Chapter 113 Chapter 112-Turning Defense into Offense, The Real Boss（1st update, Cheer me with Power Stones!）
The half-sphere defensive barrier, like a dome, encapsulated the entire group.
It looked fragile, yet proved to be indestructible.
Faced with the Shadowcrawlers' onslaught, the two shield-wielding heavy-armored warriors merely braced themselves a bit, then stood as steady as a rock.
As long as they didn't fall, the defensive barrier would not break.
The low-intelligence Shadowcrawlers had climbed all over the protective barrier, their limbs hacking away madly, in a do-or-die manner.
John looked up, intrigued.
Several Shadowcrawlers were clinging to the top of the barrier too.
He could clearly see the structures on their undersides, reminiscent of octopus suction cups.
With their assault, swirls of white mist lingered around the suction cups on their undersides.
Indeed, these Shadowcrawlers were the creators of the Chaos Mist.
John had been puzzled as to why Chaos Mist, a unique product of the Abyss, would mysteriously appear in the Twisted Grove south of Sunset Mountain.
Now he finally understood.
But in the next moment, John furrowed his brows again.
If his memory served him right, Chaos Mist originated from the deeper layers of the Abyss, while Shadowcrawlers were low-level monsters from the shallower regions.
The two had no direct connection.
When did Shadowcrawlers gain the ability to produce Chaos Mist independently?
Looking around, all he could see was an expanse of white.
The amount of Chaos Mist that could envelop the entire Twisted Grove must be tremendously vast.
The few hundred Shadowcrawlers present, even if drained of all their energy, couldn't possibly create such an expanse of Chaos Mist.
It seemed there was a more formidable enemy lurking behind.
Understanding this, John, who had been preparing to make his move, halted.
After all, Blue Sea, Adam, and the others were fully capable of dealing with these monsters.
He merely needed to observe the situation.
On the surface of the barrier, light scattered.
Every slash from a Shadowcrawler brought forth a sprinkle of radiance, a tangible manifestation of these monsters' armor-breaking abilities.
Light continued to leak, and the defense of the barrier was gradually weakening.
The two hulking heavy-armored warriors gritted their teeth, holding their ground even though they were visibly pale.
"Mages, are your spells ready?" Adam roared, brandishing his silvery greatsword with a mighty swing.
A crescent-shaped sword energy materialized from the front of the greatsword, cleaving a growling Shadowcrawler in half.
[Divine Judgement (Unique Talent): Exclusive skill for the Divine Vanguard. Condense the divine light into sword energy to judge evil, slashing any enemies that dare to contaminate the Holy Light…]
John's eyebrows arched slightly.
The divine light within this sword energy took him by surprise.
It was so pure?
It seemed his previous speculation was correct.
Adam must be a devoted follower of the Holy Light.
Otherwise, he wouldn't possess such pure energy...
With Adam's sword energy cleaving through, their counterattack finally commenced.
Priests and paladins expended all their energy, casting every supportive skill they had on the two heavy-armored warriors at the front.
Holy Light Protection…
Holy Sanctuary…
Hymn of the Divine…
Battle Cry…
With the amplification from these buffs, the spirits of the two heavily armored warriors were uplifted.
They managed to stabilize the front line, which significantly solidified the defensive barrier.
Simultaneously, the two mages, who had been preparing their spells at the back line, were finally ready.
[Tidal Surge (Unique Talent)...]
[Starfall (Unique Talent)...]
First, the water elements in the air suddenly became active and eventually congealed into a towering tidal wave several meters high.
It crashed down furiously onto the crowd of Shadowcrawlers.
The surging wave swept across the field, violently impacting the bodies of the monsters.
Any Shadowcrawler hit by the tidal wave was at least severely wounded with their health halved, if not outright killed and turned into a twisted corpse.
After the giant wave dissipated and reverted back to water elements, before the Shadowcrawlers could catch their breath, a shadow suddenly appeared overhead.
The shadow grew larger and larger, eventually becoming so vast that it eclipsed the sky.
Several meteorites, almost half a meter in diameter, descended from the sky and crashed mercilessly into the mob of monsters.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Several muffled explosions echoed as dust filled the area.
When the dust settled, several craters had formed on the ground.
Countless monsters were pulverized under the meteorites.
Barely enduring the two spells, the monsters didn't have a moment to catch their breath before another wave of attacks came.
This time it was from the two archers, not willing to be outdone.
Their bowstrings glowed brightly, firing two energy-condensed arrows that tore through the air towards the center of the battlefield before exploding.
The scattered energy turned into a rain of arrows, pouring down and blanketing the entire battlefield.
After the continuous two-wave attack, less than a tenth of the hundred-strong Shadowcrawlers remained.
Only their low intelligence, lack of fear, and mindless charging spared them from fleeing in the face of such large-scale group combat skills.
Meanwhile, the two mages, with their faces pale and breathing heavily, were on the verge of collapsing.
They were evidently at their limits, both physically and magically.
Were it not for the priests and paladins' buffs, they might not have been able to hold on until their spells were fully cast.
Clearly, these two spells were their last resort.
They quickly gulped down their mana potions, their faces regaining some color as the potions took effect.
They sat down cross-legged to meditate and recover their strength.
The archers, on the other hand, seemed composed and in good condition.
After all, their skills were not as powerful and did not consume as much energy as the mages' spells.
At this moment, the once dense crowd of Shadowcrawlers had been decimated, with many remaining few and far between, and in a weakened state.
The pressure on the two heavily armored warriors in the front line had significantly diminished.
They began advancing, shields held high, while the others followed closely, starting to mop up the remaining monsters on the battlefield.
Adam's silver greatsword danced in his hands, each swing drawing a spray of blood.
The two archers were graceful, with energy arrows from their drawn bows piercing precisely into the heads of the monsters.
The assassins and rogues, already in stealth, had also joined the fray.
Their movements were a blur in the shadows, only the cold light of their daggers visible.
There were the berserkers and demon-blade wielders as well...
Everyone was on the attack.
The massive experience points from the level 80 Shadowcrawlers were satisfying to them all.
Even Blue Sea wasn't idle, lightly tapping his magic staff.
It formed light blue ice arrows that flew like lightning towards the monsters.
Only John and Emma remained hands-off, strolling leisurely alongside the group like a couple on vacation...
This idyllic scene, so at odds with the blood-soaked battlefield, soon drew Blue Sea's attention.
Blue Sea reduced the frequency of his skill usage, and teased with a laugh, "Brother Galewind, you really know how to stay cool. Are these little critters beneath your notice?"
John smiled faintly, responding nonchalantly, "If you all can handle them, there's no need for me to step in... Besides, the real challenge is still to come. You surely don't think that this is the true danger of the Twisted Grove, do you?"
Blue Sea was momentarily stunned.
Before he could respond, the dense mist in front of them started to roll violently.
Like a storm stirring up a calm sea, the Chaos Mist became increasingly turbulent.
Everyone quickly noticed the change.
Adam stabbed the last Shadowcrawler with his sword, not bothering to collect the dropped items on the ground, and quickly retreated back to John's side.
"Brother Galewind, what's going on?"
John replied calmly, without any change in expression, "Quite obviously, you all have killed so many minions that you've finally attracted the attention of the true master of this Twisted Grove."
Adam was taken aback, "You mean, there's another monster here?"
"Of course, you surely didn't think that level 80 Shadowcrawlers were the reason players have been unable to explore this area so far?"
A cold smile played on John's lips, "And what about the native Werewolf Tribe in this game world? They've lived here for a thousand years but have never dared to step into this forest."
Adam had an aha moment.
He had sensed this issue before.
Though level 80 Shadowcrawlers, when in large numbers, were indeed powerful, they were not undefeatable.
If they could handle hundreds of Shadowcrawlers, the Werewolf Village definitely had NPCs stronger than them.
So why were they still reluctant to enter the Twisted Grove?
Now, hearing John's explanation, Adam finally understood.
It seemed there was a real boss hidden deep within the Twisted Grove.
"What should we do?" Adam asked with a worried look.
Having just fought a tough battle, his crew needed time to recover. Facing the boss hiding deep inside right now wasn't a good idea.
John chuckled lightly, "Don't worry, I'll handle it. You all just need to clean up this battlefield."
As soon as John finished speaking, the Chaos Mist suddenly parted.
A massive figure, large enough to blot out the sky, slowly emerged from the depths of the forest.
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