445 Chapter 445 - The Enraged Shadowmist Assassin (1/2)

There shouldn't be any issues triggering the enrage mechanics, right? Ye Xiaowu was still a little worried as he pondered over this. This was the solution he had come up with in a hurry; he originally wanted to modify the drop rate of the BOSS the moment before the Shadowmist Assassin's HP depleted, but he was worried that somebody would coincidentally be standing behind him.

Opportunity waited for no man. Ye Xiaowu had to seize this opportunity when nobody was looking to act, yet he did not dare to open the program for too long. Thus, his final option was to modify the condition to enrage the BOSS.

Nobody should be able to notice what I just did. Ye Xiaowu was rather confident of this. The members of the monitoring team were only problem-solvers when someone sent a report of an issue to them; they were unfamiliar with the data metrics of the game. All they saw was the enrage mechanic being triggered, which was nothing elaborate so it should not draw anyone's suspicions.

Ye Xiaowu thought about this even as he continued to sneak glances at those people watching the battle. The BOSS was in an enraged state, but not one of them appeared to be suspicious and was, instead, all the more excited now as if they were all injected with stimulants. Even those people who were originally not too interested in the attempt could not help but head over and look. Ye Xiaowu felt as if he was a director that had just successfully created the climax for this show.

These men from the monitoring were aware that the BOSS was enraged, but Gu Fei and the others in game had no clue.

The enraged Shadowmist Assassin had just been activated after that last wave of attack, and its style of combat was not in the least bit altered after being enraged. As per usual, the Shadowmist Assassin continued to hide itself back in the fog after its attack. In order for the players to know that a BOSS was enraged and make the necessary preparations, it would usually undergo a process of change. At the moment, the Shadowmist Assassin was already visibly changing – its skin turning red, eyes becoming bloodshot, and its hair standing up on its ends – but due to the environment in Xiawu City, as well as the unique characteristic of the Shadowmist Assassin, Gu Fei and the others were still in the dark about this.

When the Shadowmist Assassin next appeared, it was still targeting Gu Fei's back. The first one to spot it this time was Brother Assist, and he quickly alerted the others of the incoming figure in the fog.

Gu Fei calmly turned around but, instead, discovered that the BOSS was already before him.

He was not the only one taken aback by this. Everybody else had also received quite the fright when they saw the speed at which the BOSS had suddenly appeared. However, they were not directly threatened in the least and were still able to make adjustment, accordingly. Gu Fei, who was due to be taking the BOSS's attack, turned to face the BOSS that now had bloodshot eyes and seemed to be about to spew fire.

Shocked, Gu Fei figured that it would be too late for him to block with his sword like before, so all he could do was to extend his left hand to stop it. He was very precise, and this extension of his hand latched onto the wrist of the Shadowmist Assassin, but how was that enough to stop its ensuing impact? Upon impact, Gu Fei was sent spiraling up the sky like a kite.

Meanwhile, the Shadowmist Assassin skidded smoothly and did an about turn. Propping itself on the ground with one hand and gripping its dagger in reverse with another, it looked as if it were about to leap, just like a predator pouncing on its prey.

The skin, eyes, and hair… These changes were too obvious, and anyone could tell from a glance. Adding up the increased speed and the force of impact, these experienced MMO experts all exclaimed, ”ENRAGE!”

The enrage mechanic was a common sight in MMOs and was not particularly worth making a fuss about, but the issue was that the Shadowmist Assassin before them was already difficult to deal with previously. Now that its enrage was triggered, the situation had once more turned grim.

Gu Fei took a tumble in the air and landed heavily on the ground. Given his skill, he would always be able to make some adjustment while in mid-air whenever he lost his balance. Even if he had no choice but to collapse to the ground, he would always make sure to leave himself in a position that allowed him to recover in the fastest time. However, at this moment, Gu Fei had actually fallen flat on the ground and was unable to immediately get himself on his feet. This was entirely due to the fact that he had sustained a heavy injury from that last attack, so much so that the system somewhat restricted his movement.

This attack had dealt a shocking amount of damage that Gu Fei was left with but a sliver of HP. Any normal Mage would have died from this, but thanks to his Windchaser's Blessing, as well as that hand of his that somewhat reduced the force behind the attack, he prevented himself from being insta-killed. Nevertheless, the heavy injury he took was unavoidable, and at the moment, he lay sprawled on the ground, his mind awake yet his body was unable to move.

”What's wrong with Miles?” someone asked aloud.

”Young Master Han sarcastically replied, ”Can't you tell just by looking at him now?” With that, he waved his staff.

This time, he did not cast Heal. Heal was used to recover HP, while Gu Fei had sustained a heavy injury right now. This was similar to Dizzy, Weaken, Wound, and other such statuses players would sustain. They required a specific skill or medicine to remove; otherwise, no amount of food or Heal from a Priest would recover any HP.

The skill Young Master Han was currently using was the level 40 skill, Cure, which Light Priests would learn upon Job Class Advancement.

This skill could be considered as a skill that applied a sustained effect. The staff of Young Master Han shone forth a glaring light once he chanted the spell, causing a bright glow to envelope Gu Fei's entire body. He would only fully recover when the glow receded. However, the BOSS had no intentions of giving Gu Fei the chance to cure himself. Getting into position after making that 180 degree turn, it instantly used the same attack he did to dash toward the fallen Gu Fei.

War Without Wounds gave a loud grunt and activated his Charge to collide into the Shadowmist Assassin. These experts might not have the kung fu expertise to supplement their skills, but the other aspects of their skillset, like experience and awareness, were still topnotch. Seeing that Gu Fei had been knocked down and needed protection, War Without Wounds was already upon him to block the BOSS from getting to Gu Fei. When War Without Wounds saw how Gu Fei had survived that BOSS's attack, he reckoned it would be difficult for him to be insta-killed. Thus, he courageously stood before the BOSS to bear the brunt of the incoming attack. He was not expecting to knock the BOSS over with his attack either and was only hoping to buy some time for Young Master Han to cure Gu Fei. Everybody knew clearly who was the lynchpin that would allow them to successfully slay this BOSS.

The Shadowmist Assassin might be a BOSS, but its body was weak. Its muscles and build did not dramatically expand even after it entered a state of enrage, so it was still two sizes smaller than the stocky Warrior War Without Wounds. The Warrior had both his hands gripping the claymore before him as he crossed blades with that slender dagger the Shadowmist Assassin was holding, and the sound made upon collision was earth-shattering.

”WHAT THE F*CK?!” War Without Wounds had not forgotten to curse even at such a time. That huge body of his was also sent flying up in the air, but he did not spiral in the air like Gu Fei had before. He merely sailed upward and landed on his butt, raising a larger cloud of dirt and dust than Gu Fei, but he did not suffer from a heavy injury.