It was [Flurry Strikes].

  Lila had activated the skill before Magnus had even finished his cast. When the [Frostbolt] landed, Magnus had no idea her resistances were already boosted by two hundred percent.

  The freeze lasted less than half a second before shattering.

  Cole, seeing the CC fail, reacted with impressive speed, using his taunt to try and force her aggression onto him. But Lila barely faltered, her body only hesitating for a fraction of a second before her blade continued on its path. With her resistances stacked so high, and factoring in the massive gap in their levels and gear, their crowd control skills were next to useless.

  Magnus had blown all his escape and survival cooldowns. Before her, he was a lamb for the slaughter.

  The last two strikes of [Flurry Strikes] slammed into him.

  -4,218 Health

  -4,218 Mana

  -4,135 Health

  -4,135 Mana

  Somehow, he was still alive, clinging to his last thousand hit points. He reacted instantly, chugging a high-tier health potion.

  +6,000 HP

  At the same time, Roland threw a shield on him, granting another five thousand temporary health.

  But Lila was relentless. Gripping her greatsword in both hands, she launched him into the air.

  [Rising Slash]!

  -5,000 (Shield Absorbed)

  -3,144 Health

  -8,146 Mana

  She burned her last major cooldown. She couldn’t afford to wait. If Amy’s heals came off cooldown, this kill would slip through her fingers.

  As Magnus hung suspended in the air, she brought her greatsword down in a brutal, final blow.

  -4,825 Health

  -4,825 Mana

  With that last strike, her objective was complete.

  Magnus was dead.

  Lila let out a quiet sigh of relief. A level thirty-one versus a level twenty-nine—a full gear tier apart, a character with their first class advancement against one without—and it had still taken every single one of her skills to secure the kill. It just went to show how infuriating a mage with escape abilities could be.

  A thought of Kael’s overwhelming power crossed her mind. If I had an Ascendant-tier blade, this wouldn't have been nearly so much work… she mused.

  With Magnus gone, the rest was simple.

  Lila turned to face the remaining three.

  Cole and Roland had their weapons raised, but the moment they saw their leader fall, they froze. With their cornerstone gone, the full, terrifying reality of the woman they were facing finally crashed down on them.

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  Lila, the warrior who had just systematically slaughtered seven of their comrades, didn't immediately attack. She simply stood there, greatsword resting on her shoulder, and let her gaze drift over the three of them.

  An immense pressure washed over Cole. He instinctively lowered his weapon, taking an involuntary step back. He glanced at Roland, then at Amy in the distance.

  In each other’s eyes, they saw the same unspoken answer:

  Run.

  Their execution, when it came to retreating, was flawless. In the blink of an eye, the three of them scattered, vanishing into the dense packs of monsters in the woods.

  As the last of her opponents fled, the battle was over.

  Lila had no interest in chasing them down. She turned and walked away.

  Lila, 1 vs 10. A decisive victory.

  She looked toward Kael’s position and saw the giant tortoise’s massive form lumbering away in the distance. She thought the hardest part of the escort was finally over, but then she saw them. Kael and the others were completely surrounded by a massive, chaotic mob of players.

  What the hell?!

  Lila broke into a sprint.

  In truth, trouble had started for Kael’s group the moment she left. A steady stream of players had begun to emerge from the eastern forest. The second they laid eyes on the third chieftain, Fenris, they swarmed.

  At that moment, Kael and Rena were up front, tanking a dozen mobs, leaving only Hazel and Orion to guard the chieftain. The two immediately went on high alert. If Fenris were at full strength, they would have had nothing to worry about. But in his current weakened state, there was no telling if he could survive being dogpiled.

  At first, the encroaching players were wary of Hazel, hesitant to make the first move. But as their numbers swelled, their courage grew, and they charged as one.

  Hazel was fearless. Buffed with several of Orion’s protective glyphs, she met the charge head-on, shield raised. Her defense was so immense that even against a sea of enemies, she stood like a rock.

  -1

  -1

  -172

  -133

  …

  Physical attacks couldn’t even scratch her. Only a few mages were able to inflict any real damage.

  “Holy shit, this little girl is tanky!”

  “How is she so tough!?”

  “Look at her HP, it’s almost thirty K!”

  “Goddamn, what the hell does she eat for breakfast?”

  “Dispel! Priests, dispel her buffs!”

  “Warlocks! Get your curses on her, now!”

  When the priests tried to cast their dispels, however, they found the spells fizzled uselessly. Hazel’s buffs came from glyphs, a separate category from normal spells. Without a specialized counter or an overwhelmingly high Spirit stat, they were impossible to remove.

  The warlock curses, however, did find their mark, lowering Hazel’s magical resistance.

  Orion was busy, too. He quickly established a [Circle of Serenity], a magical formation on the ground. The circle would heal allies within its bounds and pulse out an automatic area-of-effect dispel every five seconds for three minutes. It needed a friendly target to act as an anchor, so he centered it on Fenris, healing and protecting him at the same time.

  But Hazel wasn’t fighting predictable mobs. She was fighting players. And players didn’t follow a neat, orderly aggro system. They were opportunistic. They always went for the weakest link.

  Suddenly, dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on one person.

  Orion saw them all staring at him and knew he was the new target.

  “Hey, what gives?” he shouted nervously. “Your target is the NPC, right?”

  His attempt to bluff them failed spectacularly. The players closed in, sneering. They couldn't crack the little girl, but a squishy Diviner? He was fair game.

  Seeing the mob getting closer, Orion prepared to unleash his ultimate ability: Supreme Summoning!

  He took a deep, dramatic breath, spun around, and screamed at the top of his lungs.

  “HELP! BOSS! HELP MEEEEE!”

  The moment his voice faded, the sky went dark.

  A dense rain of arrows fell from above, blanketing the area.

  -29,245

  -82,973

  …

  In an instant, a fifteen-by-fifteen-yard area was wiped clean of all life.

  Immediately after, three figures blurred past him, a ghostly specter trailing behind them in the air. It was Kael’s clone team.

  “Yeah!” Orion flashed a peace sign. “Supreme Summoning, successful!”

  From the front line, Kael glanced back, saw the situation was handled, and turned his attention back to the mobs without a word. It had been a while since he’d killed anyone in Crescent, and it seemed many had forgotten what he was capable of.

  Most of the players who had truly fought him were from Stonehaven or Starlight Village. This new crowd had only heard stories or seen videos. And the more his fame as “Dawnbreaker” grew, the more it stoked their ambition.

  If I kill Dawnbreaker, I’ll be famous! I’ll get all his top-tier gear!

  They were all blinded by greed.