9: Infinite knockback! The final boss was kicked like a ball!
Just as the entire 8888 War Zone was completely enveloped by a cloud of despair, the familiar [Strategy Group] prefix, like a divine oracle, once again pierced through the silent chat channel.
The speaker was still the Divine Strategist.
"[Strategy Group] everyone calm down! What are you panicking about! The system is playing psychological warfare with us!"
His words carried a condescending calmness.
"Look carefully at its stats! Movement Speed 2 meters/second! What does that mean? A turtle is faster than it!"
"I assert that this is purely a meat shield, all bark and no bite, purely used by the system to filter out fools with poor psychological quality!"
"Our Pangu Strategy Group has calculated precisely: as long as your fortress has four of the most basic Initial Arrow Towers, it will at most only have a chance to strike your city wall once! The durability is absolutely sufficient!"
"Those who haven't gathered four Arrow Towers yet, go build them immediately! Before it even reaches your doorstep, there's still plenty of time!"
These words were like a powerful tranquilizer, instantly injected into the hearts of all those on the verge of death.
The panicked channel miraculously quieted for a moment.
Immediately following was an outpouring of wild joy and overwhelming gratitude, as if having survived a great disaster.
"Holy crap! Military Advisor! My god!"
"You scared me to death, so it was just a bluff! I knew it was impossible for such a monstrous creature to appear during theNovice period!"
"The Military Advisor is right! It really moves so slowly! I'm going to sell everything I have to build Arrow Towers right now!"
Amidst the chaos, a weak voice asked with a sob.
"Military Advisor, I... I listened to you before and invested all my resources into economy, so I only built four Trebuchet. Should I dismantle them and switch to Arrow Towers?"
The Divine Strategist - Strategy Group's reply was almost instantaneous.
Between the lines, there was an undeniable authority and a hint of scolding for not living up to expectations.
"Dismantle them! Immediately! Right now!"
"Use your brain! What's the point of AOE against a single-target BOSS like this? It's just tickling!"
"One more step late, and even gods can't save you!"
"O-okay! Thank you, Military Advisor! Thank you for saving my life!"
That player, as if granted a great pardon, immediately saw his avatar dim, clearly rushing to dismantle his only defensive structures.
The entire channel was immersed in a self-congratulatory sense of having "seen through the system's conspiracy" and a false sense of security.
Lin Feng quietly watched all of this, his eyes as still as an ancient well, as if watching a comical play directed and performed by a group of clowns.
His attention had long since shifted from the noisy channel to his own fortress.
Behind the fortress, the small Goblin Spearmen Camp was diligently operating.
Every five seconds, a small, green figure holding a crude short spear emerged from the camp, silently joining the ranks in front of the fortress.
The fog was a full five hundred meters from the city wall.
The P.E.K.K.A. Superman's turtle-like speed of 2 meters/second meant it would take a full four minutes to reach the city wall.
And this time was enough for the Goblin Hut to… summon a small army for him.
When the P.E.K.K.A. Superman's enormous figure finally slowly stepped into the range of over two hundred meters from the fortress, it was no longer facing a lonely city wall.
Instead, it was forty Goblin Spearmen, standing ready!
"Hoo!"
The Goblin Spearmen charging at the front let out a sharp cry, throwing the short spear in their hand with all their might!
Whoosh!
The short spear cut a crooked trajectory through the air, accurately embedding itself in the P.E.K.K.A. Superman's heavy armor.
-10!
An insignificant damage number floated up.
But this seemed to be a signal.
A signal for the show to begin.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, a sparse rain of forty short spears, from all directions, rained down upon the P.E.K.K.A. Superman!
-10!
-10!
-10!
...
A dense string of damage numbers instantly flooded the screen.
The P.E.K.K.A. Superman's massive body only paused slightly, seemingly completely unfazed by these attacks, and continued its heavy, slow steps.
It raised the great sword in its hand high, aimed at the nearest Goblin Spearmen, and brought it down with a fierce chop!
The blade tore through the air, carrying a heavy whistle.
It only landed with a crash a full three seconds later.
That unlucky Goblin Spearmen, along with the ground beneath his feet, was instantly pulverized by the terrifying force.
However, this was meaningless.
The empty spot it had just cleared was immediately filled by two new Spearmen.
And its infuriatingly slow attack wind-up gave the other Goblins ample time to deal damage.
It hadn't even managed to walk into the range of the Twin-Rail Magic Catapult.
Still over two hundred meters from the city wall, the P.E.K.K.A. Superman's formidable 2200 HP was slowly but surely whittled away by the incessant harassment of forty Spearmen.
Boom.
The giant armored golem, filled with frustration and unwillingness, crashed to the ground.
[Ding! You have successfully repelled the third wave of monsters!]
Lin Feng looked at the enormous corpse, a cold curve on his lips.
Too weak.
[You received: Gold x1000, Rating: Perfect. Do you wish to enable Elite Challenge?]
"Enable Elite Challenge."
He didn't even bother to look, directly issuing the command.
He wanted to see what new tricks this iron dummy could pull in Elite mode.
[Elite Challenge enabled!]
[Elite P.E.K.K.A. Superman x1]
[Stats: HP 4400, Armor 50, Attack 1000, Movement Speed 2 meters/second, Attack Speed 3 seconds/attack]
Stats doubled, plus an additional 50 armor.
This meant that the Goblin Spearmen's 10 attack could not even break through its defense, only dealing 1 point of forced damage each time.
This time, the figure rushing out of the mist had a completely different aura.
A layer of ominous dark red glow flowed over its armor.
It had arrived.
This time, the Goblin Spearmen's attacks indeed only showed a series of embarrassing "-1" numbers.
The Elite P.E.K.K.A. Superman ignored these tickling attacks, approaching step by step.
Soon, it crossed that invisible, two-hundred-meter death line.
And it was at this moment.
The monstrous creation that had stood silently in the center of the city wall, the Twin-Rail Magic Catapult, finally awakened!
Whoosh--!
The bowstrings of the two giant ballistas vibrated with a low hum, and two millstone-sized, black stone projectiles, inscribed with strange patterns, were violently launched!
The stone projectiles tore through the air, carrying a sharp whistle, tracing two precise parabolas in the sky, and slammed heavily into the Elite P.E.K.K.A. Superman!
Boom! Boom!
-1!
-1!
The huge stone projectiles likewise failed to penetrate its formidable 50 armor.
But that wasn't important.
What was important was that the moment the stone projectiles hit the Elite P.E.K.K.A. Superman, an unparalleled, massive impact force erupted!
[Powerful Impact] effect triggered!
The Elite P.E.K.K.A. Superman's huge, heavy body suddenly stiffened, and was actually pushed back several steps by this immense force!
It steadied itself, let out an angry roar, and tried to charge forward again.
However, only three seconds later.
Another two identical magic stone projectiles whistled in, accurately striking its chest.
Boom! Boom!
It was once again pushed back to its original position by the immense force.
The subsequent scene became comical and cruel.
This final BOSS, with a terrifying 1000 attack power, enough to one-shot a level 1 city wall, was caught in an unsolvable death loop.
Advance two steps.
Be knocked back three steps.
Advance two steps again.
Be knocked back three steps again.
It was like an angry bull tethered by an invisible chain; no matter how it struggled and roared, it could not get an inch closer to the seemingly fragile city wall.
And behind it, those dozens of Goblin Spearmen, transformed into the most patient hunters, slowly, bit by bit, stripped away the giant's last life with their insignificant short spears.
-1.
-1.
-1.
This was a long, yet utterly predictable, slow torture.
When the Elite P.E.K.K.A. Superman's 4400 HP was finally depleted by this endless tickling, it let out an unwilling roar, its massive body crashing to its knees, dissolving into countless points of light.
[Congratulations! You have completed the Elite Challenge! Defense Rating: Perfect!]
[You received: Gold x2000, Leaderboard Points x30, Special Drop: heavy oil x500!]
The Elite P.E.K.K.A. Superman was still nothing special.
Lin Feng's gaze finally fell on the suspended, dark, viscous liquid on the panel.
So, this was the resource needed for hero upgrades.
He closed the panel, a cold curve on his lips.
The beginner protection period was over.
The real game had only just begun.