them stood a Perro woman in full military attire, her face flickering between light and darkness.
"No word yet from Meteorite and her team… but it looks like we're surrounded."
His expression darkened. He glanced toward Flamebringer, who sat nearby, his long blade strapped across his back and his gaze cold as steel.
"Flamebringer, what do you plan to do?"
"Hah? What else? We fight our way out. Sitting here waiting will only kill us slowly. Better to go down in a blaze of glory."
Flamebringer licked the corner of his lips, eyes glinting with fire.
Before splitting up, Meteorite had ordered him to remain at the outpost and granted him command. Now, as vice-captain, Sorlesar bore responsibility for everyone's safety.
From what he'd learned, the true Bolívar soldiers that enter Dossoles belonged to the coalition government's army. Their operation here in Dossoles was nothing more than a probe—a test to gauge Candela Sanchez's strength, as well as the influence of the other powers like Leithanien and Columbia within the city.
And their chosen method? Terrorist attacks.
The players could understand the government's motives—but not their methods. Launching terrorist strikes in a bustling city like Dossoles meant throwing the safety of every citizen and tourist to the wind.
Surrender? Give up? Impossible.
"Give the order, Captain," Dandao Dantart's voice came firm and ready.
Sorlesar adjusted the grip on his staff, scanning the twenty or so people still left in the outpost. "The back door leads straight to the harbor. We'll lure them to the deserted beach—take out as many as we can there, then retreat."
Flamebringer let out a lazy chuckle. "Heh, sounds good to me. Let's thin out these so-called 'true Bolívar soldiers' a bit. Those bugs have been gnawing at us long enough. The last mission sabotaging their bombs went well, but it's clear they're not giving up anytime soon."
The players agreed immediately and sprang into action. They packed their gear, tightened their armor, and—on their way out—snatched a few bottles of fine liquor from the bar that served as their temporary base.
Then, quietly, they pushed open the back door.
Dandao Dantart was the first to move, charging out with his blade raised high. The Bolívar soldiers outside hadn't even realized what was happening before the players were upon them.
The sudden assault left them screaming in confusion, bodies slashed and bloodied. Those who managed to draw their weapons found themselves unable to breathe—struck by unseen Originium Arts—and collapsed to the ground gasping.
Sorlesar exchanged a look with Flamebringer, gave a short nod, and together with the others sprinted toward the distant beach under the pale moonlight.
Meanwhile, the coalition government troops guarding the main gate heard the commotion. Within moments, they discovered the aftermath—an entire squad wiped out in cold blood.
"Captain, I swear I'll kill them," one soldier growled, his hand trembling around the hilt of his blade, veins bulging on his arm. "After I'm done, I'll burn this filthy city to ashes."
The Perro officer leading them lowered her crimson eyes, her tone as calm as the steel in her hand. "Pursue them."
Her men straightened immediately. None dared underestimate her because she was a woman—she was an officer, a respected colonel in the Bolívar army. Yet among the ranks, others glared at her with resentment, muttering curses under their breath. If not for their wounds, they might have already charged off seeking vengeance.
As the Colonel stepped out of the ruined district, one soldier caught up to her. "Colonel, why are we cooperating with this operation? Isn't this… absurd?"
Her eyes didn't waver. "This plan was devised by the war faction. In exchange for our cooperation, they've promised to fund our candidates in the next parliamentary election."
At that, the soldier fell silent.
The Bolívar civil war had dragged on for years, splitting the nation into two factions: the hawks and the doves. Their unit belonged to the doves—those who sought peace. But the hawks, who had orchestrated these terror attacks, were fanatics. They had sworn vengeance against Leithanien and Columbia, yet before that, they meant to strike a symbolic blow—against the "traitors" of Dossoles.
They had plotted a chain of violent attacks. Some were thwarted by Candela Sanchez herself, others crushed by the mercenaries she had hired.
When news of those failures reached the hawks, they seethed with hatred.
To their dismay, Candela's hired soldiers weren't ordinary mercenaries—they were Sarkaz. But unlike the savage, dirty image people imagined, these fighters carried themselves with discipline and deadly precision, their equipment immaculate, their presence commanding.
"As soldiers, our duty is to follow orders. Nothing more," The Colonel said quietly, her voice tinged with resignation. "Let the others handle the pursuit. We'll provide limited support. The rest of you—come with me. We'll search their base."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Once the soldiers departed, The Colonel clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at the night sky. Twin moons hung over the war-torn city, cold and distant.
The Bolívar civil war had lasted for so long that she could barely remember what peace even looked like.
As a soldier, following orders was her duty. But sometimes, those orders required her to act against everything she believed in—to aid those she despised, to condone the unthinkable.
These targeted attacks against civilians… she loathed them with every fiber of her being.
Yet as a soldier, she had no choice.
Maybe it's time to retire, she thought quietly, stepping into the darkened outpost.