[Critical Hit - 9,904!]

The boss’s health bar dropped by a visible chunk.

Heaven and Earth Strike unleashed through a swordsman equipped with top-tier silver-grade gear produced absolutely terrifying results.

Don was taken aback. If that blow had landed on a player, even a tanky warrior probably wouldn’t have survived. That was why people always said a swordsman with poor equipment was useless, but once the gear quality climbed high enough, combined with decent skill, they became one of the strongest classes in the game.

Without a doubt, judging by the strength Elias Finch had displayed from the moment he entered the base camp, he was a player with exceptional talent. And the War Fire team’s combat power was astonishing.

Even though this boss was a Level 23 Enhanced Boss, it couldn’t withstand the ferocity of a well-organized thousand-player war squad. In less than a minute, its HP was drained.

Lily, hiding with Don behind a small tent, gave him a push. "Brother, why did you make me run? Didn’t Finch say we could soak up all the boss’s experience?"

Don said irritably, "Silly girl. We already took more than half of the boss’s HP, which means the loot is still ours. If it suddenly goes berserk, we’re both dead. Can you guarantee you can survive one of its fireballs?"

Lily stuck out her tongue. "Hehe, I’m such a newbie."

"It’s fine. I pity you."

"Jerk."

At that moment, golden light flashed above their heads. Even though they hadn’t dealt the killing blow, they’d contributed sixty percent of the damage output. Combined with the boss’s high rank and the fact that it was above their level, Don’s level jumped straight to 20.

On top of that, he received a reputation reward of 350 points, bringing his total to 1,000. Lily, despite getting less experience, also leveled up and synced with him once again.

She was overjoyed. "Hoho! I’m Level 20!"

Just then, Elias Finch called from nearby. "Don, Lily, come over and sweep up. Time to wrap this up."

Don felt a surge of satisfaction and slowly stood up. He walked over unhurriedly, and several warrior players used their raw strength to shove the boss’s massive corpse aside, revealing the loot scattered on the ground.

Believe it or not, this Enhanced Boss had been extraordinarily generous, three pieces of equipment lay among the drops. A bright silver staff, a dark purple robe, and a pair of silver-gray leather trousers.

The robe and top were fairly ordinary, Level 20 bronze-grade. But the other two pieces were silver-grade, a full tier above bronze, with stats that could make anyone drool.

[High Priest’s Staff, Silver Grade]

[Staff]

[Level Req: 20 ]

[Magic ATK: 250–310]

[+40 INT]

[+30 AGI ]

[+20 CON]

[Sealed Slots: 2]

[Bewitching Leggings, Silver Grade]

[Leather Armor ]

[Level Req: 20 ]

[PDEF: 125 ]

[MDEF: 125]

[+15 STR ]

[+20 AGI ]

[+15 CON]

[Sealed Slots: 2]

The magic attack on that staff was staggering. No wonder the High Priest had been so gleeful beating on Elias Finch, a high-level swordsman wearing only half a set of silver gear. And the pants, the base defense and stat bonuses were significantly higher than Don’s current Level 15 chest armor. Both items even had two sealed slots.

But it wasn’t just those two items Don cared about. There was also the wine gourd still tied tightly to the boss’s corpse belt.

He stepped forward, drew his dagger, cut the belt, and pulled the gourd free, tucking it into his inventory. A chime rang in his ears.

[Quest Item Obtained: Dragon Warrior’s Wine Gourd. Please return to Vellari Village and deliver it to the Fallen Warrior Long Wu.]

Don never would have expected that the quest item for a D6 difficulty would come from an Enhanced Boss of all things. If he hadn’t happened to run into the War Fire team today, he probably would never have completed this quest so easily. That old bastard Long Wu had really caused him a lot of trouble.

But there was no time to dwell on it. With this much equipment on the ground, he needed to handle things fairly with the rest of the war team.

Lily, being utterly shameless, didn’t hold back. She bent down and extended her little hands to scoop up the gold coins. "Hehe, I’m rich!"

Elias Finch shook his head helplessly and looked at Don. "We’ve spoiled this adopted sister of ours. Don’t mind her. You two enjoy yourselves, we’ll be heading out. See you later."

"Brother Finch, wait a moment."

Don casually picked up the staff and robe from the ground. "I know the War Fire guild is powerful and never lacks money or equipment. But since everyone went to so much trouble helping me with this quest, I don’t want you all leaving empty-handed. Please accept these two pieces of equipment, consider it a small token of my appreciation."

The moment he finished speaking, the surrounding war team players looked at him with clear admiration.

Elias Finch’s gaze softened. He patted Don’s shoulder. "You’re not greedy for money. You’re someone worth befriending."

A friend request arrived almost immediately after. Don accepted it, genuinely flattered.

"In that case, I’ll accept Brother Don’s kindness. Snow Fox, get Don’s bank account number and transfer him a hundred thousand dollars later."

Don waved his hand. "Brother Finch, if this is meant as a gesture, please don’t insult me by turning it into a transaction. I’m not short of money."

The moment he said it, Don really wanted to slap himself. But although his contact with Elias Finch had been brief, he could already tell the man wanted to cast himself as a Cao Cao-style strategist, a ruthless warlord who used generous sums of money to win over any power that could be useful to him. Their paths simply didn’t align. Don wouldn’t accept favors like that.

Seeing Don’s resolute expression, Elias Finch nodded deeply. "Don, are you interested in joining our war team? If you’re willing to come, we can put the money aside. I can see you’re not motivated by cash. I’ll promote you and give you a position where you can make the most of your abilities."