Waiting below the Western Sky Peak, Bement looked out for the signal to attack. Isabel had left a while ago, but before they could start worrying, the whole mountain was shaken by the sound of an explosion.
Above them, the shield that was shimmering in the dim starlight vanished. Isabel had blown up the formation key points responsible for establishing the external shield around the floating peaks. With the shields protecting these external palaces broken, their time to strike had come.
Standing on the backs of two aerial striker golems, the massive dragonflies with the sickles of even bigger mantises, Bement took to the sky with Angar, Caldar, and half the team of Oathguards. Their target was the western island, primarily the Spirit Severing Expert who reigned over it. This was what they had trained for over the past couple of weeks.
Morgana and the rest of the Oathguards would attack the Southern Sky Peak and its expert. The main peak with the sect master and the inner sect was left to the Guardian Sapling that could already be seen rapidly growing in the center of the sect.
The aerial striker, with their roaring wings like rotors, quickly ascended. The cultivators of the floating island were just running out from inside the palace and had yet to grasp the situation when they were suddenly hit by an explosion that blew them off the island. Isabel was not the only one with a couple of toys.
Alison's bombs didn't cause much damage to high-level players or cultivators, but they were great to disperse a crowd, deal terrain damage, and cause chaos. The outer walls of the palace were protected by a mysterious magic power, but the disciples who ran outside were not. With a simple toss, they got rid of a bunch of rabble. Whether they survived the fall was up to them.
Upon the ones left standing, the 5 Oathguards descended, releasing groups of golems from their inventories. The ordinary golems, Seth had praised as battle puppets in front of the people of the Perrican Empire, were no match for cultivators in the later stages of the Golden Core realm, but they spelled trouble for most cultivators below it.
Meanwhile, Bement and Anagar continued dropping bombs around the palace to damage the protective formations that shielded it from damage. Whenever someone came up to stop them, they would quickly return to the ground with an arrow stuck in their vitals.
While the others drew the attention, Caldar took advantage of Aela's Set to play sniper. He stayed some distance away on an Aerial Striker, taking down nuisances from afar. It didn't take long for the barrier of the palace to suffer the same fate as the main barrier of the inner sect.
With the barrier gone, they were free to enter, technically. But they didn't want to go in, they wanted to draw the boss mob out. The best way to do so was to keep throwing bombs. Although the structure was surprisingly sturdy, despite the disappearance of the barrier, the damage accumulated.
Ornate roof tile and carved beams were soon turning into shrapnel and rubble that threatened the disciples, huddling inside the palace.
"Insolent vermin! You dare act out on the territory of the Earth Dragon Manor? I, Old Yang, will teach you a lesson!" There was suddenly a roar echoing over the island. Only when a quarter of the outer buildings had already collapsed did the boss finally appear.
CRACK! An arrow aiming for the old man's head was easily caught and crushed in his rough fist. There had been a couple of cultivators barking at them, but he was the first with the level and aura to back up his words.
In fact, his level was high enough that Bement was not able to see it with his appraisal skill. A signal flare was shot from the aerial striker before Bement jumped down to the ground. He was the main tank of this raid.
Called by the flare, the Oathguards that had been distracting the disciples and eliminating potential nuisances among them, joined Bement for the raid. Everything to this point was to draw out the boss, so it wouldn't be able to escape.
"Come here, you old coot," the warrior used
"Earth Dragon Rush!" The old man suddenly vanished. For a moment, he moved so fast that Bement and the others lost sight of him. Bement saw him too late, but Azzo's Combat activated, and the ego-item managed to make him block in time.
Boom!
A tremendous shock wave washed over the palace, throwing everyone but the two figures in the center back. Despite having triple defense from Ground Defense, Bement could feel the impact in his bones. However, he was not the only one shaken.
The knuckles that had crashed into the shield were bloody, as the Oh Yang suffered 40% of his own damage, reflected by the armor behind the shield. He seemed distracted by his bleeding hand. Using the moment, Bement's standard issue Sanguine Silver Sword swung up from below, to catch the cultivator off-guard, but the old man evaded with a quick side-step.
"Your sword is a little too slow to touch this old man," the elder taunted, only to find his robes cut, revealing a chiseled body resisting age. Across his chest was a fine red line, where blood was seeping out. Bement had not just swung his sword, but used the skill < Aura Slash>, which gave it some more reach and speed than perceived.
Bement was not happy about his success and the old man's disgruntled face. Instead, his heart was quivering. He activated
Stacking the effects of his armor, the sword, and his skill, that attack just now had hit with over five times his physical damage. That was enough to split a monster on the same level as tofu. However, the old man tanked it, only suffering a shallow scratch.
The intel said that the Earth Dragon Manor excelled in body cultivation and fist arts. Bement had expected a high defense, but that slash felt like he was hitting a block of metal. Considering the defense and the power of his punch, this would be a long and dangerous battle.
It was only a mere moment that the old man took to look disgruntled before he rushed at the tank again. IT was clear that Bement had secured his focus. However, this time they were prepared. Several things happened in quick succession.
The first was that Anga, their priest, finished his cast and buffed the whole party, raising their attack and defense by 45%. Next, Oh Yang veered off his path, charging at Bement, trying to evade an arrow, but failing.
A black metal arrow with raven black feathering was lodged in the old man's shoulder, drawing blood once again. Where the arrow stuck, the flesh turned dark. This was the effect of the arrow itself, which was enchanted with the power of decay.
In addition, the moment he was struck by the arrow, his movements slowed visibly. This was thanks to Caldar's skill, instilling a slow effect on the target upon hit. The boss was slowed, and the party buffed. Using this chance, the members of the Oathguard reentered the scene.
A silver sword aimed for the old man's thigh. A spear was barreling right for his heart. For a moment, it seemed like they had the upper hand, but it left as quickly as it came. Jumping and twisting his body in an almost unnatural way, the old man not just evaded the two attackers, but struck the spear wildly with a kick to the chest.
While the Oathguard with the spear was flying away, the old man landed in a fluid motion and struck the swordsman with his fist. The guard was sent straight to the ground, with an indent of the fist visible on the side of the helmet.
Oh Yang loosened his shoulders, ignoring the arrow and men on the ground, turning his attention back to Bement. The warrior swallowed.