When Liam arrived, he found Seytor and Repha embroiled in a violent fight. The enemy had two melee and two ranged fighters, all clad in dark armor, and of varying races.
Yet it was Seytor and Repha who had the upper hand. The small dwarf showed a power unexpected from his size. Wherever his heavy flail moved the air stirred and craters would form in the ground.
Seytor's face was fervent, prepared to exchange injury for life. Whenever the enemy's blade hit his bare upper body, it was as if they struck the finest steel, barely making a scratch.
Yet what answered them was Seytor's flail aiming for their chest, crashing oppressively like a mountain. If the enemy wasn't nimble enough, they would be at risk of being crushed to pieces.
Only by working together could the Dark Heralds keep Seytor at bay. But the dwarf wasn't the only threat they faced.
Vicious arrows whistled through the air, traveling at a tricky angle. The enemies were forced to dodge hastily, often leaving them wide open for attacks. Repha and Seytor didn't miss these opportunities pressing their advantage.
Sometimes it might seem as if Repha's arrow missed but when it hit the ground vines suddenly grew, whipping the enemies from behind, putting them in a difficult spot.
The Dark Heralds would then make use of dark magic to wither the vines, pitching their mana against Repha's.
Liam watched from a safe distance, marvelling at the powerful moves. Memories came to his mind from a time when he was at his peak, releasing arrows like a machine gun, every single one of them strong enough to eliminate someone like the elite Dark Heralds.
As he was lost in thoughts voices finally reached his ears.
"Wow, Repha and Seytor are so strong!", exclaimed Cyclone, drawing Liam's attention.
The mage stared wide-eyed at the spectacular scene accompanied by her group, all showing similar expressions.
"I was already impressed by Repha earlier. But even against stronger enemies she still proves her prowess. Simply amazing!"
Fortune generously praised the wood elf, eager to record the fight, planning to put the scene in one of her videos. Compared to fights between players a fight between NPCs often looked more exciting, as the NPCs acted with less limitations as if purposefully putting on a show.
"Repha is not bad but I'm more surprised by Seytor! Without any armor he faces those warriors' weapons as if they were made from cotton!", said Silver Blade.
The others nodded in agreement. Before this mission they didn't have many expectations for the dwarf. Now they were amazed by his fighting strength.
The party continued watching with relish while waiting for the group of Radiant Shield, Bloody Edge, and Watchful Eye.
But as the seconds ticked by Cyclone frowned faintly, voicing a thought which came to her mind:
"Expert, do we even need to fight? It looks like Repha and Seytor alone are enough."
"One could think so, yeah. I guess it won't be so easy unfortunately. Best case scenario, those black-armoured guys will always find a way to avoid a killing blow at the last second. But in the worst case they will retreat into the castle, and we will be forced to help more people to lure them out again."
"Hmm and what if we let them retreat... and repeat this until we saved all the people?"
Liam opened his mouth but even he was stumped by the question. He could only shake his head and speak in an uncertain tone:
"I guess C would figure something out..."
"Wow, even our expert is clueless?", asked Cyclone with a chuckle, her expression mischievous. "Now I really want to give it a try."
The other friends found it amusing, chiming in on the discussion but Silver Blade knew how to easily change her bestest friend's opinion:
"Well, I guess then we won't be getting the loot of the five bosses..."
Instantly Cyclone's eyes turned stern. She put her hands on her hips, staring at her friends, revealing some of the demeanour of a successful guild leader:
"Ok guys. Stop joking around. We have bosses to kill!"
Everyone was taken aback for a moment before being assaulted by a strong urge to laugh. But they didn't want to make fun of Cyclone, thus pressing their mouths closed, turning their laughter into a series of snorts.
Balm found it amusing and suddenly poked Cyclone's waist, causing her to yelp and stare angrily at her friend. Finally, the others couldn't hold back any longer and erupted in laughter.
When Radiant Shield approached the group, he found them laughing happily. He asked in confusion:
"Have we missed something?"
"Shield!", greeted Cyclone happily. "Finally, you are here! Come, we have bosses to kill. Lead us into battle!"
Radiant Shield's group was taken by surprise. The others quickly brought them up to speed. Finally, the party was ready for battle.
Radiant Shield and Silver Blade took the lead. They approached the battle carefully, swiftly crossing an invisible line. Suddenly all the NPCs glanced at the players, behaving as they had been invisible until this moment and now appeared unexpectedly.
Seytor laughed heartily, his loud voice causing the enemies to tremble:
"Haha, adventurers. You are here!"
One of the black-clothed warriors, a female original nephilim with pale skin and black makeup around her eyes, stared at the players, hissing angrily:
"Adventurers! Don't you dare to meddle in our affairs! Master Taragal is not someone you want to have for an enemy!"
"Taragal can't even take care of himself right now! The tyrant is bound to fall!", countered Seytor.
A pair of sharp eyes immediately focused on Seytor, revealing undisguised murderous intent. They belonged to a feminine man in tight black leather armor. Tattoos of vines could be seen on his bare, pale hands as he wielded the leaves of black roses as his weapons.
The man was a dark elf, following Taragal out of pure admiration. He immediately refuted Seytor's words:
"Master Taragal is a genius on par with the ancestors of magic! He will create his own magic system, wielding the most powerful dark magic throughout Crunaboul! No one can stop him!"
"Really? We will see!"
Seytor laughed provocatively. Just as the enemies were about to focus him, one of them spoke in a commanding voice:
"War, Sin, you deal with those adventurers. We will hold back the others!"
The dark elf and nephilim who had just spoken nodded with gritted teeth. Throwing one last poisonous glance at Seytor they separated from the fight and rushed towards the players.
Finally, the real battle began. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield didn't need to discuss in order to know who should face which enemy.
They focused while briefly using [Inspect].
[Sin, the fifth Dark Herald
Rank: Lord
Level: 30
HP: 10.650/10.650]
[War, the fourth Dark Herald
Rank: Lord
Level: 30
HP: 13.200/13.200]
As the enemies came closer Radiant Shield took a few steps forward. He slammed his hammer against his shield, producing a wave of holy light which washed over War, the female nephilim, drawing her aggro.
His move allowed Silver Blade to pass by the enemy without having to worry about being attacked, closing the distance towards the dark elf called Sin. A grey aura surrounded her as [Aura of the sloth] was quickly becoming Silver Blade's favourite skill.
The tanks positioned themselves, obstructing the lords, stable as boulders, allowing the rest of the party to attack freely.
"Focus the nephilim! She's more troublesome!"
Silent Acacia was just about to take aim at Sin when Liam's warning reached him. He diverted his arrow at the last moment. The projectile whistled through the air, surprisingly missing its target.
"Babe?", asked Quickstep, puzzled. This sight was a first for her.
Silent Acacia felt a hint of embarrassment, mumbling quietly:
"Could've warned us earlier..."
The others also showed surprise, only realizing now that their attacks could miss. The ranged fighters usually had it easy since they only needed to aim for the general area and the game would assist them.
One had to seriously fail their aim in order to miss the target. Even complete beginners wouldn't find it difficult to hit an arrow, let alone pros like Silent Acacia.
"How did you do that?"
"Are your hands shaking?"
Cyclone and Fortune joked around, teasing the poor hunter.
"If I were you, I would stay humble, guys. Your words might come back to bite you once NPCs learn how to dodge."
Liam reminded the mages, causing them to smile wryly and keep their mouths shut. Yet Silent Acacia felt that he needed to mend his cracking reputation.
He narrowed his eyes, calling Zorn to the battlefield, while activating his skill [Stalker].
The hunter's body turned blurry, obscuring everyone's view of him. His mind and body focused on War, staring intently at the black armor.
Suddenly a small red cross appeared on one of the armour's joints, only visible to Silent Acacia. He reacted instantly, letting go off his arrow, directing Zorn to attack simultaneously.