020 Pharaoh!
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No matter how the others were doing, all that mattered was that he could clear the fifth floor himself. Chen Feng teleported to the sixth floor. Clearing this floor would essentially mean completing the challenge, since the final floor required no combat. He had attempted the Challenge Pyramid many times in the past, but had only managed to clear the sixth floor twice. The boss on this floor was extraordinarily powerful.
[Pharaoh]: Lord, Level 38, ???
Chen Feng could see only the boss’s most basic information; everything else was hidden. Seeing that the Pharaoh had yet to awaken, Chen Feng waited for his skills to come off cooldown. Otherwise, it would be difficult to unleash a burst of damage at the start. The Pharaoh possessed skills from three different warlock disciplines, as well as several unique abilities of his own, making him exceptionally troublesome.
Outlets and Stan had not said a word. They were probably still on the fifth floor, which meant Chen Feng was currently in the lead. That was a good thing. Outlets had a tremendous advantage in this battle, and if he managed to enter, he would probably clear it faster than Chen Feng. Stan, on the other hand, was in a somewhat tragic position. Since he had the same class, he would be at a disadvantage against the Pharaoh. As for that player called Time Quicksand, no one was paying him any attention. Clearing the third stage was already quite an achievement for him.
A warrior’s only advantage against the Pharaoh was the ability to close in and attack at the beginning, unleashing as much damage as possible. During the opening phase, the boss would not use any of his powerful abilities, so a warrior could launch a full burst immediately. Unlike a dungeon battle, the Challenge Pyramid allowed only a single player, so there was no need to worry about threat at all.
Charge!
Recklessness, Avatar, Skeleton War Banner!
Chen Feng charged forward and immediately entered God Mode, then followed with Bloodlust to unleash another burst. Since his first attack after leaving Stealth was guaranteed to critically strike, Chen Feng gained an opportunity to use Rage Slash. Bloodlust failed to trigger a free Whirlwind Strike, so Chen Feng immediately used Rage Slash instead. The Pharaoh was a Lord Boss, unlike the Elite Bosses on the lower floors, and was immune to all control effects. Shockwave and Terrifying Roar were therefore completely useless.
Torturous Critical Strike!
To obtain a greater damage bonus, Chen Feng even activated Torturous Critical Strike. After reducing his maximum health by 30%, he used Blood Strike to restore 15% of his maximum health, ensuring that the loss would not be too severe. Chen Feng’s relentless attacks slowed the Pharaoh’s assault, and he did not suffer too many blows in return.
Against the Pharaoh, Chen Feng activated the powers of Thunder and Blood. His rage meter could reach a maximum of 150, allowing him to store a considerable amount of rage. A ten-second Thunder Rune combined with Thunderous Strike could unleash four times the base damage. If it critically struck, the damage could reach eight times the base value—an extremely powerful combination.
After activating Berserker’s Fury, gaining ten rage and three opportunities to use Rage Slash, Chen Feng continued hurling Rage Slashes at the Pharaoh without restraint. He then immediately activated Iron Body, becoming immune to 70% of incoming damage. For Chen Feng, damage output was paramount. If he failed to reduce the Pharaoh’s health as much as possible now, the battle would only become more difficult later.
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The Blood Rune could be combined with Blood Strike, increasing its damage by 200% and doubling the amount of health restored. Once God Mode ended, Blood Strike had also come off cooldown, so Chen Feng used it immediately and recovered his health.
Because of Chen Feng’s opening burst, the Pharaoh’s health had plunged straight to 65% in less than thirty seconds. However, Chen Feng had used nearly all of his ultimate abilities. If he wanted to unleash another burst, he would have to wait five minutes. By then, the Pharaoh had entered his second phase. He transformed into a demonic form, increasing his armor by 600% and reducing the damage he received by 20%. It would be difficult for Chen Feng to launch another burst against him.
During this phase, Chen Feng was afflicted by the Curse of Fatigue, which reduced his movement speed by 30%; the Curse of Aging, which reduced his maximum health by 30%; the Nightmare Curse, which increased the damage he received by 30%; and the Curse of Decay, which reduced all damage he dealt by 30%. These were the Pharaoh’s four most notorious thirty-percent curses. A player afflicted by them could be said to have been crippled by half. If Chen Feng were hit by all of these effects, he would not dare unleash his ultimate abilities.
Switching to his shield, Chen Feng began circling around the area. He had no intention of trading blows with the boss during this phase. He used his shield’s reflection effect to bounce the boss’s Destruction spells back whenever possible, then circled the pillars to evade as many of the boss’s attacks as he could. Only after Blood Strike came off cooldown and his rage was full would Chen Feng charge in for another burst, then immediately retreat.
It was impossible to trade health with the boss. Chen Feng did not dare let his own health fall too low, either. Once that happened, the Pharaoh’s Shadow Scorch would drain it rapidly. Combined with Corrosive Attack, the damage he received would be tremendous, and he might be blasted to death instantly.
Chen Feng had fought the Pharaoh many times before. His conclusion regarding how a warrior should handle the fight was simple: take it slowly and never rush. A warrior could unleash one burst at the beginning, but after that, patience was essential. The boss now possessed extremely high armor along with 20% damage immunity, so even a burst would not inflict much damage. Chen Feng had to whittle down his health gradually and wait for the next phase.
“Damn! I finally made it through!”
Outlets had eventually worn down the fifth floor’s hybrid-class boss, though Stan had defeated it seven minutes earlier. When Outlets saw the boss on the sixth floor, he was thrilled. He felt that his luck had finally arrived. He had originally wondered what kind of boss awaited him on the sixth floor, never expecting it to be an undead creature. Holy damage received an additional bonus against it.
Stan knew that he would probably be unable to defeat the boss, so he simply chose not to activate it. A demonic Lord Boss was extremely troublesome, and it was six levels higher than him, making it exceptionally difficult to fight. As a data analyst, Stan would not waste time recklessly. The battle would consume too many of his resources, and he might even be killed by the boss. After calculating his chances of clearing the floor, he estimated them at less than four percent. Stan felt that the rewards from the fifth floor were enough.
The Pharaoh’s demonic transformation lasted only five minutes. Once that time passed, he would return to normal—and Chen Feng’s skills had just finished cooling down. Charging forward once more, Chen Feng again entered God Mode and unleashed a devastating burst. After the assault, the Pharaoh had only 34% of his health remaining. One more burst would be enough to kill him.
The best way for a warrior to kill the Pharaoh was to divide the assault into three to five waves. If the damage output was high, three waves would be enough; if it was lower, five waves would be required. Each wave took roughly five minutes. As long as one proceeded patiently, there was no problem. The dangerous parts were the possibility of being killed by the boss during a burst, and the risk of being bombarded relentlessly while waiting if one did not know how to circle and maneuver properly. Neither issue posed any difficulty for Chen Feng.
After the final burst ended, the Pharaoh collapsed, and Chen Feng successfully completed the challenge. Next came the final floor, where no boss needed to be killed.
Teleporting to the highest level of the Challenge Pyramid, Chen Feng found not the coffins that had once been arranged for players to choose from, but a throne—the Pharaoh’s Throne. Thrones were among the rarest items in the game. Each one could be used only once and would become useless afterward. Chen Feng had never expected the top of the Challenge Pyramid to contain a throne. Being the first to arrive truly had its advantages.
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As Chen Feng sat upon the Pharaoh’s Throne, a golden aura enveloped him. The golden radiance seeped into his body, and the entire throne gradually turned white. Chen Feng glanced at the system notification. The Pharaoh’s Throne had rewarded him with two skills.
[Ragefire Strike]: Attack skill. Transform your fury into hatred and unleash frenzied retaliation against your enemy. Consumes all rage to deal 250% weapon damage. For every ten points of rage consumed, gain an additional 3% critical strike chance and 20% damage. After landing a critical strike, there is a 50% chance to cripple the enemy, rendering them unable to move for four seconds. Cooldown: 4 seconds. Cost: All rage.
An attack skill that provided additional critical strike chance and dealt exceptionally high damage. With sufficient rage, it could easily supplement his other skills and trigger Rage Slash. The skill also carried a crippling effect, and a 50% chance was extremely high. It would be frequently used in the arena.
With this additional standard attack skill, Chen Feng’s offensive arsenal had become much more versatile. Bloodlust was his core ability. Its doubled critical strike chance could trigger Rage Slash, activate a free Whirlwind Strike, and generate rage, making it a skill he would use almost immediately whenever it came off cooldown. Whirlwind Strike was now generally used only when a free activation was triggered. The extra rage was usually spent on Thunderous Strike, since that skill had its own cooldown. Rage Slash was his strongest bombardment skill, and whenever it triggered, he would almost always use it. Giant Strike did not deal especially high damage; its main value lay in the six-second effect that ignored defense. Lightning Cleave, Thunderous Stomp, and Whirlwind Slash were all area-of-effect skills and were of little use when fighting bosses.
Thus, Chen Feng’s usual attack rotation consisted of Bloodlust, Rage Slash, Whirlwind Strike, Thunderous Strike, and Giant Strike. Giant Strike had a cooldown of twenty seconds, so it could only be considered a minor standard skill. Now that he had Ragefire Strike as well, Chen Feng possessed another standard attack, which was excellent. It would also prove extremely useful in the arena.
[猛虎打击]: Attack skill. Strike like a fierce tiger, bombarding the enemy with tremendous force and dealing 150% damage, with a minimum damage equal to fifteen times your level. Gain ten rage. Depending on the manner of attack, Tiger Strike can either interrupt the enemy or knock them back. Independent cooldown: 2 seconds. Cost: 2% of maximum health.
Tiger Strike was also a standard skill. Unlike Ragefire Strike, it actually generated rage. Its damage was not particularly high, but depending on how it was used, it could either interrupt or knock back the enemy, providing two additional effects. Best of all, it had its own independent cooldown, meaning it did not occupy the global cooldown. Chen Feng could use Tiger Strike and immediately follow it with Bloodlust.
The reason for using Bloodlust after Tiger Strike was that Tiger Strike consumed 2% of maximum health, while Bloodlust restored 2% of maximum health, allowing him to keep the exchange inconspicuous. If his health was sufficient, he could prioritize Bloodlust and use Tiger Strike as an extra attack during the global cooldown.
One Tiger Strike gathered rage; one Ragefire Strike consumed it. The two standard skills granted by the throne were indeed powerful, and Chen Feng’s future attack patterns had become far more varied. What surprised him most was that after obtaining the throne, he was allowed to choose one of his own items as well. Three coffins of different colors appeared before him.
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