Long-range skills bombarded the beast, a dazzling array of elemental attacks. Fire blazed, water projectiles sliced through the air, and earth skills struck with formidable force.
Finally, the [Glass Shield] shattered, disintegrating into a myriad of pieces. The monster halted, its heavy footsteps ceasing as its head drooped to the ground.
"Why did you stop?" Danavar shouted, casting a spell on his sword. "Keep hitting it! We don't stop until it's down!"
Renewed morale surged through the Peacekeepers. They lunged forward, slashing their swords at the monster's bulbous body, while others fired their rifles from a distance.
Silas advanced, aiming his staff at the spider's closest legs. With two powerful strikes, he shattered its thick carapace, immobilizing the beast.
The monster shivered, struggling to push itself upward. An ear-piercing scream echoed through the clearing as the head on its back wailed. The party halted, retreating cautiously from the creature.
Scrunch!
The Twin Arachnid's body began to shrink, its once formidable size diminishing rapidly. Cracks formed along its tough carapace, the slits deepening as it contracted further. The voice from its second head grew fainter, dwindling into barely audible whispers before finally falling silent, swallowed entirely by the beast's transformation.
What happened next took everyone by surprise. The area where the head had been exploded, unleashing a rain of green acid. Two guards stood directly in the path of the falling acid. Instinctively, Silas pointed his staff at the two stunned soldiers and conjured a [Barrier].
The acid hit, but the [Barrier] held, saving the two from certain death. Instead, the grass around them sizzled and dissolved. The Peacekeepers opened their eyes, disbelief etched on their faces. They found Silas in the crowd, his staff still pointed directly above their heads.
He averted his gaze, turning back to the monster as its body radiated a red aura.
Silas's eyes widened. "That thing," he said, his voice a mix of amazement and fear, "it's healing itself; that's why it consumed one of its heads."
Danavar stared at him. "This sounds bad."
Silas nodded. Monsters with two phases often became more robust and agile.
The spider screamed, signaling the completion of its transformation.
Its upper body morphed into a man-like figure with black, hairy skin. From the waist down, it retained the grotesque form of a spider. Eight red eyes gleamed on its human face. Six spindly legs supported its massive frame, while four jointed arms extended from its back, twitching as if testing their strength before charging.
[Twin Arachnid transformed into Detrox, Commander of the Arachno Army.]
"Ah, humans. I never thought you would reach this far."
Silas frowned. He retreated slightly at the sight of an Intelligent Horde.
Intelligent Hordes were creatures capable of speaking and communicating in human language. Little was known about why some beasts could speak, but NPCs assumed this phenomenon was as old as the Day of Creation itself. One thing was certain about Intelligent Hordes: they were deceitful and strong.
Silas trusted that with Danavar and his guards, they could handle this. He had no time to pretend he wasn't a wizard.
Summoning his staff, his hand trembled at the thought of going all out.
"I'm afraid your journey ends here," Detrox said, straightening all its hands. Black spears materialized in each of his four hands.
The monster lunged at the closest soldier, but the soldier rolled to the ground, dodging just in time. Silas pointed his staff and unleashed [Water Dart]. Three razor-sharp darts of water shot from the staff, slicing through the monster's wrist with fluid grace.
"Aim for the spears!" he shouted to the terrified guards. "It's his only way of attacking. If we cut off his hands, he'll be useless."
His excitement wasn't just from unleashing his full power. There was also a flicker of recognition. He almost failed to identify the monster since Heroes of Destiny is permanently set in a bird's eye view. However, the distinctive spears confirmed Silas's suspicions. He was indeed facing Detrox.
His eyes narrowed. Silas swung his staff, hurling small fireballs at Detrox.
The key to defeating Detrox was to disarm him, preventing him from launching his deadly spear attacks. Even low-level players could take him down if they knew the strategy. Detrox was infamous in the game for his one-hit kills on unsuspecting heroes.
"Aim for his wrists! Use your long-range attacks, and don't let those spears hit you!" Danavar instructed, his voice cutting through the chaos.
The battle raged on. The Peacekeepers targeted Detrox's wrists with precision, one spear falling after another. Silas managed to sever two of the monster's hands.Detrox screamed, his rage turning towards Silas. Danavar cast a speeding spell on him, and Silas nimbly dodged the frenzied attacks. He sidestepped, dashed to the opposite side, and aimed his staff at Detrox's face, conjuring [Air Burst].
The air around Detrox's head imploded, causing him to stagger. Then it exploded, disorienting the monster further.
"Now!" Danavar shouted.
He took advantage of the moment, slashing diagonally as a burst of wind erupted from his sword, severing another of Detrox's hands.
Detrox tried to stand, grunting, weakened by the blood loss from his three severed hands. Desperately, he looked to the sky and cast [Frozen State], encasing himself in thin ice. This skill reduced damage taken by 90% but left him immobile and unable to attack for 20 seconds.
The ice melted into smoke, revealing a panting Detrox.
"I have served you with all my heart, my Queen. Every task and duty was a joy because it was for you," Detrox's voice faltered, his legs giving way. "I only regret that I cannot continue to serve you."
Silas seized the opportunity, casting [Flickering Fire] at one of Detrox's legs. The fire bits sped towards it and exploded on impact. The monster screamed, dropping his last spear. The Peacekeepers continued their relentless assault, spells of every element flying toward Detrox.
Beside him, Danavar enchanted his blade, which gleamed blue. He swung it diagonally, summoning a wave of water that crashed into Detrox from behind. Then he cast another spell, his sword glowing with a gray light. He slashed downward, unleashing a medium-sized tornado onto the monster's back.
Detrox roared in pain, turning to retaliate, but Silas was faster, casting [Water Dart]. The Captain ended the beast's suffering with a fire whip, lashing Detrox repeatedly.
Detrox raised his hand to the sky, his voice trembling. "My Queen. I must help… Her Majesty… to bring down… the cruel gods."
His hand fell, his body glowing blue before shattering into tiny shards of glass that faded into the wind.
[You received: +80 Destiny XP, 1000 [Shields] & [Spider Fangs] x5]
Cheers erupted from the Peacekeepers. Silas collapsed where he stood, pulling an [Energy Fruit] from his [Inventory] and eating it, savoring the brief moment of respite.
'It's too early to celebrate. This is just the second puzzle.'
"I'll inspect the pillars," he said to Danavar, who nodded in response.
Silas approached the closest pillar, noting its four sides adorned with intricate lines. The second pillar mirrored the first, each side etched with different but equally elaborate patterns.
As he moved to the next one, he noticed a cauldron at its base was out of place, likely dislodged during the earlier battle. Lifting the pot, he paused, noticing something inside: drawings hidden within the cauldron. He compared these with the pillar's carvings.
"They aren't the same," he murmured.
He moved to the next cauldron, touching its inner wall.
"This one matches the carvings on that pillar."
Crouching, he examined how the cauldrons were attached, trying to figure out if they could be unscrewed. Lifting one only widened his eyes. Searching for a button yielded nothing, so he tried turning it by the handle. It moved.
Silas turned the cauldron counterclockwise, unscrewing it from its base. He then dragged the pot from the first pillar he approached and put it in its proper place.
A smile of triumph spread across his face. Each pillar had unique lines, and each cauldron had corresponding carvings. He needed to ensure the cauldrons matched their respective pillars.
He began removing the mismatched cauldrons, placing them in the center.
"Do you need any help?" Danavar asked, standing beside him.
Silas hesitated, noticing the other Peacekeepers watching him. Swallowing his pride, he nodded. "Yes," he replied, explaining the puzzle to the Captain.
Slowly, they placed the cauldrons in their proper places.
Silas gritted his teeth, lifting the last cauldron, but one of the guards he had saved from the acid earlier took it from him.
"Where should I put it?"
Silas pointed to one of the remaining stone pillars. "On that one."
The Peacekeeper nodded and carried the cauldron to the pillar, with Silas following from behind as he wiped his sweat from his forehead. He hadn't realized how tired he was until that moment.
As they placed the last cauldron, the ground beneath them shook, green fire erupting from the cauldrons. The field's center parted as a small pyramid rose from the earth, emitting a beam of green light that shot toward the forest, pointing to their next destination.