"Can the Ender Dragon insta-kill the Lich?"
The Wandering Mage knew he was asking a stupid question.
The Lich's health was definitely not low; it had survived that long in the thick of the fight, even shrugging off damage while standing directly in the Dragon's Breath.
The Ender Dragon was powerful, but against a creature like the Lich, it would be difficult to determine a victor anytime soon.
Without the End Crystals to heal the dragon, the battle of attrition would inevitably end in the Lich's victory!
"Simply... terrifying."
Jaw agape, the Wandering Mage didn't know whether to praise the Architect's creation or Galen Yu's sheer personal capability.
Without the Architect, they wouldn't have had the Snow Queen or the Lich as allies.
But without Galen Yu, the Architect probably wouldn't even exist as he does now.
Even if one was lucky enough to survive the zombie virus, without help, they would eventually be worn down by the infection and turn into a common zombie villager.
The complexity of their relationship wasn't something that could be summarized in a few words.
Slowly lowering his guard, the Wandering Mage waited for the Ender Dragon's head to fall.
Galen Yu already dealt enough damage and had plenty of health; the fight didn't really need his meager magical contribution.
The Wandering Mage knew something others didn't: dragons were considered top-tier species not just for their powerful bodies, but because they understood magic.
Those resilient scales were a major factor as well.
Infused with some unknown power, any magical attack hitting them would have its damage severely mitigated. Their damage reduction was incredibly high.
Normally, it would take three mages to defeat a dragon. With this damage reduction factored in, it would take six, or perhaps even more.
The cost doubled, and unfortunately, mages weren't exactly a common resource.
This was one of the reasons their own chunk had gradually fallen into decline.
The Lich's damage was also being mitigated, but because its base stats were so high, the output remained significant despite the reduction.
"What an easy fight. I never thought a dragon could be handled this way."
Clicking his tongue in wonder, the Wandering Mage felt he had truly expanded his horizons today.
Galen Yu scanned the battlefield but didn't respond.
It wasn't that he was ignoring the Wandering Mage, but rather that he knew the Lich's strategy had a shelf life.
Witchcraft was great in every way, except for one specific restriction.
The Lich could only exist for ten minutes!
It had taken three minutes to clear the crystals, and several more to brawl with the Ender Dragon.
The time limit was almost up!
Sure enough, as the Ender Dragon circled back for another dive, shattering the Lich's shield and dealing dozens of points of damage—
Poof!
A plume of white smoke erupted from the Lich, and it vanished in the blink of an eye.
The summoned zombie minions immediately followed suit, disappearing into the white mist.
If the Ender Dragon hadn't lost nearly half its health bar, it would have been as if the Lich had never appeared at all!
"It disappeared? The Lich is gone!"
"Huh? What did God Yu do? Why did it leave at such a critical moment?"
"Could it be an Ender Dragon skill? Doesn't look like it. If it had a move like that, why wouldn't it use it sooner?"
"That white smoke was very strange. It definitely doesn't look like a dragon skill; it looked more like something from the Lich itself."
"Could it be that because it was a summon, there was a limit, and it had to go back?"
"Awesome! I knew a Twilight Boss couldn't just hang around forever! There had to be a catch!"
"And here I thought Galen Yu was going to cheese his way through. There's no way the Ender Dragon is that easy!"
Stunned for a moment, the smarter viewers eventually pieced it together.
There was white smoke when it appeared and white smoke when it left. It was definitely a triggered limitation!
"As if the world would let Galen Yu kill mobs for free!"
The Blonde Elder let out a sigh of relief, clearly shaken by the previous display.
Summoning a boss to fight a boss—only Galen Yu could come up with something so ridiculous!
He truly thought the first dragon was about to be slain. Thank goodness the Lich vanished!
Even with half health, a dragon was still a dragon.
The Lich had hundreds of health points, but did Galen Yu?
The Fiery Set had strong defense, but it wasn't invincibility. Take enough hits, and you still die.
Not to mention the countless Endermen nearby. Who could guarantee they wouldn't accidentally provoke a few while fighting the dragon?
Without the Lich, the difficulty of Galen Yu's fight against the Ender Dragon was about to skyrocket!
His mood gradually lightening, the Blonde Elder settled in to watch the show.
"Taking off half its health is enough."
Galen Yu didn't seem too bothered by the Lich's disappearance.
He hadn't banked everything on the Lich to begin with; taking off half the health was already a pleasant surprise.
"The rest is up to us."
With all the crystals destroyed, the Ender Dragon had no way to recover health.
With only a few attack patterns left, he could eventually wear it down using the Tri-Bow.
He drew his bow, notched an arrow, and unleashed nine shafts with a charged shot.
Three of them hit home, dealing damage comparable to the Lich's strikes.
As he silently calculated where to go to pick up his Elytra later, something changed.
"This guy... it really is a special variant of dragon!"
He heard the Wandering Mage cry out as the Ender Dragon's roar echoed through the air.
It was a raspy, heavy sound, like a giant bell ringing until ears throbbed with pain.
A purple flash of light streaked by. When Galen Yu looked up again—
He saw that on the obsidian towers where the End Crystals should have been destroyed, white beams of light were once again connecting to the Ender Dragon's body.
The health that the Lich had painstakingly chipped away began to regenerate!
"End Crystals? They're back?"
Galen Yu was perplexed.
He didn't recall the Ender Dragon having the ability to re-summon crystals.
The bullet chat went wild.
"The Lich leaves and the crystals come back?"
"It's over. Does this mean God Yu's work was all for nothing?"
"He even wasted a Lich. How could this happen?"
"I thought it was a guaranteed win. There's another twist?"
"God! It must be God's hand at work, protecting our Mark!"
"The first kill will definitely be reserved for our Alliance!"
"So what if he summoned a Lich? If he's so capable, let's see him summon another!"
Seeing this sudden turn of events, the smile on the Blonde Elder's face grew even wider.
"There is absolutely no way Galen Yu can summon another Lich in a short amount of time!"
"If he does, I'll..."
He glanced at the table and stopped talking.
He still hadn't 'eaten' the SlashBlade from last time; he had learned his lesson and wouldn't make things difficult for himself again.
"God bless!"
He continued watching, waiting for Galen Yu's downfall.
Back at the Research Institute, Fries's relaxed expression tightened again.
He had remained calm when the Lich disappeared; it was a boss, so a summon limit was normal.
He believed in Galen Yu's strength. Surely the two of them could handle an Ender Dragon that couldn't heal, right?
But now the End Crystals were back!
"Why did the End Crystals regenerate?"
"Can he summon another Lich to deal with them?"
These two questions made him tense up once more.
Just as the Blonde Elder guessed, Galen Yu truly couldn't summon a second Lich so soon.
The limit was once per day; he'd have to wait at least twenty-four hours to call the Lich again.
However, facing this situation, he didn't intend to summon another Lich anyway.
"I guess I really have to use that move."
Galen Yu sighed, a look of helplessness on his face.
He had wanted to save some strength and just coast through the fight, but he hadn't expected this complication.
In that case, the dragon couldn't blame him for bullying it.
"I remember you saying you have a spell that can quickly construct pillars?"
He turned to the Wandering Mage.
They had discussed it during their casual chats. The Wandering Mage nodded.
"I do, but what for?"
"Now, help me build one. Send me up!"
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