NOVEL NEXT Chapter 172: False Horizon
All eyes were drawn to the burning pile of corpses. It didn't matter who they were, be it the players or the Star marked tyrant, all of them were feeling a shiver down to their very souls.
No one knew what skill Zyrus was using. Despite learning about the difference between 'Skills' and 'Authorities' from Zyrus, they were clueless in distinguishing between the two. It would be too much to expect from them as even the system didn't bother with the classification and labeled everything as 'Skill'.
Nonetheless, there was one thing that each and every one of them was able to feel.
Mana.
And it was one of the key aspects in determining whether a skill was strong or not. The star marked tyrant who was using the Akashic flame was a perfect example of that. What awed the player was the fact that the mana gathered around Zyrus was at least 10 times stronger compared to the field boss's attack.
<Focus. We have our own battle to fight>
Only after hearing Ria's voice did they gather their wits. This was nothing but a small disturbance that lasted for less than 5 seconds, and yet, it changed the rhythm of the battle.
Both the field boss and the players became more desperate. Neither side knew what Zyrus was planning to do, but still, they realized that it was a race against time.
After 10% of the corpses were devoured by the emerald flames, the Star marked Tyrant finally went into the second phase.
<568 of our comrades have fallen>
Ria's grim reminder stole away the brief rest from the players. They took deep breaths to regulate their mana and glared at the transforming monster with quiet rage. It was impossible to not form relationships and emotional attachments after staying together for so long.
Players from different species become friends and rivals of one another. There were those who hated the others' guts as well. But be it positive or negative, there was a connection between the thousands of players.
An ideal army was akin to a gigantic organism made up of smaller units. They were individuals, and at the same time, they were one. They shared their victories and defeats, they shared their joys and sorrows, they shared their shame and glory.
In less than half an hour, 568 of them were gone forever.
They were used to it since this was neither the first nor the last time something like this would occur.
They would grieve as individuals, but as an army, such a loss was nothing. The army was like a gigantic beast. Being wounded was normal when beasts fought against one another. A few scratches and shallow wounds were nothing. A broken bone or a severed limb would recover with sufficient rest and resources.
Even so, it didn't mean that the beast wouldn't be angry when it was hit.
Zyrus diverted his attention to the transforming star marked tyrant and the players.
'Never would've thought that they'd have similar momentum…'
The horns on top of the star marked tyrant grew larger and its body became even thinner. The diamond-shaped runes on its skin were becoming sharper and more defined. Compared to its oppressive aura, the players merely adjusted their equipment and steadied their breathing.
There was power in numbers, but a ragtag bunch of a millions would stand no chance against a field boss. Which of them weren't world destroyers before they were captured by the sanctuary? It was easier said than done to match their momentum in a fight.
[|] Barricade [|]
Shields made up from the laws of metal began to take shape in the air. One after another they rose like pollens under a breeze. The players used runes to create a shield, and thousands of such 'runes' combined and created a brand new formation– Barricade.
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It was different from something like a shield wall that focused on absolute defense. The role of the barricade was to slow down the enemy assault and lessen the impact.
A field boss's transformation was a beneficial thing for both sides. It prevented the field boss from being instantly killed by some cheat-like ability and status restrictions, and at the same time, it gave players the opportunity to swap out their positions and recover their HP.
Powerful formations that required a long time to deploy shone at times like these.
[|] Cyarsh [|]
This was the sole combined formation the players had developed. It was made up of the runes of water and wood, a combination of the words Cyan and Marsh. And unlike its sloppy name, the formation was a sight to behold.
Millions of strands of seaweed crawled out from the ocean and created a protective armor on each and every player. The cyan weeds covered by a thin film of water gave off a refined luster, similar to a pricy woven scarf.
*SHHHRRRIIIEEKKK*
The piercing cry from the star marked tyrant marked the beginning of the second confrontation. It was fortunate that the metal barricade was able to counter the scream, but no one was happy about it.
Because it wasn't even a proper skill. Just its scream was as powerful as a middle tier skill of other field bosses.
How strong were its actual skills then? The question was answered right after the players thought of this.
[False Horizon]
Stars were always visible on the clear waters of the third zone, but right now, it became different.
<Don't panic, focus on defending>
Even Ria was unable to hide the tremor in her voice. The skill was easy to understand but hard to accept.
Falce Horizon– The sky and the land are one.
One moment, there were waves in the ocean and a starry sky above, and in the next instance, the positions were reversed.
Yes, they were reversed in a literal sense. The players and their ships were hanging upside down in the sky. They were neither affected by gravity nor did they feel nausea from switching around. Everything seemed normal, as if it was how it should have been from the start.
"It's a mental attack," Zyrus spoke in a nonchalant tone. Apart from the star marked tyrant, he was the only one who was 'upside down' in the player's eyes.
Hearing his words didn't mean that the players would be able to handle the mental attack, but at the very least, they'd have a certain chance of controlling their senses.
False Horizon wasn't dangerous in and of itself. If it was someone else who had this skill then they would be nothing more than an annoying enemy to deal with.
But the star marked tyrant was different. It didn't lack offensive means and nor were its defense weak. Having a mental attack added to its arsenal was similar to adding wings to a tiger.
Zyrus focused back on his task and molded the Ghouls in a way he desired. Even though his powers were restricted by the system, it allowed him to have a greater degree of control over his unfamiliar skills. As he had explained before, it was similar to playing a shooter game versus using a real gun in hand. The latter was obviously more worthwhile when you were in a real war. The complex maneuvers and postures used in real battle could never be initiated with a fixed program.
However, what if one was a complete newbie who didn't know anything about a gun? Would they even get a chance to learn anything in the middle of a war? The system in the sanctuary allowed the players to use their skills from the get-go via a game like interface. All they had to do was focus their will and the skill would be activated by consuming MP or stamina. It was that simple.
The tough part was how to make that skill your own. To use it without the system assistance and evolve it into something more than just a 'fixed' phenomenon.
Neither the star marked tyrant nor the players were able to do that. It had been more than 10 seconds since the false horizon was used, and yet, the field boss was still unable to activate the next skill.
This was the weakness of the system. Using a fixed amount of energy to activate a skill every time was terribly inefficient. Of course, only someone like Zyrus was qualified to think like this. For the players, the 10 seconds were too short to get used to the shifting horizons.
[Drag]
*Grrruruuururu*
A loud rumble echoed across the sky and the ocean. The field boss had activated its third skill.
<Hold onto the boats!>
The star marked tyrant split apart at the center and revealed a 10-meter-long vertical mouth. Thousands of reddish brown teeth became visible in the dim environment. And if this alone wasn't horrifying enough, the skill 'Drag' started to take effect.
Invisible streams of air were sucked inside the vertical mouth. The field boss was getting farther and farther away from looking like a manta ray. First were its horns and now a huge mouth that seemed to have no end to its suction power.
The clouds, the water, and even mana itself was being dragged inside the star marked tyrant. There was a high chance that a significant number of players would have died if not for Ria's clairvoyance.
Drag was a deadly skill on its own, and it became exponentially powerful when False horizon was added into the mix. The players didn't know whether they were standing on their boats or were they hanging upside down in the sky. What was worse was that they were being dragged towards the monster's mouth.
It was hard to determine their and the enemy's position, and resisting the suction force alongside that was much more difficult. It was a tug of war between the players and the star marked tyrant.
And the one who benefited from it the most was none other than Zyrus.
By now, more than half of the corpses were consumed by the emerald flames.