Chapter 2329: Heavenly Dominator (Part 2)

Heavenly Dominator—this was one of the terrifying creatures Shin needed to defeat as part of his Divine Armor quest.

He needed to obtain a Fragment of the First Stone Ape from its body, one of the main materials listed by Saint Blacksmith Berlin when he accepted the Hidden Historical Quest and Gathering Quest.

Fortunately, Shin had already collected quite a few of the required materials.

-----------------------------------

[Quest Name]: Divine Ancient Armor – Thousand Chaos

[Quest Type]: Hidden Historical Quest, Gathering Quest

[Quest Difficulty]: SSS+ (Chaos)

[Quest Background]:

You have learned the secrets of the Primordial Gods’ War from a descendant of the God of Craftsmanship and Blacksmithing.

During this war, countless gods had fallen and risen in their struggle to seize the divine thrones. Countless denizens of the original world had also suffered and perished in the ensuing conflict.

After thousands of years of suffering, the mortals could no longer endure their fate. Individuals of extraordinary talent began searching for a way to escape their predicament, while a select few, possessing unrivaled resolve, chose to fight back.

They sought to seize the divine thrones for themselves and protect their people.

After countless sacrifices and years of research, the mortals finally discovered a way to fight against the gods.

The most outstanding talents, those with the firmest resolve and unyielding spirits, and the wisest among the denizens led the revolt against the Gods and charged through the Heavens.

The denizens whom the gods had once treated as mere ants joined the war, making the conflict even more chaotic.

After countless years of battle, the mortal denizens of the original world finally forged weapons capable of slaying even the gods.

Those who successfully reached the divine thrones and wrested them from the gods ascended to godhood themselves.

They became the ancestors of their respective races and were revered as the Ancient Gods of those races.

[Quest Details]:

Berlin, a descendant of the God of Craftsmanship and Blacksmithing, recognizes you as one of the heroes of the current era.

He wishes to serve you by recreating the armor that the God of Craftsmanship and Blacksmithing wielded during the Primordial Gods’ War.

[Quest Conditions]: Collect all the listed materials and deliver them to Saint Blacksmith Berlin.

-Heavenly Dominator

0/1 Fragment of the First Stone Ape

--Trinity Apes

1/1 Body of the Stoneback Gorilla

1/1 Head of the Ironhead Chimpanzee

2/2 Arms of the Steelfist Ape

-Ocean Overlord

0/1 Scale of the Original Sea Monster

--Four Kings of the Sea

0/100 Scales of the White Sea Serpent

0/1 Heart of the Hydra

0/1 Core of the Kraken

0/1 Heart of the Devouring Whale

-Sky Monarch

0/1 Feather of the Phoenix

--Three Legendary Birds

0/9 Feathers of the Sky Peacock

0/2 Wings of the Golden Roc

0/1 Heart of the Thunderbird

-Forest Guardian

0/1 Branch of the World Tree

--Four Mountains

1/1 Heart of the Green Dragon

1/1 Seed of the Ancient Treant Protector

2/2 Antlers of the Golden Stag

1/1 Essence of the Will-O’-Wisp

-----------------------------------

Shin had obtained the materials from the Trinity Apes while exploring the Starry Spears Mountain Forest, where he had encountered and fought against three monkey-type Monster Bosses.

As for the materials listed under the Four Mountains, he had stumbled upon them while attempting to cross the Stormy Mountain Range, which bordered the Storm Empire and the Dark Cloud Kingdom.

However, Shin had no idea where to find the other Monster Bosses listed on the quest panel. As a result, his progress on the Divine Armor quest had been rather limited.

Based on his recent experiences in the game and the knowledge he had accumulated, Shin suspected that the Monster Bosses listed at the beginning of each category were all World Boss-level monsters.

In other words, they were likely endgame bosses—powerful existences that players at the current stage of the game would struggle to challenge, let alone defeat.

Yet, who would have thought that he would encounter one of them here?

"Late Infanthood? That means this Monster Boss hasn’t fully matured yet. That’s probably why it’s classified as a Semi-World Boss," Shin muttered as he examined the information displayed before him once again.

...

While Shin remained focused on the Heavenly Dominator because of his Divine Armor quest, everyone else was still struggling to process what they were seeing.

Most of the players gathered here were top experts, with even the least powerful among them being apex-level experts.

They had rushed to the Raja Desert after hearing news of the Semi-World Boss’s appearance, hoping to claim the rewards that would come from defeating such a powerful monster—particularly the last hit and whatever valuable loot it might drop.

Given their overwhelming numbers and the fact that most of them were elites among elites, they had believed that bringing down the boss was well within their reach.

However, that confidence began to crumble the moment they witnessed its true form.

The Heavenly Dominator was a colossal gorilla whose sheer size made it resemble a moving mountain. With its immense weight and tremendous physical strength, even a single swing of its massive arms could potentially wipe out a considerable portion of the assembled forces.

For most of these experts, facing a creature of such proportions was an entirely new experience.

Even the god-level players present couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

Unlike the others, however, they quickly regained their composure and began studying the Semi-World Boss, searching for weaknesses they could exploit.

Before long, the leaders of the major forces began organizing their people and preparing to launch the raid.

Although they had gathered for the same objective, none of them was willing to blindly commit their strongest fighters before understanding what they were up against. The first exchange would be crucial for determining the boss’s defensive capabilities, attack patterns, and potential weaknesses.

After a brief discussion through their respective communication channels, the leaders finally issued their orders.

"Begin the assault!"

The commands rang out almost simultaneously.

Rather than immediately sending their melee fighters forward, the leaders chose to open with their ranged units. This allowed them to test the boss’s defenses from a relatively safe distance while giving their frontline fighters time to prepare for its retaliation.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Spells, magic bullets, and enchanted arrows tore through the air, converging upon the Heavenly Dominator from multiple directions.

The attacks weren’t entirely indiscriminate, either. Some players aimed at the joints of its limbs, while others targeted the gaps between the rocky plates covering its body. The more experienced combatants even tried striking the glowing cracks running across its hide, hoping to discover whether those areas were vulnerable.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Countless attacks struck the colossal gorilla, engulfing portions of its rocky body in thick clouds of smoke and chaotic mana.

Yet, when the dust began to settle, the boss remained almost completely unfazed.

Even the strongest attacks in the opening ranged barrage barely made a dent in the Heavenly Dominator’s enormous, multi-layered Health Bar.

"What!? Why are our attacks barely dealing any damage!?"

"What kind of defense is that!?"

"Even our elemental attacks aren’t effective!"

The surrounding experts couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Many had already poured considerable amounts of mana into their opening attacks, yet their combined firepower had produced almost no meaningful results.

The initial assault had nevertheless served its purpose. They had confirmed that the Heavenly Dominator possessed an absurd level of defense, while its rocky armor seemed capable of resisting attacks from a wide variety of sources.

Unfortunately, they had barely finished assessing the results when the boss retaliated.

ROAR!

The Heavenly Dominator unleashed a thunderous roar that shook the entire desert.

Swoosh!

It immediately raised one of its enormous arms before bringing it crashing down toward the forward ranks of the assembled forces.

The attack was so fast that the players closest to the monster had barely enough time to react.

BOOM!

The colossal arm tore through the air, generating a tremendous shockwave that swept across the battlefield. Sand and shattered rocks erupted from the ground as the descending blow threatened to crush everything beneath it.

"Raise the shields!"

The leaders of several groups issued their commands almost simultaneously.

The Knights stationed along the frontline immediately stepped forward and formed overlapping defensive lines, planting their feet firmly while raising their shields.

At the same time, they activated their defensive Skills and channeled their mana into their equipment. Those positioned behind the first line reinforced the formation, allowing their combined defensive power to converge upon the shields at the forefront.

WHOOSH!

A massive wall of energy materialized before the gathering, formed through the combined strength of the defensive units.

Unfortunately, despite the combined strength poured into their defensive formation, a single strike from the Heavenly Dominator was enough to shatter it completely.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Knights who had synchronized their defenses suffered an immense backlash as the unified barrier exploded. Several were thrown off their feet, while others staggered backward, their shields trembling from the residual force.

Fortunately, their efforts had not been entirely in vain.

The combined barrier had absorbed a considerable portion of the descending arm’s momentum, buying the other players precious time to react.

"Earth Mages! Reinforce the frontline!"

At the command of one of the leaders, several mages immediately slammed their staffs into the ground.

BOOM! BOOM!

Massive pillars of stone erupted from the desert, rising diagonally beneath the descending arm in an attempt to redirect its trajectory. At the same time, other mages manipulated the surrounding sand, compressing it into dense earthen ridges that braced the ground beneath the frontline.

However, the colossal arm continued pressing downward, crushing the stone pillars one after another.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The reinforced earthworks crumbled beneath the tremendous force, barely slowing the attack as chunks of rock and compacted sand burst into the air.

"Priests! Activate the Sanctuaries!"

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Countless emblems of light appeared across the battlefield as the Priests responded. Their prayers converged, forming a gigantic dome of sacred light over the most densely packed sections of the raid.

At the same time, defensive mages deployed additional wards around the surrounding groups, while several Knights rushed to evacuate those who had been knocked down by the earlier shockwave.

WHOOSH!

The descending arm finally struck the dome.

BOOOOOOM!

The sacred light flared brilliantly before bending inward under the tremendous pressure. Cracks raced across its surface, spreading faster than the Priests could repair them.

For a brief moment, the dome managed to hold.

Then—

SHATTER!

The entire Sanctuary burst apart, scattering fragments of light across the desert.

The remaining force crashed into the ground, producing an explosion that swallowed the frontline in a storm of sand and shattered rock.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact tore a massive depression into the desert floor, sending a shockwave racing across the battlefield. Players caught near the center were hurled away, while those farther back stumbled as the ground beneath their feet buckled.

Several Knights lay sprawled across the shattered terrain, their armor cracked and their Health Bars dangerously low. A few unfortunate players caught directly beneath the descending arm had been instantly killed, their bodies disappearing as the System registered their deaths.

The surviving Priests immediately began casting healing spells, desperately trying to stabilize the wounded. Meanwhile, the remaining Knights struggled to regroup, raising their shields once more to protect the retreating frontline.

Yet even as the smoke and dust began to settle, the damage was already apparent.

Their initial defensive formation had been destroyed, several frontline fighters had been eliminated, and the surviving players had been forced to scatter to avoid being caught in another devastating strike.

All of that had happened because of a single attack.

The gathered experts stared at the enormous impact crater, momentarily unable to hide their shock.

Their coordinated defenses, reinforced earthworks, and sacred Sanctuaries had all been overwhelmed. Even after combining their abilities, they had barely managed to reduce the attack’s destructive force enough for some of their people to survive.

Only then did they truly understand the terrifying reality of their situation.

This was the overwhelming power of a Semi-World Boss!

......