MMO: Pierce Heaven Til' It Breaks Chapter 454 - End of the Trials

Chapter 454: End of the Trials

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It is not too big of a deal to clear dungeons if parties could attempt it multiple times. Though a fraction of players might not be able to clear it, most parties possessed the necessary strength, and it is a given fact.

Furthermore, whether a commander is adept is dependent on acute observations and his sharp senses. Amber Sword Heart was one such commander as he could speedily devise a tactic against Earth-shattering Bull King despite facing it for the first time.

Taunts were a no-go, as they would definitely get trampled over. Thus, he proposed that a main tank bait it and run in circles.

When Earth-shattering Bull King was not enraged, its movement speed was not that fast. Despite that, kiting it still was not easy. This was due to the Tremor effect that happened as Earth-shattering Bull King ran. Should anyone get too close, they would easily trip, and if the hooves landed on them, they were as good as dead.

They could not get too close, but they could not stray too far as well. If they ran too quickly, Earth-shattering Bull King’s aggro will automatically s.h.i.+ft targets. Due to this, perfect control of distance was necessary.

“Who is this main tank? He’s so good!”

“I think he’s called Amber Sword Heart. He’s the champion in the Southern Continent’s Seasonal Arena.”

“d.a.m.n, he’s a beast, that’s amazing!”

Praises erupted from the stands, but there was also some dissent mixed within.

“Amazing my *ss! These punks got their *sses slain by Leader Sc.u.m so many times within the Wailing Grotto. Had it not been for Leader Sc.u.m’s antics, they would never have stood up.”

“Yep yep, the three of them aren’t even a match for our Leader Sc.u.m, so what’s there to praise about?”

The Huashan Guild had joined Glory’s activation event as well…

‘Brothers, our image. Take note of our behavior and keep a low profile.”

Sc.u.mbag w.a.n.g was picking his nose as he stood up from the stands. He held a signboard aloft, and within it, wrote ‘The Experts Stay Silent’.

Back in the arena, when Alex saw Sc.u.mbag w.a.n.g raising his signboard, flames threatened to erupt from his eyeb.a.l.l.s. If looks could kill, Sc.u.mbag w.a.n.g would have died ten thousand times already.

“Alex, what are you looking at? Prepare to dodge!”

Amber Sword Heart yelled out, jolting Alex back to his senses. Alas, it was too late as Earth-shattering Bull King was already too near him. The tremors came barreling over and he involuntarily tripped.

Earth-shattering Bull King trampled over Alex’s body, and even activating ‘Invincibility’ was useless. He was instantly killed, and he was flattened into a pile of flesh on the floor.

“This dumb*ss! Hahaha…” Sc.u.mbag w.a.n.g bawled with laughter as he held the sign. It was so infuriating that Alex almost vomited blood.

Alex was unfazed despite being killed by Li Yi several times. However, he found it hard to swallow the humiliation that came with being slain by lowly trash like Sc.u.mbag w.a.n.g. It was like riding a Jinbei vehicle 1on the highway at 120 miles per hour, but suddenly a Lamborghini came cruising over and instantly overtook you. This was not surprising as the other person’s car is much better than yours. However, how would you feel if a battered-up bicycle rushed over at over 120 miles and overtook you instantly as well?

Alex was extremely p*ssed by the fact that he died because of Sc.u.mbag w.a.n.g…

With Alex fallen, the a.s.sembled G.o.ds Guild had lost a major force, which in turn made their battle harder.

Earth-shattering Bull King’s movement was not always slow, as once it became aggravated, its movement speed would instantly skyrocket. This was its most dangerous phase. One blunder and the main tanks were as good as gone.

Its 200 million HP pool and its impenetrable DEF had made this battle extremely difficult. Had it not been for Amber Sword Heart’s expert skill that dodged Earth-shattering Bull King’s fatal attacks, again and again, their team would have been annihilated early on.

Amber Sword Heart was constantly drawing Earth-shattering Bull King away. Whenever it accelerated, he would do so as well, and if not, he used ‘Block’ to reduce the damage taken. Seeing that his HP was always above 50,000, his t.i.tle as the Steel WarG.o.d was not unearned.

Li Y asked Unending Unmatched. “Unmatched, can you match his performance if it were you down there?”

“Definitely!” Unending Unmatched replied swiftly.

“Okay.” Li Yi nodded.

In his previous life, Unending Unmatched’s ranking was always one place below Amber Sword Heart’s. In everyone’s eyes, his position was already long set in stone.

Amber was always in first place and Unending was always the second. Unending Unmatched had tried to overtake Amber Sword Heart before, but no matter how hard he tried, it still ended up with Amber Sword Heart on top. It irked him to no end.

Li Yi commented, “Amber Sword Heart’s baiting has a flaw. Actually, he doesn’t need to run in circles, at his level, he could use Block to nullify the majority of the damage. If he keeps this up, the melee DPS’s performance will also take a hit. Also, there’s a problem with visibility as well, which can make it hard for the healers to heal him.

“Stand still and fight? What should he do if the Earth-shattering Bull King charges?” Unending Unmatched was stunned.

Li Yi slapped Unending Unmatched shoulders. “If it charges, then you run, duh.”

Unending Unmatched widened his eyes. “So, what you’re saying is that we should maintain our ground when we fight, and run only when Earth-shattering Bull King charges? Once it stops, we should continue to fight it at the same spot?”

Li Yi gave a smile as he nodded his head. What Li Yi had said was actually pretty simple, if Unending Unmatched was given more time to think, he would definitely have come to the same conclusion. However, due to Amber Sword Heart’s flashy running-in-circles strategy, most main tanks would forego other options once they saw it.

“I understand!” Unending Unmatched clapped his hands as he had learned something new.

Operating skills and reflexes were not things that Li Yi could teach. Boss tactics and general experience, however, were things that no one else in this world could beat him in.

The battle in the arena was reaching its climax, Earth-shattering Bull King’s HP had been reduced to below 50%, and as such, its attacks had become more violent. Its aggro was no longer directed on Amber Sword Heart alone, and it was beginning to spread!

There was a mult.i.tude of bosses within dungeons, and there was a wide variety of them. Despite that, there was a type of boss that gave players a headache, which was the bosses that had no specific aggro target and rampaged out of control.

Due to the spreading of the boss’ aggro, main tanks could no longer hold it down and the boss would have free rein. One should know that the DPS and healers in the party were very soft, and one blow was enough to send them lying on the ground. Even if they did not die, they would suffer heavy damage.

A lot of newbies were unaware of this fact, and when they saw the boss attacking players randomly, they blamed it on the main tank as they thought that it was their responsibility. Naïve as they were, they could not avoid the boss’ attacks. However, this was their own responsibility and as such, they should not have blamed others.

“Unmatched, look carefully, this is the phase that tests a main tank’s true ability!”

“Alright!”

Among the stands, Li Yi was still giving Unending Unmatched his lecture.

Amber Sword Heart did not disappoint, and he changed his pulling tactics immediately after Earth-shattering Bull King’s aggro started to spread. He no longer ran in circles, but instead rushed forward. He purposefully stood in front of Earth-shattering Bull King, preventing it from reaching his party members.

“MOOOO—”

Earth-shattering Bull King lowered his head to charge, but Amber Sword Heart stepped aside to dodge. Once Earth-shattering Bull King went past him, he immediately activated ‘Acceleration’ to stand before it again.

He will only let it pa.s.s over his dead body. As the main tank, his responsibility was to take the brunt of the damage!

The a.s.sembled G.o.ds party had around ten main tanks, but none of them came close to Amber Sword Heart. They charged forward to stop Earth-shattering Bull King, but none of their Blocking skills were good enough. Coupled with their error in judgment, it only took mere seconds for Earth-shattering Bull King to trample over them.

“I can do that too…” Unending Unmatched mumbled. With Li Yi explaining everything at his side, he was gaining a lot from the battle. Though he would not improve drastically just by talking, he did have the ability to make inferences!

a.s.sembled G.o.ds Guild’s suddenly shot up because they received a system notification that told them that Earth-shattering Bull King will enter a Berserk state in five minutes.

It was a do or die moment!

Amber Sword Heart had activated s.h.i.+eld of Earth, whereas the yellow-robed Priest, Ah Ye activated Holy Light Illumination. Everyone activated their ultimate skills as well and gave it their all.

Earth-shattering Bull King’s ability was even greater than King of Sandworms and Ice Howl combined. However, unlike Ice Howl which had a 99% chance of causing a team wipe if somebody got hit, blunders would not result in a team wipe in a battle against Earth-shattering Bull King.

a.s.sembled G.o.ds Guild poured in all their strength. They even used various precious potions and scrolls and at last, they managed to take down Earth-shattering Bull King before it became berserk.

The potions themselves had cost at least 10,000 Gold Coins, and the scrolls, 20,000, combined with the Equipment maintenance costs, they had paid a hefty price for this battle.

The death toll was at 378 players, and there was only one main tank that survived.

“Warriors, you have proven your true strength by your actions…”

Lil Moigne descended to resurrect players, and at that moment, two blacked-clothed High Curse Priests walked forward to open up a teleportation door.

“The entrance to the Ancient Civilization Ruins has opened! Warriors, the path ahead is perilous, and I bid you success. May the Light be with you always!”

Lil Moigne and the two black-clothed Curse Priests had left, and the stands delved into chaos once more.

“Wait, what? There’re only three trials? Can those of us who haven’t cleared it enter as well?”

“What’s the meaning of this? Does he want us to enter as well?”

“Does battling and not battling yield the same outcome?”

Countless opinions roamed about the stands as the players began their discussions.

‘Though you can enter the ruins even if you did not battle, there’s definitely a difference if you cleared the trial.’

Li Yi shook his head, he did not mention those words to anyone. With his members in tow, he was the first to enter the teleportation door that had been opened in the arena.

Glory’s dungeon was uniquely designed, and the three trials were only the appetizer. The true battle only began after entering Ancient Civilization Ruins.

The scene before him changed, and Li Yi appeared in a desolate junkyard. His surroundings were filled with broken machines, and when he peered ahead, there seemed to be several fist-sized white light orbs rotating in the air…

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[Congratulations, you have received a Holy Light Amulet. (Locked item, usable only in Glory Instance Dungeon.)]

[Congratulations! You have received a Summoning Order ticket.]

[Congratulations! You have received 30 Darkness Pearls.]

…

Three joyous tunes rang out, and Li Yi had three more items in his inventory. These were the rewards for beating King of Sandworms.

Within the confines of Glory, the party leader cannot simply issue Summoning Orders. If he wanted to, he must expend a Summoning Order ticket. During the early phases of the dungeon, the number of Summoning Order tickets that players had was zero. Only by clearing one of the trials could they receive a ticket.

Furthermore, players could not use Resurrection Spells inside Glory. As such, Holy Light Amulet which allows a full HP resurrection had become the only life-saving tool. Its importance could not be underestimated.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh…

After Li Yi’s arrival, it was only a matter of seconds before the other party members were transported to his side.

Hiss…Hiss…Hiss…

The white light orbs that were floating from afar had sensed intruders. They shot out light rays and connected to one another, forming a huge white net that sealed off the surroundings…

….