There was very little intel on the giant True Sting. In Dan Heng's understanding, this type of bug was so massive it could even swallow a planet destroyer ship whole. That's why, upon learning the truth, everyone's first reaction was how to run.
In fact, for most people, running was the best choice. Aside from Pei Guang in the Memory World and a few bored Aeons, probably no one in the universe would even think of dissecting this thing.
There was no fun in it, no tangible benefit. For Emanators, it was easier to just bypass it. Fighting one of these things was tiring, and not all Emanators were combat specialists anyway.
For ordinary folks, either they lacked the power, or if they had the power and entered anyway, they wouldn't know what was going on. Once they realized they were dealing with a bug the size of a planet, they'd just think, "To hell with this," and run.
Even those who did want to fight would be like headless flies: completely clueless on how to fight it. After all, there was no established strategy for dealing with a giant True Sting yet.
As for Pei Guang? Based on his experiences in the Memory World, he wanted to try clearing it. And if he could do it, as a player, he'd naturally be the first one to publish a strategy guide.
That thought alone was enough for him: clearing bosses didn't just give players loot, gear, and level gains. Publishing a strategy could also bring a bit of fame, after all.
But since he was about to start working on a strategy, Pei Guang decided to summon everyone!
This time they were going to Washtopia to do some cleaning up, and those with a home base were temporarily staying put waiting to regroup. However, two members were still out and about.
The call to gather was simple: in the shared storage space, Pei Guang arranged and combined some items. After the combination, the first character of each item name spelled out: "Train! Danger! Regroup!!!"
Seele didn't pick up on the change that quickly, but Silver Wolf noticed the signal instantly. She was in the middle of gaming and had nothing to do, so she dropped by Seele's place, and the two came together.
Silver Wolf: "Yo! Just became Champion and there's already a new event? You really are a true player. Come on, tell me—what's the enemy?"
Seele: "Just tell me what I need to do."
Pei Guang: "So, here's the situation…"
Pei Guang explained everything. After hearing it all, Silver Wolf got excited. "Giant True Sting? I've heard of that thing. No one's ever encountered it and lived. Can't believe you guys ran into one. And your plan is insane… Don't tell me you looked up the dungeon data ahead of time?"
Pei Guang: "I have. I fought this thing in the Memory World. With that info, clearing the dungeon should be doable!"
Seele: "No need for more talking. Just tell me who to cut and how."
Pei Guang: "Alright! Let me assign everyone's roles…"
Pei Guang had a crystal-clear memory of what each teammate specialized in. Based on their traits, he began dividing the teams.
"To assault the wings of the giant True Sting, I'm making two teams. First team: Old Yang, March, and Seele. Old Yang's got wide-area damage skills and can summon mechs to fight. March has broad crowd control abilities. Seele, your job is to protect them from ambushes. During the mission, follow Old Yang's orders—trust him."
After assigning those three, Pei Guang turned to Dan Heng. "Second team, Dan Heng, you're the leader. You, Stelle, and Silver Wolf. As for your group… I don't really have any special instructions. Though Silver Wolf, you…"
Silver Wolf spoke excitedly: "Don't worry. I'll follow the team leader's orders."
Pei Guang: "Good. Velite, what are you good at? Of course, if you don't want to join the hunt, you can stay on the train and wait for us to finish."
Hearing Pei Guang's words, Velite drifted into a daze. He thought back to what Pei Guang had said to him earlier. When people are young, they don't dream about daily necessities like rice, oil, salt, or buying a tiny room just to sleep in for the rest of their lives.
Velite had dreams when he was young, too. And in Pei Guang's words, those dreams reappeared before his eyes. He took a deep breath. "As long as it's not an overly complicated ship, I can pilot it. I can shuttle you all around."
Pei Guang: "Excellent! That's a very useful skill. But… we don't need you for the wing assault."
That line made Velite's mood plummet. It had taken all his courage to speak up, only to be told he wasn't needed. He was clearly a little upset… until Pei Guang continued.
"You'll serve as support, working with Argenti. If one side's situation turns bad, you'll take Argenti and rush to assist. If you run into a powerful enemy, you two are the reinforcements.
If it gets too rough, retreat to the train or look for the nearest Trailblazer. Don't rush recklessly: we've got backup plans. As long as you're alive, we can find a way to get everyone out of here."
Argenti: "Understood!"
Hearing Pei Guang's detailed arrangement, March 7th asked curiously, "Huh? You've assigned everyone. What about you and Himeko?"
Pei Guang took a deep breath and spoke slowly: "What we're doing… is not exactly big, but not small either. Himeko and I are guarding the train."
If someone else heard that assignment, they'd definitely scoff. But March 7th knew Pei Guang well. He wasn't someone who feared death:in fact, as a player, he preferred high-difficulty challenges.
If Pei Guang said he was guarding the train… then it probably meant something even more terrifying was going to happen there.
Himeko nodded thoughtfully after hearing Pei Guang's assignments. "I see. My equipment is most effective aboard the train. And the train itself is like a beacon in the darkness: an easy target for these bugs to notice. Besides…"
She looked at Pei Guang. She remembered that not long ago, he had obtained a taunt-capable Light Cone from the Garden of Recollection, and he also had a powerful taunt skill that could even provoke Doomsday Beasts.
In that case, Pei Guang was indeed not suited for offense: defending the train was the most important task.
To put it simply: Welt and Dan Heng were the DPS focused on taking down the wings. Stelle, March 7th, Seele, and Silver Wolf were supports or secondary DPS. Velite and Argenti were the substitutes, ready to step in wherever a team started to falter.
Pei Guang and Himeko were the definitive train cannons—or rather, the "train carries." If the team were strong enough, there would be no need to defend the train. But unfortunately, they weren't strong enough to steamroll everything.
In that case, someone had to hold the line at the train, drawing enemy attention and relieving the pressure from the frontline.
As for how to advance… simple enough. Welt could use his powers to take three people to their designated destination, while Silver Wolf could use her Aether Editing to teleport her group.
And the map? Pei Guang took care of it. He imported his memory into the system, using information on the Giant True Sting and structural schematics, along with their entry coordinates, to build a 3D map and roughly estimate their current location.
Since they couldn't exit through any place except the mouth anyway, they could just head in one direction after hitting a wall. That's also why Pei Guang had Argenti and Velite act as support: this kind of exploration would inevitably make one team faster than the other.
The faster group would draw aggro and retreat toward the train to let the "train carries" handle things, while the slower group would get help from Velite and Argenti to clear threats and work toward neutralizing the core energy.
Once the tasks were assigned, everyone got ready to move. Before they set off, Pei Guang lit a flame on each of them.
"We've got outsiders this time, so I'll explain. This fire is Savory Truefire. It won't cause friendly fire. I'll keep it burning inside you to prevent the hallucinogenic powder the True Sting shakes off from affecting you. Even its stomach acid won't harm you."
That wasn't just bragging: Pei Guang had tested it. His Savory Truefire would burn whatever he wanted, and the only limitation was that he wasn't strong enough yet to unleash its full potential.
Keeping the flame active on everyone consumed a massive amount of energy.
Based on his own feel for his "nonexistent mana bar," he could maintain the flame for half an hour. But the further the targets, the greater the drain. Toward the end, he might only manage to sustain it for the final minute, or even seconds, before running out.
Still, he had Phantylia's support to thank: Phantylia had given him a ton of recovery items, and full-attribute restoratives were truly busted!
Stelle said, "Your power is really handy."
Silver Wolf added, "Skills that can help allies resist or cleanse debuffs are top-tier support in any game!"
Welt said, "I can definitely vouch for that…"
Pei Guang replied, "What tier this skill is can wait till we get back. For now, [Giant True Sting Subjugation Mission] starts now!"
At that moment, everyone aboard the train sprang into action.