The Serpents of Malice were not very strong; however, they were numerous, quick, and their venom could cause paralysis while also dealing a bit of damage over time.

Handling them was not an impossible task, but it was not something that could be brushed aside or put off. After all, if they were left to roam the battlefield freely, then there would be a deadly repeat of what happened the first time the Serpents of Malice appeared before Sacred Beasts.

However, not only were the Serpents of Malice wiped out by Izroth's Great Storm, even the Failed Chimera was not spared from taking damage during the rain of wind blades!

In addition to the Great Storm's wind blades, the Failed Chimera was also inflicted by the weapon skill's bleedout effect. On top of that, Izroth's Blood Stigma proc'd multiple times, causing the Failed Chimera to receive even more damage over time.

"He certainly lives up to the rumors." Meng Jiang internalized. Although her guild was not stationed in Amaharpe, as the guild leader of Sacred Beasts, Meng Jiang made it her business to know about the important characters who resided there.

There was also the fact that most of the top guilds were initially concentrated within Amaharpe. But, if there was one name that kept appearing in the reports more than any other, it had to be Izroth.

The majority of those in the spotlight of RML had already established themselves one way or another in the gaming world. However, Izroth was a dark horse—an irregularity.

Clearing the first world boss, defeating the first dungeon solo, taking first place in the Protectors of Amaharpe event by a considerable margin, opening the first player-owned shop, and most recently, clearing a hardcore raid with Sleeping Gardenia. The list went on.

"Others may give the credit to Sleeping Gardenia for clearing the hardcore raid, but I know you played a key role in their success, Mr. First Place. This is far from what you can really do, isn't it? Just how much are you hiding? I want to see for myself." Meng Jiang thought to herself.

Woosh!

Acogu'An jumped off the Failed Chimera's back after slashing the beast with its claws and landed safely next to Meng Jiang.

Meng Jiang flicked her left hand as an uchiwa feather fan with dark red, black, and white feathers appeared.

"Acogu'An, use Complete Analysis—but, do not halt your attacks. I want to know everything there is to know about our new friend." Meng Jiang said with a charming smile.

Acogu'An made a small grunting noise as its gaze locked onto Izroth. Its eyes glowed white before returning to normal as the wolf beast removed its attention from Izroth and continued with its assault on the Failed Chimera. However, as it engaged the Failed Chimera, one could notice that Acogu'An's right eye pulsated like a heartbeat—glowing white one moment and going back to normal the next.

Meanwhile, Izroth turned to face in the direction of the Failed Chimera when he was suddenly overcome with an odd sensation.

'Hm? Strange.'

For a split second, Izroth could have sworn that he was being secretly watched. However, the feeling had swiftly vanished without a trace. It made Izroth think of Aru, a member of the Phantasmal Race that had been trailing him since he practically started RML. But, this time, it felt more invasive.

'Was I just imagining it?'

In the end, since there was no hostile intent behind it and nothing around when he scanned using his Energy Vision Sense, Izroth decided to place it in the back of his mind. If something was watching him, it was either gone by now or extremely skilled at hiding its presence.

Izroth glanced over at Banshee and stated, "Banshee, is it? The battle is not over just yet."

Banshee snapped out of it as she, too, faced the Failed Chimera.

"Right. Yeah, you're right. I won't allow myself to be distracted at such a crucial time." Banshee said as she took a deep breath to regain her focus. But, she inwardly furrowed her brows as Izroth rejoined the action.

Truthfully, Banshee was not expecting much assistance from Izroth, given that his class was a combat master. Standard skills were already difficult to come up with for combat masters, but AOE skills were a different type of monster to confront. How could he possess such a powerful AOE skill as a combat master? It made her AOE skills look like trash in comparison!

To lose out to a combat master when her class specialized in dealing damage in a wide area—this wounded Banshee's pride. But she would not let it keep her down!

Banshee darted ahead and attacked the Failed Chimera with even more vigor than before, and she was not alone.

The other members of Sacred Beasts found their second wind and entered a new level of concentration.

Izroth had not even been a part of the fight for that long, yet he eliminated two big problems without batting an eye—how could they sit back and let an outsider show them up?

Izroth had unknowingly ignited the flames of the Sacred Beasts members' competitive spirit!

The attacks of the damage dealers gained a new fluidity to them. The supporters heals, and shields became more coordinated and well-timed.

As for One Shot Brick, the look in his eyes turned ferocious as he kept the Failed Chimera's attacks contained.

At the moment, it was like staring at a completely different party!

Of course, the one to pay the price for this was the Failed Chimera itself. Its HP started to decrease at a steady pace, and with no dead players around to heal from, the party did not have to worry about the serpent's tail.

15%...

10%...

5%...!

«Blocked»

-35,029

+7,205

+12,505

+6,159

"Just die already!" One Shot Brick grumbled as he intercepted the Failed Chimera's strike, and his HP plummeted.

The finish line was in sight, but they could not relax just yet. One wrong slip up and all their efforts would go to waste.

The supporters tried their best to keep up with the Failed Chimera's increased damage, but the heals started to become too close a call.

However, One Shot Brick understood that besides him, no one else at this point could survive even a scratch from the Failed Chimera. Even with his defenses and reducing the damage by 50% from blocking, he still received 35,000 damage! Needless to say, no one else in their party had that amount of HP to spare.

Besides that, everything else was running surprisingly smooth. This was due to two individuals in particular—Izroth, and the guild leader of Sacred Beasts, Meng Jiang.

If not for their presence on the battlefield, then the battle against the Failed Chimera would have long since been lost.

Under the intense pressure, some Sacred Beasts' members made glaring mistakes that would have typically cost them dearly. But, every time something like that occurred, either Izroth or Meng Jiang would cover flawlessly for it.

With Acogu'An at her side, Meng Jiang played the roles of both support and damage dealer.

When it came to Izroth, much to the surprise of the Sacred Beasts players, he too was able to provide support while not allowing his damage to suffer in the process. He even saved One Shot Brick from a fatal blow using some type of strange encasing crystal to fend off the attack!

3%...

2%...

1%..!

The Failed Chimera did not seem to have any more tricks up its sleeves, but when it reached 1% HP, the creature unleashed a mighty roar greater than any it performed before that stunned the raid party.

ROOOOOOOOAR!

"?!" One Shot Brick suddenly froze in place as the Failed Chimera opened its jaws. It wanted to devour him whole!

"Can't move...!" One Shot Brick struggled to break free, but it was useless. The skill that allowed him to remove crowd control effects was still on cooldown. If he took this attack head-on from the Failed Chimera without blocking, there was no surviving!

Woosh!

All of a sudden, Izroth appeared in between the Failed Chimera and One Shot Brick. This caused the members of Sacred Beasts to be taken aback. Was he going to sacrifice himself to keep the hope of their victory alive?!

Thanks to his Heavenly Golden Body, Izroth resisted the creature's stun and then utilized a charge of his Enhanced Instantaneous Movement to position himself before the Failed Chimera.

Of course, he had no intention of sacrificing himself to the Failed Chimera.

'Let's see what you can do...'

Out of nowhere, a thick black and blood-red miasma encompassed Izroth as a terrifying aura of slaughter emerged from his body.

'Ruthless Slaughterer, Unbridled Kill Count.'

The miasma around Izroth shot forth and covered every inch of the Failed Chimera's enormous frame. Then, as it finally receded, a devastating number revealed itself in the battle logs as the Failed Chimera's HP directly dropped to 0%.

«Critical Hit»

-319,878