"Shadow Priest, root him in place now!"
Immobilize!
The Elite Manticore's movements suddenly halted as it froze in place for a brief moment.
Immobilize lasted for no more than a second, but its effects were quite obvious.
Magic rained down on the Elite Manticore as its health fell to three percent. When it entered a berserk state, its attack power increased threefold. Being the one who had to deal with this increase, Violent Waves felt immense pressure as he tried his best to endure its assault while the Priests cast Lesser Heal with reckless abandon as they struggled just to keep him alive.
Noticing the situation turn dire, Nie Yan flicked his wrist as a pouch of Flash Powder emerged in his hand and then lobbed it at the Elite Manticore.
「Poof!」The pouch exploded and scattered white powder into the air. This fine powder was akin to thousands of tiny needles as it released a blinding radiance that pierced into the Elite Manticore's eyes.
The members of the team were also affected by the Flash Powder, but to a much lesser extent unlike the Elite Manticore that had lost all vision.
The pouch of powder was something Nie Yan had purchased prior from Trembling Milo. This item was able to release an intense flash of light that could momentarily blind the enemy for several seconds. The player could then take advantage of this time by either fleeing or attacking their opponent. Although the item cost a pretty penny, it was nevertheless extremely useful.
"Keep attacking, don't slow down!" Nie Yan yelled.
The team had been taken aback and confused by the sudden burst of light. However, they soon regained their wits when they realized Nie Yan was the one who caused it. The enemy was completely blinded and helpless to retaliate, so they were able to freely let loose an even more ferocious barrage of magic and attacks at the Elite Manticore.
After a final round of spells, the Elite Manticore uttered one last, mournful roar before collapsing to the ground.
It wasn't unreasonable to say the Elite Manticore was the most dangerous when its health fell below five percent, but due to the crowd control effects of the Flash Powder and Immobilize, it was basically rendered harmless, allowing it to be easily slain.
On the other hand, under normal circumstances, an encounter with an Elite Manticore definitely wouldn't have ended so pleasantly!
"What sort of item dropped?" Nie Yan asked Sleepy Fox.
Sleepy Fox walked over to the Elite Manticore's corpse and picked up the dropped item. It was a Thief's dagger, and not only that, it was Dark Gold-grade as well.
Blood Pact (Dark Gold)
Requirements: Level 0
Properties: Attack 23–26, Dexterity +11, Critical +12, Lifesteal 3%
Attack Speed: 2.3
Weight: 3 lb
Restrictions: Thief, can be equipped by all factions.
"It's a Thief's dagger!" Sleepy Fox shared the dagger's information with Nie Yan.
As soon as the information window popped up, Nie Yan examined the dagger. Its properties weren't bad for a Level 0 weapon, and the attack was only slightly lower than his Level 5 Gold dagger, Assassin's Decree. Furthermore, the additional lifesteal and critical rate placed it a bit higher than Assassin's Decree overall and much higher than his Horn Dagger!
I can finally switch out my dagger!
This Blood Pact that they found in Agmota Muddy Wetlands on Specialist was probably one of the best Level 0 daggers possible.
"I want this dagger," said Nie Yan as he stared at Sleepy Fox.
When such an amazing dagger appeared, all of the Thieves in the team gazed at it covetously. Of course, from the moment Nie Yan opened his mouth, they knew it would be impossible for them to obtain it, but speaking truthfully, this wasn't all too surprising. There was no way Nie Yan would be willing to pass on a weapon like Blood Pact.
Sleepy Fox didn't bicker and willingly handed Blood Pact over. After all, Nie Yan had been the one guiding them through this Specialist dungeon this whole time. If it weren't for him, they would have never been able to reach this point. Yet, besides a pair of leg guards, Nie Yan had never taken anything else up until now, which left Sleepy Fox feeling slightly embarrassed. Taking all this into consideration, naturally, this Dark Gold dagger would go to Nie Yan.
Upon receiving the item, Nie Yan promptly replaced the Horn Dagger in his hand with Blood Pact which in turn improved his damage significantly. Furthermore, he estimated that he would be able to farm the complete Black Blood set in the next few days. When that time came around, his gear would be upgraded another level.
By utilizing the same tactic, Nie Yan lured the other two Elite Manticores to the team one after another where they were swiftly dealt with. Two decent pieces of equipment dropped from their corpses as well. However, Nie Yan voluntarily passed on them since they weren't Thief items.
"Oh right! What were those pouches you threw at the Elite Manticore's eyes?" Sleepy Fox couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer and finally asked.
This question also prompted Dusk, Flying Stone, and the rest of the team members to turn their attention to Nie Yan as well. That strange pouch really was a useful item. Blinding an enemy in the middle of combat could achieve amazing results, especially during crucial moments.
"Flash Powder, it's a special item, but it's only effective against enemies Level 10 or lower."
"Do you have anymore remaining?"
"In fact, I actually do, but I only have nine pouches left," Nie Yan replied after pondering for a brief moment. Since Sleepy Fox and his team had already seen the item, he felt there was no harm in revealing it to them.
"Is this item really rare? I'll buy two pouches for a silver each. How does that sound?" Sleepy Fox offered. Whether it was used against other players or against monsters, this queer item would likely show surprisingly good results. Hence, even if he bought them for a silver each, he still didn't consider it very expensive.
Nie Yan's eyes brightened after hearing these words. Given that Sleepy Fox was really willing to purchase the Flash Powder for one silver per pouch, then it was certain even more players would be willing to pay a high price as well. Trembling Milo was a hidden NPC, and at present, no other players had yet to discover him. If he were to return to the shop and purchase a large quantity of Flash Powder, Web Scrolls, and Sheep Transformation Scrolls and then sell them on the marketplace, he would undoubtedly earn a fortune!
At least until the average player base surpassed Level 10, items like the ones found in Trembling Milo's House would all be extremely useful.
"How about we put this off until later? Let's clear the dungeon first," Nie Yan replied. Once they were out of the dungeon, he could list some of these items for sale and observe how the market would react.
"Alright, if you have any extra in storage, please sell a bit more to me," Sleepy Fox said. For a guild as large as his, spending a few silvers wasn't really a problem. Besides, after witnessing Flash Powder's effects in person, he really wanted to get his hands on some for himself.
Now the only monster that remained was the boss. Whether they cleared the quest, which involved saving the mayor, would also be determined by the outcome of this final battle.
Calling this King Manticore much stronger than its Easy and Normal counterparts would be a gross understatement. So as the team prepared to face off against this behemoth of a boss, many of the members, as well as Sleepy Fox, were filled with fear and apprehension.
This would be their first encounter with a Lord-class monster that was actually within their level range!
With this thought running through their minds, the surrounding team members were all somewhat tense. Although they had been able to miraculously reach this point due to Nie Yan's leadership, when facing against absolute strength, they couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.
"Paladins, be ready to cast Repel Evil once the duration times out. Priests, constantly take note of Violent Waves' health while managing your mana properly as well. When facing the King Manticore, there are certain to be casualties. Other players can die, but the only member on this team who absolutely cannot die is Violent Waves! If he ends up dead, the entire team will also end up wiping. Therefore, I want the Priests to only focus their healing on Violent Waves. Other frontliners, if your health gets low, immediately disengage from the battle because no Priests will be able to heal you. You're only going to be able to heal yourselves once you're out of combat. Shadow Priest, hold onto your Immobilize. I'll tell you to cast it when the time arrives." Having reached this point, Nie Yan began gradually informing everyone of their individual roles in the battle.
All of the team members committed their full attention, not daring to overlook even a single detail.
"As for the minor things, I've explained those as well. In the end, the King Manticore is simply like that, so there's nothing for you all to get so nervous over," Nie Yan said in a casual tone.
After hearing such a statement, Sleepy Fox, Dusk, Flying Stone, and all the other team members looked at each other and forced out a smile. Perhaps the only player in the game who could utter such words was Nie Yan. One had to know, the boss in front of them was a genuine Lord-class monster!