sinovels Chapter 173: Dragonification
Chapter 173: Dragonification
Zyrus kept his eyes focused on the main players. He knew very well that none except him had the power to deal with the field boss. Well except Marquis Wu whom he had yet to make contact with after leaving the trench. Nonetheless, his subordinates should be able to deal with the normal boss-level monsters.
*Raaaaahhhh*
The scarecrow let out inhumane screams once its HP went below 50%. As if it was a signal, the rest also went into the second phase regardless of their remaining HP.
“Stand back and use all defensive formations. Do not engage unless I order,” Ria commanded once again while retreating. As they say, once bitten, twice shy.
The players had learned the difference between below and above lv 40 monsters. At the same time, they also realized that the 10 boss monsters and the field boss were interconnected.
This raid was different from the ones they had been through.
‘Here it comes.’
Zyrus raised a mana barrier around him and Franken, and at the same time, all 10 scarecrows used the sole 2 skills they had.
[Splinter Storm]
[Rotten Lands]
Every blade of grass shattered in an instant. The green vegetation turned into yellowish-brown splinters and shot towards the players.
“AH-”
“Watch out!”
No one was able to escape from the hail of splinters. But instead of being scared, they were just confused.
The splinters lodged into their skin dealt no more than 10 damage. The power of the boss monster’s skill was too lacking compared to its initial momentum.
“Protect your skin with mana. These splinters are hard to get rid of,” Ria was the first to realize the issue. Removing splinters was an easy thing to do with mana, but the ones created from skill were different.
It was a pity that her warning came a tad bit late.
“It-it’s rotting!”
“What do we do?”
The players panicked as the skin around the splinters started to darken. None were afraid to cut off the infected area, but this time, they didn’t dare to make any rash action. This proved that their training over the years had been effective.
“Cut off the infected area and use your potions. We can afford them as long as we kill these bastards.”
“Hahaha…well said. Let’s go,” Zyrus beckoned Franken and descended from the sky. He was satisfied with the players' performance.
It was inevitable to make mistakes and be flustered when encountering new scenarios. What mattered was their ability to keep calm and obey the orders. The deciding factor was the players’ courage and trust in their leaders- enough to carve out their flesh without making a fuss.
Every other skill could be developed as long as they were willing to learn. Only after going through countless battles like these would the players gain sufficient experience.
*Clank*
“Alright, I’m leaving.”
Zyrus nodded at Franken and summoned his abyssal legion to be on standby.
“Listen up, it’s up to you to deal with that.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” 400 knights set off towards the last boss monster.
Zyrus paid close attention to the last two scarecrows. While his knights had yet to reach the targets, the other scarecrow had already reaped the lives of hundreds.
‘It’s good that there are ambitious ones as well.’
Who didn’t want to be in a leading position like Kyle and the rest? This was their chance to earn that spot. They could either let the strongest players do all the work or step up to earn better treatment later on.
The strong would become stronger and the weak would become weaker. It was a simple yet harsh truth of the sanctuary. And the ones who understood this better than anyone were the beasts and monsters.
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*Hoowwl*
*Rooar*
16 beast leaders roared and growled at their subordinates. They were the ones who took this opportunity to stand on the same level as the leading figures. 12 of them were subdued from Aiden’s troop after the crown hunt, whereas the remaining four were leaders of the subdued monsters on the islands.
What was the differing factor between a beast and a monster? The former had some intelligence and ability to develop, whereas the latter was just a brainless husk that acted on instinct. Every monster that joined any leader would automatically become a beast, becoming similar to players.
‘They’re smarter than one may expect.’
Zyrus praised the beast leaders in his heart as he observed their tactics. There were all sorts of species jumbled in the beast squads. It was too difficult to form clear groups and command structures. Thus, the beasts were doing what they were best at: hunting.
Bugs were using wave tactics? They’ll do the same. Not to mention that they were even better at it.
*ROOOOOAAR*
*AWOOOOOO*
The 16 leaders surrounded the scarecrow boss and deployed kiting tactics. It was but a matter of time before the fight reached its conclusion.
[Dragonification]
On the other side, 400 Aydahar Cavaler used their skills at the same time. Curved horns jutted out from their heads along with a whip-like tail at the back. But more so than the external changes, the biggest transformation was within their bones and internal organs.
[Arcane Lance]
[Spear Aura]
“Hahaha look at ‘em go!” Franken returned with some burning straws stuck on his antlers.
“Done already? Now I really want to see your status,” Zyrus looked away from the knights who were spamming the weak versions of his skills and stared at his companion. He was the first one who had killed the boss monster.
“By all means, you should be able to. Who knows what the administrators are thinking?”
“Forget it then.” Zyrus shrugged his shoulders and focused on the knights. His skills like the eye of annihilation and Avatar were useless for them due to their special nature. On the other hand, aoe skills like arcane lance, fear, and spear aura were performing much better.
‘Hmm…for the next class upgrade, I should focus on passing down my skills to the summons,’
This was an unexpected stroke of inspiration. Zyrus was quite impressed by the amplification of his ‘Fear’ skill. With 400 of them using it at 10% effectiveness, his knights had scared away all of the bugs on the island. What if his thousands of summons’ could do the same? Forget at 10% effectiveness; just 1% was enough to change the tides.
[Raid objective has been achieved!]
[Additional rewards will be given to participants after the raid succeeds]
[Caution! Pugalo will now descend upon the Scarecrow Island]
“Everyone, encircle the central farm and activate all combat-related formations.”
“On it.”
“Do we head over to the dragon of war?”
Ria and Jacob asked one after another. Although they were injured, they had enough energy to gather the ships and aid him later on.
“No need. You’ll be one-shotted once you step on the farm,” Zyrus replied while swimming towards the centermost area. Even Franken didn’t dare to fly at this time.
Bitter memories surfaced in his eyes as he looked at the hexagonal farm shrouded in a brownish aura. This place was called the ‘Commander’s Graveyard’ before his regression.
Not because the commanders died in that place, but because any commander who took on this field raid would be scarred for life.
6 kings and their armies were wiped out on the first try. Instead of scaring away the others, this only fueled the players' desire as the rewards corresponded with difficulty.
11 kings participated in the second wave– 8 of which lost their armies and 3 died. The results this time had shocked the entire continent.
Finally, this drew the attention of the top rulers. 5 of them came in the third wave, 4 of whom retreated while the remaining one cleared the area once and for all.
Zyrus was among the ones who retreated, because anyone who won this battle would lose their right to be called a leader.
There were two reasons for this disaster. The thing that caused the annihilation of the first two waves was the 10 field bosses. Not every leader had the ability to command their players without a moment’s delay. Even if they did, would the players carve out their flesh within seconds? Even after both of these, was everyone rich enough to use potions and healing medicines on the entire army?
The answer was no. This caused internal disputes and thus led to total extermination.
The 5 who participated in the last wave had the power to go through this. But even so, 4 retreated before Pugalo.
Zyrus stood alone on the farm and watched the descending field boss with cold eyes. A 100-feet-tall scarecrow wearing a tattered black cloak. Dried-up grass and red mana surged to create a vessel for Pugalo, and at the same time, a pitch-black scythe appeared in its hand.
Just the mana it released was enough to make the players tremble. Regardless of their level or fighting prowess, every one of them was under a spine-chilling coldness.
It was an instinctual fear one felt when facing a higher level of existence. This place wasn’t even supposed to be accessible in the second ring. The area between the Kyros continent and the land of Farnakht was akin to a middle zone.
Monsters ranging from lv 21 to 100+ existed on the ocean and the islands. Unlike on the mainland where living areas below and above lv 50 were separated via a mist zone, there was no such thing on the ocean.
Zyrus himself didn’t know how that'd work out for him. According to his guess, since the system wouldn’t allow the players to be massacred by the high-level monsters, it had simply ‘hidden’ them.
The moment the third ring was unlocked, the mist would lift and merge the whole continent. At the same time, these hidden monsters would reappear on the islands and the ocean.
Leaving the future troubles aside, there was one thing the system couldn’t just hide– the Field bosses.
‘It’s at lv 50, but it has retained its core powers of lv 100.’
A lv 50 field boss should be the final target of the flag march. Heck, there were many who cleared the second ring by avoiding strong monsters altogether. There was more than one method to become a powerful ruler; still, this was the path that suited him the most.
[Pugalo has awakened]
Two spheres of crimson fire lit up on the scarecrow’s head- glaring back at Zyrus’s cold yellow eyes.