novelODS Chapter 217, Wave 1: Get lost!
Chapter 217, Wave 1: Get lost!
The last countdown number jumped to "00:00" on the virtual panel.
In that instant, the entire Crimson Flame Valley seemed to freeze, even the wind seemed to stop.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the clearing outside the valley entrance, their ears perked up like rabbits, afraid of missing the slightest sound. Their hands, gripping their weapons, were drenched in sweat.
"They're here!" someone shouted, their voice trembling.
As soon as the sound ended, the ground began to tremble slightly.
At first, it sounded like distant drumming, but then the noise grew louder and louder, turning into muffled thunder that rolled in from outside the valley.
"Hold on! Everyone hold on! Listen to my orders!" Zhang Tianya stood behind the valley entrance defense line, his voice booming like thunder, forcefully suppressing the slightest disturbance in the ranks.
He was nervous too, his heart was pounding, but at that moment he was like a pillar of strength, he couldn't be shaken.
In the woods outside the valley, shadowy figures appeared, and then a dark mass of shadows, like a flood bursting its banks, rushed out with a roar!
Leading the charge were a dense swarm of "Crazy Wolves," each larger than a calf, baring their teeth, drooling, and with green eyes.
They were incredibly fast, pawing the ground with their limbs and kicking up clouds of dust.
Closely following the wolf were a group of giant venomous snakes writhing around, their colorful scales disgusting to look at, their tongues hissing as they flicked their tongues.
The sky wasn't idle either; a large swarm of Bloodthirsty Bats flew over, their wings spread like small umbrellas, a dark mass that dimmed the light.
"Throw the reconnaissance skill over there!" Zhang Tianya roared.
Immediately, a mage cast a scouting aura.
【Crazy Wolf, Level 25-28】
[Giant venomous snake, level 26-29]
[Bloodthirsty Bats, Level 24-27]
After receiving the feedback, Zhang Tianya felt a little more at ease.
Fortunately, the first wave consisted of ordinary monsters of reasonable level, which was still manageable.
"Archers! Mages! Aim! Shoot them down!" Zhang Tianya swung his battle axe forward.
"put!!"
Whoosh whoosh!
Chi Chi Chi -!
The archers and mages, positioned on the high points of the hillsides on both sides, had been holding their breath for a long time. Upon hearing the command, arrows rained down like locusts, whistling sharply as they rained down on the wolves and snakes on the ground.
Fireballs, ice spikes, and arcane missiles rained down like they were free, exploding into bursts of fire and icy mist amidst the monster horde.
-587! -642! -721! -Critical Hit! -1501! ......
Large numbers of damage numbers floated up from above the monster's head, like snowflakes falling. The wolves and snakes at the forefront were instantly overwhelmed by this dense firepower, howling as they fell in droves, turning into experience and copper coins.
"Well done!" The shield warriors in the front row were greatly encouraged by this sight.
But there were just too many monsters. A group died, but more kept charging forward, stepping over the corpses of their companions.
Especially the bats, which flew fast, many of them bypassed the ranged fire and pounced on the priests and mages in the back row.
"Damn it! From the sky! Thieves, use crossbows to snipe! Mages, use small-area skills to clear them out!" Zhang Tianya immediately adjusted the deployment.
Several agile thieves immediately drew their light crossbows and fired volleys at the swooping bats.
The mages also switched to skills like Arcane Missiles or Ice Spikes, which have fast casting speed and low mana cost, to accurately kill the approaching bats.
At the mouth of the valley, the wolf pack and snake pack finally reached the barricades.
"Shield Warriors! Hold on! Knights, prepare to taunt! Don't let them disrupt the formation!" Zhang Tianya himself stood in the first row, holding a giant shield in one hand and a battle axe in the other.
"Roar!" The tanks at the front roared in unison, slamming their massive shields into the ground and leaning forward, bracing themselves with their shoulders.
boom! boom! boom!
The wolf slammed its head against the shield with a dull thud. The venomous snakes tried to squeeze through the gaps or spit venom.
-325! -288! -Block! -Miss! ......
The front-line tanks' health bars began to drop steadily, but thanks to their shields and heavy armor, the damage remained within an acceptable range.
"Priest! Heal! Keep an eye on the front line's health!" Zhang Tianya shouted as he used his shield to knock away a wolf that was trying to pounce on him.
Soft beams of healing light fell upon the front-line tanks, quickly restoring their lost health. Although the female priests were nervous, their techniques remained relatively steady.
"Output! Don't stop! Warriors, come out with me and hack them to pieces!" Seeing that the formation had stabilized, Zhang Tianya became bolder and led a team of berserkers out through the gaps in the shields, hacking away at the monsters that were blocked by the barricades and shield warriors.
-1254! -987! -Critical Hit! -2011!
Melee classes deal significantly more damage than ranged classes, especially against these restrained monsters—it's like cutting vegetables in the dirt.
The battle had reached a fever pitch.
At the valley entrance, roars, the clash of weapons, the hiss of monsters, the explosions of skills, the chanting of healers... all sorts of sounds mingled together, deafeningly loud.
Monsters surged forward like a tidal wave, crashing against the alliance's defenses. The alliance's players, their eyes bloodshot, mechanically repeated the actions of attacking, defending, and using potions.
"Left! A snake is slithering in from the left! Kill it quickly!"
"Watch out! A bat scratched my face! Give me some milk!"
"Hahaha! Awesome! My experience points are increasing like crazy!"
"Save your mana! This is only the first wave!"
Despite a few minor mishaps, the overall defense remained rock solid.
Zhang Tianya's command became increasingly smooth; wherever there was pressure, he would call in reinforcements, and wherever a loophole appeared, he would immediately plug it.
Lin Tian, who was watching the battle from the high slope behind, saw all of this.
He crossed his arms, looking relaxed, even a little bored.
In his eyes, monsters of this level were no different from roadside weeds; a single area-of-effect skill could clear out a large area of them.
His main task was to observe the coordination of the battle alliance and Zhang Tianya's command.
"Hmm, Old Zhang's command is decent. He didn't charge blindly and knew how to utilize the terrain," Lin Tian commented in his mind. "The front line is tough enough, and the priests' healing is timely. It's just that the back line's DPS is a bit chaotic, and their mana is being consumed too quickly. They might not be able to hold out in a prolonged battle."
He saw several mages constantly casting Fireball, a mana-intensive spell, in pursuit of damage, and their mana bars were already almost half depleted.
The battle had only been going on for less than twenty minutes.
"I still lack experience," Lin Tian shook his head.