Chapter 55 – The Rhythm of a Boss Battle (1/2)
Chapter 55 – The Rhythm of a Boss Battle
The Treant King’s extremely thick bark served as an effective defense against the players’ attacks. Therefore, the damage they dealt could be considered quite decent.
The king indignantly roared as it hoisted its massive arm into the air and swiped at Bai Kaisui (Plain Boiled Water).「Bang!」Its gigantic branch of an arm slammed into his shield. However, Bai Kaisui kept his centre of gravity low and allowed the shield to absorb the majority of the impact. It resulted in him being pushed back a few steps; however, he ran forward and closed the distance immediately. Bai Kaisui felt grateful for the advice given to him prior, of how he should remain stable and firm. Sure enough, it became quite useful in this situation. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have merely been pushed back a few steps in such an exchange; rather, he would have likely been sent flying.
Those strikes were quite horrifying, each one reducing his health by eighty or so points. However, he was the sole person able to withstand its attacks, as the other frontliners would inevitably die within two strikes.
Beams of gentle light fell on the players who were in a melee with the boss. In the meantime, Nie Yan evaluated the strength of the team’s healers. Of the three Priests who knew Lesser Heal, the main one healed roughly sixty health while the remaining two barely reached fifty. Not that high. Things will likely get dangerous later. Seems like it’s best to remain careful and not leave anything to chance.
Due to the efforts of Bai Kaisui and the other frontliners, the flow of the battle stabilized. Thus, the Mages could begin steadily casting their magic.
「Cast fire elemental magic as much as possible and avoid ice magic. It won’t be effective since the boss’ ice resistance is too high,」Nie Yan ordered and circled round the Treant’s back since his profession received a damage bonus, thirty percent, while attacking opponents from behind. Paired with his exceptional equipment, his attacks easily pierced its strong defenses.
Sparks flew off its body and into the air as magic poured from the sky. Its health had been gradually chipped away and now neared seventy percent.
「Do any of our Priests have Dispel?」
「One of them does!」
「Great! Pay attention to Bai Kaisui! Immediately cast Dispel when the boss casts the fear debuff on him. Don’t be slow; even a second can cost us a lot of trouble!」Nie Yan said.
The Priest felt somewhat anxious as he listened to Nie Yan’s instructions. After all, he was still a novice at the game.
He was nicknamed Bamboo Pole by Bai Kaisui and the others due to his naturally lanky build. He felt quite nervous at the moment, anxiously gripping his staff while his muscles appeared to have been frozen stiff. However, Nie Yan noticed his apprehension and spoke reassuringly.「Relax a bit. I’ll remind you when the time comes, so all you’ll have to do is cast Dispel on my signal.」
Afterward, Bamboo Pole shot a grateful glance at Nie Yan.
Just as its health reached seventy percent, the boss released a deep roar that sent shivers down everyone’s spine.
Meanwhile, Bai Kaisui halted his attacks and involuntarily retreated back while his movements became extremely rigid.
「Dispel!」Nie Yan shouted through the team’s voice chat. Without delay, Bamboo Pole cast Dispel and a bright light illuminated Bai Kaisui from above.
Bai Kaisui had only retreated a few steps when feared. He charged back into battle and slammed his shield at the Treant King with Shield Bash.
「Not bad!」Nie Yan praised.
Bamboo Pole instantly felt relief seeing as his spell succeeded.
Following Nie Yan’s directions, the entire team fell into the rhythm of battle. Coupled with the fact that he knew the Treant King’s actions in advance, its health bar steadily fell lower.
It’s using Lash!
The Treant King lifted its vines and sent them lashing at Bai Kaisui.
「Priests, prepare to heal Bai Kaisui in three… two… one… now!」
A gentle shower of light shone on Bai Kaisui and his health continuously teetered up and down; the line separating life and death lay on a razor thin edge. However, thanks to the Priests, his health managed to hold until the end.
Nie Yan, on the other hand, released a flurry of attacks from behind. Roughly three minutes later, the entire team had steadily chipped away as its health fell to merely twenty-five percent.
「Priests, how much mana remaining?」
「67!」
「56!」
「23!」
「The Priest with twenty-three mana, drink your Mana Potion!」
The Priest downed a Basic Mana Potion after Nie Yan called him out.
…
Suddenly, the Treant King transformed into a shade of red.
「Finally… Everyone, get ready! Bai Kaisui, switch to a defensive stance! Mages, increase your damage output! Priests, prepare yourselves!」Nie Yan shouted. Bai Kaisui, in the moment he heard these instructions, held the shield to his chest and switched stances.