Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 803 - 744: Going From Bad to Worse

The crystallized platform froze the rotting twisted flesh, the Power of Holy Light isolated the eroded sky, each breath feeling the invigorating magic, standing on this sacred ground one should feel joyful, yet the arms gripping the weapon are so weary. Drawing the last breath from the lungs, puffing up the chest with the support of a Healing Spell, facing the enormous creature ahead and issuing a battle roar.

[Doombringer Armstrong is about to use the skill Dark Tide!]

"Fall back! Fall back! Stop attacking! All except Defenders, retreat! Priests, focus on healing!" Tiffany’s voice emerged in the chat channel, her almost hoarse voice sounding more like a scream. The Elf Queen stood on a cluster of crystallized blocks, bending her bow and readying an arrow, her head tilted right against her shoulder, the virtual light screen nearly touching her face. Crystal Blue Dragon Kristo stood beside her maintaining the Barrier, also providing additional magic power to construct a simple virtual sand table for her.

After several reductions in numbers, after dozens turned into tombstones, Dream Elf finally learned to dodge Armstrong’s minor skills.

The torn flesh mountain quickly became active, a thick black fog arising next to the front-line Defender, three types of life-reducing curses attached, and the continuous purification and healing from the Priests began a tug-of-war over health bars. Then tentacles like a swarm of snakes wrapped in fog swept across the crystal platform, the pristine crystals instantly stained with the blackness of death, engulfing those tombstones on the battlefield as if an endless fog was pushing towards the players—closer, and closer, right up close. Across an invisible dividing line, those players facing the fog could even hear murmurs within it, like bugs trembling in the cold wind fluttering their wings.

The black fog came quickly and left swiftly; under the Queen’s urging, they seemed to be driving the black fog away, retreating back to the edges where the few Defender Tanks stood.

Doludo swung his great axe fiercely chopping into Armstrong’s flesh, cleaving off more weakening flesh than could regenerate; he felt somewhat numb, only the damage numbers bouncing off his axe blade proving his efforts weren’t in vain. Doludo raised his head, gazing at the BOSS’s enormous health bar, this meat-eating beast’s health bar frame could stretch from my house to the elders’ hall. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The vertical stone shield blocked the vines thrusting straight at Doludo, Charles pushed forward with his shield, the stones on the shield explosively shattered into fragments and pierced into the flesh mountain. The Defender Knight held his breath, focusing, and roared at the monster in front of him.

"Sleeper, how did you birth such a freak! If I were You, I’d cram you right back in!"

The Tank taunted the enemy, Doludo watched his brother roll his eyes, "Taunt skill doesn’t need a script to read out."

Charles’s face was stern, unchanged, "I feel it works better when spoken aloud."

Doludo, watching the flickering healing light above Charles’s head, compared to his own blood-soaked body, said somewhat enviously, "It’s nice having a Priestess looking out for you!"

Charles glared at him. "Those who hit have more to say than those who get hit."

The players were initially quite serious, but with the gamified nightmare BOSS attacks being very regular, plus the system announcements and skill range warnings, their tense nerves relaxed a bit. For Doludo and a few others, this level of pressure was far less compared to the Assassin Squad’s assault; they even had the mood for jokes.

Doludo’s movements weren’t slow, sticking close to the tentacle group he started his Whirlwind Slash, his voice steady, though carrying the sound of spinning wind.

"You know what I mean, Essena has been our old friend for decades, I see you’re not averse either, how about after this game..."

Charles slapped his shield on the tentacles, clashing in volume with Doludo stopping his spinning.

"You shut up! Fight the BOSS and plant the flag, are you the Sleeper’s undercover agent? I am the main Tank."

Doludo grinned, teasing his close friend, "Why are you starting to believe in occult, Priestess of the Moon wouldn’t tolerate a heretical partner.">

"I didn’t believe either... until some Berserker prayed to the dragon and got an epic accessory."

A necklace hung around Doludo’s neck, its obsidian pendant bordered with blood red, radiating a mysterious aura.

"Sacrificing part of the prey to the firstborn of war, that’s a custom taught by the Berserker Tribe; I think when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Your profession must have some unique local flavors too, right?"

Charles seemed not to hear, only excitedly roaring a few times when inflicting massive damage.

"For the Queen!!!!"

"For the Queen!!!!"

The same cheers passed among the Defender players, their spirits lifted by the resonating voices. Tiffany, who was in command, was momentarily taken aback, and the Elf Queen, encouraged by the support, drew her bow with greater force, thinking to herself how rare it was for her subjects to remember her fondly in times of peril. She released the bowstring, and the arrow struck a derivative monster sneaking up on the team’s flank. Tiffany’s level wasn’t high, and her arrow only caused a superficial wound, but that didn’t matter; soon after, several other arrows smashed the flesh into pieces like heavy artillery. The Hunter’s Mark proved to be superbly effective in targeted strikes amidst the chaos.

Tiffany stretched her neck, her beautiful blonde hair dancing on the crystalline surfaces. She thought to herself, We still have a chance, the situation is good, the damage is sufficient, and the BOSS’s health is steadily decreasing. The players still have the upper hand—by the time the nightmare is critically wounded and enraged, we can certainly burst forth and take it down. There will be losses, but they are bearable.

Tiffany’s gaze flicked towards the central tombstone of the battlefield, reassured by the promise of the Gatekeeper Angel and Godmother Susanna. They have merely fallen; as long as we win, my people will stand again. We must win! We have to win!

Tiffany stared at Doombringer Armstrong’s slowly decreasing health bar; she wasn’t the only one watching, but somehow, a foreboding feeling resonated in the hearts of Tiffany and others.

[Armstrong’s remaining life at 80%]

[Holy Light Shackles are damaged, mental liberation in effect]

The flesh mountain’s fissures opened and closed, a deep voice echoing in everyone’s ears.

"Destruction..."

[Skill activated, Annihilation Cannonade]

Dozens of robust synapses grew from the lump of flesh, constantly lengthening, their shafts contracting and thinning, with bulbous ends coalescing into spherical fruits. The crackling sound was incessant as the "fruits" opened their eyes, dozens of floating yellow eyeballs staring vacantly at the players. The players under the gaze of these eyeballs had blood-red marks appear above their heads, and before they could react, dark beams of light shattered them into tombstones.

"Dodge!!! Get out of the way!!!" Tiffany screamed, a Priest player just ten meters in front of her, engulfed in the beam, his screams halted by the other witnesses, the survivors who saw their teammates obliterated up close.

"Can’t dodge it!!" a Hunter cried out just before his body completely shattered.

"I can’t hold it back!" The first Defender was reduced.

"Druid! Take over!"

Tiffany was the battlefield commander; casualty reports streamed into her brain. Dozens more fell, and she was the central point of all emotions as the commanding brain. They could fall, they could scream, they could be dismayed, but she couldn’t! She simply put down her bow and arrow, dedicating her full attention to analyzing the information from the chat channel.

Thinking, Flesh beasts! I was too naive. The gamified nightmare is still a nightmare after all, I should’ve known it wouldn’t act according to the administrators’ programmed logic, I still rely on them too much... So far, Boss Armstrong has only released two skills, Dark Tide and Annihilation Cannonade. The Dark Tide can be completely avoided, but the Annihilation Cannonade, being a targeted skill, effectively forces player elimination after reaching a certain health threshold. What a disgusting mechanism!

Tiffany lifted her head, the huge eyeballs of Armstrong’s artillery had not ceased firing after that round of cannonade, now continuously emitting small-scale laser cuts across the battlefield, increasing its modes of attack.

The players’ environment for survival was increasingly difficult, Tiffany resolutely decided.

We can’t delay any longer, we must resolve Armstrong before the situation worsens.

"Don’t hold back! Full attack! Before the Annihilation Cannonade wipes us all out!"

Tiffany also thought of something even worse.

"Holy Light Shackles? That means, the Doombringer still has other suppressed powers!"

Right, what does mental liberation mean?

At the frontline, whipping tentacles fiercely struck Doludo’s torso, hurling him several meters through the air spitting blood, but roaring, he charged back into the fray.

"Be careful, this bastard switches tactics to cancel his attack delay!"