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Although the [Monstrous Monkey Elite] they were facing now was heavily injured, with only slightly more than two thousand points of health remaining, Emilia and her team didn't dare to underestimate its threat.
Sylvia, Crystal, and Danielle had prepared a 'lethal' combo to strike it dead at once before it could put up a fight, but unfortunately, their initial 'sneak attack' was narrowly dodged by the agile beast.
Clearly, while it might not have considered them a 'worthy threat' before, it still hadn't completely ignored their existence, and now was well aware of the fact that they were much more dangerous than they appeared.
It roared in rage and charged straight at the one who'd made the flashiest attack. But Danielle remained calm and prepared to fire another fireball, trusting Emilia to protect her.
The giant beast's charge abruptly came to a halt with a resounding boom as it was intercepted by a crimson blur, and for a moment, even the [Monstrous Monkey Elite] seemed to have been left completely dumbfounded.
After all, with the strength and momentum of its charge, even the giant bear that managed to injure it so much would have been sent flying back at the very least. How could a tiny little thing the size of his palm possibly hold it back?
—Your [Ring of Might]'s 'Stagger Resist' effect has been triggered.
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Despite its obvious confusion, Emilia naturally wouldn't be stupid enough to explain herself to an opponent, let alone a monkey. Instead, she just took the opportunity to weave around the giant beast with her sword.
The pain of the [Poison Fang]'s continuously stacking effect almost instantly awakened the [Monstrous Monkey Elite] from its stupor, and it was terrified to realize that it had lost nearly half of its pitifully low health.
And to make matters worse, it was then bombarded by the attacks from the rest of Emilia's teammates, instantly shaving off its remaining health.
The [Monstrous Monkey Elite] groaned pitifully while collapsing on its knees as its health points hit zero, almost unable to believe that the end of its glorious life would be at the hands of such tiny and insignificant little things.
Had it known things would be like this, it would have just stayed away from this cursed place. But unfortunately, regardless of the intensity of one's regret, it could never turn back time.
—Killed [Monstrous Monkey Elite], Level 32
Despite the fact that they'd ambushed it while it was already on the verge of death, the 'Crimson Witches' still found it a little hard to believe that they could take down an 'Elite Monster' that was eighteen entire levels above their own so easily.
But that didn't stop them from rejoicing once they saw the rewards!
In addition to the ten times experience points from it being an elite, for a total of thirty thousand experience per teammate, the [Monstrous Monkey Elite] actually dropped a glowing green item for them.
Except for Emilia and Crystal, this was their first 'wild drop', and they couldn't help but be excited.
"It's a weapon!"
"A staff?!"
Of course, although it looked more like a 'fighter's staff' than one meant for magic, with its distinct lack of a gem and identical ends, both Danielle and Nico couldn't help but be excited.
Unfortunately, there was no one with the skill to 'identify' the item, and they didn't have the leisure to dally around with so many monsters nearby, either.
After all, the moment they'd taken down the [Monstrous Monkey Elite], almost a dozen murderous eyes had been fixed on Emilia's form.
The crimson-haired elf was the closest to the rapidly dissipating corpse, and was easily identified as the 'culprit', but aside from frowning a little, she seemed completely unaffected by the pressure.
The rest of her teammates, however, couldn't help but sweat a little nervously.ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
Fortunately, just because the other beasts were now paying more attention to Emilia and her team didn't mean that they were free from their own battles. Aside from being more cautious of this 'hidden threat' that could strike them down the moment they win against their opponent, there was little they could do.
Of course, while this was a 'perfect' opportunity to escape after reaping plentiful rewards with little effort, Danielle was no longer in the mood to be so 'unambitious', and decisively pointed a nearby scuffle.
"Both of them seem to have taken a lot of damage. Emilia… get closer and decide which one will be a better target, and we'll focus it down first."
Danielle's trust in the instincts of her 'star player' was obvious, but no one present could dispute that their feelings on the matter were pretty much the same.
No matter how random or nonsensical Emilia's choices were at times, things somehow or the other always worked out perfectly for her.
Danielle couldn't help but sigh. 'Sometimes I wonder if the whole world just bends over backward to please her. But then again… it's not a bad thing.'
Without such absurd luck, that combination of silly and pretty would definitely have ended in tragedy, after all. And Danielle knew for sure that it wasn't just her who had that opinion.
If they could once again share some of Emilia's luck and take down a few more beasts at a similar level to the [Monstrous Monkey Elite], it was entirely possible that they could level up before even reaching their 'goal' of getting close to the pillar or triggering some hidden quest.
Of course, Emilia was happy to lead the way forward, and wasn't scared in the slightest when the glowing and murderous gazes of the giant python and the raccoon-like beast turned to her at the same time.
'Compared to a [Demon Boa], the [Earthly Raccoon Elite] is definitely much more tricky and troublesome to take down…' Emilia hummed thoughtfully. 'But unless that little snake is stupid, it should also realize that it's doomed if it doesn't take this opportunity to kill its opponent.'
After all, left on their own, the [Demon Boa] would shortly enter its grave with no hopes of ever posing a 'real threat' to its opponent.
As for whether it could survive after the raccoon monster was killed or not... that would hardly matter if it died first.
The crimson-haired elf nimbly 'avoided' the snake tail that smashed down at the ground she'd been previously standing on, and before anyone else realized it, she was already hacking away at the giant raccoon's furry legs.
It stomped around in panic, clearly not expecting the tiny opponent to display a level of speed completely different from when she'd been 'fighting' the [Monstrous Monkey Elite] before.
Of course, with a hundred and sixty-two points of agility combined with her inhuman reaction speed, landing a clean hit on Emilia was just a pipe dream for a beast like the [Earthly Raccoon Elite].
After all, it was sturdy and tough, but not particularly fast, and the entanglement of the [Demon Boa] only made moving around harder for the poor raccoon.
Failing over and over again, it was finally enraged enough to completely ignore Emilia to claw at whatever it could, making the [Demon Boa] hiss in pain at its fresh wounds.
Before long, it also realized that it wouldn't be able to bear the raccoon's ferocious attacks before its death, and decisively let go.
To the raccoon's despair, however, the lack of the [Demon Boa]'s entanglement didn't make it any easier for it to hit the crimson shadow flittering around its paws, and only seemed to have made the situation worse.
Desperate, the raccoon could only turn to the [Demon Boa] once again and pounce on it in hopes of consuming it and evolving before its body succumbed to the poison, unlikely as it was.
Firing her 'Fireball' along with Crystal and Sylvia's arrows, Danielle couldn't help but feel a little bad for the monsters that encountered their team, and Nico soon voiced her thoughts out aloud.
"You know, although she seems adorable… I just realized how incredibly annoying and maddening Emilia must be to fight."
She was clearly not 'stronger', and her attacks were also pitiful and 'weak', but each time they were 'scratched', one could feel their life slipping away from the poison. Moreover, like a particularly fast and annoying mosquito, she was almost impossible to get rid of.
Although her hand never stopped drawing the string of her bow, Crystal could clearly feel the team's 'conflicting' emotions. 'I hate to admit it, but it's true.' She couldn't help but giggle. 'Maybe in the future when she fights people in this world, she can directly knock them out from sheer frustration.'
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