...
While Niflheim was furious at Minus, it was already too late to do anything about it with the Brooding Behemoth Basbus being so close to death. Right now, their main priority was supposed to be to secure the boss monster, but Niflheim had a bad feeling about it.
There was something warning him that some things would not go as expected. The person giving him this strange feeling was a player wielding a sword with lightning crackling around it. That player had a calm expression on his face as if nothing could cause him to be troubled.
That player was none other than Izroth. After surprising Niflheim a few times, Izroth was someone he believed would accomplish many great things within RML.
"But, if you think I'll hand a rare event boss over to you so easily you're mistaken." Niflheim said to himself. "Main squadron on me! We're going to help secure the boss!" Niflheim ordered as he and twenty-five other members of Blue Oasis made their move.
When Minus saw that Niflheim was taking action against the low HP Brooding Behemoth Basbus, he became infuriated. However, he would not attack a member of his own guild or else the end results would be disastrous. This was even more so since Niflheim currently held the power of the Second Order.
"Captain Niflheim, me and my party are perfectly capable of securing this boss monster! You should focus your attention on keeping the opposing parties at bay." Minus tried to get Niflheim to take up another task. After all, if Niflheim eliminated the boss then he would not receive a single point for all of his efforts. To Minus, this was unacceptable.
"What gives you the right to try and give me orders?" Niflheim was not polite with his words as he quickly snapped back. He had not forgotten about how Minus completely disregarded him and his orders just a few moments ago. Originally, he had no plans of interfering, but because of Minus' actions, he had no choice but to improvise.
Minus saw that Niflheim was not going to yield which angered him even further. "So be it!" he said before preparing to launch one of his strongest attacks against the Brooding Behemoth Basbus.
In fact, many players were preparing to strike with their strongest skill at the end in order to secure the rare event boss. This was the very first rare event boss to appear during the Protectors of Amaharpe.
Not only would it drop rare equipment or items, but it was bound to grant the party and the individual who struck the final blow a massive amount of event points. Even those at the very bottom of the list would immediately shoot up on the event leaderboards.
"Brother Izroth, it only has 60,000 HP remaining and it's falling fast!" Halls said just after took a heavy blow from the Brooding Behemoth Basbus.
«Blocked»
-3,052
+1,568
+205
4,247/6,756 HP Remaining! (Halls)
Luna had timed her Heal just as the Brooding Behemoth Basbus struck down at Halls with its large gorilla-like arms. She had also used Healing Essence every time it was off cooldown to keep a constant healing source on Halls.
The Brooding Behemoth Basbus' attacks were noticeably faster, but it was still quite slow compared to the average boss monsters they had encountered so far. Thus, Halls was still able to maintain a firm stand against it.
Izroth did not respond as his attention was locked onto the HP of the boss monster. He had to time it just right so that there was no possibility of failure.
'I'll be breaking the rule I set. Though I believe with the current amount I have, it should be fine.'
Izroth halted his attacks against the Brooding Behemoth Basbus and stood there with his Blade of Lightning in hand.
"Hm?" The first to notice that Izroth had stopped his attacks against the boss monster was Minus. "Well, it appears that at least one of them has some sense remaining." he said to himself as he shook his head in disappointment. Izroth most likely feared the outcome if he were to mistakenly steal the boss from right under the noses of two top guilds.
Minus believed that even if Izroth was brave, he was not stupid. However, there was someone else who noticed Izroth break off his assault.
"What is he planning?" Niflheim muttered as he saw Izroth's unusual behavior. Unlike Minus, Niflheim did not believe Izroth held any such fears towards the top guilds. After all, when they had first met back in Opal Town, Izroth was not at all intimidated by the status he held.
That odd gut feeling began to surface once again within Niflheim.
Zhang Jie, who had also been participating within the battle, had also caught wind of Izroth's actions. After seeing Izroth's playstyle, he could see why Ewan would be interested in such raw skill and talent. Of course, Zhang Jie knew Izroth by name only before today and this was his first time seeing him in person.
"He would be an interesting opponent." Zhang Jie said with surprised Platic who was by his side. That battle fiend Zhang Jie actually said that someone would be an interesting opponent? Such news would shock anyone who heard it!
When the HP of the Brooding Behemoth Basbus reached around 43,000 Izroth made his move. An overbearing pressure was being released from his Blade of Lightning as he used the skill First Baneful Sword: Destruction.
-2,081
Immediately after Izroth's sword connected, a tremendous amount of deadly killing intent started pouring out from Izroth's Blade of Lightning and filled up the surrounding atmosphere within twenty meters.
Minus, Niflheim, and Zhang Jie all went on high alert when they felt that aura. The nearby players were overcome with the feeling that something cold and sharp was being pressed up against their necks.
"What is that skill...?" Niflheim was dumbfounded. The pressure being released from that skill was unlike anything he had ever seen before.
A large smile found its way onto Zhang Jie's face as he witnessed Izroth's movements. It made his blood boil with excitement.
Minus, on the other hand, was still waiting for the perfect moment to unleash his ultimate skill. However, Izroth seemed to be using his powerful skill so early. He thought that Izroth had given up, but he was actually just waiting for an opportunity to strike.
But did he really believe that using, what was probably his best skill, when the boss had around 40,000 HP remaining was a smart thing to do?
"It's that skill again, the one from the time within the Shadahi Realm!" Halls was excited when he felt that same deadly killing intent as he did during their time within the Shadahi Realm.
Zi Yi, Guan Yu, and Valentine were shocked as they observed Izroth. What kind of skill could unleash so much bloodthirst? Jf it was this frightening just being near it, they could only imagine how it would feel to be on the receiving end of that skill.
The only movement one could see of Izroth's Blade of Lightning was when he returned it to its sheath on his back. There was still a deadly aura leaking from out of his sword, however, the movements of the Brooding Behemoth Basbus had come to a complete stop.
'Second Baneful Sword: Kill.'
«Critical Hit»
-41,616
Izroth had not only used the First Sword Form: Converging Paths, he also infused twenty points of his Essence into the attack, increasing the effectiveness of his Second Baneful Sword: Kill by 100%.
Not only that, but Izroth also took advantage of the special effect attached to his Second Baneful Sword: Kill skill. Using the skill First Baneful Sword: Destruction beforehand made it so the damage of his Second Baneful Sword: Kill was increased by 100%!
Although the cooldown was also increased by 100%, this was pretty much negated due to the skill being the killing blow and reducing its cooldown timer by 50%. Therefore, instead of being doubled to ten hours, it simply stayed put at its five hour cooldown time.
Even Luna and Halls who were usually not surprised by anything Izroth did was startled when they saw the amount of damage he dealt. He dealt over 41,000 damage to the Brooding Behemoth Basbus!
Zi Yi finally understood why Izroth was not concerned about the number of players who decided to fight against the Brooding Behemoth Basbus, it was because it did not matter! Everyone thought that it was up for grabs? It's already taken!
Minus was still preparing to use his ultimate skill. However, there was no longer any target to use the skill against. Just like that, the rare event boss that would have shot him to the top of the leaderboards had been taken from right under his nose.
"Him...!" Minus gave Izroth a death glare full of unyielding rage. He still had his ultimate attack ready to go and his mind was locked onto Izroth as being its receiving target.
However, before he could even make a move Niflheim had stepped in front of him to block his path. "It's over. Captain Minus, I'm willing to overlook your previous actions for the time being, at least until the end of this event. But, if you insist on ignoring every single order I give, I'll have no choice but to personally temporarily relieve you of your command."
Minus stared coldly at Niflheim. But, Niflheim stood strong and returned Minus' stare with a pressuring gaze of his own.
"Hey, are those two captains of Blue Oasis going to find?" One of the nearby spectating players said as he noticed the confrontation between Niflheim and Minus.
When Minus realized that they had now become the center of attention, he scoffed before turning to glare at Izroth once more so that he would not forget his face. He then walked off to cool his head and organize his thoughts a bit.
Niflheim furrowed his brows. Minus had always been an aggressive and stubborn type, however, he was never the type to disobey orders. Lately, it seemed as if he had become even more overbearing and bold with his behavior. It could just be a bad day or the stress of maintaining his position, but Niflheim sensed that it was something more than that.
Niflheim then set his gaze on Izroth. He had clearly seen the HP of the Brooding Behemoth Basbus drop from slightly over 40,000 to 0 instantly. However, was such a thing even possible? To have a skill that could deal such massive damage this early on within RML should be, plainly speaking, impossible.
There seemed to be even more to Izroth than Niflheim originally believed. Now he was 100% positive that his gut feeling about Izroth was correct.
The nearby players were looking at Izroth with a hint of fear in their eyes. It was no wonder this guy was no afraid of the two top guilds. He definitely had the power to do as he pleased!
Izroth ignored all the stares as his main focus was now on a small shard floating in mid-air. That shard was shaped like a perfect quartz crystal and was pure white in color. There were no signs of any impurities present within the crystal as it drifted slowly towards Izroth.
Izroth reached out his hand and as soon as he made physical contact with the shard, he received an alert from the system.
〈System Alert: You have obtained the «Vessel of The Endless One»〉
'Vessel of The Endless One?'
According to the voice, Izroth and his party had to locate the Returning Shard, not something called the Vessel of The Endless One. Could he have been mistaken in his original assumption?
At least, that was Izroth's first thoughts before he actually read the effects of the item called Vessel of The Endless One. After he read the effect, it made him shake his head inwardly. That voice indeed only gave them vague details. Things turned out not to be so simple after all!