MMO: Pierce Heaven Til’ It Breaks

Unending Unmatched had to kill Flaming Phoenix 13 times to take it down for good, whereas it took Brother Windcloud Nine 18 times. Li Yi however, had died after killing Flaming Phoenix 9 times.

The Flame Shower Spell used by Flaming Phoenix after it died 9 times was insanely powerful. Furthermore, because it covered a wide area, it was difficult to evade.

5 minutes after the battle had ended, Flaming Phoenix let out a piercing shriek. Its body began to shrink, and all 9 stacks of attribute bonuses were removed.

Li Yi resurrected himself, sat on the floor for a moment to recover, and rushed off to fight Flaming Phoenix once more.

This time, Li Yi was killed by Flaming Phoenix’s ‘Blazing Fields’ during its seventh resurrection.

Once again, Li Yi corpse-ran, and resurrected himself…

As Flaming Phoenix was a Legendary-level pet, it was common sense that its abilities were top notch. Although Li Yi could kill it multiple times, his best record was still capped at 9 times.

An hour had gone by, and after 17 attempts, Li Yi still could not break through his limit of 9 kills.

This was not to say that Li Yi was weaker than Unending Unmatched and Brother Windcloud Nine. Back in Li Yi’s past life, they had challenged Drifting Snow in their peak condition. Whether it was equipment or levels, they were far superior compared to whatever Li Yi currently had.

Despite dying 17 times already, Li Yi did not lose hope. Even if he could not kill it 10 times, he still had a chance to take Flaming Pheonix down for good.

It all depended on luck. If he was lucky, it might even be possible to take down Flaming Phoenix for good in a single attempt!

“Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!”

Li Yi drew back his bow, and fired his arrows to Flaming Phoenix again…

…

Back in the underwater pathways of Invincible Continent’s Celestial Capital…

“Hey, the boss says that our sneak attack has been cancelled, and ordered us to abandon the operation.”

“What did you just say? Our Teleportation

Spell Circle is nearly set up, so why would he cancel the operation?”

“How would I know? If you want to know the answer, message the boss yourself”

“Dammit!”

A young human who was riding atop a quad-limbed Naga furiously waved their arm. ¹

Nearby, hundreds of Wizards were working together to set up a magic circle, which was nearing completion.

The magic circle was for a Teleportation Spell, and it required vast sums of expensive materials to be set up.

“Magic circle complete! Scholar, can we start pulling our members over?” An Orc Wizard who was rocking a Middle Part hairstyle was gesturing at the human youth.

Scholar grit his teeth and replied, “The boss has ordered us to cancel our sneak attack and wants us to return.”

The orc with the Middle Part hairstyle grimaced, and shouted angrily, “F*cking hell! We’ve already set up the magic circle, and the materials for it costs over a million Gold Coins! You’re telling us to give it up?”

“How would I know? If you want to know the answer, message the boss yourself!” Scholar repeated what their comrade had told them.

The orc with the Middle Part hairstyle started cursing repeatedly.

Scholar and the orc with the Middle Part hairstyle stared silently at each other. Neither of them spoke a word until Scholar received a message…

Scholar clenched their fist, “Drifting Snow has lost his Flaming Phoenix.”

The orc with the Middle Part hairstyle was taken aback. “What kind of joke are you trying to pull? Ah Xue’s ² Flaming Phoenix is a pet, and it’s soul-bound so it will never drop. How could he lose it? Is he really dumb enough to Release his legendary pet?”

Scholar heaved a sigh. “I don’t care whether you believe me or not. The truth still remains that the dumb*ss has Released his legendary pet. That is what our boss has told me.”

The orc with the Middle Part hairstyle’s mouth opened wider. “My god, was Ah Xue kicked in the head by a donkey?”

“He lost a bet with Dark Wing. Stop asking questions. Distracting Drifting Snow has been a failure, and Invincible Jiaojiao is currently patrolling the Celestial Capital. Even if we bring our men over, it wouldn’t amount to much.”

The orc with a Middle Part hairstyle stared dumbfoundedly at Scholar. “When did you get so smart?”

“I’m just repeating what the boss told me.”

“…”

“Okay, let’s head back!”

“Tch.”

The orc with a Middle Part hairstyle waved his staff and created a portal.

Hundreds of Wizards went through the portal. Due to the lack of a power source, the magic circle that was set up within the water crumbled not long after the Wizards left…

The Teleportation Spell Circle that cost millions of Gold Coins to make had vanished just like that…

While loitering around in the Celestial Capital, Jiaojiao kept a close eye on the battle reports coming from the Southern Continent.

7 major cities have already been conquered, their NPCs entirely slaughtered, and their buildings completely demolished. Their siege tactics were nearly identical to Drifting Snow’s.

The army did not stop though but marched on towards the next major city.

“Perverted Wing, we’re winning big this time!” Jiaojiao sent a message over to Li Yi.

“Since we’ve already won big time, order our troops back. They’ve been silent for too long. I’m afraid that the situation might change.”

“What kind of change? Haven’t we already conquered 7 of their major cities? What’s there be afraid of?”

Li Yi thought for a moment, and replied, “Use the King’s Order to pull them back. It’s good enough. We don’t want to pressure our opponents too much.”

Jiaojiao was still confused. “We need to pressure them while we still hold the advantage, big brother.”

“When I tell you to pull, you pull. Don’t speak any more nonsense, or else, I’m going to split your *ss open tonight.”

“D-D-Don’t you dare!”

Though Jiaojiao’s tone was stubborn, she still obeyed Li Yi’s words. She issued a King’s Order to try and pull back the army from the Southern Continent.

Woosh…Woosh…Woosh…

Players started surrounding Jiaojiao and stopped once they numbered around ten thousand men.

Not many players had accepted Jiaojiao’s order.

“We were having a blast! What’s the meaning of pulling us back at this time?”

“Yeah, yeah! I haven’t killed enough.”

“Queen Jiao, please don’t issue another order to pull us back! I would rather die than to return!”

“Me too.”

That was the difference between a game and reality. Most of the players had rejected Jiaojiao’s King’s Order and continued to attack the major cities.

“I’ve already issued my order. Most of them ignored me.” Jiaojiao reported the truth to Li Yi.

Li Yi gently replied, “You know what’s going to happen tonight…”

Just as Li Yi had predicted, the situation started to change. Not long after Scholar’s gang had returned, both Arthur’s Empire and Fluttering Snow Alliance who were silent until now, began to act.

Invincible Continent’s 2,000,000 strong army was divided into two groups and surrounded within Iron Wall City and Kailan City. They were ground into mincemeat.

Though the two armies were surrounded in different major cities, they were brought down the same way. Since the temples outside the city had been destroyed, they could only resurrect at the Resurrection Point in the city. However, if they dared to resurrect, they would end up dead again no matter how often they came back.

Out of the three major commanders, only Pretty Good Mood had returned. Shangguan Bailu and Royal Blue Sky were still present on the battlefield.

Calling out a war cry, resurrecting on the count of three, planning a new strategy, targeting a single person…

They had already attempted any plans they could think of. Alas, they could not break out of their encirclement. They died, resurrected, and died again. Their losses just continued to grow larger.

At this point, not even Jiaojiao’s King’s Order could save them. This was because a 20-second channeling bar would appear should anyone accept Jiaojiao’s King’s Order during battle. Who would be able to last 20 seconds without dying?

The answer was… no one…

Would they opt to lose levels, risk losing equipment, and resurrect back on their own continent instead?

Most of them were reluctant.

Resurrecting back on their continent would result in a level drop of around 3-5 levels. If they were lucky, they would only lose 3 levels, but if they were not they would lose 5.

Since most of the players that were surrounded have already reached the level cap, they would lose no experience when they died. However, if they chose to resurrect back on their own continent, the effects of the level cap would disappear and others would be able to take their spot.

Many players were toughing it out. Despite their items dropping like candy, they still attempted to face their enemies head-on.

The system had a rule, players who had died 5 or more times in a row would be given the option to forcefully resurrect on their continent. Once they accepted the option, they would automatically enter a level reduction mode and would receive a penalty of 3 to 5 levels.

Of course, rejecting the offer was also an option. All the players had to do was to wait a bit before resurrecting, and once the timer for consecutive deaths was gone, they could repeatedly resurrect and engage in combat again.

Also, if players refused to resurrect and remained as a corpse, their levels would be forcefully deducted by the system.

As a result, those who wanted to stay had to constantly engage in battle. In order to prolong their stay, there was a rhythm to the cycle of death and ressurection they had to maintain. It could not be too quick or too slow. After 3 hours, the 2,000,000 strong army was reduced to only 500,000 men. The rest of them had chosen to lose levels and resurrect back on their continent…

Many of them were still persevering, some out of fear, some out of spite, and some due to their loss of rationality.

It was at this moment that Arthur’s Empire and Fluttering Snow Alliance suddenly stopped. Like a receding tide, their army rapidly drew back and allowed the players from the Invincible Continent to rise. Only a small number of bored Southern Continent players remained to pick off some prey at the Resurrection Point.

The players from the Invincible Continent charged out of the encirclement and dashed back to their continent.

Most of them were still unsatisfied. However, the reality before their eyes had been a harsh warning that no one was easy prey.

With that, the curtains fell on the war between the two continents, along with the legend of Drifting Snow single-handedly conquering cities. However, another legend had just begun.

By now, Li Yi had died repeatedly for a full day…

His best record for killing Flaming Phoenix was still stuck at 9 times, and there was no room for improvement.

Flame Shower Spell’s area of effect was too huge, and the rate of HP loss was extremely fast. By Li Yi’s estimates, he needed at least a full set of Tier 2 equipment in order to survive the Flame Shower.

“Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!”

Four Meteor Arrows were shot in rapid succession, instantly taking out Flaming Phoenix low health. Flames engulfed Flaming Phoenix’s body, and after 5 seconds, it resurrected once more.

“I can’t do this anymore…”

Li Yi was beginning to feel frustrated. He activated God Mode, and with the fastest speed possible, he rapidly shot down the enhanced version of the phoenix.

Flaming Phoenix let out a tragic wail and the flames that surrounded its body faded. With a crash, it collapsed onto the ground.

This time, Li Yi had used Soul Bind.

Li Yi was about to log off. If he were to let Flaming Phoenix roam freely, even though he had Divine Looking Glass, he would have a harder time taking down Flaming Phoenix if it were to land in an area where monsters continuously spawned.

As such, he felt that it was more appropriate to bind it to its current location.

With a yawn, Li Yi logged off.

Dinner was already prepared, but Li Yi was hesitant to eat it. Jiaojiao had invited Fire Ice over, and judging from the expression on her face, it appeared that she was afraid of him doing inappropriate stuff to her…

That night, Li Yi woke up in the middle of the night. He tossed and turned, but after closing his eyes for about half an hour without feeling a single ounce of sleepiness, he took up his VR headset and logged into the game.

The scenery before him slowly became clearer, and he was greeted with a blanket of whiteness…

“What’s this?”

Li Yi extended his hands to grab it and gave it a firm pinch. It felt… soft, and elastic.

“Fiery Explosion Missile!”

A massive ball of flames descended from the sky, and hit him squarely on the head…

[−6875]

…