Chapter 395 - 389 : One Minute 2

40 seconds was left on the clock as Sato was surrounded in 3 different directions by at least 15 players. The three different groups were made up of players lined up in front of each other with the MTs taking the front. Behind them were [Assassins] followed by the [Berserkers] or [Swordsmen] with the ranged troop taking the tail.

The Trident formation was one of the raid formations designed by the strategists of Emperor's Might to contend against dungeon BOSSES. While it was developed for monsters, the formation could be adapted to be used against individual players too. It was this very adaptation that the players had used.

"Attack."

Chesces ordered from the back.

The players then dashed towards Sato with the MTs taking the lead. The close-range damage dealers followed up close while the ranged attackers had already made their move. There were only two [Rangers] in the squad whereas the attack-type mages where all keeping the pressure barrier active. Since they were lacking range output, Chesces had already notified the Howling Wolf Battalion to work in concert with his team. Apart from that, Chesces had already taken out another scroll and began reading the incantations for it. Since the go-ahead to make use of all their items was given, he didn't plan on holding back lest he loses due to his underestimation of Sato.

"You think this is enough?" Sato lightly said.

Following that, he moved his feet rapidly as he appeared beside on of the MTs. His target was Monolith, the second best MT in the guild right after Griffin.

Sato knew that with the barrier on, there was no way he would be able to catch up to Yukino's team any time soon. And since Xue Yan and the others only needed a minute, Yukino wouldn't be able to catch up to them either. Hence, rather than go after them, Sato decided it was best to weaken these guys. Since he had already become enemies with them, it was best to weaken their forces a bit to avoid harming the others.

'How?' Monolith widened his eyes in shock.

The pressure barrier was already active but Sato was still faster than he was. It was almost as if the barrier was ineffective on him.

'But how?' Monolith questioned his mind but before he could get an answer, Sato had already brought down his right sword.

Sato's speed wasn't something Monolith could handle and that remained true even now. 

Monolith barely had enough time to lift his shield when the [Astral Blade] made its mark on him.

-473 (???/??? ???)

A rough mark was made on his chest plate as Monolith lost almost a third of his HP in that one attack.

"How is he moving so quickly?" The others finally noticed the anamolaly but it was already too late.

It wasn't that the pressure barrier didn't affect Sato but its effects were just too weak on him. The group had prepared an item that would work against a level 10 BOSS. The problem though was that Sato was already beyond that level. As such, the effects of the pressure barrier wasn't enough to cause any harm to Sato. While it did indeed reduce his speed, that was only by 1% or so. Such a change was miniscule and would barely affect Sato's operations. Sadly for them, none of them were aware of this.

After landing the first hit, Sato didn't relent as be followed up with another attack. It was just a simple slash like the other but Sato had packed the entirety of his strength into it. As such, Monolith was sent flying back.

"Die!"

Even though the players were shocked, none of them paused in their footsteps and they believed that that would give their opponent some breathing space.

Two [Assassins] lunged at Sato from the side while a [Berserker] confronted him up front. The [Rangers] behind had also taken aim at him to interfere with his movements while the [Druids] were prepared to cast their healing spells and at the same time, aimed their CC(Crowd Control) spells [1] at the possible points Sato would try to dodge to. This meant that Sato was forced to face the three attacks from the close range attackers and also handle the airborne assault from the [Rangers] without dodging.

"Not enough."

Sato swung [Drakken] at the arrows as the cool-down of [Black Flame Slash] was off. A fiery arc of black flames spewed from his sword and struck the arrows in mid-air. 

Because the arrows were shot in a straight line and thanks to Sato's exquisite control, the flaming black crescent proceeded towards the direction of the 2 [Rangers] that has taken aim at him. Sato's [Dexterity] was unmatched in this battle so the speed of most of his attacks has already began to rival that of a mini BOSS; it wasn't something the players here could compare to. Hence, the black crescent had moved so swiftly that the [Rangers] were only able to respond just when it was 5 metres away from them. Even from this distance, there were still able to feel the terrifying heat from the slash.

Dodge.

Without anyone needing to tell them, the [Rangers] abandoned their posts and ran for their lives as the black crescent landed on their original spot, making a terrifying black mark in the floor as the flames slowly began to dissipate while burning the ground.

On the other hand, the [Berserker] as well as the two [Assassins] were already within reach.

Ares took the back while Tawaki attacked from Sato's right side. From his fighting style, Tawaki had realised that Sato was right handed despite him wielding two swords. Though it was way logical to attack from the weaker side, he planned to keep Sato's strong hand occupied for the [Berserker] to make his move.

[Shadow Strike]

Tawaki thrust his dagger straight towards Sato's right lung, intending to cripple him for a while or at least, keep him occupied. He had also used another skill, [Kill], which increased his attack power and damage for the next attack by 40%. There was also an additional bleeding effect that would activate if the hit is clean.

With [Shadow Strike]'s 30% increase to damaging ability and [Kill]'s 40% increase, the thrust performed by Tawaki was capable of even injuring a level 11 Defence-type Elite rank monster without fail. Therefore, even if Sato was confident in his ability, it would be best not to tank this hit with his body.

There was also Ares who had attacked from behind using the same [Shadow Strike] boost but with [Backstab] to support it. That was a 30% increase to damage and another 20% increase to the new value.

As for the [Berserker] who came from the front, he used [Charge] to close the distance very quickly and brought down his greatsword with the skill [Cleave].

No matter how one looked at it, it would be very difficult for Sato to dodge the three attacks. Even if he could, the [Druids] on standby would use their CC spells on him and the three could attack once more, but this time, with a much high certainty of landing a clean hit.

Stuck in a situation that looked bad for him, Sato wasn't one bit anxious. Instead he was a bit thrilled at his dire situation. His blood boiled as Sato became excited.

'Good. Show me what you can do!'