“No healing?” Ai Mang was stunned, instinctively turning his head again to look at the Paladin who was almost covered in wounds but still stubbornly holding the front line. He asked, “But Mr. Tairo’s body should be nearing its limit. If you’re worried that the defense line might break without him, I guarantee that I can absolutely…”
“It has nothing to do with the defense line.” Mo Tan gently shook his head, almost simultaneously using an Enhanced Holy Healing and a Recovery Prayer on the two other warriors at the front. He calmly said, “And Tairo can still hold on. The Paladins of the Dawn Sect have a relatively strong advantage in self-recovery. You can go replace Putao later; her stamina should be almost exhausted.”
Ai Mang blinked his eyes in confusion, then his expression gradually became uneasy. After a moment of hesitation, he couldn’t help but ask Mo Tan in a low voice, “What are you thinking? Are you planning to let Knight Tairo…”
“Exactly.” Mo Tan nodded.
Ai Mang’s face instantly darkened, and he blurted out in disbelief, “What did you say!?”
“There’s no other way.” Mo Tan rubbed his forehead, shrugging with a wry smile. “Someone has to be the bait once we leave this narrow area. Otherwise, if those Mutant start to lose their aggro—uh, if they start attacking anyone they see, it’ll be troublesome. It’s not impossible for all of us to die here. And at this stage, only Tairo, who has the strongest strength and physical quality, can take on this task.”
Ai Mang, squatting on the ground, instinctively raised his right leg to scratch his ear, almost spraining his back. He groaned softly while repeating in confusion, “Bait?”
However, Mo Tan did not answer. He just frowned slightly, surveying the surroundings, his expression thoughtful and his gaze unfixed.
“The blood of living beings will cause a slight stimulation to those things you call ‘Mutant’.” Luna, who was beside him, slowly turned her head to look at Ai Mang and pulled out a bottle of crimson blood from her pocket, shaking it. “I’ve done experiments. They are extremely sensitive to the concept of life, and the blood in a normal human body is the strongest form of ‘life’ existence. The healthier a person is, the stronger their blood’s attraction is to those things. If it’s spilled outside, the effect is even more obvious…”
Ai Mang nodded, half-understanding. “So, not restoring Sir Tairo is just to make him more attractive?”
“What else?” Mo Tan, having come back to his senses, blinked at Ai Mang and raised his hand to cast a new Law Decree Shield on Tairo, smiling. “You wouldn’t think I’m trying to kill him, would you? Oh, your Druid’s Thorn Shield can be used, just don’t let his wounds heal. I’ve already thought of a plan; I won’t let Tairo hold on for too long.”
Ai Mang chuckled awkwardly, then pulled out a dark green twig, bit it, and transformed into a black panther, dashing to the front.
Luna, meanwhile, looked at Mo Tan with interest, asking leisurely, “How did you know? I analyzed it for a long time before I could determine the characteristics of those undead creatures…”
“Mainly through observation. Sumir City gets attacked by Mutant quite often every day.” Mo Tan replied casually, then gathered the other members of the team around him and whispered something.
Two minutes later, Thief Elsa and two Shamans circled back to the team.
Five minutes later, a large number of Mutant, blocked by their companions, tore down the houses on both sides, no longer restricted by the terrain.
At the same time, Mo Tan immediately issued an order: “Ai Mang, pull back! Mr. Tairo, do you see that long, rectangular wooden house behind you? Charge in, then immediately climb out the window!”
“Understood.” Tairo, covered in blood, retreated under the cover of the four ranged spellcasters, then stumbled towards the civilian house Mo Tan had mentioned. The light flames that had originally surrounded him were now so thin they were almost gone, and the cross sword in his hand had countless cracks from countless collisions with the Mutant’ exceptionally hard bones. His stamina was also nearly depleted.
He had long since reached his limit; whatever could be overdrawn had been overdrawn. Tairo had only managed to hold on until now by relying on his superhuman willpower.
A series of buffing spells, including Wind Spirit Blessing, Light Foot, and Blazing Speed, flashed by, allowing the heavily armored knight to barely maintain his speed.
The frenzied Mutant pursued tirelessly. Their numbers had been reduced significantly during the previous period, but they were still not something the group could contend with head-on. These monsters, stimulated by blood, completely ignored Mo Tan and the others nearby, relentlessly following behind Tairo.
【Soon, almost there…】
Mo Tan narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Tairo’s stumbling figure, and raised the Holy Scripture in his hand.
Apart from Law Decree Shield and Enhanced Condensing Light Arrow, all his other skills had cooled down and were ready to be cast at any moment.
Tairo stumbled and crashed through the wooden house’s door, disappearing from everyone’s sight. Over forty Mutant surged in right behind him.
“A little more… a little faster…”
Mo Tan muttered softly, his eyes fixed on the window. The two Shamans beside him simultaneously stepped forward, softly praising the greatness of the Earth Spirit.
Tairo’s figure appeared. He struggled to climb onto the window, then tumbled out in a manner almost like falling, crashing heavily onto the ground.
“Demolish!”
Mo Tan shouted, then dashed forward. The Ode Holy Scripture in his left hand stirred without wind, while his right hand, wrapped around a cross, pointed steadily at Tairo…
Dazzling halos of light flashed wildly around Tairo. Enhanced Holy Healing, Recovery Prayer, Calm Aura, Tenacity Prayer, and Life Link—a total of five divine healing spells—were all cast by Mo Tan within two seconds. As the only orthodox healing professional in the team, he instantly pulled Tairo, who had already stepped halfway into the gates of hell, back.
At the same time…
The two Shaman Priests, who had already completed their casting procedures, raised their hands and slammed them onto the ground. Four or five fissures filled with unstable fluctuations immediately appeared around the wooden house. The next second, the ground beneath the wooden house began to slowly but firmly churn!
Ai Mang, transformed into a black panther, sprinted like lightning to Tairo, biting his shoulder armor and dragging him out of the range of the double Earth Binding Totem.
Clang!!
The wooden house, whose key support points had been preemptively removed, instantly collapsed completely. With a violent roar, it crushed at least twenty fast-moving Mutant inside.
“Knights, warriors, move up.” Mo Tan quickly chugged a mana potion, then turned back and shouted to the two in the team, “Light it up!”
Two crimson magic circles, already constructed, appeared in front of the two. Seven or eight scorching Fireballs and a Fireball surrounded by surging flames slammed heavily onto the ruins of the house, instantly igniting it completely, burning the twenty-odd Mutant trapped underneath.
The three Paladins, whose injuries had slightly improved, and the two junior warriors desperately held back the remaining twenty-odd Mutant. Although they were immediately at a disadvantage due to the enemy's numerical superiority, they still covered the Elven Druid who was biting Tairo and running back.
“Goddess bless…”
The Paladin, who had been dragged back into the formation, stared blankly at the blazing ruins not far away, then looked at the Mutant whose numbers had been more than halved. He looked at Mo Tan with a complex expression: “How did you do that…”
“Things like this happen often in my hometown; a whole bunch dies at once. I just borrowed the idea.” Mo Tan replied casually, then turned his gaze to the front. “Everyone, move horizontally with me. Ai Mang, go help. Loom, confirm that the retreat path is safe. Tirio, take care of Mr. Tairo. Everyone else, move and output as much as possible!”
The Elven Druid, in his black panther form, dashed forward, slamming into a Mutant with only half an arm left, then tore open its throat with a claw, though he himself took several slashes at the same time.
The Dwarf Ranger quickly retreated backward, desperately drawing his longbow to full moon, then suddenly turned and released, a completely steel-made, tailless heavy arrow directly piercing through the chests of two Mutant, though it didn’t cause any effective damage.
The Orc Shaman helped the tottering Tairo onto a warhorse that Mo Tan had previously healed, holding the reins and moving with the others.
“Don’t just stand there and block! Fight and retreat! Keep your backs to us, and maintain your relative positions!”
Mo Tan kept an eye on the blazing ‘bonfires’ while shouting at the six people fighting on the front line.
“Mages, retreat to the back to recover. This casting frequency and intensity won’t have much effect anymore!”
“Putao, you’re charging too far forward! I said retreat, retreat! Walk backward, don’t expose your back!”
“Suppress the one on the left with a hole in its belly! Let Ai Mang retreat!”
Mo Tan’s command rhythm became increasingly dense, but he was only guiding the entire team to constantly retreat, without causing any effective damage to the increasingly fierce Mutant.
“This won’t do.” Tairo struggled to straighten up on the horseback, shaking his head. “We’ll be worn down! Let the Knights cover the rear. With this many, we should be able to hold on for about ten minutes…”
Mo Tan shook his head and cast another Holy Healing on the Elven female warrior named Putao. He turned back and smiled, “Rest easy, it’s not time for anyone to be a martyr yet.”
“But…”
“Elsa, take Luna outside the village. She knows what to do.” Mo Tan ignored Tairo, instead instructing the Elven girl who had charged several times only to be beaten back, then turned to Luna and nodded. “I’m counting on you.”
The latter tilted her head. “Hmm, I should remember correctly… Maybe…”
“It’ll be big trouble if you remember incorrectly.” Mo Tan chuckled dryly, making a plus sign on his chest. “Goddess bless.”
The two girls quickly left the battlefield.
Ten minutes later, the team, fighting and retreating, finally reached the ‘delay zone’ after paying the price of two seriously wounded. There were large areas of spiderweb traps that Thief Elsa had set up earlier, and in the center of the road were seven or eight Earth Binding Totems surging with earthy yellow light.
“Turn and run!” Mo Tan shouted to Putao and the two Paladins who were still holding on at the front, then waved his hand forcefully. “Everyone, go along both sides of the road, avoid the traps and totem control areas, and charge out at full speed.”
Then, a large group of people began to surge towards the village entrance, while the Mutant, left with only their killing instincts, crashed into the delay zone, their pursuit speed instantly dropping.
They rendezvoused with the eighty-odd villagers outside the village, then collectively rushed into the nearby fields, where they found Luna and Elsa.
“Have those Mutant caught up?” Mo Tan stopped, panting, and exchanged glances with Luna before immediately turning to Loom, who was at the very end of the team, and asked.
The Dwarf Ranger darted onto a certain Orc Paladin’s shoulder, activated his Eagle Eye, glanced towards the village, and pouted, “Not one less.”
“Very good.” Mo Tan nodded with satisfaction, then clapped his hands. “Everyone, retreat two hundred meters, then rest in place.”
Tairo, who was lying on the nearby horseback, was stunned and said in surprise, “Rest? Aren’t we in a hurry to leave?”
“No need.” Mo Tan glanced around at the fields full of snow rice, and smiled slightly. “If nothing goes wrong, we can leave more leisurely~”
Tairo shook his head with a wry smile. “Alright, I have no objections. I truly underestimated you before, Priest Black Vatican.”
Ever since seeing the delay zone Mo Tan had prepared in advance, Tairo had no more objections to this old acquaintance of the Holy Maiden.
Since it had come to this point, Tairo felt that the other party should not disappoint him…
In fact, Mo Tan did not disappoint him.
…
Three minutes later
Luna threw a gem in her hand, increasing the fire element concentration in the area by about twenty percent.
Then…
The Flamere Flower pollen she had scattered beforehand reacted alchemically, instantly turning the snow rice field the Mutant had just entered into a sea of fire.
“Everyone, keep your distance. Ranged professionals, get ready. If one comes out, hit it. If it’s tough to kill and burn, let it in for a group melee.” Mo Tan let out a long breath, then turned to Tairo, whose eyes were almost popping out, and smiled slightly. “A fiery surprise, isn’t it?”
The latter listened to the continuous roars from not far away, and after a long silence, nodded to Mo Tan. “The Holy Maiden’s judgment is indeed excellent.”
“Uh, well, thank you for that.”
…
Game Time PM 23:19
Mount Sumir Summit
A resonant voice was roaring hysterically…
“MMP!! Huo Yan Yang, get out here!! Did you hear me, Huo Yan Yang! I said MMP!!!!”
Chapter 199: End