Chapter 30: Queen of the Dinosaurs

“Hurry up and help out.” Perhaps to give the players time to prepare for the final boss, after all the raptors had been slain, the camp fell into a brief, uneasy calm. But at that moment, Niu Xuangang cried out, “This isn’t the time to rest yet! There’s another, even stronger wave coming. If you don’t want to die, listen to me—drive out all the warhorses and camels, move all the crates over here, and stack them in a circle around the loom. We’ll set up a formation here to fight them off. You’ll need to help protect the three people standing inside the circle.”

The three he referred to were naturally Wang Liang and his companions. Wang Liang’s level was still only ten—there was no helping it. Without having established his foundation, he couldn’t level up even with experience. After Zhao Gongming set up the formation, he would need to command its operation just as Wei Ban had done before. To avoid being instantly killed like Wei Ban, Zhao Gongming needed a safe place to stay. The ghostly young woman had little combat strength, but she was essential; only with her healing and support could Niu Xuangang’s group continue fighting. In short, all three required protection.

At the same time, the white-robed men, Niccolo and Matteo—the brothers—and the leader of the paladins were also placed within the circle for protection. With the battle ring arranged, the four paladins, already exhausted, were called to the front. Niu Xuangang intended for them to draw the boss’s attention. The five surviving white-robed men were positioned atop the crates, bows in hand for ranged attacks. If the boss broke through, they would have to protect those inside the circle in close combat.

With everything set, Niu Xuangang picked up the trampled roast camel from Zhao Gongming’s previous cooking site and sat down to eat. At a moment like this, replenishing health and mana through food was vital for him.

The air was thick with pre-battle tension, and Wang Liang’s eyes burned with fervor—he felt he could go another round. But suddenly, a strange atmosphere descended. A fierce wind began to blow from afar, lifting sand and dust into the air, and within the golden haze, it seemed someone was moving.

From a distance, the figure appeared to be evading and concealing itself, moving so swiftly that only a fleeting black shadow could be glimpsed. Yet when anyone tried to pursue it, the shadow would vanish without a trace.

This unnerved everyone. As the occurrences multiplied, Niu Xuangang barked out an order. “Don’t look over there! Don’t scare yourselves. We have the formation—the enemy can’t break through!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a girl of about thirteen, no taller than four feet, emerged from the swirling sand. She had shoulder-length chestnut hair, skin as fair as the brothers Niccolo and Matteo, and eyes of crystalline blue. She wore a yellow undershirt beneath a red plaid jacket. Moving unhurriedly through the sand, she remained untouched by a single grain.

This sight stunned them all. Niu Xuangang glanced back at the ghostly young woman; among the players, only she possessed the talent to assess enemy data. Before she could get a clear look at the girl, the newcomer took a step forward and vanished.

A sharp crack sounded. One of the white-robed sentries atop a crate was hurled to the ground, dead. The others looked over: his head was twisted around, and there was a gaping hole in his chest where his heart had been ripped out.

At this, the ghostly young woman screamed. “Everyone be careful! She’s the Dinosaur Queen, Maisie Lockwood—a clone weapon created by fusing human genes with those of the savage raptors—”

Before she could finish, a shadow lunged at her. Fortunately, Zhao Gongming reacted swiftly. As Maisie closed in on the ghostly young woman, he activated the prepared formation.

“Ice!” Zhao Gongming commanded.

At once, the air outside the battle circle dropped by ten degrees. The once near-invisible shadow materialized: the same young girl, running forward with her head lowered, chestnut hair flying, moving with ease and a faint, adorable smile on her lips—all while targeting the ghostly young woman.

She seemed to possess an innate battle instinct, knowing exactly who needed to be eliminated first. As Niu Xuangang’s group had stationed themselves outside the circle, and Zhao Gongming was focused on maintaining the formation, Wang Liang reacted instantly, swinging his Life-Cutting Blade at the girl’s neck.

Wang Liang’s tactic of “rescue through diversion” was admirable, but he was still a step too slow. Despite the chill, the girl—Maisie—had time to punch the ghostly young woman before dodging Wang Liang’s blade.

She retreated in a single swift motion, slipping outside the formation—right back to where she had first emerged from the sand.

The ghostly young woman rolled across the ground, spat blood, but quickly fished out a handful of pills and swallowed them. That was the advantage of being a player: as long as you weren’t dead, you could still be revived. Wei Ban’s fate had been a tragic exception—he’d been decapitated.

Climbing to her feet, the ghostly young woman called out to Niu Xuangang, “I’m fine. Can’t take any more meds for three minutes, but otherwise I’m good.”

Niu Xuangang said nothing, but together with the weeping girl flanked Maisie, advancing left and right. Their approach was skilled—they drew Maisie’s attention while never straying beyond Zhao Gongming’s formation.

The formation Zhao Gongming had set was called the Hundred-and-Eight Array—an all-purpose, basic formation usually reserved for boss fights. It was said to boast 108 different effects, adaptable to any boss strategy. In truth, it was a jack-of-all-trades array—capable of many things but excelling at none, and only one effect could be active at a time. Its sole virtue was the speed at which it could switch between effects.

As Xuangang and the weeping girl charged, Zhao Gongming changed the formation’s effect.

“Taunt Enhancement.”