The team of tanks charged at Hector's order, including Leo. They raised their shield high and braced themselves for impact. The tyrannic Red Wolf King raised its paw and swiped at them. Leo enhanced his shield with ki to brace for the impact, and what an impact it was. Even with his enhanced shield, he was pushed to the edge of the white tile he was standing on.
"Ahh!"
The screams foreshadowed the horror that befell his teammates. Leo looked around to find half of the frontline decimated by the swipe of the Floor Boss. They all sat on their butt atop black tiles, shocked and stunned. Looking around, the only one that wasn't affected by the Boss's attack was Hector. He stood proud, shield raised and enhanced, waiting for the wolf's next attack.
Leo gritted his teeth and shouted, "Everyone! Back on your feet!"
No longer did he show his usual meek and passive attitude, the Leo that stood now in front of the boss was a fierce warrior. A lion in human clothes.
Hector glanced at Leo and smiled, "You heard him you maggots! If I see any of you sitting on your butt and not raising your shield, I will take care of it personally that you never raise them again!"
"Yes sir!"
Everyone's morale was raised. In one synchronized motion, all of the fallen tanks stood up, raised their shield, and charged at the Red Wolf King.
"Priests, heal the injured warriors! Swordmen, follow after me!"
Arthur's orders came in swift and quick. With his orders sent, the leader of the priests spearheaded the healing efforts and cast the first spell. Torrent of light beams followed after his, healing the injured tanks and rejuvenating them.
As for the swordmen, they followed after Arthur who led them towards the right flank. As he ran towards the Boss's side, he didn't waste any time and shouted his next set of orders.
"Assassins! Hold the left flank! Mages! Stay next to the priests and wait for Hector to give you the okay to fire!"
"Understood," Sakura shouted back while Hector nodded in acknowledgment.
The group of assassins didn't respond but their actions showed their intent. They followed after Arthur's orders and held the left flank. They were ready to pounce at any moment's notice.
With all of the preparations complete, Arthur started the attack. He covered his sword with a golden aura before jumping high in the sky and thrust his sword at the Red Wolf King's chest.
"Awoo!"
Multiple colorful sword flashes followed after the wolf's cry of pain. Swordmen of all kinds slashed and hacked at its whole body. Soon, it grew so frustrated that it turned around to face the army of warriors before the latter backed out in unison.
The moment it showed an opening to the tank team, Hector shouted, "Attack!"
He raised his warhammer high in the sky, green ki overflowing from it, before hammering at the Boss's exposed ribs with all his might. The other tanks all followed suit. They enhanced their respective weapons with ki before attacking the defenseless wolf.
Frustrated and angry at the pesky humans fighting it from all sides, the Red Wolf King's eyes were set ablaze. Fire erupted from every part of its body, creating a wave of flames that engulfed the tanks team.
Leo braced himself against the AOE attack and covered his body with his shield. The protection it offered saved him from much pain, but it couldn't spare him from all of it. Parts of his right arm and lower body were burned, making him lose HP continuously. None of his teammates were doing much better, with the exception of Hector who stood proud as always, unscathed by the flaming attack.
Leo was surprised. However, that surprise soon turned into understanding as he saw Hector's whole body covered in green ki. So ki can be used like that, too? Leo thought. That explained how Hector was able to not be affected by the Boss's earlier attack too.
Meanwhile, the warrior party was barely able to escape from the wave of fire's radius. Once the AOE spell was dissipated, they made their way back towards the wolf. Shesmu, who stood amidst the party, used his Inspect skill on the Boss to check on their progress.
Red Wolf King
HP: 91,256/100,000
They shaved off almost 10% of its HP. Not bad for one rotation of spells. Plus, the mages haven't even gotten in, yet.
Shesmu's thoughts didn't stop him from following after his party and fighting the wolf king alongside them. However, whenever he attacked the Boss, he made sure so as to use only the most minimum amount of Ki needed. That way, he doesn't mess up the wolf's aggro.
After multiple rotations, Hector finally ordered, "Mages, attack!"
"Finally, thought we will die from old age before we got to." Sakura looked at her teammates and said, "Guys, let's show them what we're made of. Rava Meru!"
"Rava Meru!"
Bolts of lightning illuminated the cave. The sparks from the thunderbolts hit the wolf king with full force, stunning it.
Arthur wasn't one to miss an opportunity. The moment the Boss was stunned, he dived right in, followed by his band of warriors. Both the tanks and the melee DPS hacked away at the Boss with all their might, injuring it even further. By this point, only about 40% of its HP was left.
The Boss had had enough. Frustrated, angry, and wrathful at the humans that toyed with it to death, it cried to the heavens in a ghoulish howl.
"Awooooo!"
It jumped right above the frontline, leaving all the tanks flabbergasted and bared its fangs at the priests and the mages.
Shesmu looked at this catastrophic turn of events and was about to charge right in when his eyes glanced at Leo. Unlike everyone else, he wasn't surprised, he wasn't fearful, his face was serious and fierce.
Leo dashed right in front of the Red Wolf King, standing tall in front of it. The latter looked at him before raising its paw high in the sky. Its claws were clad in an armor of fire and with the power of a speed truck struck down at him.
The power of the impact was enough to destroy the white and black floor. Debris flew everywhere and a cloud of dust covered where Leo was supposed to be.
Seconds passed but for the onlookers, it felt like hours. Soon enough, a silhouette became visible from within the dust. Leo didn't move an inch from his place. He stood in front of the wolf king like a lion eyeing its prey. His shield was covered in enormous amounts of Ki, while his legs were reinforced with whatever he had left. Looking at his state, Shesmu knew that Leo has used every ounce of Ki he had in reserve to block that attack.
"Good one, boy. That's the spirit of a fighter!" Hector had a proud smile on his face. He looked at Leo like a father watching his son grow. He then teleported next to him.
"Maggots, what are you waiting for? Come help your brother out!"
"Yes sir!"
Hector's voice commanded respect and authority. The moment he barked out his orders, all of the tanks followed right after him and stood as a wall between the Red Wolf King and the backline.
Now was the final stand.