"He's here, just as Wang Qiang said he would be." Zhang Jie caught sight of Niflheim as he approached the Brooding Behemoth Basbus.
When Minus saw that Niflheim had finally arrived, he grew bolder with his assault against the Brooding Behemoth Basbus. Now that his reinforcements were here, he did not have to look over his shoulder every few seconds to keep on eye on Zhang Jie. This was a task better suited for Niflheim. Besides, he wanted the massive event points that came along with defeating a boss monster.
As for Izroth's party and the other small guilds, Minus was not worried in the slightest about them stealing the Brooding Behemoth Basbus. After all, two powerful top guilds were present. It was simply impossible for others to have any chance.
"There are so many players now!" Guan Yu said as he swept his guandao outward with a basic attack aimed directly at the boss monster.
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Thanks to the member Cross Haven and Blue Oasis, the HP on the Brooding Behemoth Basbus could not hold up under the constant assault and was falling rapidly. Just moments ago it was still at 70% HP and now it was already down to 36% of its total HP.
"This really is an SS-ranked quest. Going through so much trouble to retrieve an item... Forget about the boss, it's the other players that make this a bit tricky." Valentine stated.
Zi Yi shot an arrow at towards the Brooding Behemoth Basbus as it vanished. One second later, that same arrow appeared behind the body of the boss monster and pierced into it.
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"The moment that could decide whether we pass or fail the first trial is right around the corner. We have to be prepared to go all out." Zi Yi reminded everyone.
When the Brooding Behemoth Basbus' HP dropped below the 40% mark, two boulders started dropping down every ten seconds instead of the usual one. Also, the quakes and tremors that it released happened more frequently which made players pay close attention to the movements of the Brooding Behemoth Basbus so that they could react properly.
'Strange...'
Izroth was able to perceive the surrounding battlefield clearly and he noticed a few strange movements made by that Zhang Jie player from Cross Haven. From the way the players began to mobilize and position themselves, it was not the best set-up to claim the Brooding Behemoth Basbus.
The majority of the Cross Haven players were spread out into an almost defensive style perimeter. However, there were certain players who remained grouped together in threes. It was a bizarre scene to witness with a critical moment of claiming the Brooding Behemoth Basbus right around the corner.
As Niflheim scanned the battlefield, he realized that the players from Cross Haven were no longer fully focused on the rare event boss monster. That action meant that the proposal the guild leader of Blue Oasis, Ewan, had made was about to soon take effect.
Minus may have been concentrated on the Brooding Behemoth Basbus, but he was still a little concerned about Cross Haven jumping in at the last moment to steal it. "Niflheim! I'm going to send for the remaining members our my area that are on standby!" he shouted to Niflheim.
However, the response that he received from Niflheim was not one that he expected.
"You will not!" Niflheim replied almost immediately after Niflheim's suggestion.
He would not? Minus was trying to courteous towards Niflheim who was a fellow captain by informing him beforehand of his plans. But, in the end, Niflheim had a rank that was equal to his own and therefore he did not have to follow Niflheim's orders.
"Why shouldn't I? The last time I checked, you could give me your opinion on a matter, but not a direct order." Minus spoke in a tone of voice that was filled with a hint of annoyance.
"Guild leader Asgard has given Captain Niflheim lead command on any battlefield during the event Protectors of Amaharpe, second only to his own command. Captain Minus, I have been granted the power of the Second Order." Niflheim said.
Minus was shocked. Niflheim had actually been given the power of the Second Order? How come he was not informed of such a thing? In fact, all the members of Blue Oasis were startled when they heard Niflheim's words.
Having the power of the Second Order was the equivalent of taking commands from the guild leader himself. However, it was only used in times of emergencies or when the guild leader was unable to perform his duties properly due to some unforeseen circumstances.
The most unusual thing was that neither of those situations was something that the guild was aware of. To their current knowledge, Asgard was in a perfect state to lead. Also, there was no huge threat made against the guild that they knew about.
"Why would you have the power of the Second Order given to you?" Minus understood very well that Niflheim would not joke about something like this. Even if he was one of the seven captains, the punishment for faking the power of the Second Order was not light.
"I am unable to discuss such matters. However, know that I indeed have lead command in this area. As the individual who possesses the lead command, you will follow my orders and keep the remaining members on standby until further notice." Niflheim said with authority in his voice.
Minus was silent for a moment before he responded and said, "Understood." He then turned his attention away from Niflheim and back towards the rare event boss. But, there was a look of coldness in his eyes at that moment that no one could see.
"Now, your party isn't a part of the equation. Let's hope it stays that way." Niflheim said as he looked in the direction of Izroth and his party members.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Izroth's Blade of Lightning moved quickly through the air and struck the body of the Brooding Behemoth twice. He used a basic attack followed by the skill First Sword Form: Converging Paths.
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«Critical Hit»
-734
Usually, Izroth poured some of his Essence into his basic attacks, but he was saving his Essence for the final attack against the Brooding Behemoth Basbus. He still only regenerated one Essence per minute, therefore, in order to avoid a potential Soul Weakness he had to make sure to leave some room for error.
30%...
20%...
10%...
When the HP of the Brooding Behemoth Basbus reached the 10% mark, it entered into an enraged state. The boulders that fell from the sky every ten seconds, now fell down every five seconds. Also, the damage from the tremors was now unavoidable even when jumping. This made it so that the healers had to put in a lot of effort to keep up with the damage.
Thankfully, the damage stayed at a fixed amount and did not increase from its previous value. If it did, then the number of players currently within the Blue Oasis' sector that would remain alive after this battle would have been much smaller.
Luna was able to skillfully keep Izroth and her other party members HP within the safe zone. With the correct timing sense and keeping track of everyone's HP, it made it much easier for Luna to match her heals with damage done by the Brooding Behemoth Basbus. Of course, it was a lot harder than Luna made it look.
Right now, the Brooding Behemoth Basbus had around 100,000 HP remaining and the rest was being chipped away at rapidly. Its defenses had become weaker, however, its other aspects such as agility and attack power had become stronger.
However, Halls along with Luna was able to keep up with the rare event boss for the moment. But, that was changing with every second that passed as the boss monster only became stronger and stronger.
From the near distance, one could see a large group of players moving towards the Brooding Behemoth Basbus with incredible haste.
When Niflheim saw those players rushing over, his facial expression immediately darkened as he searched for Minus who was locked in a battle against the Brooding Behemoth Basbus.
The players who came rushing over were under the direct command of Minus and besides Asgard or himself who was given the power of the Second Order, no one else could have mobilized them.
Of course, Asgard was not present at the moment and he did not give the order himself. This meant that Minus had defied his orders! With Niflheim's current status, that was the equivalent of openly defying Asgard himself.
"Captain Minus, why have you defied my direct order?"! Niflheim was furious. It was not necessarily due to his order being ignored, but rather it was because of the disrespect towards the Second Order which represented Asgard.
One had to know that Asgard had saved him during a bad period in his gaming career. If not for Asgard, he would not be where he is today. Therefore, Niflheim took Minus defying the Second Order as him challenging Asgard's position of authority.
"I still have yet to receive any official statement saying that you have the power of the Second Order, Captain Niflheim." Minus made sure to stress the captain part. It was as if he was saying that Niflheim was not above him.
"Surely you do not think that I would lie about something with such serious implications?" Niflheim said trying to suppress his anger. He nor any of the other seven captains would dare to lie about being given the power of the Second Order. Why would fellow guild members, especially ones of such high positions, openly lie to one another?
Minus did not respond to Niflheim's question as the members he had waiting on standby had arrived and took up their position.
When Platic, who was currently standing next to Zhang Jie, noticed that more members of Blue Oasis had arrived and became a bit nervous. Would they really start a fight with Blue Oasis in their very own sector?
Zhang Jie saw the worried expression on Platic's face and reassured him. "You shouldn't worry about it too much. He should be making his next move right about now. We simply have to wait and hold our ground."
...
"Is everything with Sage Falls in place Menerva?" Vault said resting the side of his face on his fist.
"Yes, they will adjust their time slightly and move just before the end of the sixth wave. The results of turning Cross Haven and Blue Oasis against each other was greater than I originally anticipated. If all goes well on Sage Falls' end, then you should have the results you seek." Menerva responded.
"Excellent." A large grin crept onto Vault's face. He then continued on and said, "Then, it will also be time for them to take action soon. Tell our other friends that Sage Falls is about to make their move, the rest will be up to them."
Menerva was a bit taken aback. "It is still too soon to reveal that card. If we do that then-"
"You dare question my orders?! If I say do it, then you do it!" Vault said in an angered manner. He did not take Menerva questioning his decisions lightly.
Menerva did not continue on and remained silent. A few moments later she said, "Understood." She then gave a slight respectful bow before executing the orders that were given to her.
"Tch... Just because she's a little useful she believes it to be okay to question me. Well, it doesn't matter. In the end, she will never escape my grasp." Vault said to himself.
Vault then stood to his feet as he spoke as if victory was already assured. "Heh, what top guilds? They are nothing before my Headhunter Syndicate. Soon enough, I'll have all of them underneath my foot. Ahahaha!" Vault let out an almost disturbing laugh.