Overpowering Sykes

After explaining what the ritual did, Lin Yu looked at the others' half-comprehending expressions and gave up on explaining further.

Seeing that they were still standing where they were, Lin Yu urged them on. "Quick, everyone get inside the ritual array so I can buff you."

At Lin Yu's words, they hurried into the array.

Once they were all inside, Lin Yu raised his staff and pressed it against the array, pouring a vast amount of Mana into the ritual array beneath their feet.

Five thousand Mana points went into the ritual, activating it at once. Intense light enveloped the four people inside the array.

The light soon faded, and Guan Canghai and the other three stepped out of the array.

Feeling the surge of power within them, they opened their panels.

"Holy crap!" Looking at the full 517-point increase to each of his five attributes—physical attack, speed, defense, dexterity, and reaction—Guan Canghai was the first to cry out.

"Whoa, are these stats real? Am I seeing this right? We got over five hundred points just like that!" As Guan Canghai spoke, the others also came to their senses and began shouting along with him.

Watching them carry on, Lin Yu said, "I need to remind you that this buff can only last five minutes at most. If you're going to fight the boss, hurry up and don't waste time. Also, I'm almost out of Mana after using this skill, so I can't buff you a second time anytime soon."

"It's a shame I don't have any ritual materials. Otherwise, I could have boosted those stats a little more."

At Lin Yu's reminder, they stopped shouting. Guan Canghai spoke first. "All right, got it. Let's hurry inside. As we discussed, Xia Lin, you draw aggro. Chen Yun and I will deal damage. Xiaotong, heal us as needed. Lu Guo, you don't need to do anything. Just recover your Mana first."

"Got it."

At Guan Canghai's orders, Chen Yun and the other two voiced their agreement.

"All right, let's go!" With that, Guan Canghai led the way into the arena.

Once they had all entered, Lin Yu followed them inside.

As soon as he entered, Lin Yu saw Xia Lin gripping her longsword and slashing Sykes across the neck. Seeing the boss's health bar appear above, Lin Yu found a safe corner and began recovering his Mana while watching the show.

The instant Xia Lin's longsword struck, a tremendous force bore down on Sykes on the ground. Sykes immediately lost his balance, his grip on his greatsword came loose, and he was sent flying.

"Whoa, that's some strength!" Lin Yu exclaimed, watching Sykes fly dozens of meters from a single slash and slam heavily into the ground.

Apparently not expecting that to happen, Xia Lin simply stood there in a daze.

Seeing Xia Lin still standing there stunned, Guan Canghai called out, "Don't just stand there. Come on, let's finish him off together." With that, he charged toward the spot where Sykes had fallen.

At their guild leader's reminder, the others came to their senses as well, and Xia Lin and Chen Yun were the first to rush out.

Seeing them charge ahead, Lin Xiaotong reacted too and hurried after them.

At that moment, Sykes also came to his senses. He tried to push himself up with both hands while cursing under his breath.

"Fuck, which bastard sneak-attacked me?" Before Sykes could push himself up, Guan Canghai reached him. Seeing the boss trying to rise, Guan Canghai kicked him straight in the head.

A tremendous force struck Sykes's body through his armor, and he fell backward, slamming into the ground.

Seeing Sykes like that, Guan Canghai didn't hesitate to slash him across the neck.

Clang! Metal rang out as the blade struck, sending a shower of sparks from where it hit the armor.

Sykes was sent flying again. This time, Chen Yun and the others were ready and followed him. Chen Yun, Xia Lin, and Guan Canghai surrounded the boss and launched a furious assault, while Lin Xiaotong raised her hand and cast Life Force Drain, trying to drain the boss's life force.

Under the three attackers' slashes, the boss was sent rolling across the ground. But after nearly a minute of hacking at him, they hadn't left a single scratch on his plate armor. Their own weapons, on the other hand, had already developed rolled edges.

Watching everything unfold, Lin Yu glanced at the health bar above, which hadn't decreased at all, and gave his assessment. "Sure enough, you need a blunt weapon to break through armor. Swords can't cut through it at all. And the way they're performing after the buff is ridiculous."

"Also, in this game, if your constitution is stronger than your opponent's, you really can keep them completely pinned down the whole time. Then again, this Era isn't a real game, and the numbers on the panel aren't just numbers."

Honestly, this was Lin Yu's first time seeing physical-class fighters in action. In a fight between physical classes, it really came down to whose constitution was stronger. As long as the weaker side had no way to make up the difference, they would be crushed to death by the side with higher stats.

And the situation now was obvious. With Lin Yu's buff, Guan Canghai and the others' stats completely outstripped Sykes's. Under these circumstances, Sykes was being beaten without any ability to fight back.

Lin Yu couldn't help marveling at the advantages of physical classes. Unlike mages, physical classes didn't rely so heavily on equipment. With a few simple pieces of gear, they could generally display strength close to that of a fully equipped mage. When both were fully equipped, physical classes of the same level were simply stronger in combat than mages.

That was only natural. Combat classes were specialized to the extreme for fighting.

As for their shortcomings, physical classes were basically specialized for combat and didn't have as many varied methods as mages. A mage's defining feature had always been versatility.

Looking at Sykes, who couldn't move under their assault, Guan Canghai grew anxious. They couldn't break through his armor at all, and if this dragged on, their stat-boosting buff would soon wear off.

Sykes, who had been kept under constant control, finally erupted. Powerful Qi burst from his body as he tried to send his attackers flying.

But clearly, this time Sykes wasn't facing a physically weak squishy like Lin Yu. Guan Canghai and the others paid no attention to the Qi he unleashed. It struck them like a gentle breeze against their faces, unable to make them take even a single step back.

Feeling Sykes resist, Guan Canghai grew irritated and kicked him straight in the helmet. Perhaps the angle was just right, because the kick sent Sykes's helmet flying.

The sight stunned not only Sykes but the others as well.

In the end, Guan Canghai was the first to react. Seeing Sykes preparing to get up, he kicked him straight in the head, now unprotected by his helmet.

The kick sent Sykes's head crashing into the ground. Looking at the others, who were still standing there stunned, Guan Canghai shouted, "Stop standing around and attack him with me!"