069 Unit Artifacts!

Summon Skeleton Warrior!

The mammoth boss no longer seemed able to use its charge ability, but its speed was much greater than Yin’s. When the mammoth was only ten meters away, Yin summoned a skeleton warrior to block its path. Now, everyone could only wait for Dawnwind to break free from the Hand of Protection; otherwise, there was no way forward.

Dawnwind was already close enough. As soon as the Hand of Protection wore off, he could pull the mammoth back again. Yet he faced a grim reality: his shield was gone. How could he withstand this boss now?

Lightless Shield!

Dawnwind had little to say about this utterly worthless shield. He had no spare shield in his pack, so he could only pull out this piece of junk and hope it might hold, if only for a moment. Shields are easier to parry with than single-handed weapons, and that’s not dependent on gear quality. Dawnwind just hoped this battered shield wouldn’t be destroyed with a single blow.

Leap of Faith!

The skeleton warrior could not withstand the mammoth boss; its trunk shattered the undead in two strikes. As the mammoth was about to crash into Yin, Data Emperor instantly activated a skill to pull him to his side. At the same time, Dawnwind’s Hand of Protection ended, leaving him vulnerable to physical attacks.

Bloodlust! Dawnwind originally held the highest aggro. Now, freed from Hand of Protection, his Brotherhood Sword cut into the mammoth, instantly drawing its attention back. The mammoth’s physical defense was terrifying; it seemed only magical attacks could withstand it.

Mammoth Slam!

The boss charged with its tusks, sending Dawnwind, shield raised, flying. To his surprise, the Lightless Shield, despite its shoddy condition, did not suffer a single dent. It seemed that, while damaged, the Lightless Shield was not something even a boss like the mammoth could break.

“This boss is tough to tank…” The mammoth’s strength was formidable; every time its trunk struck, Dawnwind felt his hand tremble beneath the shield. If not for Data Emperor healing behind him, Dawnwind would have already fallen. The previous mammoth he’d fought was simple, lacking this many skills and raw power—he could tank and kill it easily. But now, Dawnwind dared not face this enraged beast head-on.

Yin’s spell damage was far stronger than Dawnwind’s physical attacks. If things continued like this, Yin would soon overtake him in aggro. Five stacks of Destruction Strike had reduced the mammoth’s defense by 25%, yet the fight remained difficult, suggesting the boss had not only high defense but astonishing physical damage reduction.

Blood Magic Ring!

Even Blood Strike could not save Dawnwind’s health; the ring was necessary. Only with the Blood Magic Ring could Dawnwind hold out against the mammoth for now. After a heroic leap, he jumped back and slipped the ring onto his middle finger.

[Temporal Shift]: Temporal skill. Enter the space-time continuum and instantly teleport within a hundred meters. Each attack is guaranteed to critically hit, lasting eight seconds, up to five teleports. Cooldown: ten minutes. Cost: none.

A mage’s temporal skill, now usable by Dawnwind thanks to the ring. He dodged the mammoth’s charge, instantly appearing behind it.

Giant Strike! (Deals damage and ignores 100% enemy defense for the next six seconds.)

Furious Slash!

Heroic Strike!

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Dawnwind unleashed his skills swiftly, hoping to use four Furious Slashes within the eight seconds of Temporal Shift to drop the boss’s health below thirty percent, at which point he could chain Furious Slashes indefinitely and no longer worry about Yin overtaking him in aggro. During Temporal Shift, Dawnwind didn’t need to worry about attacks from the mammoth, and his remaining seven percent health could be quickly restored.

“No, if this keeps up, we’ll wipe for sure!” Data Emperor had calculated Dawnwind’s damage mitigation cycle; at this rate, Dawnwind couldn’t withstand the boss.

The mammoth’s massive trunk lashed at Dawnwind. Even when he blocked with his shield, he was flung back, with over 800 damage appearing overhead. The Lightless Shield was only useful for parrying; blocking was a lost cause. Its block effect was pitiful—both block chance and block value. Even if a block triggered, the value was negligible.

What now?

Dawnwind once had a strong team, and even when training as main tank, he’d never faced such danger. His health was under 500; if struck again by the mammoth’s trunk or tusks, he’d surely fall.

As the mammoth’s trunk swept toward him once more, Dawnwind activated his flight skill, combining it with a leap to take to the air. Once the one-minute self-discipline effect from Hand of Protection wore off, Data Emperor immediately summoned a Holy Light onto Dawnwind—a Holy Healing spell, instantly restoring him to full health. It could only be used on targets without a self-discipline effect, causing one for a minute.

Without Temporal Shift, Dawnwind found it extremely difficult to parry the mammoth’s attacks. The sheer force was beyond what he could block. Previous bosses were humanoid, and Dawnwind had trained accordingly, but facing a beast-type boss was another matter.

Shield Reflect!

Seeing the mammoth’s trunk aimed at him, Dawnwind activated Shield Reflect. Sure enough, acidic liquid erupted from the mammoth’s neck. Had he not reflected it, he would have been glued to the ground. Flight time was nearly up; Dawnwind landed, jumped forward, used the boss’s back to spring behind it, triggered Berserk Fury, and unleashed a Furious Slash on its hind leg. He rotated with the mammoth’s spin, adding Bloodlust and Heroic Strike.

After two Furious Slashes, the mammoth finally faced Dawnwind directly, but his flight time had one second left—he jumped back, flying away. This time, however, the mammoth unexpectedly charged and crashed into him. Dawnwind raised his shield; the mammoth’s tusks struck the Lightless Shield with a sharp clang, sending Dawnwind flying like a cut kite.

Originally, Dawnwind had a full 3725 health; now only 592 remained. He hadn’t expected the mammoth to use charge again.

Support!

“Quick, move!” Dawnwind dashed to Data Emperor, then ran off, activating Rage Recovery to restore his health, afraid another charge would kill him. His left hand, holding the shield, was numb, but thankfully the Lightless Shield had no holes. Otherwise, he’d have no shield left.

“This mammoth has only forty percent health left—it should enter the second phase. I suspect the boss uses charge each phase transition. That’s a tank-killer move; you’ll need full health!” Data Emperor saw Dawnwind’s shield had not been pierced and realized it had saved him. Previously, even with Shield Wall, Dawnwind lost half his health to a charge. Now, without Shield Wall, he was left with a sliver. Clearly, the shield mitigated some damage.

Most bosses have several phases, each with different abilities. You can judge phase transitions by their health and behavior. If Data Emperor was right, when the boss drops to ten percent health, it will enter its final frenzy, likely unleashing its ultimate.

“Stall for time!”

If collision occurred, Dawnwind felt the party would wipe. They had to wait for Recklessness, Divinity’s Descent, and Skeleton Battle Banner cooldowns before unleashing another burst to finish the boss. With too few people, Dawnwind had to cover three roles to enable melee burst. Only in God Mode, during Furious Slash phase, could Dawnwind manage that. For now, he had to stall for cooldowns.

Heroic Leap!

As the mammoth approached, Dawnwind leapt away, threw a weapon for damage, then kept running. When the mammoth came close again, Dawnwind activated Windstep to speed away. Alternating Support and Heroic Leap, he kited the boss, keeping aggro safe from Yin’s output. During this kiting phase, Dawnwind’s health would recover, ready for another burst.

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“Data Emperor, I’m about to unleash my ultimate—give me twenty seconds if you can!” The boss had thirty-two percent health left; Dawnwind could only use Furious Slash to bring it down.

Bloodlust! Gale Strike!

Dawnwind activated his burst, triggering Bloodlust, then immediately used Gale Strike. After bursting, he triggered Berserk Fury, gaining three Furious Slash opportunities and unleashed them all. Yin coordinated, using his own ultimate. Their combined attack rapidly dropped the boss’s health to thirty percent.

Dawnwind circled the mammoth, avoiding direct confrontation. Though this wasted many attack opportunities, he was rarely struck. Unable to reach him, the mammoth used War Stomp, shattering the ground and causing area damage, stunning Dawnwind.

Data Emperor didn’t hesitate; as the mammoth’s trunk struck Dawnwind, he immediately healed him.

—2344

Critical hit! Data Emperor hadn’t expected the mammoth’s tusks to land a critical at such a crucial moment, nearly one-shotting Dawnwind. Holy Healing was still on cooldown, so he quickly cast more healing. Though stunned, Dawnwind’s passive Wind of Revival triggered; Rage Recovery could be used while stunned, so his health was temporarily stabilized.

Support!

Dawnwind had hoped for a single burst to finish the boss, but after dropping its health below thirty percent, he was nearly killed himself. Now he had to run, letting Data Emperor restore him. When he surged again, Dawnwind could chain Furious Slashes after Berserk Fury, using Giant Strike or Applied Strike as rage allowed.

“Jump away!” Data Emperor saw the boss preparing War Stomp and immediately warned Dawnwind to run. Dawnwind heroically leapt clear to avoid the stun, then charged back in.

Dodge left! Windstep to accelerate and circle! When the boss’s health reached eleven percent, Dawnwind activated God Mode, circling and unleashing endless Furious Slashes. Because he stayed close, the boss couldn’t use its ultimate, so Dawnwind could keep up the pressure. Familiar with the boss and with Data Emperor’s warnings to dodge War Stomp, the final phase posed no danger.

“We actually did it…” Yin could hardly believe it. Although this fight took nine minutes—far longer than expected. With their violent party’s output, they’d expected to kill the boss in three minutes, but it took much longer.

“Boss dropped troop items—take a look!” After the kill, Dawnwind crouched to check the loot and was surprised to find three troop items. These could only be used after level thirty, and troop items were rare; they’d be invaluable on the big map.

[Sword of Strikes]: Troop item, level 2. Troop creature attack +33, assault +2. For troop heroes, extra attack +11.

[Ironclad Shield]: Troop item, level 2. Troop creature physical defense +18, morale +1. For troop heroes, extra defense +6.

[Banner of Virtue]: Troop item, level 2. Troop creature morale +2.

Rare troop items—three at once! Dawnwind was astonished. Troop items drop at one ten-thousandth the rate of regular gear, making them exceptionally scarce. This level 25-30 dungeon seemed to be a clearing ground for troop items, though the drop rate was low; only hidden bosses would yield so much.

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