Chapter 77: My Beloved Consort, It’s You

The health bars at the front lines were already in a critical state.

There was no choice—the two of them had to temporarily leave Chen Xiaoyan behind and go heal their teammates first.

“Where’s the captain?”

Seeing only the two of them approach, Hongchen Rumeng asked with a puzzled expression.

“Sister Xiaoyan… I don’t know what happened to her. She isn’t moving at all, and she won’t wake up no matter how much we call her.”

The only main healer in the team was down, instantly throwing everyone into panic.

What should they do?

Should they quit the dungeon?

Even though the boss hadn’t used any skills yet, as time dragged on, its ordinary attacks alone could wipe them out.

And with their main healer incapacitated, how could they possibly win?

Wait…

They noticed the Abyssal Demon Flower’s attack pattern was truly simple—only ordinary attacks, nothing else.

Several minutes had passed, and they hadn’t seen it use any skills.

Could it be that this boss had no skills at all?

Abyssal Demon Flower: ………

“This might actually be doable,” a few of them rejoiced inwardly.

As long as the boss didn’t have any area damage, with her and Liudao Chelun tanking the hits, plus the two healers’ support, they should be able to hold out.

Chongchong’s healing skill restored 1,470 HP per second, with a big heal (Healing Spell) restoring 1,928.

Xianyun’s healing skill restored 830 HP per second, with a big heal restoring 1,110.

After Shen Ce’s super armor activated, the Abyssal Demon Flower’s ordinary attacks dealt about 1,300 damage, excluding critical hits.

Indeed, just as Hongchen Rumeng had hoped, without area damage or berserk mode, the boss really could be killed.

Charm was also an extremely powerful control skill, with the only downside being its ineffectiveness against the same gender.

Unfortunately, the wretched Abyssal Demon Flower had encountered Chen Xiaoyan’s team.

“Seriously? This is a level 25 boss? It feels weaker than those demon soldiers in Monster Village,” Hongchen Rumeng said with a hint of amusement.

In just about ten minutes, the demon flower’s health had dropped by one-third, lifting a heavy cloud from their hearts.

But it had only lifted somewhat, not completely vanished.

Because there was still one thing they hadn’t forgotten—

Berserk!!!

Anyone who had been to Monster Village knew exactly what those two words meant.

When the boss reached low health, it would enter berserk mode, drastically increasing its attributes.

There was still some distance to the boss’s low health threshold; what if it recovered to normal then?

Even if Chen Xiaoyan couldn’t recover, they could always exit the dungeon and restart—it would just waste some time.

That was the lingering sliver of hope in everyone’s minds.

But what happened next instantly shattered their hope without mercy.

At this moment, the boss’s health had dropped to 50%, and the battle was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

When its health hit 49%, a sudden change occurred.

The pattern on the demon flower’s chest suddenly glowed intensely with pink light, signaling the surrounding flowers in the basin.

Thousands upon thousands of blossoms, as if on pilgrimage, all turned toward it.

Then, it suddenly exhaled a plume of pink mist.

Thousands of pink mists instantly dyed the entire basin into a sea of pink clouds.

The gas was a strange mix of floral fragrance and rot—impossible to describe.

“Cough, cough… ugh, what is this smell?”

“Do you feel dizzy? My head feels foggy, and my body feels several times heavier.”

Those who inhaled large amounts of the pink mist immediately felt nauseous and weak all over.

“This fog is poisonous. We must be poisoned.”

“Are we done for then?”

Before the poisoning, they might have been able to hold out; now, their attributes had drastically dropped. How could they fight the boss?

“Let’s quit the dungeon.”

Hearing this, Chongchong immediately objected.

“No, if we quit, what about Sister Xiaoyan? Do you want to leave her here alone to be killed by the boss?”

“Then bring her and run as far away from the boss as possible,” Mu Qingxue said, covering her mouth and nose with her right hand, her left hand propping up Qinghong Sword, half-kneeling.

“I didn’t expect this game to have poisoning mechanics. I’m learning something new.”

“Enough talking, take her away. I’ll hold the boss off.”

After saying that, Mu Qingxue gritted her teeth, stood up, and drew Qinghong Sword, ready to charge forward.

However, a spear suddenly blocked her path.

Hongchen Rumeng smiled through clenched teeth.

“Can Shen Ce tank on Mount Shu? Someone’s got to cover the rear.”

Mu Qingxue didn’t hesitate.

Time was running out, and there was no room for sentimentality.

She immediately turned back to help Sanxue lift Chen Xiaoyan and started running back.

Liudao got up, shook his heavy head, and walked over to Hongchen’s side.

Hongchen Rumeng glanced at him, her lips curling slightly.

“Together?”

Liudao nodded.

The two charged forward, spears in hand.

Chongchong and Xianyun looked toward the four who had disappeared into the distance, then turned to face the boss.

“Your healers aren’t leaving? What’s the point of sticking around?”

Hongchen Rumeng said with a bitter smile, seeing the two follow.

“Our Tianxiang Sect’s principle forbids abandoning teammates,” the two quickly came up with an excuse.

Hongchen Rumeng rolled her eyes, speechless.

“Do players really care about that?”

Chongchong didn’t answer directly but instead turned the topic to herself.

“Besides, with us here, you can drag this out a little longer, right?”

That was something Hongchen Rumeng couldn’t refute.

“Enough chatting, come help!”

Liudao, locked in a fierce turn-based duel with the boss, nearly spat blood upon hearing them still chatting instead of attacking.

He couldn’t help but shout.

“Coming, coming! Hold on, brother!”

Hearing Liudao’s plea, Hongchen Rumeng had no time to worry about healers and rushed up to relieve him.

***

Out of the basin and into the valley.

This place was already beyond the range of the charm spell, and the demon flower’s charm lost its effect.

Chen Xiaoyan shuddered all over and immediately woke up.

Looking around at the familiar yet strange environment, she appeared very confused.

Wasn’t she just playing with Concubine Mu and Concubine Liu in the harem?

How did she end up here?

Seeing Chen Xiaoyan move, Mu Qingxue immediately put her down and waved her hand in front of her face.

“Xiaoyan, are you awake?”

“How dare you! Who gave you the courage to bare your teeth and claws before me?”

Chen Xiaoyan grabbed the small hand in front of her, furrowed her brows, and looked up, ready to scold this impudent palace maid.

But when she saw the owner of the hand, her angry expression instantly turned into a smile.

“Be… beloved consort, it’s you.”

“Beloved consort?” Mu Qingxue was struck dumb repeatedly.

She had thought Chen Xiaoyan had lost her mind from playing the game too much and anxiously asked, “Xiaoyan, what beloved consort? What’s wrong with you?”

“Xiaoyan… I… I…”

Hearing that name, Chen Xiaoyan’s face suddenly changed as she stammered for a long time.

She glanced at Mu Qingxue, then lowered her gaze to her own chest.

Her expression immediately shifted to regret.

So it had all been a dream.

If she had known, she wouldn’t have babbled so much—she would have just gotten straight to the point.

What a waste. What a waste.

“What happened to me just now? Where are Liu Yue, Chongchong, and the others?”

She remembered they were fighting the boss just now, but how did they suddenly end up here in the valley?

“How should I know what happened to you? You suddenly stopped moving. We couldn’t beat the boss and wanted to quit the dungeon, but we couldn’t leave you alone, so Liu Mengmeng and the others dragged the boss away while we brought you out.”

“Suddenly stopped moving?”

Chen Xiaoyan frowned deeply and fell into thought.