Chuckling Randidly said ” it’s true my Stats give me a few advantages in terms of efficiency
Tatiana gave him a look
“Maybe more than a few ” Randidly admitted Almost unwillingly Randidly pulled his arm away and flexed his fingers They were exceedingly clean from a scrubbing this morning But when he looked at his hands he could only see the callouses from squeezing a spear These were not the hands of a simple metal worker
Think about it Viking Tatiana said with a shrug ThereÆs no such thing as too much money and influence right
Decklan leaned forward laying his cards down on the impromptu table they had made to play the game Ladies and gentlemen it looks like itÆs tea time
Everyone around him stilled There were 5 others at the table inside the hut but outside of it there would be others tending to the garden and patrolling in the area around the mine Tera was undoubtedly lying on the roof looking up at the stars It was what she loved to do here on crystal clear nights Guarding the mine wasnÆt an exciting job really aside from those brief times when they needed to wipe out a Raid Boss But it was an important one for Donnyton
Tonight was a clear night and when she heard the prearranged phrase Tera undoubtedly sent an alert to every member of the Squad One of the nearby members of DecklanÆs Squad who was relatively new stood abruptly
How much time do we have He asked his eyes widening
Older members of DecklanÆs Squad rolled their eyes at the young manÆs foolishness They all stacked their chips and cards in neat stacks before standing and then it was more of a stretch than anything else These were men that had fought with Decklan in those early days defending the walls of Donnyton from the waves of beasts that came to crush new Villages
Although they were casual their movements were extremely quick Within a few seconds they had stowed away the cards and grabbed their gear strapping it on with a practiced ease They were quite used to ambushing others so being on the receiving end of it didnÆt throw any of them Sometimes it was easy to forget but they were in the business of killing
The only way this ended was with someone better coming to kill them
Decklan smiled at the new Squad member Three seconds
When the wave hit it was harder than even Decklan anticipated It was led by a bull type monster clearly a Raid Boss spawn Behind them were waves of insect armored humanoids who were surprisingly well armored if unimpressive otherwise Still these armored humanoids were an excellent counter for DecklanÆs Squad
This move was pre planned then
Chortling Decklan strolled out among the monsters They might give his boys some trouble but his knife was a found item in the System from a Level 59 monster These Creatures werenÆt even Level 40 They were rotten wood and chaff quickly cut away
But there were a lot of them and they werenÆt trying to engage DecklanÆs group just keep them busy Decklan looked up from killing a dozen to scan the rush in front of him There were only a thousand but it was still an almost impossible task for his Squad to survive long amongst these numbers Or stop them from making it into the mines
Then a figure moved forward out of the crowd a hulking monstrosity encased in obsidian armor
Decklan whistled It is has been a long long time since IÆve had a duel I hope I havenÆt lost my touch
Chapter 535
Tera snatched one of her knives out of the corpse of a nearby monster and flicked her wrist That knife materialized within the neck of a bull that was charging at the newest member of their Squad who had fallen on his ass
DecklanÆs Squad was not a numbered Squad so sometimes it was hard to recruit from the normal people of Donnyton Even recently with such a huge influx of population into the area Still those people needed time to grow into their Paths and Skills and adjust to the world of fighting None would rival the experience that the people who started in the Zone would have Those who fought their way to this point might be covered in scars but they had an edge
Alana was doing the best she could but there just wasnÆt enough time to temper the new arrivals
Cartwheeling over Tera stopped next to the kid and lifted him roughly to his feet He seemed to barely weigh anything at all Stay on your feet Keep your weapon up and your center of gravity low All of these are slow so work with someone else to kill a few Got it
She didnÆt wait for his answer but was already gone using Prestidigitation to make a knife appear from nothing to shove down the ear hole of one of the insect people It screamed and chittered at her but fell
Tera glanced over towards Decklan who had apparently found the leader Decklan was moving quickly and striking hard but the strange armor that the man wore slowly healed even as Decklan struck more blows If he wanted to hurt the opponent for real he would need to take more risks or burn through more of his Stamina
Tera knew DecklanÆs moves well They were powerful but they were Skills that were often based on percentages of Stamina The more you spent the more powerful the effect but that didn’t make up for the fact that Decklan was not gaining increased staying power in a fight as he Leveled No he was just growing more deadly
Inwardly Tera was torn for a split second She wanted to help Decklan but suspected that her attacks would do little to tip the tide of that battle On the other hand DecklanÆs Squad already had two injuries on people that put them out of commission They were quickly being pushed back by the sheer number of insectoids
Tera gritted her teeth She didnÆt even see the Raid Boss that spawned these fucks Because it was likely so far away it couldnÆt control the tide to attack really But it would still stay safe to make more some other day
After Tera put these down she swore to herself she would hunt these Raid Bosses down and end them all
Who could have done this Æ A thought popped up an annoying thought These were controlled Raid Bosses launching an assault in Donnyton territory But she ignored it That was for later
Fall back give up the cave mouth LetÆs bleed em dry while they are stealing our gold Tera called and the squad formed up and shifted around moving more off to the side The insectoids seemed to be aware of the change and they surged to pressure the Squad further without letting them have a respite The two wounded were being tended to but the healer was barely able to cast Heal without being pushed backward
Knives condensed like flakes of snow on a cold day and Tera dealt them like a hand of poker She felt the familiar ding of gaining a Level but she ignored it as she moved smoothly between the falling bodies of the insectoids It was a dance of a sort a performance She was the Juggler and although her power wasnÆt so impressive in terms of death defying feats of dexterity few could match her
But of course her eyes were just as sharp during the fight and she saw the flash of three shadows each bigger than the last that slipped into the mines
Now was another impasse Her performance had bought the squad enough time to regroup and form up around her so she could pause and glance towards Decklan The obsidian figure facing him was definitely starting to look the worse for wear Blood was dripping out of a wide wound across his chest But the armor was reforming and Decklan was standing still
That was never a good sign
Two of you head out to assist Decklan Anton and Fran The rest continue to support and cut these bitches apart I need to figure out what they are after
They would likely try to stop her or have a few go with her and Tera knew they couldnÆt spare the bodies They needed to be here So she left moving quickly and producing a thin cloak from her interspatial ring With the cloak around her her Sneak Skill Level was effectively doubled and her movement speed increased by 10%