- PoV: Quinlan -
I can't lie, I'm having an amazing time. It feels like I'm playing a video game and a double XP weekend dropped in my lap. I expected the Trials to be beneficial to us, but at this rate, we might get more XP in a single day's worth than we did in the entire past month. My ladies and I are leveling up amazingly fast thanks to all the randoms that run our way when they are desperately trying to get away from the two giant alliances, becoming easy pickings for us.
I knew that forming such big teams was for the losers. They're missing out on the benefits of the event. How rare is the opportunity to fight with solely young people who are more or less at your level? The only similar place in the world is the labyrinth, but due to its heavy XP gain penalties, it's not close at all.
As for our team, I'm officially loving the addition of the elves. Now we could just use a few more frontliners and all would be perfect. With 3 more tankers on Ambition's level, I would even dare to bear my fangs at the alliances if the situation called for it.
…
Why did I have to run my mouth?
One of the alliances decided to charge at us just as soon as I thought that. I don't have my three OP tankers yet!
"Team, we're getting attacked from the west!" I shouted, letting all know what my primordial eyes had been showing me.
"Shit!" Ayame cursed amongst others.
"That's a scary sight…" Seraphiel commented wryly. Experience new stories on .com
"Ghost knows Master has a brilliant plan like always!" My beloved dog-girl wasn't worried at all. How heartwarming.
"Dream, start running in the opposite direction and only turn around to cast buffs one the frontline when they come off cooldown. The rest of you, we have to kite the horde. Run and shoot as they say. We will use our speed and organization to our advantage while keeping the distance." I decided, then glanced at Ambition who after a single second nodded.
As for why I sent Aurora to run for it? She was at the lowest level out of any of us, besides Lucille, and she had a low Agility score to boot, unlike the Berserker woman. She wouldn't be able to run and gun properly.
"Archers, take aim. Melee combatants, only engage the ones who get close to us while you are continuously backing away."
Why were we not running? Because they made a 'mistake' which in turn forced us to fight. The alliance ignored their backline and tankers who were naturally slower with low Agility and sent their swift members at us. This way, our own slower teammates wouldn't be able to run. The reason I call it a mistake is that in order to do this, they completely ruined their formation.
However, it might be a stretch for me to say that they were wrong with their approach. After all, there were hundreds of them and only twelve of us. Even just their quick members should make easy work of us and then regroup with the rest.
I felt like blaming myself for not expecting this, but it wasn't like I could just sit back and relax in a safe corner. We had to cull the Phenom numbers so that we would pass before all the remaining teams formed similar alliances. That would've been the end of us.
The first volley from our archers was a deadly rain, five arrows loosed simultaneously alongside Seraphiel's signature golden Arcane Arrow. The arrows arced through the air and each managed to latch into a person.
I took the opportunity to throw out my own opening salvo. With a firm gesture of my hand, I sent three rapid [Air Slashes] forward, slicing through the front ranks. Limbs and weapons alike were severed in a shower of blood. Quickly, I followed up with an [Aqua Bolt], its spiraling blue form slamming into the chest of a charging axeman and sending him sprawling to the ground. Without a moment of hesitation, I followed up with a [Fireball], the most iconic spell to ever exist that was crackling with energy before I lobbed it into the crowd. It exploded, engulfing half a dozen warriors in a fiery inferno, the blast sending shockwaves outward.
I was far from finished. I called upon the earth's might, summoning a massive boulder from the ground beneath me. "[Boulder Throw]!" I yelled, hurling it with a surge of mana. The huge rock spun through the air like a catapult, crushing the frontline beneath its weight with a sickening crunch. ꞦâΝỖВËṧ
But the wave kept coming. Of course they would. After all, they were like ants who got bloodshot eyes for some reason and were determined to kill us in particular.
With my primary damage spells on cooldown, I switched tactics, deciding to become the crowd control master of the team. A swirling mass of water formed in front of me as I cast [Tidal Wave], the crashing surge slamming into the advancing warriors and washing them back, buying us precious seconds.
The lull was brief. The few dozen I sent back were replaced by new enemies who pushed even harder, forcing us to backpedal. "[Cyclone]!" I bellowed, raising both hands and twisting them sharply. A vicious whirlwind whipped into existence, a swirling vortex that sent their archers and lighter fighters sprawling to the ground, cutting off their advance with a wall of air and debris.
I needed more. The sheer numbers were overwhelming, and I knew I couldn't hold them off for long. Summoning another surge of mana, I called forth a jet of roaring flames. "[Inferno Blast]!" I shouted, sweeping my arm wide. A wave of fire burst out from my fingertips, engulfing the nearest ranks in a consuming blaze. Screams filled the air as the heat burned armor and flesh alike, but still they pressed forward, relentless in their determination.
The ground beneath us was trembling now, and I stomped my foot down hard. "[Quake Stomp]!" I snarled, sending a shockwave rippling outward. The ground cracked and shifted, throwing warriors off their feet and causing a few unlucky ones to tumble to the ground, dazed and vulnerable. My eyes scanned the battlefield as I panted with my heart pounding due to the extreme amounts of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
Things weren't done just yet.