Chapter 179: Predicament
So strong!
Zhou Ning took a deep breath. He could tell that during Leandro's attack just now, he had activated his unique skill—[Hot-Blooded Focus]. This was clear from the intense spiritual glow radiating from his body and the shimmering visual effects that enveloped him.
As a skill exclusive to a Child of the Plane, it temporarily boosts the user's combat power by 70% and grants immunity to all control effects—somewhat similar to Zhou Ning's clan ability.
But even with such an overpowered skill and going all out, Leandro was still sent flying by Archibald with a single slash, coughing up blood on the spot. That alone spoke volumes about Archibald's terrifying strength.
At that moment, Archibald turned toward Leandro. A faint skull suddenly appeared in his palm, and in the next instant, Leandro's body was being dragged toward him by some invisible force.
"Thunder!"
With a burst of pale yellow powder, Edwin summoned a thundercloud. A bolt of lightning struck down upon Archibald, rescuing Leandro in the nick of time. Several more lightning strikes followed in succession. Archibald's body swayed slightly but quickly stabilized. With a half-turn of his massive frame, he raised his greatsword and swung it ferociously at Edwin.
Boom!
Archibald's runeblade smashed into the ground, instantly freezing the floor. Cracks spiderwebbed outwards with terrifying speed.
Edwin immediately blinked away. At the same time, the necklace in his hand trembled lightly, glowing with light.
A beam of pure, sacred radiance descended from the heavens once again, enveloping Archibald.
This time, the holy light was far more intense than before. It was clear that Edwin's spirit was severely drained in exchange.
However, Archibald wasn't caught. He suddenly surged forward with astonishing speed, effortlessly dodging the holy beam. Yet he didn't continue attacking—he simply closed his eyes.
Zhou Ning frowned. In his mind's eye, his Observation Haki suddenly presented a vivid scene:
Leandro rushed in to attack, but Archibald gripped his sword with both hands, dropped to one knee, and plunged the runeblade into the ground. Instantly, the floor froze, frost spreading rapidly, and both of them were encased in ice.
"Watch out!"
Zhou Ning immediately shouted a warning.
He quickly aimed his gun at Archibald and pulled the trigger multiple times.
-219! -245! -194! -205!
Compared to when he'd fought the Arrow God Boudica, these four bullets—each imbued with Ripple Energy, Armament Haki, and even laced with Conqueror's Haki—barely did 800 total damage. Pathetic.
Just as he had "seen" in his mind, Archibald suddenly bent low, dropped to one knee, and drove his runeblade into the ground. The floor beneath them shifted from black to blue, and cracks radiated outward. The destructive power was horrifying!
As the fractures spread, they didn't just devastate the terrain—countless undead erupted from the ground, launching attacks on all intruders nearby.
At that moment, Archibald's status panel appeared:
[Based on your level, you can view the following information:]
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Archibald
Total Level: 72
Class: Death Knight
Template: Boss
Attributes:
Strength: 171
Agility: 154
Vitality: 290
Spirit: 105
Willpower: 94
Charisma: 82
Status: Normal
HP: 5994 / 6800
Traits: Undead Body, Pain Immunity, Dark Resistance, Defense Barrier (Elite), Terror Charge (Elite), Legendary Tenacity (Legendary), [Others Unknown]
Skills: Army of the Dead (Master), Raise Dead (Master), Oblivion (Master), Frost Strike (Grandmaster), Rune Mastery (Expert), [Others Unknown]
A boss-level BOSS… with insanely high defense and 6800 HP. A complete nightmare for a damage-dealer like him.
It was already far beyond what he could handle alone… Zhou Ning's hunch was probably right—this temple must be a raid dungeon that had gone undiscovered in his past life.
After his decisive strike missed, Archibald's cruel and malevolent gaze shifted toward Zhou Ning. But he was soon distracted again by the returning Leandro.
Zhou Ning: …
He couldn't help but shiver. Since arriving in this world, this was the strongest enemy he'd ever faced. Could Vampire Zhou Ning even stand a chance against him?
Checking the remaining time on his clan technique—less than 2 minutes. There was no time to think further. While Archibald was entangled with Leandro and Edwin, Zhou Ning needed to focus on helping eliminate the surrounding undead as fast as possible.
He turned to the other battlefield. Everyone had their hands full. Rosie, Warren, and a few professors were clearing the oncoming undead, but two students had already fallen to the horde. The fight was brutal.
On the other side of the battlefield, a massive half-man mammoth raised a colossal warhammer and smashed it into the ground, unleashing a devastating shockwave. Opposite him, Cress leapt nimbly into the air, dodging the shockwave and slashing at the beast in return.
At that moment, although still battling Professor Raleigh, the elven mage finally finished forming the glowing orb in her hand—and hurled it at Cress.
Caught midair, Cress couldn't evade in time. The orb struck her squarely, and with a loud smack, she was thrown backward, hitting the ground hard and coughing up a mouthful of blood.
In her blurred vision, she saw the mammoth giant raising his enormous hammer high—but she had no time to react.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her away.
Boom!
A massive crater appeared where she'd just been. The mammoth's hammer had missed.
It was only then that Cress realized Wayne Sturwell had appeared beside her, saving her at the last moment.
"Pay more attention to your surroundings during battle," Zhou Ning said curtly, then pulled her away again, narrowly dodging another attack.
"Thanks." Cress wasn't weak herself. With Zhou Ning's help, she quickly recovered. After drinking a high-grade healing potion, her HP began to rise. She circled behind the half-man mammoth and re-engaged the fight.
Zhou Ning glanced at the remaining time on his clan ability—about 40 seconds—and his stamina bar was dangerously low. After catching his breath for a few seconds and swapping in a fresh magazine, he raised his ebony and ivory pistols and opened fire on the mammoth brute.
-492, -596, -965, -462!
After several rounds of heavy fire, the half-man mammoth finally crashed to the ground.
[You have slain Half-Man Mammoth Katuwa (Lv62). You gained 72,000 EXP!]
[Bosses defeated using firearms: 3/5]