The backline tightened their focus and ramped up their output. Countless spells rained down on Gilbert’s position. Although most were blocked by the Arcane Shield, some damage still pierced through and landed on Gilbert, chipping away dozens of HP at a time.
Gilbert’s HP steadily dropped, and gradually everyone began to understand what “assistance” truly meant.
Even under this full-force assault, Reese, as the warrior, held Gilbert’s aggro firm. The sword in his hand, glowing with holy radiance, slashed against the Arcane Shield, sparking violently upon each impact and shaving off roughly 5% of shield capacity per hit.
Though he was taking the brunt of Gilbert’s attacks, Reese’s HP remained safely above the danger line thanks to the priests’ healing—unlike the other frontliners, who would drop to critical health after taking just two Arcane Orbs.
Tina, the younger sister, was astonishing as well. Though she was primarily a sustained-cast and summoning-type nature mage, her damage output alone matched more than half the team’s total output. The others couldn’t help but feel, with just a healer, the Meril siblings could probably take down the BOSS themselves.
Before long, under the party’s assault, Gilbert’s HP fell below 75%.
“I haven’t done anything wrong. Why are you targeting me like this!” Gilbert shouted in fury.
Reese’s sword was his answer. “Spare us your lies.”
“You’ve gone too far!”
Realizing the other side showed no signs of mercy, Gilbert finally understood there was no room left for negotiation. The Arcane Orbs in his hand crackled with silver lightning serpents, looking dangerously powerful.
“Split from Reese, line up symmetrically on both sides. Activate Shield Wall and Defensive Stance. Paladins, buff yourselves and your teammates.”
Hill’s voice came calmly from within the party. Though it held little emotion, it inspired confidence. The frontline immediately spread out, encircling Gilbert. As instructed, the paladins activated their holy auras.
Holy light bloomed again—this time, Hill had Elk grant Reese a defensive buff. “Rotate the blessings. If an effect wears off, refresh it. Healing Reese is your main priority.”
“Understood,” Elk replied.
“Slow your output. Warlocks, use attack-reducing debuffs.”
As for the backline, they had fewer instructions—just to dial down their damage to avoid generating too much aggro.
The Arcane Orb blasted fiercely into Reese, shaving off some HP while lightning crackled across the ground toward nearby allies.
But their positions were already spread out, and layered defensive buffs made the flashing lightning look more dramatic than lethal. The damage was within acceptable range.
With this steady pace, everyone realized the fight wasn’t as difficult as expected—especially the Roseheart first-clear team members like Doran, who were surprised to see a BOSS that had stymied their guild for so long turn out to be this manageable.
Much of the ease came from proper trigger conditions, the Meril siblings’ assistance, and the enchantment left on the cross by Alpha. Even so, Doran couldn’t help but wonder: even with all that on their side, could her guild really have done this well?
True, their gear wasn’t bad, but they didn’t have someone who could read a BOSS this thoroughly, with perfect command. Her curiosity grew. Were everyone from the Irresponsible Strategy Team like this?
But amazement aside, the battle went on.
Gilbert, his shield broken and reformed, was pushed closer to the 50% HP threshold as the shield weakened.
Just then, Hill’s voice cut through: “Use skills that ignore shields. If you don’t have one, hold your attacks.”
The reason was unclear, but everyone complied, throwing whatever shield-piercing skills they had. There weren’t many skills of that nature at this stage, but with twenty players, they still managed a few.
Brilliant spells and heavily charged strikes passed through the Arcane Shield and burned off the last chunk of HP above 50%.
“Damn you. You forced me into this.”
Now under 50% HP, Gilbert sensed the tipping point. Using an invisible aura, he blasted everyone back, then pulled out a black crystal and crushed it. Black light swirled in midair, forming a strange sigil.
The forest near the cabin was covered by a gray-black radiance, draining the life force from the surrounding trees. The power pulsed and finally condensed into two creatures resembling the Fallen Treant Lord. Though smaller and showing only a third of its HP, their presence was still menacing.
Seeing the black treants emerge from the trees, both Reese and Tina glared fiercely in Gilbert’s direction.
“So you still want to deny it? You were the source of the mutation all along.” Tina gritted her teeth.
“You’ve backed me into a corner. I had no choice but to use this forbidden art. Believe me or don’t, but until now, I never resorted to this before.”
Gilbert’s voice was flushed with anger too.
“Still lying? You heartless bastard!”
Reese, having been knocked back, rushed forward once more. The golden radiance on his blade burned even brighter from fury, while at the same time, the aura around Gilbert surged in strength under the influence of the sigil.
The frontline, also forced back, noticed the two Fallen Treants turning their attention toward the backline—especially toward Tina, the main damage dealer. Instinctively, they began to move to defend her, but Hill stopped them.
“Don’t worry about it. Keep Gilbert pinned.”
The frontliners paused, then stepped forward again to hold Gilbert with Reese.
The backline was confused—until Tina, seeing the twin Treants charge toward her, bit her lip and rapidly began chanting a complex incantation. The wild natural elements swirled into a faintly glowing magic array beneath her feet.
When the spell was finished, a massive Forest Golem rose from the circle, stepping between Tina and the charging treant, taking the brunt of its force.
“If the frontliners had run back, Tina wouldn’t have summoned the Stone Golem,” I said at just the right moment, clearing the confusion.
Hill continued issuing commands.