The Hand of Hell

The BOSS’s health hovered at sixty percent, yet they had already activated their life-saving abilities. The situation, to put it mildly, was dire.

However, having unleashed its full power once, the BOSS no longer posed an immediate, overwhelming threat. Still, with Lin Shenyue’s dwindling mana, Ye Jue’s health remained precariously close to the critical threshold.

Ye Jue’s expression was grave. If the BOSS were to suddenly unleash another surprise, their chances of success would plummet. With their primary skills on cooldown, completing this main quest seemed an almost insurmountable challenge. The weapon’s enchantment was temporary; once it faded, even with all their abilities refreshed, victory would be exceedingly difficult.

Lin Shenyue’s face also tightened with concern. She understood the gravity of their predicament, and relying solely on the two of them felt like a gamble.

“Should we call someone else over?” Lin Shenyue asked, her voice tinged with hesitation.

Ye Jue, parrying another incoming attack, replied calmly, “It’s best not to. This main quest is crucial for our future progress. If we truly can’t overcome it, then it won’t be too late to call for help.”

Lin Shenyue nodded, her gaze sharpening as she refocused on the BOSS.

Ye Jue took a deep breath, his mind instinctively turning to strategies for defeating the formidable foe.

Observing Ye Jue’s movements subtly slow, Lin Shenyue realized he was deep in thought. She scrutinized the BOSS. From a defensive standpoint, it was essentially a stationary mage, focused on pure output. As a BOSS, its immunity to most crowd control meant its attacks were nearly impossible to interrupt. Thus, its defense relied solely on Ye Jue slowly chipping away at its health. Due to her high aggro and the BOSS’s devastating attacks, she dared not unleash her skills directly upon it. Offensively, beyond its ultimate ability, the BOSS primarily relied on conventional magic arrows. Perhaps as a novice BOSS, its attack patterns were somewhat simplistic.

Suddenly, Lin Shenyue’s eyes lit up. ‘Its attack patterns are rather simple, and its magic arrows fly in a straight line. Could we potentially nullify the BOSS’s attacks by hiding behind obstacles at the right moment?’

Ye Jue felt a jolt of realization. Most BOSS encounters occurred in expansive arenas, and later-stage BOSSes often boasted area-of-effect minor skills, rendering obstacles useless. His conditioned response had made him overlook this most basic strategy. Hearing Lin Shenyue’s suggestion, Ye Jue exclaimed excitedly, “That’s an excellent idea! You should hide first. Otherwise, if I disappear from the BOSS’s line of sight, it might turn its attention to you.”

Following his instruction, Lin Shenyue quickly found cover, while Ye Jue, with a swift stride, concealed himself behind a large tree.

Upon seeing the two vanish from its view, the Demon Apostle, despite possessing advanced AI, could not violate the system’s fundamental rules. It was forced to raise its staff and pursue them.

Initially, for ease of combat, the Demon Apostle had chosen a relatively open area. Forests rarely offered a thirty-square-meter clearing devoid of trees. The Demon Apostle had selected this specific spot because it was highly advantageous to its fighting style. Now, however, constrained by the system, it was compelled to advance into terrain that placed it at a disadvantage.

After luring the BOSS, Ye Jue began to kite it around the trees. With the cover provided by the foliage, most of the BOSS’s attacks were blocked. Even the few that slipped through and struck him were inconsequential, especially with Lin Shenyue’s constant support.

Consequently, Lin Shenyue’s mana slowly replenished, and they effortlessly whittled down another twenty percent of the BOSS’s health. Of course, it wasn’t entirely easy for Ye Jue, but it was a vast improvement from their initial struggle.

The Demon Apostle halted its pursuit, its voice chilling. “You accursed little insects! Even if you keep running, I will find a way to catch you.” With that, it coldly declared, “Receive my judgment: Hand of Hell.”

Ye Jue’s expression shifted drastically. Hand of Hell was one of the Dark Mage’s most coveted skills in the later stages of the game. Although its drop rate was abysmal, its effect was undeniably potent. Hand of Hell was an extremely powerful single-target crowd control spell, capable of breaking through ‘super armor’ effects. This meant that, apart from exceptionally powerful BOSSes, most could not immune its control, though the duration was shorter than when used on players. He distinctly remembered a Dark Mage friend who had acquired this skill, immediately learned it, and boasted about it. He vividly recalled Hand of Hell’s description: ‘Unleash the power of hell to grasp an enemy, imprisoning them for 5 seconds. During this time, the enemy’s dual defenses are reduced by 50%. This skill can break through ‘super armor’ skills. Mana Cost: 1000. Cast Time: None. Cooldown: 1 hour.’

As a skill that could bypass ‘super armor,’ with no cast time and a terrifying control duration, it was undoubtedly formidable. However, its one-hour cooldown meant it could typically only be used once per battle. Additionally, its defense-shredding effect made it practically invincible in solo PvP. In his previous life, only about five players possessed this skill. His friend must have been incredibly lucky to obtain it and even climbed into the top 100 on the player rankings thanks to it.

He stared at the BOSS, his voice strained. “I can’t evade this skill the BOSS is casting. The healing pressure during this time will be immense. Drink a mutated potion, or I might not be able to hold on.”

After her existing buffs, if Lin Shenyue were to consume another potion, her magic attack power would exceed 210. However, if every BOSS attack landed squarely on Ye Jue, especially with his defense halved, it would be incredibly difficult to manage. Furthermore, the skill description for Hand of Hell was for players; typically, a BOSS’s version of a skill would be even more terrifying.

The BOSS pointed its staff directly at Ye Jue. Even though Ye Jue was behind the tree, he was instantly yanked out and pulled to a spot not far in front of the BOSS.

The BOSS sneered, its skill slamming directly into Ye Jue.

“-368”

“-373”

“+170”

“+483”

“+50”

Ye Jue’s health plummeted dramatically. It was fortunate that he had immediately consumed a medium-grade recovery potion upon hearing the warning, as potions couldn’t be used while imprisoned.

This incident also highlighted that Lin Shenyue’s healing speed was slightly slow. Had her healing not been so potent, Ye Jue might not have survived. Moreover, when this skill was wielded by the BOSS, it directly reduced defense by 100%. Although the imprisonment duration remained 5 seconds, this defense-shredding effect was a true tank-killer.

After five agonizing seconds, the BOSS released Ye Jue. His health had dwindled to a mere 50 points. He swiftly dashed behind the trees, quietly awaiting Lin Shenyue’s healing.

“+170”

With her cooldown reduced by fifty percent, the healing spell’s cooldown was precisely five seconds. Immediately upon the previous heal ending, another was cast, and Ye Jue’s health slowly began to recover.

Having successfully evaded the BOSS’s subsequent skill, his health finally stabilized and began to climb back up.