Chapter 678 - Ancient Ghostvine (2/2)
Received 2,371 damage.
More than ten Ghostvines hit his barrier almost simultaneously. His Darkfrost Shield was instantaneously shattered, and his inner barrier trembled vigorously as well. One after another, tiny rifts began to appear on its surface.
The bizarre power demonstrated by the monster perplexed Qin Ruo…
Luckily for him, the vines were retracted at an even quicker speed after the attack. That gave Qin Ruo an opportunity to retreat more than thirty meters away from the dark region.
No further movement was detected after Qin Ruo fell back. It appeared that the creature inside was unable to leave the shrouded area.
It was as if the danger that almost took Qin Ruo's life was non-existing. If it had not been for his dilapidated barrier and the numerous cracks on it, Qin Ruo might have thought that the incident a while ago, which happened in a flash, was just in his imagination.
Thud! Thud!
After two light sounds, Homme Fatale and Black Rock landed near him at the same time. They quickly shielded Qin Ruo behind them with a concerned look on their face. What happened earlier was equally nightmarish to them.
The two Demigod Champions had failed to react in time. They watched helplessly as the more than ten black vines hit Qin Ruo while he was retreating. The attack instantly broke his Darkfrost Shield, and the resulting damage put Qin Ruo on the verge of the Weakened State.
”Are you all right?”
”What was that… thing?”
The two of them asked simultaneously.
”I'm not sure.” Qin Ruo took a deep breath. Protected by the Grand Reaper, he swiftly recalled the Darkfrost Shield and a brand new Frostbarrier. After he was done, he muttered, ”But I'm certain that those attacks came from a greater monster in there.”
Homme Fatale and Black Rock were silent.
They gazed in the direction of the Ancient Ghostvine's attack. They nodded in agreement. 'Qin Ruo's right. The system notification only reported once, not multiple times.'
'Anyway, what's this thing known as the Ancient Ghostvine? What kind of monster is it? That attack just now was bloody scary!'
It ignored the decelerating effect of Shadow Howl and one round of its attack almost instantly killed a Demigod Champion. Not to forget, the heavily-injured Tier 6 Champion was protected by splendid Legendary and Demigod Equipment.
Suddenly, the three of them grew fearful of the Ancient Ghostvine, which was hiding inside the dark region.
”I think we've reached an extremely hostile place.”
”Qin Ruo, we've most likely encountered a Tier 6 Boss that excels in Physical Attacks. It'll be very difficult for us to face such a foe under this circumstance. Do you think we should back off?” Black Rock intended to withdraw after he witnessed how Qin Ruo had been beaten a while ago.
If even the famous Winter Demon was unable to sustain the attack, then fighting the monster would be no different from fighting the Grand Reaper. Being killed by a Boss-Tier monster would result in a hefty punishment. He worried that dropping a Demigod Grade Equipment there would make them a laughing stock of the Demon Faction players.
”Back off?” Qin Ruo stared at the dark region coldly. A wave of insatiable anger burned within him after he was whipped by the vines in a humiliating manner.
'How can we give up so easily? Are we going to go back and tell them we were forced to turn back because I was almost killed by a monster that never appeared?'
Anyhow, Black Rock's worry was also justifiable.
The unknown creature, the Ancient Ghostvine, had exerted such dominance without even showing its true form. It posed a legitimate threat to the three of them.
Such prowess was almost equal to a Tier 6 Physical-Type Megaboss.
Normally, they were more than capable of dealing with a monster at that level. But fighting without Elemental Perception and with handicapped vision made it nearly impossible to defeat the unknown enemy.
Qin Ruo suggested after he pondered for a long time, ”I suspect the Ancient Ghostvine is unable to leave the zone shrouded by the fog. Let me try one more time. We need to at least get more details and learn about its level before we retreat.”
”Why not send out the Grand Reaper? With the Death Barrier, I believe Little Face will last longer than you,” Black Rock proposed.
”Better not.” Qin Ruo shook his head. ”Every time the Death Barrier is destroyed, it requires another hundred and eight souls to be reconstructed. We still need it to cover us if we're forced to flee in case of an unforeseen predicament.”
Qin Ruo continued after he rejected Black Rock's goodwill. ”Don't worry, I was at lost just now because I was caught off guard. It won't happen again.”
It was true that Qin Ruo never expected an assault when he was in a perfect disguise. It just so happened that the attack mode used was none other than the Achilles heel of an Elementalist—a long-range Multiple Attack with Physical Damage.
Not only did Shadow Howl fail to work, but he was almost instantly killed by the monster.
This time, he was ready and determined not to allow the same scenario from happening again.
For insurance, Qin Ruo decided to ditch his disguise. He then strengthened his defense by adding another layer of dense Water Element ribbon on top of his outer shield.
Besides, Qin Ruo had also secretly accumulated sufficient mana to release a Chaotic Frostrampart at any time.
Once everything was set, Qin Ruo nodded at Black Rock and Homme Fatale. He then held up a staff, beaming with silver luster, and once again approached the mysterious zone with a heavy heart.