Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Chapter 776: Chapter 736: Unbeatable Confidence!

A massive crowd moved toward the fiery clouds in the distance.

Players continued to log in at the dock, their points of entry still flickering with white light, joining the grand hunting battle.

In reality, not everyone was qualified to participate in this hunt.

In the past few days, many players had tried to approach the Molten Mountain Dragon or Phase Willow, but were repeatedly thwarted.

Especially the Molten Mountain Dragon, the last stretch of the journey was filled with lava and thick smoke, practically a hell of poison and fire.

Once anyone stepped in, they not only experienced unbearable sensations, but their health would also continuously decrease. Moreover, as they got close to the Molten Mountain Dragon’s lair, their health dropped even faster. Add to that the enemies that emerged constantly, each step became extremely difficult.

They had no option but to retreat, gather more materials, and strengthen their armor.

Only the day before, some fast-progressing bosses in their sixth tier armor managed to push through the area of the Molten Mountain Dragon.

Then they got quickly trampled to death.

Even the undulations on the ground had been felt at the docks.

However, their sacrifice was not in vain, as they provided vital information: sixth tier armor was strong enough to withstand the Molten Mountain Dragon’s attacks.

Yes, if they can’t be killed in one stomp, that clearly means that they can fight back!

Though fifth tier armor might not be strong enough to face the Molten Mountain Dragon directly, it can withstand the environmental damage caused by poison and fire, so they can survive in the vicinity of the dragon.

Once they survive, they can deal damage!

Any armor below the fourth tier would be completely unqualified for this expedition.

However, nobody wanted to miss out on such an exciting event. Even if they couldn’t participate in the battle, they would follow the main force as much as possible.

Even if they could only watch from the sidelines, they’d choose a spot close to the battlefield.

What if the BOSS left its lair?

Then they could join the battle!

Transforming the environment took time for the bosses, regardless of the Molten Mountain Dragon or Phase Willow. Their domains used to be perfectly normal.

*

The players paving the way were all the first wave, so the team progressed rapidly.

Any mutated monsters they encountered along the way, big or small, became completely worthless and were massacred, unable to get close to the main force.

These creatures had undergone several days of mutation, and now they barely resembled dinosaurs. Instead, their forms gravitated more towards the shape of a “dragon.”

Regardless of their new forms, they were no match for the players with advanced weapons and armor, and were swiftly cut down.

These players didn’t even bother to pick up materials and instead gave them to those in need within the team.

With their current equipment, only large monsters with specific elemental abilities would drop attribute materials of any use to them. Other materials were practically useless.

…

The main force moved very fast, soon crossing the threshold into the blazing and poisonous environment.

The first batch of players, there mainly for fun, stopped here.

Five minutes later, players with insufficient armor levels began to fall behind one by one – if Camille Victoria hadn’t been wearing the Developer Suit, she would have had to stop here too.

After ten minutes, only the direct participants of the hunting battle remained. The size of the main force had been reduced by half.

In the players’ view, the Molten Mountain Dragon rose from a distant volcano and transformed into a few hundred-meter-high Wall of Molten Fire!

As they stood at the foot of the Molten Mountain Dragon, they recalled the immense pressure the Lava Dragon had given them when it first emerged from the ground.

However, after just a few days, they looked at each other in a new light!

Now they were vastly different from their previous selves!

“Fire!”

After spreading out, players with light crossbows, heavy crossbows, and bows and arrows began to shoot furiously.

Having been upgraded to the fifth tier, the crossbows were far from cold weapons. They were more like grenade launchers, even being fully automatic!

Shots fired at the Molten Mountain Dragon generated massive explosion sounds, and clusters of rubble and molten lava were blown up, showering from above.

The slumbering lava dragon finally awoke, slowly moving its enormous body, and then roared at the sky, the sound shaking everyone to their core;

“Roar——!”

Visible ripples of hot wind spread out from the dragon’s mouth, tearing apart and pushing the clouds in the sky, creating a massive circular hole.

And then—the Molten Mountain Dragon stood up!

With a gigantic tail covered in obsidian controlling its balance, this movement was as simple as it could be.

But it didn’t take a step forward, chasing the bowman and crossbowman’s idea, instead it shone directly from its abdomen, and the light of molten lava surged up its throat.

This meant that the idea of kiting the Molten Mountain Dragon out of its lair and allowing more people to join the battle was shattered.

However, there’s no need to panic. Everyone just switched to Plan B—

All close combat, charge!

As for the nearby lava spray, sorry, this move has already been seen in the metropolis!

Grapples broke through the air from all directions, wrapping around the dense volcanic rocks on the Molten Mountain Dragon’s body. The next moment, countless hunters flew up and were dragged by the grapples onto the dragon’s body.

And then there were more grapples and more hunters.

When a completely different spray from the Metropolitan Fire Dragon—a lava ball—was aimed at the players, the center had long been evacuated.

The ranged attackers had already escaped while fighting and running.

Close combat fighters had rushed to the Molten Mountain Dragon’s feet and began to climb, only feeling the intense heat and impact.

This much damage was completely bearable.

But just as everyone thought everything was going well, the lava ball that smashed on the ground didn’t stop. Instead, it started rolling!

Several ranged hunters who couldn’t dodge in time were crushed on the spot without even being able to let out a wail. They were sent straight to meet Yama.

It took a lot of effort for the giant ball to finally stop. The dozen or so hunters who had been running away didn’t even have time to catch their breath when a violent explosion occurred.

The lava ball, it exploded!

Close by, more than a dozen hunters instantly experienced a lava bath and were kicked out of the battlefield.

The hunters climbing on the back of the Molten Mountain Dragon were also facing a serious problem—

The surface of the Lava Dragon’s body had a thick layer of congealed lava rocks, and although the players’ Sixth Tier weapons could easily cut through these rocks, it would affect their durability!

And how long would it take to break through a ten-meter-thick layer of lava rocks?

Apart from a few players with big hammers smashing, the rest of the players threw out their grappling hooks and continued climbing upwards.

However, climbing was not all smooth sailing.

After gaining half of the height, the Molten Mountain Dragon suddenly began to sway its body.

For itself, this swaying wasn’t intense.

But for the players on its body, it was a different story.

Again, the rock layers on the Molten Mountain Dragon’s body were formed by layers of lava congealing when it remained still. They were not stable.

So when the Molten Mountain Dragon swayed like this, the surface rocks began to crack!

Players who were climbing felt an earthquake and a landslide, with falling rocks rolling down from above.

Some unlucky ones were caught in mid-air by the falling rocks, loosening their grip on the grapple, which flew out of their hands, and they plunged to the ground from a great height, dying on the spot.

The cracking of the surface rocks also caused a severe consequence: the grip points of the grappling hooks were no longer secure, and the player might fall along with the rocks right after throwing the grapple, causing them to scream as they plummeted to their deaths.

This forced the players to be careful before throwing their grappling hooks, greatly reducing the efficiency of climbing.

Some even gave up climbing altogether and started looking for weak points in the rock layer nearby, intending to attack from a closer range.

On the ground, Camille Victoria directed her team’s ranged players to focus their fire on the junction of the Molten Mountain Dragon’s neck and left upper limb in an attempt to break through its defense, while calling for close combat members to gather near that position in the team channel.

The idea was good, but the progress was not satisfactory.

Because their team was a small one, with only 16 people, and Camille still couldn’t act—wearing the Developer Suit, her attacks would be minuscule. If she did help and they won, the BOSS wouldn’t drop any loot.

The Molten Mountain Dragon charged up again, spitting out lava balls at the ranged attackers, forcing them to flee in chaos.

At the same time, the situation of broken rocks on its body worsened, turning into a rockfall.

Stones were falling like rain, and players were knocked down one after another.

The situation didn’t look good.

But the players didn’t feel discouraged at all; instead, they were all filled with the confidence to win!

Because the dead players had already set out again, speeding towards the battlefield!

Even though it sounded somewhat disgraceful, the truth was—

Dragging the corpses was invincible!