The two patrolling monsters walked only a short distance toward the three of them before turning back. Apparently, their patrol route did not reach this spot, but if Ironhead had stayed where he was earlier, he would definitely have pulled both roaming patrols.
No wonder he Blinked backward. Kawaii understood now, and his expression had returned to normal when he looked at Ye Fengxing again.
Seeing that the Ghostly Sentinel behind him was almost upon him, Ironhead suddenly took a slight step back, turned his longsword sideways, and swept it out. The monster in front of him was instantly sent flying, landing far away beside Ye Fengxing.
Sweeping Strike: Knocks an enemy target airborne, dealing 32-42 damage and sending it flying beyond 10 meters. Attack range: 5 meters. Instant cast. Battle Aura cost: 38. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
Ironhead's strike had clearly sent the monster much farther than ten meters. There was a reason he had held the blade upright and swept with its flat.
Skills could not be judged solely by their written descriptions. After all, the descriptions never went into much detail, and players had to discover plenty of hidden effects themselves. Take Sweeping Strike, for example: a polearm or hammer would produce far better results than a sword, while sweeping someone with the flat of a sword would send them farther than cutting at them with its edge.
Furthermore, Sweeping Strike worked by using battle aura to blast someone away. Whether the weapon itself touched the target was unimportant. In fact, making contact could have the opposite effect-it would change the direction of the knockback without increasing its distance.
Sweeping Strike had an attack range of five meters, but if the target was too far away-say, exactly five meters-the knockback would only carry it another five meters, barely pushing it beyond the ten-meter mark.
That tiny backward step Ironhead had taken was precisely for this reason... He had calculated his weapon's length perfectly. As he swept his sword out, its tip never touched the monster, missing its body by the slightest margin and maximizing Sweeping Strike's effect. A level-one Sweeping Strike could send a target flying over fifteen meters away. It was practically a bug!
Ironhead's attack was simple, but the skill behind it was anything but.
Kawaii clearly knew his stuff. He keenly spotted the trick, and the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily. The difference between professional-level experts and ordinary experts often lay in the details. Some people had very fast inputs and chained their skills together quite well, yet found themselves hamstrung against a true expert. This was why.
There was no point refusing to accept it or claiming their equipment was better. Some things depended on solid technique, not something acquired overnight.
After unleashing Sweeping Strike, Ironhead turned and blocked the first monster they had beaten up. While the launched monster crawled back at a snail's pace, the two of them finally finished off the low-health Ghostly Sentinel together.
Only then did the other Ghostly Sentinel limp up to Ironhead. He comfortably caught its incoming rusty sword and retaliated with his shield, his movements utterly relaxed.
Kawaii sighed helplessly and lowered the hand he had just raised. He knew he would have nothing to do again.
Just as Kawaii had expected, those two beasts once again finished off the remaining two Ghostly Sentinels without taking a scratch. Meanwhile, he-a dedicated healer decked out in green gear-had done nothing but admire the scenery since entering the dungeon.
Normally, any healer blessed with such badass teammates would be so happy they could cry, but... having nothing to do was often even more frustrating! Why did people play games? Some wanted to relax, while others wanted adventure and excitement. Kawaii clearly belonged to the latter group.
"Guys..." Kawaii decided he could no longer remain silent. He stopped Ironhead and Ye Fengxing and said with a smile, "From what I've seen, you've both got excellent gear and technique. I'm nothing special, but I do have a fair bit of healing experience. How about we play a little more aggressively?"
Ye Fengxing glanced at Ironhead and smiled. "Sure."
Our Flowery Monk, Second Master Lu, nodded at that. It wasn't as though he wanted to put all that effort into technical play. Standing still and mindlessly tanking monsters was the easiest option. Who would go Charging back and forth just for the hell of it?
"Then I'm going in."
"Wait." Ye Fengxing stopped his old buddy and stepped forward. "Let me take a look first."
"What are you doing?" Ironhead was thoroughly puzzled.
Ye Fengxing smiled and activated Wind Veil, his figure immediately turning transparent. Of course, this was an image only his teammates could see. Enemy targets could see nothing at all.
"Holy fucking shit! Are you playing an Assassin or a mage?" Ironhead shouted in surprise.
"A mage. This skill was a quest reward. I just learned it before everyone else. Any Gale Mage will be able to learn it eventually, though I don't know at what level. Whatever, I'll use it for now."
"Fuck that! Now even mages can sneak around... where does that leave us Warriors? Blue Star! Do you have the guts to buff Warriors?!" Ironhead looked utterly heartbroken, as aggrieved as a young wife who had just been raped.
"Oh, give it a rest. We're barely past level ten. How do you know Warriors won't be strong later?" Ye Fengxing couldn't be bothered with him. He simply crouched and headed forward to scout.
The two patrolling monsters continued walking back and forth along their set route at an unhurried pace, completely unaware that someone had appeared behind them. After following the two roaming patrols for one circuit, Ye Fengxing immediately Blinked back.
Farther ahead were two level-fifteen Ghostly Cavalry Commanders! These two big shots were sleeping soundly in a pair of rather cramped caves, with two Ghostly Warhorses stationed outside. The horses were neutral monsters, however, and players who did not investigate carefully would dismiss them. (Monsters generally fell into three categories: friendly, neutral, and hostile. Friendly monsters would not attack you, and you could not attack them. Neutral monsters would leave you alone if you left them alone. Hostile monsters would come howling at you the moment they saw you and fight to the death.)
Judging by the dungeon's rules, the two patrolling monsters were presumably subordinates of the Ghostly Cavalry Commanders. If players alerted them, their first reaction would definitely not be to attack, but to race back and inform their bosses, then return to swagger around with their masters backing them up.
The two Ghostly Cavalry Commanders were very well hidden. Most people really would not have found them. Ye Fengxing was different, though. His perception attribute was very high-this ability derived from reality had not been restricted too severely by the system. Ancient Martial Artists and Espers still enjoyed certain advantages in the game, after all.
Even if the system wanted to eliminate the gap between such people and ordinary players as much as possible, it could not take things too far.
"Monk, do you have any high-damage skills?" After returning, Ye Fengxing pulled Ironhead aside to discuss their strategy.
"High damage? Just Bone-Shattering Strike and Piercing Thrust. What are you planning? Burst one of them down?"
"We have to kill it as fast as possible! There are two level-fifteen commander monsters up ahead, and these two are their lackeys. I'll launch one into the air, and you Charge the other. Follow up with Shield Bash as needed, then unload all your skills on it. Okay?"
"No problem."
"Kawaii, give us a hand in a moment too. The faster we kill that patrol monster, the better."
"All right."
With that, Ye Fengxing entered Wind Veil, crouched, and moved forward, waiting for the two patrol monsters to walk into his trap. Once they approached and were about to turn back, he suddenly emerged from stealth and fired a Flame Arrow, immediately following it with Flame Devours the Body.
Flame Arrow was a projectile spell. No matter how fast it traveled, it could not beat a spell like Flame Devours the Body, which acted directly on its target. Thus, although it was cast first, it still benefited from the damage and critical-hit bonuses for striking a burning target.
Ironhead activated Charge a fraction of a second before Flame Arrow flew out. Naturally, he could not move faster than a spell, but because he had started first, he reached the monster almost simultaneously with the Flame Arrow. His timing was so precise that any professional player watching would have nodded in approval!
The corner of Kawaii's eye twitched several more times... An ordinary player might not have understood how difficult that was, but how could he fail to see it? The coordination between the Warrior and mage before him was simply flawless, leaving him speechless!
The other patrol monster suddenly snapped to attention! Realizing its companion had been ambushed, it turned and bolted without a second thought! Unfortunately, before it could take more than two steps, a whirlwind lifted it into the air and held it helpless.
Ye Fengxing unleashed his full firepower, bombarding the patrol monster Ironhead had pinned down.
-643, Explosive Impact. -327! Critical hit! Flame Arrow! -231! Critical hit! Magic Missile! -332! Critical hit! Flame Arrow!
That Magic Missile had been fired by the Magic Device, and its damage was quite decent. Although Magic Devices cast spells relatively slowly, they did not consume the player's mana. Unless ordered to stop, they would keep attacking, providing steady damage. A good Magic Device was the lifeblood of any caster class.
The instant Explosive Impact's four-second stun wore off, Ironhead raised his shield and slammed it down on the unfortunate creature's head! His swing was so exaggerated that Kawaii's hair stood on end.
Does this guy... really need to hit that hard? It's like he's swatting a fly... Kawaii attacked the monster with his handful of offensive skills while watching Ye Fengxing's movements. Comparatively speaking, the mage's actions interested him more.
Ye Fengxing was busily casting Flame Arrows and pumping out damage. Everything had been going smoothly when he suddenly bent down, grabbed a stone, and hurled it with all his strength. It struck the inside of the distant Ghostly Sentinel's knee, bounced, and hit the kneecap on the other side.
A sharp crack rang out. The poor Ghostly Sentinel's knees immediately buckled, and it fell to the ground with a debuff icon named "Knee Rupture" hovering above its head. Ironhead, his face twisted into a vicious expression, kept it pinned to the ground and hacked away! (Debuff: a negative skill effect applied to one or more units that reduces their combat effectiveness, the opposite of the buff effects mentioned earlier.)
"What skill was that?" Kawaii's eyelids twitched violently several times... He was genuinely starting to worry that if this continued, his eyes might develop a problem from twitching so often.
Before you continue