Chapter 2331: The Challengers

Everyone stared blankly at the Heavenly Dominator’s shoulder, especially after noticing the deep groove carved into the rocky armor covering it.

Fragments of shattered stone plates were still falling from the creature’s shoulder, providing further evidence of the devastating power behind the earlier attack.

The players immediately turned toward the direction from which the attack had originated.

Standing atop a tall sand dune was a female Blood Elf holding a longbow that appeared to have been crafted from monster bones.

Intricate tattoos covered portions of her body, their patterns resembling characters written in the ancient Elvish script.

Several players immediately recognized her, particularly those familiar with the notable experts of the Green Marbly Kingdom.

“Crimson Queen Riley!!!”

Of course, not everyone present was familiar with her reputation. Many players had come from other kingdoms and empires, including Shin, who had never encountered this particular expert before nor seen her name in the intelligence report that he had gotten from their network.

Shin raised his brows with interest before turning toward Khavin.

The mercenary leader immediately understood what he wanted to know and began explaining. “Crimson Queen Riley is one of the notable Maverick Gods within the Green Marbly Kingdom.”

“She might not be particularly famous outside the kingdom, but she’s still one of our top god-level experts.”

Khavin paused briefly before continuing. “What’s interesting is that she’s remained an independent player rather than joining any of the major forces in the kingdom.”

“Instead, she operates as a mercenary, regularly accepting commissions from the major powers whenever they need her services.”

He then glanced toward the Blood Elf standing atop the sand dune. “Her commission fees are quite expensive, but the results usually justify the price for those who can afford her.”

“Her specialties are Boss Raids, Dungeon Clearing, and similar operations,” he added.

…

While Khavin was explaining Riley’s background to Shin, the Crimson Queen had already made her next move.

Twang!

She released another enchanted arrow, sending a brilliant beam of light shooting straight toward the Heavenly Dominator.

Swoosh!

The colossal gorilla, which was already looking in her direction, immediately reacted to the incoming attack.

Apparently provoked by the earlier strike against its body, the Heavenly Dominator suddenly unleashed a deafening roar.

ROAR!

It then swung one of its massive arms and slapped the incoming beam of light out of the air as though swatting away an annoying insect.

BANG!

The energy contained within the enchanted arrow shattered upon impact, scattering into countless motes of light.

The surrounding players couldn’t help but stare in disbelief.

Riley’s previous arrow had dealt more than two hundred thousand damage, while this latest attack appeared to possess comparable power.

Yet the Heavenly Dominator had casually slapped it aside, making the attack look like little more than an ordinary arrow fired by a conventional Archer.

However, unlike the astonished spectators, Riley seemed to have anticipated this outcome.

She had already nocked another enchanted arrow, drawn her bowstring, and aimed toward the sky.

Twang!

The arrow shot upward before suddenly splitting into multiple beams of light, which spread apart and rained down upon the Heavenly Dominator from above.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Seeing the incoming barrage, the colossal gorilla merely raised one of its enormous arms and used it as a shield against the falling projectiles.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Damage numbers appeared one after another above its body.

(-2,231), (-3,122), (-1,785), …

Unlike Riley’s opening attack, the individual projectiles from this barrage inflicted only modest damage.

The Heavenly Dominator had anticipated the attack and successfully blocked most of the arrows before they could strike vulnerable areas.

Nevertheless, Riley showed no signs of discouragement.

She continued firing one enchanted arrow after another, maintaining a steady rhythm as she adjusted her aim and searched for another opening.

Twang! Twang! Twang!

Seeing that Riley was becoming increasingly bold with her attacks, the Heavenly Dominator finally shifted its attention toward her.

ROAR!

Ignoring the other experts surrounding it, the colossal gorilla charged straight toward the Blood Elf.

Rather than running upright, it galloped forward on its massive knuckles, using its enormous arms to propel its body across the desert.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Every time its knuckles struck the ground, powerful shockwaves spread in every direction, causing the desert to tremble beneath its overwhelming weight.

Players unfortunate enough to be caught in its path were immediately crushed beneath its massive limbs, their bodies disappearing in an instant.

Seeing this, Riley immediately cast an Elven blessing upon herself, enhancing her speed before retreating as quickly as possible.

Swoosh!

As a member of the Elven Race, she naturally possessed exceptional agility and movement speed. These innate advantages, further enhanced by her blessing, allowed her to maintain a considerable distance from the pursuing monster.

However, Riley had no intention of simply running away.

Even as she retreated, she continued firing enchanted arrows at the Heavenly Dominator, seemingly determined to kite the colossal monster and keep it occupied.

Twang! Twang! Twang!

Her relentless attacks appeared to provoke the Heavenly Dominator even further.

ROAR!

The colossal gorilla unleashed another furious roar before accelerating its charge.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Given its enormous size, each powerful stride allowed it to cover an astonishing distance. The ground shook violently beneath its knuckles as it rapidly closed the gap between itself and the fleeing Blood Elf.

No matter how fast Riley was, her movement speed was unlikely to match the sheer distance the Heavenly Dominator could cover with each stride.

The players watching the chase could immediately tell that she wouldn’t be able to maintain her lead for much longer.

At the current pace, the colossal gorilla would catch up to her within seconds.

“Hahaha!”

“Let us join the fun!”

However, before the Heavenly Dominator could reach its target, two maniacal laughs suddenly rang across the battlefield, cutting through the thunderous impacts of its charge.

Following the source of the laughter, the surrounding players immediately spotted two figures standing directly in the monster’s path.

“Ah! Are those two crazy!?”

“Have they not seen how easily that gorilla crushes everyone in its way?”

“They’re practically asking to be killed!”

The players couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

After witnessing the Heavenly Dominator effortlessly overwhelm the assembled forces, they couldn’t understand why anyone would deliberately charge toward such a terrifying creature.

Yet the next moment, an even more shocking scene unfolded before their eyes.

Instead of retreating, the two figures charged straight toward the incoming gorilla.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

They accelerated simultaneously, dodging the sweeping fists of the colossal monster before approaching its massive legs.

Then, almost at the same moment, they swung their respective weapons.

SHING! SHING!

Both attacks struck the Heavenly Dominator’s thick stone legs, carving deep wounds through its rocky armor.

BANG! BANG!

Two enormous red damage numbers immediately appeared above the creature.

(-210,923)

(-212,098)

The surrounding players were stunned.

Not only had the two figures dared to charge directly at the Heavenly Dominator, but they had also successfully evaded its attacks and inflicted more than two hundred thousand damage each!

Such destructive power was far beyond what most of the assembled experts had managed to achieve.

ROAR!

The Heavenly Dominator immediately unleashed an enraged roar as it felt the pain of the two strikes.

Although the damage was still negligible compared with its massive, multilayered Health Bar, being wounded by creatures it considered insignificant was apparently enough to enrage the colossal gorilla.

It was forced to halt its charge, turning its attention toward the two figures who were still skidding across the sand after their attacks.

By then, the players nearby had finally gotten a clear look at the pair.

“Those two… aren’t they the notorious brothers from the Hellfire Tribe?”

“The Lunatic Brothers!?”

“Mad Lion Kross and Crazy Dragon Criss!”

The moment their identities were recognized, the surrounding players erupted into another round of astonished exclamations.

It seemed that another pair of monstrous experts had finally joined the raid!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Before the crowd could fully recover from the appearance of the notorious brothers, another barrage of attacks streaked across the battlefield, striking the Heavenly Dominator across its broad, rocky back.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

(-23,523), (-25,231), (-25,677), (-24,882), …

Although each individual attack dealt considerably less damage than the brothers’ strikes, the sheer number of spells landing almost simultaneously made their combined damage far from negligible.

More importantly, the barrage showed no signs of stopping.

The players immediately turned toward the source of the attacks.

Standing in the distance was a group of mages dressed in matching black cloaks, each carrying a long scepter that appeared to have been carved from jade.

Recognizing their distinctive appearance and weapons, several experts immediately called out in surprise.

“The Jadeite Mage Corps!”

Although the dozen or so mages appeared relatively ordinary at first glance, those familiar with the major mercenary groups of the Green Marbly Kingdom knew better than to underestimate them.

After all, the Jadeite Mage Corps was one of the kingdom’s most renowned mercenary groups, famous for its coordinated spellcasting and overwhelming magical firepower.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bang! Bang!

BOOM!

With the arrival of these renowned experts, the situation on the battlefield began to change.

Other powerful individuals and mercenary groups that had been waiting for an opportunity also started making their moves, joining the assault with their respective abilities.

Some charged toward the Heavenly Dominator to exploit the openings created by the Lunatic Brothers, while others coordinated their attacks with the Jadeite Mage Corps, continuously bombarding the colossal monster from a distance.

For the first time since the raid began, the Heavenly Dominator was no longer facing a scattered crowd struggling to survive its attacks.

Instead, it was beginning to face a coordinated assault from some of the most formidable forces and independent experts gathered in the Green Marbly Kingdom.

The tide of the battle was finally beginning to turn.