Vol 3 Chapter 6 (2/2)
Ark parried the attack flying in at him as he immediately chained with Counter Attack As the chain skill activated, the Shadoent flying Thanks to that, three to fourhis sword left and right
Po-po-po-pow!
The continuously bursting critical hits!
The Shadoere wearing plate armor posed no problem for Ark The weak points revealed by Eyes of the Cat were the joints of the ar reached the peak of accuracy, Ark's sword furrowed into the joints as if being sucked in and dealt critical hits Wearing the heavy plate armor, the monsters' reaction speed was slow Also, other status abnoristered frequently from his kicks Moreover, the Dark Blade that occasionally shot out ignored defense altogether The ar to Ark
His counter attacking strengthened as he blocked the attacks rushi+ng in fro instinct that he had repressed for a while due to watching out for the Guard and Militia revived His entire body's senses sharpened as vigor surged forth
”So you crawled out to die, Human!”
The lizard-riding Avenger's breastplate sparkled as it thrust its sword Ark twisted to slide past the sword, then stepped onto the lizard to spring up Soaring into the sky, Ark's heel kick pluer's head Reeling with a stun hex, the Avenger lost its balance and rolled off The finisher was the Double Critical Chance made possible by its defenseless state!
Ark wasn't one to miss that chance His sword slid in between the arer's throat
Shambala's skill was so co When Shambala attracted the enemy's attention with 'Blink,' the rate of hexes with Ark's kicks increased greatly Also, since both of them had professions that could use the Backstab effect, monsters fell into critical condition in just three to four hits if they attacked from the back and front
Even while unleashi+ng a combo attack like that, the two didn't need words If Ark moved first, Shambala naturally fell into step with hi” only two people trained in martial arts could share was between them They bore down upon the monsters like fish in their element
However, the overall battle situation was inching towards the Demonic Army, bit by bit The power balance had tipped because supporting fire froicians and Archers died down after severalone after another But there was a greater reason
'That bastard Alan!'
Alan's party, which was in fact the strongest in the garrison, did not go forward aggressively Since the beginning of the fight, they posed at the outskirts and were assuht next to them was annihilated, they simply sat back and watched Since he wasn't the commander anymore, his attitude was totally unconcerned
That attitude of Alan's suddenly changed when flames filled the valley
Shhriiieek! BOOOOM!
The black fireball crossed the valley and fell onto the valley Enormous flames flared as monsters were instantly melted down
”IT'S THE SCORCH CANNON!”
The tiring players burst out in cheers as they turned their heads
The scorch cannon stood high on a faraway hill The scorch cannon had positioned itself and was beginning to let loose supporting fire at last Finishi+ng its recharging, the scorch cannon spewed flaain Every time that happened, the Health of the monsters, ere packed in like sardines, plummeted
Alan's party ran into battle right after that
”Now's the tiement of the Sacred Earth!”
Charging down the valley, a flashy halo swept out with Alan at the center AOE e to all monsters of the darkness attribute!
In a single blow, the scores of monsters with their Health at nearly rock bottoe and exploded It wasn't just Alan The party members who leapt into battle with him cast AOE skills like crazy with the Mana they had been saving up 'Arroer,' which poured forth countless arrows like a rain froician's 'Inferno' that enveloped a space of 10 meters in flames, the Warrior's 'Shock' that struck a maximum of 8 monsters with the shi+eld in one blow!
All of them were skills that sucked an enormous amount of Mana — their Mana already depleted, the other players could only look on dumbly
'Alan, you bastard, so you were ai for this after all'
Ark ground his teeth with an enraged expression
The majority of the monsters had lost at least 70 Health froic piled onto them layer by layer, there was no way the ht down scores; Alan's party was accueous amount of contribution
Even after that, the battlefield was dominated by Alan
'So there's a reason why people followed Alan even while cursing him'
His first sight of the Holy Knight Alan's fighting really took the cake
”Immortal Aura!”
As Alan used a Holy Knight exclusive skill, his surroundings were enveloped in white light It was an aura that reduced the dae his party members took froh norht could stack theht' and Mana recovery speed increased by 30 As a result, the Mana of Alan's party didn't decrease byin Alan's party gave you this much of an additional effect The fact that Platoon 1 players had held the best 10 in contribution all this time was a completely inevitable result That hy Alan had been able to command the volunteer troops despite the mishaps
Was that all? Astride a horse, Alan even had mobility He ran faster than anyone to the place where the scorch cannon had fired and cast his AOE skill Capable of taking down five Shadows in 2~3speed, but they couldn't cole blow
'Are these the Holy Knight skills I've only heard of?' It felt like a wet blanket was being thrown over his motivation 'So there was a secret to his 40,000 contribution points Dammit If it's like this, it's obvious I can't catch up with hiht to the death I'm pissed, but only Alan can hunt like that'
If the Dark Walker was a profession that specialized in soloing and PVP, then the Holy Knight was one that specialized in group battle With their profession characteristics, there was no way Ark could win against hiroup battle Moreover, Alan had now broken up the raid and had parted from other players There was really no reason for him to play the hypocrite and let them secure contribution Because of that, he indiscriminately strutted around the battlefield as he indifferently fired skills on monsters that another player had reduced to half Health Even the Shadow that Ark had beaten into critical condition collapsed from one of his AOE skills
'Da put out'
”damn IT, that's too much!”
”The cheap bastard, coo before Alan takes it all!”
The players raged at Alan's outrageousness, but there was no way to stop hi battle appeared as a result of Alan's actions, so there was no use cursing him either
'Still, for Alan to be the one getting the most contribution'
Right when Ark was bursting in anger—
GRRRR, ROAAAR!
A roar exploded from the rear of the Demonic Army At the vibrations that shook the area, everyone's attention turned to the direction from whence the sound had co in ceaselessly parted to the sides as an enorht, with its entire body covered in black flaon from the waist down and had the appearance of a human from the torso, which was covered with red armor
”GRRRRR, LAUGHABLE Scum YOU DARE TO BLOCK MY WAY”
Tongues of black flames flickered out every time he opened his mouth
A red e popped up before Ark's eyes
- The boss ed!
'Valderas! That guy is!'
Every player halted and stared at Valderas
”I WILL RECLAIM MY TERRITORY AND DRINK OF YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD!”
An terrible energy befitting of his size poured fro existence that silenced the battlefield instantaneously! But the emotion that flared into the players' eyes was not just horror Their happiness was greater instead A certain number of enemies had to be defeated for Valderas to appear It e
Now, if they just took down Valderas, the quest that had gone on for 3 days would end Regardless of their ranking, the people who survived until the final battle had accumulated a lot of contribution points' if they just defeated Valderas, they would be rewarded for their 3 days of effort
”You get contribution points just fro Valderas!”
”Let's defeat Valderas and finish the quest!”
”Concentrated attack!”
People pressed forward like a swarm of bees
”That bastard is the evil that threw Jackson Castle into despair!”
The Sylphid Knights and the Guard also raised their long swords high as they charged Countless ic strikes and arrows bo their swords
But Valderas was ridiculously strong Even after taking countless attacks, there wasn't even a sign that his Health had dropped at all Enveloped in black flaic didn't work on Valderas
”FLIES!”
Valderas swung an enormous iron mace The durability of steel shi+elds became 0 in an instant and broke The Warriors who lost their shi+elds were hit by the ironaway Ark used that chance to approach Valderas' rear and thrust with his sword Contribution would be awarded if he just dealt dae He couldn't just sit around and watch
”Dark Blade!”
A Backstab and a critical hit ignoring defense! But Valderas didn't even turn his head It wasn't even an attack worth his attention Rather, the black flae when he successfully attacked
- You have taken 100 dae from Valderas' 'Bastion of Corrupt Flames'
- You have caught a 'Burn' and will take 10 dae every 10 seconds for 1 minute
”Holy shi+t!”
It e every time he unleashed an attack To say that contribution points would be given every ti as free in the world after all
”GRRRR, DID YOU BLOCK MY WAY WITH SKILLS AMOUNTING TO JUST THIS?”
Valderas swung his iron mace like a windmill
A gale ept up as Valderas dealt enor him But, the attack did not end there Then Valderas opened his maide and black flames spewed out The special skill of the Draconics, Breath!
Four Warriors ere reduced to just 50 Health from the horrible AOE attack fell over without even a chance to pull out recovery potions If they were level 70~80 Warriors, their Health should be at least 1,000 at 50 Moreover, they rapped up in plate armor so their defense should be over 200 Even so, they couldn't take two hits and collapsed Ark had rapidly unleashed evasive e When the Warriors fell over limply, the morale of the players plummeted
”daainst a demon like this?”
”Recoverywhile attacking!”
”But the Magicians and Warriors have it better! Our arrows aren't even hitting hiether!”
But there was one, sole exception
”Holy Sword!”
Alan ran in as he swung his flashi+ng sword As he struck the de sword, Valderas seemed to take quite a shock as his Health decreased noticeably Alan cast Holy Sword onto all of his party members and lashed out at Valderas
Once Holy Sas used, Valderas' auto counter skill was nulled, too
”A Holy Knight indeed!”
”Dammit, I should've joined Alan's party after all”
”But there's a way to block that auto counter!”
The Magicians cast Water ainst the flaht as it was And if Water ic was cast onto a sword, they found out that the flaicians were out of Mana and couldn't grant that ic effect to more than a few people
'Da that lump of experience and contribution'
Having to watch Alan excitedly attack Valderas, Ark's insides burned Moreover, he even had to watch Platoon 1 and Andel raise their contribution, so his innards were about to turn to ashes But, there was no other way
A forh-leveled players with the ed Valderas and the rest of the players blocked the s was naturally formed Like it or not, they could only help Alan since the quest had to be defeated first
”Anyways, there's a chance to win!”
”If we have Alan and the scorch cannon, we ht even be able to win!”
After several minutes passed, Valderas's Health fell to about 50 No matter how impressive a boss he was, he couldn't withstanddown recovery potions like water as they attacked like crazy
At last, the scorch cannon's recharging was finished as well A laser-like light extended from the scorch cannon and took ai tide Sih the air and landed a direct hit on Valderas
BOOOOM!
”Good shot!”
”It may be a boss e!”
The players shouted with excited voices But the sight of Valderas that eed afterwards made their faces pale
”H-how could this be—!”
”Didn't he recover Health instead?!”
Surprisingly enough, Valderas' Health had recovered to 70 again
”N-no way, can he even absorb flae?”
They realize too late The black flaer than before, Valderas smiled faintly
”GRRR, YOU ROTTEN HUMANS! AURA OF BLACK FLAME!”
- Valderas has used 'Aura of Black Flame'
All monsters within 100 meters of Valderas will receive the 'Bastion of Black Flame'
All thein around them rapped in black flames, like Valderas
”Da ridiculous! All the monsters have the Bastion of Black Flame?!”
”Noe can't even use the scorch cannon!”
Even though it was useless against Valderas, the scorch cannon had been protecting the players from the Demonic Army onward It was thanks to the scorch cannon that Alan's party was able to focus on Valderas But if all the monsters received the protection of flames, the scorch cannon would really be rendered useless There was no way the players could block the Dee with every attack
”BURN IN THE FIRES OF hell, HUMANS! FLAME RAGE!”
Valderas jeered at the shocked people yet again as he used a skill The entire valley shook as if there was an earthquake as the ground split right open Then, hundreds of flaed from the rift and exploded when they collided with players The fla around were the size of tennis balls They weren't so fast that body motions polished in the heat of battle couldn't avoid them, but it was almost impossible for ordinary players to avoid flaheavy plate are Roco took a hit fro another person when he collapsed from a hit to his back Players at level 80 lost 30 of their Health in a single blow Of course the level 30~40 Militia would perish with one hit
There was nothing Ark could do, even as he watched them fall
'Da like this—!'
The defensive formation collapsed in an instant The Deer the problem anymore
”RETREAT, ALL HANDS RETREAT!”
They heard Cross' screae would only worsen in their current state But even retreat was already impossible They had made a circular formation in order to pour concentrated fire onto Valderas and were buried within hundreds of De over one by one, the sae popped up before every player
Annihilation and quest failure!
'No fucking way There's no way to ith Valderas having 100 resistance to fire!'
Ark dodged the successive balls of flame as he clenched his teeth
'That 100 fire resistance, it's an option attached to a Legendary item If it's not an item, then that resistance can only be defeated in the underwater world Flaood there, but here'
It was then Ark recalled the map that had been attached to the written instructions
'That's right Up this valley, there is!”
Ark suround
”Dedric, fly! Ray the scorch cannon Go to Raymond and tell him to smash a fireball into the river bank!”
”What? What the hell?”
”Shut up and just do as I say! There's no time!”
As Ark screamed, Dedric floundered as he flew to the scorch cannon
And then several minutes later, when half of the forces had fallen fro attacks, the scorch cannon suddenly rotated towards the North Then a roar sounded as a fireball shot out
Watching the fireball disappear into the darkness, Ark's eyes flashed
'It's a success Noe just have to hold on!'
And, a short while afterwards, he felt a vibration at the bottom his feet At first it was a barely noticeable, sh tofla
”Sharked his shoes and shouted at Sharab onto me!”
”What?”
Slipping past fla, Sharow stronger, then suddenly, a roar burst from up the valley with a rumble
ROOOAAR, CRAAsh!+
”Water? How?”
Players, NPCs, and even Valderas and the monsters all halted and burst out in astonishment An enormous amount of water shook the earth as it rushed in Located up the valley was the river where the steel-armoredconfirmed on the map that came with the written instructions, Ark had blown up the bank between the valley and the riverside with a fireball Of course, the overflowing river water followed the slope and rushed down into the valley at an enormous speed
'If this isn't underwater, than all I have to do is make it underwater!'
The enor rocks and trees!
Naturally, you would take enore if hit head on Players paled immediately as they fled in every direction Then Ark spotted Andel aleam flashed from Ark's eyes
'Andel! It seems your fate is to die at my hands after all!'
”Snake, I have a request Do you think you can move?”
The lih and nodded
”Even if it's hard, suffer just this once That bastard is an enemy who messed with s so he can't run away!”
Hiss, hiss!
At the mention that he was Ark's enemy, Snake hissed sharply as it dropped froround and wrapped itself around Andel's legs At this totally unexpected attack, Andel fell flat on his face Then he stared at Snake with flummoxed eyes and discovered Ark too late
”Y-you bastard, what have you done!”
”Who's the one who said wait and see?”
”You're gonna try to do so to me with a snake like this?”
Andel scowled as he raised his sword
”Too late”
Then as Ark murmured with an evil smile, the torrent filled the valley with a fierce roar The torrent alone didn't daed in with the ere different The writhing Andel took a hit to the head froe at the same time and was forcefully recalled, but Snake's Health was just 50, and thus, Ark only received 25 dae
”Arghhh, d-damn it!! YOU, I'LL KILL YOU!”
Andel screamed as he was carried doith the torrent
”Don't h I wouldn't have even onna end it here”
Thanks to wearing the Sharkman's Shackles, the torrent didn't affect Ark at all And, if he wasn't affected by the torrent, si in was no proble
'Riposte!'
Ark parried the rock with his chain skill In that
”AGH! W-what!”
Andel's face drained of color The rock Ark had pushed aith his chain skill, was shooting straight towards hiently raised his shi+eld, but there was no way he couldtossed around by the torrent
CRUNCH!
With the sound of so crushed, Andel's face cru as he disappeared, swept up by the rapids Ark had killed him, but there was no reason for him to become Chaotic since he hadn't attacked Andel directly
”I'll let you off this time with this But the next time you show up in front of me, I'll definitely make your stats 0”
Ark grinned as he picked up the sword
While Ark was taking his petty revenge, the deluge had coulfed the valley
Encircled in flaained the fire attribute were swept away by the rapids; stea hotmade from the steam
Water It was Ark's world once again