The friends nearly had their eyes fall out. They were shocked by the immense damage done to their tank. Bloody Edge gulped imagining the boss's attack landing on him. His actions got delayed for a moment.
Just then General Basset took a step back. Although it was only one step, the flowing wind carried him for a few meters gliding smoothly like a figure skater on ice.
Watching the boss's actions, Cyclone hastily used her skill before the old man could interrupt her. A cage made of crackling lightning enveloped Basset.
[-140!]
[-224!]
The old man only froze for a split second as his body touched the lightning. The fierce electric arcs circled around his armor before he could extricate himself.
General Bassets eyes were unchanging as if he didn't feel the lightning. They only contained the pride of an old general unwilling to be overtaken by the young.
"Feel the biting power of the Northwind!"
Letting out a shout the boss began to wave his sword. Long white arcs formed like tears in the air shooting towards the players.
The impossibly sharp attack cut into one's skin form a distance. Everyone targeted tried to escape hurriedly.
But the white arcs moved at a high speed which was difficult to react to. Watchful Eye was hit while Silver Blade and Balm paid with their stance to either block or dodge with a flash step.
[-3226!]
[-537!]
[Stance -26]
[Stance -22]
The powerful mix of physical and wind damage took almost half of Watchful Eye's HP. The monk felt his chest tighten giving it his all not to receive another blow.
But General Basset didn't continue his skill for long. The boss was used to a speed-related fighting style. As soon as he stopped his skill he flashed in front of Radiant Shield.
The tank was too slow to react as the next attack arrived swiftly.
[-1520!]
Watching the sudden change, Balm grasped the opportunity to heal the party. An illusionary tree appeared on the battlefield, radiating a warm aura which helped the friends to recover.
Invigorated, the party members rushed towards the boss.
Only Fortune watched anxiously. During the earlier skill she managed to dodge while holding onto her cast, but this delayed her for a few precious seconds. Now a perfect opportunity to unleash her arcane bolts presented itself but the mage wasn't ready.
And before she could do so, the boss retreated again and repeated his earlier skill.
"F*ck!"
Cyclone suddenly fell silent looking at Fortune with wide eyes. She had never heard the gorgeous woman curse like that.
Even Fortune herself was surprised. She smiled, ashamed, and adjusted her mind. When she saw the boss's attack coming for her Fortune focused and dodged with a flash step.
As her body reappeared her mana suddenly lost control and the cast of her skill was interrupted. Fortune could only sigh, disappointed in herself.
Liam noticed the interaction out of the corner of his eyes. He felt like he had to say something:
"Guys, don't get anxious. Even if we don't get this first clear, nothing will be lost. Consistency is key!"
Liam's friends nodded along, affected to various degrees by his words.
But the current situation didn't change much. General Basset ended his skill and continued attacking Radiant Shield. This time the tank was prepared and blocked but his last bit of stance was used up.
Basset's eyes narrowed dangerously. He grasped his sword tightly with both hands. A strong wind surged along its blade.
Radiant Shield's heart skipped a beat. He recognized this move. With a thought his [Holy Barrier] activated at the last second.
A white light flashed as if cutting Radiant Shield's body diagonally. The golden barrier rippled dangerously as it endured the enormous damage.
[-1520!]
[-1543!]
The accompanying wind damage was even more powerful than the physical damage. It was a nightmare for any tank.
Suddenly a faint grey fog spreading over the floor pulsed. It was Silver Blade's [Aura of the Sloth]. Although its movement-slowing effect was almost negligible so far, its stunning effect now managed to hold the general in place for a second.
Watchful Eye stared at the boss with narrowed eyes. He decided to use his ultimate skill [Five-Element Array]. This skill was only seen rarely due to its high QI expenditure. The taciturn man had even considered changing it before.
But when Liam explained that some ultimate skills only shone brightly after ranking up, which fixed their weaknesses, Watchful Eye decided to stick to his choice.
The same was true for Radiant Shield's ultimate which lasted for a measly one second. The tank never even bothered using it as it might distract him from his job as a tank. But privately he was training hard to rank it up.
Watchful Eye looked forward to the rank increase as well as he observed his QI quickly drying up.
Complicated golden lines suddenly appeared below the boss. They formed a circular formation with six prominent focus points. One of those was below the general, while the other five formed a circle around him.
The air distorted and Watchful Eye's figure suddenly appeared on each of the focus points. Each clone was identical except for the different staffs in their hands.
One staff burned in bright golden flames. One had sturdy, dark roots growing around it. One was covered in sharp metallic spikes. One was engulfed in surging water. And one was buried in rocks.
"Ha!"
Suddenly the fiery Watchful Eye swung his staff with all his might, slamming it into the boss's back. The others followed in quick succession. Five attacks of different damage types assaulted General Basset.
[-198!]
[-245!]
[-173!]
[-165!]
[-198!]
"Wow, good job!"
Watchful Eye showed a faint smile as Cyclone praised him. With his QI as good as depleted he instantly distanced himself from the boss and used his skill [Meditation].
The monk sat cross-legged in the air. An invisible force surrounded him as he fell silent.
General Basset followed Watchful Eye with his gaze, gritting his teeth in displeasure.
"Young ones, you shouldn't underestimate me! Now I will fight seriously!"
"Sure, sure. Keep pretending!", answered Cyclone, even faking a yawn.
Being mocked by the adventurer, General Basset's eyes turned red from anger. He changed his posture. Turning his right foot and lowering his sword he looked like a predator ready to pounce. The earlier stun fell off almost by itself.
"AH!"
With a violent shout the boss suddenly jumped high. He sailed above the tanks' heads and rushed towards the ranged fighters.
Cyclone's grin froze as she realized the boss was targeting her. Immediately her gaze hardened.
"Come, come! I will fight it out with you!"
To everyone's surprise Cyclone didn't dodge immediately. She chose to finish her cast first. A rope of lightning connected her and the boss.
Just before General Basset was about to land, his sword readied for a slash, Cyclone jumped to the side.
Basset let out a snort. His feet caused the surroundings to tremble as he crashed into the floor. Dust fell from the ceiling and some plants failed to hold onto the wall.
Small whirlwinds spread from Basset's position, tearing at everyone's clothes with a strong suction force. The players hastily tried to escape, not expecting this deviation from normal mode.
Cyclone, Fortune, and Balm, who stood the closest, were hit directly. Their bodies shivered as the cold wind washed over them, attempting to throw them away.
Cyclone worriedly looked at her HP bar. Four ticks causing more than 500 points of damage affected her. She somewhat regretted her decision not to use flash step but now it was too late.
Scarlet lightning jumped around Cyclone's robe. As an enemy got too close its effect got triggered. A red lightning bolt instantly shot towards the boss. It arrived simultaneously with the damage done by [Binding of Lightning].
[-896!]
[-56!]
Immediately General Basset froze in place. A pained expression flashed across his face as lightning bolts ran around his body. The friends recognized the sign of paralysation and reacted quickly.
Silent Acacia's eyes lit up. He used his skill [Stalker]. His body turned blurry, fusing into the background and a red mark appeared on General Basset's back.
The hunter nocked his arrow and held his breath. Simultaneously he directed Zorn in his head. Suddenly a bright whistling sounded in the cave. A sharp arrow and a condensed ball of water crashed into the boss's back.
[-467!!!]
[-84!]
Silent Acacia grinned as his arrow perfectly hit the bull's eye, causing a critical strike. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Zorn's attack.
A moment later General Basset already regained his movement. A powerful breeze surged, and the boss leaped again. Silent Acacia tried to hit the next mark which appeared on the boss's leg but failed.
Everyone watched with stern faces trying to gauge the general's target. Immediately Silver Blade's heart skipped a beat.
"Damn, its Watchful Eye!"
Silver Blade's silent bodyguard opened his eyes. His self-immobilizing skill couldn't be interrupted. He could only watch as a beautiful white sword enlarged in his vision.