73: Chapter 73 The Real Horror...
"Brothers, we've finally reached the final battle! Deploy the full squad, let these monsters see the power of a true Whale!"
The moment he entered the stage, PD swept away his previous frustration.
As a Whale player with a complete collection and maxed-out levels, he directly swiped open his luxurious formation page.
However, as the ultimate battle of despair, Tiamat did not enter the attack range immediately.
The first to charge over was a dense army of Lahmu, mutilated beyond recognition by the fires of the underworld.
"Follow the old rules! Deploy a Lancer first to generate points! Stabilize the formation!"
PD skillfully deployed a low-cost Lancer Servant at the very front of the tactical board, resisting the Lahmu's onslaught while activating skills to frantically accumulate deployment costs.
As the Cost points gradually became abundant, PD began to drop a series of limited Servants onto the board—the kind that would make F2P players drool with envy.
High-ground casters, ground-level Defenders; in less than three minutes, a luxurious "Golden Squad" representing the current version's limit for damage was ready for battle on the tactical board.
Boom—! Boom—!
Accompanied by the violent tremors of the earth, Tiamat's mountain-like body finally entered the attack range of his Servants.
"Now's the time! Activate all skills! Blast her with Noble Phantasms! Blast! Blast! Blast!!"
Without PD needing to say more, all the Servants on the front line immediately entered their highest combat state.
From the high ground, the top-tier support Zhuge Kongming waved his feather fan. The radiance of his three major buff skills—"Discernment of the Spirit," "Strategists Advice," and "Tactician's Command"—instantly lit up the field, boosting the team's attack power and Noble Phantasm charge to the limit.
Immediately following that, the world-shaking light and shadows of Noble Phantasms smashed into the Mother Goddess of Creation like a torrential downpour, without reservation!
"[Stone Sentinel Maze (Unreturning Formation)]!"
As the core of the Noble Phantasm chain, Zhuge Kongming was the first to unfold a massive Bagua formation. The profound tactical barrier not only significantly weakened Tiamat's defense but also plunged the surrounding arrogant Lahmu into severe curses and dizziness.
"Burn away all demonic nature with this lightning! [Ox-King Storm Call: The Net of Heaven]!"
The Berserker, Minamoto-no-Raikou, brandished her tachi, summoning a sky full of lightning and an ox-headed demon general. That terrifying carpet-bombing light-cannon damage instantly cleared out the Lahmu blocking the path ahead!
"The moment of judgment has arrived—"
Standing in the core damage-dealing position was the absolute king of single-target damage in the current version, the ultimate limited-edition fan favorite of the Avenger class—Jeanne dArc Alter!
Her cursed Black Dragon war flag was wrapped in the karmic fires of vengeance, erupting with a terrifying aura: "This is the roar of my soul, tempered by hatred... [Roar, O My Fury (La Grondement Du Haine)]!!!"
"[Enuma Elish]—!!!"
Finally, accompanied by Gilgamesh's arrogant shout, that Sword of Rupture capable of cleaving the world erupted into a crimson storm that shredded the void!
These limited-edition combinations, representing the strongest firepower of the current game version, all slammed solidly into Tiamat's mountain-like body!
The live stream chat was also a scene of jubilation; everyone was looking forward to this maxed-out Whale "Golden Squad" being able to evaporate the Boss's health bar instantly.
However... ten seconds passed.
"This... lose health for me!! Why isn't she losing health?!"
As the light and shadows dissipated, PD stared fixedly at the screen, the fanaticism on his face instantly freezing.
For he discovered with horror that after taking the full firepower of the entire Golden Squad, the outrageously thick health bar above Tiamat's head hadn't even shrunk by a single millimeter!
Forget losing health; not even a single point of forced "1" chip damage had popped up!
Every attack hitting her was like a stone dropped into the ocean, vanishing without a trace.
"This isn't right... these stats are definitely bugged!"
Cold sweat broke out on PD's forehead as his trembling finger clicked open Tiamat's detailed attribute panel.
And it was at the moment the panel jumped out.
All the battle cries, all the excitement, were cut short as if a pause button had been pressed.
Above Tiamat's outrageously long health bar, there hung a massive, golden, shimmering [Infinity (∞)] symbol!
[Special Passive Analysis: Sea of Life (Cannot be killed)]
[Mechanic Description: As the Mother Goddess of Creation who birthed all life, she does not possess the concept of 'death' in any sense! There are no means on Earth that can empty her health points!]
"Cannot... be killed?"
PD muttered those words blankly, his finger hovering over the red 'X' of the holographic panel, unable to press down.
After a brief moment of dead silence, the live stream chat erupted into an unprecedented wail of despair:
"No concept of death?! Then what's the point of fighting!"
"The health bar is hard-locked by the system?? Doesn't that mean she's absolutely invincible from the perspective of underlying logic?!"
"Old Thief Gu, come out! What exactly do you want?! You tricked us into the underworld just to tell us this Boss has a health-lock cheat?!"
"It's impossible... it's really impossible... no matter how good the micro-management is, no matter how high the damage, the opponent simply won't die..."
"Cough—!"
While the players were mourning everywhere, Ereshkigal, standing at the very front, also suddenly spat out a large mouthful of golden divine blood.
The webs between her thumbs and forefingers, gripping the spear blade tightly, had completely split open. The holographic projection of the Gates of the Underworld flickered wildly behind her, emitting an overburdened wail as if it would shatter at any moment.
"It's no use... a lifeform without the concept of death cannot be judged by the laws of the underworld... her mass is too enormous, I can't suppress it much longer!"
And Merlin, at this moment, had also lost his usual composure.
The surface of the wooden staff he held with both hands had already cracked, his magical power exhausted to the extreme.
The pink flowers beneath his feet, originally used to purify the black mud, were being eroded and withered at a visible rate, turning into nauseating black sludge.
"Oh dear, this is a bit beyond Big Brother's calculations..."
Merlin smiled bitterly, his forehead covered in cold sweat. "This monster's magical reserves are simply a bottomless pit with no end. If we keep wasting time like this, we're all going to be dissolved into amniotic fluid."
Just as the hope everyone had just ignited was thoroughly crushed into powder by this absolute invincibility mechanic...
Just as Ereshkigal and Merlin's suppression was about to reach its limit...
Just as Tiamat let out another shrill wail capable of destroying human sanity...
Dong—
A dull, distant toll of a bell, sounding as if it struck the soul directly, rang out without warning from the depths of the dark underworld.