Chapter 321: Shocking Progress! |
Suddenly, one of the Level 15 monsters, in a last-ditch effort, tried to perform a vacuum detonation similar to the one the Boss had used earlier in the middle of the battle, without caring about its own life or safety, wanting only to kill all these intruders.
So it began compressing the acidic Mana at the center of its wooden chest, quickly drawing Lohan’s attention. He didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately began issuing orders for the group to prepare for that move.
Fortunately, since this wasn’t the first time they’d dealt with this, the group was much more agile this time.
"Everyone, pay attention! He’s getting ready to explode; we don’t know the blast radius, so Dee and VonB, don’t fall back! Grant, cast all your protective spells on them now! Justin, Tunder, Palana, fire everything you’ve got at his core to force an early detonation!" Lohan commanded urgently while also directing his clones to protect those defenders even further.
The group’s coordination was almost instantaneous.
Grant raised a barrier of light over the tanks, while the ranged attackers focused their fire on the monster’s glowing spot, refusing to just stand there watching like idiots.
The explosion occurred, but as Lohan had anticipated, it was contained by the tanks’ durability and Grant’s barrier, causing minimal damage to the group, and it was naturally weaker than an Elite monster’s explosion anyway.
The chamber was now littered with shards of charred wood and puddles of acid, while the group of players was panting, but everyone’s health bars were above 80%, an unbelievable feat for a battle against multiple Level 15 enemies.
Of course, the biggest contributor to this, despite not being involved in direct attacks, was Lohan, who ensured everyone’s safety by absorbing and blocking most of the damage.
He looked at the faces of Dee, Tunder, Samantha, Justin, WyrmWood, Grant, Richard, VonB, Palana, and Ascalon. They were all staring at the blue Slime with a mixture of respect and awe.
"What did we just do?" VonB asked, looking at his axe in amazement, a huge smile slowly spreading across his face. "Halon... I think if your clones were items, all of Elysium would wage a deadly war to get their hands on one of them, hahaha!"
Hearing that comment, the rest of the group paused to consider that point of view and realized, shocked, that it actually seemed true!!
Lohan formed a small, bluish hand and gave a thumbs-up. "Hahaha, that’s going to be Astralis Requiem’s advantage, guys. Just don’t spread this information outside of here, after all, even if I’m not an item, they might still try to capture me."
Lisa approached Lohan, her golden eyes shining with deep pride, but upon hearing what he said, she realized that this could indeed be a danger.
The other Elysium players might not have the ability to capture Lohan, at least not yet, but there weren’t only players in this world... there were still kingdoms with thousands of years of progress and development that could destroy their guild with a mere wave of the hand.
Lisa knew she’d made the right choice in entrusting the vice-presidency to this Slime... given how valuable he was proving to be, he’d already made it clear that he wasn’t just any mythical Player... the battle-aware strategic mind he brought to the group alone was worth far more than anything else.
"They’ve learned well, Halon," Lisa messaged privately. "Their synergy is on a completely different level than before you started training and directing them in battle."
"Tbh, they have potential, Lisa. I think they just needed someone to show them that in a place like Elysium, even though brute force is a major draw, control of the battlefield is even more valuable," Lohan replied, feeling his gelatin pulse with satisfaction.
The Astralis Requiem guild was now more than just a group of high-level Players.
They were becoming a tactical unit operating under concepts that Lohan was bringing from games in another world, concepts that players in this world, who viewed games from a completely different perspective, had never even heard of.
With weapons in hand and confidence at its peak, the vanguard advanced into the next corridor.
The group moved with a lightness that was the complete opposite of that of conventional combat groups.
Although the environment of the Level 15 dungeon grew more hostile with every meter they traveled, with acidic moisture dripping from the fossilized wooden walls and a terrible stench mingling with the plant decay in the air, the Players led by the white fox and the blue Slime in that place felt only that the atmosphere there was incredible, feeling less than a third of the tension any other group would feel in their place.
Level 14 monsters, which at the start of the raid seemed to pose a constant threat, began to grow increasingly rare as the group delved deeper into the cavern’s bowels.
Whenever one of these lone monsters emerged from the crevices, the guild’s response was instantaneous and silent, after all, all commands were given mentally.
Richard and Samantha moved like twin shadows, appearing on the enemy’s flanks before the creature could even let out a warning cry, taking advantage of an idea Richard had, to use Halon’s viscosity to help them cling to the vertical walls, allowing the two assassins to deliver blows that paralyzed the monsters’ wooden joints, enabling the ranged attackers to finish the job with ease.
Lohan watched their progress, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction as he saw that the concepts of field control and target focus were taking root in the battle instincts of each of his subordinates.
As the group advanced, he no longer needed to issue detailed commands for every minor skirmish; the Players were adapting and operating as extensions of his will, sustaining fewer and fewer injuries and conserving mana and biomass for what truly mattered.
As they advanced, the dungeon’s silence was broken more frequently by the heavy hum of wings and the cracking of colossal branches.
Level 15 Elite monsters began to appear with alarming frequency, replacing the ordinary guards as the territory’s primary defenders.
It was at this point that the group’s strategy had to change.
Upon encountering the first of these new Elites, a Black Core Sentinel nearly three meters tall with a shell that gleamed like glass, Lohan and Lisa resumed their positions at the offensive vanguard once more.
The blue Slime wasn’t merely the fox’s armor; to make the battle easier and quicker, it also expanded its mass, projecting tentacles that dug into the ground and the ceiling, creating an instant containment net that limited the monster’s room to maneuver.
Lisa shot forward like a white bolt of lightning, her paws leaving trails of white flames in the air.
She didn’t need to worry about her own defense, as she knew that every centimeter of her body was protected by Lohan’s biomass, and while the fox delivered spiritual energy-infused kicks that melted the Watcher’s carapace, Lohan constantly targeted the monster’s weak spot, allowing Lisa’s attacks to penetrate and inflict even more damage, all while leaving small parts of himself inside the monster to begin an internal digestion.
Meanwhile, the rest of the guild took up support positions with impeccable discipline.
Dee and VonB didn’t arrogantly try to take down the monster on their own; instead, they used their shields and axes to deflect the Elite’s heavy attacks, creating the openings Lisa and Lohan needed.
Tunder and Palana focused their magic on disruption pulses, breaking the monster’s concentration whenever it tried to prepare an acid blast.
The Elite was taken down in less than five minutes without a single casualty, a speed that would make any other guild doubt its own sanity.
Lohan wasted no time and devoured the corpse with his digestive filter, feeling his biomass reservoir being replenished as the group moved on to the next target.
The journey continued with an increasingly efficient slaughter.
The group eliminated dozens of common monsters and three more Elites in succession. Each battle caused the concepts Lohan taught to become even more deeply ingrained in their minds.
At one point, they faced a Root Guardian attempting to drain the group’s vitality; WyrmWood used his nature control to try to take control of it and reverse the drain with Halon’s help, while Justin fired arrows imbued with light that blinded the creature’s multiple eyes.
With each battle, fewer words were needed.
But this was a Level 15 dungeon; even with the help of a Legendary and a Mythic player, it would be impossible for a dungeon like this, with them right at the level requirement, to be completed so easily.