CHAPTER 22: BLOOD GUNNER YAGG — PART 1
The encrypted channel pinged at 10:47 PM.
[Cleansing Mist (Encrypted): Blood Gunner Yagg is still up. Guilds have been fighting each other all day instead of killing it. Chen Yehui pulled Excellent Dynasty's entire force to the spawn point this afternoon—they've been defending the boss FROM other guilds while trying to set up a coordinated kill. It's chaos.]
I stared at the message.
They haven't killed the boss yet.
Twelve hours since the spawn notification.
Twelve hours of guild-on-guild fighting.
And the boss is still standing.
The morning's decision—to avoid the Wild Boss and use the distraction for leveling—had worked exactly as planned. My party had gained three levels each in zones the guilds had abandoned. But this new information changed the calculation entirely.
"What's the boss HP at?"
[Cleansing Mist (Encrypted): Estimated 60-70%. Guilds keep damaging each other more than the boss. Chen Yehui's strategy is falling apart because no one trusts anyone anymore.]
Sixty to seventy percent.
After twelve hours.
The alliance isn't just fractured—it's paralyzed.
Blood Gunner Yagg dropped rare materials. Materials that included components for the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella upgrade path. The USB drive in my pocket contained Su Muqiu's design specifications—a weapon that needed specific boss drops to reach its potential.
This isn't just an opportunity.
This is the opportunity.
A weakened boss, exhausted guild forces, and the exact material I need.
I typed: "I'm going. Can you provide remote support?"
[Cleansing Mist (Encrypted): I'll be there. Cleansing Mist is already in the zone, observing.]
She's been watching.
Waiting for me to make this call.
She knows me better than I know myself.
The party assembled at 11:03 PM.
Tang Rou's Soft Mist arrived first, her Battle Mage already positioned at the edge of the Desolate Lands Wild Zone. Steamed Bun's Brawler materialized second, bouncing with characteristic energy despite the late hour.
[Steamed Bun Invasion: I heard there's a BOSS! And also GUILD PEOPLE! This is going to be AMAZING!]
[Soft Mist: This morning you said we weren't going to the boss fight.]
"Plans change. The boss is still alive and the guilds have been fighting each other all day. They're exhausted and suspicious of everyone. Perfect conditions for what I have in mind."
[Soft Mist: What do you have in mind?]
"Manipulation."
A pause.
[Soft Mist: That's not really an answer.]
"It will be when you see it."
Cleansing Mist's Launcher appeared at the rally point—Su Mucheng's alt, professional positioning even while standing still. The party was complete.
Four players against eighty.
Against a weakened boss that multiple guilds couldn't kill because they couldn't stop fighting each other.
The odds are terrible.
Which means the payoff has to be spectacular.
Blood Gunner Yagg dominated the center of the desert zone like a wound in the landscape.
The Wild Boss was a Level 25 mechanical monstrosity—half golem, half artillery platform, designed to punish unprepared parties with ranged AOE attacks. At full health, it would have been a significant challenge. At 65% health, with its aggro table completely scrambled by twelve hours of intermittent combat, it was something else entirely.
A prize waiting to be claimed.
If anyone could coordinate long enough to claim it.
The guild armies surrounded the boss in a loose circle—not attacking, not retreating, just watching. Tyrannical Ambition held the northern approach with thirty players. Excellent Dynasty controlled the east with forty. Herb Garden had repositioned to the south with fifteen, maintaining their pragmatic distance. Blue Brook's token force of eight players sat to the west, barely participating.
Eighty-three players across four guilds.
All of them more interested in preventing the others from getting credit than in actually killing the boss.
Chen Yehui's alliance in action.
[PRD: Guild positioning mapped. Excellent Dynasty: Dominant force, aggressive stance. Tyrannical Ambition: Defensive formation, resource-conscious. Herb Garden: Withdrawal positioning, minimal commitment. Blue Brook: Token presence, likely to retreat.]
I moved my party behind a sand dune on the southwestern approach—the gap between Herb Garden and Blue Brook, the weakest point in the encirclement.
Time to widen the cracks.
The messages went out at 11:17 PM.
To Tyrannical Ambition's squad leader—a Berserker named "RageBlade" whose PRD profile showed a history of impulsive decisions and resentment toward Excellent Dynasty's dominance:
"Chen Yehui's plan is to let you tank Blood Gunner's AOE while Excellent Dynasty secures the kill credit. You've been positioned as cannon fodder. Check your formation—their DPS is angled toward the boss, yours is angled toward them."
To Blue Brook's senior officer—a Sharpshooter named "ColdArrow" who had barely participated in the suppression pact and showed frustration in world chat about wasted resources:
"Herb Garden already made a deal with Lord Grim for the loot split. They're going to let the boss damage weaken everyone else, then we strike together. You've been cut out. Get out now or get caught in the crossfire."
To Herb Garden's frontline captain—a Cleric named "HealingRain" who reported directly to Plantago Seed and shared his pragmatic tendencies:
"Excellent Dynasty is about to break formation. Chen Yehui lost control of the alliance three hours ago—he's been hiding it from everyone. When they move, Tyrannical Ambition will assume Herb Garden is involved. You need to pull back before you get caught in their retaliation."
Each message crafted using PRD personality data. Each designed to amplify suspicions that already existed. Each a wedge driven into cracks the alliance had created on its own.
Party chat pinged.
[Soft Mist: What are you doing?]
"Sending messages."
[Soft Mist: What kind of messages?]
"The kind that make eighty people fight each other instead of us."
A long pause.
[Soft Mist: This is cheating.]
"This is strategy."
I wasn't sure which of us was right.
The first sign of success came at 11:23 PM.
Blue Brook's token force began retreating—ColdArrow had apparently decided that my message about being "cut out" aligned with his existing frustrations. Eight players became zero players. The western approach opened up entirely.
One guild down.
Three to go.
Tyrannical Ambition's formation shifted. RageBlade was repositioning his players—not to attack the boss, but to cover their flanks against Excellent Dynasty. The northern force was now watching the eastern force instead of the battlefield.
Two guilds suspicious of each other.
Two more to convince.
Herb Garden was already pulling back. Plantago Seed's pragmatic leadership showed—HealingRain had apparently relayed my message, and the guild was repositioning toward escape routes rather than engagement zones.
Three guilds compromised.
Just Excellent Dynasty left.
And Chen Yehui is about to realize his alliance is crumbling.
[PRD Alert: Guild formation destabilizing. Excellent Dynasty isolated. Predicted conflict: 78% probability within 5 minutes.]
I checked the boss's position. Blood Gunner Yagg stood in the center of the chaos, its aggro table still scrambled, its HP regenerating slowly because no one had attacked it in over an hour.
We need that boss dead before the guilds figure out what happened.
"Everyone ready. We move on my signal."
[Soft Mist: Ready.]
[Steamed Bun Invasion: BORN READY!]
[Cleansing Mist: Positioning complete.]
Four players behind a sand dune.
Eighty-three guild players in a circle of mutual suspicion.
One Wild Boss waiting to die.
Excellent Dynasty broke formation at 11:29 PM.
Chen Yehui—wherever he was commanding from—must have realized the alliance was fracturing. His response was to push forward aggressively, trying to kill the boss before the cooperation collapsed entirely.
Bad call.
Tyrannical Ambition won't let you take credit after everything you've put them through.
RageBlade's Berserker charged to intercept. The northern and eastern forces collided in a cascade of skills and damage numbers. Guild players who had spent twelve hours eyeing each other suspiciously finally had permission to fight.
The desert erupted.
[PRD: Multi-guild combat initiated. Excellent Dynasty vs. Tyrannical Ambition. Herb Garden withdrawing. Blue Brook absent.]
Now.
"Move. Focus the boss. Ignore everything else."
My party surged from behind the dune, cutting through the gap left by Herb Garden's retreat. Sixty players were busy killing each other. The boss stood alone in the center of the chaos, its automated defenses still targeting the last players who had damaged it—Excellent Dynasty members who were now fighting Tyrannical Ambition instead of defending against our approach.
Lord Grim reached the boss first.
Time to show them what an Unspecialized can do.
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