Liam led the charge, appearing behind the tomb raider. His swords moved fluently, cutting at the tattered white shirt which billowed in the chaos. With his ultimate activated he easily stacked holy marks, triggering them with a violent [Double Slash].
[-418!]
Liam's holy marks dealt considerable damage, but his normal attacks were capped at 87 points. He didn't even need to look to know that others were facing an even harder time. Some guild members' damage didn't exceed the single digits.
Thus, everyone opted to throw out their skills to increase their threat.
The close-ranged fighters rotated positions, those with cooldowns waiting at the back. A routine formed quickly as Vren's HP began to decrease.
Surrounded by the nearly 350 players however, the world boss didn't reveal any anxiousness. He kept attacking Radiant Shield.
The tank was under enormous pressure blocking Vren. But he wasn't without support.
Melodious Edelweiss's graceful voice rang through the battlefield, the power of a bard was demonstrated for all to see. Her [Song of courage] gave a small boost to all stats.
Unfortunately, her skill wasn't at a high enough level, its range not enough to fill the entire valley. But with her and the various healers Radiant Shield was confident to hold out for a while.
The tank even decided to preserve some of his stance in case Vren had a powerful single target skill. Though tanking the world boss's normal attacks was no easy feat either.
[-558!]
[-297!]
[-297!]
Radiant Shield's HP fluctuated wildly. As soon as he blocked another three daggers, Balm's [Regeneration] fell on him.
[+954!]
After a few seconds the ranged attackers had used most of their readily available skills. After a big burst of damage, they now entered a lull either starting new casts or using their auto attacks.
Despite the trickle, Vren's HP were soon reduced by 25.000 points, upon which the boss took a step back. A black magic played around his legs, carrying him out of the encirclement.
"I didn't expect you to call for help, Lephrin. But this won't save you!"
A flash ran through the world boss's black eyes as his body bent forward. He crossed his daggers in front of his chest, resembling sharp fangs eager to drink blood.
Liam was fully focused on the fight, recognizing the upcoming skill instantly.
[Bleary Mirage: Ranged fighters, keep attacking! He can't hit you up there. Melees, be careful!]
No sooner had Liam warned his guild members did Vren make his move. Suddenly five black lines spread from the world boss in different directions, crossing the guild members.
Those standing within the black lines felt palpitations, attempting to evade hastily. However, although the guild members left some space between each other at the beginning, many didn't pay attention during the earlier fight.
Now that they needed to dodge, they suddenly found others blocking their way.
"Hey, why are you blocking me?!"
"Get away!"
"Imbadu, quick, dodge!"
Vren grinned at the chaotic scene, a black air surging around him making him look like the embodiment of death. Suddenly he vanished.
Five images of Vren stormed along the black lines. Their speed was incredible, the red daggers leaving long trails in the air. Those who didn't manage to dodge in time were cut mercilessly.
[-1867!]
[-2140!]
[-2014!]
Radiant Shield looked at one of the tanks standing not far away. The woman in heavy white armor instinctively tried to block with her shield but the massive damage shattered her stance, still taking more than 1500HP away.
If even tanks received this much damage, it was naturally much worse for those squishy classes. One thief, still at level 18 was caught between others when Vren's daggers arrived.
Painting a red cross on the thief's chest the world boss claimed his first victim. The poor thief was filled with despair, fearing he might get evicted from the guild, knowing that countless people were eying his spot.
An eerie, excited laughter echoed through the valley. Four Vrens vanished, leaving only the original standing at the back of the crowd.
Magic, bolts, arrows, and more immediately swarmed towards him but the world boss didn't care. He slowly lowered his posture again, preparing to repeat the attack.
But at this moment lightning suddenly surged all around him, blocking his path. Vren split into five images rushing into the crowd. The melee fighters began to panic knowing that an attack was coming from the back. They hastily turned around only to see the five black lines vanishing.
[Cyclone: Haha, I'm the best!]
[Silver Blade: Wow, amazing Cyclone!]
[Bleary Mirage: Good job!]
[Fortune: Great chance!]
Bleary Mirage was genuinely impressed by Cyclone. Her [Lightning Cage] actually managed to stun the world boss. Although the smaller disparity in levels played a role, the key factor was still her outrageous luck.
Everyone knew though that the stun wouldn't last long. Fortune moved her staff hurriedly to make use of the opportunity.
Standing on a broader part of the path leading up the valley's sides, the mage pointed with her staff, gathering an enormous amount of mana. The surrounding mages looked at her in awe.
"That's what a mage should be like."
"Yes, although she has long cast times, her spells are impressive!"
"Damn, my flames barely tickle that boss. Let's see what Fortune can do."
Fortune had no attention to spare for others, focusing entirely on aiming her spell. The mages were somewhat far from the boss, increasing the difficulty.
Fortune's body tensed up as the first arcane bolt left her staff. With a fierce sound similar to a bullet it shot through the air, slamming heavily into the boss's shoulder, yanking his body around.
[-174!]
Vren scrunched his face for a moment, before returning to his grin. He lowered his body again, black lines spreading in different directions. Another bolt slammed into him just before he disappeared.
The guild members showed less panic as Vren repeated the same skill. But the world boss still managed to land some hits due to his high speed. One warrior looked at his emptying HP par in disbelief. Inwardly he cursed those healers who focused on others first and didn't help him in time.
But he ignored that he was the only one who got hit by the skill twice. Liam coincidentally glanced at the man. Seeing the latter's expression he mentally noted down the warrior's name.
But he was quickly distracted as a black line crossed his chest. Liam didn't panic, gracefully stepping aside. The next second a gust of wind ruffled his hair as Vren passed by, the red trail following him bringing a bloody smell to Liam's nose.
Thanks to the healers' efforts there were no casualties this time. Vren revealed himself at the other end of the valley, his back to the crowd, head tilted upwards.
"Didn't we swear to ever have each other's back? How could you betray me, Lephrin?!"
Vren's voice sounded with disappointment, trying to infect the guild members with his emotions.
But the players only felt excitement fighting the world boss, tirelessly attacking.
The world boss's eyes twitched faintly as he didn't achieve his desired effect. He turned around, mustering the melee fighters with his terrifying black eyes.
[Bleary Mirage: Turn the formation, make way for the tanks!]
The situation was rather chaotic as the tanks now stood at the back of the crowd considering Vren's point of view. The other melee combatants had no clear direction, moving like headless flies, blocking the tanks.
Vren took another step forward, putting pressure on everyone's hearts before suddenly vanishing.
Radiant Shield didn't have a clear vision on the boss. He only felt a threatening sensation before Vren appeared in his eyes, red daggers already aiming for the tank.
[-614!]
[-307!]
[-307!]
Inhaling sharply, Radiant Shield was surprised by the fierce damage.
[Radiant Shield: What's going on? Why did his damage increase?]
[Bleary Mirage: It increases temporarily after killing someone.]
[Radiant Shield: More than a thousand HP, that's not week...]
[Balm: Don't worry, my team will keep you alive!]
[Bleary Mirage: I'm more worried about the bleed stacks...]
Liam found Radiant Shield in the crowd, where he was surrounded by various guild members, who were now all affected by the bleed. Some squishy thieves lost up to 400HP per second, putting them at considerable risk.
Yet they didn't draw back immediately, eager to get their skills of. The initial order was disturbed, slowing down the fight.
Some of the ranged fighters, like Braag, also had to be careful as their big skills often dealt friendly fire, making them apprehensive. Thus, the decrease of Vren's HP bar slowed down giving the boss an opportunity to freely attack Radiant Shield.
Even the guild's healers couldn't continuously keep his HP bar filled as their skills were also plagued by cooldowns. Radiant Shield assessed the situation for a moment, deciding to employ his [Holy Barrier] to buy some time.
Everyone felt some relief. The situation stabilized. Gradually the melee fighters managed to return into formation, attacking in an orderly manner.