Leonel looked up at the sky and saw the thick dark clouds covering the horizon. Soon the sound of a thunder''s rumble resounded in all corners of the area.
"I think it''s going to rain," he said.
Ragnar gave him a sidelong nce and replied with sarcasm, "You think?"
It drizzled for a bit, but it did not take long for it to turn into heavy rain, sshing hard against their skins and everything under the horizon. The wind howled, mming against them and in just a matter of seconds, the air had turned cold.
"This isn''t my ideal setting for watching a horror movie," Leonel mumbled under his breath as he watched Jibblinplip swiftly approach another forest to consume.
The forest was called Forest of Beginnings, and it was rumored that a mid-tier dungeon was within its territory. However, no one had been able to enter it as no one had met the minimum ATP requirement at this point in time.
It was known that the Forest of Beginnings was the first ever forest to emerge in the Human Continent. In the eyes of some, it was the Human Continent''s symbol, so watching Jibblinplip consume it made them feel helpless. Others even cried, saying that it was an omen that the monster would devour the entire continent.
"Is the forest going to respawn once it''s gone?" Leonel asked.
"It will grow back to its previous state eventually, but it takes a month or so, just like destroyed towns and viges. The dungeon is the same and will respawn after that. So there''s nothing to worry about."
"Maybe, except for theck of natural resources and dungeon that can be explored before it respawn," countered Ragnar.
"I hardly call that a problem with all the resources and dungeons in other continents," uttered Ren with a half-shrug.
"As much as I love getting wet under the rain . . . when is the fight going to start?" Leonel asked and spat some rainwater from his mouth. With the rain raging hard, his face kept getting sshed. Every time he started talking, rainwater would enter his mouth, so water would drip from the corner of his lips when he spoke.
He was beginning to ponder whether he should also get a mask. Evie and Ragnar didn''t seem to mind the storm at all. Masks sure were handy.
While the rain seemed to evade Ren for some reason. Howe his friend could speak without problem and even sounded and appeared cool while doing so? Was it part of his mysterious skills? Evading nature''s wrath?
Leonel was about to open his mouth again when Ren beat him to it.
"They''re here."
Following his words was the sound of horns, drums, and howls of different beasts. The earth shook, and everything rattled like hooves were marching on the ground.
"What''s that?"
Armies on foot and on the mount came from the north, east, and west. Different races and sses came together under the banner of the Empire of Renais. Covered in tes and armor and wearing their Kingdom''s emblem, they were here to answer the call of their Emperor to y the giant Ooze.
"So they finally arrived," Ren muttered under his breath.
"Are they the Empire''s battalion?" asked Leonel, eyes shining in expectation. Finally, some action!
"No. They''re armies rallied together from different Kingdoms under the Empire of Renais''smands."
"Is that so?"
"Can you see their stats?" Evie asked.
"Yeah. I''m currently looking into one of their Generals and soldiers."
"How is it?" The three of them asked.
Ren gazed over at them. "It''s a lot."
"A lot? Like a lot to defeat the World Boss?" asked Ragnar.
"A lot . . ." Ren shrugged. "We should get ready. It looks like the empire will end Jibby on this day."
Leonel followed behind Ren while talking to himself. "Bummer, I''m kind of getting used to seeing Jibby. The guy just wanted to eat. I kind of understand. I myself am like that sometimes when I''m hungry."
While Ren and the others approached the giant Ooze, the guilds were also taking the arrival of the Kingdoms'' armies as a sign to get ready.
They could feel it in their bones and from the biting-cold air that their fight was near.
The top guilds moved out and positioned themselves near the Boss but made it so that they were out of range for the trigger of [Engage] while the rest followed their lead.
So far, no one knew how to kill Jibblinplip, but with the appearance of the Kingdoms'' armies, the guild believed that they might be the catalyst to finally kill the first-ever World Boss.
"Aren''t we going to get closer?" Evie asked upon seeing that most guilds were just a hundred meters or so from Jibblinplip. Their faces indicated how they were eager to kite the kill.
"Here is good enough," said Ren. They were at least more than a kilometer away from the giant Ooze and the armies. "We don''t want to be coteral damage when the fightmences."
"Yeah. But it would be difficult to kill the Boss from here as well,"mented Ragnar.
"No worries. We''ll go closer once I say so," said Ren.
Even with all the things that were happening, Jibblinplip continued to consume the forest without a care.
[Jibblinplip gained +1 to all its ATP from eating The Forest of Beginnings and digesting raw materials. Its movement had turned sluggish as it is in the process of digesting a big meal.]
The Kingdom''s armies didn''t just sit still and wait for it to finish, though. Marked by the sound of thunder merged with the battle cries of warriors, the war against the Continental Oozemenced.
The four armiesunched their attacks, led by the aggro stealing Tanks, followed by the DPS, and then the magical users who created another rain made of high-level magic, blocking the horizon.
Jibblinplip responded in kind, having its minions cover for it, taking most of the attacks. While the Artillery Oozes and the Ooze Lord protected their main body byunching an attack of their own against the fast approaching meleebatants.
The jaw of the yers dropped at the sight of a single magic that rained upon Jibblinplip. It looked like a meteor, but when itnded on the World Boss, it exploded like an atomic Bomb.
Hundreds of it raining from above and dropping on the giant Ooze''s body was a sight to behold. The earth intensely trembled, creating cracks and crevices at where Jibblinplip stood.
The force and debris alone were enough to topple yers who were too close for their own good. They were blown away by the force of the explosion. Unlucky ones were even hit with flying boulders and massive earthen bs.
Their only mistake, which caused their death, was because they got too close just because they wanted to be the first to kite the World Boss.
Others who quickly realized how dangerous the situation was, swiftly retreated. If this continued, they wouldn''t die from fighting Jibblinplip but from the crossfire.
Leonel gulped when he saw the genocide unfold in front of his eyes. Now, he was d they didn''t close the distance between them.
But there was another problem . . .
"How are we going to y and finish the boss when it''s total pandemonium in there?"