NOVEL NEXT Chapter 173: Wrath of Biamie
<Jacob, Druv, I'll leave this to you>
Ria spoke in a hoarse voice after using the clairvoyance for the 24th time. Neither Jacob nor Druv were the ones who spoke a lot. They replied with a simple 'Got it' and jumped off– or maybe jumped up..? from the galleon.
Even with clairvoyance she was unable to tell which was the correct horizon. She could minimize the casualties, but how long would it last?
Her mana capacity was nowhere close to that of a field boss. The way things were progressing, it wouldn't be long before the players collapsed from mental and physical exhaustion. Nonetheless, it wasn't like they were unprepared for such a scenario.
An eerie silence ensued as Jacob and Druv tried their best to get closer to the Star marked tyrant. Perhaps due to using two overpowered skills, the field boss had its movements restricted in the middle of the sky.
Ria and the other marshals were the ones who advocated for creating a defensive formation before an offensive one. It was true that the best defense is a good offense, but was it sustainable? The answer was No.
The players as individuals were akin to clay dolls when compared with someone like Pugalo and Star marked tyrant. A casual swipe from them was enough to snuff out their flames of life. With their sheer numbers they indeed had the power to burn through any field boss they came across, but how long would that fire last? At what cost?
The current army was like a fledgling that barely knew how to walk. It needed strong guardians to protect it before it grew into a fierce beast. The marshals appointed by Zyrus had the guts and vision to see what was really important. Even the strongest field boss of the second ring was nothing compared to a random mob of the fifth ring.
Zyrus was bound to ascend higher and higher with each passing day. And as long as this army was able to accompany him, they too would share his strength and glory. Every player that died thus far now had a chance to become much stronger than any field boss they knew. It was a naïve dream to keep them all alive. So, the best they could do was save as many of their comrades as possible.
"You ready?"
"I…am."
"Great, give me a hand-or a leg..haha," Jacob tried to lighten the mood. His heart was making his whole torso tremble due to the suppression of bloodline. He had the heart of an ogre who was mediocre even inside the first ring, so it was no wonder he'd feel like a bug in front of the star marked tyrant.
Druv was no better. The leader of trolls was shivering all over despite undergoing transformation. Their current mission was no different than walking into the maw of the enemy.
"I…will…Guard," he lifted up Jacob with his trunk-like arm and at the same time, activated the Ring of Sebek.
<Call of spring:> Increases HP regen rate by 50% for 30 minutes.
Trolls had a high vitality stat and their bloodline further increased their regeneration rate. With everything stacking up together Druv had a whooping 170% HP regen rate. It was more than enough to face off against a field boss as long as he didn't take direct damage from the skills.
Jacob, on the other hand, was more 'normal'. His equipment was worse compared to other marshals and his class wasn't something rare either. Yet in spite of all that, his overall damage power was the highest among the players.
[Fireball]
It was the same skill he used since the end of tutorial. However, anyone with eyes could tell that what was similar about the skill was nothing except its name. The mana and explosive power contained within it were on par with some weaker C rank skills.
It was nothing worth taking note of as every above-average player had a skill or two that were at C rank. What made Jacob unique were the sheer number of 'fireball' he could cast per second. This was the first time he was going all out after learning about laws, and the scene that was unfolding was nothing but spectacular.
10,100,500…..
Zyrus raised his eyebrows and looked at the sky full of yellowish-orange balls. The fireballs were all over the place due to Jacob not knowing the correct direction, but did that even matter?
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
A thousand fireballs adorned the sky in a blazing light.
Zyrus wouldn't be surprised with just this much. He and Ria who had used clairvoyance(25th time) were the only ones who knew what the next step would be.
It was a risky and ingenious move.
"Don't attack and just spread out your mana. Mages, cast fireballs after I'm done."
This was perhaps the first time Jacob had spoken two whole sentences at once, not to mention that they were directed at thousands of players. Many were hearing his voice for the first time- but one thing stood true no matter what.
He, was a marshal.
The players stopped their attacks and released their mana in every direction. Even the ones without a skill were able to channel the mana within their body and spread it outside. It was nowhere close to a rune formation as all it did was slightly increase the concentration of mana in the air.
It would dissipate within minutes, and the time was further shortened when the star marked tyrant was using 'Drag'.
If it was Zyrus then he could have used the excess mana in the air with his abyss attribute, but Jacob was unable to do that. It was a task impossible for someone who didn't have a domain-type skill or an elemental seed.
"Elsid, Zirnitra, get ready to engage. Although it hasn't spared a glance at me for a while, that fucker will definitely target me in the third phase."
" "As you command, my liege," "
Zyrus nodded at the two and quickened the pace of Ghoul reanimation. Jacob's act had inadvertently helped him out as well.
'As I thought, he's talented.'
Jacob was the sole player whom he had complimented multiple times. The human with an ogre's heart wasn't that knowledgeable in his eyes. His attempt at using the laws was crude and immature.
However, there was one thing Jacob had figured out before any other player.
The power of Will.
"Burn…"
The quiet voice rang across the entire battlefield. The sky right now was a blank talisman whereas his thousand fireballs were the pen. And yet, Jacob was unable to create a rune formation by using the players' mana as ink.
But who said he had to? Zyrus never told the players what to do when it came to using the runes. All he did was give them an example– a reference to take their first step.
The path they chose to walk upon was completely up to them.
Jacob's whole body was trembling. He was bleeding from his nose and ears. His head felt like it was being pierced by sharp needles. And it was under this pressure that he realized the path he wanted to walk upon.
What ink, pen, and talisman? What he wanted was something more simple and primitive. There was no need for complex magic formulas or rune formations.
[{{| BURN |}}]
The sky was lit aflame under the desperate will of a shivering human. The HP bar of the star marked tyrant that stood unmoving like a mountain started to crumble apart.
Nothing was visible for the next few seconds. Druv retreated while carrying the fainted Jacob while Ria started to reorganize the players.
No one was able to see the exact damage values with constantaneous explosions, but it was apparent that the star marked tyrant would be in a battered state. As befitting of a field boss, it was able to keep using False Horizon and Drag without being interrupted by the destructive attack.
Just when Zyrus was done with 80% of the corpses, a sudden change occurred on the battlefield.
*Splash*
*Crrraaash*
*Bang*
Players fell into the boiling sea while boats crashed with one another. It was total mayhem.
<It can no longer continue with False horizon!>
Everyone looked at the star marked tyrant and were surprised when they saw the amount of HP it had left.
43%
43%!!!!!
It was a ridiculous number no matter what. Till now no one except Zyrus was able to melt through an HP bar like this. Jacob was the first one to change that fact, and with him as a precedent, more were bound to follow.
<Defenders, reserve your mana. The rest will focus on steady damage output>
" "Roger that," "
Seconds and minutes passed by with the players assault. The HP of star marked tyrant was going down at the rate of 1.5%/minute. Less then a hundred players were 'dragged' into the star marked tyrant which was another positive. But despite all of this, the players were unable to lift up their smiles.
Everything was quiet. Too quiet.
The gigantic monster hadn't uttered a single sound since the second phase began. The players started to avoid looking at the HP bar because whenever they looked above, they were greeted by a pair of eyes that carried a gaze heavy enough to flatten their desire to fight.
They weren't stupid. Why did the enemy stop using the False Horizon and keep the Drag active? The former was much better when it came to harming the players. The question wasn't difficult to answer when one thought of the common pattern on the phases of field boss– they used their ultimate skills in the third phase.
Star marked tyrant had dragged an unimaginable amount of mana into its mouth throughout the second phase. From the very beginning, its goal wasn't to kill them.
33%..32%...31%...
But starting from now, that would change. The field boss entered the third and final phase.
30%
[Alert! The Star marked Tyrant is inflicted with the "Wrath of Biamie"]