Chapter 98: A Three-Headed Boss with 2.2 Million HP! Each Head Has Its Own Independent Health Bar!

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: A Three-Headed Boss with 2.2 Million HP! Each Head Has Its Own Independent Health Bar!

John stood at the very front of the group. After looking over the status panel, he had a rough idea of what they were dealing with.

"These bosses are higher-level than those Godkin bosses we fought before, and their stats are considerably higher too."

John spoke quietly.

"But our troops aren’t what they used to be either."

Thinking back to their first battle against Heinz, the first Godkin they had encountered, John had only brought Ophelia and Raistlin along. Even with just those two, they had managed to take him down.

Now, every hero was present, including all the troops that had previously died and couldn’t be revived due to insufficient gold coins.

And after clearing Sky Island, John had replenished his gold coin reserves and revived all of them.

That even included the troops he had trained afterward.

In other words, John’s current army was considerably larger than before.

The sheer number of Undead Sentinels surrounding them was proof enough.

Ophelia’s eager voice came from behind him.

"My lord, shall I make the first move?"

"Not yet."

John waved his hand, stopping her.

"Raistlin, throw a fireball at it and draw its aggro. Let the troops attack first."

Raistlin waved his staff, conjuring an ordinary fireball about the size of a fist at its tip before sending it flying.

-720!

All three heads of the Colossus turned toward him simultaneously.

[Agro Target Locked: Raistlin!]

[Skill Activated: High-Pressure Steam Breath!]

The brass boiler head in the middle suddenly lifted. Its furnace door swung open, and a column of white steam blasted straight toward them.

The Undead Sentinels in the front immediately raised their shields, but the enemy’s damage output was simply too high.

-13,874!

-14,120!

-13,652!

The steam column slammed into their shields, and the Undead Sentinels behind them were blasted into pieces. Large numbers collapsed onto the ground.

John didn’t immediately revive them.

That was because the Corpse Exploders in the rear had already inflated their bellies and squeezed their way forward. They swung their arms, hurling the monster corpses stored inside their bodies toward the Colossus.

-9,680!

-9,120!

-9,890!

[Aggro Transferred: Corpse Exploder Legion!]

The brass boiler head opened its furnace door again, releasing another blast of high-pressure steam.

The bellies of dozens of Corpse Exploders at the front were blown flat. Their gray-white skeletal frames immediately fell apart.

Only then did John raise his hand.

"Revive."

Gold coins were deducted, and dozens of Corpse Exploders reassembled themselves amid the fading steam.

"Spread out! Don’t bunch together!"

John made a hand gesture. He had more or less figured out the situation.

"The troops on the left, circle around to one side. The troops on the right, pull back. Leave one formation at the front to keep its attention."

The Corpse Exploders slowly shuffled into position, but their movements were simply too sluggish.

Before they could finish spreading out, the Colossus unleashed its second blast of steam, sweeping away another group.

John continued reviving his troops.

"This thing’s skill damage is extremely high, and its cooldown is unusually short."

Otherwise, how could it have activated the same skill twice in such a short time?

Bladeborne had noticed it as well.

"Indeed."

John nodded.

"When the boiler head takes control, it uses steam attacks one after another. After each blast, it charges briefly before firing again. The interval is only about four or five seconds."

"What about the other two heads?"

"I want to find that out too."

John raised his chin toward the exhaust-pipe head on the left.

"Bladeborne, try striking that exhaust-pipe head."

Bladeborne didn’t hesitate for a moment.

He activated Holy Light Charge and instantly appeared beside the left head. His longsword swept horizontally, and a silver-white blade of light struck the pipe.

-16,840!

The exhaust-pipe head jerked violently as though it had been scalded. The pipe opening contracted momentarily before springing back into shape.

In an instant, dazzling blue-white electrical arcs appeared across the serpentine pipe, crackling and releasing bursts of electricity.

[Skill Activated: Arc Overload — Deals lightning damage equal to 120% of Attack to all enemies within a 15-meter radius centered on the exhaust pipe. Inflicts Paralysis for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 12 seconds.]

Bladeborne had just finished his strike and hadn’t even had time to lower his sword when the electricity traveled along the blade and surged into his arm.

His entire body stiffened. Even his hair stood on end from the electric shock, and he nearly dropped his sword.

"!!"

Fortunately, his mouth hadn’t been paralyzed, so he could still speak perfectly clearly.

"This thing is ELECTRIC?!"

-9,840! (Arc Overload · Critical Hit)

Several nearby Swordsman units were electrocuted into pieces because they were standing too close. More than a dozen others were paralyzed on the ground, their bodies completely rigid.

John’s eyelid twitched.

He then turned toward the pressure-gauge head, which hadn’t been attacked yet.

"Ophelia, try breathing fire on the gauge head."

The purple dragon dived from the sky, unleashing World-Ending Dragonflame directly onto the pressure gauge.

-18,840!

The gauge’s brass surface turned red-hot, and its needle immediately shot into the red zone.

[Skill Activated: Brass Gaze — Locks onto a single target, reducing its Movement Speed by 50% and Attack Speed by 30% for 8 seconds.]

Ophelia staggered in midair, and the frequency of her wingbeats noticeably slowed.

"Movement speed reduction and attack speed reduction..."

John narrowed his eyes.

The three heads were essentially independent entities.

Boiler Head: High-Pressure Steam Breath — Heavy frontal damage with knockback.Exhaust-Pipe Head: Arc Overload — Lightning damage within a 15-meter radius.Pressure-Gauge Head: Brass Gaze — Single-target lock-on, halving movement speed.

John’s mind was already working rapidly as he began issuing orders.

"Sharpshooters, divide into three groups. Mark one head per group. Let’s test whether all three heads have separate HP bars."

Two thousand Sharpshooters activated [Weakness Sniping].

Critical Hit markers appeared simultaneously over all three heads, and three separate volleys of arrows struck their respective targets.

Three HP bars. Three sets of damage numbers.

Each one changed independently.

Boiler Head: 2,200,000 → 2,142,000

Pressure-Gauge Head: 2,200,000 → 2,138,000

Exhaust-Pipe Head: 2,200,000 → 2,145,000

"So they really do have separate HP bars."

John nodded.

"That makes things much easier."

He waved his hand.

"Everyone, attack freely! All three heads are valid targets. Hit whichever one you can!"

With that command, the entire battlefield erupted into action.

The Dragon Knights split into three groups and dived toward the Colossus, each group focusing on one head and repeatedly thrusting their dragon lances.

Frost Mage units unleashed showers of ice onto the boiler head, Fire Mage units hurled fireballs at the exhaust-pipe head, while the Sharpshooters directed their volleys toward the pressure-gauge head.

The Corpse Exploders continued pulling corpses from their bellies and hurling them at the Colossus’s feet.

The three heads took turns assuming control of the Colossus.

Whenever the boiler head was struck, it unleashed steam.

Whenever the exhaust-pipe head was attacked, it generated electrical arcs.

Whenever the pressure-gauge head was hit, it inflicted movement-speed reduction.

Their skill rotations were actually working together with astonishing efficiency.

There was practically no need to wait for cooldowns.

However, John had already made arrangements to counter this.

Whenever one group finished its attack, he would have it withdraw and immediately send in a fresh group of troops to take its place.

"When the boiler head finishes spraying steam, Bladeborne, it’s your turn."

Bladeborne led a squad forward. Silver-white sword light slashed across the Colossus’s brass neck, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"When the pressure-gauge head starts lifting, the unit currently locked onto must pull back. Don’t let the slow effect spread to your teammates!"

Ophelia performed a midair flip, easily avoiding the area illuminated by the gauge’s red targeting light.

The Dragon Knight who had been locked onto immediately disengaged from the formation and retreated, allowing another squad to take its place.

"The exhaust-pipe head is activating! All melee units, spread out!"

And so, thirty minutes passed.

The three HP bars had dropped to the following values:

Boiler Head: 24,127 HP

Pressure-Gauge Head: 512,024 HP

Exhaust-Pipe Head: 308,463 HP