Chapter 55 – The Rhythm of a Boss Battle

The Treant King’s extremely thick bark served as an effective defense against the players’ attacks. Therefore, the damage they dealt could be considered quite decent.

The king indignantly roared as it hoisted its massive arm into the air and swiped at Bai Kaishui (Plain Boiled Water).「Bang!」Its gigantic branch of an arm slammed into his shield. However, Bai Kaishui kept his centre of gravity low and allowed the shield to absorb the majority of the impact. It resulted in him being pushed back a few steps; however, he ran forward and closed the distance immediately. Bai Kaishui felt grateful for the advice given to him prior, of how he should remain stable and firm. Sure enough, it became quite useful in this situation. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have merely been pushed back a few steps in such an exchange; rather, he would have likely been sent flying.

Those strikes were quite horrifying, each one reducing his health by eighty or so points. However, he was the sole person able to withstand its attacks, as the other frontliners would inevitably die within two strikes.

Beams of gentle light fell on the players who were in a melee with the boss. In the meantime, Nie Yan evaluated the strength of the team’s healers. Of the three Priests who knew Lesser Heal, the main one healed roughly sixty health while the remaining two barely reached fifty. Not that high. Things will likely get dangerous later. Seems like it’s best to remain careful and not leave anything to chance.

Due to the efforts of Bai Kaishui and the other frontliners, the flow of the battle stabilized. Thus, the Mages could begin steadily casting their magic.

「Cast fire elemental magic as much as possible and avoid ice magic. It won’t be effective since the boss’ ice resistance is too high,」Nie Yan ordered and circled round the Treant’s back since his class received a damage bonus, thirty percent, while attacking opponents from behind. Paired with his exceptional equipment, his attacks easily pierced its strong defenses.

Sparks flew off its body and into the air as magic poured from the sky. Its health had been gradually chipped away and now neared seventy percent.

「Do any of our Priests have Dispel?」

「One of them does!」

「Great! Pay attention to Bai Kaishui! Immediately cast Dispel when the boss casts the fear debuff on him. Don’t be slow; even a second can cause us a lot of trouble!」Nie Yan said.

The Priest felt somewhat anxious as he listened to Nie Yan’s instructions. After all, he was still a novice at the game.

He was nicknamed Bamboo Pole by Bai Kaishui and the others due to his naturally lanky build. He felt quite nervous at the moment, anxiously gripping his staff while his muscles appeared to have been frozen stiff. However, Nie Yan noticed his apprehension and spoke reassuringly.「Relax a bit. I’ll remind you when the time comes, so all you’ll have to do is cast Dispel on my signal.」

Afterward, Bamboo Pole shot a grateful glance at Nie Yan.

Just as its health reached seventy percent, the boss released a deep roar that sent shivers down everyone’s spine.

Meanwhile, Bai Kaishui halted his attacks and involuntarily retreated back while his movements became extremely rigid.

「Dispel!」Nie Yan shouted through the team’s voice chat. Without delay, Bamboo Pole cast Dispel and a bright light illuminated Bai Kaishui from above.

Bai Kaishui had only retreated a few steps when feared. He charged back into battle and slammed his shield at the Treant King with Shield Bash.

「Not bad!」Nie Yan praised.

Bamboo Pole instantly felt relief seeing as his spell succeeded.

Following Nie Yan’s directions, the entire team fell into the rhythm of battle. Coupled with the fact that he knew the Treant King’s actions in advance, its health bar steadily fell lower.

It’s using Lash!

The Treant King lifted its vines and sent them lashing at Bai Kaishui.

「Priests, prepare to heal Bai Kaishui in three… two… one… now!」

A gentle shower of light shone on Bai Kaishui and his health continuously teetered up and down; the line separating life and death lay on a razor thin edge. However, thanks to the Priests, his health managed to hold until the end.

Nie Yan, on the other hand, released a flurry of attacks from behind. Roughly three minutes later, the entire team had steadily chipped away as its health fell to merely twenty-five percent.

「Priests, how much mana remaining?」

「67!」

「56!」

「23!」

「The Priest with twenty-three mana, drink your Mana Potion!」

The Priest downed a Basic Mana Potion after Nie Yan called him out.

…

Suddenly, the Treant King transformed into a shade of red.

「Finally… Everyone, get ready! Bai Kaishui, switch to a defensive stance! Mages, increase your damage output! Priests, prepare yourselves!」Nie Yan shouted. Bai Kaishui, in the moment he heard these instructions, held the shield to his chest and switched stances.

The Treant King let out an explosive roar. It raised its arms and slammed down on Bai Kaishui.

「Bang!」

The Treant King’s gigantic arms landed on Bai Kaishui’s shield and sent him several steps back, losing over two hundred health in the exchange. However, even after such a terrifying attack, the Treant King was unwilling to give up. It raised its arm once more and relentlessly smashed.

「Bang! Bang!」

The assault left two more craters in the earth while a gentle shower of light fell on Bai Kaishui in between the attacks.

−221

+60

−256

+52

Above Bai Kaishui’s head, four numbers floated upwards as he was repelled back.

「Such high damage!」

If it weren’t for Einpat’s Flute, just one of those attacks would instantly kill even the most powerful Fighter.

Bai Kaishui felt a cold chill run down his spine as he glanced at his health bar. If it weren’t for the timely heals from the Priests, he would have long been dead.

The Treant King had finished its three-hit combo and seemed to have come to a rest. However, a moment later, it continued its onslaught of battering their tank.

「Bai Kaishui, pull back! The rest of you guys, hold the line for a bit!」Nie Yan began running to Bai Kaishui’s side.

Bai Kaishui dodge rolled the Treant King’s next attack and downed a Basic Health Potion. However, the amount of health restored was basically negligible compared to his current total health.

The other frontliners rushed up to take Bai Kaishui’s place, forming a human shield as they blocked the Treant King’s advance. However, they could only hold it off for a limited time since their defense and health were much lower in comparison to the one they were replacing.

Nie Yan arrived at Bai Kaishui’s side and applied an Intermediate Combat Bandage.

+20… +20… +20…

“Drink a Basic Recovery Potion!”

“I already drank one.”

“Wait for the next round of healing from the Priests!”

Two Priests cast Lesser Heal on Bai Kaishui. After ten seconds, more than half of his health had recovered.

The other frontliners couldn’t hold on much longer. There was no one left to take another attack. After all, two hits and any one of them would be dead. If the Treant King scored a critical hit, even if they were full health, they would instantly die. Furthermore, two of their members had already been killed and sent to the graveyard.

“Bai Kaishui, go back in!” Nie Yan ordered when Bai Kaishui’s health had recovered past four hundred.

Bai Kaishui raised his shield and ran up to meet the boss. They had been in a state of crisis just now. Thus, no one dared to be any more careless. Tang Yao, Dusk, and the rest of the backline took out their most powerful spells, unloading each and every one on the Treant King.

「I’ll be out of mana soon!」Tang Yao anxiously said.

「Cast Arcane Fireballs! It expends the least amount of mana. Warriors and Paladins, go all out! Use Flame Slash!」Nie Yan replied. They only needed to hold out for a little longer. Victory was right before their eyes. They absolutely couldn’t fail at the final stretch of the battle. He circled behind the Treant King and used Vital Strike followed by Assassinate.

The Treant’s health steadily fell: nine percent… eight percent… six percent…

The team became increasingly nervous; none of them were willing to slow down by the slightest degree.

「Bang! Bang! Bang!」Fireballs landed on the Treant King’s body and left deep wounds upon impact.

Three percent!

「All frontliners, retreat! Mages, give it everything you’ve got!」Nie Yan suddenly instructed through the team chat.

The Warriors and Paladins didn’t understand why Nie Yan would have them retreat at such a crucial moment. However, they still listened to his orders without the slightest hint of hesitation and pulled back. Nie Yan had been the one who carried them to this point in the run. Thus, they had unwittingly come to acknowledge his ability and held faith in his commands.