Garm’s brief slip in performance was quickly rectified, in turn making the team’s performance against the Winter General exceptionally stable. With Tsutomu supporting Garm, who had put himself back into the zone of his physical limits, they could now confidently handle the boss monster.
“I’m right behind you!” Xeno said as he stood within the perimeter of <<Area Heal>>, sounding quite lively despite being covered in blood. “Ready to switch in whenever you need!”
“I switched you OUT because you were about to die, you know,” Tsutomu said coldly as he cast some support and healing spells for Garm
[I mean, I did NOT expect him to last as long as he did… so I guess I can count on him a fair bit.]
Tsutomu had always considered Xeno to be the type that could draw out more power in a real fight than in practice, but if he were to be honest, he had not expected to see this much improvement in such a short time. Xeno did take more hits compared to Garm, but Tsutomu’s healing could easily make up for that.
“<<Heal>>.”
Furthermore, since the Winter General’s attacks were not so different from what he knew from Live Dungeon, Tsutomu could calculate their approximate damage levels easily. This meant, on top of knowing the Winter General’s attack power levels and his team’s status ratings, he could manage the Tanks’ health and heal them with impeccable timing.
“<<Power Arrow>>.”
Diniel’s penetrating arrows hit the Winter General’s legs, breaking parts of its white armor. Amy, aiming at the same spots, executed a series of attacks, steadily whittling away the Winter General’s health.
Even though they had watched Ealdred Crow’s battle footage beforehand, few could fight this enemy so effectively on their first encounter. Diniel could do this because of years of experience, Garm by a relentless dedication to his Explorer craft, and Amy by natural talent. If not for these factors, they most likely would not have been able to perform this well.
In the beginning, the team seemed to have a hard time, but as the fight went on, their performance began to stabilize. With Xeno’s hammy shouts and Tsutomu’s commands echoing around them, Garm managed to hold the Winter General’s attention without dying. Meanwhile, Diniel and Amy’s attacks started to deal damage.
And now, after being hit with a barrage of fire arrows, the Winter General’s armor started to crack. Amy’s <<Rock Splitter Blade>> broke off a piece, exposing the monster’s pale skin and drew a stream of its blue blood.
“<<Combat Cry>>.”
With a Blue Potion candy in his mouth, Garm unleashed his blood-red aura. His presence now seemed even more intimidating than that time when he had crawled back to his feet after being crushed by the Fire Dragon.
“<<Dual Wave Slash>>!”
“<<Double Arrow>>.”
With the Tank in a stable position, the Attackers could function to their full potential, steadily chipping away at Winter General. Amy had her sights set on destroying the Winter General’s right-handed swords, but her haphazard attacks occasionally came dangerously close to hitting Garm’s face, prompting him to complain,
“Hey, slow down and watch who you’re attacking.”
“Meh! How ’bout you go chill in the back or something? Dini and me will manage just fine!”
“You’re in way over your head. Diniel can get away with it because she’s strong — but not you.”
“Oh yeah? Lemme at ’em and see how well I do!”
Garm and Amy quickened their movements as if to compete for aggro. Diniel, seeing that Amy was no longer targeting the right-handed swords, shot her a look of disappointment while continuing to attack the Winter General.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t stop them?”
“Considering how well they’re doing, I guess it’s fine. Maybe it’s better this way, even.”
Tsutomu calculated the amount of aggro they were generating and decided to let them be. Xeno, seeing Tsutomu’s reaction, let out a dry chuckle as he stepped out of the <<Area Heal>>.
“This red aura is getting on my nerves!”
“Stop darting around like that. You’re being a nuisance.”
Amy’s attacks and Garm’s red aura blasts grew fiercer, unexpectedly syncing well and accelerating their damage output. Amused by their fierce competition for aggro, Xeno directed the God Eye to focus on both of them.
As their unyielding clash showed no signs of stopping, a high-pitched, flute-like scream echoed. For a moment, Tsutomu looked slightly surprised as he glanced in that direction, then he proceeded to give instructions to the three on the front line,
“That’s earlier than expected! Guys, we’re in the second phase! Incoming from the northwest! Retreat!”
“Tch, I almost got it!”
“Shut up and get out of here!”
Amy pursed her lips in frustration, feeling that she was mere moments away from pulling the Winter General’s aggro away from Garm — who, similarly, wore a face that blatantly showed his urge to kick her in the back. Both of them proceeded to regroup with the others. Then, a massive pale blue horse came effortlessly charging through the snow from the northwest.
“Garm, you still good to go?”
“Yeah.”
“From what I saw on the Pedestals, that horse is incredibly fast, so be careful.”
“Got it.”
Tsutomu handed a Potion candy to Garm as if he were changing a boxer’s mouthpiece.
This horse — big enough to be ridden easily by a three-meter-tall humanoid monster — was supposed to make its appearance in the final phase of the Winter General boss battle. Tsutomu was taken aback by its early arrival since his damage calculations had indicated that only about half of its health had been depleted. Still, he maintained a composed demeanor, not revealing the slightest surprise on his face. Tsutomu also addressed Amy and Xeno, who were noticeably excited,
“Amy, help out Diniel — and destroy its right-handed swords if you can! Xeno, watch the Winter General’s movements and try to adapt to the situation.”
“Gotcha!”
“Very well!”
For the benefit of the team, Tsutomu wanted to disable the right-handed swords due to the fact that they generated blizzard attacks. In response to Tsutomu’s instructions, Amy and Xeno replied with cheerful voices that seemed to dispel the cold.
“Diniel, attack the horse’s legs. It’ll be tough for the Tanks if it can move freely.”
“Gimme a new warmer.”
“Here. I’m counting on you.”
“Mm-hm.”
Diniel, after being handed an extra warmer packet, placed it in her clothes and then nodded to Tsutomu.
While Tsutomu was giving instructions to the other party members, the Winter General jumped on its heavily breathing, armor-clad horse. The monster shook the horse’s reins fiercely, prompting the pale blue steed to dash toward Garm at a tremendous speed.
▽▽
The snow beneath the horse’s hooves exploded as if it were gunpowder as the creature rushed forward. Garm, reflexively dodged the swing of the boss monster’s left-handed sword from horseback, but he could not evade it completely, ending up with a trickle of blood flowing from his neck.
“<<High Heal>>.”
Tsutomu’s healing magic brought Garm’s health back up — while maintaining it in the range where he was still in the zone. It was done so quickly that the others who observed it happen, Xeno and Amy, exchanged glances in disbelief.
“<<Power Arrow>>.”
Diniel, with her eyes frighteningly wide open, shot an arrow with all her might, but the Winter General skillfully maneuvered its horse out of the way. Diniel continued to shoot in quick succession, but then, when the Winter General generated a blizzard with its right-hand sword, deflecting the arrows.
While Diniel reached into her Magic Bag on her back to get some new arrows, she kept an eye on Amy as the latter discussed with Xeno about the horse. When Amy noticed her gaze, she turned around awkwardly.
“W-what’s up?”
“Don’t slack off and do something about the swords. It’s getting in my way.”
“Aww, c’mon, Dini, you do it! It’s so cold just getting close to it!”
Ignoring Amy’s feigned shivering, Diniel turned to Xeno.
“Xeno, figure something out.”
“I think that’s a little too much for me!”
Xeno maintained a cheerful smile as he watched the Winter General’s movements while Garm continued to face off against it. Tsutomu, after casting <<Protect>> for Garm, chimed in,
“Well, maybe we don’t HAVE TO destroy it. There might be another way to prevent it from using its right-handed sword.”
“Any theories?”
“From what I’ve seen, we just need to keep the swords away from the Winter General… So, rather than destroying it, knocking it out of its hand or even stealing it might work.”
“Sounds like it’s time for Amy to reawaken her cat habits,” Diniel said, pointing at the Winter General with her chin. “C’mon, go get ’em.”
“What’d you mean, by habits!? Stop it!”
Amy, panicking because Tsutomu had also heard that comment, promptly hid her hands.
“I mean, Tsutomu just said to–“
“Wha–! Okay, okay, not another word! I’m going in! Just stop talking!”
Amy covered Diniel’s mouth with her hands, interrupting her. Then, when Amy went away as if she was running from her crimes, Tsutomu started getting suspicious.
“Huh? Did Amy steal something from me?”
“I’ll tell you if she fails to do something about the swords.”
“Uh, I mean, stealing is a crime, right? Maybe we should file a report to the security force?”
“Don’t worry. She must’ve already put it back while you weren’t looking.”
“I dunno…”
While engaged in a conversation, Tsutomu still closely observed Garm’s condition and provided precise support, while Diniel used fire arrows to provide Amy with cover.
Amy — now a suspected thief — made a beeline toward the Winter General on horseback, fully concentrating on the right-handed sword she intended to snatch. When the horse ran over Garm, its speed reduced slightly, and then…
“…GOTCHA!”
Amy leaped like a cat, passing over the Winter General in an instant, and swiftly grabbed both of the swords on its right side. Tsutomu, not having expected success on the first try, opened his eyes wide.
“Gah, it’s cold!!”
However, as it turned out, the swords were freezing to the touch, causing Amy to yelp and reflexively fling them away. Tsutomu, seeing Amy discard the swords almost as soon as she got her hands on them, resisted the urge to facepalm as he cast <<Heal>> for Garm.
“<<Stream Arrow>>.”
Fortunately, Diniel had prepared for this. Countless fire arrows rained down from above onto the swords in the snow, quickly destroying them.
“Xeno, use <<Combat Cry>> and switch with Garm.”
“Leave it to me! <<Combat Cry>>!!”
“<<Heal>>. Diniel, back Xeno up. Amy, stand back and observe — help out if things look bad!”
Due to Garm having a broken arm and severe internal injuries as a result of being run over by the horse, Tsutomu cast <<Protect>> and <<Haste>> on Xeno and had him switch in. While issuing instructions to the others, Tsutomu cast <<Air Blades>> to distract the Winter General. The blades of wind were easily deflected by the monster’s remaining swords as if it was swatting away insects.
While Tsutomu’s attacks would not do much damage to the Winter General regardless of whether or not they hit, they still were effective as a minor distraction, providing some meaning to a Healer’s attack skills that would have been useless in Live Dungeon. In fact, this extra distraction was one of the reasons why the two Tanks, Garm and Xeno, were able to survive against the Winter General.
And with a silver blast of <<Combat Cry>>, the Winter General’s attention on Garm shifted over to Xeno. The red-eyed horse and the Winter General both directed their murderous intent towards Xeno, almost making him tremble.
“HAHAHA! Here I go!!”
Could he really handle an opponent who had just severely wounded Garm? What would happen if he were to fall here? Such worries swirled in Xeno’s mind, but he refused to break down. With a forced smile on his face, Xeno boldly shouted and confronted the monster.
It felt as if its swords were already thrust right in front of him. As the horse carrying the Winter General charged forward, a red arrow flew to Xeno’s rescue — it struck one of the horse’s front legs, causing it to stumble and stamp its hooves in place.
“…Now that is what I call reassuring.”
Diniel, having shed her usual laid-back demeanor, was providing him with support. Additional encouragement came from Amy, operating the God Eye to show the good parts of the fight. Empowered by all this help, Xeno fearlessly faced the Winter General.
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