In the later stages of the game, it wasn't uncommon for guilds to possess Dragon Beasts, but those who truly grew into dominant powers were few and far between.
"Only four of the dragon eggs have decent hatching rates, the other eight are just average."
Orson noticed that the hatching probabilities of the dragon eggs varied. Most of the eggs had a hatching rate below 5%, while four of them had a hatching rate between 10% and 30%. Hatching these eggs would offer a much better return on investment.
The largest egg, already marked with fiery magic runes, would have hatched soon if he hadn't stolen it in advance.
"Half for you, half for me, we're good buddies!"
Berenice skipped happily, holding the last dragon horn as she stepped out of the barrier. In under five minutes, she had emptied the entire treasure vault.
Orson smiled faintly, stuffing both the dragon and its horn into his inventory.
What's mine is yours, no need to make a fuss about it.
Berenice lay contentedly in the middle of a pile of treasure, clearly enjoying herself. "Wow, so much treasure! My servant, I really admire you more and more. Let's go, let's go to the next dragon's nest!"
"Coordinates 12.21, I'm about to collapse!"
Empress's urgent voice echoed in the team channel.
"Dodge, I'm laying down some heavy fire."
Orson nodded, his Chaos Six-Pointed Star glowing as he launched Brahma's Divine Flame at the coordinates.
Massive artillery fire covered the area to ensure the skill hit.
At the same time, he cast Ice Prison Ring, expanding the area to two kilometers, summoning cursed spirits to assist in the battle.
Several shadowy figures were blasted away in front of Empress, and two ghosts immediately pounced, using their magic immunity to keep up the pressure on the boss.
"Thank goodness for this freak, otherwise, this boss would have been impossible to beat." Empress sighed in relief.
Six dark, monstrous figures in front of her were soon wrapped in negative auras. Empress swung her broad sword and rushed in, continuing the attack.
ShatteredCrown: "This is pathetic. Let me solo this path. The foundation stone of the barrier is already in my hands!"
BlackStockings: "Don't worry, Young Master, I won't tell the others about the dragon pit you fell into."
ShatteredCrown: "I... I'll fire you!"
Orson was about to use the Mirror of Folding when he almost tripped, hearing the exchange.
As expected of a forbidden spell master, even his death method was unique.
Using Mirror of Folding, Orson picked up ShatteredCrown and the others, and immediately rushed to assist Empress.
"Finally, you're here. The boss is the real body of the cracked-mouth monster from earlier."
Empress let out a long breath when she saw Orson and the others arriving and added, "We need to kill at least half of the splits in one minute, or the boss will keep splitting."
At a distance of several dozen meters, six large Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragons shot fireballs and sharp spines.
Empress raised her large shield, blocking some of the attacks. BlackStockings waved her staff, placing a protective shield and healing her, stabilizing her health temporarily.
Orson checked the boss's stats.
[Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragon King: Level 40]
[Lord-Class Creature]
[Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragon Body]
Skills: Piercing Strike, Flame Magic Ball, Cracked Dragon Split
The boss's panel didn't look particularly strong, but it could split into multiple copies by dividing its health.
Each split had the same strength as the main body, with the same powerful skills, but their health would be equally divided.
"Kill Countdown: Kill at least half of the Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragon King's splits within 1 minute, or it will continue to split!"
As Empress had warned, a countdown appeared on Orson's screen.
"1 minute passed, kill conditions not met."
"Please be aware, Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragon King will split again. Immediate action required!"
A warning sounded again as the Cracked-Mouth Lizard Dragon King let out a scream, and its mouth, filled with dagger-like teeth, split open.
In the blink of an eye, the six bosses turned into twelve.
The health of each dropped from 500,000 to 250,000.
At the same time, the countdown started again.
ShatteredCrown: "Master, what are you waiting for? Go kill it!"
"Wait a second, I think the boss is getting weaker."
Empress: "Can I curse? If it weren't for my high defense and the healer here, I'd have been gone after one round of focused fire!"
BlackStockings: "Didn't you hear the mission prompt? It can keep splitting. If it multiplies any further, I'm not sure if I can heal the tank."
Orson shook his head faintly. He didn't rush to attack, his gaze steady as he continued observing the boss's state.
This boss mechanism was quite tricky for most players.
But if it continued splitting, even though the numbers would grow overwhelming, their health would remain minuscule.
As long as players had temporary invincibility skills or mounted a mount to stall for time, once the boss's health dropped to just a few thousand, one large-area skill could easily wipe out all the split bodies.
Right now, ShatteredCrown could do that.
"Is this the final boss? Only a Lord-Class?"
Orson frowned, skeptical. His task was different from ShatteredCrown's team; the difficulty was much higher. The final boss was clearly meant to be tailored to him.
Considering the current boss's strength, it was far from being at the level of the two The Flame Dragons they had slaughtered right outside their door.
And in the hidden quest Blood Spilled Dragon Nest, apart from the nest master and dragon queen, there should be a third dragon.
This boss's name had "Dragon King" in it, but its performance clearly wasn't up to the standard for a final boss.
"Did I get my stuff?" Orson asked.
"Did you get the dragon egg?"
"Master, uh... can I have an egg first?"
Both of them turned around in unison to look at Orson, their eyes practically shimmering.
This was the allure of dragon eggs to a wealthy player.
Orson spoke in a bad mood: "If I didn't get it, wouldn't that mean the quest items wouldn't even be given to me?"
"Hmph, you think I'm like you? I don't need to threaten others with quest items. If you have it, you have it; if not, you don't." Empress sneered and threw a redwood box at him.
"You have obtained Albert's relic."
Orson froze for a moment. This took him by surprise. He had expected her to try to haggle over the dragon egg, but instead, she was this straightforward.
"Well then, you really are a hero player!"
ShatteredCrown immediately jumped on Orson's leg, hugging it tightly.
BlackStockings: "I'm sorry for doubting you, Young Master. You truly are the real hero!"
Empress, still stunned from the boss's attacks, finally spoke with a solemn tone: "I apologize for what I said earlier. Please forgive me, we are forever allies!"
To get two dragon eggs at once? If word got out, it would send shockwaves throughout the world of Infinite Dimensions!
This was true greatness!
"Okay, I think I'm getting a little carried away."
After hearing all the praise, Orson's face flushed. He had originally planned to give each of the two guilds a dragon egg with a 5% hatching chance, letting them spend money to increase the odds...
But now, he couldn't bring himself to give them such inferior items.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting explosion rocked the area. The entire dragon nest started shaking violently, and chunks of broken bones rained down from the ceiling.
"The Flame Demon Volcano will erupt in 1 minute and 20 seconds! Players, please evacuate immediately!"
"Oh no, I almost forgot about that."
Orson's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the fractured ceiling, where thick smoke blocked the sky, like the end of the world was upon them.
"Let's go. Don't worry about the small boss anymore."
Orson made a quick decision, swiftly using the Ice Prison Creatures to entangle the split bodies and give Empress a chance to retreat.