Chapter 345 Before It's Too Late
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"Phoenix! Preserve your mana as much as possible and minimize your heals! I'll try to sustain myself for as long as I can! Hidden Pulse, Shuyi- Just focus on dealing damage and timing your crowd control abilities! Be careful of its tail when you attack it from behind!" Two Tons commanded as he blocked an incoming strike of the Ouroboros.
"Understood!" Phoenix and Hidden Pulse replied. As for Shuyi, while he did not give a verbal reply, he gave a small nod to show that he was in agreement.
"Broken Fists, you can-" Two Tons was speaking, but was promptly cut off by Broken Fists.
"Don't order me around! I'll do my part, you just focus on doing yours properly!" Broken Fists interrupted Two Tons before he could give him any orders and continued to do his own thing.
Broken Fists continued to ignore all of Two Tons' orders and advice that came his way. In truth, Two Tons wanted to kick Broken Fists from the party, however, he could not risk Broken Fists going even more off the rails than he already had. If he kicked Broken Fists, then worst-case scenario, Broken Fists would intentionally sabotage their fight against the Ouroboros and they would all end up dying in this dungeon.
Therefore, Two Tons tried to find a way to plan around Broken Fists' unwillingness to listen to any of his words. As for Realistic, she had not moved a single step after the Ouroboros charged towards her earlier and so she was not much help at all.
The Ouroboros rammed its head into Two Tons' shield. At the same time, a thin veil of energy appeared as two symbols lit up on the shield in Two Tons' hand. Along with those two symbols that just lit up, there were three symbols that were already glowing on the surface of the shield.
"This is bad. Our damage isn't high enough and the poison of the Ouroboros is corroding through my physical defenses putting a strain on Phoenix. At this rate, we'll be wiped out. What to do? How can I turn this situation around? Think..!" Two Tons' muttered to himself as he tried to think of a way out of this mess.
Their teamwork was mediocre at best, no one really knew how to work around the other, and although Hidden Pulse and Shuyi were trying their best to time their crowd control abilities, it was still not enough. Not to mention, there was a natural level gap between their party and the Ouroboros. Even if the Ouroboros was just a normal level 35 dungeon boss it would be difficult for their current party to defeat. The fact that it was a hidden rare dungeon boss was a seemingly bleak uphill battle.
"Shield Furnace: Backlash Blow!" Two Tons roared as the five symbols on his shield disappeared and a powerful burst of flames spewed from the front part of his shield, engulfing the Ouroboros.
Grrrrrruuuuah! Hssssssst!
The Ouroboros' head had been blown back and away from Two Tons, temporarily sealing its movements in the process. Although it would not buy them much time, it still gave them a small chance to catch their breath against the Ouroboros' swift attacks.
Two Tons' class was an advancement of the warrior class called Furance Defender. One of the main skills of this class was Shield Furnace. The more symbols one formed, the more powerful the effect. At the moment, Two Tons could only form up to five symbols.
Shield Furnace allowed Two Tons to absorb a portion of the damage he received and store it into his shield in the form of symbols. He could then release the stored up energy at any time to greatly increase the damage on any of his skills and build additional aggro.
The skill Two Tons used just now was called Backlash Blow and it was empowered by his Shield Furnace. While the Furnace Defender was not necessarily a rare class, it was not very common due to the long chain of class advancement quests required to obtain it. Therefore, one who was impatient could never bare the lengthy chain quests for the Furnace Defender class.
"I've bought us some time! Use it to recover any health you've lost from the Ouroboros' poison!" Two Tons said as he himself consumed an HP potion.
The Ouroboros often released a mist of toxic poison that filled the air in the room. Although it did not do too much damage immediately, if it was ignored for a prolonged period of time, then it could potentially lead to a party wipe. Unfortunately, Phoenix's class focused more on individual healing rather than group healing. If she were a shaman, then it would be possible for them to completely ignore the effects of the poison mist.
Though any player with a slightly good gaming sense knew that strong individual healing was more useful in a situation where there existed a large level gap with the boss monster. Otherwise, the tank would not be able to survive if the boss monster had skills that removed large portions of damage at a time.
The Ouroboros swiftly regained its movement as it charged right towards Two Tons with its jaw open as if it wanted to devour him. However, Two Tons managed to successfully block the attack from the Ouroboros. The boss monster also made surprise attacks with its tail, however, Shuyi and Hidden Pulse were keeping it preoccupied as to remove some of the pressure from Two Tons. After all, if he died then the rest of them would soon follow without a tank.
Nyu! Nyu!
Ayanellia rubbed her head up against Reilei and made noises as if she were trying to warn Reilei of something.
Reilei snapped out of it thanks to Ayanellia. It was the first time she heard Ayanellia make such loud noises. Usually, the small doe was quiet and reserved, but it looked as if she was trying her best to get Reilei's attention.
"Ayanellia... Xiao Liang, he-" Reilei could not find it within herself to complete that sentence as her expression turned into a gloomy one. However, Ayanellia kept shoving against the back of Reilei's leg as the small doe attempted to push her forward. Of course, it was impossible to do so with the difference in size. But, that did not prevent Ayanellia from attempting it.
"Could it be that Ayanellia is trying to tell me something?" Reilei questioned when she saw how persistent Ayanellia was being.
Nyu!
Ayanellia jumped up and down as if answering Reilei's question. Though there was just one problem, Reilei could not understand what Ayanellia was trying to tell her. But, from the way she tried to push her, it looked as though she wanted Reilei to head in the direction of the Ouroboros.
"You want me to avenge Xiao Liang?" Reilei asked. But, surprisingly, Ayanellia shook her head. It turned into a small game of charades before Reilei eventually discovered what Ayanellia wanted to say.
"You want me to help Xiao Liang? But he-... Are you saying that Xiao Liang is still alive inside of the Ouroboros?" Reilei gasped.
Nyu! Nyu!
Ayanellia hopped up and down in an excited manner. She was finally understood! But, the small doe was exhausted after trying to explain so much without the use of words.
"Xiao Liang..!" Reilei said to herself as she stood up straight and gripped on tightly to the Orb of Creations in her hand. If Xiao Liang was still alive inside of the Ouroboros, then she had to find a way to help him before it was too late!
Hsssst!
"Phoenix, look out!" Hidden Pulse warned as the tail of the Ouroboros shot out towards Phoenix. Since there was not much space in the room, Phoenix could not exit the attack range of the Ouroboros and was targeted by its tail.
"This tail is annoying!" Shuyi said as he used a crowd control ability on the Ouroboros and attempted to halt its attack on Phoenix. After all, in this kind of situation, the healer was just as important or even more important than the tank for their survival chances. However...
«Resisted»
The Ouroboros resisted Shuyi's skill as its tail did not slow down in the slightest! Boss monsters were highly resistant to crowd control skills. It could be seen as a great fortune that they had gone this long with the time on their crowd control skills being reduced instead of completely resisted. Especially considering the level and rare nature of the Ouroboros.
Phoenix crossed her arms and closed her eyes tightly to brace for the impact of the Ouroboros' tail. Although she cast a protective barrier on herself, there was no way that it would absorb the entire attack and she would still receive damage. She also knew that her agility was too slow to avoid the attack, therefore, she had to do her best to defend and survive.
However, just before the tail was about to slam into Phoenix, she felt a small breeze drift by her.
Woosh...
Breeze? But, they were currently underground where the wind could not reach. How was it possible that there was a breeze in this place?
Bang!
Phoenix soon realized that she had not felt the impact of the Ouroboros' attack. That was when she opened her eyes and saw the tail of the Ouroboros being knocked away. Standing in front of her was Realistic with a bizarre summoner's orb in her hand. There was a bit of shock present in Phoenix's eyes.
She was amazed that a level 27 Realistic could knock away the attack of a rare boss monster who was 8 levels higher than her! Was she sure that her class was not really fighter-type or warrior-type? No matter how she looked at it, Realistic appeared to be the furthest thing from a summoner as possible.
Phoenix was about to thank Realistic but stopped when she saw the look on her eyes. There was a serious and determined look on Reilei's face that took Phoenix by surprise. She did not think that Realistic was capable of making such an expression.
"I apologize for not helping sooner, everyone!" Reilei said as she realized her own mistake. She understood what it was like better than anyone to be abandoned in the middle of a tough situation. So, how could she almost have done the same to others?
Phoenix smiled and replied, "Apology accepted! Thank you, Realistic." She was happy to see that Reilei was able to snap out of it.
"Glad you could join us, Realistic! Though you'll have to make up for your slacking off by working twice as hard!" Two Tons said with a small smile on his face. He was relieved that Realistic managed to snap out of it. Now that she was back in the fight, they just may just have a chance of defeating this Ouroboros!
"Yes!" Reilei replied. Regardless of what Two Tons' said, she had already planned on giving it her best. After all, she was determined to rescue Xiao Liang. If defeating this Ouroboros is what it takes, then so be it!
"Hmph, it's about time..." Shuyi muttered to himself. Although it did not sound like it, he was also glad that they had another person to lend a hand. Even the smallest amount of additional damage would help increase their chances of victory.
"Everyone, push forward! Don't back down! We can do this as long as we work together!" Two Tons roared as his level of ferociousness increased. With the return of their final party member to the fray, now was the best time to change to a more offensive tactic. In a contest of durability, there was no way they could outlast a rare boss like the Ouroboros, therefore, they could not relax on their assault for even a moment.
"Xiao Liang, just hold on a little longer. I'll be sure to save you." Reilei said to herself as she dashed towards the Ouroboros.