Chapter 306: Earthen Wall Talisman
Just as the white rat was about to strike, Marcus caught a subtle movement from the Savage Wolves’ leader.
The grim-faced warrior pulled out a brownish-yellow paper that looked like a talisman, its surface etched with faint, shifting patterns. He murmured something under his breath, then flicked his wrist and sent it spinning into the air.
The reaction was immediate.
The talisman burst into light, and a swirling storm of sand and wind rose out of nowhere, wrapping around the Savage Wolves like a living barrier. In an instant, a dense, earthen glow settled over them, casting everything in a muted yellow haze.
A defense buff. There was no mistaking it.
Marcus felt his jaw tighten slightly, and even his teammates couldn’t hide their unease. These people were not just organized, they were well-equipped.
No one could say whether the white rat’s attack would even break through that kind of defense.
"Rat Needle Rain!"
The white rat unleashed its attack the moment the barrier stabilized. Countless white, needle-like shards of ice formed overhead before raining down in a dense, lethal storm toward the Savage Wolves.
Marcus leaned forward slightly, his eyes sharp.
’Break through. At least take a few of them with you.’
But the result fell far short of his expectations. The icy barrage struck the earthen glow and vanished almost instantly, dissolving as if it had been swallowed by mud. The Savage Wolves barely flinched.
Those on the fringes who weren’t fully covered by the buff were quickly healed by their clerics, their health snapping back up before it could even matter.
Marcus exhaled slowly. So that was how it was. The white rat’s attack had done almost nothing.
Frustration flickered across his expression. So much for letting others do the work. If he wanted this done properly, he would have to step in himself.
"Charge."
His voice was calm, but it carried a heavy weight.
He moved first, leading DragonBlade and the others forward, following the tide of White Dog Rats toward the Savage Wolves. There was no point dragging things out any longer.
They could not afford to give that group time to stabilize.
"Kill!"
The Savage Wolves’ leader barked the order, his voice cutting cleanly across the battlefield. Another volley followed, arrows and spells slamming into the white rat with relentless force.
The damage piled up fast.
"Kill!"
The command came again, louder this time, edged with frustration.
This boss was his; Savage Wolf Alpha.
The Earthen Wall Talisman he had just used was no ordinary item. It was Mythic-grade, something he had unearthed from an intermediate treasure map after considerable effort. It summoned an Earth-element sandstorm that increased the defense of all nearby allies by forty percent for a full minute.
Forty percent.
Even he had hesitated to use it unless absolutely necessary.
But this situation had forced his hand. With the swarm bearing down on them and his men already engaged, there had been no room to maneuver, and no chance to disengage cleanly. If he had held back, his elite squad might have taken heavy losses.
That was unacceptable. These fifty players were the backbone of the Savage Wolves. For their reputation, for their momentum, for everything they had built, they could not afford to fall here.
Still, the cost burned.
His gaze shifted briefly toward the mercenary group bearing the lion insignia, and a cold promise formed in his mind.
Once this was over, he would make them pay.
The third volley struck. Another heavy chunk of the white rat’s health disappeared.
Three volleys, already pushing past twenty thousand total damage. The boss was on the brink. Victory was within reach.
Alpha allowed himself the faintest hint of a smile. And then something caught his eye.
At the front of the charging swarm, leading the White Dog Rats forward, was a knight, wearing a rabbit mask.
Alpha’s expression froze for a fraction of a second. Something about it felt... familiar and unsettling.
"Boss... that knight... that mask..."
The voice came from behind him, unsteady; Savage Wolf Wind.
A moment later, recognition struck harder.
"That’s Stonehaven!"
"Stonehaven!"
Slayer and Star shouted almost at the same time, their voices sharp with alarm. The memory hit them like a physical blow, dragging up everything they had experienced before.
They would never forget that mask.
"Stop that knight! Kill him first!"
"Heh..."
Marcus’s quiet laugh carried across the distance, cold and amused. So they finally remembered.
’Too late.’
Alpha’s command structure was sharp, his decisions efficient, but he had overlooked one crucial detail. The knight leading the swarm was not just any tank.
And he had no idea what that meant.
"Hundred Phantom Strike!"
The moment Pebble reached the Savage Wolves’ front line, Marcus gave the command.
The strike came down like a flash.
Within a ten-foot radius, damage numbers erupted above multiple players at once. The formation that had just stabilized shuddered violently as cries of shock broke out.
"Kill him now!"
Savage Wolf Stone, caught directly in the attack’s range, felt the impact slam through him. Even with the Earthen Wall buff, the damage was staggering.
Over eight hundred, more than the white rat had dealt. A chill ran down his spine. This knight... was stronger than the boss.
Memories of their last encounter resurfaced, sharp and unwelcome. The fear came with them, tightening his chest.
He attacked anyway, desperation overriding hesitation.
Behind him, the archers and sorcerers continued focusing on the white rat, unable to switch targets quickly enough.
And then the situation twisted again.
As the fourth volley was released, meant to finish the boss, the white rat suddenly reacted. Its claws tore into the earth, its body dipping low before vanishing beneath the surface in an instant. The attacks struck empty ground.
Earth Evasion. The boss had escaped.
Marcus’s eyes lit up.
’Perfect.’
"Pebble. Again."
"Hundred Phantom Strike!"
The second strike came faster than the first. Clean, precise, and merciless.
A critical hit.
The Savage Wolves caught within range, already weakened from the earlier exchanges, collapsed almost instantly. Bodies hit the ground in quick succession, including Savage Wolf Stone.
Alpha’s expression twisted.
"Damn it—"
The words barely left his mouth. The shift had been too sudden and too violent.
He understood it now, too late.
When he had first seen the knight leading the swarm, effortlessly moving through Level 35 monsters, he had assumed it was a defensive build, a pure tank with negligible damage.
He made a mistake, a fatal one.
Two strikes had been enough to tear a hole straight through his formation.
"Knights, block him! Warriors—"
He tried to recover, to regain control, to salvage what he could, but he never finished the command.
A gleaming longsword cut through the chaos, moving with terrifying precision. It flew like a streak of light, straight toward him.
He saw it coming, but he could not stop it. The blade pierced through his chest cleanly.
A massive red damage number burst into view.
-1,850.
For a moment, Alpha’s face froze, caught between shock and disbelief, as if he simply could not accept what had just happened.
Then the light left his eyes. His body went slack and collapsed onto the ground.