The Great Thief

It was unlikely that they would have suffered no casualties. After all, this was a Boss battle in the open environment.

A commander was judged on their ability to determine if a Boss could be defeated, and not over the number of casualties. Of course, the less the better.

For Bosses like these which exceeded the party’s average level by five, the majority of commanders would not even consider fighting.

As such, PVE Commanders like Lu Li were held in extremely high regard and admired by many. The loyal ones from Drizzle Court would not abandon their guild, but they still could not help but be envious of Ruling Sword as they had such a capable commander in their ranks.

Sharp. Calm. Decisive.

“Ready your Kicks!”

Although the previous two attempts at Kicking had failed, Lu Li was still persistent with this.

It was ultimately his commands that directed the teams. As for their outcomes, that was a different story.

The third Boss’ HP was nearing the 50% mark. According to the state of the first Boss, it was now time to kill the Second Boss before he could cast the healing ability again. Lu Li needed thoroughly prepare accordingly. After all, he had no concrete evidence that the health of the Bosses was linked with the healing ability.

Fortunately, his judgement was accurate.

The third Boss, now at 50% HP, was ignored by the second Boss, who had a lower HP than the Third.

“Focus attacks on the third; slow down on the first and second. Healers, if your Mana drops below one-third, heal yourself. If you go below that, your team points will be deducted by one. Backup healers, begin to prepare yourselves.”

They were now in the last stages of the fight. No matter what difficulties may come afterwards, the right thing to do was just to persist and fight stably.

“Mr Haggle, please direct your attention towards the Statue. It’s extremely difficult to handle.”

Lu Li had already prepared and organised for the Third Boss’ fight, and he still had to interact with the NPC.

Haggle’s DPS was extremely high, but was not focusing the third Boss, which was where they required the most help.

“I…” Haggle was extremely hesitant.

“Is it because the Statue is that much stronger than the others? So many of my companions have died already. Is Mr Haggle afraid?” Lu Li decide to provoke him, but not too much to anger him.

The Gnome Thief’s face reddened upon hearing Lu Li’s words. While he was a Thief, he always compared himself to the standards of Paladins. Lu Li’s accusation had struck a chord with him, and he immediately felt extremely sorry. After all, it was because of his mission that Lu Li’s teammates were dying.

“That’s Khaz’goroth…Khaz’goroth…” Haggle painfully murmured.

As his race was also created by Titans themselves, this Statue of Khaz’goroth was given life by Eonar, who had also given life to his race. Therefore, for him to strike the Statue even once was an extremely difficult task.

Lu Li realised that his problem was rooted in this, and suddenly asked, “Why would Khaz’goroth protect these minions of darkness?”

“Khaz’goroth would not!” Haggle did not hesitate before retaliating.

Originally, the Titans had breathed life into bodies of machinery and rock. However, the Old God had unleashed a curse which caused all the artificial bodies to become flesh. The machine bodies became Gnomes, while the Earth Spirits were turned into Dwarves.

Rockjaws were a type of Trogg, which meant that Haggle was closely related with the Boss.

In opposition to the alliance between Gnomes and Dwarves were the Troggs. This was because these races had fought for the sole love of their creator.

How childish was this?

“Then, can Khaz’goroth be created?” Lu Li continued to question.

“No way in hell!” Haggle thought that Lu Li was making fun of his beliefs and values. To suggest that Khaz’goroth could be created? What a load of crap!

“Then…” Lu Li began to say, “This means that the Khaz’goroth that you see in front of you is a fake one. As a devoted Gnome, you must destroy it.”

“Argh!!”

The little Gnome began to release an aura of light around his body. He had maximised his offensive capabilities and charged towards the Statue of Khaz’goroth.

Some people had heard the exchange of words between Lu Li and Haggle.

Many people shot Lu Li a weird look and wondered who the hell had said that their interactions with NPCs did not matter.

How cunning!

This guy was so cunning that he could be a cheater in real life.

Haggle’s original attack power was already much higher than the average player. Now that he had unleashed his abilities, his power was unprecedented. His Critical strikes were dealing more than a few thousand damage per hit!

“Hold onto the aggro. Watch out for the NPC and protect him if needed.”

Lu Li was worried about Haggle dealing too much damage to the Third Boss, since if Haggle was the one to deal the finishing blow, the rewards would be much lesser.

Fortunately, Lu Li had worried a little too much this time. The aggro did not change even after Haggle’s blistering assault.

“Don’t hold back on the first and second Bosses! Full offense! Don’t stop until I say so!” Lu Li yelled.

Haggle’s attack was too strong, as the third Boss’ HP was dropping faster than the other two. Lu Li had to make sure that the three Bosses’ HP bars stayed the same.

Of course, this was undeniably a good thing.

“30% left! Keep going! Activate the first wave of Bloodlust!”

Lu Li kept a close eye on the battlefield; he also wanted to join the battle.

The game was able to differentiate between each player’s contribution to the battle. As such, the rewarded Experience for Healers and Tanks would not be any lower than the DPS players. This was the same case with commanders.

On average, the commander would usually receive around 5% more experience than the others.

In a fight like this for a First Clear, Lu Li would receive more than an extra 5%. This was to make up for the fact that he was not able to perform the final hit.

Obviously, if Lu Li had joined the battle and took up the responsibilities of a commander, his rewards would be even greater. This was how he had managed to stay ahead in levels in comparison to training freaks like Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower.

Lu Li did not train anywhere near as much.

“Meteorite!” some players exclaimed.

Lu Li was surprised by this call and looked into the sky. He saw that there was a large, green meteorite heading straight for the players. This was not a normal meteorite, but Infernals that had been summoned.

It appeared that this Boss had something else up his sleeve.