Child of Destiny

Chapter 1700: Dance of the White Witch and the Dark Swordsman (Part 1)

...…

Shin could not help but frown deeply as he felt that the raid against the Plague Behemoth was taking a little longer than he had expected. Moreover, the Overlord Monster seemed to be under the Berserk State for quite some time when the effects of the drugs should have ended ages ago.

It was only at that moment that he remembered to open his system log, particularly his message panel. That was only when he realized what had happened, especially after reading the last message that Exheart had sent.

”Using both of the vials? An overdosage of those drugs? Then this Overlord Boss Monster is high?” the corner of his mouth could not help but twitch due to the late report that Exheart had sent to him.

”No wonder the effects of the drugs are absurdly long and a little fiercer,” he added before quickly smirking. ”But it is also for the better. Once the effects of those drugs wear off, the side effects will also be much worse.”

He then paused as he swept his gaze at the battlefield before suddenly sighing. ”But it will also give these fools some hope, making the situation much more chaotic.”

”I guess I have to execute the other plan and push it ahead. I need to eliminate these guys before they become annoying later,” he was about to go with his plan when he suddenly sensed something strange.

There seemed to be something odd in the air filling the battlefield. He was quite familiar with this feeling as it was something that those who wanted him dead were always giving him.

”Want to play a hunting game?” Shin raised his brows a little before smirking. ”Letʼs see who will be the prey.”

At the same time, he sent a message to Cloe, informing her about the hidden guys plotting against them.

They had already expected something like this, but Shin could tell that the ones targeting them were not like the first batch that was sent earlier to join the boss raid at the center of the battlefield.

”Should I play for a fool and lure them out or should I take the initiative to attack,” he mumbled as he paused his tracks, thinking what to do next.

…

In the meantime, Cloe, who had just gotten the warning from Shin, further heightened her guard. She was already feeling somewhat uneasy for quite a while now, making her suspect that something was going on behind the shadows.

With Shinʼs warning, her suspicion became true instantly as she trusted Shinʼs instincts, especially on these kinds of occasions.

She glanced at her surroundings while continuing to give orders to the NPCs at the backline. She was pretending that she was not aware of the hidden dangers that were lurking in the shadows of the battlefield.

She first looked at the formation of the NPCs and took note of the gaps that could possibly used by those guys to sneak into their ranks.

Given that she was under the protection of these elite group of NPCs along with their high perception, it was close to impossible to penetrate their formation by ordinary players of thief and assassin classes.

But if they were someone with god-level skills, then sneaking inside would be much easier. With the serious tone that Shin had when he sent her the message, Cloe knew that the ones targeting them would most likely be of such caliber.

As she was doing all of these, a mild and quiet fluctuation of mana appeared in certain places. If not for her constant surveying of the surroundings and the special magic circles meant for detecting any hostile intent around her, then she would have most likely missed these signals, especially in the middle of such a hectic and chaotic battlefield.

”They are already somewhat surrounding me!” Cloe was a little surprised at how fast the other party made their moves.

They might still be quite far from her current position and their numbers were quite low, only having 3 members. But given that all three of them managed to sneak inside their formation without alerting these NPCs around her, she knew that they were at least at the level of a high-ranking Godlike Player or a top-notched Maverick God.

Not waiting for them to make their moves, Cloe decisively raised her holy staff and cast ʼIlluminateʼ, which was a skill that was commonly used to reveal those under stealth.

But her version was much more advanced and greatly enhanced by her dense holy powers.

Swoosh!

The NPCs around her were somewhat taken aback by her sudden actions, especially when they were currently in the most crucial stage of the battle.

The Plague Behemoth was already about to fall! With a little more patience, they would be able to take down this filthy monster.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three players, who were planning to ambush Cloe, were slightly taken aback by the sudden move of their target. But they were still able to regain their composure and took advantage of the confusion of the NPCs to quickly rush toward her.

Mamba of the Hydra Guild was the first to arrive as he was nearest to her. The burst of speed that was produced by multiple layers of speed-boosting buffs and his movement skill produced an unimaginable effect, making him reach Cloe in almost an instant.

He was already swinging his daggers at her as a crimson light enveloped them.

But before his perfect strikes could reach their target, Cloe, who was already anticipating the attack, suddenly slammed her staff into the ground and cast ʼRepelʼ to send him flying back to his previous location.

Bang!

Swoosh!

At the same time, another person reached her side, perfectly timing his ambush when Cloe had already expended the previous spell, which was one of the fastest to cast among the defensive skills of healers.

This person was a Wolfkin Hunter (Beastman Thief) with a pair of sickles. He was already about to use his weapons to severe Cloeʼs head with a perfectly timed ambush when an invisible barrier appeared around Cloe and protected her from any harm.

Clang! Clang!

”Tsk! You are getting rusty, Oblivion!” said a mocking voice as the third, and final assassin, materialized beside Cloe and poked the barrier with his stiletto, popping the only protection that she had like a bubble.

Their coordinated actions were perfectly executed despite them working together for the very first time. This was the advantage of being an apex predator of the game. They would be able to work with other experts of such caliber without problem given their rich and vast experience.

But despite all of that, Cloe remained calm. She was not an ordinary player either! Her other title as the White Witch of the Everlasting Night was not for show.

Shriek!

She opened her mouth and released a deafening cry that halted the actions of the two due to the fear debuff that they had gotten from the spell.

Immediately after that, she quickly slammed her holy staff on the ground, sending another strong ripple that pushed the two away from her.

It was only at this moment when Cloe ʼrelaxedʼ her posture. She swept her gaze at the three, who just tried to ambush her with their almost seamless coordination, before slightly frowning her brows.

”Mamba, one of Hydra Heads of the Hydra Guild; Oblivion, the Fangs of the Scavengers Mercenary Group; and Drex, the Fleeting Wind God,” she mumbled as she identified them. ”This is going to be a little trickier to deal with.”

She knew that she would have the assistance of the NPCs around her. But she was still not confident that they could protect her as these three were Godlike Players in the field they chose to walk with.

One of them was a Berserker Thief, which relied more on bursts of speed and powerful attacks, almost neglecting the other advantages of the profession. They were famous for their hyper-aggressive style of fighting and relentless attacks that never ceased once started.

The other was a tricky assassin, who loved to launch an ambush with the most unexpected yet most effective time. He was a type of assassin, who patiently waited for his opponent to lower their guards before striking at the moment they least expected.

As for the final one, he was known for his perfect balance of speed and stealth skills. Among the three, he might not be the strongest, but he was the trickiest to deal with given that he could also switch between the two well-known styles of thief classes.

Looking at the three warily, Cloe could not help but turn her gaze at Shin, who was still busy commanding the other NPCs at the frontline while also actively participating in the raid.

If the ones attacking her were at this caliber already, then the ones that he would be dealing with on his side shouldnʼt be any weaker, especially when he was much easier to ambush given the state of the battle at the frontlines.

Regardless, she remained calm, fully trusting Shin with his skills. What she needed to do for now was deal with these three before helping her partner later.

As she made a decision, her eyes suddenly turned cold and sharp.

Given the expression she was wearing, it was clear that the other side of the Gentle Goddess was about to reveal herself again.

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