[Floor 20]
[Mission Type – Subjugation]
[Objective – Annihilate the enemies!]
The strong barrier had disappeared.
We were free to engage the monster.
"The barrier's gone! Attack the creature!"
I ordered my comrades.
Darius and I immediately readied our assaults as Jonah, Shanny, and Devisha charged at the monster.
The intricate runes on the frame of Darius's new bow glowed with crimson light. It sent warm energy to the arrow the archer had nocked.
We no longer needed to enchant Darius's arrows one by one.
His new bow crafted using an alloy made with a concentration of the subquest crystal could do that instead.
The weapon could enchant arrows according to Darius's wishes, which he conveyed to the bow through his enchanted ring that also summoned his arrows.
His bow could imbue an arrow with elemental attributes that would turn it either into an explosive, incendiary, freezing projectile, electric, or simply increasing its penetrative strength through wind attribute and reinforcement spells.
It had greater firing rapidity than a short bow, with launch power and range greater than a longbow.
The arrows themselves still needed to be crafted so they could contain the enchantments without breaking down.
Even still, the enchanted bow was an excellent weapon that would turn Darius into a formidable archer.
Swoosh!
Darius launched an explosive toward the chimera while I sent a Third Circle fire assault.
Boom!
My magic and Darius's explosion engulfed the monster in an intense pool of flame.
An ogre would be completely obliterated by that joint attack.
Screech!!!
The three-headed beast suddenly emerged from the flame. No wound or injuries could be found on the creature.
It was completely unharmed by our fierce combined assault.
[This monster is immune to physical attacks!]
[This monster is immune to magical attacks!]
Jonah, Shanny, and Devisha finally reached the creature.
The shepherd's new spear was capable of absorbing impact force created through blocking or attacking enemies.
By sending a mental signal through his enchanted ring which also summoned his throwing spears, Jonah then could unleash the gathered force in his spear as destructive energy.
The new enchanted spear itself had tremendous penetrative power compared to his previous one.
Meanwhile, Shanny's new sword was capable of absorbing her rage which would enhance the strength of her blade.
It was supposed to work best during Shanny's Berserk state when her rage was at her peak and her power was even more enhanced by her enchanted ring.
But even in its normal state, Shanny's enchanted sword was already more powerful than a heavy sword which was thrice its size.
Thrust!
Slash!
My comrades attempted to cripple the monster by attacking its enormous legs.
But not even the enchanted weapons could leave a scratch on the hybrid creature.
[This monster is immune to physical attacks!]
[This monster is immune to physical attacks!]
[This monster is immune to physical attacks!]
Screech!
We had enraged the creature. It was ready to counterattack.
The three-headed chimera began swinging its large claws at my comrades.
Its movement was powerful, but slow enough for my comrades to dodge them in time.
If only the claws were the only thing we needed to worry about.
The bull head on the monster's back snorted burning embers from its nostrils.
It then opened its mouth and began spewing torrents of intense fire.
Whoosh!
I casted barriers to intercept the flames and shielded my comrades fighting the monster directly.
Jonah and the others managed to maneuver around the monster's attacks and prepared their next assault attempt.
But the monster had yet shown its full ability.
The lizard head on the creature's tail turned its jaw agape and started launching sizzling balls of dark liquid like a cannon.
Boom! Splash! Boom! Splash! Boom! Splash!
The liquid balls exploded all over the rise. They created large black pools throughout the battlefield.
We would certainly burn ourselves if we made contact with those sizzling dark substance.
Fortunately, the lizard did not launch the liquid balls too rapidly that it overwhelmed us. My comrades were still able to anticipate them in time.
But when we had to be wary of the claws, the fire breaths, and the liquid balls altogether, it became quite challenging for us.
"This monster is ridiculous!"
Shanny shouted as she dodged a series of large claws.
"Various kinds of dangerous creatures combined into one. It's terrible."
Devisha said while maneuvering through the liquid balls' trajectories.
"It seems like something out of a nightmare."
Jonah added after he avoided from being charred by a fire breath.
The creature was indeed powerful and possessed numerous dangerous abilities.
But it seemed we had grasped its pattern of attack.
My comrades then attempted another charge.
Jonah, Shanny, and Devisha targeted the monster's legs once more while Darius and I aimed at its three heads.
[This monster is immune to physical attacks!]
[This monster is immune to magical attacks!]
Not a scratch.
None of our assaults could harm the monster whatsoever.
"My sword couldn't do anything to this bastard!"
Shanny shouted.
Devisha joined her.
"I couldn't spot any weak point! It doesn't seem to have one!"
It turned out this monster was even more peculiar than it seemed.
If we be patient and observe the creature a little longer, perhaps we would be able to discover—
Swiiisshhh….
Dense black mist suddenly manifested over the dark puddles throughout the rise.
Apparently the sizzling liquid balls the lizard shot earlier were not just simple projectile assaults.
For from the dense black mist emerged disfigured slimy man-sized creatures with long fangs and claws. Dozens of them.
[Dark Spawn Lv.14 x???]
"More enemies! Be wary of the black pools!"
I alerted my comrades.
The slimy creatures charged upon my comrades.
Darius and I immediately launched arrows and elemental assaults to intercept them.
Swoosh!
Boom!
The creatures were decimated in an instant. Seemed like they were vulnerable to our attacks unlike the chimera.
Screech!!!
The three-headed monster continued on attacking my comrades.
Its lion head determined where the claws would swing. The bull head breathed deadly flames at us. While its lizard head shot more liquid balls all over the rise, which then spawned more of the slimy creatures.
The entire battlefield was turned ablaze and soaked with monster-spawning pools.
And Party 1 had to navigate through such cursed terrain to kill a giant creature born out of a nightmare.
[This monster is immune to physical attacks!]
"My spear couldn't penetrate through its hide! I don't think it's even getting through!"
Jonah shouted after he tried thrusting his spear toward the chimera's torso.
Darius then aimed at an eye of one of the chimera's head.
Swoosh! Clang!
His projectile struck at the bull head's crimson eye. But it did not go through.
The arrow simply stopped before the eye and fell limply to the ground.
[This monster is immune to physical attacks!]
"Ridiculous! It's as if the monster has an impenetrable barrier all over itself!"
Darius stated.
"How are we supposed to kill this thing?!"
Shanny shouted as her sword failed to decapitate the chimera's tail.
[This monster is immune to physical attacks!]
"These creatures also keep showing up! It would be dangerous if their number grows!"
Devisha said as she decapitated a couple of slimy creatures with her scimitars.
She continued while decapitating three more.
"How are we supposed to last an hour in a battle like this?"
Exactly.
If we had to, my comrades and I might be able to endure this kind of intense battle for about an hour.
But there was no way a party outside the Main Forces could pull that off.
However, there were indeed Reserve parties that actually did.
The Fourth Advanced Scouts, especially Party 6 the then-vanguard, managed to last for more than 50 minutes in their scouting attempt. Other weaker vanguards also managed to last for at least half an hour.
There had to be a reason why they were able to endure that long.
In fact, there might actually be four reasons for it.
[Possessing a map of the stage.]
[Displaying tactical screen.]
[Various tactical tools can be summoned.]
[Give tactical instructions to heroes with touch and drag!]
Notification windows appeared above us.
I could see peculiar lights flashing in the sky.
Sigyn was about to relay their orders for us via the Tactical Post.
They had scouted the fourth Quintal Trial by sacrificing more than 80 heroes.
What kind of insight had they gained through those sacrifices?
How would Master direct us to victory in the twentieth floor?
[Modifying battle instructions.]
[Forming combat directives based on enemy type.]
The peculiar lights flashed rapidly in the dark night sky.
Once Master finished creating their orders, the lights burst like fireworks and two windows appeared before each of my comrades and I.
[Enemy Type 1: Cursed Abomination Lv.52]
[Combat Tactic: Active Decoy]
[Combat Directives: aggressive singular confrontation, diversionary physical direct attack, dodge priority, block priority, minimum exertion cost]
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[Enemy Type 2: Dark Spawn Lv.14]
[Combat Tactic: Passive Offense]
[Combat Directives: passive coordinated elimination, swift subjugation, physical direct attack, physical projectile attack, low mana-cost magical attack, minimum exertion cost]