### Chapter 9: I Am the Boss (12)
When Lin Nan spotted a pretty girl with an item from the 60th floor, he couldn’t help but smile.
After all, even the strongest bosses have their weak points: they might d*e from talking too much or get crushed under the protagonist aura.
In short, the system temporarily sees these players as protagonists on their thrilling and fun journey through challenges, and it certainly tests the boss’s wisdom to make their journey both full of excitement and nerve-wracking.
That key was snatched by the alligator monster from the 60th floor, and now it was conveniently hanging on that lady’s waist.
As long as that key was given a debuff to weaken the boss, wouldn’t it mean she could just lie down and wait for the boss to come crashing down at the last moment?
As Lin Nan had guessed, the system also seemed to approve of her plan and didn’t jump in to stop it.
This confirmed that the method was indeed feasible.
So, at the exact same moment Lin Nan swung his kn*fe and appeared beside the girl, he also made the key into a special item.
“Ding!”
The moment a blinding light erupted, Lin Nan knew it had worked!
“Boom!”
Kael’thas crashed heavily to the ground.
【Ding! Kael’thas has exited berserk mode! Due to the special item’s effect, his attack power has been reduced by 80%!】
This message instantly filled the crowd with a sense of hope.
They really didn’t want to experience that despair again.
Lady Rong Ji, holding the now-transformed katana key, let out a war cry and shot towards the boss like an arrow, just as he was getting up, his size shrinking back to normal.
“Ding!”
Weapons clashed fiercely.
Lady Rong Ji felt a bit anxious at first, as if the ground beneath her was unsteady.
But as she clearly sensed that the d*ath Knight’s great blade was being forced down by her own, needing to retreat a step or two just to withstand her attack, her heart leaped with joy.
The katana in her hand rolled over Kael’thas like a wheel, continuously grinding him down.
Five minutes, just five minutes.
Lady Rong Ji didn’t forget the time limit.
“What are you all standing there for? Potions! Hurry up!”
To slay him within the time limit, she needed the demon folk’s help.
Eric snapped into action, rushing up to the beleaguered d*ath Knight with two henchmen, smashing the last two remaining potions hard against Kael’thas’s chest.
“Whoosh!”
This time, the severely weakened d*ath Knight was utterly incapable of freezing the potion.
In an instant, purple-black flames engulfed his entire body, transforming him into a blazing human torch.
But Kael’thas seemed completely unfazed by the pain; after a long howl, he summoned another batch of undead, ready to resist to the bitter end.
But how could Lady Rong Ji allow him to have his way?
With her hands tightly gripping the hilt, she spun through the air like a whirlwind falling down.
“One Sword Style! Gale Shredder!”
Kael’thas was momentarily stunned, but he quickly masked his surprise, dragging his flaming great blade to cut towards the direction Lady Rong Ji was coming from.
The raging flames swiftly drained his health and stamina.
What he thought was a comparable strike turned out to be mistaken; the key-turned-katana was like the sharpest weapon in the world.
At the moment their weapons clashed, a whirlwind erupted from the katana’s arc, slicing through the seven-inch great blade like it was butter and continuing down, cleaving Kael’thas from head to toe.
Even Lady Rong Ji herself was taken aback; under this weapon’s enhancement, her long-untouched ancestral sword technique achieved a truly horrifying effect.
As her feet hit the ground, the d*ath Knight’s body split in half from head to groin.
“Smack!” it fell apart on either side.
With his d*ath, all his summoned undead crumbled into skeletons.
The thorny brambles that had been swaying with the wind instantly turned to dust and vanished into the air.
The crowd exchanged incredulous glances, seemingly unable to believe that the once fierce boss, who almost wiped them out, had been reduced to ashes in such a short time.
Another minute passed, and when Lady Rong Ji’s katana-like key finally returned to its original form, she truly realized that they had indeed won.
A triumphant cheer exploded through the palace, with both Ji Shen and the demon race mingling, waving their weapons in exuberance, as if it was the only way to release their long-repressed emotions.
Immediately, some of the minions helped Fu Yetian up, who quietly looked at Lady Rong Ji, furrowing his brow slightly due to the injury, “Congratulations, Lady Protector!”
Lady Rong Ji quickly shook her head, “If it weren’t for Brother Fu holding that guy off, I wouldn’t have had the chance to use this item.”
She knew all too well that without the earlier efforts of the others and their fierce struggle, they’d never have reached the moment the key activated.
In other words, she was merely standing on the shoulders of giants.
Everyone understood this; why should she grasp at the credit?
“Thanks to His Highness for your tremendous assistance; if there are any spoils in the palace, we’re willing to split them with you.
Also, since the battle has ended, we need to hurry to regroup, assess the damage, after all… there are still forty floors below…”
Lady Rong Ji cupped her hands respectfully towards Eric.
To be honest, without their potions, she wouldn’t have been confident that she could bring him down in just five minutes, not to mention that the demon folk’s restraint played a huge role too.
While there were initial disagreements, when it came to dealing with the boss, they didn’t end up fighting amongst themselves.
This undoubtedly laid a stronger foundation of mutual trust between the two sides who had endured a brutal battle.
Eric, patting his belly, felt profoundly emotional.
Originally, the alliance was merely a temporary measure; he had always worried about Ji Shen betraying them, constantly thinking about when they might get a kn*fe in the back.
Now, it appeared that moving forward together was not just irrelevant, but indeed very necessary.
And just as both sides were tending to their wounds, feeling the aftereffects of the battle,
Lin Nan exited Kael’thas’s body and received a prompt from the system.
【Ding! Your plot completion rate is 100%! System evaluation: S+.】
【You will receive exclusive privileges for levels 61-100. Please remember, the reasonableness of the plot will affect your completion rating.】
At this moment, Lin Nan posed a question he had been holding in for quite some time.
“System, do you really want these guys to get through level 100? Once they complete the maze, what rewards will they receive?”
【Whatever their purpose for tackling the levels is, the system will grant them accordingly.
After all, the average strength in Asking Dao Continent is too weak; they need to be strengthened.】
Lin Nan, “…”
“Then why make me the boss? Just give them the rewards directly.”
【Things that come too easily, will they truly cherish?】
