The players in need of mana immediately shouted out loud, as if it was the last chance they would have in their entire lives. However, there were only 8 Rangers, and not all the players were able to receive a Mana Infusion. Some of them could only gulp down Mana Potions, and some were forced to wait for their mana to regenerate. At a time like this, the players began to realize the importance of conserving their mana. Their orders were to hit the BOSS with everything they've got, but they were unable to keep up with their attacks.
In a situation like this, the only solution was to make do with chugging down Mana Potions continuously.
Due to the good teamwork, the party was able to deal enough damage to the BOSS. They matched Ye Ci's speed, while carefully calculating their mana, to deal the most damage while spending the least amount of mana.
Ye Ci knew that they were in a tightspot, and she knew that if they did not push themselves to their limits, they could easily fail. She pushed away any thoughts of failure. She simply wanted to give her best. Be it ingame or in real life, she had to put her best effort into everything. Ye Ci was someone who was even greedier than a gambler.
She ordered to continue the attack even at such a dire moment, asking herself: Why am I doing this? Would Ye Ci make the same choice if she was leading the members of another guild? The answer was no. In her heart, 'Upwards Ho!' was the only guild that would allow her to act on her whims. This was the only guild with members who would trust her unconditionally, and give her their unconditional support. That was why she had the courage to make the gamble. If she was working with any other guild, they would definitely demand a repair fee from her.
It had been 10 years since Ye Ci last entered this dungeon. After a few tries, she was able to remember the correct positioning and speed. The ranged classes suffered some degree of damage at the start, but was later able to avoid any damage.
Despite that, the healers were anxious. They were worried about any sudden ultimate skills that might be released by the BOSS.
None of the guilds managed to make it past the third stage of the BOSS battle, which meant that nobody knew what would happen in the fourth stage of the fight. Ye Ci, of course, was an exception. She was no longer travelling in a straight line or in an arc. She began running an "S" shaped pattern. The pathing of such movement skills had to be precise, pushing the ability of her party members to the limit. In Ye Ci's last life, this secret was only discovered after the countless sacrifices made by players.
As long as any party member strayed from this "S" -path, they would be damaged by the BOSS's Icy Blades and poisoned by her attacks. The path could be said to be a BUG that was discovered by players in Ye Ci's past life. Nobody, including members of Tang Dynasty and Wolf Pack, knew about such a method. To prevent suspicions, Ye Ci would often stray from the path so that her members would suffer some damage. This would be able to mask her knowledge of such a strategy while keeping her members alert.
After stumbling their way around, the party suffered some minor casualties. Most of the party members survived, and the healers began healing the players up frantically.
Ye Ci paid close attention to Dani's health, preparing for the BOSS's ultimates, Icy Blade of Haste and Lethal Poison.
"Do you think that you can defeat me? You're dreaming!" as Dani's health was slowly chipped away, she stopped her attack on Bai Mo and Little Icy Cold Hand. She stood glaring at the rest of the party, and began taunting them.
It's coming.
Ye Ci was waiting for this moment. This moment that spelled disaster for countless guilds trying their best to defeat Dani. The BOSS would release dozens of low flying Icy Blades in every direction that were almost impossible to dodge. No player, no matter how tough their character was, would be able to survive 3 hits from the Icy Blades. Even if a player had a perfect positioning, he or she would not be able to dodge the Lethal Poison that follows after the Icy Blades.
The strategy employed by most of the guilds was to jump when the Icy Blades appeared. This would throw the party into disarray, but it made sure the survival of many of the players before Lethal Poison was released. They would then drink a Medium Antidote to resist the poison effect.
Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink were also using such a strategy.
It was a strategy that just won't work. It was impossible to ensure that all the party members have the same mechanical skill. There were those who had practice, and there would always be those who panicked in crucial moments. It was very easy for them to make mistakes while dodging the Icy Blades, leading to heavy casualties. Under such circumstances, there was no way the party would have enough combat strength left to fight the BOSS even if they survived the Lethal Poison.
Besides, a Medium Antidote was one of the most expensive potions in the market at the current stage at the game.
Ye Ci had a different solution. She stopped moving, prompting the rest of the party to do the same. They had all reached this stage of the fight in the past, and were slain by the Icy Blades. The player were anxious as they waited for Ye Ci's orders.
It was something that they have not expected.
Instead of ordering her members to jump, Ye Ci gave the following command, "I want everyone to lie flat on the ground!"
The players were stunned. Only a few of them responded to Ye Ci's command. While the rest of them shared confused looks with each other, Ye Ci shouted out again, "Lay flat on the ground now! Those who do not listen to my command will pay for the repair fees of the entire party!"
No way! It would cost a fortune to pay for the maintenance fees of a 100-man party!
In the end, humans were beings that prioritize their own gains. When they heard that their benefits were being threatened, the party members immediately reacted to Ye Ci's words. Just then, Dani released her Icy Blades, and the entire party laid flat on the ground.
"Don't peek! Just lay still and don't move a muscle until I give another command-" Ye Ci reminded her party members.
Despite their curiosity, the players knew how devastating the Icy Blades could be. One tiny mistake could spell disaster. Not one of them dared to move. They laid motionlessly on the ground, like puppets with their strings cut off, waiting for an order from Ye Ci.
Dani let out a loud wail. It was the signal that she would stop firing her Icy Blades, which meant that she was about to cast Lethal Poison.
They were not exploring the Elite difficulty version of Castle Ruins, so the Lethal Poison was not that hard to deal with. As long as they would remain laying on the ground, the players would be able to avoid any damage from the skill. However, if they were challenging the dungeon at Elite difficulty, the damage from Lethal Poison was impossible to avoid. The only option for players was to resist the effects of the poison with a Medium Antidote. With the shortage of such potions in the market, there was no way they could challenge Castle Ruins at Elite difficulty.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Dani's voice finally rang out, "It seems that I have to get serious. You ants have disturbed my peaceful rest. I will make you pay!"
Ye Ci raised her head, and saw Dani moving slowly towards the center of the pond. The process would take 20 seconds, and this meant that the fourth stage of the battle will begin.
"Everyone, get up! Back at least 24 yards away from the BOSS! Do not get close to her when the battle starts!"
A system notification rang out, and a message appeared in the display of all party members, "The battle is about to enter its fourth stage. Prepare for battle. Countdown: 10 seconds."
"We're entering the fourth stage soon people! None of us here have entered this stage before. Stay away from the BOSS! Even if our party gets annihilated, we have at least found the way to clear the third stage of the BOSS battle!" of course, Ye Ci could not reveal the fact that she knew the strategy to win the fourth stage. She could only patiently guide them towards the right direction.
She was able to convince her party members, and they began backing away from the BOSS to the safe distance of 24 yards. None of them dared to attack. Each and every one of them was waiting for Ye Ci's instruction.
"Oh? What is happening? I seem to have grown tired." said Dani when she reached the center of the pond. She rubbed her temple softly and let out a sigh, "But, even if I'm tired, I cannot forgive your insolence!"
With that, she moved towards the players slowly, surrounded by a golden aura. The players knew that it was a good idea to stay away from the circle of aura.
Ye Ci fired an arrow at Dani. When it was confirmed that she was able to deal damage to the BOSS, she gave the order, "Concentrate all your attacks on the BOSS! She has only 20% of her health left! There will be no fifth stage! Stay away from that circle!"
The ranged classes began peppering Dani with spells and abilities. When they were lying down, many were able to recover their mana, which meant that they could bombard the BOSS with everything they had without reserve.
"What about us?" asked the melee players in the party. There were only 35 melee class players in the party, but all of them had superior equipment and a high combat strength. Without them, it was next to impossible for the party to get past the fourth stage.
"Calm your horses, give me some moments. You do know that I've never been to this dungeon before right?" Ye Ci knew that melee classes were not needed in this stage of the battle, but she had to come up with a believable excuse. She spoke up after a brief pause, "The melee players can launch throwing knives at the BOSS."
The melee players were not happy with the tiny amount of damage they dealt, but they had to carry out the orders of their commander.
Not long after their attacks began, a system notification flashed before their eyes, "Cold Winter, you have angered Frost Queen Dani, she is glaring at you."
This was what Ye Ci has been waiting for.
She was waiting for this DEBUFF. In truth, Dani herself doesn't pose much of a threat to players in the fourth stage of the battle, but she could cast a very potent debuff on players. It was the debuff that had just been cast on Cold Winter: Wrathful Glare. Players who were affected by the debuff would receive a 200% attack and defence bonus, and were rendered immune to Dani's Ring of Wrath, but would die within 30 seconds. The only viable strategy was for players affected by the debuff to rush into the ring of golden aura and attack Dani with everything they had. If the affected players did not rush into the circle and sooth Dani's warth, all members of the party will be slain by an ultimate skill called "Blood of Annihilation".
"Cold Winter, were you affected by any debuff?" asked Ye Ci. She would not of course immediately order her member to rush into the circle right away as this would indirectly reveal that she was very familiar with the dungeon.
Cold Winter was a skillful Rogue among the elites of 'Upwards Ho!'. Despite his good mechanical skill, the man had very bad luck.
"There's a debuff called Wrathful glare that has a 30 seconds countdown timer. I received a 200% bonus in attack and defence, as well as immunity to the Ring of Wrath." Cold Winter was able to react quickly to Ye Ci's question.
"Alright, get into that circle and attack the BOSS. Mana is not an issue, just throw everything you have at her." Ye Ci immediately gave the order.
Cold Winter immediately rushed into the circle and attacked the BOSS. Noticing that Cold Winter had only half his mana left, Sugar Candy Sweet asked, "Leader, do I need to cast Mana Infusion on Cold Winter?"
"There's no nead."
"Why? His mana won't last for long." Sugar Candy Sweet was curious.
Ye Ci could not offer a direct answer. She shook her head and let out a sigh, "I don't think he'll be needing it. We don't know what will happen when the countdown is over."
She then followed up with another order, "I want all the healers to attack the BOSS as well. No matter how little damage you think you're dealing, just hit the BOSS with everything you've got."
Cold Winter was worried as he entered the golden circle surrounding the BOSS. Gongzi You did not give the order for healers to heal him up, he was afraid that he would be killed by the BOSS. However, the BOSS did not react to his presence even after taking several attacks from him, and was still moving forward slowly.
The attack bonus was very potent. Cold Winter was able to deal a tremendous amount of damage to the BOSS. This gave him a sense of accomplishment. When the 30 seconds of the debuff was up, he heard a system notification, "You've died out of fear for Dani's wrath."
His character let out a blood-curdling scream, and dropped lifeless on the ground. "I knew it! There's no way the BOSS will give such a good buff to you! That thing will kill you when the 30 seconds is over!" he shouted.
The party members had finally gained an insight about the BOSS's ability in the fourth stage of the battle. When their name was called by the BOSS, they immediately dashed into the circle and did their last performance before their deaths.
"I have a bad feeling about this." said Bai Mo who was throwing knives at the BOSS.
"Why is that?" asked Little Icy Cold Hands who was also forced to throw daggers at the BOSS.
"It's like waiting for our own funeral. When our name is called, it's death for us. What a tormenting experience." said Bai Mo with a sad voice.
His words were met with agreement by Little Icy Cold Hands, "I know, right! I thought I'm the only one with such a thought! I'm looking forward for my name to be called, but I was afraid to be called out at the same time!"
Their conversation was overheard by the rest of the party members. They looked at the ground that was littered with corpses and felt depressed.
"Raging Tides, you have angered Frost Queen Dani, she is glaring at you." every member of the party was praying that their name would not be called, but they knew that it was an eventuality. Raging Tides was the first Ranger to be named by the BOSS. As he stepped into the circle, Ye Ci shouted out, "Tides, cast Mana Infusion on a mage with the least amount of mana!"