Chapter 122: The Gates of Heaven

"Red health counterattack" is a mechanic typically found in other games. Generally speaking, when a boss's HP drops to ten percent, it goes berserk and unleashes attacks far more powerful than before.

In other games, a red health counterattack is merely one way a boss might go berserk. Besides this, bosses often have other triggers for such states, but because the red health counterattack is the easiest and most inevitable to trigger, it has become widely known.

Previously, they had assumed that the game "Digital Source World" lacked this mechanic. After all, in the many dungeons they had cleared, they had never seen a Digimon become stronger at ten percent HP. This assumption had led to a degree of negligence on their part.

No one expected the Death Meramon to possess a red health counterattack. To make matters worse, this was a hidden mechanic that the game provided no direct warning about. At this moment, the other players suddenly realized why the game developers had granted them an extra life.

It seemed that beyond the inevitable culling of ordinary players by the Death Meramon, even those capable of defeating the boss were clearly intended to stumble over this red health counterattack. Had they not been given that extra life, those who couldn't escape at this moment would likely have had their accounts deleted.

Yishou had never played other games before, so he was naturally unaware of the concept of a red health counterattack. However, observing the actions of those around him, he suddenly realized that this was no trivial matter. He immediately took Paildramon and retreated outside the Death Meramon's attack range.

"Heavy Metal Fire AX!" Almost as soon as Yishou moved out of range, blue flames erupted around the Death Meramon’s body and surged outward violently. The coverage encompassed the entire valley, meaning even those who thought they had escaped were caught in the assault.

After the onslaught, Digimon with low defense were instantly wiped out by the Death Meramon. Those with moderate defense were left critically injured, stripped of any remaining combat capability. As for those with higher defense, while they retained some capacity to fight, they were few in number.

As for Yishou and Paildramon, they sustained minimal damage. In that split second, Yishou had deactivated his "Demon Lord Possession" state, switched "Demon Lord Might" to a defensive stance, and activated the defensive capabilities of the Greymon Shield. Finally, he relied on the metallic properties of Andromon to forcibly withstand the blast.

Yishou was fortunate; although the Greymon Shield was of little use to him now—since current attacks, boosted by skills, easily exceeded ten thousand damage—he hadn't yet sold it because he hadn't found a suitable buyer.

This time, his fire resistance proved to be his greatest asset. Yishou estimated that the attack power of "Heavy Metal Fire AX" was at least two to three times that of the Death Meramon at its peak, if not higher. In other words, this move dealt at least fifty thousand damage.

Of course, this was merely Yishou's estimation, as he could only guess at the boss's attack power based on its overall combat strength. Thus, it was entirely possible that the damage was even higher. A damage output of tens of thousands was something few Digimon could hope to defend against.

After unleashing this wave, the Death Meramon’s state plummeted, though it was still in better condition than most of the other players.

As for Yishou and Paildramon, although they had taken the least damage, they had been engaged in a minute-long skirmish with the Death Meramon beforehand, leaving them in a weakened state. Their condition was, at best, on par with the others.

"Gate of Destiny!" Facing the approaching Death Meramon, Yishou decisively utilized the ability granted by the Angemon Ring. Instantly, a virtual arm of light manifested from the void before him and traced a circle in the air.

This circle transformed into the Gate of Destiny. As the gate swung open, the Death Meramon felt the intense suction, a flicker of terror crossing its face. Unfortunately for the boss, its condition was poor, its HP was extremely low, and its total combat power did not exceed twice that of Yishou. It could not resist. It was immediately pulled into the gate.

No one had expected the situation to be resolved in such a manner. The vast majority of the Death Meramon's total HP had been whittled away by Yishou. The others, especially those who had believed they were capable of finishing off the boss, looked as though they had swallowed something bitter—their expressions were grim.

Ultimately, however, it was their own weakness. Had they possessed the strength of Yishou—or perhaps even greater—they could have acted sooner and claimed the credit for slaying the Death Meramon themselves.

[Server Announcement: Congratulations to Yishou for defeating the Ultimate-level field boss, Death Meramon, in one minute and twenty-two seconds!]

This time reflected the duration of Yishou’s engagement with the boss, not the duration of the boss's appearance.

"It's Yishou again..." As everyone looked at him, their hearts were filled with bitterness.

The first party to clear a dungeon included Yishou. The first to clear a hidden dungeon was Yishou. The first to trigger a system maintenance update was Yishou. Later, the first to clear the Twelve Deva dungeon was Yishou. The first to break a dungeon record was Yishou. The first to kill a field boss was, once again, Yishou.

Though they were reluctant to admit it, Yishou's strength was indeed a cut above theirs. For now, he was beyond their reach. All they could do was look up to him.

Yishou paid no mind to what others were thinking. His gaze fixed on the spot where the Death Meramon had vanished, and he walked toward it, a smile of delight on his lips. After all, it was time to collect the spoils.