After a volley of arrows rained down, the nearby players who had hoped to take advantage of the chaos quickly abandoned their schemes.
Especially when they realized that the arrows weren’t ordinary wooden or iron bolts—they were entirely composed of energy, manifesting as streaks of radiant light!
The blindingly fast energy arrows struck the three-headed vulture trapped in the giant web, vanishing upon impact and leaving behind only scorched circular marks.
This meant that what appeared to be ordinary crossbows were, in fact, energy weapons.
After reaching Level 20 and undergoing their class advancements, interstellar players gradually encountered the supernatural forces and technological systems of the Ten Thousand Realms. Most civilizations and factions had begun researching these phenomena, only to hit a dead end—
From a scientific perspective, the technological progression of the Ten Thousand Realms was bafflingly erratic. One moment, civilizations were in primitive stages, following the conventional development path of carbon-based societies, much like the documented histories of numerous races within the Stellar Alliance.
But after Level 20, individuals and cultures in the Ten Thousand Realms underwent drastic transformations, giving rise to three major schools of thought and an entirely separate system of supernatural civilization.
Compared to technological civilizations, this supernatural system was shockingly simple, brutal, and defied all logic.
It was as if it had been constructed based on exaggerated imagination within a limited knowledge framework.
Take, for example, these energy arrows, which resembled laser attacks. To the scholars of interstellar civilizations, they presented an unsolvable mystery. No matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn’t comprehend how energy extraction and concentration could be achieved within such simple copper-and-iron structures.
Given the undeniable fact that the Ten Thousand Realms could enhance real-world mental energy, along with the subconscious convergence of civilizations transformed into the Floating Ghosts through other virtual networks, interstellar civilizations had already accepted the premise that everything in the Ten Thousand Realms had once existed in reality. They never even considered the possibility that it might all be fictional.
Currently, the prevailing theory among interstellar scholars was that the Ten Thousand Realms civilizations possessed an innate affinity for (psychic) mental energy, leading to this extreme divergence in development.
In contrast, in the real universe, the emergence of mental energy had always been documented as occurring only after a civilization reached a certain evolutionary stage—typically marked by the ability to leave their home planet and venture into space.
Now, witnessing the energy weapons wielded by the soldiers of Bai Ye Village, the players present were first stunned by their destructive power. But upon reflection, they realized something even more significant: Bai Ye Village had already advanced to the stage of applying supernatural technology from the Ten Thousand Realms!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
After the first wave of energy arrows, the crossbow-wielding soldiers slotted a crystal into a groove. A series of mechanical clicks followed as the weapons reloaded, and soon, a second volley rained down.
"Screech! Screech! Screech!!"
All three heads of the vulture shrieked as its massive body thrashed violently within the spiderweb.
However, the Spider King’s Web was a legendary single-use item dropped by the Spider King boss. Exceptionally elastic and sticky, it boasted incredible tensile strength and binding power, with no major weaknesses beyond a vulnerability to fire. As long as Ye Bai didn’t foolishly launch flaming arrows at the vulture, the creature’s struggles would only degrade the web’s durability by 30 to 50 points per attempt—and the Spider King’s Web had a whopping 1,000 durability points.
With the three-headed vulture immobilized as a stationary target, the second wave of energy arrows shaved off another fifth of its health bar, leaving the nearby players wide-eyed.
Such devastating damage, of course, came from the soldiers’ equipment—
**[Energy Crossbow]**
Grade: Fine
Attack Power: 20-23
Attack Speed: 2.8
Range: 50 (effective) - 200 (maximum)
Projectile Deviation: 2
Special Effect - Energy Volley: Fires X (currently 3) energy bolts in rapid succession
Energy Slot: Source Crystal (Common)
Energy Capacity: 300/500 (Maximum Load: 700)
Description: A highly efficient energy weapon
This was the blueprint Ye Bai had splurged on when the first wandering merchant arrived at her territory. After Vider advanced to the Blacksmith profession, he could finally craft them. To equip every soldier, Ye Bai had even repeatedly used Mental Energy Sanctuary to restore Vider’s stamina, speeding up production.
Currently, these energy crossbows weren’t even at their peak firepower. If higher-grade source crystals were inserted into the energy slot, the number of bolts fired in a single volley could increase further.
However, it was worth noting that Fine-grade energy crossbows couldn’t handle source crystals exceeding the maximum load of 700 energy points—such as purple Rare-grade source crystals. Equipping crystals beyond the standard 500-point capacity would apply an "Overload" debuff, doubling the durability loss rate.
Still, even Fine-grade energy crossbows were devastating in the hands of Level 15 crossbowmen, as the **[Crossbowman]** profession provided damage bonuses for bow and crossbow weapons.
Additionally, every soldier present was clad in Night Raid Armor produced in the territory—Ye Bai wasn’t about to sell all the good gear to players without outfitting her own people first.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The third volley arrived, showcasing the stability of mass-produced weapons—once again, it cleanly stripped away another fifth of the vulture boss’s health.
Aside from Ye Bai’s unexpected maneuver to trap the three-headed vulture, this boss fight had been meticulously planned and executed with clockwork precision. It was a textbook example of "trap and focus fire," seemingly simple on the surface but revealing immense strategic depth upon closer inspection.
Bai Ye hadn’t even used any offensive skills during the battle, leaving her class a mystery—though rumors suggested she might be an Elemental Mage, there was no concrete evidence to confirm it.
Unnoticed, the time for the fourth volley arrived. Ye Bai, having returned to her soldiers, didn’t immediately issue the command. Instead, she paused, then turned toward the players with a faint, amused smile.
"The monster is dangerous. It’d be best if you all left now."
As she spoke, the soldiers beside her leveled their energy crossbows at the players, the humming glow of charging energy flickering at the tips of their weapons.
"What do you think?" Ye Bai asked in a tone that suggested negotiation, then gestured to the crossbowmen behind her.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Another storm of energy arrows slammed into the three-headed vulture, carving out yet another fifth of its massive health pool. Had that relentless barrage been directed at Level 20 players instead, they wouldn’t have stood a chance—dodging would’ve been impossible, and death instantaneous.
"Right, right, right." Several players nodded like chickens pecking at rice, thoroughly agreeing with Ye Bai's assessment. A severely wounded BOSS trapped in a spiderweb was far too dangerous—lingering here risked getting instantly killed by the BOSS, which would be utterly pointless.
By the time the next round of energy crystals was replaced, the group had vanished without a trace.
Ye Bai withdrew her gaze. Players who had reached Level 20 were impossible to fully guard against—a territory couldn’t lock itself down and halt development just to keep players out.
If they couldn’t be stopped, then the only option was to flex their strength, making those who considered causing trouble fully aware of the consequences.
On this matter, Ye Bai had a reference point. She had once searched the Stellar Network for records of what happened in the three years since interstellar civilizations first encountered *Boundless*. During that time, there had indeed been incidents that truly deserved the title of "Fourth Calamity."
After discovering that *Boundless* could enhance spiritual power, one star system’s civilization—finding the traditional route of raising favorability too slow and difficult—attempted to organize all its players to attack NPC cities. After all, dying in-game wouldn’t mean real death, just spiritual damage.
That civilization threw massive numbers of players into the assault, reasoning that capturing even one city would grant them access to its resources.
It was then that interstellar players witnessed *Boundless*’s transcendent power for the first time.
The targeted city belonged to the Alchemy faction. When attacked, a powerful energy barrier enveloped it, rendering the players' physical weapons laughably ineffective. Then, without even deploying its formal army, the city sent out just five alchemical golems—which proceeded to annihilate tens of thousands of player "tourists," including many Level 20 players who had hit a dead end in their class advancements.
In the end, that player-led war concluded in total annihilation. Later named after the city, it became known as the "Roye City Incident."
The overwhelming might displayed by high-tier cities in the Roye City Incident forced cosmic civilizations to reassess *Boundless*, instilling deep wariness toward its unfathomable transcendent technology.
Now, Ye Bai’s energy crossbows were one such application of that transcendent technology. The players who had witnessed tonight’s events would undoubtedly return to their forums in an uproar.
Ye Bai wanted them to understand one thing: Bai Ye Village had already begun wielding this world’s high-end power.
Before her, the three-headed vulture, exhausted and unable to struggle any further, still had over 300 durability left in the Spider Queen’s Web. Ye Bai gave the order: "Fire!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A barrage of energy bolts rained down upon the three-headed vulture. With the fifth wave of attacks, the BOSS’s last fifth of health was depleted. Its central head let out a final shriek before vanishing into white light along with the Spider Queen’s Web.
Simultaneously, Ye Bai’s personal guards and crossbowmen, who had participated in the battle, glowed with a light only she could see.
A quick scan with [Insight] revealed that the massive EXP from the Level 30 BOSS had boosted the recruits—who had been no higher than Level 6 by day—to Levels 22 and 23. The guards, already in their 20s, now ranged between Levels 26 and 27.
This time, Ye Bai hadn’t dealt the final blow to the BOSS, instead letting her territory’s soldiers reap the EXP. Her own reserves were more than sufficient, especially with the divine realm as an additional EXP treasury. Right now, it was far better to invest in strengthening the military units.
With combatants in their 20s, bolstered by natural terrain advantages and energy crossbows, defending Bai Ye in her absence would be no issue.
A gentle breeze swept through the territory, scattering the floating spore-like motes of light—a sign that all had settled.
Ye Bai gazed at the rising sun on the horizon and smiled.
"Dawn has come..."
The next moment, a server-wide announcement echoed once more:
**[Congratulations to Bai Ye Town for becoming the first territory to upgrade to a Small Town!]**
Following close behind was a cascade of personal system notifications:
**[Achievement Unlocked: First Small Town]**
**[Reward Received: Philosopher’s Stone ×1]**
**[Unique Title Obtained: First Mayor]**
