Chapter 76: The Boss Was Also Cunning!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Stygianlock Centiking’s performance was a little disappointing to Qin Ruo though. Not only did it not put up a valiant fight like a Tier 4 Overlord should, it actually allowed a party with less than a hundred players to gang up on it. It even allowed itself to be stuck in the pit of a battle that remained in a stalemate the entire time! Where did all of the imposing manner of the Overlord go? It did not seem to even match the demeanor and resourcefulness of the Tier 3 Skeleton King.

Although less than forty Tier 4 ranged players could not cause great damage, if the circumstance of the situation continued this way, it would only be a matter of time before the Stygianlock Centiking tasted defeat and died…

After letting out a sigh, Qin Ruo was unable to fathom it deep down in his heart.

Nevertheless, the Stygianlock Centiking was fortunately not his goal. He never had such wild wishes on that regard as well. Even though he had questions about the current situation of the battle, he remained focused as he attentively memorized the details of the few respawn points behind him.

It was actually not difficult to move the Illuminating Crystal from its location. As long as he could control the Water Element to give the Illuminating Crystal a little bounce and blow without using full force, the Crystal would fall a little off to one side. He would not have to hit it and he would still be able to shift the range of illumination fifty meters away from the Potion material.

But the problematic part was the arrival of the four Bandits who had already gathered the Black Dragonfly Herbs and Earth Essences in the other two corners of the area. Qin Ruo was forced to abort the plan he thought so hard to come up with.

Naturally, he would not be stupid enough to reveal himself before the Bandits and attempt to reason with them about the “first come, first serve basis”. In the presence of a high-tier Potion material, let alone a stranger, even an acquaintance would likely not give face to the people they hold dear. Not to mention, Qin Ruo was merely a rookie Tier 3 Aquamancer in front of the others. Who would even pay attention to him?

After sighing gently, Qin Ruo kept his cool. He then anxiously retreated twenty meters away from where he stood. He felt disgruntled as he silently watched the four Bandits approach the fruit plant at the edge of the illuminated range from a few different directions. At the same time, they were also… gesturing at each other?

“Huh?”

Qin Ruo’s state of mind froze for a brief moment.

He then noticed three of the Bandits suddenly drawing out their weapons. They took out their short daggers and short swords as they squatted down to the ground. Their backs were faced against the fruit plant while their fronts were faced towards the dark corners in three different directions. They appeared to be vigilant and unwilling to let anyone else approach the plant behind them.

Qin Ruo froze again. He soon learned that the Bandits must have noticed that the two corners they sneaked past earlier were empty. They knew there was probably someone else around, hence why they behaved so cautiously.

Right as Qin Ruo revealed a smile on his face, he saw that the last of the four Bandits deactivated his Stealth. He swiftly entered the Illuminating Crystal’s range of light and squatted right before the fruit plant. Shortly after, he hastily extended his hands, which were glowing with a faint and misty, purplish light…

“Damn it!”

Qin Ruo gritted his teeth while he stared at everything that was going on in front of him from the dark. He never thought that the chance of obtaining the material would fall into the hands of another by the end of it. He never expected to discover the high-tier Potion material only to find out in the end that it was never meant for him to obtain anyway.

As frustrated as he was, he turned around and got ready to leave.

At that point in time, a weird, booming hiss echoed from the Stygianlock Centiking’s mouth all of a sudden. It had raised its upper body up… An unexpected anomaly had occurred!

Two dark brown orbs of light descended on the Bandit who was still squatting before the Violetjade Fruit. He was busy activating his Gathering when he saw a blinding light flash across his eyes. The faint purplish light swiftly faded from his hands and vanished without a trace. The Bandit fell feebly to the ground soon after.

The three other Bandits had their backs facing the dark at that time. When they heard the system notification announce the death of their friend, the color on their faces changed as they turned around one after another. They could only see two golden giant centipedes with their eyes. Along with a painful sting, their bodies were ripped through by a few poison needles…

*Hiss!*

In the distance, the ten players who were locked in combat with the Stygianlock Centiking drew a cold breath. Their faces turned pale as they gaped in shock at the two golden centipedes, which suddenly appeared around the Violetjade Fruit.

Two Tier 4 Elite Minibosses, “Adamantite Centipedes”…

Oh no!

Currently, most of their party’s forces had joined the formation to lay siege to the Stygianlock Centiking. Only a small number of them were tasked to fend off monsters that came from other directions. How would they gather enough men to handle the two newly-respawned monsters then?

The most infuriating thing for the Savage Berserker, who was the leader of the Clan Party, was the fact that all four of the Bandits he sent forward had been wiped out in an instant. Plus, he could not afford to mobilize the Priests to get over there and revive them at the moment…

It was utterly awful!

Before he could put more thought and consideration on the matter, the two golden centipedes crawled rapidly towards him like two pretty strips of golden ribbon once they had taken care of the Bandits. The Savage Berserker stared at the movement of the two golden centipedes, unable to prevent himself from frowning intensely—monsters with high Agility were the most difficult ones to deal with.

As a last resort, he had no other choice but to quickly mobilize two Radiant Priests, four Elementalists, two Bowmasters, and the remaining Beastblood Berserkers to handle the situation immediately. They intercepted the golden centipedes and lured them over to the side.

The Stygianlock Centiking suddenly began to behave out of the ordinary. It swung its gigantic tail and lashed out at the several Beastblood Berserkers, sending them flying into the distance. It did not stop as it immediately continued to slam two Beastblood Berserkers who entered the frontline as replacements to the previous Berserkers. It charged forward in a straight line, unusually ferocious as it plowed right through the Beastblood Berserkers’ blockade in the frontline…

“F*ck!”

The Savage Berserker barely blocked the gold centipedes’ assault and he almost snapped in anger. He did not expect the Boss to demonstrate its power after he left for a brief moment! What surprised him even more, was that the Stygianlock Centiking had only lost less than 20,000 HP up till then. The power it just demonstrated seemed like its true strength.

However, regardless of how desperate he was to change things around, he could not change the fact that a large number of Elementalists were being massacred.

Even though the players in the rear fearfully scattered in all directions, the circumstances remained very unfortunate for Elementalists and Radiant Priests. Mainly because they were under a Class where Movement Speed was extremely slow. On the contrary, the Stygianlock Centiking was extremely fast. How would it be possible for them to escape their inevitable fate of death?

In a few mere seconds, eight Radiant Priests and thirteen Elementalists were instantly killed in action…

After the first wave of the massacre, the Stygianlock Centiking identified the escape routes of the Radiant Priests and it continued to pursue them along the way. Amid the panicked curses and horrific screaming of over ten players, the Boss wiped out the Priests in that party until only two of them were left.

“Lure it away!”

“Lure it away quickly! Protect the Priests! Everyone else, just pick up your equipment and go!”

The Savage Berserker shouted so loudly that his voice began to turn husky. But then, the assault of the golden centipedes over his side was very pressing. He was unable to find even a single opportunity to get away. All he could do was witness how his party members were instantly killed one by one as pieces of equipment dropped and scattered about in a mess all over the ground. His heart felt like it was dripping blood while he watched the massacre unfold right before his eyes.

He waited until he found out that all of the Radiant Priests on the other side had been completely wiped out. None of them survived…

The Savage Berserker then swiftly briefed a few of the party members by his side with a couple of words. Only then did they begin to carry on the fight, while beating a retreat at the same time. They protected the last two remaining Priests as all of them retreated towards the passage.

During the battle, the Savage Berserker had inadvertently taken a quick glance at the location of the Violetjade Fruit. His eyes suddenly shrunk the moment he looked at that spot.

Within the Illuminating Crystal’s range of light… Why was he unable to see the shadow of the Violetjade Fruit?

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