A Calculated Risk

After nearly ten minutes spent clearing the lesser monsters, the group finally set their sights on the BOSS. As a routine task, clearing the two elite monsters was naturally the priority. However, among the four of them, only Ye Jue served as a tank, and it seemed precarious for him to withstand the damage from three monsters alone.

Therefore, the only viable option was for Divine Wind to temporarily draw the aggro of one elite monster. Once Dark Demon helped him dispatch it, they would then deal with the other.

However, this approach carried significant risk. Unlike previous monsters Divine Wind had to tank, the Elite Night Wolves were exceptionally fast, far exceeding a player’s movement speed. If Divine Wind were to engage one, Lin Shenyue would be forced to divert some of her focus to him, ensuring he wasn’t killed by the elite monster.

Lin Shenyue began to assign tasks, saying, “Peerless Karma Fire and I will tank the BOSS and one of the elite monsters. Divine Wind, you and Dark Demon will handle the other elite monster and eliminate it swiftly. I’ll keep an eye on your health bar during this time. Do you two feel confident?”

Divine Wind chuckled lightly. “No problem,” he affirmed, then turned to Dark Demon. “Old friend, time to get to work. Same as always.”

Dark Demon simply scoffed, then immediately entered stealth.

As Ye Jue initiated his charge, the BOSS battle officially commenced.

Night Wolf King (Silver-tier BOSS): Level 13. Health: 100,000/100,000. Physical Attack: 390-420.

Elite Night Wolf (Elite Monster): Level 12. Health: 20,000/20,000. Physical Attack: 290-310.

Undoubtedly, without Divine Wind pulling one of the elite monsters away, Ye Jue would have been instantly reduced to critical health by three creatures, assuming he hadn’t used any skills. Yet, with Divine Wind now occupying one elite, Ye Jue effortlessly blocked the Night Wolf King’s first attack, though he still took a solid hit from the other Elite Night Wolf. Still, he remained out of immediate danger.

“Block!” “-220” “+204”

Lin Shenyue’s healing spell landed instantly, restoring Ye Jue to near full health once more.

Thus, whenever Ye Jue couldn’t block, she would periodically cast a Blessing and a Healing Spell on him, ensuring his health remained robust.

Lin Shenyue’s primary focus, however, remained on Divine Wind. His health pool was relatively low; even with her excellent gear, his HP was barely over 700. Divine Wind’s health, therefore, was likely just above 600. It was crucial to remember that being hit by a monster meant a disruption in the aggro-pulling rhythm, potentially leading to successive attacks. This was precisely what Lin Shenyue was guarding against.

Indeed, during a skill cooldown, Divine Wind could no longer evade the monster’s attack and was struck once. Since the monster’s speed far surpassed his own, he couldn’t possibly dodge the next attack either. Just as Lin Shenyue prepared to assist, several small stars suddenly appeared above the monster’s head, indicating it had entered a stunned state. However, due to Lin Shenyue’s slightly slower reaction, her pre-cast Blessing skill still landed directly on Divine Wind.

Divine Wind naturally understood that this was due to Lin Shenyue’s inability to retract the skill because of her reaction speed. Dark Demon, however, was somewhat perplexed. From Lin Shenyue’s performance thus far, her leadership and her duties as a healer had been impeccably executed, a truly difficult feat.

As a member of the team, one must perfectly fulfill the responsibilities of their role, which demands intense concentration. Yet, as a commander, one must also oversee the entire team, requiring one’s focus to be distributed among every member. While a healer also needs to spread their attention to others, this is typically only during a BOSS’s area-of-effect ultimate skills. To achieve such a flawless performance in such a short time was incredibly challenging.

For Lin Shenyue, who had managed all of this so well, to make a mistake during a minor on-the-fly adjustment made Dark Demon somewhat suspicious.

Divine Wind retreated a few steps, taking advantage of the monster’s stunned state to deal damage while explaining, “There’s no need to be surprised. You see, while Yue’er possesses extraordinary talent, her reaction speed is quite slow.”

Dark Demon’s eyes widened. Though his hands continued their work, his mind had already drifted far away. ‘Achieving such perfection with a slow reaction speed?’ Dark Demon was genuinely shocked. Typically, every expert possessed an abnormally fast reaction time, allowing them to react instantly and counter an opponent’s attack. If this seemingly萝莉-like girl truly had a slow reaction speed yet could manage the entire battle while doing her own job, that was terrifying.

Upon seeing the small stars above the monster’s head, Lin Shenyue inquired, “What skill is that, and what’s its cooldown?”

Dark Demon was somewhat speechless to hear this. Many skills in Divine Realm were derived from earlier games; the classic ‘Sap’ for assassins, for instance, had appeared in numerous titles. If Lin Shenyue didn’t know it, it implied this was her first time playing this type of game. Dark Demon finally stopped underestimating Lin Shenyue, for he now realized the terrifying potential held by the girl before him.

As he continued to attack, Dark Demon replied, “Sap. Forty-five-second cooldown.”

Lin Shenyue nodded, offering no further words.

Dark Demon cast a peculiar glance at Lin Shenyue. Divine Wind merely smiled, offering no explanation; he had already experienced Lin Shenyue’s abnormal prowess firsthand.

During the subsequent eliminations, whenever Divine Wind was hit while Dark Demon had Sap available, Lin Shenyue never intervened. However, the moment Dark Demon’s Sap was on cooldown, Lin Shenyue’s skills would immediately be deployed, even if Dark Demon’s skill was only a few seconds away. If it happened once or twice, Dark Demon might have believed Lin Shenyue was calculating his skill timings, but as the occurrences grew more frequent, Dark Demon began to wonder if Lin Shenyue had her own personal skill cooldown panel.

Seeing Dark Demon’s hands slow, Divine Wind naturally understood what he was thinking. He chuckled, “Hurry up and fight. There’s more to surprise you later.”

Three minutes later, the first elite monster fell. Two minutes after that, the second elite monster died, allowing the group to focus all their energy on the BOSS before them.

Without the smaller monsters, the pressure on the team was significantly lighter, and they effortlessly whittled down 10% of the BOSS’s health. Ye Jue, naturally aware of all the BOSS’s skills, chose not to warn them. He wanted to observe Lin Shenyue’s capabilities.

As the BOSS’s health approached the 10% threshold, Lin Shenyue commanded, “Dark Demon, move away from the BOSS. Divine Wind, cease attacking. Peerless Karma Fire, continue to tank the BOSS.” Having issued her orders, she herself subtly retreated two steps, positioning herself perfectly within the ten-meter healing range.

With a ferocious roar from the BOSS, the team was met with its first skill.