The agile mist dwarves got taken out one by one. A few managed to get on top of the walls but this time the army was prepared. They engaged the mist dwarves with a small team while the others kept their distance. Thus, the dwarves didn't cause much of a commotion.
The same couldn't be said for the dwarven priests, however. They continuously delivered their spells, slowly chipping away at the defenders' strength. Although the tanks did their best to block the spells, they couldn't entirely prevent all casualties.
Yet the dwarves weren't faring much better either. As the battle raged on, they fell quickly and soon the fifth wave ended in their retreat.
The result was about the same as that after the fourth wave, except for the damage to the wall which was nearly zero. Liam was pleased to see this, knowing that the players had indeed increased their efforts by a level.
After a short respite it was time for the sixth wave. Everyone's eyes were on the mine. The seconds ticked by, but nothing happened. The eerie silence ironically increased the pressure on the players who conversed in order to diminish their anxiousness.
"What's going on? Are they too afraid to come?"
"Yes. Seems like this is as good as won!"
"I didn't expect those oh so scary dwarves to run away with their tails between their legs."
"Haha, now I am imagining a bunch of dwarves riding on a lizard's tail as they escape from the mountains."
Laughter spread along the wall although it sounded rather strained. The players were amazed that even the NPCs chimed in to their conversations.
However, this may not be a good thing. If the NPCs appeared too much like a real human, it could be a blow to the players should they die. Hopefully no one would walk out of this war with a psychological shadow.
After a while the situation finally changed. The player had still been laughing, when they got shocked seeing the first few lizards appearing with heavily armoured dwarves sitting on their backs. Everyone fell silent.
This was not real life where you could target either the mount or the rider. In the game they counted as a new type of monster with a shared health bar, appearing incredibly tanky. They were still slow, appearing like a moving wall of steel as they advanced towards the wall.
The army instantly opened fire. The mounted dwarves blocked with their shields, enduring quite a few hits before they went down. Slowly but steadily, they made it towards the wall.
A minute later the next wave of enemies appeared. It was once again a bunch of priests. The defenders quickly switched their focus towards them, mostly ignoring the lizards.
As the priests couldn't match the army's attack range, they had no way to defend themselves for a while, enduring the rain of attacks. Yet this bought time for the lizards to reach the wall. The dwarves and the lizards attacked together, dealing increased damage. The decision was quickly made to douse the lizards in burning pitch while the focus remained on the priests.
Flames burned along the wall creating an unbearable temperature, driving the sweat on everyone's faces. But it worked to temporarily alleviate the pressure on the walls. Thanks to this move the priests were soon eliminated.
Just as everyone felt relieved and was about to turn towards the lizards they were shocked to find another line of priests coming out of the mines. And this time they weren't alone. Leading them was a mist dwarf of small stature floating in the sky. His long, grey robe flowed to the ground and fused into the mist.
But what caused everyone to inhale sharply was that the leading dwarf was approaching within a spacious red dome with the number three floating on top of it.
"Brave soldiers! Let the mist guide you! Welcome these new brethren into our world!"
A quick check identified the floating dwarf as someone called Apostle Gaudus. His high-pitched voice spread throughout the battlefield, causing everyone's hearts to flutter. It had a magical attraction which made one want to lay down their weapons and enter the mist.
"Hmpf."
Suddenly a snort shook everyone's heads. It came from Sephran Greypine who stood on the central tower, knocking the floor with his staff a few times.
Cyclone and Balm stood next to the town's lord, watching the strange behaviour of all the others. For players, they were less affected by the charming voice depending on their levels. Those past level 40 basically didn't feel anything. The two guild leaders didn't understand why some of their players had slowed down their attacks for a moment, urging everyone to fire faster.
Simultaneously the guild leaders communicated with Liam on how to deal with the new boss. Soon a plan was formulated. Liam, Balm, Silent Acacia, and Bloody Edge summoned their mounts and jumped off the wall.
"What are they doing?!"
"That's suicide!"
Many of the newer players were shocked watching the scene. They could already imagine the four heroes slamming into the ground and getting surrounded by lizard riders, losing their lives.
But most people trusted Hotpot blindly. They didn't panic, watching as the group of four activated [Flying Dash]. The basilisks flapped their wide wings and safely carried the players past the lizards.
"Damn! This looks great!"
Fortune exclaimed joyfully. Her instinct told her to look for a good angle to record, but reason forced her to remain in place and continue attacking. Thinking quickly, she instead told Radiant Shield to get a good shot for her.
Others were also admiring the heroic image as the group sailed above the horde of enemies, landing on the ground between the front and the back row.
"Hurry up!"
Liam urged the group to rush at the fastest speed. In no time at all they had reached the boss. Liam, Silent Acacia, and Balm suddenly slowed down for a bit as Bloody Edge entered stealth and rushed into the red dome.
His heart began racing as he endured the intimidating pressure emitted by the priest. Remaining in stealth he sneaked behind the enemy. His entire mind was focused on this moment. He knew his job was to deal as much damage as possible in a short time. Bloody Edge checked out the enemy before unleashing his combo.
[Apostle Gaudus
Rank: Sub-boss
Level: 39
HP: 35.000/29.000]
Bloody Edge's loyal basilisk, Dull, was the first to attack using his skill [Snap]. He snapped at the apostle's flowing robe, taking a painful bite with his sharp beak.
[-2049!]
"Who dares?!"
The Apostle reacted quickly. Despite Dull's skill allowing him to remain in stealth, Gaudus immediately stared at the basilisk with pitch black pupils. Bloody Edge felt a shiver run down his spine, but his actions didn't stop.
Next, the thief immediately activated his ultimate skill. A blinding light erupted on the battlefield, pushing back the mist for a moment and irritating the apostle as he felt his armor being reduced. Bloody Edge followed up with four daggers made from holy light which stabbed into Gaudus' back.
"Audacious!"
Gaudus could only shout angrily as the daggers held him in place, applying a stun of one and a half seconds.
[-2402!]
[-986!]
Bloody Edge frowned faintly as [Snap] had the additional effect of increasing the chance for his next attack to crit but unfortunately it didn't trigger. The double enhancement of a critical hit and reduced armor would have been quite brutal.
However, the thief had no time to think about it. He directed Dull to jump high up. He arrived behind the floating apostle's back. His dagger flashed for a vicious [Cut Throat].
[-6427!!!]
Bloody Edge almost couldn't believe his eyes as the incredible damage number appeared. Multiple effects played together to achieve such high power.
[Cut Throat] was already one of Bloody Edge's strongest skills. Add to that the effects of his equipment set, which on one hand increased his critical hit chance when attacking the enemy from behind, and on the other boosted his damage when attacking someone from the chaos faction. On top of that Bloody Edge carried small buffs due to eating some food beforehand. And of course, there was also the level difference as well as the effect of his ultimate skill.
All of those added together allowed Bloody Edge to take away more than one sixth of the enemy's HP in a single hit.
"AHH!"
Even the apostle couldn't help but scream in pain. He got rid of the stun, turning around to deal with Bloody Edge. But the thief only smiled slyly. With the last bit of energy he had remaining he activated Dull's second skill [Assassin's retreat].
Dull had just landed on the ground when he looked at Gaudus. The basilisk's usually unintelligent eyes suddenly twinkled like a star. Gaudus felt as if countless needles pricked his skin. To his horror the damage dealt over the last second was applied again.
[-6427!]
While the apostle was shocked, Bloody Edge, thanks to Dull's skill, turned into a blur and instantly escaped the red dome, not staying for a moment longer.
[Stance -45]