Chapter 283: Each One Stronger Than the Last
Faye Yardley had to admit that Tiberius, Bella Dillon, Mike, and even Kingston were far fiercer than her own people.
Seeing that they still had energy to spare after flawlessly defending their own sectors, Faye Yardley had them assist the people nearby. Then, she ordered the other teammates whose health indicators had turned orange-yellow to return to the raft and rest, swapping in a fresh group.
The others, including Master Veridian, didn’t try to push through it. They rested if they needed to rest and treated their wounds if they were injured. It was better to recover fully before going back down to relieve their teammates.
Master Veridian somewhat regretted preparing too few explosive talismans.
His supply had run out not long into the second wave.
Zachary Pierce and Zephyr Sterling were the only other ones who had been holding their ground since the very beginning.
Ever since eating the meat that contained Divinity, Zephyr Sterling had gained a healing and recovery superpower. His self-healing ability was incredibly potent; his wounds would close up almost as soon as the blood began to seep out.
So far, aside from being unable to set foot on the Isle of Damnation again, no other side effects had been discovered.
Zachary Pierce swung his two-meter greatsword with menacing force. His defensive sector was filled with uneven reefs, which conveniently gave him plenty of footholds to move around.
He didn’t possess Faye Yardley’s ability to float and walk on water as if it were solid ground, but even so, he held his defensive line firmly.
A considerable number of contaminated creatures were also trampled to death by Bella’s hooves. Whenever Cole Kensington wasn’t needed to ferry people back and forth for rotations, he would dismount and charge into a sector, unleashing absolute carnage.
Wave after wave of red-tinged contaminated creatures washed over the previous all-black ones, and then the system’s notification sounded again.
[Congratulations, player Faye Yardley, for defending against the second wave of contaminated creatures. The third wave will now begin.]
Faye Yardley subconsciously glanced at the watch on her wrist. It showed that the time was exactly 1:00 PM.
’The monsters are definitely getting stronger with each wave,’ Faye thought. ’But I’m already getting worn out just dealing with the second wave of black-and-red ones.’
’The others can’t be doing much better than me.’
At this point, the defense was mainly being held up by the giant-sized Mike, Bella Dillon in her true Merfolk form, and Tiberius with his freezing abilities.
Everyone else could only pick off the stragglers that slipped through, effectively falling back to a secondary defensive line.
Faye Yardley seized the moment before the third wave of red, silver-glowing creatures arrived and sprinted toward her raft.
’I have no choice,’ she thought. ’The only people left to ask for help are Nora Nash and Dahlia White. As for Momo, Ludo, and Melissa Chapman, my connection with them is even weaker. Still, I can try inviting everyone but Melissa Chapman. Who knows, maybe they’re just looking for a little excitement?’
’As for Melissa Chapman... if I invite her, I’m afraid she’ll try to tear me to pieces first, even though I know perfectly well there’s nothing going on between me and Island Master Nora Nash.’
’But at a critical moment like this, it’s better not to take the risk.’
Back on the raft, she was surprised to find that Bramble had woken up.
Its branches were thrashing about wildly, stabbing into the contaminated creatures with perfect accuracy. It could quickly suck them dry, leaving behind desiccated husks.
"Bramble, you’re amazing! System, move the raft out a little."
[The raft cannot be moved at will during the attack by the contaminated creatures.]
Faye Yardley grunted twice, then had Bramble leave the raft and enter the sea on its own.
The Bramble branches that had been tightly wrapped around Goliath gradually loosened and sank into the seawater.
Then, she sent invitations to her friends on All World Communication, explaining that she needed their help to fend off the contaminated creatures.
To her surprise, Ludo and Momo were so enthusiastic that they came over the very moment they received the invitation.
In contrast, Dahlia White and Nora Nash, the two she had initially pinned her hopes on, showed no activity. Her messages to them were still unread.
’They’re not available!’
Faye Yardley realized the two of them must be busy.
"Earl, Ludo, thank you so much for coming to help. Just a moment, I’ll swap two people back."
Momo chuckled. "This is quite interesting. I haven’t left my clan’s territory in a very long time."
’Stir-crazy, huh?’
Ludo also had a look of excitement on his face as he watched the dense swarm of contaminated creatures rushing over the sea’s surface.
Faye Yardley had no idea what he was so excited about.
Gavin Donovan, who was fighting not far from the raft, was the first to be called back.
"You two, Bramble is mine. Please don’t kill it while you’re fighting the monsters."
It had to be said, Momo the Vampire Clan Earl was incredibly fierce, and he wasn’t afraid of water.
Ludo was interesting too. Just like Bella Dillon, he transformed into his true Merfolk form the moment he hit the water. His dark green, dragon-like true form gave Faye Yardley quite a start.
With their addition to the fight, even though the third wave of contaminated creatures was powerful, they were still held firmly outside the island’s perimeter.
Faye Yardley chugged another Physical Potion and an Energy Potion, then charged out as well.
Linda Shepherd crouched beside Ethan Yardley and whispered, "President Yardley, do you know who these people Yardley invited are?"
Ethan Yardley rolled his eyes in annoyance, then simply closed them, his expression clearly saying, ’I don’t know, so stop asking me.’
Zachary Pierce had been rotated back. As a teammate bandaged him up, he sighed, "This is only the second wave of the Island Master quest, and we can’t use human-wave tactics. It seems we wouldn’t be able to succeed even if we got the chance."
"Pierce, don’t you know any powerful people? You could just call for backup like Yardley did."
Zachary Pierce looked at Linda Shepherd. "If you know people this powerful, we’ll let you take the lead next time there’s a chance to become an Island Master. We’ll be your support. Holding off the first two waves shouldn’t be a problem."
He remained standing, watching the battle outside. ’As expected, even her plant is incredibly strong. Bramble has spread out completely, holding three defensive sectors all on its own.’
’And Faye Yardley herself is ridiculously strong, too. The timid little girl who used to hide behind me has become stronger than me in the blink of an eye.’
As time went on, the contaminated creatures’ assault grew more and more ferocious.
But the defenders prevented them from advancing another inch.
Around 4:00, two more figures appeared on the raft one after another.
Just as Cole Kensington returned with the injured Barrett Thorne, Nora Nash stepped onto the raft. "Kingston, is she doing okay?"
"Master, she’s holding up well." Cole Kensington was covered in wounds himself, but he had no time to stop.
Nora Nash grunted in acknowledgment. The next moment, she had reappeared on the sea’s surface, nearly ten meters from the raft.
She walked forward, step by step. No one saw how she attacked, but the contaminated creatures before her all turned to ash and vanished from the sea.
"Island Master Nash..." An expression of shock appeared on Zachary Pierce’s face for the first time. He turned his head and saw the same astonishment on Ethan Yardley’s face.
But as it turned out, because their invitation time was up, they vanished directly from Faye Yardley’s raft.
Tiberius, Zephyr Sterling, and the other first-wave invitees were also involuntarily removed.
Dahlia White looked left and right, then winked at Linda Shepherd. "Well, I’m off to help too~"
With that, her entire body floated away.
"These reinforcements are stronger than the last. What have I even been doing here?" Linda Shepherd thought. She decided she had to at least snag one monster to kill in the last few minutes.