Reign of the Hunters

“Lord Dalufar, do you need me to keep them alive?” asked Ye Ci, it’ll be bad if I piss him off by using the bombs on them.

Dalufar was shaken by Ye Ci’s words, and at that very moment, he looked like a frail old man, “They’ve sold their souls to the demons. They are beyond redemption. Even if I wish to save them, they are not coming back.”

The indirect answer was an indicator to Ye Ci that she was free to act as she saw fit. Well, since the boss has spoken, I’ll do my best!

“Deploy your lightning totems. Paralyse them when I draw them into your attack range.” said Ye Ci to Alaunar.

“What are you trying to do, Mistress?” Alaunar was confused for the briefest of moments before realisation dawned upon him, “Oh, you’re going to deal with them like what you did to the dullahans!”

“Yup.”

Hesitation appeared in Alaunar’s eyes, but the boy nodded when he saw Dalufar who was locked in combat with Nuoba, “Alright, leave it to me.”

Ye Ci nocked an arrow, and began sprinting around Nuoba’s, dodging and weaving as she went. Nuoba’s men, who were provoked by her actions, raised their weapons and charged. Ye Ci was able to attract the aggro of Nuoba’s men, and clumped them up together to maximize the effect of her Rain of Arrows.

She fired an arrow into the air after making several laps, and arrows rained down upon Nuoba’s men. Red damage indicators appeared on the sentries’ heads. Ye Ci was unable to deal any significant amount of damage to Nuoba’s men due to the level penalty in the game, but it was still a satisfying sight.

Even with the attention of the bulk of Nuoba’s men on Ye Ci, Alaunar was still kept busy by stragglers as he struggled to deploy his totems. As they were all melee fighters, it was still relatively easy to deal with them as long as they did not get close.

In an attempt to buy more time for Alaunar, Ye Ci continued kiting Nuoba’s men around the village while harassing them with arrows. She was not able to take them down, but she was able to dish out a significant amount of damage. Of course, Ye Ci’s success was due to the fact that the demonized sentries, with their level of intelligence greatly reduced, had been following Ye Ci around in circles. They followed her around the village, and eventually into the area filled with Alaunar’s totems.

The village itself was in a state of disarray. No buildings and tents were left untouched as Nuoba’s men scrambled to catch up to Ye Ci. Have the NPCs fled? Mused Ye Ci. Whatever, this is not the time to worry about that.

I’m lucky that these sentries do not have a Priest among them. If I’m hit by a crowd control skill, I’m as good as dead.

“I’ve completed the preparations, Mistress.” Alaunar’s voice finally rang out in Ye Ci’s ears, and she immediately led Nuoba’s men in the direction of the boy. Alaunar began channeling his spells. While weaker than the spells cast by Dalufar, Alaunar’s Chain Lightning was more than enough to paralyze Nuoba’s men.

Dalufar was locked in combat with the demonized Nuoba. Despite Nuoba’s disadvantage in level, the NPC had gained a huge boost in his stats by becoming a demon, as well as the ability to fly, which made him a formidable opponent for even Dalufar himself. But the Shaman was still able to cast Blessing on Ye Ci and Alaunar even when he was busy dealing with the demonized Nuoba.

Tears began rolling down Ye Ci’s cheeks when she noticed the effects of Dalufar’s Blessing. So this is a Blessing by a godly artifact wielding, high level NPC. If I can bring him to the mainland with me, we can crack every dungeon with his Blessing alone.

The crackling of electricity filled the cold night air along with the howls of Nuoba’s men.

Ye Ci intended to throw out one of her bombs, but out of the thousand of Nuoba’s men, only 300 were paralyzed by Alaunar’s spell. The rest of the demonized sentries were still close on her heels. It seems that Alaunar has to fend for himself for a short while. “Alaunar, I’m not in a good position to throw the bombs, can you deal with them on your own?”

“Don’t worry about me. I should be able to take care of them with my totems quite easily.”

Alaunar’s words brought relief to Ye Ci, and she continued kiting Nuoba’s men around the ruined village. Even Ye Ci herself had lost count of the laps she made around the village when the red damage indicators in her screen were replaced by the golden numbers of experience points gained. Wow, that was quick! Thought Ye Ci as she cast a quick glance at Alaunar. The boy had managed to dispatch most of his foes. The few remaining stragglers chased after Alaunar, who avoided their attacks with astonishing agility, and before long even the stragglers laid dead on the ground.

The boy immediately began redeploying his totems in preparation for the next wave of Nuoba’s men that Ye Ci would bring into his trap.

Ye Ci was quick to lead the demonized sentries into Alaunar’s attack range. With their prior experience, the duo was able to spring their trap at the right time, trapping 500 more of Nuoba’s men within the range of Alaunar’s totems. The remainder of the sentries, though unaffected by Alaunar’s lightning, could not make their way to Ye Ci as their comrades were blocking their way.

Now is the chance! They’re so tightly packed. If I don’t use the bombs now, I might not get another chance! Ye Ci tossed her bombs into the crowd without even the slightest hesitation, and threw herself and Alaunar onto the ground.

“Watch out, Lord Dalufar!” Ye Ci shouted at the Shaman. If he’s somehow killed by the explosion, there’s no way Alaunar and I can deal with Nuoba.

Dalufar did not know what Ye Ci and Alaunar were planning, but immediately cast a shield on himself when he received the warning. A golden shield with lightning crackling on its surface enveloped the Shaman. Isn’t that a Lightning Shield? Ye Ci was quick to recognize the skill that was used by Dalufar.

Just then, Nuoba launched his attack against Dalufar with renewed vigor. He flapped his wings, summoning strong gusts in the cold night sky.

“BOOM!” a loud explosion shook the ground, throwing dust, debris, and pieces of armor into the air.

Despite their relative safety, Ye Ci and Alaunar were still affected by the concussive force and debris from the explosion. Ye Ci immediately produced a Health Potion from her inventory as her health plummeted, but to her amazement, her health bar was instantly refilled along with Alaunar’s before her lips could even touch the mouth of the bottle. Dalufar! He’s casting a healing spell on us, Alaunar, and himself while maintaining his shield.

Motherfluffer! As expected of a lvl240 BOSS-tier NPC!

He’s literally immortal!

Dalufar himself was of course not safe from the effects of the explosion, but a Shaman is the jack of all trades, which meant that he could easily heal himself up. Nuoba, on the other hand, had no such luck.

The NPC had absorbed the full brunt of the explosion with his giant form. One of his wings were shredded into bloody ribbons by the debris and fragments caused by the explosion. As Nuoba bellowed in pain, Dalufar sprung into action. With his ability to fly, which gave him an edge in his fight against Dalufar lost, Nuoba was helpless against the onslaught of spells that rained down upon him.

Despite the marvelous spectacle of the fight between the two NPCs, Ye Ci herself was still in combat. Many of Nuoba’s men were dead, but there were still stragglers trapped in the crater created by the large explosion. They struggled to regain their footing, and continue their attack on Ye Ci. This is the moment. If I die here, all my efforts will be wasted. Ye Ci forced herself back on her feet, and began launching attacks against the trapped sentries, completely disregarding the state of her equipment.

Alaunar shook away the disorientation and was able to recover from the effects of the explosion. He immediately began redeploying his totems and aid Ye Ci in her fight against the last of Nuoba’s men.

With only so few of their numbers left and nearly dead, Nuoba’s men were no longer a threat to the duo. Ye Ci summoned Ol’ Four and was able to easily defeat the sentries with Alaunar’s aid.

The fight between Nuoba and Dalufar was coming to an end as well.

With a few more attacks from Ye Ci, Alaunar, and Ol’ Four, Nuoba collapsed after howling in rage. The NPCs death filled their experience gauge with a huge amount of experience points. Alaunar himself was able to reach lvl90 after the battle.

Dalufar released his grip on his staff and stared at the mountains of corpses. He closed his eyes, and returned to his tent.

“Lord Dalufar!” shouted Aluanar, with the intention of following after the Shaman into the tent. He was stopped by Ye Ci, who shook her head at the boy. She knew that Dalufar did not wish to be distrubed, even by Alaunar.

“What is it, mistress?” Alaunar was confused.

Ye Ci let out a sigh. She could understand Dalufar’s grief. The ones who had lost their lives were his tribesmen.

“My son! Why did you sell your soul to the demons? Why did you turn your blade against our tribesman?” a voice filled with woe rang out in the silent night. A Doluo woman was howling in anguish as she clutched Nuoba’s corpse in her embrace. More women, children, and the old began appearing all around the village. They knelt beside the corpses of their loved ones and wept.

The entire village was filled with grief and sorrow. Despair was spread into every corner of the village like a plague.

Alaunar himself was weeping in silence as he stood beside Ye Ci. A thought appeared in Ye Ci’s mind as she stared at the members of the Doluo tribe.

Wait, there’s so many of them? Where have they been during the fight?