Chapter 176: Chapter176-The Vampire Bat King's Killing Blow
John clenched his teeth and plunged his knife into the underside of the Vampire Bat King's chin, then swung it violently to the side!
Using the momentum of his body, he swung towards the boss's neck, slicing open a large gash.
The stench of the blood that sprayed over him was nearly enough to make John vomit, but he forcefully suppressed the urge and controlled his stance.
When John finally landed on the ground, the Vampire Bat King let out a sharp, explosive cry!
But at that moment, the Vampire Bat King could no longer emit its sonic attacks; instead, it flew around the cave like a headless fly.
It could no longer use its vocal cords to produce ultrasonic waves, nor could it locate its surroundings with any certainty.
As the Vampire Bat King continued to crash into nearby stone pillars, even breaking some of them, Isabella felt a slight relief.
She nodded at John.
Without any hesitation, the two displayed a perfect synergy, unleashing a barrage of skills!
Isabella, a fire-based magus, lacked physical attack capabilities, so she resorted to her most powerful spells.
John, seizing the opportunity, moved in for close combat.
134567!
234578!
Each basic attack dealt six-figure damage, and with critical hits, the numbers exploded into seven figures!
In contrast, Isabella could only achieve six-figure damage on a critical hit, which frankly wasn't impressive.
Without any critical hits, her skills merely reached five figures, a sign of very low damage.
However, given that the boss had now lost its hearing and could no longer discern direction, as long as they continued to fight steadily, this boss was nothing more than a stationary target.
"Be careful, platinum-tier bosses usually have different phases. When its HP drops to a certain level, it might trigger a special attack. Don't get caught off-guard," John messaged Isabella, who nodded slightly in response.
"I'm not that foolish."
John felt a bit helpless; he had only meant to offer a friendly reminder, yet somehow Isabella took it as if he were provoking her.
80%
60%
50%
As the boss's HP steadily decreased, John's heart was in his throat.
When it hit 50%, he was already prepared to retreat.
But surprisingly, the boss continued to flail around like a headless fly, even knocking itself against the stones, dazed and confused, showing no signs of unleashing a powerful attack.
This puzzled him.
Could it be that this boss didn't have a second phase?
That seemed unlikely.
Yet, as the boss's HP dropped to 20% without any change, even the spectators began to breathe a sigh of relief.
They had thought this battle would be a tough one for John and Isabella.
It turned out to be challenging initially, but later it seemed manageable, like dealing with a stationary boss.
Geoffrey watched everything unfolding within the secret realm, his lips curling into a slight, upward arc.
"These two little ones have really outdone themselves, turning a formidable platinum-tier boss into nothing more than a stationary target."
Percival couldn't help but laugh heartily, stroking his beard while looking at John with a gaze full of admiration.
"If only this boy weren't a swordsman, I'd have to take him as my apprentice!"
This child was truly outstanding and gifted, meticulously observing every detail without missing a beat.
"However, I don't think it's that simple," Percival mused, well aware of Headmistress Sophia's character.
While the Vampire Bat King indeed possessed numerous skills and dealt high damage, its defense was extremely weak.
It was well-known that bats located by sonar, and disrupting this was far too easy.
After this ability was compromised, the Vampire Bat King had almost no threat or offensive power left, which didn't seem logical.
Therefore, it must still have a trump card that they hadn't discovered yet.
Sure enough, when the Vampire Bat King's HP dropped below 10%, it became visibly agitated at an alarming rate.
Even though it was battered and bleeding from collisions with the rocks, it showed no signs of stopping.
The Vampire Bat King's mouth opened once again, this time not emitting any sonic attacks.
Instead, countless small bats flew out from the surrounding cavern.
"Trouble!"
John thought with alarm.
He suddenly remembered that the Vampire Bat King had two unused skills: Blood Sacrifice and Blood Absorption!
So far, the Vampire Bat King had never used these abilities.
It had only employed wind blade and sonic attacks, but these two skills couldn't be that simple.
"Stop attacking the boss, direct all your skills at the small bats!"
John yelled, abandoning physical attacks in favor of casting wide-range spell skills.
Isabella was momentarily stunned.
With the boss's HP already down to 8%, it seemed counterintuitive not to focus on the boss.
Yet, seeing John sheathe his sword and instead brandish his staff to bombard the lesser creatures with spells, she hesitated no longer and directed all her attacks at the small bats.
"Fire Meteor!"
"Light Sword Rain!"
"Fire Tornado!"
"Shadow Devour!"
One area-of-effect skill after another rained down upon the minions, and countless bats fell to the ground, piling up into heaps of corpses.
However, some slipped through and flew directly toward the Vampire Bat King.
The audience was perplexed.
"Has John lost his mind? Is he deliberately wasting time? The boss is nearly dead, why focus on the minions now?"
"The boss is at only 8% HP, just a few more hits and it would be over. Why bother with the minions?"
"There are so many minions; they can't possibly all be defeated. It would make more sense to finish off the boss now, as the minions are just a minor annoyance."
"I think John has gone mad."
Countless people whispered among themselves outside, some of them openly scornful of John.
"Has this guy lost his mind? The boss is nearly dead, and he's attacking the minions? Is he out of his wits?"
However, what happened next left them speechless.
The small bats that reached the Vampire Bat King exploded into clouds of blood mist, enveloping him completely.
Although only a few dozen managed to reach him, they continuously burst into blood mist, tightly surrounding the Vampire Bat King.
"Quick! Before it's too late!"
John gritted his teeth, the sense of impending doom growing stronger within him.
His instincts screamed that if the Vampire Bat King completed the Blood Absorption, something terrible would happen.
The two of them gave it their all, disregarding their own exhaustion and rapidly casting skills at the minions.
Countless small bats fell like rain to the ground, their bodies piling up into a small mountain on the surface.
Roar!
The blood mist exploded, completely engulfing the Vampire Bat King.
When the mist finally dissipated, John and the others were shocked to discover that the boss's HP had been restored to 30%.
"Damn!"
Even the usually composed John couldn't help but curse.
He knew nothing good ever came when the boss used its abilities. Stay tuned with m _v _lemp _yr.
It turned out that Blood Absorption involved drawing HP from the small bats to replenish its own.
He also keenly noticed that the wound on the Vampire Bat King's neck seemed somewhat healed.
The next second, the vibration of ultrasonic waves in the air confirmed his suspicion.
Blood Absorption indeed could heal the Vampire Bat King's injuries!
Isabella's expression also darkened.
They had fought so hard, only for a single skill to restore the boss's HP back to 30%.
Who knew how many more small bats were still in the cave? If another wave came, wouldn't that make it an entity that simply couldn't be killed?
It was utterly illogical! The boss could continuously drain blood to restore its own HP, but their mana and stamina were limited!