Chapter 33: The Withered Fire Marsh (3)

After this battle, Zhao Tianhe finally established his authority as a leader.

“Brother Zhao, you’re amazing! I never thought someone could achieve this just through perception!” Liu Tie said respectfully.

Under Zhao Tianhe’s command, they managed to dodge attacks a whole second in advance. With their skills, a second’s warning meant they could avoid injury entirely.

“Everyone has their own strengths. If I’m the ‘eyes’ of the team, then all of you are the hands and feet. Without your superb skills, my predictions would be useless! Haha—after all, I’m pretty much useless in a fight!” Zhao Tianhe laughed modestly.

“Haha, you’re too humble, Brother Zhao. It’s obvious which is more important—the eyes or the hands! Haha!” the burly Wilson chuckled, patting Zhao Tianhe on the shoulder. “From now on, wherever you say to go, I, Wilson, won’t say a word in protest!”

Everyone exchanged compliments in good spirits. Zhao Tianhe’s perception ability was indeed formidable: not only could he ensure the team never faced any real danger, he could swiftly identify patterns and weaknesses in monster attacks for efficient, injury-free kills.

Ordinary novice teams would need to die a dozen times to figure out a monster’s attack patterns. Even veteran teams would require at least two or three attempts for flawless analysis.

Along the way, Zhao Tianhe explained the behavioral traits of the previous two elite monsters, striving to summarize patterns so others could anticipate attacks as well. This kind of team-wide improvement benefited everyone far more than simply following a legendary player like Jeros.

Experience points and ‘experience’ were two distinct concepts: the former only made one stronger, but the latter turned one into a true ‘strongman.’

The third layer of the Withered Fire Marsh was a vast, scorching sand pit, where crimson Red Sand Slimes squirmed across the ground. The beetle-type monsters had disappeared, replaced by clusters of floating miniature Fire Element Slimes.

Two massive Flame Slimes drifted through the air, devouring the smaller ones. It seemed these monsters could recover themselves on this floor.

“There must be elite Red Sand Slimes as well. Time to summon Artoria...” Zhao Tianhe prepared to strike a pose with a serious expression.

Yet suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.

“Don’t summon me.”

It was Artoria’s voice.

“Before the profession system is unlocked, I might not be much help. Unless the affection level rises another two or three grades, support skills are more reliable. After all, my role is as a ‘big gun,’ but against D-ranked elites, I can only handle one at a time. Compared to that, support skills that can instantly kill D-ranked elites are sometimes more useful. By the way, if two or three elites are close together, the effect can be even better, since support skill power is now far beyond its initial state.”

“An ultimate that can wipe out D-ranked elites together? That’s really impressive…” Zhao Tianhe was stunned, then turned to lay out the battle plan.

“Find any possible elite monsters and pull them together… is that possible?” Bald Mage Ryan frowned.

“Miss Saber is amazing! But… can we really do it?” Lainis interjected.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see soon.” Zhao Tianhe smiled. “Also, if an elite Red Sand Slime appears, stall it for a while so I can analyze it.”

“No problem.” Wilson pounded his chest with a grin.

Isis and several other archers lured the Flame Slimes away, while Liu Tie and Wilson dashed through the sand pits, hacking at monsters and probing for potential elites.

As melee fighters with pure strength builds, Liu Tie and Wilson didn’t bother with tricks. Most times, they simply charged in, baiting attacks. With high resistance, defense, mobility, and healers present, they wouldn’t be killed instantly or trapped.

Suddenly, there was a distinct tremor. Liu Tie frowned and halted.

Boom!

The crimson sand erupted like a geyser. Liu Tie retreated swiftly, but the sand fountain pursued him closely.

“This feels… humanoid?!” Zhao Tianhe was taken aback, as his perception told him a humanoid presence beneath Liu Tie’s feet was relentlessly punching upward, the sand spraying out as a result of its strikes!

Meanwhile, Wilson’s feet sank into the sand as two elite Red Sand Slimes dissolved themselves to create a quicksand trap.

“Could this be the boss?!” Alarmed, Zhao Tianhe quickly ordered Ryan and the other mages to bombard the sand beneath Liu Tie with spells!

With a thunderous explosion, Liu Tie was blasted away by the spell’s aftershock, and the sand within ten meters was scattered, revealing the creature’s true form…

A rumbling sound.

As the dust settled, a nearly five-meter-tall, crimson humanoid, jelly-like creature appeared before the group.

“This is… a Fire-type Aggregate Slime! The dungeon boss!” Liu Tie exclaimed, recognizing it from the boss manual.

The Fire Aggregate Slime’s arms bubbled, then swelled dramatically, aiming at Liu Tie nearby.

In the next instant, its arm contracted sharply, launching a red, unidentified projectile at Liu Tie with incredible speed!

Boom!

A vast section of sand was blasted away, the gravel at the bottom of the pit melted outright. Its power matched the earlier spell bombardment.

Fortunately, the experienced Liu Tie dodged the brunt of the attack just in time, only being blown away by the shockwave.

“I remember we need heavy firepower to disperse this monster, right?” Zhao Tianhe asked Lainis nearby.

“Yes! Wilson is in real danger!” Lainis nodded.

“Isis! Use magic arrows to help Wilson escape, healers stay alert! Follow my command and look after Wilson! All other ranged keep kiting the Fire Elite Slimes! Melee fighters, prepare to rush in for close combat!” Zhao Tianhe shouted.

“No! Melee can’t go yet! We’ll need at least three waves of concentrated fire to disperse it!” Ryan called out.

“Relax, one wave will be enough.” Zhao Tianhe stepped forward, slowly raising his right palm toward the monster.

“Roar! Hammer of the Wind King!”

Artoria’s figure appeared clearly before Zhao Tianhe. Air gathered around the holy sword in her hand, the heat distorting the light and forming a visible scorching tornado…

Then, as Artoria thrust her blade forward, the massive tornado transformed into a giant air cannon, gouging out a deep trench in the sand and hurtling toward the Aggregate Slime!

Bang!

Liu Tie, thirty meters from the Aggregate Slime, was blown away by the surging blast, the explosion scattering gravel and raising a massive cloud of sand and dust.