The pretty Northshire girl had exhausted her energy and disappeared. Of the followers in his hero's follower space, only the Wisp could still move. This made him appreciate even more that the white card the system had given him at the start was truly a god-tier card. Its stats weren't much to begin with, but as long as it didn't die, it was effectively a reusable follower, unlike the other cards, which were all single-use...
As he recalled, there was only one zero-cost follower card. Other zero-cost cards existed, but they were all spells, so the Wisp was one of a kind in this system. He had now made up his mind not only to prioritize keeping the Wisp alive, but also to craft another Wisp card first once he saved up 40 Arcane Dust. No single-use item could ever match the value of a reusable follower card like this!
The quest to eliminate the Kobold threat in Northshire had fairly strict requirements. Killing every Kobold he could see was no problem, since Aige had intended to do that anyway. But the final quest requirement was a little odd. Even Captain Claude didn't know whether he would have to face a silver-dragon monster-a silver elite, called that because in World of Warcraft, a silver dragon surrounded its portrait, while an elite was marked with a gold dragon, which meant... danger!-or an even stronger elite monster. But it made no difference. Eager for revenge, he would fight if conditions allowed, and if they didn't, he would make them allow it!
At present, he had two usable cards in his Book of Hearthstone. They could be considered his trump cards. The one-star Mind Vision card could summon a human recruit with one attack and one health. There wasn't much value in saving it, and the battles ahead were sure to be intense, so young master Aige used the card immediately...
"Reporting for duty!"
The card grew, materialized, and shattered, and a vigorous human recruit joined his party!
Then he hesitated! The other was a good white card, Shieldbearer (Slow-witted Guard?). It was also a very good card in the game, with its Taunt skill giving it a reason to exist. Its stats were extremely lopsided: zero attack and four health made it a pure meat shield. Play one at one mana, and your hero would be basically safe for the first two turns. Spending one mana on it later in the game was also worthwhile, as it could disrupt the opponent's attack rhythm and force enemies to attack it first. Though it couldn't deal damage, it effectively gave your hero an extra four health. Against opponents who favored fast attacks to the face, bringing one was a bargain.
Should I use it now?
To be honest, he was reluctant! He had learned firsthand how hard cards were to come by. They could be obtained by completing quests, but waiting for monsters to drop them was a long shot. After all the fighting he had done, only one rather useless Mind Vision had dropped, and he had just torn it up... Could he bear to use this one too?
Aige steeled himself... and pressed hard on the white card with his mental power!
As the card was rapidly unsealed, a Draenei Shieldbearer raised his tower shield and stood guard beside him!
"You shall not pass!" That was the Draenei's entrance line! It perfectly captured his qualities as a professional meat shield!
As mentioned before, the Shieldbearer had an astonishing four stars of health, but his attack was rated at zero stars. In truth, however, he did have a little attack power, though only around half a star. This fellow was actually a Warrior who wielded a shield with both hands, and that sturdy metal tower shield was his whole glory. Sometimes he also attacked with his thick arms, but his attack power was truly hard to look at. Half a star, not a bit more.
The reason Aige had forced himself to use it was that he knew the fighting ahead would certainly be fierce. In his current party, the Wisp and recruit could both serve as DPS-damage dealers-but neither had much health. With one star of health each, they definitely wouldn't last long. He wouldn't be heartbroken if the recruit died, but if the Wisp died, it would definitely be a major blow to his future quests and battles. Between a single-use consumable and a permanent item, he naturally had to protect the permanent item. That was why he had used the Shieldbearer card.
Besides, this quest was sure to be difficult. Judging from yesterday's battle, without a meat shield to help, he might not be able to handle the final boss, whether it was an elite or a silver elite. Rather than hold on to the meat-shield card until he had no choice but to summon it at the end, he might as well use it now. Either way, it would last until six tomorrow morning; using it later wouldn't make him live longer. He could rely on bandages to keep the meat shield's health up along the way, and once he completed the quest, he would also get a chance to draw a blue or white card. He stood to gain, not lose!
On the other hand, if he held back and a recruit or Wisp died along the way, that would definitely be a huge loss! It wouldn't be worth it!
Aige resumed his previous route, killing every Kobold he saw along the way. Four against one, four against two-it was all very easy and pleasant, until he fought his way to a mine entrance...
This was a mine in Echo Ridge, and also a gathering place for Kobolds. Not only were Kobold laborers working here, but stronger Kobold overseers were also active. The tunnel was narrow, with room for only four people to pass through at once, but that was even better, making it easier for Aige's party to clear...
Almost every few steps, a group of Kobolds entered attack range. Fortunately, the groups weren't large, usually one or two, with three or four appearing only rarely. Clearing them out was fairly efficient. Along the way, Aige used a bandage on the Shieldbearer to keep his health above three stars...
...Fighting monsters diligently...
This was the very bottom of the mine. As the quest required, he had slaughtered virtually every Kobold he saw along the way, leaving none alive and venting his anger thoroughly. While eliminating so many Kobolds, he had also obtained quite a bit of loot. Kobolds kept dropping the same things: some copper ore, some rough stone, 33 Arcane Dust, and 15 pieces of linen cloth. There was also a pair of rough cloth leggings, which he equipped immediately, increasing his armor by 28 points.
He naturally turned all the linen cloth into linen bandages, also gaining some proficiency in First Aid. However, he had used two more while killing monsters earlier, leaving him with a stock of 16 linen bandages. Last was the most important thing, Arcane Dust. He hadn't gotten even one card drop on his way through, which had given him a deep appreciation of how precious cards were. Fortunately, the 33 Arcane Dust he had earned was a great comfort. Added to his previous stock, he now had 55 Arcane Dust...
The Kobold before him would be hard to deal with. The system showed that he was a level-four elite monster, with two ordinary level-three Kobold overseers guarding him. This combination would be tough to handle!
After weighing his options, Aige spent 40 Arcane Dust in the Book of Hearthstone to craft a new white, excellent-quality Wisp card, then used it immediately. Soon, Wisp number two joined Aige's party as a fresh combatant!
To be honest, even with four followers plus himself, five in total, he still wasn't absolutely confident he could kill a level-four elite and two ordinary level-three monsters. Elite monsters were simply too powerful: not only was their attack power greatly improved, but their health was also terrifying, making them a tremendous hassle to kill. Most frustrating of all, the party lacked effective DPS. Three of his four followers had one-star attack, and the other was practically crippled. He needed a better tactic...
The Draenei Shieldbearer was sent far away to the opposite side, a long way from Aige and the three DPS followers he had brought along. This time, he was using a little cleverness!
The Shieldbearer's special skill was Taunt, which forced enemies entering attack range to turn and attack him first. As for drawing aggro and the like, that could wait until the Shieldbearer died... For now, they needed to make good use of distance and space before he died!
Once the formation was in place, the Draenei Warrior walked slowly forward. After entering enemy territory, he raised his hand and gave them the middle finger in a blatant provocation. Soon, all three monsters charged at him... while the Shieldbearer held up his tower shield and slowly retreated. He couldn't simply run away, or the monsters would go back.
At almost the fastest casting speed of his life, Aige fired a Frostbolt at each of the three monsters. At the same time, the three followers with one attack pounced on one of the slowed ordinary Kobold overseers and quickly beat it to death...
Next came the second overseer, whom Aige and his followers ganged up on and killed in the same way. Meanwhile, the Shieldbearer fought as he retreated, losing a great deal of health along the way to the powerful attacks of the Kobold elite leader. This was where the Shieldbearer's four stars of health showed their value. His counterattacks could only tickle the enemy, but the Kobold leader had no good way to bring him down quickly...
"Lesser Heal!" When the Shieldbearer's health had fallen below two stars, Aige cast an instant Lesser Heal without hesitation, wiping out all the results of the Kobold leader's hard work.
Now they had to deal as much damage as possible before the Shieldbearer fell! Aige was already frantically conjuring small fireballs, while the three followers with one attack followed behind the Kobold, attacking furiously without pause...
Elites were indeed extremely dangerous, just as Claude had warned. An elite Kobold was simply not something ordinary people could handle. Its attack, defense, and health were all impressively strong-so strong that even with the Shieldbearer almost out of health, they still hadn't killed it...
They still lacked an effective way to restore health during battle. With the Draenei guard's health, he could actually withstand many of the enemy's attacks, but without a way to restore a Warrior's health, all he really had was an exceptionally thick health bar. Sooner or later, it would be completely depleted. With the elite Kobold still at one-third health, this loyal defensive Warrior would be killed by his opponent in five seconds at most. That was already a foregone conclusion. What then...?
The main tank was going down. Was the whole party about to be wiped out?