Skill lights floated across the sky, a brilliant and terrifying fireworks show. The once peaceful Rabbit Town was utterly annihilated. Houses collapsed into smoldering ruins, caught in the clash of blade light and seas of fire. Rocks flew everywhere, turned to shrapnel by the sheer force of the blows. Fortunately, Professionals were energy bodies; injuries only resulted in a loss of health, not a spray of blood and gore. Otherwise, this place would have long become a Corpse Mountain of shattered bodies and a Sea of Blood.
But even so, many Professionals had their health depleted during the fierce fighting and fell here forever. The Centaur Clan Professionals were clearly much stronger than their human counterparts; they had higher attack and more health, so most of the deaths were human Professionals. However, the human Professionals were more numerous and fought with a furious, fearless resolve. In this brutal slaughter, some Centaur Clan Professionals also had their health points depleted and died. This was not a simple battle, but a full-fledged war between two races.
Vincent and Thalia, two almost-invisible figures, followed a group of human Professionals, blending in with the terrified 0-rank crowd as they fled toward the outskirts of Rabbit Town. Vincent occasionally turned his head to look at the battlefield, a cold, calculating glint in his eyes. He was taking it all in, analyzing the tactics and the sheer power on display. Thalia, on the other hand, was trembling all over. She too looked back, her eyes occasionally revealing a deep shock and a burning, nascent hatred for the creatures that were so brutally killing their own kind.
The Centaur Clan had clearly not anticipated such fierce and resolute resistance from the humans. Their forces, while powerful, were insufficient. The human Professionals, on the other hand, were well-prepared, with a clear objective: to get these 0-rank Professionals out. Under these circumstances, even if a Centaur Clan Professional occasionally approached, they would immediately be intercepted by a nearby human Professional, allowing the fleeing group to push further and further away, inching closer to freedom. They were about to break through the Centaur Clan's encirclement.
Just as they were about to rush out of Rabbit Town's range, a group of Centaur Clan warriors, numbering around forty or fifty, suddenly appeared, blocking their way. They formed an impenetrable horizontal line, their hooves digging into the dirt.
The high-ranking human Professionals leading the charge immediately charged forward, weapons drawn. A warrior bellowed, "Sky-Shattering Slash!" and swung his blade, a brilliant blade, light flashing as it struck the head of a Centaur warrior.
But something impossible happened. Even though the attack only hit one person, health bars appeared above the heads of all the Centaur Clan members.
233!
233!
233! ...
More than a dozen red damage numbers of -233 appeared simultaneously. The next moment, a surge of green light enveloped them, and a +233 number flickered above each head. Their health, which had barely dropped, instantly refilled. The expressions of the surrounding human Professionals changed dramatically, a mix of shock and dawning horror.
The Centaur Clan members responded with ruthless efficiency. They launched a focused attack on the human warrior who had dared to strike them.
2347!1343!3479!
The warrior didn't even have time to utter a cry. A series of massive damage numbers burst from his body, and his health was instantly cleared. His body thumped to the ground, motionless, as his light orb burst forth.
"John!!" a horrified voice screamed. But the warrior was already gone. The 0-rank Professionals recoiled in unison, stopping in their tracks as a wave of terror washed over them.
Yuna, the beautiful woman who had just rallied them, had her expression drastically change. Her eyes were wide with realization. "Soul Link?!" she gasped, a grim look on her face. She quickly scanned the battlefield, her pupils contracting as her gaze locked onto a figure behind the group of Centaur Clan members. It was a female Centaur Clan member, beautiful and deadly, with long, curly silver hair and a slender, human-like upper body that was both elegant and surprisingly well-endowed. Her lower body, however, was still that of a horse.
Yuna gritted her teeth. "Vera!"
The female Centaur Clan member, Vera, dressed in a light mage robe, watched the chaos with a calm, indifferent gaze. "Humans, you cannot escape," she said, her voice clear and melodious, a cruel contrast to the brutal reality of her actions.
The next moment, Vera raised her hand. "Fight!!!" The Centaur Clan warriors in front of her reared their front hooves, roaring in their native language, and charged forward like a tidal wave of muscle and steel.
"Hold them off!!" Yuna shouted, her voice strained.
The human Professionals were forced to hold them off. They clashed instantly, and the humans discovered with horror that all the damage they inflicted was being evenly distributed among these Centaur Clan members. Targets that could have been instantly killed by focused fire had become unkillable. Then, a constant, flickering green light enveloped their bodies, restoring their health by an astonishing +2000 every two seconds. These Centaur Clan Professionals had been transformed into terrifying, unkillable cavalry, crushing all enemies in their path.
On the human side, even with Yuna frantically casting single-target healing spells, there were too many injured to save them all. A dozen other healers joined her, all using their skills in a desperate, last-ditch effort, barely managing to hold the line. But even with their combined efforts, several human Professionals died instantly, forcing the entire group to retreat continuously. The 0-rank Professionals could only keep backing away, their faces a mixture of terror and despair. Yuna's forehead was beaded with sweat.
"Boss, this won't do! We have to take out that support!" a Professional shouted.
A roar of frustration from the back of the human formation rose up. "Chad, are you dead?!"
As if in response, a phantom figure appeared out of thin air beside the female Centaur Clan member. The assassin plunged a blade fiercely into her seemingly slender back. But the result was a familiar, soul-crushing sight.
334!334!334!
Damage numbers appeared not just on Vera's head but on the heads of all the Centaur Clan members in her group. The assassin, realizing this, his expression turning grim, saw that her health was also linked. Vera turned, a cruel smile on her face, and waved her staff. Threads of light, like electric arcs, wrapped around the assassin's body, a deadly embrace.
2149!
A high amount of damage burst from his body. His health, which was not at full strength to begin with, instantly plummeted to a critically low state. He was almost instantly killed.
"Chad!!!" the human Professionals screamed.
Seeing Vera raise her hand again, preparing to finish him off, the assassin's body was enveloped in a burst of white foam. He flickered his feet, and in the next second, he vanished. Vera paused, a look of annoyance on her face, but she quickly recovered, ignoring him and returning her attention to the battle.
Moments later, the assassin's figure appeared beside Yuna.
"It's no good," he said, his voice ragged. "The Soul Link makes them share damage. Single-target skills can barely touch them. Only high-damage area-of-effect skills have a chance to break through." His health bar was almost depleted. Yuna quickly cast a healing light on him, and his health began to recover rapidly.
"Chad's right," Yuna said, her expression grim. "Almost all the escorts are warriors. Where would they have any area-of-effect abilities? The mages are too far away to provide support!"
A wave of despair washed over the human Professionals. The Centaur Clan warriors continued to advance, their hooves thundering, getting closer and closer to the young 0-rank Professionals. The human line was about to collapse.
Just at this moment of utter despair, a voice, young and calm, cut through the din of the battle.
"Perhaps we can help a little."
Yuna and the other Professionals were startled, their battle-hardened instincts making them jump. They instinctively turned to look, their eyes falling on a sight that defied all logic. Two faint shadows, almost completely translucent, stood beside them.
"This is..." a voice whispered in disbelief. "Human assassins in stealth mode?"
Yuna was momentarily stunned. But then, as her mind raced, a terrifying and exhilarating realization hit her. Her pupils contracted, and she spoke, her voice filled with a hesitant awe. "You... you're..."
The faint shadow of one of the figures solidified, revealing a young man with a serene expression. He bowed slightly, a gesture that was both elegant and profoundly confident. His gaze met Yuna's.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, his voice clear and resonant. "Paradise, Boss."