Chapter 79 - 74: Such Poor Manners
The Withered Count was tall, his head covered by a White Bone Helmet adorned with curved ram’s horns. He wore a suit of tattered gray Chain Armor, wielded a Wide-Blade Knife, and his body emanated a white frost.
Luh Yao double-clicked the Count.
...
[Hero LV65] Withered Count Selti
Life Value: 2275/2660
Mana Value: 1433/1433
Damage: 144
Defense: 50
Speed: 19
[Decaying Food]
Slowly recovers Life Value and Mana Value by Devouring corpses or rotten matter.
[Blood and Flesh Refining]
Has special resistance to poison damage.
[Noble]
A noble of the Undying Race, able to summon and control Ghouls.
[Range Lv10]
Can attack enemies from a distance. The attack range depends on the ability’s level.
[Wither LV1]
Applies a Wither effect, temporarily reducing the enemy’s speed.
[Mad Tombstone LV1]
Creates a Mad Tombstone that will gather the residual power of the Dead of old to inflict high damage.
...
Luh Yao was a little surprised. This Withered Count was actually a Hero unit.
Luh Yao wondered if it had evolved naturally or been transformed by some God.
The dungeon party was already locked in a brawl with the Withered Count.
Tanking at the very front was Blood Knight Necied.
He wielded a greatsword, had the Forest Sword buff over his head, and with the boost from the Ghost White Horse, his speed reached 39. Theoretically, he should have completely outsped the Withered Count.
But in the actual fight, his movements were slower than the Count’s.
Luh Yao noticed a new bluish-gray [Wither] icon above Necied’s head. The icon was gradually turning transparent, indicating its duration.
A quick calculation revealed that the Blood Knight’s speed had been reduced by at least half.
This conclusion left Luh Yao stunned.
’The numbers on that Wither ability are absurd. No wonder they call him Withered Count Selti. It really is his signature skill.’
Fortunately, the Blood Knight was heavily equipped, and his Taunt was also effective on the Count.
Selti’s attack style was very balanced.
At close range, he swung his Wide-Blade Knife, engaging the Blood Knight in blade-to-blade combat.
When they were slightly farther apart, the Count’s Wide-Blade Knife would float up as if held by an invisible hand and unleash a white blade of light from a distance.
But regardless of the attack method, the damage dealt was fixed.
A Damage Value of -40 intermittently appeared over the Blood Knight’s head.
With his current Life Value of over 4,000, he wasn’t worried about such minor damage.
On the other hand, whenever the Blood Knight’s greatsword hit the Count, a red "-92" would appear above his head.
His comparatively low health and defense put the Withered Count at a disadvantage.
As soon as the Taunt’s effect ended, he immediately retreated to put distance between himself and the Blood Knight.
A part of the Count’s flesh peeled off his body, writhing and twisting on the ground like an earthworm, and rapidly shaped itself with stone and soil into a black tombstone.
The tombstone was covered in bloodshot veins. White bones grew out of it, intertwining to form a giant skull. The left side of the skull’s face was covered in rotting flesh, while the right side was only bone. Two clusters of green fire burned within its eye sockets.
The skull’s jaw clacked open and shut as it let out a bizarre cackle: GAGAGA!
The Ghost Fire in its eye sockets shot out, enveloping two Ghouls. The Ghouls desperately tried to burrow into the ground, while a Damage Value of -150 continuously appeared over their heads. Even the soil couldn’t extinguish the Ghost Fire, and soon, the Ghouls were burned to a pile of char.
Luh Yao watched, completely bewildered.
’What’s happening?’
Then the Mad Tombstone targeted another Ghoul and continued to spit out Ghost Fire like a flamethrower, happily hunting down its own kind.
The Withered Count, who had been silent until now, couldn’t help but curse, "You damn lunatic! I summoned you to fight the enemy!"
"Hurry up and attack! Attack!"
While remotely controlling his Wide-Blade Knife to unleash white blades of light, he maintained his distance from the Blood Knight.
The skull cackled loudly, GAGAGA, its head twisting with a CRACK-CRACK sound to face the Blood Knight.
Two streams of emerald Ghost Fire hit the Blood Knight, but they only inflicted 65 points of damage.
Luh Yao glanced at the panel.
The Blood Knight had [Indestructible], which was perfect for countering ranged attacks, and it was proving its worth now.
Meanwhile, the Deep Sea Lord had also joined the fight. However, it was too slow to keep up with the Withered Count’s pace, so it could only focus on clearing out the surrounding Ghouls.
Only Isabel remained vigilant at the very edge of the fight the entire time.
She had come here for only one thing: to apply the [Forest Sword] buff to the Blood Knight and the Deep Sea Lord. After applying the buff, she quickly withdrew from the combat zone and returned to the relative safety of the entrance.
The Blood Knight, the Deep Sea Lord, and the Withered Count were locked in a grueling battle, and the Life Values of both sides were rapidly decreasing.
’The probing is over,’ Luh Yao thought. ’Time for me to make a move.’
He moved his mouse and clicked to use a Miracle.
[Lightning] x67
A bolt of intertwined blue and white lightning pierced the veil, descending from the Black Abyss and striking the Withered Count square on the head.
The Count, who had just been expertly kiting his two opponents, was caught completely off-guard by the blast. His tall frame froze, locked in a state of Stiffness.
He snapped his head up and roared into the lightning, "Despicable God! Why won’t you let me have a fair fight!? Damn you! Damn you to hell..."
Luh Yao was taken aback for a moment.
’Damn, he dares to curse a God? What a lowlife!’
Just as he was about to increase the power to send the blasphemous Count on his way, the Count had already collapsed.
The Withered Count’s body crumbled into a pile of ashes, giving off plumes of black smoke that were instantly sucked away by some force from the depths of the Abyss.
With the Count’s death, the living tombstone immediately crumbled.
Luh Yao took a sip of his cola.
Although watching his Apostles slice up enemies was satisfying...
...the most effective way to fight in the simulator was for the player to directly bombard with Miracles. As long as the Faith Reserve was large enough, it was the fastest and safest method of combat.
’I don’t care what level a boss is, they’re all eating my chain lightning!’
The Withered Count had 2660 Life Value, which wasn’t an outstanding health pool. All in all, 67 lightning bolts were more than enough to blast him to smithereens.
Even if the Count had a second form, Luh Yao wouldn’t have cared.
’I’ve made my move. Do your worst.’
’I’ve got plenty of ammo right now.’
’A High Level Boss?’
’Beating High Level Bosses is the whole point!’
’A mere 1,340 Faith. That’s chump change.’
What disappointed Luh Yao slightly was that the Withered Count didn’t have any empowered forms and was simply blasted into black smoke by the lightning. He had no idea if it would revive or respawn later.
He suddenly felt a wave of emptiness.
’Is my grasp of combat tactics just too far ahead of the curve? Or are the bosses in the Abyss inherently weakened by the Dark God?’
On the screen, the Blood Knight and the Deep Sea Lord were on a rampage, slaughtering the surrounding Ghouls. Isabel also entered the inner circle, and she retrieved a piece of loot from the Withered Count’s corpse.
...
[Withered Crown LV6]: Damage +10, Defense +5. Can activate [Wither LV1].
...
The simple description left Luh Yao ecstatic.
The Wither ability was top-tier in actual combat.
Slowing down your opponent is as good as speeding yourself up. The Wither ability was like instantly dragging an opponent out of a high-speed sports car and forcing them to run on foot along the racetrack.
After the Withered Count was annihilated, Isabel’s [Forest Sword] effect was also triggered.
A bluish-green quadruped materialized.
...
[Jungle Giant Lizard LV24] [Isabelle Creation]
Life Value: 855/855
Mana Value: 359/359
Damage: 20
Defense: 28
Speed: 12
[Thick Hide]
Inherently has high Life Value.
[Decaying Food]
Slowly recovers Life Value and Mana Value by Devouring corpses or rotten matter.
[Poison LV15]
Attacks cause enemies to become Poisoned, dealing damage over time.
[Forest Element LV1]
A Forest Elemental Creature. It contributes to the rapid growth of forests and receives a boost to all Attributes while in a forest. The effect depends on the ability’s level and Life Value.
...
With that, Luh Yao’s second attempt at clearing the First Floor of the Black Abyss was a success.