Chapter 134 - 103: Better Than First Place
Chapter 134: Chapter 103: Better Than First Place
This made them an even more persistent nuisance than the Steel-backed Porcupines; as long as they couldn’t be killed in one hit, they could recover very quickly.
The Steel-backed Porcupines, meanwhile, retreated behind the Corruption Spreaders, attacking the shield wall with charged volleys of spines.
The Withered Messengers at the rear were delighted to discover that fear had appeared among the Golden Corps’ frontline. Though it was only a fleeting emotion, it proved their mental defenses were cracking after being afflicted with "Corruption."
Before long, a Giant Shield Guard suddenly cried out in panic.
"This is bad! I can’t get my health back to full! My max HP has been lowered!"
Following his shout, other members of the Golden Corps began to notice the same thing one after another.
A sliver of fear crept into their hearts. They worried that the lost portion of their max HP might never be restored. This fear was amplified and spread by "Corruption" until the hearts of all the frontline members of the Golden Corps were filled with dread. Of course, they didn’t show it on the outside, continuing to defend and attack as they always had.
But the Withered Messengers sensed it all.
The pools of concentrated fear tempted them, calling them to come and reap.
Amuti knew that the turning point of the battle had arrived.
He had all the Withered Messengers get into formation and notified the Elemental Druids at the rear to prepare for the decisive clash.
The next moment, all the Withered Messengers used "Panic Descends," instantly jumping behind the Golden Corps’ frontline melee units.
They unleashed "Decaying Wind" and "Fear" at the same time.
The fear in the hearts of the Temple Guards and War Paladins positioned at the rear was instantly triggered. They scattered and ran in a panic. At the same time, each of them suffered damage from dozens of stacked "Decaying Wind" debuffs, and their health plummeted. This only made their terror even worse.
This sudden turn of events reached its climax when one Giant Shield Guard, unable to bear his fear, dropped his shield and fled.
Once a section of the shield wall was missing, it was no longer a whole. It fractured into two smaller, unequal shield walls. With fewer individuals to share the incoming damage, the total amount of damage they could absorb decreased.
The Steel-backed Porcupines seized the opportunity. They aimed at the smaller shield wall and fired a volley, instantly obliterating its already low shield value.
Witnessing this, even more Giant Shield Guards couldn’t suppress their fear. They dropped their shields and fled to the rear, only to have the Withered Messengers amplify their terror, sending them running about in chaos.
Once a chain reaction starts, it is difficult to stop. In less than a minute, the entire shield wall had collapsed.
Without the shield wall to stop them, the Steel-backed Porcupines, Shadow Reapers, Corruption Spreaders, and the Elemental Servants (newly summoned by the Elemental Druids) all joined in to wipe out the Golden Corps’ vanguard.
The Golden Corps’ rear guard saw that something was terribly wrong up front. The vanguard had crumbled in a short period of time. Before they could even understand what happened, they began to send support.
The Holy Archers loosed their arrows while the Wisdom Priests sent out healing and buffs. The Temple Guards and War Paladins from the rear guard also rushed to the front line.
Unfortunately, the Elemental Druids were already prepared. A tornado, mixed with petrifying powder and sharp metal fragments, suddenly formed above them.
The Elemental Druids knew this was the most critical moment. No one was stingy with their energy; they all unleashed their full power.
The tornado was enormous, stretching from the sky down to the earth, its diameter a full hundred meters wide.
A powerful suction came from its center, immediately pulling in the nearest members of the Golden Corps. They were instantly petrified by the powder within the tornado, then ground into fine dust by the metal fragments.
The Wisdom Priests had no choice but to stop supporting the front line. They gathered the power of all the Priests to cast "War Barrier" once more.
Meanwhile, the arrows fired by the Holy Archers were all blocked by the Water Element Shield. Although it wasn’t as effective at stopping ranged attacks as a dedicated Wind Element Shield, the arrows lost most of their power after passing through the water barrier.
The War Paladins and Temple Guards sent to reinforce the front ultimately failed to stop the collapse, only managing to retreat to the rear guard with a few dozen lucky survivors.
But what they didn’t know was that these survivors were all infected with "Corruption." The affliction spread once every two minutes, and anyone who stayed near them would gradually become infected as well.
After wiping out the Golden Corps’ vanguard, Amuti chose not to press his advantage. Instead, he had his forces recover under the protection of the Water Element Shield, first letting the Golden Corps deal with the triple-elemental Golden Sandstorm.
A few minutes later, the Golden Sandstorm finally subsided. The Wisdom Priests collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Dealing with such a large-scale, multi-elemental magic spell had completely drained their energy and stamina.
Seeing the tornado vanish, Amuti immediately led his men forward, giving the Golden Corps no time to rest.
The Steel-backed Porcupines led the charge once again, followed by the Withered Messengers, Corruption Spreaders, Shadow Reapers, and Elemental Servants. The Elemental Druids did not advance; their Magic Power was exhausted, so they remained in the rear to recover, unable to continue fighting.
Seeing the enemy charge, the exhausted members of the Golden Corps moved to intercept them.
They first had to face the Steel-backed Porcupines. This time, without the shield wall of the Giant Shield Guards, the porcupines’ spine attacks would be devastatingly effective.
The Holy Knights and Temple Guards attacked with various defense-ignoring skills, just as before. This time, however, the Steel-backed Porcupines didn’t care. As long as they kept firing their spines, they could leech back more health from the enemy than they were losing, not even needing the Withered Messengers’ support healing.
As for the Holy Archers’ precision shots, they could still bring a Steel-backed Porcupine to the brink of death or finish off one that had already used its death-defying ability.
However, because the two sides were now very close (the island was small, and there was little room left at the rear), it became exponentially harder for the Holy Archers to dodge. Facing a sky-blotting storm of spines, all they could do was try to ensure their wounds weren’t fatal.
The close quarters meant the Holy Archers could no longer take down the Steel-backed Porcupines unscathed. At best, it was a costly exchange where they would suffer greatly for every enemy they killed.
The Wisdom Priests were scrambling to recover their energy, which had been completely depleted by resisting the Golden Sandstorm.
With the situation so critical, they could only cast a single Divine Art for every bit of energy they recovered, just to help their teammates hold the line.
However, as time wore on, the Golden Corps still failed to stabilize their formation. As "Corruption" gradually infected every last one of them, a sense of dread spread throughout the entire force.
"Hahaha, the time has come! Let’s end this battle!"
With a great shout from Amuti, all the Withered Messengers teleported into the Golden Corps’ formation. They unleashed "Decaying Wind" and "Fear" at full blast, and the Golden Corps collapsed in an instant.
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[World Chat Channel (788211)]
[Cuiwei Star’s Experts]
Ding Dong: "Hahaha, you’re awesome, Younger Brother Lin!"
Ding Dong: "You actually won!!"
Ding Dong: "Although you’re still far behind Lord Yun in points, so you can forget about getting first place this time."
Ding Dong: "But hey, even if you’re not number one, this win is even better than first place!"
...