Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 66
Chapter 66: Leviathan
On the third day of escorting the spirits, the raiding party successfully managed to hold back and protect the spirits from the onslaught of the Leviathan General that had appeared.
The sight of everyone literally putting their bodies on the line to stop the Leviathan General’s fierce assault on the spirits was one that would be talked about for generations to come.
After accomplishing their task, everyone was too exhausted to move, but their faces were filled with a sense of achievement.
As a result, the level of the ?Leviathan? remained at 60 without increasing.
Shortly after, a global announcement was made: two adventurers had succeeded in reviving the great barrier.
The effect of this barrier on the adventurers was even more beneficial than the antidote elixir with detoxifying properties.
It nullified the physical defense-halving skill that applied to all types of “Leviathans”.
Thanks to the efforts of these two adventurers, the two most troublesome abilities in the ?Leviathan? battle were sealed.
Morale reached an unprecedented high, and everyone’s determination to defeat the boss burned brightly.
Even the top general players were inspired, and dozens volunteered to join the fight, forming a large force befitting the final showdown.
All of the top players believed that they now had more than enough strength to defeat the boss.
Indeed, from the beginning to the middle of the battle, the adventurers fought without losing a single member.
The first of the three HP gauges was easily depleted by the knights’ well-patterned T-shifts and the adventurers’ attackers.
For the second gauge, the four Leviathan Generals were tackled by a battalion led by Glen, the vice-commander of ?Hell and Heaven?, and Maria, the attack commander.
Another battalion was led by Mia, the vice-commander of ?Hunters of the Twilight?, and Mana, the attack commander.
The main body was engaged by a small team led by Shino, who was in charge of three squads of knights, and included the selected attackers Shio, Shin, and Rou, along with two other four-person attack teams.
When the ?Venom Mist? caused the entire force to enter level 2 poison status, the knights managed to parry the attacks, and everyone successfully healed using the antidote elixir.
With the healers’ recovery skills, no one’s HP dropped below half.
Particularly significant was the discovery by Shino, Shin, and Rou of the enemy’s attack patterns.
When the tail rose, a frontal tackle would follow.
If the tail swung left first, a sweeping claw attack from the front legs would ensue.
If the tail swung right first, a poisonous breath attack would be launched straight ahead.
If surrounded, the tail would vibrate slightly, leading to a large jump followed by a stomp attack and a wide-range shockwave, so everyone was warned to be cautious in their movements.
Thanks to these three figuring out the patterns in just two battles, they successfully depleted the second gauge after overcoming the poison mist without much trouble.
Now, only the last gauge remained.
Just as with the second gauge, the enemy once again spread poison mist over a wide area. The adventurers quickly recovered using the antidote elixir.
As soon as the mist cleared, they prepared to attack, and it was then that Shino and the others saw what emerged.
It was not the familiar giant serpent they had seen before.
Instead, before them stood the serpent’s mother, now even larger and with a pair of massive wings.
Its true name: ?Venom Queen Leviathan?.
This was the true form of the great calamity that now stood in the adventurers’ way.
For a brief moment, the adventurers were stunned.
Then, the two wings began to glow.
As they saw a crackling lightning-like energy forming in its mouth, Shino and Rou, sensing the danger, shouted to everyone.
“Everyone, get out of its line of attack!”
“Knights, protect those who can’t make it in time with a phalanx!” [1]
The seasoned VR players immediately understood the meaning of the commands and swiftly moved to evade or use their skills.
However, just as the players were dodging, a blindingly intense flash of light tore through the ground. Even those adventurers who had managed to avoid the main blast were caught in the aftermath, losing all their HP and dying instantly.
The player who received the knight’s skill ?Phalanx?, which halves damage once, survived with just a sliver of health remaining.
The Leviathan’s destructive breath collided with the walls of the spirit village, creating cracks. The ground was gouged out, and the trees that once stood in a straight line were obliterated without a trace.
The sheer power left everyone speechless.
“What… what kind of firepower is this…?”
“Just a scratch and a level 20 with full HP vanished!?
But the enemy’s actions didn’t stop there.
With a roar directed at the sky, the ?Leviathan? caused the four “Leviathan Generals” that had just been defeated by the squads to respawn once again.
The queen, having revealed her true form, along with the four mid-boss level generals, stood before them. In terms of the overall battle, the number of enemies had simply reset. Despite the devastating breath attack, the adventurers were still capable of fighting.
However, nearly all of the 100 adventurers had their morale significantly diminished by the single breath attack from the ?Leviathan?.
Observing this, Shin, the tall, black-haired mage, frowned at the drop in the group’s morale.
“…This is bad, we’ve really lost a lot of momentum.”
Nodding in agreement with Shin’s words, the brown-haired, dashing knight, Rou, added:
“The breath attack itself is a serious threat, but that last strike has really turned the tide against us. Taking down that last gauge won’t be easy.”
Shio and Shino exchanged glances at Rou’s words.
“Shino, I suggest we continue the fight.”
“Yeah, I agree. The enemy still has one full HP gauge left. We need to gather more information on its attack patterns besides the breath if we want to secure victory tomorrow.”
Shin and Rou both nodded deeply at the decision made by the two raid leaders.
“Understood. We’ll fight until the end!”
“Got it. I’ll stick it out as well. From what I saw in that last attack, the wings seem to light up just before it unleashes its breath. Make sure everyone keeps an eye on the wings at all times.”
“Thanks, Rou.”
Taking Rou’s advice into account, Shio quickly composed a message and sent it to all raid participants.
They had managed to push the ?Leviathan? to this point.
Most of the adventurers responded with a confirmation.
Shio raised her pure white sword, and Shino, after instructing Glen and the others to handle the “Leviathan Generals” again, stepped forward with a small shield and a pitch-black one-handed sword.
The adventurers, who had been wavering between fighting and fleeing, regained a bit of their resolve when they saw the two raid leaders taking a stand.
But the ?Venom Queen Leviathan?, the great calamity, showed no mercy, lighting up its wings once more.
“It can use that attack again!?”
As the adventurers were just regaining their stance, the calamity unleashed a burst of lightning from its mouth, followed by a brief charge before it opened its mouth wide.
The image of the previous ground-splitting attack flashed in their minds.
Several of them were slow to react, and at this rate, half of the party would surely be wiped out.
If that happened, defeat would be inevitable.
“Knights, we must defend this position at all costs! Those who haven’t used Phalanx, follow me!”
“Rou!?”
“Rou-kun!”
Rou nodded at Shin and Shio’s surprised reactions and dashed forward. High-level knights holding shields quickly lined up beside him, each raising their large shields.
They activated ?Reinforce?, which strengthens their shields, and ?Phalanx?, which halves damage once. But could these skills withstand the sheer destructive power of that beam if taken head-on?
It was a gamble, but better than doing nothing.
Forming a wall of shields around Rou, the knights braced for impact. The Leviathan’s beam of pure destructive energy slammed directly into their defense.
“Ugh…!”
The beam chipped away at the durability of their shields and rapidly drained Rou and the knights’ HP. At this rate, they’d all be wiped out in about ten seconds.
Just as they were thinking this, their bodies were suddenly enveloped in a mysterious blue light, causing the rate at which their HP decreased to slow dramatically. A new shield icon appeared under their HP gauge, something they’d never seen before.
It was ?Defense Power Boost Enchantment II?, a powerful enhancement skill unfamiliar to them. Moreover, the same skill filled all five available buff slots, and every knight in the group received the boost.
The healers, realizing what had happened, quickly cast their recovery skills, bringing the knights’ HP back to full.
As the Leviathan’s beam of destruction faded, Rou and the others were left bewildered as to how they had survived.
“What just happened…?”
Suddenly, two figures emerged from the chaotic rear lines.
“Alright, we made it in time!”
“My head’s spinning!”
“Thanks, Doggy!”
Stopping before Rou and the others were two adventurers riding wolf-like monsters, along with an NPC. As soon as they arrived, the wolves disappeared into particles of light, their task complete.
The three stood in a line, and one of them—a boy with silver hair—raised his right hand to the sky.
He selected five buffs: ?Wind Attribute Enchantment II?, ?Attack Power Boost Enchantment II? twice, and ?Defense Power Boost Enchantment II? twice. Using the support system ?Lucifer?’s power, he cast these buffs on every player in the field.
This was a feat only possible because of his unlimited MP, something only a “cheat player” like him could achieve.
The nearly 100 adventurers were left in awe as the seemingly impossible happened. Some of them even recognized this unprecedented feat as the work of only one person.
A silver-haired boy with unparalleled “Enchantment Magic” skills.
The ?Leviathan? and the adventurers—
Everyone’s eyes were on him.
Shio, recognizing him, whispered with tears in her eyes,
“Big brother…”
The silver-haired boy smiled at her voice.
“Shio, sorry to keep you waiting.”
The world’s strongest ?Enchanter? drew his ?Silver Sword? and faced the great calamity that he was truly meant to fight.
TL Note:
Phalanx is a military formation where soldiers are arranged in a dense, rectangular block. This formation was commonly used in ancient Greece and Rome, and it was known for its strength and defensive capabilities.
The soldiers in a phalanx would typically carry long spears or pikes, which they would hold together to form a formidable barrier. This made it difficult for enemy forces to penetrate the formation.