Chapter 606: Idol Beats Up Fans!
Watching everyone fall one by one, Old Qin said helplessly, "It's fine. CDX probably isn't familiar with the boss's moves yet. Let's run it again. We'll definitely get it next time. Everyone..."
Only CDX was left on the field, standing still, clearly intending to give up and restart.
Old Qin felt a bit regretful too. For CDX to survive until the end on his first try in Death Mode without dragging the team down was already impressive. The only pity was his damage output was a bit low. If only he could deal a little more damage.
"Whoosh!!"
The boss's breakdance greatsword swept through in an instant, sending CDX flying into the air, his health bar reduced to a sliver.
But just then, Old Qin, Wang Laji, and a few others noticed—CDX's equipment had changed?
Originally, CDX was wearing a very ordinary set of fire-resistant gear, but the moment he was tossed into the air, his entire equipment seemed to have been swapped out instantly.
"What is this..."
Old Qin was stunned. After being launched into the air, CDX had actually switched to Artorias's full set!
Artorias was a boss from the *Dark Souls* prequel, but in *Dark Souls*, players could purchase his gear (from the Untended Graves after Champion Gundyr).
Before the *Dark Souls* prequel was released, many players wondered who Artorias was. However, after the prequel fleshed out the story, Artorias became an idol-like figure in the hearts of countless players, respectfully called "Big A."
On one hand, Artorias was a tragic hero who fought the Abyss alone; on the other hand... he was just cool!
The Abyss Watchers were jokingly called Artorias's fan club by players, as their duty was to guard the Great Grey Wolf Sif and fight the Abyss, and their attire and weapons were all inherited from Artorias.
CDX not only swapped into Artorias's outfit in an instant but, after landing, even applied lightning resin and solemnly performed the Abyss Watchers' salute...
Old Qin and the others were dumbfounded. What was he planning?
Clearly, the boss didn't care about any of that. With CDX as the last man standing, the boss swung its greatsword and charged straight at him!
CDX rolled lightly to the side and back, dodging the strike.
After the Abyss Watchers boss charged, its sword tip traced a semicircular arc on the ground. This move was normally meant to hit nearby enemies—an area-of-effect attack—but CDX stepped forward, the sword tip grazing past his body.
At that moment, CDX's Wolf Knight Greatsword slammed heavily into the boss's back.
Backstab!
One backstab, and the boss's health dropped by a full 2%!
Wang Laji was stunned: "Holy crap! That damage!"
The others were equally shocked.
"How is the damage so high?"
"That's a backstab! Backstabs in Death Mode are incredibly hard to trigger—you have less than 0.5 seconds to act because the boss knows you're behind it and will roll away. Plus, your positioning and where you strike matter a lot. We rarely manage backstabs!"
"He must have the Red Tearstone Ring! This looks like a speed-kill setup!"
To play it safe, the others all fought at full health, none daring to equip the Red Tearstone Ring. But CDX clearly had it on, and getting knocked to low health earlier was precisely to activate the ring's effect!
Everyone was dumbfounded: "Is he... going to solo the boss?!"
After the backstab, the boss was kicked to the ground. But as a boss, it got up quickly and rolled to the side.
CDX stepped forward two paces, started charging before the boss stood up, and as the boss rolled away, he slashed it directly!
The boss did a triple roll; CDX delivered three consecutive slashes—not a single one missed!
Old Qin was shocked. How the hell was that possible?
Sure, rolling wasn't invincible the whole time—there was only a very brief invincibility frame. The rest of the time, you could still be hit. But since rolling involved constant movement, did CDX react instantly to where the boss would end up? His reaction speed was insane!
With barely any health left, CDX was locked in a fierce duel with the boss, not getting touched even once...
Keep in mind, the flames on the boss's sword also dealt damage. With CDX's current health, even a single graze from the fire could instantly kill him.
The other nine could only watch helplessly, realizing that CDX was using a speed-kill strategy in Death Mode!
Sure, all of them knew how to speed-kill—but that was in Normal Mode. In Death Mode, the boss's skills, AI, and everything else were completely different. They had spent days exploring and still hadn't figured out all the boss's patterns. Yet this CDX was about to take down 10% of the boss's health all by himself?!
Another charge, and CDX dodged behind the boss again, triggering another backstab!
This backstab emptied the boss's health bar, and it collapsed to the ground.
Everyone: "!!!"
A line of large text appeared on the screen.
[Death Mode: Lord of Cinder Fallen!]
[Congratulations on completing the Abyss Watchers World First Kill in Death Mode! Your name will be engraved in the Firelink Shrine, forever admired by countless Undead!]
Old Qin couldn't believe his eyes: "We cleared it? We cleared it?!"
The others couldn't believe it either. That was a Death Mode boss, stacked with multiple layers of enrage buffs! And CDX had turned it around with a sliver of health?!
What the hell—soloing the boss, farming gear?
Slaying the dragon with a divine blade... ahem, wrong genre.
All you could say was that CDX's mechanics were flawless. Every strike was like a work of art, and the boss's attacks often missed by a hair's breadth. It was like dancing on the edge of a blade!
And on top of that, CDX had deliberately switched to Artorias's full set, making it feel like Artorias himself had stepped in to fight the Abyss Watchers...
"So... an idol beating up his fans?!"
Old Qin paused for a long time before saying, "This is... fan service gone wild!!"
Wang Laji sighed, "Damn, this guy's a true pro—using speed-kill tactics on a Death Mode boss! Quick, Old Qin, invite him into our group!"
But as everyone was still discussing it, they saw CDX perform the Abyss Watchers' salute and then log off...
Old Qin: "...Strikes a pose and runs. How thrilling!"
One team member said, "Old Qin, our skills are actually pretty decent. Even if we didn't clear it this time, we definitely would have tonight. How about we try the 9-player mode again?"
In truth, CDX had been coasting at the start, dragging out the game time. Without him, if Old Qin found another skilled player, they might die a few more times, but they'd probably still clear it today.
Still, CDX's move was just a friendly joke. Even if he could solo the boss, he still had to give the others room to shine, right?
After all, this was the world-first kill of a Death Mode boss. All these players were eligible to be on the kill list, so he didn't mind giving them a little help.
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