By the time John arrived at the second fortress, he found a scene of utter chaos!
Isabella had already discovered yesterday that the six monsters possessed mutually countering attributes, yet they lacked high attack power and speed!
Even after consuming a potion to boost her speed, she could only barely dodge their attacks.
The supply of monkey wine John had given her was running low, so she had to ration it carefully!
She had already been hit by the Frost Giant's attacks twice recently, stacking her buffs quite high.
Drinking now would risk incurring a drunken debuff!
"Buff me!" she called.
Without any hesitation, John shouted a command to the Thorned Rock Serpent and then sprinted forward at breakneck speed!
Meanwhile, Rosalind was not idle, waving her staff and casting a full suite of buffs on John—speed, fury, continuous healing, mental enhancement!
Once all the buffs were applied, John unleashed a skill toward the Lava Behemoth.
As before, he drew the Lava Behemoth's attention along with the Golem's firepower, weaving in and out within the Frost Giant's range.
Though still slowed by a buff, this time he was accompanied by a priest, rendering many of the debuffs virtually ineffective for him.
Plus, he had monkey wine on hand for emergencies!
This time, quicker than before, he had already halved the elite monster's HP!
Isabella was no fool.
Observing John's actions, she quickly grasped what needed to be done and began to draw the monsters' fire, mimicking John's tactics.
Rosalind promptly cast a full set of buffs on Isabella.
Glancing in Rosalind's direction, Isabella could barely make out who it was due to the distance, but she knew it must be one of their own and unleashed her skills with even greater ferocity.
With the trio's coordination, it took less than ten minutes to slay the six elite monsters.
However, because the lesser monsters around them had not been completely cleared earlier, those above continued to unleash skills downward.
Despite this, seeing all six elite monsters vanquished brought a surge of joy—they had been in despair at the sight of these emerald-tier elite monsters, which seemed beyond their capability to defeat.
It had seemed beyond their imagination, yet here were John and Isabella, astonishingly powerful, swiftly defeating these formidable foes together.
"My God, this is the strength of the top-ranked champions? This is incredibly impressive."
"I used to think John was nothing special, but it turns out I was the one who was nothing special."
"Oh... I suddenly think if John were at our fortress, we'd definitely have hope of surviving; it wouldn't have been so hard before."
"I really want to go to the first fortress, I'd feel so much safer with John there."
Being able to revive five at once—although there was a strict requirement that the bodies must have been deceased for no more than five hours—greatly boosted their morale and their drive to survive.
Cecilia, having learned of the situation, did not hesitate to agree.
Between an energy stone and a human life, she knew well what to choose.
"Alright, now that you've resolved things here, I'll head back. Let's keep in touch and communicate promptly if any issues arise."
Cecilia had just finished clearing the battlefield when she learned John had come to help, which made her chuckle.
"It seems my charm isn't enough, Miss Zhu is still prettier than me." Cecilia had merely joked, but John suddenly felt awkward.
His decision to come and help had been a spontaneous one!
But now, with Cecilia's remark, it seemed as if he had come over on purpose.
That felt a bit... like betraying one for another.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," John muttered to himself, shaking off the strange feeling inside.
He had simply chosen this side because he had more interactions with Isabella, making it a subconscious choice.
Besides, Cecilia and her brother would surely have better coordination, while Isabella was alone.
Yes, indeed, he was just helping where it was most needed.
"Alright, let's head back," John said as he mounted the Thorned Rock Serpent once more.
Despite being an offensive skill, he had effectively turned it into a mount...
And it was incredibly useful, serving both as an attack and a means of transport.
Isabella continued to clear the battlefield, her eyes narrowing as she watched John's departing figure.
John...
What kind of person is he, really?
He didn't seem as terrible as the rumors suggested.
...
With the lessons learned from the previous night, everyone was on high alert.
Nearly every three steps there was a guard, every five steps a lookout.
Everyone voluntarily took turns standing watch.
They simply couldn't afford another round of casualties.
They couldn't bear to see their comrades die right in front of them, without even a chance of resurrection.