Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 40: Overwhelming Defense and Power

NukEncore and Kill Clause now stood alone against a wave of armored goblins rushing straight at them.

Without a tank or a healer, their classes left them exposed, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t hold out on their own for a while. NukEncore’s class, in particular, had a skill called Mana Shield, which worked similarly to Ao Tenshin’s first blessing.

The difference was that NukEncore could turn it on and off at will, and while it was active, any damage she took would drain her mana instead of her health.

But the thought of using that skill hadn’t even crossed her mind.

She was too flustered.

Martin was no longer in front of her, no shield filling her view and no safe gap to hide behind. With him across the room, the stretch between her and the charging goblins suddenly felt terrifyingly open.

Kill Clause, on the other hand, stayed calm. "I’ll trap the left side. Combine your fireballs into Final Fireball and slam it into the pillars."

There was no time for anything more. NukEncore had to figure out the rest on her own.

As her fireballs spun together and swelled, Kill Clause flicked her hands and planted hidden traps along the goblins’ path.

NukEncore hurried the cast along. The crystallization debuff was chewing through her mana too fast for her to take her time.

Even if they noticed something was wrong, she didn’t care.

Two traps every five seconds is my current limit. I should place them in spots they won’t expect. The ones who slip through, I’ll cripple with Crippling Arrow. After that, I’ll decide my next move once NukEncore does her part.

NukEncore’s flames roared as if eager to be unleashed. A moment later, she hurled Final Fireball at the first crude pillar, a structure fused together from countless blue crystals.

The impact sent goblins scattering and broke the rhythm of their charge.

Kill Clause tracked the flames racing over the pillar. Then she caught it. Red fire slipped into the blue crystal mass and lit the weak lines buried inside it.

Dropping into a low stance that was as sexy as it was efficient, Kill Clause drew her nocked arrow taut and held it there, building power in the bowstring.

It was a risky move. Behind her, armed goblins pushed through her traps and crowd control, their armored boots crunching through the trapped ground as they closed in on her position.

A heartbeat later, Kill Clause released the shot. The arrow whistled through NukEncore’s flames and drove straight into the gap the fire had exposed.

The impact was strong enough to make the entire pillar shudder and tilt. Cracks raced through the blue crystal mass before the whole thing finally gave way.

It toppled into the goblin wave and burst apart on impact. Blue shards exploded through the charge like jagged hail, punching off helmets, splitting formation, and turning the rush into a burning, screaming pileup. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The cards lined up well for us. NukEncore can expose the weak points in the pillars, and I can shoot them down. Just like Martin said, everything and everyone serves a purpose in dungeons.

"Whoa, that works here?! You can actually bring the pillars down?!" NukEncore’s eyes widened as the tremor rippled through the enemy ranks.

Kill Clause answered in her usual cool tone. "Only with your help. Your flames seep into the gaps in those crude, flawed pillars, and the mix of blue and red light makes the openings easier to see."

"Mhm! I see! You took inspiration from my move!" NukEncore lifted her face, beaming.

Kill Clause didn’t need praise, so she let the words pass without comment.

Across the room, Martin and Chaosgraphy had it far worse.

Every clash of shield, blade, and crystal sent blue flashes through the throne room, and a breath later the shock ran through the floor under the backline’s boots.

Even from the backline, the boss’s crystal armor kept flashing blue with every distant clash, each flare sharp enough to stab across the room and catch in Kill Clause’s and NukEncore’s eyes.

—

CLANG! CLANG!

Chaosgraphy lunged before the transformation had even settled.

"Villainesses hate cliches!" Her twin swords couldn’t even scratch the armor, let alone leave a dent.

That surprised her.

The Goblin Boss barely reacted. He lifted his needle sword with calm, ugly confidence, like he had expected her blades to bounce right off him.

"TAUNT!"

"You again?!"

BANG!

[Perfect Block!]

[Perfect Block!]

[Perfect Block!]

Each thrust of the boss’s needle sword rang through the throne room. It wasn’t just loud. The sheer force behind each strike made it echo across the chamber.

Every thrust drove Martin another scrape backward. His shield did not just feel heavy anymore. It felt like the boss was trying to nail his whole arm into the stone through it.

The first hit made his arm jolt, the second made it buzz, and by the fourth the strain running from his shoulder to his wrist was already betraying his grip.

On the next exchange, the terrifying sound of a failed block notification burst out.

[Your Control Devil’s Shield has lost 38 durability!]

Martin gritted his teeth. This is what a five-level gap feels like... and this boss is Epic-grade too. Three Perfect Blocks without Fortify or the Strength buff from Bulwark Rush, and I already need a break.

The boss’s eyes shifted toward Chaosgraphy near the throne.

I see. A failed block means he’s free to turn elsewhere. I’m not done yet!

[You have used Fortify.]

"NOT YET!" Martin shouted.

His threat cracked across the throne room like a thunder whip, yanking the boss’s attention off Chaosgraphy and back onto him.

Even with his arm numb, Martin raised his shield and forced himself forward near the throne as the boss made his move. Before he could fully reset his stance, he slammed his shield into the attack, aiming for the stun.

[Due to the difference in stats and the user being weakened, you have failed to stun the boss.]

The Goblin Boss sneered, shifted his weight, and slashed at Chaosgraphy.

She had trusted Martin to stop the blow. When he failed, the boss turned faster than she expected. The beat of the fight slipped under her feet for half a breath, and her side opened.

The boss’s sword cut through her and sent her flying.

She crashed into a pillar hard enough to shake crystal dust loose. Her body struck, slid, and dropped at its base.

"Tch..." Chaosgraphy grimaced. "That one was ugly."

"CHAOS!" Martin shouted. Fuck me, I set her up for that!

"Ohhhh... that shout sounded painful. Is she that precious to you? Hehe," the goblin boss muttered.

"She’s my tango partner, and I failed her. You expect me to laugh?"

"Haha! I want to hear you cry out in despair again, human!"

[Time: 00:51]

Fifty seconds left. I need at least one clue about that armor and how to crack it open. If Chaos can’t hurt him, then there’s no way my sword thrust is breaking through it. I need to use... something else.

Martin’s eyes swept across the throne room instead of staying locked on the boss. Crystal pillars, shattered blue heaps, goblin swords, spears, and then, near the throne, a few rough mining tools abandoned beside broken crates.

They were different from the others. Those were not weapons made for flesh. They were tools made to bite into stone.

Martin’s gaze stopped on a crooked pickaxe half-buried in blue shards. Its head had sunk deeper into the crystal than any blade he had seen so far.

A spark ran through his thoughts.

So that’s it... Don’t fight the crystal like armor. Break it like ore.