The various Rank 3 Void Devourers turned their attention to the wasteland of an Area Zone, and they shook their heads. It almost looked like they were lamenting the destruction of such a 'lovely' place, but that should be impossible.
It was the functional programming of every void monster to seek the destruction of the main plane and all matter-based beings. To see a group of Rank 3 void monsters visibly regretting something similar to their life's goal unsettled Eva a little.
Whatever the case, Eva dismounted Luxia with Zaine, Roma, and Hikari, then stored the Light Phoenix in her inventory. Luxia was useful when they wanted to remain away from the battle, but with the real battle starting the Light Phoenix would be vulnerable, even if she did have some combat capability.
Eva then turned to her guildmates as well as the various remainders of the other five guilds. "All of you, disband your current parties and form one raid party with me."
They all quickly complied, knowing that a tough battle was about to occur. Once the raid party was formed, Eva saw that the number was around 20,000.
Her lips twitched since that was the exact number of remnants she had predicted when she had seen the Rank 3 void monsters at the start. Later, she had changed her mind as the AI showed it was ready to payout, but it didn't change the current scenario.
Was her prediction right because of her future knowledge and informed judgment or was it a manifestation of her growing precognition ability stemming from her Celestial Maiden Inheritance?
Eva wasn't sure, so she decided to rule it as a bit of both. Whatever the case, the lowest level in this raid party was 50. About 8,000 of the group were at Rank 1 level 50, meaning that they had either just reached the Rank cap or they likely had been unable to pass the Rank Up tests yet.
The rest were all at Rank 2, with their levels varying greatly. The core members of Umbra were all near the pinnacle of Rank 2, only that they had yet to pass their Rank Up tests.
The core members of Kamisuo and the other four guilds were at the middle-tier of Rank 2, with the expert and advanced members of Umbra being at the upper-tier. The mid-level members of Kamisuo and the four guilds were at the low-tier of Rank 2, with the majority of Umbra's basic members there as well.
This lineup would be solid for facing a single one of these Rank 3 fellows, and that was only due to Rina, her Flamesear, Eva, and all her stuff as well as Hikari, Roma, and Zaine being at Rank 3 already. They could eke out a victory after a hard-fought battle in such a situation.
Against 10 of them?
Death!
Eva had a gloomy expression, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she assessed the Rank 3 monsters before her. There were two humanoids, four bestial, two plant-like, and two mist-like entities.
Eva decided that the best way to deal with these guys would be all at once, and not one-by-one like others might think. As such, she had to prepare a careful sequence of events that would overturn the odds and lead to a possible victory, so she closed her eyes and let her brain run at crazy speeds.
Draco may be a combat genius, who could use his own power in ways that would shake the world and devour his enemies, yet he was and always had been a one-man army.
Eva was different.
As a top-tier guild leader in the previous timeline, it had been her forte to take in the whole picture and play a form of 3D chess with enemy guild leaders on the battlefield. Given her vast knowledge and experience, Eva was an even better tactician than Deployed Soldier – limited to Boundless of course – only that her plate had been too full these days to play around.
As such, Eva drew up a solid battle plan of three phases on the spot. She opened the party chat then explained her plan as well as the three phases in detail, and the members of the raid group were shaken by the depth of her knowledge as well as her planning.
Sasuga Amatera- *cough* Eva-sama!
The members of Umbra though, were unmoved. 'Hehe, you think this is the limit of our Lady Boss? Try one of her training sessions and you will understand the meaning of life. You will also learn to accept that in terms of value you are worth less than a rat shit.'
Zaine nodded in agreement with Eva's plan. "Excellent Eva, this should work fine."
Zaine's approval reassured Eva. If even the sharp succubus could not see any fault with their strategy, then she was treading the right path. As such, she stared resolutely at the Rank 3 Void Devourers that were now turning their attention to them and said softly: "Begin phase 1."
Phase 1: Stun!
｢Tremor – Active skill
Effect: Stomp on the earth with all your might, unbalancing all enemies within a 1-mile radius and knocking up light enemies.
Cooldown: 1 day.｣
｢Persistent Blizzard – Active skill
Effect: Create a powerful blizzard that encompasses the area of 2 miles, dealing 60% frost damage per second and freezing all enemies.
Duration: 1.5 minutes
Cooldown: 1 day.｣
｢Disable – Active skill
Effect: Fire a special dart of poison that silences the target, preventing them from using their skill or spells. Some enemies might also be paralyzed for a short period.
Duration: 15 minutes
Cooldown: 22 hours.｣
｢Mirage – Passive skill
Effect: Enemies will be placed into a mirage that mirrors reality. This ability is unblockable, but the level of immersion an enemy would fall under is depended on circ.u.mstance and will. Cannot be broken or dispelled.｣
｢Silence – Active skill
Effect: Place a curse of silence on an enemy which prevents them from using any skill or spell and removes all buffs and as well as positive characteristics.
Duration: 1.5 minutes
Cooldown: 3 minutes｣
Uno began with his Tremor skill. He stomped on the ground to create a minor earthquake that sent all the bestial and humanoid Rank 3 monsters tumbling. The plant-like and mist form void monsters remained unaffected.
Jada stepped up to the plate next with Persistent Blizzard. Immediately, the Field Zone dropped in temperature, and the area of 2 miles around the void monsters at Rank 3 became a land of ice.
All of them were encased in it to varying degrees, with the mist form and plant-like versions suffering stronger effects compared to the humanoid and bestial groups.
Cobra placed his index and middle finger on either side of his lips, making a V-shape over them. He then blew through his fingers, and a strange ethereal dart emerged and struck one of the humanoid void monsters with his Disable skill.
Roma and Zaine channeled their Mirage passive skills on all the enemies here at once. This took a great toll on them, but due to the great state of unrest and chaos among the Rank 3 void monsters, they were able to hold on till phase 3 ended.
Roma simultaneously cast her Silence skill, placing it on one of the mist form void monsters.
These were the core skills of Phase 1. Naturally, all other members were allowed to cast their various stuns or silencing skills and spells within the span of the first 10 seconds.
Once this was done, Eva spoke coldly: "Now, begin phase 2."
Phase 2: Buff and debuff!
｢Inspire – Active skill
Effect: Sing a song of camaraderie and brotherhood, inspiring all allies within hearing distance to do their best. All damage, defense, and speed for allies are increased by 80% while damage, defense, and speed for all enemies is reduced by 80%
Cooldown: 22 hours.｣
｢Endless Night – Active skill
Effect: Cover an Area Zone in a veil of darkness, buffing all darkness skills and techniques by 250%.
Duration: 15 minutes
Cooldown: 22 hours.｣
｢Subjugate – Active skill
Effect: Submerge a chosen target in a mist of pheromones, forcing them to obey your wishes for eternity.
Cooldown: none.｣
｢Lava Field – Active skill
Effect: Turn the land in a 1-mile radius into a pool of lava that scorches all enemies within. This deals 20% fire damage per second.
Duration: 1 minute
Cooldown: 1 day.｣
｢Arctic Field – Active skill
Effect: Turn the land in a 1-mile radius into a sea of frost that freezes all enemies within. This deals 20% frost damage per second.
Duration: 1 minute
Cooldown: 1 day.｣
｢Divine Blessing – Active skill
Effect: Send out a wave of Divine Intervention, removing hostility and negativity from all parties within an Area Zone.
Cooldown: 1 day.｣
｢White Light Blessing – Active skill
Effect: Infuse a target with the holy light of purity, granting them strength and power. All their stats are quadrupled, and so is their defense and damage.
Cooldown: None
Autocast: Off｣
Rambunctious Buttlover opened the field with one of his new class skills, Inspire. He began singing a rising tune filled with energy and all allies who could hear it felt that stats rising crazily, while the Rank 3 void monsters flinched as their damage, defense and speed were torn down by a whole 80%!
Silent Walker followed and removed the sun and any form of natural light by casting his Endless Night skill. With it, all players with darkness affiliated skills would be like fish in the water, primarily types like Cobra or Riveting Night.
Loving Aunt even went a step further. She activated her Subjugate skill and captured one of the bestial Rank 3 that had not suffered too many attacks and brought it under heel. That permanently reduced their opposition by one, something that seemed pointless but could make all the difference later in the battle.
Jada and Jade struck by activating their domain-like skills that came with their classes. The Rank 3 monsters were submerged in scorching lava on one side and were doubly frozen on the other.
The feeling of alternating between extreme heat and extreme cold was more potent than just experiencing one of them. While void monsters may not be like rocks that would suffer weathering under such conditions, they did experience something similar.
Warm Spring stepped up next with her Divine Blessing skill. This was to cancel out all the accrued aggro from those who had used skills up to now, as none of them could survive the retaliation of these monsters. That would obviously be Uno and the other lesser tanks' job, with the Godless Paladin naturally taking the lead as he was the most powerful.
After that, Hikari crushed many Aether Crystals and used their energy to fuel a grand White Light Blessing on to all the players here. All of them benefited from a literal boost of their abilities by a factor of four, even Loving Aunt's newly acquired slave.
With this power-up, many of the players arrayed here felt like they could do anything in the world, that they were unstoppable and infallible. Those with the necessary skills also cast their various buff and debuff skills, most notably Sublime Notion who still had many of them from her previous cleric class, yet they were further strengthened thanks to the Legendary Tome of Healing.
Once that was done, Eva began channeling her bloodline and usable skill, ready to launch the real attack. She was not the only one, all the other players also seemed like taut bowstrings about to snap and release a barrage.
"Now is the time! Everyone, head into Phase 3 and give it your all!" Eva commanded with a low shout.
The various players roared to gather their courage and manifest their hopes, as they engaged the Rank 3 void monsters that were stunned, frozen, and debuffed when they were buffed to the extreme, executing the key aspect of the plan.
Phase 3: Bombard!
Eva initiated this phase by firing off the first volley!
｢Element Regulation – Passive Skill
Effect: Control the four basic elements of the world at will.｣
｢Light Ball – Active Skill
Effect: Concentrate a large amount of light energy into a spherical shape that deals huge AOE damage, amounting to 700% over 50 miles.
Cooldown: 10 minutes｣
｢Searing Ray – Active Skill
Effect: Fire out a solid beam of condensed light energy that has absolute piercing power. This skill deals 400% Light damage.
Cooldown: 8 minutes｣
｢Active 1 – Light of the World: Activating this skill allows the user to summon a Rank 2 Heaven's Eye to send out a giant beam of light energy, which deals 1,500% Light Damage over an Area Zone. Cooldown: 1 day.｣
｢Active 1 – Inferno: Purge the world of all dirt. Send out a shockwave of heat and light that deals 1,000% Light damage and 1,000% Fire damage over an Area Zone. Cooldown: 3 days.｣
