Basically, Hu Tao had already taken care of every monster in this world.
Or in Hu Tao's professional terms—
She had already held funeral services for every monster in this world, forcefully marketing coffins to them.
Even though those monsters weren't intelligent, Hu Tao had a complete and well-developed coffin marketing industry chain.
And the core hub of that chain was Ryen.
Hu Tao handled the monsters and forcibly promoted coffins to them.
Then, she would receive gold in return from Ryen.
Basically, one coffin earned one gold nugget.
Hu Tao didn't care about the Mora income, but that was Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's standard policy.
Ryen didn't care about gold or not either—those things had no real value to him.
Looking back now, it had become an unspoken understanding between them—a sort of shared amusement.
But that wasn't the main point.
The main point was, Hu Tao had already given coffins to almost every monster in the Minecraft world.
What was left now, was the Wither Storm.
In Hu Tao's words, it was the "Disruptor of Yin and Yang Order."
It was a big guy, and Hu Tao insisted that for taking down one Wither Storm, she deserved a gold block.
Even though she wouldn't spend it even if she got it, and Wangsheng Funeral Parlor wasn't lacking in Mora anyway—
Hu Tao still really enjoyed the idea of such rules.
And Ryen was happy to humor her.
"Ryen, do you have specific intel on the Wither Storm?"
Ningguang, of course, wasn't underestimating it.
After all, Ryen had repeatedly said—it was one of the nearly unbeatable ultimate enemies in the Minecraft world.
One of the final bosses.
No matter what, caution was necessary.
Ryen liked Ningguang's steady, composed attitude—it matched his own style of playing it safe.
The Wither Storm, in theory, could be handled easily, but if things went wrong…
Then it really went wrong.
If you didn't manage to contain it early and let it grow unchecked—once the Wither Storm reached Stage Seven, even Ryen would panic.
Thinking of that, Ryen's expression grew serious.
Seeing his demeanor shift, everyone else quieted down, waiting for Ryen's explanation.
"The Wither Storm is an ultimate monster that must be summoned."
"It has seven evolutionary stages. The first stage is its weakest, but even then, killing it right away is extremely difficult."
"Because when its HP drops below 50%, it becomes immune to ranged attacks…"
Hearing the words "immune to ranged attacks," everyone frowned in frustration.
The last one with ranged immunity was the Enderman...
Back then, Ningguang and the others had just arrived in the MC world, and that had driven them nuts for quite some time.
If it weren't for the boat—
Wait. The boat?!
Keqing's eyes lit up, and she asked urgently,
"Ryen, can we trap the Wither Storm using a boat?"
Ryen admired Keqing's quick thinking and her knack for using the world's mechanics, but unfortunately—
"The Wither Storm can't be killed using any in-world tricks or features. If you want to take it down, you have to brute-force it…"
Upon hearing that, everyone fell silent.
They all felt a strange chill creeping into their hearts.
Technically, the Wither could be killed by suffocation, which might be an exploit they could use.
But…
It explodes when it spawns, and explodes again when it attacks.
How could they suffocate that?
Even obsidian could get absorbed—what were they supposed to do, seal it with bedrock?
Ryen didn't even have bedrock right now, and even if he did, he wouldn't waste it on the Wither Storm.
"When the Wither Storm spawns, it causes a massive explosion. If you fail to dodge it, you can get killed instantly."
"After that, in Stage One, it begins absorbing surrounding blocks to form black armor."
"That armor has the hardness level of obsidian…"
"And here's the bad news—except for bedrock, the Wither Storm can absorb any nearby block to form armor, including obsidian…"
Pausing, Ryen noticed everyone's expressions becoming increasingly distressed and couldn't help but say:
"Relax, don't be so nervous."
Hearing that, Ganyu lit up with a sliver of hope and looked at Ryen eagerly:
"So… does that mean you really do have a way to kill the Wither Storm quickly?"
Ryen shook his head with a bitter smile.
"What I meant was… that wasn't all of the Wither Storm's abilities. If you're scared already, you might not want to hear what else it can do."
"…"
Everyone fell deeper into silence.
"When it's first summoned, its health rapidly fills to full. During this phase, it glows with a blue light and becomes invulnerable to all attacks."
"What's even more important to remember is—once it's born, it will rampage indiscriminately, destroying everything and hunting down all life."
"Any creature it attacks will suffer the Wither effect, steadily draining health over time."
"Moreover, the health drained from you will be restored to the Wither... So the most important thing when fighting it is to avoid being hit."
"If you get hit, not only will you suffer massive damage instantly, but it will also continuously absorb your life force."
"We must also avoid letting any creatures get close to it. If the Wither kills any living beings nearby, it will absorb their vitality too."
"So, our best chance is to kill the Wither Storm during the first stage—make use of every second and every opportunity to attack."
"Beyond that stage, the danger only escalates."
"And if we let the Wither Storm evolve to its seventh stage, the entire world will be devoured and destroyed by it."
Hearing this, both Zhongli and Venti felt chills run down their spines.
Suddenly, they weren't so keen on letting Ryen summon the Wither Storm anymore.
"Seventh stage... Then what are the previous stages like?" Ningguang asked with pursed lips, clearly concerned as she looked at Ryen.
"The first stage—when the Wither is born holding a command block—is its weakest. It only throws Wither skulls that explode on impact and absorbs blocks."
"This is also the most critical period to kill it."
"In the second stage, the Wither develops eyes and a mouth. It can fire extremely powerful beams and absorbs blocks even faster."
"Third stage—it grows tentacles; fourth stage—it gains three heads and five tentacles…"
"Fifth stage—the Wither becomes incredibly large. At this point, fighting it is no longer a strategy, it's a gamble with our lives."
"Sixth stage... it summons two smaller sub-bodies and begins coordinated team attacks."
"And the final seventh stage... each of its three main bodies has three heads and grows massive. At intervals, it even summons new Withers."
"If it reaches the seventh stage…" Ryen took a deep breath and sighed.
"We'll have no choice but to flee back to Teyvat. As for this world... even in the best-case scenario, more than half of it will be destroyed."
Upon hearing this, Paimon trembled and immediately dove into Ryen's arms, frightened.
Everyone present finally grasped the true terror of the Wither Storm.
It might not be too strong at first—
But once it evolves to the later stages, it becomes a world-ending threat.
Even if Zhongli's divine powers weren't sealed, he likely couldn't defeat it.
"Something that terrifying... Ryen, are you really sure you want to summon it?" Lisa asked, frowning deeply. Jean and the others looked equally uneasy.
They had only just arrived in this world today, still trying to understand things—and now Ryen was already planning to fight a Wither Storm?
That felt way too reckless.
One wrong move and the world could be obliterated, burying them all with it.
Ningguang and the others looked toward Ryen.
Their initial excitement over fighting the Wither had now been replaced with pure concern. Ningguang only wanted to convince him not to summon it at all.
But Ryen simply shook his head.
"I have a reason I must summon it."
Ningguang's eyes flickered, and she softly asked, "Is it because of the mod?"
Ryen didn't reply, but the others understood.
If it wasn't related to the mod, he wouldn't be this serious.
"If we can't kill the Wither, we'll never be able to summon mods… So we must kill it."
And in fact, they needed to kill ten of them.
But Ryen didn't say that out loud.
The Wither Storm was difficult to kill—but not impossible.
He only explained its power to alert everyone and make sure they fully prepared and listened to his instructions.
Otherwise, one misstep could mean death.
But once they successfully killed the first one under his guidance, they'd get used to it.
The remaining nine would be much easier.
"What's a mod…?" Jean looked curiously at Ningguang. The latter seemed preoccupied and only said:
"It's the most magical and mysterious thing in Ryen's world, something capable of overturning everything. More important than even what you've seen here—yes, even more than the Totem of Undying."
As for the rest, they could talk about it after dealing with the Wither.
"Even without the mods, the Wither is something we must deal with. It drops the Nether Star."
Nether Star?
Yet another unfamiliar term.
Everyone looked to Ryen curiously.
He explained in a calm voice:
"The Nether Star is used to craft Beacons. And a Beacon, when placed on a proper block base, activates wide-area buff effects."
"These effects are continuous—they enhance movement speed, increase mining efficiency, reduce incoming damage, boost jump height, improve melee damage…"
"It's basically a central power source. Any allies within its range will receive buffs."
"Think about it. Even if we ignore this world, what if we brought a Beacon to Teyvat…"
Diluc's expression lit up, fists clenched with excitement.
"This... this would let us build a base that completely outclasses the enemy!"
"Our forces would be enhanced in every aspect! This is a strategic treasure!"
"If a Beacon protected a nation, that place would be nearly indestructible!"
Clearly, Ningguang and the others had already imagined placing a Beacon in Liyue Harbor.
All of the Millelith in the area would gain effects comparable to high-level alchemy potions!
"Also, since it's crafted from obsidian, the Beacon is extremely durable and hard to destroy."
"Though Beacons are immobile, rules are rigid—but people are flexible. If I mounted a Beacon on the Jade Chamber and flew it into battle…"
Ryen chuckled, watching the growing brightness in everyone's eyes, and added with deeper meaning:
"Just imagine…"
"If during the Archon War, or five hundred years ago during the Cataclysm of the dark beasts…"
"If the Jade Chamber had flown in with the Beacon's buffs to support the frontlines…"
"What do you think would have happened?"
Before Ryen could finish, Zhongli let out a long, sorrowful sigh.
"The immortals... and the Millelith…"
"So many lives might never have been lost…"
~~----------------------
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