New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Vine whips, tendrils of energy and elements, chains, and ropes all flew at the dragon, wrapping around his legs, wings, and body.

The players were fully intent on keeping him grounded as much as they could. All the strength-based players started grabbing at the various anchors, using all their might to hold the dragon from flying up.

The scene was a sight to behold, for everyone present, as they suddenly worked together. It was an event many would remember, but it was exactly what Astaroth didn't want to see.

When the dragon noticed that its body was being slowly restrained and pinned to the ground, it redirected its anger to the players once again. Fire started gathering in its mouth.

Before it spat it out, the flames started changing colour, going from orange-reddish to a bright blue. Most players were smart enough to know what that change meant.

Tanks all across the field started shouting for the other players to stand behind them, as various mitigations and shield skills and spells started stacking upon each other.

They barely had seconds to act as the torrent of blue fire was now emerging from the dragon's mouth as it swung its head from one side to the other.

Any player that wasn't quick enough to get behind the stacked shields and spells, was burnt to ash instantly. But even those who did were still fearing for their lives.

The fire was rapidly consuming the spell shields, the barriers and the tanks were next. The fire licked away at the first few rows of players, killing most and gravely wounding the others.

The lucky players were those that were under and behind the dragon, as they were out of the skills range of effect. But they weren't out of the clear.

The dragon, after noticing that its attack had done so little damage, tried flying off again. This time, since most players had let go of the tethers, there was nothing to restrain it.

But many players were still thinking strategically. Skill and spell abounded, all with knocking or stunning effects, smashing right into the dragon's head.

Astaroth had even steeled his resolve, now that he saw the players present weren't all dimwitted greed monkeys. He sank into the burnt remains of the trees, using his last few seconds of melding with Luna, to use Travelling Roots.

He didn't travel too far, before circling around and shooting back out, his shield before him. He used a Shield Bash skill to maximize impact, slamming into the dragon's temple.

With all the concussive damage hitting its head, the dragon was almost frothing at the mouth and its wings stopped beating. It fell back down to the ground, stunned long enough for many constricting spells to be set on it.

All the players still alive, along with the ones still arriving banked on this moment, throwing out the heavy-hitting skills and spells they had been holding onto. Now that it was an unmoving target, it was the best time.

A sizable chunk of the dragon's health disappeared in seconds as the players all went ham on it. But Astaroth knew it wouldn't be long before it enraged again.

What would it do next time? Would it heal, would it grow a second head, would it flee?

It was anybody's guess at this point. But no one present dared underestimate it.

Even though the dragon was wounded, they still had to find out in which way. It stayed a legendary creature, doubled with a zone boss, and tripled with a huge level advantage.

Astaroth went back to harassing the dragon from between its legs, where he was also safer from the bullets flying at him. It seemed Azamus was now focusing on him.

But the stats he currently had made him much faster than the projectiles flying at him. But his troubles only became more when a group of six familiar dwarves and gnomes appeared around him.

'Tch! Them again.'

The dwarf at their head was about to open his mouth, but never had time to utter a sound. Astaroth's longsword slashed his head clean off his body, and the rest of his party was squashed under the dragon's foot.

The dragon had been aiming at Astaroth, but since he was amidst their group, they ended up collateral damage. Astaroth laughed it off.

Azamus was fuming from his distant perch.

"Useless trash! If not that you already are a part of my guild, I would kill you until you can't play!" he growled, reloading his rifle.

Another ten minutes went by before the dragon reached the twenty-five percent health mark. Most players were paying attention to that, and stepped back when it ticked away.

The players that weren't paying attention were all struck by a fear effect, as the dragon roared to the skies once more. Many players that had stepped back were also hit, but they were safe behind the tanks.

As for Astaroth, who was still zooming between its legs, his passive saved his skin once again.

The dragon reared its head, preparing another torrent of flames, but this time, its tail also accompanied it, swinging around in the back as it spun full circle.

Those who thought they were safe were suddenly looking at a massive tail heading for them blazingly fast. And if that wasn't enough, the torrent of fire this time was down all around the dragon.

Players died in swathes, making many guilds panic. Their core players might not be among these, but even losing levels on normal-level players was bad for them.

And now they were losing levels by the dozens. It tempted many guild representatives to pull back their troupes, but the dragon was so close to dying that they bit the bullet.

The tide of players coming from Sunpeak was thinning over time, as some players had already died many times and weren't willing to lose more levels in this foolish endeavour.

This was worrying for the ones still there, since their damage output was reducing by the minute. If they didn't end this soon, they would have died so many times for nothing, since the dragon would most likely escape with its life.

Astaroth was still fighting under the monster when he finally noticed something weird. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.

'Phoenix! Get under the dragon, now!' he wrote in the party chat.