Not knowing how many opponents he still had to face was a psychological nightmare for Leo.
He could not plan strategically enough on how much stamina/mana to conserve and had to look at every wave that he faced as if he still had potentially more opponents left.
This made facing the 14th even more challenging for him than it was supposed to be, as on one hand he had already made plans on how to handle the 15th one his mana reserves returned above 80%.
However, for him to conserve his mana while saving his stamina meant that his HP had to take a hit.
Hence, just like the 13th wave where he lost 21% of his HP, the 14th saw him lose a further 19%, dropping his overall HP to just over 31% by the time the 15th wave arrived.
Naturally, the reactions to him finally slowing down were insane on the global forums, as the monotonous sequence of him dominating every wave seemed to have finally broken, giving the viewers some much needed excitement.
"Wow, is this really happening? TheBoss actually looks tired. I thought he was unstoppable, but look at him now, struggling to even keep up. Maybe he's finally hit his limit."
"He's been fighting for hours non stop. What do you expect? Anyone would be dead by now. The fact that he's still standing is insane! Give him some credit."
"Nah, this was bound to happen. All that flashy stuff doesn't last forever. He's been taking hits, and now it's catching up to him. Not so 'invincible' anymore, huh?"
"Come on, guys, he's still got a shot. He's been managing his mana well, and if anyone can pull through, it's TheBoss. You're all acting like he's already lost. He just needs to hang in there for a few more waves."
"A few more waves? Are you kidding? He's barely holding on! His HP is down to 30%, and his stamina's shot. He can't keep dodging forever. It's only a matter of time before someone takes him down."
"I don't care what anyone says. TheBoss is a legend. Even if he falls here, what he's done so far is beyond impressive. He's taken out over a thousand rankers solo! That's a feat no one else could pull off."
"Sure, but what good is that if he doesn't make it to the end? He was supposed to be this untouchable force, but now it looks like he's about to crumble under pressure. Maybe he's just overrated."
"Overrated? The guy's been fighting non-stop without rest! Most of these rankers came in fresh, and he's still taking them down. If you ask me, that's a whole different level of skill."
"He's hanging by a thread, though. I don't think he's gonna make it. One more hard wave, and it's game over."
"You underestimate him. He's been in worse spots before, and he always finds a way to win. Trust me, TheBoss isn't done yet."
"I hope you're right. I'm rooting for him, but he needs to pull something out of his hat now. One more mistake and it's all over."
"Whether he wins or loses, this is one hell of a fight. TheBoss has shown us all what it means to be a master. No one's walking out of this thinking he's anything less than a legend."
Some credited him for making this far, while others criticized him for not making it far enough, however, the consensus that he could make it to the end seemed to be shifting, as even those who cheered him on seemed to believe that he would hit his limits before the waves ended.
"Come on brother, this is the last full wave that you have to face. The 16th wave has only 44 opponents, 17th has only 51 and 18th only has 33. Just push through this one–" Luke muttered looking at the screen as he realized that although it looked like Leo still had to fight 4 more waves in total, in reality he only had roughly 220 opponents to face in total.
This was because the number of rankers that made it to the end of the path were not exactly in the multiple of hundreds, making the last batches on each path having an odd number of participants, with the only exception being the North path which had a full 100.
Unfortunately, Leo had no way to know this and had to keep fighting like there was no tomorrow, as in his eyes, the event was far from over.
"This is it…. He won't make it, once his stamina goes below the 10% mark he will face a stat debuff that will slow his movements down significantly…. This is the end" said PinkLotus, as although she was impressed by Leo's performance so far, even she did not think that he could carry on much longer.
"This is the moment where you fight with your heart kid…. Not every battle always goes your way.
Show the world the Skyshard battle spirit…. Don't give up! Push till the fucking end–" Muttered Jacob, as he could not control his emotions watching the livestream.
Leo was at 31% HP currently and declining fast, as he found the 15th wave slightly overwhelming to deal with.
The mighty and untouchable boss, who guided across the battlefield at one point, now stood rooted to his spot, not even moving slightly to dodge, as his stamina bar was at a critically red level of 13%.
Panting heavily, Leo only used minimal energy in deflecting incoming attacks and throwing daggers as he waited for his mana bar to go over the 80% threshold.
Currently at 71%, it was only a matter of a couple more minutes before it recharged to over 80%, as Leo seemed to be only waiting for that to happen, before he officially began his counterattack.
"Oh come on now blokes, I'm standing rooted to my spot…. Come on, show some initiative and come at me!" he roared, as rather than facing ranged attacks, Leo hoped that he could get more close ranged action until his mana recovered.