If I had to describe my current mood in one word, it’d be frustration—extreme frustration.
In my past life, I defeated plenty of Elite NPCs, but that was with late-game levels, diverse skill combos, and gear and item boosts.
Now, I’m realizing just how formidable Elite NPCs can be, especially in how annoyingly tenacious they are.
Even with my Commander-tier stat buffs far surpassing theirs, the level gap and their seamless team coordination completely suppressed my offense.
“Ugh, why is their defense so high?!”
The shadowy spear formed by [Eternal Night] struck fiercely at the opposing knight, but with their inherent defense and passive aura buffs, it only shaved off a quarter of their HP.
I tried to fling the condensed shadows of [Eternal Night], but a heavy hammer from the side stunned me. The stun was brief, but it successfully interrupted my attack.
A golden figure wielding a knight’s shield charged in from an angle, adopting a defensive stance that completely blocked my attempt to target their ally.
In the distance, a green glow flickered as a [Healing Spell] landed on the knight I’d brought to low HP, instantly restoring them to full health. Meanwhile, a burst of holy light exploded on me, dealing hundreds of damage.
The surrounding players—Warriors and Paladins—closed in, while Mages, Warlocks, and Archers seized the chance to unleash their DPS. Rogues lurked nearby, eyeing me hungrily.
Even if I wanted to wipe out these annoying players, the Radiant Monastery knights’ aura effects made it impossible to mow them down in one attack like before.
Instead, attacking only left me more vulnerable.
Or rather, I’m already in a very vulnerable position: to deal with the players, I need to handle the knights first. To handle the knights, I need to take out the clerics in the back. But to reach the clerics, I have to evade the knights’ interference.
Sidestepping the three Paladins’ triangular formation, I was growing irritated when my eye caught a skill icon lighting up.
I almost forgot about this.
My eyes lit up. Transforming [Eternal Night] into several sharp blades, I carved an arc around me, forcing back the three Radiant Monastery knights and nearby players. Without hesitation, I locked my vibrant red eyes onto a distant target.
Eternal Night Dash.
My petite form turned into a shadow, instantly breaking free from the tight encirclement. With ghostly, rhythmic movements, I darted through my chosen targets, each step as precise as a piano’s keys.
But when I finally landed, I was stunned to see the three golden figures not far away, closing in at alarming speed.
“So you guys are just stalkers, huh?!”
Retorting aside, my movements didn’t slow. Before the surrounding players could react and before the knights could reform their encirclement, I activated [Eternal Night Dash] again, lunging toward a distant target.
What I didn’t expect was that the three Radiant Monastery female knights followed like shadows, locking onto my landing point. Before I could evade, they trapped me in their control zone again.
“How do they know the landing point and direction of [Eternal Night Dash]?”
[Eternal Night Dash], like [Dark Dash], boasts incredible speed. Even I choose my direction and range instinctively, appearing as only a blurry shadow to targets.
That’s why neither the Dark Bat King nor I gave players any chance to react or predict before.
Yet these three acted like they’d maxed out their tracking skills, pinpointing my [Eternal Night Dash] landing spots twice in a row, leaving me no room to maneuver.
Thinking back, the Radiant Monastery in my past life was renowned across the Alwyn Empire for hunting monsters, supposedly tracking them by their aura.
“Could it be…”
As if struck by a realization, I glanced at my remaining HP and formed a plan.
It’s just a theory with a lot of uncertainty, but there’s no need to hesitate now.
Just then, my sharp eyes caught a golden glow plummeting from the sky, its terrifying force leaving no doubt about its destructive power.
Normally, I’d be scrambling to dodge, but now I didn’t even think about it. I abandoned evasion and took the attack head-on.
-312
A terrifying damage number appeared.
But this was exactly what I wanted.
I’d already been worn down to about 60% HP by countless attacks. With this hit, my HP dropped below 60%, officially triggering [Lament of Eternal Night – Lilina]’s third skill.
Eternal Night Sanctuary.
The [Eternal Night] behind me transformed into a rising black mist, staining the Forest Ruins’ sky a deep ink. Less like a descending night and more like an apocalypse under a shroud of crows.
All players in the Forest Ruins were plunged into darkness, their vision reduced, causing instant panic. Even those who’d fought the Dark Bat King before couldn’t adapt to this far more terrifying atmosphere.
The Dark Bats, as if finding their true battlefield, leveraged the [Eternal Night Frenzy] buff’s enhanced attack power, wreaking havoc among the players.
Only the major guilds’ members maintained strict discipline under their commanders’ orders.
Compared to the players’ panic, the three Radiant Monastery female knights remained calm. To them, this was no threat—they could track a monster’s position by aura alone.
“As expected.”
Using my third [Eternal Night Dash] to escape the previous encirclement, I’d barely landed when my peripheral vision caught the three figures swiftly catching up.
I smirked, activating my fourth [Eternal Night Dash].
“This time, you won’t get your way.”