"Priest Mecii, safe us!"
"Ahh!"
"No!"
Chaotic shouts echoed through the temple. It was so much that the party almost felt guilty. Luckiy, seeing the blood-red names and the cages hanging from the ceiling helped to sooth their conscience.
Meanwhile Holy Priest Mecii stared at the entrance of the temple with bloodshot eyes.
"Adventurers! You dare intrude into this holy temple and interrupt our sacred ceremony?! Warriors, to me! Kill!"
Finally, movement came into the merfolk and siren. About five people of each race, levels varying greatly with the weakest being level 30 and the strongest being level 54, gathered around the priest in the centre of the room. The merfolk with their black armours formed the frontline, protecting the priest and the sirens behind them. Instantly the sirens began moving their hands in a mysterious rhythm and magic spheres gathered between their hands. With a swift motion all the magic spheres were flung at Cyclone and Fortune.
"Damn!"
The two mages felt their chests tightened but fortunately they were prepared. With swift flash steps they escaped the barrage of attacks, but the cost was not low.
[Stance -29]
[Stance -28]
"Go!"
Liam gave the signal, and movement came into the friends. Silver Blade took the lead, activating her [Luring Barrier] to attract all the attacks. With a valiant shout the merfolk rushed towards her, tridents ready to strike. Silver Blade revealed a serious expression bracing for impact. Fortunately only three of the merfolk could move as the others were paralyzed by Cyclone's lightning.
Yet Silver Blade was still under great pressure. The combined might of up to ten enemies shouldn't be underestimated. While Silver Blade's [Luring Barrier] could block for a while, it wouldn't last forever. Afterwards she would be forced to block with her shield. Her 232 points of stance wouldn't last long under the attacks.
"I could use some help here!"
"Coming!"
Cyclone's [Raining Thunder] was still fiercely striking. One of the strongest sirens at level 53 suffered a blow from a lightning bolt, received more than 4000 points of damage, and froze in place. Lightning jumped between her and other paralyzed foes as Cyclone's passive was doing work. One level 30 siren almost died as collateral.
Seizing the chance Cyclone, Fortune, and Silent Acacia focused on the sirens. Under their powerful attacks, the level 53 siren only lasted a few seconds before falling. But they were not done yet. Silent Acacia summoned Korn to the battlefield. The winged tiger fiercely pounced on one of the weaker sirens. With incredible luck he landed a critical hit, taking down another enemy.
Meanwhile, the melee players wreaked havoc among the merfolk warriors, claiming two lives, alleviating even more pressure from Silver Blade. Everything happened in only a few seconds. When Holy Priest Mecii reacted, he was only left with six subordinates who could fight. Although there were some more surviving merfolk and sirens, their levels were too low to make a difference.
"Daring adventurers! Do you think you have lived long enough? What gives you the courage to attack a ceremony held by the mighty merfolk? Truly tired of living!"
The merfolk high priest spoke in an arrogant voice, attracting some attention from the players. Silver Blade quickly checked his status.
[Holy Priest Mecii
Rank: Boss
Level: 56
HP: 58.428/68.000]
Mecii had already received quite some damage from Cyclone and Fortune. But he still didn't take the adventurers seriously. Waving the sceptre in his hand he threw a blue magic sphere at Silver Blade.
[-1341!]
Silver Blade's barrier shook but it still held on. Fighting against enemies of a lower level posed little difficulty to the current party. However, Mecii wasn't entirely without bite. His attack slammed into Silver Blade's barrier and water splashed in all directions as if a rock landed in a lake. Liam and Quickstep managed to dodge but Watchful Eye standing directly next to Silver Blade suffered from some of the splash damage.
[-1825!]
Watchful Eye was surprised for a moment that he received more damage than Silver Blade. But it was not really surprising considering the big difference in their magic resistance. Even if the splash damage was only equivalent to a small percentage of the original damage, it was still dangerous for the non-tanks.
However, it was not yet the time to take care of the boss. First, they had to clean up the minions. Watchful Eye pulled his gaze away from the high priest and focused on the merfolk warrior in front of him. He twirled his staff, attacking without using a skill, saving his Qi. But his luck was quite good. A mysterious force flowed through his armor and into his staff, randomly transforming his attack to take on an earth attribute.
Feeling the weight in his hand Watchful Eye did not slow down for a moment. He finished his attack and struck the enemy with his staff.
The merfolk felt an immense danger. He was only at level 40. Not only was he much weaker than Watchful Eye but he also didn't have the ability to dodge. He could only wait for the strike filled with the power of earth to hit his waist.
[-8232!]
There was no suspense. Under the power of Watchful Eye's staff, the merfolk took too much damage and lost his last bit of HP. A few more seconds passed. Finally, the friends had taken care of all the common enemies. One had to say their coordination was really impressive. They were highly efficient and didn't waste any major skills on some near-death enemies. Liam was greatly satisfied and didn't skimp on praise.
However, these common enemies still did their job. With the time they bought, Mecii could attack a few times destroying Silver Blade's [Luring Barrier] and even reducing her stance by 15 points.
"Ignorant adventurers! You challenge the might of me, Holy Priest Mecii? Then, receive your punishment!"
Seeing all his subordinates die in front of him, Mecii's eyes burned with rage. He waved his sceptre in a wide arc. A sharp blade of water cut through the air, threatening a large area.
"Careful!"
Although Liam originally planned to let his friends fight this battle without him meticulously leading them through, he still warned them out of instinct. Everyone recognized the danger of the attack. The water blade was formed in an arc, growing as it travelled through the temple.
Quickstep was standing close to the boss, escaping the skill with a small jump to the side. Liam rolled on the floor, diving below the water. Watchful Eye stood directly behind Silver Blade. When the tank blocked the water, it only reconnected some distance behind her, missing Watchful Eye. But Cyclone, Fortune, Silent Acacia, and Balm were in some danger.
When the attack reached them, it already covered a large area. Silent Acacia copied Liam, diving below the water blade. The effect of his set equipment triggered. After dodging an attack his attack speed increased by a full 80% for two seconds. His hands moved in a blur as he used the opportunity to shoot three terrifying arrows at the boss.
Silent Acacia proved the skill of a pro player. Even while firing rapid attacks, he had the presence of mind to apply his ultimate skill [Mark of Death] to the boss. His chance for a critical hit increased by 15% which immediately showed a result.
[-2695!]
[-6198!!!]
[-2695!]
"Korn!"
Silent Acacia let out a shout, directing his precious pet to attack as well. The tiger dove down and delivered a claw strike directly followed by a powerful [Bite].
[-2658!]
[-7255!!!]
Another critical hit! Silent Acacia grinned brightly. His bow exuded a faint light as the condition to trigger its effect had been met. For the remainder of the battle Silent Acacia as well as Korn would have their attack speed increased by 30%!
"This time no one can compete with me in damage!"
Silent Acacia couldn't help but shout happily. Liam chuckled as he glanced over his shoulder.
"Be careful that you don't get out damaged by your own pet."
"Bullsh*t. Korn's damage is my damage."
"Haha, alright. Then it will really be difficult for anyone to out damage you no matter which fight we are talking about."
Balm, Cyclone, and Fortune stared at the water blade which was still coming for their lives while the others held a leisurely conversion. They couldn't help but get distracted. Balm managed to escape at the last second with a flash step but the two mages who were in the process of casting skills were too slow and bore the brunt of the water.
[-3796!]
[-5427!]
"Damn!"
"That one hurt…"
"I cancelled my cast…"
The two mages complained with disgruntled faces. Fortune had even cancelled her cast to make the flash step easier, but it was to no avail. She was till hurt by the skill. At that moment she suddenly felt something. She glanced at Cyclone and saw her fellow mage's robe erupting with some sparks. A bolt of lightning shot through the air. It weakened the impact of the boss's skill as it returned a part of the damage.
[-538!]