Chapter 282 - Initiative! Unsettled Cruz
Chapter 282 Initiative! Unsettled Cruz
Translator: ASB | Editor: Adsila_Panther8 /EndlessFantasy Translation
PvP between two Elementalists were ruthless yet straightforward—especially for two Elementalists who were equipped with defensive barriers. Normally, the one who bottomed his or her Endurance first would succumb first…
Without the protection of a barrier, the frail physique of an Elementalist could hardly endure a round of Tier 4 spells, let alone the aftermath of magic effect inflicted by the attack. Thus, the skirmish between Elementalists always emphasized heavily on a player’s speed and efficiency.
The first strike often determined the outcome of such a battle. The one with better condensation speed as well as the more efficient attack would usually get the last laugh, and this rule of thumb was even more vital for an Elementalist in the Graveyard of the Gods.
But such a factor was never a concern for Qin Ruo. Thanks to his Elemental Perception, he was able to learn the true identities of his soon-to-be enemies beforehand—two Elementalists with their defensive barriers activated, a Bowmaster, a Summoner who had undergone Beastform Fusion, and a Berserker. Their every move was plainly reflected in Qin Ruo’s mind in real time. In stark contrast, the Demon Faction players did not have the slightest idea about their enemy’s identity, number, actual strength, position, etc—they simply knew nothing about what was coming at them.
Indirectly, Qin Ruo had gained the upper initiative in the skirmish.
Right after his Compressed Frost Bullet took form, he purposefully released the spell toward the front corner without any delay.
***
The five players dispatched by the Demon Faction party were all adequate fighters. The reason why they took the situation very seriously was due to how easily their sentinel had been taken down by Poochie. He was defeated almost instantaneously. The Bandit was stunned before he could tell if it was a spell or a monster that hit him. Up to the time he was killed, the Bandit failed to feedback any useful information to the main party.
His mysterious death was not taken lightly by the Demon Faction players who were ganking the Vampire Leech inside the cave. They even appointed an Aquamancer from Twelve Zodiacs and Water Summoner fused with a Yeti from Maverick Vatican to form a reliable ambush team with three other relatively powerful party members.
They were ordered to annihilate their opponent on first sight if possible; otherwise, they were instructed to restrain their opponent inside the tunnel with all their might, at least until the fight with the Vampire Leech on the other end of the tunnel was over.
Unfortunately, the ambush team had underestimated the unknown intruder’s speed of advancement. They carelessly dashed across the tunnel after they left the giant cave. Not long after, a relatively large White Frost Bullet, which was buried in a magnificent frosty aura entered their field of vision. It was twice the size of a normal Frost Bullet
They ceased their movements as soon as they saw the precast spell. Before they could figure out their opponent’s true intention for leaving the Frost Bullet there, the bullet suddenly burst in front of them. It shattered into numerous piercing ice shard and shot out in all directions.
All five of them happened to be well within its range of attack…
“Sh*t!”
As an Aquamancer, Alder could roughly tell how powerful the AoE Spell’s Frozen Effect was based on the massive inbound icy aura. He reacted before the battle info was even feedbacked to him, and he first screamed to the Electromancer beside him, “Alex, Magic Scroll!”
Although he was unsure how his opponent managed to trigger the AoE Attack Spell so precisely the moment they reached that point (perhaps by chance?), the Aquamancer sensed the potential underlying danger and secretly ordered his comrades to heighten their awareness.
The Electromancer next to him answered swiftly to his call. He quickly aligned with the Aquamancer, and they shielded their other three comrades. Meanwhile, he retrieved a Magic Scroll from his backpack and gulped an HP Potion (L) at the same time. He peered nervously at the tunnel corner a few meters away, his mental strained to the very limit.
Damn it! It was terrifying!
What kind of spell was that? About 700HP was slashed from the Bowmaster and Berserker each due to the attack. Not only that, but they were also affected by Status Effect: Frozen for five seconds long.
He himself, an Electromancer, was also dealt more than 400 Damage by the enemy with his shield in place. What made it more frightening was that even the Water-Type Summoner. who had fused with a Yeti, was unable to repel the horrifying Status Effect.
All of a sudden!
“Sh*t! Alder! They’re still losing HP!”
“Damn it! It’s a Laceration Effect! Fernando…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the two Elementalists immediately received a system message that notified them about the death of their Bowmaster, Fernando. Just as the Aquamancer hurriedly turnaround to save the barely-alive Berserker and Summoner, whose HPs were plummeting, using his Aquaheal, two waves of oddly familiar Water Element magical fluctuation abruptly ascended not far away from them.
“F*ck! That’s quick!”
“Damn, what the hell was that?! He’s able to get a target-lock on us? F*ck! It’s Elemental Perception! It’s definitely Elemental Perception!”
The Electromancer’s desperate shriek greatly startled the Aquamancer. Alder dared not distract himself further with his two dying comrades upon that realization. Instead, he turned back immediately and coincidentally saw two ferocious water wolves crossing before his eyes and going past him…
The enemy target isn’ t me!
Its target was the Electromancer, Alex…
“Alex! Evade now!”
An Aquamancer, Alder suddenly understood the true intention behind the lurking enemy’s actions. His ability as an Aquamancer was never the intruder’s concern. The hiding Aquamancer had planned to target the Electromancer, who was the biggest threat among them from the very beginning. Once the Electromancer was down, he could then slowly take care of the rest with ease. Realizing this, he instantaneously warned his teammates, “The enemy’s a Champion Tier player! This is way out of our league. Fall back!”
He shouted while he conjured two Frostramparts from the Frostlake and retreated in a haste. A painful scream rang beside his ears right after he called for the retreat.
Two mysterious yet ferocious water wolves simultaneously struck the horrifyingly pale Alex. His blue Electrobarrier crumbled straight away and dissipated into thin air in the face of the attack. Following that was a rather unnecessary system notification.
“Your teammate, Alex, has fallen.”
Sh*t!
Alder could only curse silently and run with all his might. He honestly did not have the courage to continue facing their overpowering opponent, who possessed Elemental Perception: Water for another minute with his two dying, immobile comrades.
“Incoming! You guys in there, beware!”
Two of his comrades were lost, while the other two were Frozen, so Alder was the only one left to deliver the warning to his party members inside the cave. But as soon as he saw the two water wolves, which instant-killed Alex, reconstituting themselves in front of him and blocking his retreating path, his heart sank. Not knowing if his message could reach those inside the cave, he shouted hysterically toward the direction he originally came from regardless.
The next instant, two successive Lycan Barrages with about 240 Magic Attack each smashed head-on into Alder’s chest… Even though he was protected by his Frostbarrier’s guard and damage absorption, it was insufficient without the more solid Darkfrost Shield. The fierce spell instantly exhausted Alder’s HP to zero.
Instant kill!
Almost at the same time, the corpses of both the Demon Faction Summoner and Berserker—who had been frozen and lacerated for a few seconds—fell simultaneously into the Frostlake.
The “powerful” Demon Faction ambush team was eradicated in no more than 10 seconds.
Qin Ruo dispersed his Lycan Barrage before the awed expressions of the five players, who had their minds blown behind him. He turned around the corner and entered the tunnel. It was now filled with five floating corpses.
“Get the equipment they’ve dropped, and keep up.”
He relayed a simple instruction to his teammates and swiftly walked past the five corpses without paying much attention.
***
Alder’s hysterical scream before his death was not without its effect. The loud echo broke the tunnel’s silence and spread widely to both ends.
The Bandit near the giant cave’s entrance listened attentively to the echo and promptly turned grim. He hastily retreated from the tunnel opening and shouted to his comrades nearby who numbered in the dozens. They were now wrapping up their siege. “Something bad’s happened to Alder, I think!”
“What? Are you sure?”
One of the Berserkers who had joined in on the siege against the Tier 4 Elite Boss, the Vampire Leech, exclaimed and withdrew himself from battle as soon as he heard the news. His withdrawal immediately stressed the whole formation. A few of the other members chided consensually, “Cruz!”
“Where are you going at such a critical moment?!”
“You’re being too careful. Those men just entered not long ago. What could have happened in such a short time?”
“You know he’s right. Get back into the battle now. With an Aquamancer, a Water Summoner, plus three Tier 4 classes, they should do fine even if the intruder’s a Field Commander. Let’s take care of the Boss first!”
Cruz was initially not too worried about it too. But after he retracted himself from the battlefield and pondered about half a second, his face suddenly turned ghastly. What?! Aquamancer Alder and Electromancer Alex just dropped a level…
They were all dead after they entered the tunnel for no more than twenty seconds?!
Who the hell was this intruder?
“Sh*t!” Cruz exclaimed and howled, “Enemy incoming! Wargod’s Shrine members, retreat from the Boss fight at once. Prepare for battle.”
“Priests, buff! Warriors, heal yourselves immediately!” After he gave out several orders in quick succession, Cruz became the first to dash toward the tunnel’s entrance. He wasted no time and consumed two potions en route to recover his HP as well as MP.
Cruz’s howl directly drew out all of the members from Wargod’s Shrine who were participating in the siege. Even Twelve Zodiacs and Vatican Maverick members could sense the urgency and severity of the matter from Cruz’s tone. They reminded the rest to continue trapping the slimy Vampire Leech while they ordered the Bandit, Summoner, and Bowmaster keeping watch in their periphery to back Cruz up.
Even with reinforcements, Cruz still felt heavy-hearted as he dashed toward the tunnel. He could by no means ease up, knowing that his ambush team was annihilated within seconds.
Cruz knew Alder and Alex’s strengths well. They were not called the elites of Wargod’s Shrine for nothing. How was it possible for the intruder to eliminate all five of them in such a short time? Moreover, the enemy achieved such a feat in an environment where breakthroughs using numbers as an advantage were impossible. They even had an Aquamancer and Aqua Summoner by their side.
Cruz inhaled a hard, cold breath and put on a stern expression.
“All Elementalists, get ready with your Magic Scrolls! Bowmasters, charge your skills! Warriors…”
Two warriors immediately split up and flanked the tunnel’s entrance as Cruz pointed.
Once everything was in place, Cruz held up his Dark Gold Claymore and stood guard. His eyes blinked as he fixed his gaze on any movement coming from the frost lake inside the tunnel.
A few seconds later, several subtle ripples approached fast from the corner. The fluctuation gained momentum overtime and got more and more apparent. Seeing this, Cruz, who was still full of determination a few seconds ago, took in another deep breath. His expression grew gloomier than before.
To dare to approach so brazenly, he or she had to either be a lunatic or an exceptionally confident Champion!
Obviously, the intruder belonged to the latter.