MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer
chapter-26

On the New Leaf Plains, tons of players were valiantly drooling. Yes, drooling!

Whoever had jokingly started the funny fried chicken war cry had rendered the countless players hungry! Even then, the human army was courageously enduring its increasing hunger.

The players were preparing themselves for the third chicken wave. The morale was at an all-time high as they knew they were making history! Many were even taunting the feathery creatures in the distance.

"You livestock, you'll never defeat the heroes of humanity!"

"Even with so many of you, you can't pierce our defense! Worthless!"

"That's it, retreat! This is humanity's bastion! As long as we can stand, it shall never fall! Glory to the human race!"

Many were nodding in agreement, totally forgetting that their enemies were nothing but beginner chickens. Jack couldn't help but give a wry smile. He raised his voice, instructing them.

"Now is not time to celebrate just yet! The enemies will be coming back in full force. Listen carefully, get out of the boss's way when it reaches us. Is that understood?" Jack glanced at them all. There was already one player raising his hand high-up.

"Excuse me, but why do you think the chicken boss will attack? Isn't it ordering the rest of its flock from the back?" He asked, puzzled.

"Look at it carefully. Its eyes have been progressively changing color. Right now, it's almost the same berserk red as its brethren. It's furious!" Jack explained as an indignant shout was heard.

"Why the hell should we run?! We'll fight it head-on and kill it! We ain't pussies!"

"If we fight it at the defense line, it will collapse for sure. Seeing how troublesome the regular chickens are, you can be sure this one will be dangerous. Just let it through, and we'll take it down away from its flock." Jack retorted.

"There's no way that I'll accept such a thing! I'll—" The belligerent man began a tirade, only to abruptly stop as he saw the CPR dude glaring at him.

"Either you follow the plan, or my family will add you to our hunting list. My squad is not falling behind because you feel like playing the hero. So, what will it be?" The CPR dude growled.

"What?! You're taking his side?! Weren't you guys enemies?!" The player exclaimed, flabbergasted.

Many couldn't help but shake their heads and click their tongues as they murmured loudly, "idiot." Would a prominent guild like the Mighty Wolves have an imbecile leading a team in Infinite? No way! Understanding the bigger picture was an important skill to have.

The man finally realized that he was in the wrong and lowered his head in shame. He didn't dare cause any more waves. It was fine to go against a lone player, but not an organized guild. They could spare the manpower to track him and make his life miserable!

The CPR dude spoke again, pointing at Jack: "In the upcoming fight, if this guy or I make a call, you all better follow it! We're all in this together! Now, get ready!"

Jack couldn't help but sigh in relief. How many villages would fall thanks to discord between the players? Still, it was only his earlier performance that had allowed him to establish such credibility.

He had successfully ventured into the forest, had managed to win against the training instructor in an equalized match, and had shown his brilliance in the previous battle. Were it not for all these feats, perhaps no one would have listened to the rant of a lone player.

That is when a war cluck was heard from across the battlefield. But, this one was different. It was the boss instigating courage into its troops as they answered in kind!

— CLUCK! CLUCK! —

— Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! —

The clucking cacophony was only becoming more intense by the second. It was a dissonant crescendo, the harbinger of the bloodshed to follow.

— CLUCK! CLUCK! —

— Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! —

That's when the chickens began glowing a bloody red. Those were goddamn motherfucking berserk chickens. The humans instinctively felt how savage this exchange would be.

As the feathery monster wave approached, it brought along a bloody stench. Then the chicken army crashed on the defenders, hard. Many players instantly died, dispersing into blue light particles. The survivors shouted while trembling.

"These chickens fucking have rabies!"

"How the fuck are they so damn strong?!"

"Who the hell cares. Just cut their heads!"

"I just did, and it's still fucking moving! Screw this!"

The defense line was slowly getting pushed back but was somehow still holding… all until the boss finally reached it.

<Berserk Chicken Overlord Level 6: Vengeful>

This monster pecked players as it rushed forward: 1 hit meant fatality! Remembering Jack's commands, they quickly spread out, opening a breach in their defenses. Well, most of them did. There was a small group of about a dozen players that remained steady in a vain glory attempt.

Seeing the packed little group, the boss suddenly moved very strangely. It seemed like it was…inflating?! A second later, everyone understood what exactly was going on. The boss's feathers extended as it spun around in a circle, drawing a deadly red magical arc.

The dozen of players got bisected. The surroundings spectators couldn't help but shiver. This was an AoE attack that was impossible to block! Not only was it fast, but it was an instant-kill too! They looked at Jack, thankful.

"Hold the line, you guys! Buy us enough time, so we deal with the boss, and this will be our victory!" Jack shouted as he turned toward the angry Chicken. "Hey, you! I'm gonna turn you into a pillow! Bring it on!"

Did the boss understand the words? No one knew, but it did furiously charge at the man. The bystanders could only sigh in relief as the Mighty Wolves and Seraphine followed behind to help dispatch the creature.

"What's the plan?" Bubblegum inquired.

"Dodge the pecks, retreat 10 meters whenever it inflates, and otherwise punch it till it dies," Jack ordered.

"Punch it till it dies? I freaking love the sound of that!" A random guy chimed in, with many repeating that one motto. Then again, it wasn't like they had many options right now— or did they?

The CPR dude noticed the training instructor by the side, who was just observing the battlefield. Could they perhaps draft him to help? He hollered at him: "Sir, can you give us a hand?" This was probably a wasted effort, but he had to try.

"Sure." As the NPC accepted so readily, many couldn't help but be taken aback. This would get resolved so soon!

Jack recoiled in surprise. He swore he remembered that the NPC would never help during this fight! What was happening?! This was bad: killing this one boss was part of his plan!

Should Jack convince the NPC to give up? No, this would provoke public ire, and he still needed the other players. He had to stand down, damn it!

The training instructor took a powerful step forward and began glowing in a golden light once more. Except, this time, it was even more intense. His eyes began radiating like suns as he readied his hammer.

He raised it above his head as it remained the same size but began glowing more and more brightly. Heartbeats accelerated, players began panting, and their legs turned weak as they instinctively felt that this attack would end everything.

Even in its berserk state, the Chicken could only Cluck weakly in fear. It even recoiled on itself, wishing to find a hole to bury itself in. Sadly for it, the ground was perfectly flat.

This upcoming strike would really end everything…perhaps even their own camp?! Wait, was it too late to change their minds? Maybe they could defeat the enemy alone after all! — Or not...

Under many awestruck gazes, the NPC gave a confident grin and….coughed out blood. What?! He suddenly turned weak at the knee as he took a few steps backward before sitting in a corner.

He then spoke to the flabbergasted players: "It seems I've pulled a muscle. You guys will have to take care of the rest alone. Good luck."

….WTF?!

The Chicken didn't waste time to begin celebrating, pecking random players. This quickly turned into a bloodbath, with everyone trying their best to survive. The problem was how crazily unpredictable the creature was!

Its feathers would partly hide its movements. It could be turning its neck, and they would only realize it at the very last second. Then, there were the depressing damage numbers that showed up atop the creature's body after every hit. It looks a bit like this:

-0

-1

-0

-0

-0

-1

-1

-0

It was as if the game itself was paying respect to their pointless struggles! Even then, they kept fighting, withstanding the desperation brought about by so many zeros. There was only one thing greater than their fighting spirit: their death rate!

Once again, there was only one guy that wasn't dying no matter what. Jack remained steady, never putting himself in danger. Seeing him gave others courage, even when the Chicken didn't show any sign of weakening.

"How much HP does this thing even have?!" One player complained more than he asked.

"Probably 200. But it seems to be able to regenerate almost as fast as we damage it." Jack remarked.

"So we just keep beating it? Or do we change strategy?" The CPR dude asked, the tension heavy. At this point, some of their troops were beginning to despair. It felt like an impossible mission.

Jack looked at them confidently before clamoring:

"Men, fear not! We can do this, and we'll keep pounding it all night long if necessary! We'll keep going until our bodies become sore. We'll penetrate its defenses until we see blood for the first time, and then we'll keep going some more! Together we'll fuck this Chicken!"

Some couldn't help but choke. What was wrong with his words choice?! As they glanced at this mysterious guy, they completely forgot about their despair and kept going. The more damage they inflicted and the more dangerous the enemy became.

At some point, the Chicken began using its spinning attacks even more. A bit later, it began using lightning-fast dashes + pecks combos. It was so deadly that there were only 5 or 6 players alive out of the 30 fighting the boss at any given time.

These elite players were somehow holding the boss in place until the others revived. Then, this kept repeating over and over. But every time they risked a wipe, the boss would regenerate a lot of HP.

Even then, little by little, they whittled the Boss's HP away. All until it was at death's door. At this rate, they would soon defeat it! But suddenly, a respawning player brought "good news".

"Guys' the magical instructor is coming over! He's pissed about all the clucking! We're fucking saved!" He enthusiastically cried out.

Jack's face instantly turned cloudy. For the first time in the fight, he showed panic. "Quick! We need to finish this Chicken before the NPC arrives, or we're fucked!"

The players were confused, but it sounded serious…

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[A/N] Many thanks to leolph for the 🏰! This gave RPP an awesome feature in Messages! Time to write some more chaps! ^_^v

Creator's Thought

Most monsters in Infinite have a berserk state. This usually triggers once they take enough damage. It means bonus CC resistance, increased damage, increased movement speed, and lower cooldowns. Leader type bosses will often go berserk as their brethren die.