Reign and the rest of the group made their way back to the lake, their spirits high and their determination unwavering. The prospect of facing a raid boss that could potentially even be a Tier VI being filled them with both excitement and apprehension, but they knew that they were more than capable of handling whatever challenges lay ahead.
No matter how powerful the opponent may be, they knew their own strength and knew what they were capable of.
A Tier VI raid boss was dangerous to them, and by themselves, none could defeat such a foe right now, even if Reign transformed, he would be able to fight to a draw but would need to retreat in the end.
Together, however, they were incredibly powerful and knew that even such a boss was not out of their reach. Their constant evolutions, the many life and death battles they had participated in, the constant struggles, all of that shaped them up to be incredibly powerful, much more than other beings of the same level as them.
As they approached the lake, they could sense a powerful aura emanating from the area. The air felt heavy, charged with mana, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble slightly, as if in anticipation of the battle to come.
"Be on your guard, everyone," Reign warned, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of the raid boss. "We don't know what we're up against, so stay alert and be prepared for anything."
The system never said what the new raid boss was, only that it was more powerful than the old one and that it couldn't be tamed like the flood dragon.
They reached the edge of the lake and saw the raid boss standing there, waiting for them. It was a towering demon, its form twisted and monstrous, with horns protruding from its head and a wicked grin stretching across its face.
It was a kind of demon they had never come across before.
It stood at 5 meters tall, had huge muscles that seemed to be trying to burst out of the demon's skin, 4 massive arms, two towering legs, and plenty of cracks on its body that looked like the cracks that one could see on dry land.
It had about 8 horns protruding out of its bald head, which curled around the head, making it seem as if it was wearing a hat.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the demon sneered, its voice filled with malice.
"I was surprised to be called by the system to replace a raid boss, and this is what I get as a welcoming party, a party of newly promoted Tier VI beings?"
"What kind of weakling was the previous raid boss to be defeated by you, let me guess, it was one or two tiers below you little bastards, wasn't it?"
Despite their combined efforts, the demon proved to be a formidable foe, its thick skin and powerful limbs absorbing the brunt of their attacks. It retaliated with vicious strikes of its own, its massive fists slamming into the ground with enough force to create shockwaves that knocked the group off balance.
After all, this was a Tier VI raid boss, had it been a normal Tier VI demon, the initial attack would have been more than enough to completely annihilate him.
As the battle raged on, Reign and the others quickly realized that defeating the demon would not be an easy task. Its immense strength and durability made it a formidable opponent, and its attacks were relentless and devastating. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to land any significant blows that would weaken the demon.
That seemed to be just what ability the demon had, one similar to Tank's ability that made his body many times tougher than normal and gave him immense defensive power, as well as strength.
Even though they were using powerful weapons that could cut through steel, they were still unable to stab or cut the demon deeply.
No injury they had inflicted on the demon so far had been serious, mostly flesh wounds. After all, the demon was huge and its skin was incredibly thick, making it difficult to cut his flesh or muscles, which were also incredibly tough.
"Hahahahahaha, come on you little bastards, don't tell me this is all you have?!" The demon suddenly roared in laughter as it struck the ground with both of his fists, causing it to shake and making Reign and the others stop attacking for an instant.
"Don't worry, this was just a warm-up, you dunce." Reign said as he smiled and took a step forward.
Suddenly, all of their auras changed as their marks activated, causing the demon to raise his eyebrows at them.
"Marks, tch, that's annoying."
With their marks activated, everybody was now more powerful. Tank got larger and his skin turned red as he actually looked a bit similar to the large demon.
Greenie used one of his transformations as he didn't want to go all out just yet, after all, most of them were still holding back a bit so that they could surprise the demon and inflict immense damage when it was not expecting it.
Reign moved first, his speed further enhanced as he appeared in front of the demon that tried to kick him, only to kick his afterimage as he appeared behind one of its legs before slashing down at the tendon.
The demon quickly moved, only for his head to suddenly start hurting immensely.