Singund, the Tengu, Dog, and Spark came riding out of the bushes with Grumpy in the lead.
Once the two players of the Devastators noticed the new arrivals a new sense of discomfort gripped them. Being stuck between Skelly and two Bosses had already been a s.h.i.+tty situation, now that his reinforcements had arrived it had gotten even worse.
Dave activated his Aura Skill. [Infernal Tyrant"s Oppression] raged out, creating a magnified skull that looked down upon all living with disdain. The black flames from Dave"s aura countered the regenerative abilities of Guk-Drasiel. Even better, they pushed the players and the monk aside. All while acting as nourishment for Dave"s Undead.
"Since you were the first to play dirty, don"t blame me. Boyz, take them out!" Dave gave the command. Singund and Dog adhered immediately.
The Devastator players were old school. They had played against the odds countless times and right now was no different. Even with low HP, almost no mana and exhaustion from the continuous fight they did not shy away from this new challenge. They still welcomed Dave"s Undead with drawn weapons. Their weapons clashed with those of the Undead in a frightening match of epic swordplay.
"Spark, Tengu, support them," Dave grinned and hopped on Grumpy"s back.
"You"re with me buddy," Dave patted his mount with his sword aimed at Guk-Drasiel. "Let"s take down that big a.s.s tree."
Grumpy growled and charged ahead. The tree monster stomped a foot on the ground, creating ma.s.sive roots that shot out from the earth. They crumbled as they went up, but Grumpy moved and sidestepped them gracefully. Even with his hulking ma.s.sive size, his agility allowed him to dodge the incoming attacks as if he had previsualized where they"d come from.
The monk felt ignored. The pa.s.sivity and peaceful self he had once displayed was no more. Replaced by a frown showcasing his newfound nature on his face. He turned from a peaceful monk into a wrathful ashura.
"d.a.m.nable Undead, be prepared to be smited," the monk charged ahead with his staff twirling around him. He raised it up and slammed it down on Dave"s head. Only to have Dave hold up his s.h.i.+eld and absorb the attack yet again. One swift motion later, Dave turned the s.h.i.+eld and [Rejected] the Skill. A white energy ray smashed into Guk-Drasiel and sent it tumbling.
-150,144
It created a bizarre situation. The holy attack was still considered to have originated from the monk, so although Dave was the one who used it to attack, the aggro was generated on Cha-Zen. So the tree monster turned its attention to the monk.
Guk-Drasiel shuddered and shot out ma.s.sive amounts of spikes targeting everything in the vicinity. Dave held his s.h.i.+eld forward, negating some of the damage from the spikes and protecting Grumpy with him.
The Tengu flapped his wings powerfully, forcing the spikes away from him and Dog. Spark burnt the spikes in mid-air, while Singund, known for his masochism took the spears head-on. The High Orc grew mightier the lower his HP became and the more damage he took the more fearsome he became in facing the Devastators.
Valentine and Satan Slayer used their natural skills in dodging the attacks, moving aside or parrying them whenever possible. Emerging almost unscathed.
As for the monk, his rage knew no bound. He was swatting away the spikes and moving forward.
"d.a.m.nable things all of you! How dare you stand in my way?! So many Legacies, so many treasures given to those who do not have what it takes to wield them. You have no right to possess the power of G.o.ds. I shall take them away from you!"
The monk moved at blaring speed and struck Guk-Drasiel, smas.h.i.+ng the tree monster aside. Yet, he didn"t continue, he turned to Dave and stuck at him with his feet. Dave blocked the attack, but the power behind that kick could have come from a real G.o.d.
Dave was sent flying off Grumpy and cras.h.i.+ng into the pillar formations.
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"f.u.c.k that hurt!" Dave groaned as he stood from among the rubble.
The monk moved toward Satan Slayer who had been forced on the defensive for making the grave mistake of wounding Singund too much. The enraged High Orc didn"t notice the monk approaching and was suddenly swatted to the side with his divine staff. He flew through the air and crashed into the ground, tumbling the rest of the way until he was out of sight.
"Come!" the monk spoke and snapped his ma.s.sive prayer beads. The chain on his neck twisted around Satan Slayer like bolas and locked him in place. Cha-Zen slapped the Spear-Master on the chest. The very next moment Satan Slayer"s Legacy avatar appeared. To Dave, the avatar looked in pain. The red-haired spearman was roaring, his bare chest was being twisted and sucked in towards the monk. Satan Slayer couldn"t even cry out, his face locked into a twisted grimace.
"Slayer!" Valentine shouted but his friend remained unable to reply.
"Yes, this is the divine power I need! Give it up!!!"
Dave noticed that the monk"s muscles were rippling. He was gathering the red aura that was seeping out of Satan Slayer.
"This is not good," Dave mumbled.
Valentine hurried to his friend"s aid, but the monk used his other hand and smashed him aside.
"You"ll be next! Wait your turn!" the monk bellowed in a maddening fury.
Valentine was dumbstruck about what to do. The monk was too fast for him. Worse he was too powerful, and most of his Skills were down.
"f.u.c.k!" Valentine cursed and stood back up. He wanted to take another shot even if he knew it wouldn"t help. From the looks of it, the monk was in the midst of somehow stealing Satan Slayer"s Legacy, and that would be a crus.h.i.+ng blow to the Devastators. Satan Slayer was one of the very few people who had an A-Cla.s.s Legacy and with his winning streak in the Clash of G.o.ds he could perhaps soon upgrade it to S-Cla.s.s.
Dave watched carefully and weighed his options. If he allowed things to proceed the way they were going, the Devastators would lose a powerful Legacy, weakening them considerably. However, this would mean that the monk got what he wanted and Dave feared that he might become even stronger in the process. That would be a huge problem, especially because he seemed h.e.l.lbent on taking away all of the Legacies of those present.
Dave cursed and activated, [Stampede] heading toward the monk.
Valentine panicked as he noticed Dave charging.
"Skelly, what are you doing?" Valentine asked confused.
"Isn"t it obvious? Helping you," Dave answered. "You know how it goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Let"s deal with that a-hole together for now!"
The monk noticed Dave"s approach and held his staff defensively, stopping Dave"s charge.
The two were knocked aside for a moment then they clashed again. The Guk Drasiel had finally recovered its senses, but Dave"s Undead held it at bay for now.
"So many d.a.m.nable flies! Wait your turn, cursed Undead. I"ll take your power as well. And today, there will be no G.o.d to intervene!" the monk cackled menacingly.
"Like h.e.l.l, you will," Dave replied and swung his sword at the monk. The latter ducked, dodging the attack, but his hand was forced to let go of Satan Slayer"s chest. It was barely for a single moment, yet as soon as he did a huge portion of the absorbed divine aura returned to the player.
Dave understood that he needed to pull the two apart. Fortunately, it seemed that the monk either chose or was forced to stay close to his "victim."
"Alright you pesky monk, let me teach you how to fly," Dave feigned an attack and jumped on Satan Slayer"s foot as he shouted: "FUS RUH DAH MOTHERf.u.c.kER!"
Dave"s mouth opened inhumanly wide and a world-shaking roar blared out of his gullet. The powerful soundwave came out so unpredictable and so instantly that the monk was pushed away from Satan Slayer who was secured by Dave"s foot being sent sprawling in the air.
The disconnection between the two gave Satan Slayer a moment to breathe and all the aura returned to him.
Dave, however, wasn"t done, he twirled his gigantic sword and held it in an overhand grip, then he stabbed down right into Satan Slayer"s neck. Killing him instantly as he already didn"t have much HP.
"What the f.u.c.k did you do that for?" Valentine shouted, getting ready to pounce on the traitorous Draugr.
"Helping you, you dumba.s.s! It"s impossible to teleport out of this area. The only way out is if you die. So come let me help you with that," Dave responded pointing his sword at Valentine.
Valentine was a smart player and realized that what Dave said made sense. Looking a bit to his right, the monk was standing back up, and from the enraged look on his face, he wasn"t planning to let another victim leave the area. Valentine still had many things to do in the overworld and without his Legacy, their plan to take over the east was bound to fail. So, he unequipped his armor as fast as he could and turned around: "Make it quick!"
"With pleasure," Dave replied and his sword blurred, taking Valentine"s head with it.
"CURSES! CURSES UPON CURSES! d.a.m.nable Undead, I shall twist the bones out of your flesh and grind them to dust!" the monks" roar echoed through the Drow Kingdom.
Two Legacy players disappeared just like that. The easy prey had escaped his grasp. Now only Dave was left.
"Cry all you want bruh, those Legacies weren"t easy to get and I"ll be d.a.m.ned if I let you get them and become stronger."
Dave twirled his sword and placed it above his s.h.i.+eld like one of the spartan warriors. Poised forward he challenged the other confidently, "Now come at me!"
The monk moved like a torpedo, charging at Dave, but a sudden smash from Guk-Drasiel slammed him to the ground.
The monk, frustrated at yet another intervention bore through Guk-Drasiel"s hand with his staff and slammed it down upon his head. Then he began smas.h.i.+ng the weapon all over the Boss monster, facilitating Dave"s task into killing it.
The two Priests from the Devastators charged at the monk, but he snapped their necks in a single staff swing.
Dave panicked because the moment the Priests died, four parasites emerged out of their bodies and flew to latch onto, Dave, the Tengu, Singund, and the monk.
While the parasite was wriggling, trying to lodge itself into Dave"s body. Dog guided his basilisk toward the center of the battle. He hopped off and landed right between everyone in the vicinity, then he raised his foot up.
Suddenly, the world grew brighter, more golden in color. It was as if heaven itself opened up. A ma.s.sive armored boot appeared in the sky, causing s.p.a.ce to shake and twist.
Dave recognized the Skill, it was the same that Warlord had used. After the former owner of the G.o.d of War Legacy had used the same Skill, his link to divinity was restored and now it had appeared only a bit blurrier.
The foot landed right atop Guk-Drasiel and the monk. Cratering the ground and creating a deafening sound that threatened to burst everyone"s eardrums.
Waves of dust surged across the battlefield and a notification appeared in front of Dave.
***
Level UP!
Level UP!
The Node of Life has been obtained!
You have successfully gathered the Nodes of the Drow Kingdom. Place them in the kingdom"s altar to obtain control over the Fourth Raid Zone.
***
With the Boss dead, the parasites that had latched onto Dave and his company disappeared.
And once the dust settled, Dave noticed the monk laying on the floor. His robes were cut in several places and he had wounds all over him. The monk stood up with difficulty, his face bruised and bloodied.
Words came out gurgling through his mouth, "This is not the end!" he said and slammed his staff down, disappearing from the area.
"Okay… that was not expected," Dave said to no one in particular.
He had beaten back the crazy monk, gotten rid of the Devastators and was now on the verge of obtaining a new Raid Zone.
"One small step for me, one giant step for Undead kind. Now, to get to the Ash King I"ll be needing an upgrade. Abyssal Knight promotion, here I come!" Dave laughed as he fell back to rest on the ground.