Capítulo 66: Last Ditch Effort
"Aaah…!"
A scream shattered the train of his thoughts.
'Another idiot had fallen prey to the fear of the Boss!' Samar assumed, but he couldn't have been more wrong.
When he looked over, Samar realized it wasn't just a single person but two. The Twin assassins under him, Katsu and Latsu, were not running away from the Boss but rushing towards it!
The twins charged out of the forest into the clearing, immediately drawing the Boar's attention. As soon as the Dark Tusk Boar went after them, they split up, one to the right and one to the left.
Confused, the Boar paused for a bit and then pursued after Latsu, who was running towards the left. Katsu immediately turned around and started slashing the Boss's rear with his newly acquired White-wood short sword.
-38
-40
The damage instantly enraged the boss. It turned around and went after Katsu. Immediately, Latsu turned around and attacked the Boar from behind.
-26
-29
"Brilliant!" Zamir exclaimed, as if the twins had found the solution to the problem. However, soon there was a problem. The Boss did not turn around and go after Latsu.
Katsu became anxious when the Boar would not stop chasing after him. Suddenly, their eyes met, and he yelled, "Mr. Samar, please remember our sacrifice for the Guild!"
"These Idiots!" Samar couldn't help but smack his forehead. They had taken his advice on how to deal with the Yellow Tusk Boars and implemented it on the Boss while it was in the Mad Rage mode!
The strategy was sound but had one huge flaw if implemented on the Boss.
The Mad Rage mode Dark Tusk Boar would only change target if the new attacker dealt damage equal to or greater than the damage dealt by the previous attacker.
The problem was the damage of the twins was nowhere on par for the strategy to work!
One invested in Agility stats while the other invested in Strength Stat. Plus, Latsu used Daggers while Katsu used Short Swords. As a result, Katsu's damage numbers were nearly double that of Latsu!
Nonetheless, their strategy had given Samar inspiration. Katsu and Latsu could not use the strategy, but that did not mean others would not be able to use it as well.
For example, Samar and HardBro.
Samar immediately sent a hasty message to HardBro explaining the plan and activated the Rapid Shot skill to save these two fools from their impending death.
-41
-38
-40
-100(Crit)
-42
Damn it! There was one critical hit when the arrow pierced through a burn wound of the Boar.
Usually, Samar would welcome it, but this crit made changing the Boar's target much harder. HardBro, who was standing on the other end of the clearing, would now have to deal 100 or more damage to draw the Boar's attention.
Samar could only cross his fingers and pray Hardbro would succeed.
The Boar had turned around Samar and was digging the ground with its hooves, preparing for a charge. On the other side, HardBro was rapidly chanting the Fire Ball spell while trying to keep the Boar in his attacking range.
Every second that passed was nerve-wracking.
"Hurry up, HardBro!" Samar could not help but mutter as he saw the Boar begin its charge.
As soon as it had taken its first step, fiery whips lashed out at the Boss, tripping it. Then they moved and trussed up the Dark Tusk Boar like a turkey.
Seeing this scene, Samar had to admire HardBro's choice of spells.
The Burning Binds was a Fire-Type spell that immobilized the target for 3 to 5 seconds, burning them for 20% fire magic damage for the duration they were bound.
This not only brought HardBro the precious few seconds he needed to cast the Fire Ball spell but also made targeting the boss easier. After all, it was much easier to aim for a stationary target than a moving one.
But this was not all.
Elemental Spells had a hidden bonus. When two spells of the same element were superimposed, they would amplify each other's effectiveness by up to 20%.
This meant that the Fire Ball spell that would hit the Boar next was guaranteed to do 20% extra damage while also strengthening the Burning Binds spell!
Samar watched with anticipation and excitement as the red-hot sphere of fire launched into the air. It struck the bound but struggling Dark Tusk Boar on its abdomen and exploded, engulfing the screaming boar in flames.
-106
-21
The two damage numbers emerged above the Boar's head, and the orange-yellow color of the fiery ropes tying up the boar changed to golden red. Samar did not miss this opportunity to attack and quickly brought down its HP to below the 30% mark.
At this moment, the duration of the Burning Binds skill ended. The purplish aura of the Mad Rage skill had also faded at the same time, and its eyes regained some clarity.
The Dark Tusk Boar stood up shakily. It roared towards the sky, and an armor made of pitch-black bones formed around its body.
It was the skill Samar dreaded the most, the Damned Armor. It not only increased the defense of the Boar by 150% but also increased its regeneration rate by 100%, meaning it could recover 200 HP every minute as opposed to 100 HP per minute.
Looking at the remaining 10 weary and exhausted members, Samar highly doubted they had enough DPS to take down the Boss. Nonetheless, they had to try.
"Keep it up, everyone! We are nearly there. Only the last 30% remain!" Samar shouted and activated the Rapid Shot skill which had just come off the cooldown.
-24
The first arrow hit the black bones and was deflected, dealing much lower damage than expected.
-40
-26
Off the next two arrows, one hit the flesh underneath the bones while the other once again hit the Damned Armor. For the last two arrows, Samar carefully aimed for the streaks of red wounds visible under the black bones.
-43
-108 (Crit)
His efforts paid off, and Samar finally secured a critical hit. This alone raised the morale of the team much faster than any words ever could. The six remaining trainees shook off their gloom and rejoined the battle.
BigSoftie and Romero charged forward to control the Dark Tusk Boar's aggro while entrusting their backs to the two healers. Three Assassins, Zamir and the Twins took the job of harassing the Boss and literally killing it with a thousand cuts.
HardBro and the other two mages activated spells as soon as their resources were replenished. And Samar, the lone Archer, shot every arrow with an aim of achieving a critical hit.
Their results were clear, as the HP bar of the Boss Boar fluctuated every minute.
2673… 2852…
2541… 2729…
2413… 2603…
They were dealing a little more than 300 damage per minute on average but the Boar recovered 200 HP every minute negating their efforts. Samar had tried every trick in the book -
Using Terrain? Done.
Using special items? He only had Sheep's Milk and the effect was before them.
Targeting a single weak spot and magnifying the wound as much as possible? Done.
There was a huge gaping wound near the Boss's abdomen, and that was the only reason they were able to deal more than 300 damage per minute.
It was no longer a matter of strategy but manpower.
Samar really needed Stivi and her party of four to tilt the balance in their favor. He looked at the watch and realized she should be arriving just about now.
"Well Done Guys! Let us help you too!"
On cue, Stivi emerged from the burnt forest with 8 other Trainees, 4 of them Non-Elf. Her mere arrival buoyed the spirits of the tired members.
The addition of another 9 fighters also raised their damage output by a huge margin. The Boar began to lose a huge chunk of HP every minute despite its terrifying regeneration rate, and it sensed its impending doom.
The Boar was still struggling despite having just about 5% of Health. In a final act of desperation, the Boss unleashed Earth Shake, its most powerful skill.
Fissures spread across the clearing, and the forest trembled as if protesting against the chaos inflicted upon it.
"Brace yourselves!" Samar yelled, as the shaking ground threatened to throw them off balance.
Damage numbers began to pop up all over the clearing as every player took some damage. Very soon, a gray beam of light flashed to his right, inflicting the first casualty from this AoE attack. It started a chain reaction as more gray beams of light flashed around the clearing, showing the devastating power of the Boss's skill.
Even after three casualties, the Boar's skill had not ended. It had already lasted for more than 3 seconds, longer than when the boss had first used it, and it still did not show any signs of stopping.
The continuous damage had brought the HP bars of all the players to orange and Samar realized he could not wait for the skill to stop by itself; He had to intervene.
Samar found a suitable vantage point which gave him a clear view of the Boar's cavernous nostrils and took aim as only a critical hit could stop its skill.
He activated the Set Effect of the Ram Shroud Set, granting his arrows +20% Fire Magic Damage and began his attack.
One arrow after another, Samar shot into the dark of the Boar's nose holes, intending to fill it up with arrows and push them through into its little pig brain.
-48
-103 (Crit)
-118 (Crit)
-44
-120 (Crit)
-100 (Crit)
Six arrows, four critical hits. It was a great outcome but not good enough. The earth had stopped shaking but the Boar was not down yet.
When Samar reached for the seventh arrow, he realized he had run out of arrows!
With horror, he saw the enraged beast stampeding towards him. No matter how he moved, there was no room for him to dodge the charge. He braced himself for impact, hoping the 10% boost in defense would prevent his inevitable death.
However, the collision never occurred. A red -46 appeared on the Boar's head, taking away the last sliver of its health.
The huge corpse of the Dark Tusk Boar swayed on the spot and fell sideways with an earth-shaking boom. From behind the corpse emerged the figure of Stivi with a teasing smile on her face.
"I thought you wouldn't leave anything for me!"
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