Chapter 230 Overwhelming Fury
Translator: ASB Editor: _Lunaelle /EndlessFantasy Translation
Normally, whenever a Boss sp.a.w.ned, quite a number of monsters would also appear alongside it! Besides helping to make a big commotion, they also served to guard the Boss, making it necessary for players to team up in order to take them down.
Qin Ruo and Xiaoxiao just happened to witness the appearance of a Boss within Killer Bee Valley. However, because it was some distance away, and they were presently surrounded by Killer Bees, for now they could only make a rough note of its location. They couldn"t yet determine whether it was just a Miniboss or some kind of Elite Boss.
One thing for certain: there was no way something like an Overlord could appear here, so whatever it was, Qin Ruo was not overly concerned.
Stepping forward and purposely drawing a large mob of Killer Bees toward himself, Qin Ruo simultaneously drew five Frostramparts forward.
"Burst!" Qin Ruo hollered as he drove them into the midst of the Killer Bees, the overlapping Frost Novas instantly wiping out several dozen of the monsters at once.
Following close behind, Xiaoxiao was eager to do her part as well. With a single Compressed Frost Bullet, she put paid to a few Killer Bees which had managed to slip through the perimeter. In this way, she saved Qin Ruo some measure of effort on his part.
Continuing onward, Qin Ruo continued to draw the Killer Bees" attention, now using Mana Drain before resuming the pattern of raising up an Aquarampart, flash-freezing it, and then detonating it amidst another swarm!
At this blinding pace, Qin Ruo and Xiaoxiao cut a swathe across the valley until they finally came within sight of the Golden Killer Bee: a Tier 3 Elite Boss, with over twenty-five thousand HP.
The head of the Golden Killer Bee appeared no different from that of a typical Killer Bee, but for its bright golden wings which flashed through the air with blinding radiance, ceaseless as a perpetual engine. Even more obvious a difference could be seen upon its body, which seemed to be coated entirely in gold dust. From its feelers all the way to the tip of the stinger protruding from its stout abdomen, everything was golden.
Xiaoxiao keeping behind him, Qin Ruo approached the Golden Killer Bee, but it immediately sensed them and whirled around, its wings flapping even faster in agitation. All around them, every single Killer Bee began to do the same.
Buzz! Buzz!
The sound of a hundred Killer Bees hovering in unison seemed to press in on Qin Ruo, growing in volume until it was deafeningly loud in his ears.
His Barrier did not protect him against sound.
Though it did not actually do any damage to him, the noise a.s.saulted his mind, making it hard to concentrate. Worse, he was horrified to find that he had lost control of the five Aquaramparts he had been carrying forward, as though he couldn"t quite impose his will upon them.
Slos.h.!.+
The five Aquaramparts nearly collapsed on the spot!
"Freeze!"
In that critical instant, Qin Ruo summoned all his willpower, and in a sudden moment of clarity, he forcefully willed the five Aquaramparts to freeze!
It was still less than ideal: though the Frostramparts had indeed been formed, and it was nice that they were between them and the Killer Bees, the problem now was that their movement had become painfully slow, like a beaten-up old car, just chugging along one inch at a time.
Meanwhile the Killer Bees drew ever closer, and all the while that disquieting, insidious buzzing was growing ever louder! The sound seemed to pa.s.s right through his ears and straight into his head, throwing all his thoughts into chaos. He completely lost control of half of the Frostramparts.
He watched three of the Frostramparts beginning to melt away right before his eyes. The remaining two stubbornly refused to move, and began to waver dangerously, on the brink of collapse as well.
This was bad! What the h.e.l.l was going on, here?
Confused and frustrated, Qin Ruo struggled to shake off the mind-numbing effect of the buzzing, but it was at that moment that he realized even his own body was no longer obeying his will. Under the influence of that droning sound, his limbs seemed to lock up, only his mouth still under his control. His Barrier offered absolutely no defense at all against this form of attack.
Paralyzed and unable to control his magic, Qin Ruo knew he was finished. To think the day would come when he would be defeated by a group of Tier 3 monsters! Lost to despair, he gritted his teeth and roared, "Xiaoxiao, run!"
Even as the words left his mouth, three Aquaramparts sped past him, while his five pathetic pools of half-melted slush were now beginning to reform once more into glittering Frostramparts!
"What is this?"
A thought occurred to him, but before he could fully work it out, he heard Xiaoxiao"s voice behind him, trembling a little as she screamed, "Burst!"
From the furthest depths of Killer Bee Valley rose a tremendous plume of snow and frost, an exquisite blossom of wintry white, spreading high into the air. The ma.s.sed swarms of Killer Bees plunged into the blizzard, like moths diving into a flame, and vanished forever.
Overwhelming fury!
Instantaneously, that horrible buzzing noise all but disappeared!
As those eight Frostramparts detonated, Qin Ruo could feel the grogginess lifting, and he suddenly broke free of the daze.
"Well done!" Qin Ruo hollered in approval. Unable to spare even a moment to have a look at who had rescued him, his hands deftly retrieved a magic scroll from his backpack, swiftly casting its spell at the pinp.r.i.c.k of golden light darting out from the snowstorm.
"Snow Eagle Dive!"
Phew!
At the same time, bursting out of the blinding flurry of snow, the Golden Killer Bee paused in mid-air, flicked its tail in his direction, and sent a golden poison needle hurtling towards him.
Bam!
Ding!
Both attacks found their targets at the same time, but Qin Ruo clearly had the upper hand: the Darkfrost s.h.i.+eld flashed into sight, blocking the mortal blow from the Boss monster. Meanwhile, the Snow Eagle fell upon the Golden Killer Bee"s comparably tender behind, gouging out six b.l.o.o.d.y wounds.
Blood splattered everywhere. Even a Boss as powerful as the Golden Killer Bee was dealt over five hundred damage by this vicious strike from Qin Ruo. The wound was caked with a layer of frost, tinged with crimson, which arrested the monster"s movements, slowing it by 20%.
"Freeze!"
Qin Ruo took advantage of this opportunity to withdraw, while hurriedly raising a Frostrampart between himself and the Boss.
"Xiaoxiao, keep it up with the Frostramparts!"
"Right!" Xiaoxiao replied cheerfully.
That moment when she had simultaneously detonated eight Frostramparts to disrupt the mesmerizing effect of that buzzing, not only was she certain it had impressed him, it also got her blood rus.h.i.+ng at a boil, a sensation of achievement she had never before experienced. This was not only the first time she had really been a part of a Boss battle, it was also the first time she had felt such a thrill of danger. In just a moment, she was wholly intoxicated.
When Qin Ruo gave her that command, she knew that he had finally acknowledged her as an actual player, an equal partner in combat. Without hesitation, she drew upon everything she"d learned over these past few days, following in Qin Ruo"s footsteps: while retreating, draw water into an Aquarampart alongside yourself…
Qin Ruo could not pause for even a moment, either.
He was forming an Aquarampart as well, but with quick, deft motions, nearly twice as fast as Xiaoxiao.
Bang! Bang!
In those few moments as he retreated, the Golden Killer Bee, even with its movement slowed down, never relented on its attacks. The only thing that Qin Ruo found odd was that its attack routines were surprisingly simplistic.
Besides the tail stinger it had already demonstrated earlier, it also issued a cloud of mysterious golden powder, which burst all over Qin Ruo"s form but didn"t seem to do him any harm whatsoever. It was either a poisonous attack, or solely meant to apply negative conditions upon its target.
The Golden Killer Bee"s attacks were all being defeated by Qin Ruo"s multi-layered defenses, and the endurance of the enchantments had not even fallen by half.
Once Qin Ruo had prepared eight Aquaramparts, he suddenly shouted, "Once you"ve frozen them, transfer your Frostramparts over to me."
"Huh? Oh! Got it!"
Xiaoxiao responded quickly despite all the confusion, immediately freezing her four Aquaramparts solid and then s.h.i.+fting them over to either side of Qin Ruo, so that they could be combined with the eight he already had before him…
And then she realized what it was he planned to do!
Before this, Qin Ruo had lost control of a Frostrampart, and it had begun to melt away. However, she had noticed his blunder, and as he was forced to withdraw his control over the ready-made Frostrampart, she had seized control of it instead!
This was probably what Qin Ruo had in mind.
A moment ago, Xiaoxiao could not fathom Qin Ruo"s intentions, but as she sent forth her Frostramparts to him, her eyes lit up!
Hastily she withdrew her control over the Frostramparts.
The instant her will receded from them, and they immediately began to melt a little, right away Qin Ruo a.s.sumed control over the four Frostramparts she had delivered.
Foom!
Twelve Frostramparts Formation, ready!