-379- Defeat the Boss!

"Boom!"

Dazzling flames roared like a howling tempest, sweeping through the vast room.

The massive demon, armed with a giant sword, spewed scorching breath towards Rozen.

Facing this searing attack, Rozen didn't retreat; instead, he took a bold step forward, raising his crystal sword before him.

"Zing!"

The sword skill effect shimmered to life on Rozen's crystal sword, radiating a pale green light. Rozen held the sword as it began to spin like a windmill in his hand.

The scorching breath struck the spinning crystal sword, but it was as if it hit a solid wall, deflecting the attack to the sides. This was the sword skill of the "Weapon Defense" skill, called "Spinning Shield."

This sword skill would effectively defend numerous projectile-like attacks, including breath attack, posion gas and blade throwing sword skill.

Rozen had acquired the "Weapon Defense" skill a long time ago, and he was nearing full mastery of this skill. Therefore, even when the Guardian boss's breath attack struck this shield, it could still only be resisted and deflected.

Although Rozen's HP decreased slightly due to the attack, his "Battle Healing" skill quickly healed the minor damage in an instant.

"Roar!"

The enraged the Gleam Eyes raised its giant sword once more.

"Zing!"

This time, it was the enemy's weapon that emitted a sword skill effect, turning into a thunderous strike directed at Rozen.

Seeing the force behind this attack, Rozen knew he couldn't defend against it. The Guardian boss had immense strength, wielded a powerful two-handed sword skill, and it appeared to be a heavy-hitting attack. With Rozen's strength, he might not withstand it.

Since he couldn't block it, Rozen had to rely on evasion. Thankfully, with the "Mind's Eye" skill, Rozen had already seen through the attack trajectory of the Gleam Eyes. Without hesitation, he swiftly moved to the side.

"Boom!"

The sword skill effect of the shimmering sword struck the floor heavily, causing a loud explosion that sent countless stone fragments flying.

Seizing this opportunity, Rozen gave a command.

"Blindness Powder!"

This was, of course, an order for his familiars.

"Gu!"

Saichou and Hanachou immediately flew over and showered the Gleam Eyes with black phosphorous powder.

"Roar!"

The Gleam Eyes immediately felt its vision completely obscured, plunging into darkness, forcing it to shut its eyes and step back repeatedly.

Rozen wouldn't waste this opportunity.

"Vorpal Strike!"

The sword skill, glowing with a bright red effect, was unleashed in Rozen's hand. It resembled a crimson spear, and Rozen's crystal sword pierced through the air. With a powerful thrust, it struck the Gleam Eyes.

The power of this heavy attack skill, which could only be unlocked when the "One-Handed Sword" skill reached a proficiency of 950, was simply astounding. Coupled with the incredible attack power of "Azure Abyss +70" and the high chance of critical hits granted by the "Mind's Eye," it depleted a significant portion of the Gleam Eye's topmost HP bar.

To think that Rozen could take down such a large chunk of an Guardian boss's HP with just one sword skill was truly exceptional.

"Roar!"

The Gleam Eyes let out a howl of pain, swinging its giant sword wildly.

Perhaps it was just Rozen's bad luck, but despite taking advantage of the boss's blindness to use a heavy attack skill with a long cooldown, he had underestimated the boss's resilience. The Gleam Eye's casual swing happened to be directed at Rozen.

"Gu!"

"Gu!"

Saichou and Hanachou cried out in alarm.

"…!?"

Even Rozen hadn't expected his luck to be this bad. He could only curse inwardly and prepare to endure the impending strike.

After forging "Azure Abyss" successfully, Rozen had gathered numerous rare crafting materials from his inventory. He sought out expert crafting players to help him create high-performance equipment. Although no equipment of the same tier as "Azure Abyss" had been produced, Rozen had spared no expense, crafting a set of extremely high-performance gear.

The auxiliary effects were outstanding, and the defensive capabilities were on par with top-tier tank players in the game, making them very formidable.

Furthermore, Rozen had thoroughly enhanced this equipment, pushing most of it to its limits.

Therefore, the Gleam Eye's attack should not be enough to severely damage Rozen. As Rozen calculated all this in an instant and prepared to withstand the attack during the sword skill's cooldown, someone rushed over.

"Haa----!"

With a spirited cry, a rapier user appeared at Rozen's side. She faced the giant sword swung by the Gleam Eyes and executed a lightning-fast thrust.

It was the highest-level thrusting sword skill for rapiers— "Flashing Penetrator."

Just like Rozen's "Vorpal Strike" in the "One-Handed Sword" skill, this "Flashing Penetrator" could only be unlocked when the "Rapier" skill was nearly fully mastered.

Now, Asuna had unleashed this sword skill, transforming herself into a flash of light that shot directly towards the Gleam Eyes. She aimed her attack at the giant sword that had been swinging towards Rozen.

"Clang!"

A resounding clash echoed through the room as Asuna's attack forcefully struck the side of the Gleam Eye's giant sword, deflecting it away.

The giant sword grazed past Rozen's side, hitting the floor behind him.

"Boom!"

Once again, the floor shattered under the powerful impact, sending numerous stone fragments flying.

"Roar!"

The Gleam Eyes, now with red eyes, redirected its anger towards Asuna. It opened its mouth, causing the blazing flames to surge within.

The next moment, scorching breath spewed out, sweeping towards Asuna, who was still in a stiff posture mid-air.

But at this moment, Rozen's cooldown time had ended.

With a resounding stomp, Rozen forcefully leaped into the air, clutching Asuna tightly in his arms, and evaded to the side.

The scorching breath passed, making Rozen feel like his back was being scorched, and his HP dropped slightly.

"Gu!"

At the same time, Saichou and Hanachou once again rushed towards the Gleam Eyes, showering it with phosphorous powder.

This time, Saichou used "Toxic Powder," which continuously reduced the HP of the target, while Hanachou used "Sleep Powder," causing the target to enter a drowsy state. The Gleam Eyes swayed like a drunken person, its HP slowly decreasing.

Rozen and Asuna landed together on the ground.

"Rozen," Asuna stayed in Rozen's embrace, looking at him with a thousand words condensed into a single question. "What should we do?"

This was the most pressing issue. With the door closed and the crystal nullification zone in effect, Rozen and Asuna had run out of options. If they wanted to survive, there was only one way.

"Defeat the boss!" Rozen raised his head, gazing at the Gleam Eyes with determination and anger burning in his eyes. "We have to defeat it, and then we can get out of here!"

When the time came, Rozen would make sure those who had set this trap paid the price.

"Okay!" Asuna nodded firmly, choosing to stand by Rozen's side. They both got up, stomped the ground, and charged toward the Gleam Eyes.