Chapter 550 - 550. Defensive Battle
Inside a large cave that housed numerous wooden structures, Jeanny was organizing his team members to resist a large number of trolls, carrying knives, clubs, and other melee weapons. The monster settlement they were raiding was a small-sized Troll Cave. Despite the trolls having lower levels than them, their numbers far exceed them.
Jeanny and most of the core members were at level 38 and 37. The regular members that followed them were level 35 and 36. She had asked Domon to take a portion of the team to block off the cave entrance which was being assaulted by Crowd of Sins. But by separating the team, the pressure given by the trolls became heavier.
"Boss is coming?" The Man asked after reading the chat.
"Yes, we need to hold out until then!" Jeanny announced.
The others who were worried and depressed cheered after hearing it. Some of the regular members who had just joined recently were confused. Why was one person coming here made any difference?
Jeanny, who had become a dragoon, brandished her spear as three trolls came at her with their clubs. She first used Swing. The spear's long-range allowed her to hit the trolls long before they reached her. The trolls staggered from the hit.
She then readied her stance and executed a spear art that Domon had specifically taught her, Seven Spears Assaulting Heaven. This martial art consisted of seven moves using a spear. Each move was more complex than the previous one. At the moment, Jeanny had only learned until the fourth spear.
This art had a special trait in which when they were executed in tandem, the spear power from one move to the next would escalate. Domon explained that when one mastered this art and executed all seven spear moves one after another, the seventh spear was possible to punch through even a ten-inch thick solid steel.
Jeanny, of course, just treated it as an exaggeration. Still, with their enhanced strength in this game-world, this move might actually do that, even without needing to reach the seventh spear. However, in his learning this spear art, she did notice an apparent increase in the spear power when she executed the move one after another.
She stabbed out, performing the first stab on the rightmost troll. She combined it with his basic class skill, Penetrating Stab, scoring critical damage. She continued with the second spear, stabbing at the center troll. The third spear she stabbed the troll on the left.
She continued to move as she did the stabbings. Her footwork had also improved as she was also diligently practicing Eight Diagram Illusory Steps. Before she executed the fourth spear, she had moved from right to left and was now situated on the left side of the three trolls who were positioned in a straight line in front of her.
She stabbed out her fourth spear, combined with an advanced skill she had received after passing the elite class trial on the first try, Piercing Spear. It created spear energy that stabbed out in a straight line to a distance of ten meters. All three trolls were impaled by that energy. Both the damage amplification combined with the spear art caused high damage to the trolls. The three dropped dead and turned to dust at the same time.
"As expected of big sister! Your spear art is truly amazing!" Viral Cora cheered.
"Hey, keep playing!" Bowler shouted at her.
Viral Cora pouted before she continued playing the flute on her hands. She was now a bard. The song he played improved his teammate's movement and attacking speed.
"Watch out!" They heard Giant Steve call.
A troll larger than the average one barged out from the swarm. It was using a large cleaver on each hand. It was a level 35 special elite troll. This troll made a circular swing and knocked two players on its path back and headed straight to Viral Cora.
Giant Steve was running to Viral but he was still a couple of meters away from her when the troll swung its cleavers. Viral could have used Roll to move away but she stood her ground and continued playing her flute because she knew of Giant Steve's skill after becoming a Sentinel.
Giant Steve used Cover, his body which was close already, vanished and reappeared instantly in front of Viral Cora. He was holding a heavy-looking large tower shield. The troll's cleavers slashed onto the sturdy shield. No damage resulted.
Giant Steve used Shield Bash, a skill he had learned from a technique book. The troll was knocked back by the bash while suffering damage.
Jeanny suddenly appeared five meters high above the monster and stabbed down with the tip of her spear onto the troll's skull. It suffered critical damage. Jeanny's skill was Jump Attack, a move that teleported her high up in the air before striking down. The damage was increased based on how far a Dragoon fell while performing the skill.
When Jeanny landed, she activated another Dragoon's skill which she received after reaching level 35, Hundred Spears. The spear on her hand turned to a blur as multiple images of it stabbed onto the troll, delivering damage with each stab.
After the skill ended, Jeanny and Giant Steve took turns defending and attacking. Jeanny's long reach made it ideal for her to attack from Giant Steve's back. Supported by the other members, the special elite troll soon fell.
But another swarm of trolls came out to replace those that had fallen. Suddenly an explosion was heard above the swarm as a rain of arrows fell. It was Fierce Flame's level 35 Elite Marksman's skill, Shower of Arrows. All the trolls within a large area received damage.
"Steve, Share Damage!" Jeanny called.
The skill Jeanny mentioned was Sentinel's skill which was acquired after passing the trial on the first try. It targeted one teammate and formed a link. Half of the damage received by this teammate was dealt to the Sentinel instead, with each damage received by both the linked teammate and the Sentinel being reduced by 10%. The teammate had to be within thirty meters range, or else the skill would end.
With half of the damage shared, Jeanny could afford to be more reckless. She dove into the swarm and fought fiercely. She continuously employed Eight Diagram Illusory Steps to reduce the hit she received, lessening the pressure on Giant Steve who still had to protect the other teammates.
Despite their fierce effort, the situation didn't look too good for them. Their number was too few. The Crowd of Sins' assault had truly turned their plan upside-down. All they could do is fight defensively, they didn't dare proceed further as to not invoke the boss of the settlement from coming out. In their experience, the boss would only come out if they got too close to the settlement core or when all the minions had been wiped out.
Jeanny had sent Domon and Trinity Dawn to lead the group that faced the Crowd of Sins, but she still worry. She prayed that Jack arrived earlier.
At the cave entrance outside, Domon was standing at the cave entrance. Some bodies were lying down on the ground near his feet.
"Please do not try to force your way in, I prefer not to take your lives," Domon said to the crowd outside the cave entrance.
The players from Crowd of Sins had struck the Everlasting Heavenly Legends' team from the back. Everlasting Heavenly Legends players were having trouble due to this sudden ambush and suffered some casualties. As they were forced to retreat into the cave, Domon rushed out and beat the pushing force back.
Trinity Dawn aided Domon by casting Ice Field, an Elementalist's level 35 spell. It dealt ice damage to a large area while either freezing or slowing down the ones within. Trinity placed the spell at the mouth of the cave, thus reducing the number of players that swarm at Domon.
Domon's glaive with his Ki Weapon active, easily swatted the Crowd of Sins players back. When he executed his Death Carrying Cyclone art, several of the players dropped dead. Domon did not intentionally kill the players. He was planning to spare them actually, but he was not accustomed to the game system's damage calculations. His usual way of reserving strength to spare his opponent was not compatible.
Still, he did not dwell on it. If the players died, it was their fate then. They didn't truly die anyway, if the others still try to break in, they couldn't blame him.
After beating the first wave back, Domon just stood by the cave entrance and did not chase out. Those who watched the old man's figure would be reminded of the story about Zhang Fei on ChangBan bridge, just as Jack pointed out before.
"Who is that old man? How come the Everlasting Heavenly Legends has such an expert?" Lustful Elly who stood beside Prideful Josh asked.
"Don't know," Prideful Josh replied. Domon did not join the fight when the coalition attack Heavenly Citadel. He only came out after the coalition pulled back and was replaced by the undead horde. So none of the coalition members ever saw Domon in action, except for Red Death.
"Doesn't matter, he is just one person. He won't win against our number, we will continue to charge!" Prideful Josh announced.
'Wasn't Storm Wind also just one person, he still kicked our asses,' Lustful Elly thought sourly within.