A/N: Thank you for your consistent support, everyone! *Brofist* I appreciate you all!
...
___
Syl and the other two returned with a small group of fortified rank beasts, followed by a bigger mob of toughened stage beasts. Overall, there were probably a combined number of about a hundred monsters, 10 fortified and 90 toughened.
"Whoa..."
The three gave them awkward smiles as they entered the barrier.
Judging by the three’s reactions, they didn’t really mean for the mob to get this big (they had no idea what they did), but they didn’t look injured, nor did they get too panicked, so it was safe to assume this amount could be handled. Maybe.
Normally, this number of monsters would’ve intimidated the heck out of him. However, Finn smirked and stretched his arms, and the others also sparkled.
With the protection and the buff—the reassurance—given by the barrier alone gave an injection of bravery. Not carelessness, but courage
Because they knew they’d be able to handle it well with this bit of help!
They could at least trust that, with their ability and with the right amount of care, they would be able to handle anything that came their way!
"Let’s go!"
...
Apparently, the cries of a fortified stage monster could have either a repelling or an attractive effect to other monsters, which varied from monster to monster, though most of the time there was none.
It so happened that this group of monsters had the thornbull, one of the few communal fortified-level monsters that tended to group in five or six monsters.
These were the most powerful monster types at this stage, and whether they were lucky or unlucky, time would tell.
This monster reminded him of a bull, except it had three horns that could impale a man, and razor-sharp teeth. Its legs were also sharp, and when it ran, it would leave a sharp trace on the soil, even crushing rocks just while moving.
Its attack was strong, sharp, intimidating, and Finn was kind of afraid for the fortified stage people who had to go against it outside.
BANG!
BANG!
[-1 Defense Point]
[-1 Defense Point]
There was also the tension of the monsters being so dense that they damaged the barrier every second.
[-1 Defense Point]
[-1 Defense Point]
[-1 Defense Point]
[...]
Finn gulped.
Be positive, be positive.
Maybe he’d be able to upgrade the barrier within the next few weeks like this?
Anyway, this number of monsters would definitely be exhausting. The group spread out to pairs or trios for maximization of movements (battle royals were never practical).
Syl was there to assist everyone with her wide CC skills. She would freeze the feet of some monsters, causing them to lose balance and maybe cause chaos within the ranks.
Sometimes, if the monster’s momentum was strong, they could even sprain their own legs when suddenly stopped like this.
The team would take advantage of these imbalances and shower the monsters with attacks. By now, they had already mastered the enemy weaknesses, and they’d zone in on those as soon as they were exposed.
Finn also used his CC skills whenever Syl’s were either in cooldown or melting. He used the [Sticky Soil] Technique whenever he could. With this kind of dense mobs, even if they were bigger, it was extremely useful.
Though there were fewer monsters that could be imbalanced, when the big ones got imbalanced, they would squeeze the smaller monsters nearby.
For example, a sticky soil attack imbalanced three big monsters; the short-ranged attackers would focus on the ones on the side, because the ones underneath the monsters would continue to cause chaos on their own.
They would continue to be crushed in turn, which was what Finn and the rest wanted.
They also dealt with it as a team well, avoiding hitting each other by accident, and also saving their energy.
The long-ranged attackers Leiah and Syl would also attack certain monsters, especially those that the CC skills weren’t able to cover.
The most amazing was, really, Syl. Her ice magic was extremely sharp and penetrative, and as long as she got the angle right, she could land a critical hit on a fellow fortified stage monster, killing them in one or a few shots.
Everyone knew monsters were innately stronger than their humanoid counterparts. Obviously, for her level, Syl was far stronger than her peers.
Finn naturally didn’t want to lose and would stab his spear, using [Heated Arc] or [Blade of Fire] in alternation, aiming at the enemies’ weaknesses with increasing proficiency.
Knowing the place to hit was one thing, but actually penetrating enough to kill was another thing. However, with the barrier, he could at least kill it within two or three hits, as long as the monster, especially when its movements were restricted enough, courtesy of its fellow monsters.
Killing monsters like this really felt a bit cheating, but well, it was fun in its own way, like whack-a-mole, but with the added bonus of actually getting stronger and expanding their lifespans.
It took them more than two hours to deal with the monsters, the corpses either attracting a few mobs and pulled them out, or clean them up directly.
Amidst all this, there was an impressive [Ice Age] in one part which still hadn’t thawed, and when it exploded into snow-like particles, it was almost like there had not been such a big battle just a few minutes prior.
They had to take a few looks at the few monsters they took in the barrier, as if to confirm that it really happened.
At this, Marcus elbowed Finn. "Your elf girlfriend is really strong though. Has she really just upgraded?"
She could take on the work of two or three people of the same level with her proficiency.
"She had always been strong," he said, hands arrogantly on his hips. "Beautiful and very strong! That’s my girl."
The redhead looked smug, as if they were complimenting him . He even started bragging about her other skills!
The girls rolled their eyes, while Durgan and Gideon wanted to take back the compliments!