The first to arrive were the familiar wild wolves and boars—common creatures that posed little threat.
The players waiting nearby had, to varying degrees, learned about the territory upgrade from the Star Network or research teams affiliated with their factions. Naturally, they weren’t foolish enough to rush in and help White Night Village fight these monsters.
Dealing with groups of creatures around level ten was both tedious and unrewarding in terms of experience points. During a territory upgrade, the beasts had a clear objective, and players who spotted them from a distance knew to keep their distance. As long as they didn’t block the creatures’ path, the aggressive animals wouldn’t attack them.
Not to mention, the dozen or so players who had just been expelled from the village were all equipped with stealth-enhancing night cloaks. They sat back comfortably, ready to enjoy the show.
This was an excellent opportunity to observe and assess White Night Village’s strength.
Of course, if a golden chance to snatch the boss monster presented itself, that would be another story entirely.
The players believed they had the upper hand, free to advance or retreat as they pleased. Meanwhile, White Night Village remained orderly and prepared.
Handling the first wave of wild wolves and boars was nothing new for the village’s soldiers, who had gained experience from the last upgrade. Hunting traps formed the first line of defense, followed by a volley of standardized crossbow bolts—simple combat tasks left to the newly trained archers.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
After a single barrage, the freshly recruited soldiers all leveled up from 0 to around 4 or 5.
This time, however, the territory upgrade was noticeably different. Though the beasts weren’t particularly strong, they came in an endless, unrelenting tide.
The soldiers’ levels continued to climb—from 4 or 5 to 7 or 8, then from 7 or 8 all the way to 11 or 12.
From behind the wooden palisade came a cacophony of *neighs* and *thuds*, the sound of untamed horned horses driven into a frenzy by the strange scent in the air.
Yet, just like last time, they remained trapped inside. Ye Bai, taking extra precautions, had added another layer of fencing, now totaling three sturdy barriers.
*"Haaah…"*
Beside Ye Bai, Blaze quietly stifled a yawn.
By the time the night reached its midpoint, the average level of the new recruits had risen to 14 or 15, but no proper boss had appeared. While the training was effective, the elite guards—all above level 20—had grown bored.
It wasn’t just Ye Bai’s personal guard; the players lurking around the territory were also stifling yawns.
*"Where’s the boss? I heard territory upgrades always have elites and bosses…"*
*"Maybe it’s not here yet?"* a companion replied, glancing at the massive pile of beast carcasses littering the ground where the soldiers had slaughtered them. *"Imagine if we could loot those bodies. The meat and pelts might not be worth much individually, but with this many, it’d add up to at least a few dozen silver coins, right?"*
*"Probably more. This is just one side—there are other directions too."*
While the players chatted, they kept their eyes peeled like cameras, ready to screenshot at a moment’s notice. Then, one of them suddenly stiffened.
*"What is that…?"*
The others followed his gaze upward, where a dense shadow loomed against the sky, illuminated by the glow of the Genesis Tree’s spores.
As the shadow spread its wings, the four quickly realized—it was a bird?
And as time passed, the avian silhouette grew larger, its wingspan now clearly exceeding ten meters.
The colossal bird descended with purpose, heading straight for the heart of White Night Village.
Players familiar with territory upgrades felt a jolt of realization—this boss wasn’t like the usual ground-dwelling monsters. It came from the sky.
And given its size, this was no ordinary boss.
In *Worlds Beyond*, players had long since deduced certain patterns. Small monsters weren’t necessarily weak, but monsters with exaggerated sizes? Those were *always* strong.
……
*"Screeee—!"*
A piercing, ear-splitting cry tore through the air, accompanied by the howling wind, announcing its arrival to all.
The giant bird dove from the sky, already breaching White Night Village’s airspace, its sights locked on the Genesis Tree.
*"Damn it!"*
Ye Bai let out a startled cry. She had anticipated that, even after clearing nearby field bosses, upgrading to a level 4 territory—a transition from village to town—would inevitably spawn a unique boss, typically between levels 20 and 30.
But one glance at the boss’s form, particularly the three heads atop its body, told her exactly what they were dealing with.
A Three-Headed Vulture. A boss usually between levels 28 and 30, with around 40,000 HP. For its tier, its health pool wasn’t particularly high—it couldn’t even match lower-level bosses like the Striped Crocodile King. But its true menace lay in the fact that it was a flying creature. Most attacks against it had to be ranged, and it had an innate evasion advantage.
What made Ye Bai’s blood run cold, however, was its signature skill—**[Rapid Hurricane]**, conjured by the furious beating of its wings. Units caught near the whirlwind would be sucked in and take damage, but worse, the skill was *devastating* against structures!
*"Move, move, MOVE!"*
Ye Bai, who had initially planned to stay out of the fight if possible, now sprang into action. Harming *her* was one thing, but harming the territory she’d painstakingly built? Absolutely not.
It was no exaggeration—if this boss so much as trampled a single flower, she’d be heartbroken.
The buildings were bad enough, but if the Three-Headed Vulture tore through the wooden palisades and set loose the horned horses she’d been *raising* for nearly a month? She might actually cry.
Her elite guards and soldiers had barely raised their weapons toward the sky when Ye Bai, moving faster than anyone of her level, charged straight toward the approaching monstrosity from the east.
*"My Lord!"*
By the time her companions reacted, Ye Bai had already dashed more than ten meters ahead.
With no other beasts in sight, the rest gave chase—but none could keep up.
The Three-Headed Vulture was heading straight for the territory, and Ye Bai was heading straight for *it*. In this mutual rush, the distance between them quickly closed to less than fifty meters.
Then, in mid-sprint, Ye Bai suddenly leaped—soaring four meters into the air.
A translucent wing of light flickered into existence behind her for a split second. Defying physics, she seemed to find footing on empty air, propelling herself forward with another powerful jump—
“Holy shit!”
“Ye Bai can fly??”
The players who had retreated to the eastern side of Baiye Village recognized Ye Bai the moment she appeared. Her distinctive feathered cloak had become one of the key identifiers for other players to spot her. Then, they witnessed something that left them utterly stunned.
Ye Bai formed an upward parabolic arc in the air, leaping nearly 20 meters in a straight line, directly meeting the three-headed vulture that was diving toward her!
This was the only instant-cast spell she had recently mastered—**[Featherfall]**: it provided a rapid upward thrust and a fivefold boost to jumping power, lasting one second.
Instinctively, every player seized the opportunity to take a screenshot.
In the blink of an eye, just as the crowd thought Ye Bai was about to be impaled by the first head of the three-headed vulture’s sharp beak—
She suddenly raised her hand and flung a white, spherical object at the creature.
The white orb seemed insignificant compared to the massive vulture, but in the next moment, it unfurled, expanding with the wind into an enormous spiderweb that ensnared the beast.
The three-headed vulture’s aggression was locked onto Ye Bai—the “living creature within its territory”—and it instinctively tried to strike her first before dealing with the web.
But then, Ye Bai took advantage of the shadow cast by the vulture’s massive wings and activated **[Shadow Step]**, her figure flickering as she reappeared near the shadow of a tree below.
“Teleportation! Ye Bai can teleport!”
The players who saw this gained yet another shocking piece of information. However, having just used their screenshot function, they couldn’t capture the moment again to analyze how she did it. All they could conclude were two absurd facts—Ye Bai could fly, and she could teleport.
Was this something a first-tier player could do? Many scholars and experts across civilizations had theorized that leveling up in *Infinite Realms* required exponentially more time and experience as one progressed. They estimated that Ye Bai, being the first player to reach the first-tier, should currently be around levels 30 to 35—nowhere near the second tier.
Yet what they were seeing now challenged their previous understanding. Flight was one thing, but teleportation? Magic-oriented players knew that was high-tier spellwork. They began reassessing Ye Bai’s level in their minds.
At the same time, with a *thud*, the rest of the spiderweb hit the ground, then rapidly contracted.
“SCREEEECH!!”
The three-headed vulture’s immense momentum was abruptly halted by the powerful restraining force, sending it crashing to the ground.
An opportunity?
The sight of a Boss in distress immediately stirred the ambitions of the nearby players, their greed flickering to life.
But right then, the crossbow troops Ye Bai had personally trained caught up.
“Milord!”
“Over here,” Ye Bai called from the side, waving at them before pointing at the webbed three-headed vulture and shouting, “Open fire!”
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Without hesitation, the crossbowmen obeyed her command. The twang of mechanisms echoed as a storm of energy arrows rained down on the three-headed vulture.
After the barrage, the Boss’s health bar dropped by a full fifth.
The previously scheming players instantly fell silent, their ambitions crushed in an instant.
