"Rhythm... rhythm..." Tian Qi and his three companions had been muttering those two words to the point of splitting their sanity. In their eyes there was no Spider Lord, no attack targets—only how to seize the right moment to unleash their skills.
One successful cycle passed, then another, still a success. The four were inwardly delighted. Had they grasped it already? Though they couldn't quite say what the feeling was, it seemed that when that moment arrived, they would release their skills as if compelled by instinct.
Ye Xiu, meanwhile, no longer had time to look after them. Tossing out a "keep it up," he began circling around the Spider Lord, chasing down the little spiders.
Every shot fired, never missing; the little spiders died with a single hit. At present, only Ye Xiu could do this. Even if other players had his level of control, in the new server's current state, players' weapons were only level 10—impossible to one-shot the little spiders. If a little spider took two hits to kill, even Ye Xiu couldn't be absolutely sure of clearing the field completely.
"Keep your focus! Hang in there." Ye Xiu reminded the four from time to time while he worked. He knew very well that this kind of mechanical, repetitive operation easily led to a numbness born of habit. The moment someone's attention slipped even slightly, tragedy would strike.
Tian Qi and the others dared not relax in the slightest, keeping their eyes glued to the movements of the three brothers ahead of them. As for how Jun Moxiao was doing clearing the little spiders on his end, they had no spare attention to care—though deep down they knew that clearing the spiders was actually harder than what they were doing, and every bit as unforgiving of a single mistake.
The Spider Lord's health had already dropped to half.
Tian Qi kept repeating the same operation, and at a rapid pace; his fingers were starting to feel stiff. He began to wonder whether he could hold on. Tian Qi rarely allowed himself a bold moment of distraction to glance at how Jun Moxiao was doing.
Jun Moxiao was darting about in every direction. The Spider Lord's egg count had now increased to six at a time!
Six little spiders would burst from their shells and, without asking questions or bearing grudges, pounce at targets entirely at random. Jun Moxiao's battle lance was jet black all over, with only a hint of light at its umbrella-like tip; as it swept through the air, cold glints flickered, and any little spider struck would let out a single shriek and die on the spot.
"Not good!!" Tian Qi's heart lurched. He watched a little spider dart swiftly toward Muyun Shen, but Jun Moxiao was still too far away—it seemed he wouldn't make it in time.
Then came a muffled "bang." A spark flashed across the little spider's body and it abruptly burst apart.
"What happened?" Tian Qi was momentarily dazed. Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten his duty—none of his attacks had slipped.
"It's like it got shot by a Gunslinger," Tian Qi thought, but at the time he had been too busy watching the spider to notice Jun Moxiao's movements. Recalling the earlier business of kiting the boss at range, it seemed he could confirm this person was carrying weapons of other classes as well.
Tian Qi's mind was quite lively at this moment, but a glance at the other brothers showed all of them with heads bowed, eyes locked straight ahead, not even turning their necks. Tian Qi suddenly discovered that this brief little distraction seemed to have eased the fatigue and tension in his hands considerably.
But even so, Tian Qi wouldn't dare share this discovery with his brothers—if everyone let their attention wander, who knew what the consequences would be?
"Please, let nothing go wrong..." Tian Qi thought silently.
Yue Zhongmian, meanwhile, felt he was already approaching his limit. Both hands were abnormally stiff, as if they had lost their agility; he didn't even know how he had completed his operations each cycle. His gaze was fixed dead on the screen when, all of a sudden, the screen would seem to grow distant from him, everything on it blurring beyond recognition.
The feeling—he had to remember the feeling...
Yue Zhongmian reminded himself over and over. He was under enormous pressure, terribly afraid of making a mistake. He knew his brothers already had some grievances against him, and he certainly didn't want that Jun Moxiao looking down on him either.
Hold on! Yue Zhongmian gritted his teeth and pressed on. The Spider Lord's health—at first it had seemed to drop so quickly, but now it felt as if it were falling so slowly. So much time had passed—why was there still a third left? Could I really hold out to the end?
Tian Qi had found rest for himself through his moment of distraction; Yue Zhongmian, in his own distraction, only piled more pressure on himself. But in any case, neither of them had made a mistake, and the coordination of endless stagger-locking continued.
Then, all of a sudden, Qiansheng Li let out a startled cry.
He had slipped!
During the initial磨合 he had been the slowest to find his groove, the one who always struggled to catch the rhythm. After holding out this long, he had finally blundered—just like before, his attack came out too fast! At his position, the Spider Lord would still be locked in stagger, and Yue Zhongmian, coming after him, could still keep up. But after that? By the time it reached Tian Qi, there was nothing to be done, because Qiansheng Li had jumped ahead by that one beat—Tian Qi's skill hadn't finished cooling down, and he had no skill to keep the Spider Lord staggered.
All four hearts had already turned to ash. They prayed that that miracle-like expert would have some way to salvage it—and then they saw the Spider Lord lift its rear end and, of all times, choose this exact moment to lay eight eggs.
It's over... The four despaired. After Yue Zhongmian sent out his skill, he could only turn to Tian Qi in sorrow.
Tian Qi had no skill available. He had absolutely no idea what to do. What would the Spider Lord do once it was out of their control? None of this was something they could foresee.
"Tian Qi, move!"
Amid all that despair, a voice rang out—one enough to instantly reignite their hope. Tian Qi didn't hesitate for an instant, immediately sidestepping aside. A battle lance swept past his side as Jun Moxiao's Dragon Tooth thrust straight at the Spider Lord.
The stagger was patched up, but the eight little spiders, now uncontrolled, had all scattered and were preparing to pounce at everyone. The group was at a loss—should they keep attacking the Spider Lord or deal with the little spiders? Then they saw Jun Moxiao, his Dragon Tooth having struck the Spider Lord, stride forward two more steps, snap his battle lance in two, hang a segment from each arm, and with both arms reach out and seize the Spider Lord in a grip.
"Ha!" Jun Moxiao raised both arms, lifting the Spider Lord over his head, then flipped backward with the momentum—a perfectly straight bridge—slamming the Spider Lord down behind him.
Judo skill: Shoulder Throw.
This skill wasn't just damage to the target; when the thrown target hit the ground, it produced a small shockwave—a follow-up area of effect damage. The shockwave from Jun Moxiao's throw had a range that was just right, catching all eight little spiders squarely within it. The little spiders flipped belly-up with a bounce, and with a clatter they all became corpses.
"Tian Qi!" Ye Xiu shouted. Tian Qi, who had already been prepared, immediately punched forward, and the Spider Lord's stagger state was maintained.
"Everyone be careful—situations like this can't always be saved," Ye Xiu said.
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