Chapter 98 - Repel Evil

Nie Yan peered through his crossbow sight from behind the brush he was using for cover. After a short while, he lowered his gaze and shook his head. This place won’t do either… With such thoughts in mind, he got up and moved to another area, only to repeat the same actions and move on yet again.

“What do you think he’s doing?” Dusk asked, flabbergasted, as he observed Nie Yan busily moving from one area to another. It was still too early to be aggroing the Elites, wasn’t it?

“Well, he shouldn’t be looking for a vantage point, that’s for sure. He hasn’t been within firing range this entire time,” Sleepy Fox replied. He was also rather curious as to what Nie Yan was up to.

After all, it was impossible for a crossbow to hit from this far away!

Nie Yan walked behind a tree and began gauging the distance. This should do! Finding a suitable spot, he raised his crossbow and fired in the direction of one of the Elite Manticores.

「Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!」Three bolts flew out in succession.

Sleepy Fox was taken aback. Wait, are you really aggroing them? Isn’t it still too early? We haven’t even fully recovered yet! However, he suddenly recalled. Wait, that’s not right. They’re still out of his attack range.

As expected, the bolts gradually lost momentum and slowly dropped until they eventually hit the ground.

They had fallen just ten meters short of the closest Elite Manticore and thirteen away from the next closest.

An Elite Manticore’s detection range extended out to ten meters.

This knowledge was the result of compiling the numerous experiences of players who had run Agmota Muddy Wetlands on Specialist in Nie Yan’s past life.

Nie Yan just so happened to know of a little trick that made use of this information, and with his skills, he could easily pull it off even with his hands tied behind his back.

Out of the three Elite Manticores roaming around, only the closest one heard the sound of the bolts hitting the ground. Thus, it was also the only one that moved towards the source with the intent of investigating. After walking two or three meters, it stopped in place and began scanning the surrounding area, yet it wasn’t able to find anything, so it turned around and began to head back

「Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!」Before it could take even a single step back, however, Nie Yan fired off another round of bolts which landed just ten meters away from the Elite Manticore yet again. The Manticore halted and resumed its search for the source of the sound, but it still couldn’t find anything. Then, just when it was about to head back, another sound came from an area ten more meters away.

Nie Yan repeated this action several more times. Whenever the Elite Manticore was about to turn and leave, he would send three more bolts to a spot just barely within its detection range. Meanwhile, Nie Yan did his best to avoid being spotted by the Manticore as he attracted its interest with crossbow bolts.

In this fashion, the Elite Manticore was continuously drawn away all by its lonesome self. The distance between itself and the other Manticores was growing increasingly wider with every repetition.

Sleepy Fox and the other members were shocked as they watched this scene unfold before their very eyes. Never did they expect that Nie Yan would use such a method to draw out the Elite Manticore.

If they continued like this, then it might actually be possible to kill the Elite Manticores and the King Manticore individually, one after another.

This method was something they could’ve never come up with on their own. Furthermore, it wasn’t a tactic that just anyone could employ either. Nie Yan’s timing and accuracy were both simply impeccable.

“Everyone, get into position. Since Brother Nie has revealed his skills, we mustn't show any weaknesses either, unless you want others to look down on us. Remember, you’re the handpicked elite of Holy Empire. Show some vigour! Who knows, perhaps today we really will be able to beat Agmota Muddy Wetlands on Specialist!” Sleepy Fox stood tall and puffed up his chest. Seeing their captain stand up, the other members all followed suit, standing up one after another. Their eyes blazed with determination as they followed Sleepy Fox’s orders and began getting into formation.

The final hurdle was to clear these three Elite Manticores and the Lord-class King Manticore, a hurdle so insurmountable that even Sleepy Fox originally felt they had no hope of succeeding. However, who would have thought that Nie Yan randomly moving about would actually cause such an utterly drastic change in their circumstances.

Perhaps they really would be able to clear this dungeon!

After being drawn out by Nie Yan, the lone Elite Manticore was well over twenty meters away from its companions.

Nie Yan raised his crossbow and took aim once more.「Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!」Three bolts flew out once again, but this time they actually hit the Elite Manticore.

Upon being struck, the Elite Manticore immediately discovered Nie Yan’s presence. The attack had enraged it, and after letting out a low growl, it pounced toward its aggressor.

With that, Nie Yan turned around and fled towards the rest of the team.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!” Just as Nie Yan spoke, he discovered Sleepy Fox and company were already in formation.

Violent Waves raised his tower shield, charged forth, struck the Elite Manticore with Heroic Strike, and then followed with Taunt in order to completely grab its aggro. Afterwards, he retreated back, raised his shield, and moved into a defensive stance.

Now, the Elite Manticore’s aggro was fully on Violent Waves. It raised its paw and furiously swiped at his shield with a force so tremendous that he was knocked back several steps.

−123 A damage value floated above his head.

Such terrifying damage!

Violent Waves only had three hundred or so health. If the Manticore managed to land a critical hit, then he’d be in immediate peril.

“Paladins, cast Repel Evil on Violent Waves!” Nie Yan yelled. The Elite Manticore’s claws were strengthened with a sinister magic that made their attacks deal enormous damage.

Shortly after Nie Yan made the order, a shallow blue light enshrouded Violent Waves. Immediately, the damage he was receiving from the attacks fell by 30%.

Only then did Sleepy Fox and the others discover that a Paladin’s Repel Evil was effective at reducing the Elite Manticore’s damage. The effect was even better than the Barrier spell. Furthermore, Barrier could only absorb so much damage before breaking. Under the Elite Manticore’s attacks, it would’ve shattered almost instantly. However, Repel Evil would last for ten seconds regardless of the damage it reduced. After the ten seconds were over, a different Paladin could cast another Repel Evil. No wonder Nie Yan wanted to have at least three Paladins with Repel Evil in the team. It was because three Paladins would mean Repel Evil would have a hundred percent uptime on the main tank as long as they took turns and cast it immediately after the previous one expired.

With a significant portion of the damage being negated, the whole fight progressed in an orderly manner. Violent Waves was able to easily tank the Elite Manticore’s attacks while the Mages at the rear gradually chipped away at its health.

The Elite Manticore opened its mouth and spewed a poisonous green mist in Violent Wave’s face.

Violent Waves, who was firmly blocking the Elite Manticore’s attacks, suddenly found himself deprived of his vision, causing him to fumble and lose sight of his target. However, this didn’t last more than a moment, and he was soon able to see clearly again. This was thanks to a Priest who had cast Remove Blind in a timely manner. Having regained his vision, Violent Waves immediately discovered that the Elite Manticore was about to switch its aggro to someone else. If someone else were to pull aggro, the Elite Manticore would proceed to wreak havoc on the backline which would most likely end up killing many of the Mages.

Demoralizing Shout!

Violent Waves’ use of Demoralizing Shout intimidated the Elite Manticore, forcing it to retreat several steps. After waiting to be healed some more, he charged forward and struck it with Shield Bash, pulling the Elite Manticore’s aggro back onto him. He felt a cold sweat run down his forehead. If he had to wait even a second longer for the Priest to cast Remove Blind, then the team would’ve most likely been wiped.

Nie Yan’s leadership gave rise to extremely important results.

All of the frontliners tightly surrounded the Elite Manticore and let loose every attack skill they had. Nie Yan also circled behind it and unleashed a flurry of skills.

The sound of explosions endlessly rang out as the Elite Manticore was bombarded with spells, sending damage values rising up into the air one after another.

When the Elite Manticore’s health fell below five percent, its fur transformed into a bright red that dazzled the eyes.

It was about to go berserk!