Chapter 174
Chapter 174: The Evolution of the Malevolent Archdemon
Silentdeath Jungle.
Humanoid monsters known as Malevolent Archdemons were monsters that looked just like human beings. They usually stood in the dark below trees with their heads and ears close together to give off the impression that they were communicating with each other like humans. The only difference was that they did not make the slightest sound. If it were not for the layer of scales that looked like black wrinkles on their bodies, players would easily fall for their trick and mistakenly see and treat them as one of the same species…
Another well-known Tier 4 monster in the Mythical Battlefield was the Enhanced Demon. They were exceptional at all sorts of Shadow-type Attacks and Elemental Magic. They were also known for being extremely afraid of dying. Should they be attacked just once, they would activate a Shadow Barrier of 3000 Defense Points. Players that could not break the Barrier would have to prepare to endure the Shadow Magic cast by the Demons until they do break it or perish doing so…
Having Malevolent Archdemons around in a battle would not bring any fruitful results as they tend to bring more complications. They would attract the attention of other Shadow Type creatures in the nearby surroundings and even players in the vicinity. So, it was a well-known fact to try to avoid engaging in a battle with them nearby at all cost.
***
Subtle rustling and footsteps were heard coming from deep inside of Silentdeath Jungle.
The moment the sounds reached their ears, three Malevolent Archdemons that had gathered with their heads together to have a “conversation” instantly turned their heads around to look at the source. However, they appeared cautious and did not immediately lunge themselves out toward that direction as other ordinary monsters would normally do…
Speaking of monsters that had been living in the Mythical Battlefield for a long time, most of them possessed very high combat experiences and a certain extent of intelligence, especially the humanoid monsters. They were all cunning and extremely vigilant. They were would not rashly leap out because of a slight sound, like the sound of someone throwing a piece of rock. They were also knowledgeable enough to be able to use the complex environment and terrain of the jungle to assault human adventurers.
Despite the rustling sounds gradually getting nearer, the three Malevolent Archdemons remained rooted to the same spot without making any movement. They seemed to have held their breaths while they stared at the direction of the sounds. They slowly lifted the magic staffs in their hands which were pitch black that it looked like they were gleaming. The staff shafts were tightly wrapped by wrinkled old vines. The staffs that the Malevolent Archdemons were holding in their hands were called Malevolent Staffs, a weapon of quality way above intermediate among all other Tier 4 Shadow-type Staffs. It was a weapon that was highly sought after by Shadoweavers and Shadow Summoners!
Listening intently, the Malevolent Archdemons were determining the number of Adventurers nearby. Then for a moment, the sounds came to a stop and it was silent. But not for long. Suddenly, the shadow of a female player could be seen leaping from one side of an area that was densely packed with plants.
Wearing light-weighted leather equipment and having a bow and arrows as weapon, it looked like the player was Lunar Spellgunner iLittle Arrow! She immediately went into hiding right after revealing her face to the Malevolent Archdemons…
Rawghhh!
After setting eyes on the female player, the Malevolent Archdemons reacted like they just consumed aphrodisiac pills as they started howling. They locked onto their target and raised their hands. They had not the time to use their magic as she had appeared and disappeared ever so quickly.
Without thinking, they started moving toward where they last saw her.
“They’re coming!”
iLittle Arrow reminded the other nine of them at the back with a loud voice to urge them to get ready to make their moves.
As the third Malevolent Archdemons got nearer, three shots of Darkfrost Stings greeted the monsters in their faces and inflicted heavy injuries onto their bodies…
Qin Ruo was an expert at taking advantage of the Malevolent Archdemons Frozen status. He had made his move very swiftly and had managed to get two of his Darkfrost Stings to pierce two of the Malevolent Archdemons and got them Frozen. The attack lasted 2 seconds and 2.5 seconds respectively.
Almost at the same time Qin Ruo made his move, Slayer’s Heart, Little Apple, and Brother Da charged toward the three Malevolent Archdemons at an insane speed…
Relatively far away, Burning Rose, Violet Orchid, Violetmoon Devilite, and Dinosaurcerer had lined up nicely in a row.
Psylash!
Sacred Hammer!
The two pretty Priests had also temporarily assumed the role of assault. With Burning Rose, they launched their attacks upon one of the Malevolent Archdemons that had managed to avoid the attacks before and was pushed out by Slayer’s Heart.
Although it did not enter the Frozen state, that did not mean that it was lucky!
All this time, Gold Digger Babe had been hiding in the corner to charge her momentum. The moment she saw one of Qin Ruo’s attack miss one monster she seized the opportunity right before the Malevolent Archdemon could even activate its Barrier to launch an attack over at the monsters.
The skins of Shadow creatures were known to be thick and hard to penetrate, but being under attack and ambushed with sudden attacks had made them just the opposite as the monsters had no time to take any precaution in defending themselves. In a second, one of them got hit by a Stun attack!
With that, the Malevolent Archdemon flew into the air in a blur…
The next moment, it struck the ground as some sort of weapon had smashed into its body, and it roared in pain. It laid eyes on a Titanwraith Berserker who picked up a giant golden hammer. Suddenly, the wind started to whistle and the sound of a dragon’s roar cut through the wind, terrifying those who heard it.
“Growl!”
Dragon’s Ascension!
The body of the Malevolent Archdemon that had not recovered from the previous strike once again got blown up into the air. This time, it was blown directly upward—Its body curled up like a shrimp’s and there seemed to be something dripping from its mouth.
The Malevolent Archdemon continued to shriek in pain and misery!
But Slayer’s Heart was just getting started. He leaped slightly higher into the air at a speed much faster that the first time. The Pazuzu’s Warhammer was directly aimed at the head of the Malevolent Archdemon and was brought down right on target…
Boom!
The body of the Malevolent Archdemon was smashed to the black scorched ground from above by Slayer’s Heart.
However, that was not the end!
It was expected that the Malevolent Archdemon which had 5,200 HP would not be killed so easily by a four-combo attack. Brother Da who had remained following the rest at the back, activated the most basic and yet the least used Tier 1 offensive skill of the Berserker—Taunt Kill!
Pazuzu’s Warhammer was just like a light-weight golf club when wielded by Slayer’s Heart as he swung it here and there. Using the bulged-up part of the hammer, the weapon was drawn back up from the below!
The body of that Malevolent Archdemon that had fallen to the ground was once again lifted and thrown back up into the air for the umpteenth time…
Slayer’s Heart’s body rapidly whirled 360 degrees!
Pazuzu’s Warhammer even drew out whooshing sounds and whistling winds as the weapon was once more smashed into the body of the monster. It was blown out somewhere in the vicinity like a cannonball launched from a cannon, but from above.
Bam!!!
With an explosive sound accompanied by that of tearing leather, the monster was thrown back tens of meters. As it landed on the ground, it stopped moving. The pitiful Malevolent Archdemon was a magic-type monster after all. How would it be capable of enduring Slayer’s Heart’s melee combo strikes which were mere brute force? After getting struck by a combo attack, the monster had been smacked out of its mind as it went into a deep Stunned state. Its HP had gone down drastically under those circumstances. With its Defense down, its HP followed suit…
Three ranged attacks struck at the right timing!
The air seemed to be echoing with clear and loud sounds of whipping and lashing. After that, the body of the Malevolent Archdemon shook violently for a moment there, as if vibrating. A golden hammer came swinging right onto it along with overwhelming deadly Sacred Strength!
Bam!
A gigantic fireball swirl menacingly. Three materialized fire attacks which took the shape of a dancing wheel reached the Malevolent Archdemon that was lying on the ground…
It was utterly trampled on!
As much as it wanted to scream, the Malevolent Archdemon could not. The subsequent attacks made for such powerful attacks that it had not the chance to do so. By the time the last dancing wheel attack had blasted onto the target, countless sparkles scattered all over the ground, and the monster burst and dropped silver coins on the ground like a broken can.
The whole process of the entire battle was less than 5 seconds. Brother Da was watching from a side with his mouth wide open in awe. He was rendered completely speechless by everything that just happened! He quietly cursed in his heart.
‘F*ck, this is insane! This is not human! Six-combo! I’ve never even seen that on the official website… Also… since when could the Berserker’s tasteless Taunt Kill and Backspin Slash be chained into a combo?! And he was still able to perform it so brilliantly… that’s completely not human!’
But when he turned his eyes from one side of the battlefield to the other, Brother Da was even more surprised.
He was the one who introduced Ruo Ruo to the game. So when did Qin Ruo become so incredible and insane?!
Just as the party was focusing their firepower on the first Malevolent Archdemon which now had been finished off, the other two Malevolent Archdemons had gotten out of their Frozen state one after the other…
Qin Ruo had already rapidly cast three Frostramparts on both sides of one of the Malevolent Archdemons. Meanwhile, the other was handled by Dinosaucerer who was fusing with the Death Toad, and Little Apple.
Little Apple’s Tempest Aura and skills seemed to excel with speed and the Paralyze effect. In a short amount of time, she was able to deprive the Malevolent Archdemon of its Barrier activation skill. Meanwhile, Dinosaucerer had managed to fuse with the Death Toad. Coincidentally, he had also increased Resistance against Shadow magic and his Shadow Magic Attacks was slightly enhanced.
The both of them stood side by side in the battle as they played their parts together. Gold Digger Babe stabbed the monster from time to time with her poisonous knife. In just a few short seconds, the Malevolent Archdemon staggered as it was overwhelmed by their bombardment.
Qin Ruo completely relied on the Frostramparts’ repositioning as he kept the Malevolent Archdemon which had already automatically activated the Shadow Barrier while out of everyone’s sight.
The Malevolent Archdemon that had been routinely blocked by Qin Ruo’s Frostramparts had tried to Attack its way out unsuccessfully. Having entered its combat state, it realized that the players were within its attack range. Getting frustrated at the Frostramparts that would not budge, it launched three Blackflame Bombs. It was an attack with strong Corrosive attribute.
The bane of Frostramparts was fire. Together with the Corrosive effect, the Attack blew up the Frostrampart and melted all three at a very quick pace.
Qin Ruo only needed a few simple Elementalism skills to follow as he had already won himself several seconds of time. The moment the Frostramparts disappeared, Slayer’s Heart was already swinging his gigantic hammer!
Brother Da and the few players had been busy dealing with the other Malevolent Archdemon. As it had not activated its Barrier, they succeeded in killing it.
Even though the last Malevolent Archdemon had already done so, it collapsed after doing its best to endure Slayer’s Heart’s combo attack.
And at that moment…
While Slayer’s Heart dealt with that particular Malevolent Archdemon, its movements weakened and its skin started changing. The once black scaly skin slowly turned to a different shade of black.
The Pazuzu’s Warhammer was swung once more at it. As it came in contact with the Archdemon’s skin, instead of the monster getting hurt, a clanging sound was heard as if two types of metal had clashed against each other. The violet rebound power came as a surprise to Slayer’s Heart that he immediately slowed down as he realized what was happening.
“Be careful! It’s becoming a Boss now!”
Slayer’s Heart hurriedly warned all of his party members. With changing expressions, Brother Da, Little Apple, and Gold Digger Babe quickly retreated from the vicinity into the surroundings at the speed of light…