Desperate Struggle (1)
Translator: Mr Voltaire
Editor: Chlocolatte
Because there were many players, they often used large numbers to crush Bosses. This worked for Lord Bosses and Celestial Bosses, but Heaven’s End Grade Bosses were on a completely different level. No matter how many players: tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands… even if an entire guild tried to take down a Heaven’s End Grade Boss, it would be suicide. Any attack from the Mountain Giant would have resulted in waves of people dying. With this level of Attack Power, players would have been instantly blown to smithereens without a chance to retaliate.
With Ling Chen’s current strength, it was possible for him to escape using the Lunar Scourge and Broken Shadow. However, resisting it, or even killing it, was simply a wild dream.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Mountain Giant continued to chase him. Every step it took caused an earthquake, and an indescribable pressure locked onto Ling Chen’s body. The Mountain Giant was gigantic, and its aggro range was also quite far. It was even possible that its aggro range spanned across the entire Nameless Ridge.
Ling Chen guessed that this Mountain Giant was truly furious, and was determined to chase them out of the Nameless Ridge or destroy them. Back when he had killed that wave of Little Stone Golems, he had felt that there was something off about the atmosphere… now that he thought about it, it was as if the Mountain Giant was giving him a warning. Next were the Rock Devils and the Rock Devil King, which it summoned to stop him and Tian Tian. However, he had destroyed all of them, and they had entered the region it was protecting. As such, it erupted into fury. The mountain ridge was filled with stones and countless trees, showing just how long it had been protecting this place for. When it awoke, its fury was no small matter…
“Ahhhh… it’s coming, it’s coming to get us, ahhhhh!!”
Although Ling Chen was able to increase the distance between them and the Mountain Giant using Broken Shadow, its body was simply too big. Looking back, he saw that it was already right behind them again, with its single eye staring at him. Tian Tian screamed the entire time while Ling Chen ran, and stuck to him while tightly closing her eyes. Ling Chen frowned, and continued to run. All he could do was run away at full speed. The Mountain Giant moved slowly, but each step spanned tens of metres. Even with Broken Shadow, it was difficult for Ling Chen to shake it off.
After the effects of Broken Shadow ended, Ling Chen had run through a mountain ridge. After using Broken Shadow again, he ran through a second mountain ridge. He once again turned around, and found that he still couldn’t see the Mountain Giant’s entire body- it was still right behind him. If he stopped, its next step would crush him and Tian Tian to bits.
Looking at Tian Tian, who had her eyes closed, Ling Chen could feel cold sweat running down his forehead and back… crap! He could only use Broken Shadow one more time. If the Mountain Giant’s aggro extended to all of the Nameless Ridge, being able to use Broken Shadow 10 times still wouldn’t be enough.
Being locked on to by the Mountain Giant’s aggro prevented him from using teleport scrolls or other teleporting items, and neither did it allow him to safely log off. As soon as he couldn’t use Broken Shadow anymore, the Mountain Giant would catch up to them, and both he and Tian Tian would have to face death.
Moreover…
Ling Chen did not use Broken Shadow anymore, but instead continued to run while looking back at the Mountain Giant’s gigantic body. He frowned deeply, and gripped his fists.
If the Mountain Giant is really guarding a region that contains a Lunar Scourge Orb, then for Ruo Ruo, I must obtain it. No matter what obstacles there are, I’ll overcome them all!
This Mountain Giant is too strong, though. In front of it, I’m just an ant. Can I only run away though? I’ve finally found where an orb is, but all I can do is run. How am I going to save Ruo Ruo?
Ling Chen slowly stopped running… in fact, running away was simply a fantasy now.
Using Broken Shadow twice had put about one kilometre in between them, but the pressure from the Mountain Giant hadn’t reduced at all. It seemed that unless he exited the Nameless Ridge, or even went a further 10 kilometres away from it, the Mountain Giant wouldn’t let him go. However, it had taken him and Tian Tian an entire day to walk from the Nameless Ridge’s boundary to here. It would be impossible for them to escape in time.
Seeing how scared Tian Tian was, Ling Chen could only sigh inwardly… Tian Tian, if I knew that there would be a monster that even we couldn’t outrun, I wouldn’t have brought you out here from Peace Town. All I can do is give you a bit of time and hope. I hope that you can get far away while I block it.
Ling Chen didn’t use his last Broken Shadow. Instead, he stopped in his tracks. Behind him, the Mountain Giant rapidly came closer, making the ground shake with each step. Ling Chen’s expression became abnormally calm, without even a hint of nervousness or anxiousness. He called back Xiao Hui, put Tian Tian on the ground and then placed his hands onto her shoulders.
Feeling herself on the ground, Tian Tian opened her eyes, and looked at Ling Chen with trembling eyes, “Big brother, why did you stop? Ahhh it’s right there!!”
Tian Tian immediately saw the massive Mountain Giant approaching, causing her to scream and jump onto Ling Chen’s body as she trembled. Ling Chen looked into her eyes and said calmly and sincerely, “Tian Tian, listen carefully. Run in the direction from which we came here, and don’t stop. When you feel the pressure that has been locked on to you disappear, stop running and use a teleport scroll to go back to Azure Dragon City. Got it?”
If he went to attack the Mountain Giant and drew all of its aggro onto himself, its aggro towards Tian Tian might be cancelled out. When, or if, that happened, she could teleport back to the Azure Dragon City and log off. This was the only thing he could do to prevent both of them from dying.
No matter what, he had to at least protect Tian Tian!
“Then… Then what about big brother?” Tian Tian hesitantly asked, her face still full of fear.
“I’m going to run in a different direction.” Ling Chen said as he smiled, “If we run together, it’ll always be able to catch us. If we split up, it’ll only be able to catch one of us. This is the only thing we can do.”
“But… But…” Hearing Ling Chen’s words, Tian Tian felt that something was off.
“There’s no time to hesitate! If you don’t run, that rock giant is going to catch us, and we’ll both be crushed by it!” Ling Chen’s voice became slightly louder, “Before we came here, you promised that you would listen to me, and that you would run if I told you to run. If you don’t listen to me, I won’t bring you out next time. And also… you don’t need to worry about me. You know how fast I can run, so it definitely won’t be able to catch me. What are you still waiting for? Hurry and run!”
“I… I got it,” hearing Ling Chen’s voice grow louder, Tian Tian could only nod her head in fear, and took a few steps back, “Big brother, you need to run fast… don’t let it catch you.”
After speaking, Tian Tian started to run as fast as she could towards where they had originally come from. Ling Chen stood still, silently watching as she ran away. When he finally couldn’t see her anymore, he turned around, and looked at the Mountain Giant which was now just 300 metres away.
300 metres was just a few steps to the Mountain Giant.
Ling Chen’s eyes narrowed. However, there wasn’t even a hint of fear in them- instead, his gaze was sharp and piercing. A light flashed, and his 2 Celestial grade weapons appeared in his hands. The Evil God’s Mask also covered his face.
“Zephyr!”
The soft whisper of wind sounded out, and a light green glow appeared on the Great Ravager and Zephyr Blade. This Mountain Giant only had a single weakness, which was Wind elemental damage. The Zephyr Blade carried an additional skill, Zephyr, which was the best skill Ling Chen had against the Mountain Giant.
“Little master, you’re really going to… fight it?” Ling Chen’s stance caused Qi Yue to ask in shock. Ling Chen was an incredibly powerful player, and could easily kill Lord Bosses that were around his level, as well as defeat Celestial Bosses that were around his level… however, at LV20, challenging a LV33 Heaven’s End Boss was like a frog trying to stop a car.
“I have no choice.” Ling Chen said in frustration, “Running is useless, so I might as well hit it a few times. At least this way, Tian Tian will survive.”
Qi Yue could only sigh, “True… unless some sort of miracle happens, such as this rock giant getting struck to death by lightning, or it buries itself, there’s no chance of you guys getting away. Looks like this really is the only option. Little master, after you reach LV60, and your stats and skills have all developed, you might just have a chance at defeating it. However, right now, it’s simply impossible. Just don’t forget about the penalties for dying, little master.”
With the Heaven’s Jealousy debuff from the Lunar Scourge, if he died, his level would immediately return to LV0.
Ling Chen’s face twitched, and he gritted his teeth as he said, “The situation’s already like this; if you’re not going to say some encouraging words, can you at least not say such irritating words?! How do you know I’m definitely going to die… I might just kill it, for all you know!!
“Back then, at the Novice Village, I killed a LV10 Celestial Boss with normal equipment, new skills and LV5 stats. Now, I have 2 professions, 2 Celestial grade equipment and 4 of the Lunar Scourge Orbs. I refuse to believe that I have no chance at all at defeating this Heaven’s Grade Boss! It’s not over until it’s over!”
After saying that last sentence, Ling Chen’s expression became dark and savage, and tightly gripped the Great Ravager and Zephyr Blade in his hands.
Boom!
The Mountain Giant came within 100 metres of him, and the shaking it caused on the ground caused Ling Chen’s blood to boil. He took a deep breath, yelled out, and rushed towards the Mountain Giant… a monster that was thousands of times bigger than him.