Hotpot could tell that GalanTen intended to start with a big move. Their mage, Menace, had only just started her chant and the surroundings already showed a reaction. They had to interrupt the mage! SpireX forced them to make a move!
Movement came into the team. A dark shadow was conjured, clinging to the back of Menace. But before Liam could threaten the mage, Henragon laughed brightly. He pointed his sword at Liam and a flaming crown appeared above the expert's head. This skill couldn't be dodged. Its only effect was to pull aggro and reduce Liam's damage. Liam was forced to attack Henragon.
GalanTen's melee players suddenly rushed out. The two tanks took the lead, closely followed by SpireX, Greenhorn and BlackHorizon.
"Hey!"
"Let's go!"
Encouraging themselves with some shouts they jumped across the stream of lave. Of course, Hotpot wouldn't miss the chance. The tanks were only in the air for a short time, but they instantly received multiple attacks. Simultaneous Quickstep, having gathered a tiny amount of Storm, turned into three windblades, rushing past the enemies towards GalanTen's backline.
The warrior's body reappeared, her narrow eyes staring at Menace. But before she could threaten the mage, a sweet smell suddenly reached her nose. Quickstep felt somewhat dizzy. A bad premonition hit her. She glanced at her status and realised that her aggro had been drawn by CUwUty.
Quickstep was surprised. She didn't expect CUwUty to have a skill for drawing aggro. Even Liam didn't know this. The veteran had already identified the wood elf's class as [Spirit of Thorns]. This class didn't come with a skill to draw aggro. CUwUty must have learned it through a skill book.
However, it made sense. With her thorn armour CUwUty didn't mind attracting a few enemies. Her skills were quite useful against a group of weaker enemies.
"Woah!"
Suddenly a startled shout came from behind as Quickstep turned towards CUwUty. Both women glanced to the side and noticed SpireX landing in the lava, immediately suffering stacking fire damage.
Henragon's expression was anything but pleasant as he stared at Watchful Eye. It was him who caused GalanTen's captain to land in the lava.
Watchful Eye's skill [Elemental Mastery] allowed him to choose one of the five elements. Depending on the choice, his next attack unleashed a different effect. And among the five elements, water could be used to push the enemy away. Against the boss monsters which were usually Hotpot's enemies this effect was somewhat useless. Thus, Watchful Eye rarely used it. In fact, it had so little presence that GalanTen barely considered it during their preparation.
Henragon knew he should have blocked the blow, but he was too slow. After crossing the lava, he pulled the aggro of Watchful Eye. The staff-wielding, taciturn man couldn't deal damage to anyone but Henragon. But the tank had been too complacent. Watchful Eye had abruptly turned around and attacked SpireX in the air. He didn't need to deal any damage. It was enough to push the enemy into the lava.
Cheers ran though the audience. Meanwhile GalanTen's players wore grim expressions. They admonished themselves. How could they make such a mistake? They had the advantage of preparation and were still caught off guard. Did one of their coaches mention this skill? Perhaps…
[SpireX: Shake it off! Focus!]
SpireX revealed his qualities as the team captain. He didn't blame anyone. He woke up his team and concentrated on the battle. A comfortable feeling rushed through his body as Occulus healed him. Jumping out of the lava, the dwarf faced Radiant Shield, who was already waiting for him. A tall shield was about to crash into SpireX.
"Not so easy!"
Waving his two axes SpireX let out a bone-freezing roar. Blood-red light threads whipped the surroundings, dealing damage to every enemy they hit. For a while the warrior became immune to negative status effects, including aggro-drawing skills.
Radiant Shield narrowed his eyes as SpireX tried to get past him. The warrior planned to threaten the mages. However, Radiant Shield was determined to stop him. Drawing aggro didn't work? The tank could still place his body in the way, blocking SpireX like a giant boulder on a narrow mountain path.
The two men danced around, feinting left and right. SpireX tried to get around Radiant Shield, but the latter wouldn't have it.
Those two weren't the only ones engaged in a battle. The fights among the melee players were fierce, with the tanks on both sides doing their jobs. Meanwhile the ranged fighters were able to attack relatively freely, very much to Quickstep's detriment.
Forced to attack CUwUty, Quickstep was already in a difficult situation. But while Menace was in the process of casting a big spell, GalanTen's second mage, Hero of Realms, was free to move. He didn't even use skills. It was enough to continuously throw normal attacks. His cooperation with CUwUty was nearly impeccable, giving Quickstep no chance to make a comeback. She was constantly forced to dodge.
[Silver Blade: We need to help Quickstep! She will be running out of stance!]
[Silent Acacia: Yes!]
Three pairs of eyes instantly focused on Hero of Realms. The mage shivered, turning his head which for a change wasn't adorned with dark circles under its eyes. The next moment he was faced with attacks from Fortune, Cyclone, and Silent Acacia. The three ranged attackers showed great understanding. Their attacks focused on a single point but spread out and left brief delays between them.
Only a flash step could carry Hero of Realms to safety. But this safety would be short lived. Thus, Vavel was forced to give the mage a shield.
For the moment the battle seemed to be locked. Everyone was proving their great skills, dodging or blocking attacks, slowly using up their stance. Liam was locked in a struggle with Henragon. But he didn't save his skills. Henragon quickly noticed what was going on as Dark Marks continued to be stacked above his head. There was barely anything he could do about it.
Finally, Liam managed to apply five marks. With a [Dark Strike] they were triggered, causing an explosion of dark magic to stir the air. Henragon's defence was shredded. Instantly everyone's attention was on the tank. Liam, Watchful Eye, Fortune, Silent Acacia, and Cyclone suddenly targeted him. A staff barrelled down, arrows whistled through the air, and magic was unleashed. If all of this hit Henragon the tank might lose half of his HP.
However, instead of faltering under pressure, Henragon abruptly perked up, a bright grin forming on his face. The time had come to unleash his ultimate skill! Flames suddenly roared to life, engulfing the tank within, forming a flaming egg like the rebirth of a phoenix. The attacks falling on the egg only caused the faintest ripples, like stones falling into the ocean.
Other teams might be confused how to react at this point. But luckily Hotpot had Liam. Although Henragon held back in his fight against Quickstep, Liam was able to figure out the man's class, as well as his ultimate skill. Thus, everyone already knew what to expect.
[Flaming Rebirth] was a tricky skill. If one didn't attack the egg, it would eventually erupt in a small explosion and Henragon would gain powerful defensive stats. And if one attacked the egg, the explosion would be delayed and the defensive stats granted would be reduced, but the explosion itself would turn out more terrifying scaling with the damage received by the egg.
Knowing this information Watchful Eye was the only one to continue attacking, moving quite leisurely. His goal was to buy time for the others to focus on their actual target. Abruptly all eyes were back on Menace. Hotpot never forgot about the mage. With such long cast time whatever skill she was about to unleash could only be terrifying.
"Oh no…"
Menace's pupils narrowed dangerously. At this time arrows, magic, even Korn's black claw were all coming for her. The mage knew she was in danger. Yet there was not a hint of panic. Menace trusted her teammates. In a flash Vavel, who had been entangled with Silver Blade, appeared in front of Menace. An illusionary image of himself was overlayed with his body, serving as the staunchest shield to guarantee Menace's safety.
"What a pity…"
"Hotpot's move failed."
"Such a good bait and switch but GalanTen actually anticipated it."
Sighs rang through the audience. They thought Hotpot's strategy of shredding Henragon's resistances, thus putting him in danger, only to make Menace their actual target was quite brilliant. But GalanTen wasn't fooled. However, at this moment startled shouts rang through the audience. They realized that Hotpot still had a trick up their sleeves.
Bloody Edge had been lurking close to Menace the whole time. He had been watching for any clue about Gege's position. Usually, thieves were the best at catching other thieves. It would make sense for Gege to protect Menace. Yet there was not a sign of her presence.
Now, Bloody Edge couldn't wait any longer. This was his chance to make a move. Both tanks were occupied. Such an opportunity might not come again! Bloody Edge crept up to Menace, and his body was suddenly revealed, his two daggers gleaming in an eerie red colour.