Chapter 67: The Solitary Battle
’This Boss is the bane of any team party... Its first stage was an Area of effect skill, which can wipe out a whole team. The second stage is also an Area of effect skill... The moment these knights give damage, five more knights appear, if the whole five give damage, 25 appear... In a team, you can’t protect everyone.’ He smirked, watching as five lights separated from the Priestess’s body, hovering around her.
The exponential math of her summoning mechanic was designed to crush raids of dozens of hunters. A single lapse in coordination would flood the chamber with an army of elite vanguard.
"Luckily, I am alone."
White rays of light shot out from the balls of light, and from them, five 6-foot-tall Knights, in white armor walked out, each holding a sword and shield. The holy radiance reflecting off their polished plate mail illuminated the shadowed corners of the massive pyramid.
[Name: Sorrowful Priestess’s Personal Knights.]
[Class: Normal Boss.]
[Rank: SS-Rank.]
[Agility: 40,000.]
[Energy: 720,000.]
[Defense: 760,000.]
[Health Point: 4,000,000.]
[Physical Attack: 200,000.]
[Magical Attack: 320,000.]
[Skill: Deal damage to summon five more knights with equal stats.]
’I can only fight them while being stealth.’ Asher muttered, and vanished from sight.
He slipped through the veil, blending seamlessly into the shadows. He switched on the system screen, and brought out a health potion: ’I got this when I invested in Juliana, didn’t know this Heaven-Tier potion will come in handy.’
Without hesitation, he gulped everything down, feeling the wave of energy flowing through him, wiping out his fatigue and injuries, restoring his health to his peak. The soothing, potent alchemy erased the phantom pain in his ears and closed the internal wounds caused by the Priestess’s scream.
{Health Point: 159,900/159,900.}
{Armor shield active: 5/10.}
’Before, I thought my stats are high, but seeing these guys... I discovered I was a frog in a well.’ He clenched his sword, his grip tightening until his knuckles turned white. He had spent his whole life trapped in the lower rungs of society, believing every incremental power increase was a massive triumph, only to realize how absurdly vast the world of true power was.
’But this frog is ready to hop out and face the whole world!!’
WHOOSH!!
{Judgement Strike - Activated.}
{Flash - Activated.}
{Sword Sovereign - Activated.}
He moved with incredible speed, slowing down the knights, dealing seven hundred thousand damage continuously. His red bone blade blurred in motion, tracing lethal arcs through the air. Asher didn’t slow, making sure he was hidden, as he finally took down one of the Knights, watching as its body fell to the ground, turning into ashes.
"Human, you keep angering me, today, you won’t leave here alive." The Priestess spoke again, hovering in the air, then raised both her hands over her head. Her ethereal voice reverberated off the ancient stone, filled with absolute divine indignation.
’Is this another Hidden attack?’ Asher thought, as a bright miniature sun appeared above her hands, illuminating the whole place, shattering Asher’s stealth, revealing him to the Knights. The blinding, incandescent light stripped away every shadow, exposing his position like a beacon in the night.
’Why do I always meet opponents that can destroy my stealth?! So annoying.’ Asher stared at the four remaining knights, who instantly closed the distance, dropping their swords on him. They moved in perfect unison, their heavy blades coming down like a guillotine.
BOOOOM!!
The attacks all smashed into an invisible barrier; the next moment, all the damage rebounded back at them.
BOOOOM!!!!
The whole set of knights, due to their already destroyed Defense, and weakened Health, all collapsed on the ground with 500% of their attack damage. The shockwave of reflected physical force shattered their armor and turned their stone-like flesh into dust.
[Soul Defense - Activated.]
"...?!"
The Priestess stared at him, stunned for a moment, her serene, divine composure fracturing at the sight of her vanguard instantly annihilated.
"All your Knights are gone!" Asher yelled, leaped towards the closest ball of light, and dropped his sword on it.
BOOM!!
The Light ball shattered into pieces, and without wasting a second, he moved to another. In just half a minute, he was done with all the five light balls, turning his attention to the Boss. He glided across the floor, methodically destroying her summoning conduits before she could spawn a fresh wave.
Asher opened his palm, as a ball of fire appeared again, which he tossed at the Boss:
"You are arrogant, Human!"
The Priestess murmured in a low voice, as her wings flapped heavily, sending the fireball flying. The violent gale generated by her massive feathery wings redirected the Aether-fueled fireball as if it were a harmless feather. Asher watched, stunned as it exploded on a wall, blasting a massive crater into the stone.
’Damn it!’ He cursed, watching as five more light balls separated from her body again.
"Not happening!!"
He shot forward; he could have gone into stealth, but it’s ineffective against the sun above. The only direct move now is to directly attack the Boss. He abandoned subtlety, channeling his stats into raw, forward momentum.
"Killing Intent!"
BAM!!!
Asher’s invisible aura smashed heavily into the Boss’s defense, creating small cracks on it, as he moved towards the pillars beside the Priestess.
[Magical Attack Damage: 401,289.]
[Priestess’s Defense: 1,118,711/1,520,000.]
’When in stealth, My magical attack is higher than this... I can’t physically attack her with her defense still standing.’
He clenched his Left hand into a fist, activating Killing Intent continuously:
’Luckily, killing intent doesn’t have a Cooldown, and it also doesn’t consume much energy; if I keep using it, I will kill the Boss soon.’ He thought, sending his energy into his feet, and started running up the pillar. His boots bit into the stone as he defied gravity, sprinting straight toward the ceiling.
WHOOSH!!
Five lights shot out from the balls, hitting the ground, ready to summon five more knight warriors.
"Now!"
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
Multiple Aura attacks smashed into the Boss without rest, easily destroying the shields, and got straight to her health point. Asher didn’t stop, and kept dealing four hundred thousand damage with his Aura. His aura battered her like an endless storm of invisible hammer blows.
Asher watched as the knight warriors walked out, and shot towards him without a moment of hesitation, while the moment he reached the peak, he stopped running, and pushed himself forward, shooting towards her like a missile, the pillar providing him the height and surface.
[Priestess’s Health Points: 4,815,292/8,000,000.]
"Devouring Blade!! First Skill!! Health Devourer!!" Asher yelled, as he got closer to her head, channeling the Mythic blade’s vampiric essence to deliver a decisive blow.
WHOOSH!!
With a blink, the five Knights appeared all around him, channeled their energies into their blades, and sent crescent blades towards him. The white energy arcs converged from five different angles in midair, locking him in an inescapable crossfire.
Asher frowned at the attacks; he could dodge, but doing that will prolong this battle. However, getting hit by the Knights will summon 25 more knights, making them 30.
What should he do??