Chapter 1769: Hero Mode First Clear

Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales

Chapter 1769 – Hero Mode First Clear

Cold Wind City Region System Announcement: Congratulations! Hecate Guild has defeated the Snow Ruin’s Stone Guardian and completed the “Stone Heart” quest. Guild Popularity increased by 2,000 points. Rewarding Snow Ruin’s Blessing.

…

The system announcement repeated three times, its contents echoing in every player’s ears in the Cold Wind City Region.

“Didn’t Hecate recently reach the fourth underground floor? Could they have defeated the fourth floor’s Guardian Boss?”

“Hecate is too amazing! Not only did its team reach the Snow Ruin’s fourth underground floor on their first try, but they also defeated its Boss!”

“As expected of a first-rate Guild. Other Guilds and adventurer teams really can’t compare. Now that Hecate’s raid team has completed its Guild Quest and obtained the Snow Ruin’s Blessing, the team will have a much easier time raiding the Snow Ruin.”

“It seems Hecate is sure to obtain the Snow Ruin’s First Clear this time. The Asura adventurer team is pretty pitiful. Despite its efforts to expand the Adventurer Alliance and collect rare materials, Hecate is still the more powerful organization!”

…

The general public marveled at Hecate’s achievement. The various powers that still challenged the Snow Ruin even considered giving up on contesting for the Dungeon’s First Clear. At the same time, they expressed their sympathy for the Asura adventurer team.

…

“Damn it! How did things turn out this way?” Sky Slicer frowned as he read the system announcement.

He had thought that Hecate only had a slight advantage over the Asura adventurer team. He hadn’t expected the Guild’s raid team to be powerful enough to reach the final floor in a single attempt. Moreover, Hecate had completed the Epic Guild Quest “Stone Heart.”

The Centurion Dynasty had this Guild Quest, as well. However, the quest’s initial phase was extremely complex. Even now, the Centurion Dynasty had yet to complete the initial collection quest.

Yet, not only had Hecate completed the initial phase so quickly, but it had also slain the fourth floor’s Guardian Boss and obtained the Stone Heart.

Now that Hecate had completed the “Stone Heart” quest, every member of the Guild would receive the Snow Ruin’s Blessing. With the Snow Ruin’s Blessing, not only would Hecate’s members receive an 8% increase to their Basic Attributes when inside the Snow Ruin, but they would also receive 10% less damage when hit. Their Stamina and Concentration consumption would reduce by 10%, as well. With this, Hecate would have a much easier time dealing with the Snow Ruin’s Final Boss.

…

Meanwhile, on the Normal Mode Snow Ruin’s fifth underground floor…

Unlike the previous floors, players were led straight to an ancient shrine immediately after descending from the fourth floor. A six-meter-tall skeletal giant waited in the shrine’s center to greet visiting players. Sacred, golden armor was draped over the giant’s bones, and a greatsword, emitting a faint glow, had been thrust into the ground before the Guardian Boss. Although the skeletal giant stood there, doing nothing, it radiated an indescribable sense of majesty and power.

…

[Skeleton King] (Undead, Specialized Archaic Species, Grand Lord)

Level 65

HP 220,000,000/220,000,000

…

Currently, a group of players stood outside the shrine with resolute expressions. This group was none other than Hecate’s main force.

“Good! Now that we’ve completed our quest, and the Snow Ruin’s Blessing is in our hands, we’ll proceed according to plan. We’ll prioritize defense and study the Boss’s movement patterns and Skills first. Once we have a clear idea of what we’re dealing with, we’ll raid it with everything we’ve got!” Carnage said, smiling as he looked at the system announcement.

“Vice Guild Leader, you’re being overly cautious. We just got an 8% boost to our Basic Attributes and a 10% damage reduction. Although the Boss is a Specialized Archaic Species, it is only a Grand Lord,” a two-meter-tall, robust Shield Warrior said, flashing the Skeleton King a contemptuous look.

The eleven players around the robust man nodded in agreement. They were not taking the Skeleton King seriously whatsoever.

However, the other Hecate members broke out in a cold sweat as they listened to the Shield Warrior.

Only Hecate’s Twelve Heavens would dare to make such a claim. Anyone else would likely be terrified of challenging the Skeleton King, much less make light of the Boss.

However, Hecate’s Twelve Heavens were indeed qualified to make such a claim. Not only were all twelve of them Tier 2 players, but they also wore dazzling equipment. The most inferior piece on them was Level 50 Secret-Silver rank, with the majority consisted of Level 50 Fine-Gold rank. Some even wore Epic Equipment.

As for their levels, all twelve were Level 55. Their combat standards were also ridiculously high, and even a Refinement Realm expert like Vast Heaven could not last more than twenty moves against them.

It was also due to the Twelve Heavens that Hecate had qualified to begin its path towards becoming a super-first-rate Guild.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry. I don’t want to waste too much time on the Snow Ruin,” Carnage responded indifferently. He was very familiar with the Twelve Heavens’ strength. All twelve were Hecate’s apex combatants. “Alright, let’s start the raid!”

As soon as Carnage gave out the command, the Twelve Heavens charged forward with everyone else following closely behind them.

The moment the Twelve Heavens set foot in the shrine, emerald fire flashed in the Skeleton King’s hollow eye sockets. The skeletal giant then turned to the approaching players.

“This is the world of the dead. The living are not permitted here!” the Skeleton King bellowed. It then removed the greatsword from the ground and swung it at the three Tier 2 MTs leading the charge.

Purple flames burst forth from the Skeleton King’s greatsword, threatening to devour the players.

However, just before the purple flames reached the Tier 2 MTs, a Tier 2 Elementalist at the rear line chanted an incantation and pointed her staff upward.

Tier 2 Defensive Spell, Frost Barricade!

In the next moment, a translucent barrier of ice formed before the three Tier 2 MTs, blocking the path and preventing the purple flames from reaching them. Only after the purple flames dissipated did the Tier 2 Elementalist forcibly remove the Frost Barricade.

When the Frost Barricade disappeared, the three Level 55, Tier 2 MTs took action simultaneously, sneaking three Tier 2 Skills past the Skeleton King’s defenses and striking the Grand Lord directly. Each Skill dealt over -20,000 damage. The round of attacks also solidified the three MTs’ hold on the Skeleton King’s aggro.

Once the other Hecate members were in position, they bombarded the Skeleton King with their own attacks.

The Skeleton King’s single-target attacks were far more powerful than those of the previous Guardian Bosses. Even its normal attacks could push a Tier 2 MT backward by over a dozen yards and cause over -26,000 damage. Moreover, this was after the Tier 2 MT had blocked the attack with their shield. If the Tier 2 MTs received one of the Boss’s single-target Skills with their shields, they would lose over -50,000 HP. If the MTs failed to block a Skill attack, it was safe to say that they would die instantly.

Moreover, every time the Skeleton King’s HP fell past a certain threshold, the Boss would summon a large group of Skeleton Warriors. If these Skeleton Warriors were not defeated within a certain time, the Skeleton King would convert them into HP.

To make matters worse, the Skeleton King would randomly cast Hell Flame, an AOE Spell. The Boss aimed this Spell at random targets each time it cast it, not the three MTs. If players came into contact with the Hell Flame, even an MT would not last more than two seconds. Overall, the Skeleton King was a very tough Boss to raid.

However, every member on Hecate’s raid team was an expert. This was especially true for the Twelve Heavens’ three MTs. The three Tier 2 MTs would systematically rotate in and out of battle, taking turns tanking and landing hits on the Boss. Their timing and positioning were extremely accurate, and this just barely allowed them to face the Skeleton King head-on.

Only, doing so was a considerable burden on the rear line healers. Not once had the healers stopped casting their Spells since the raid had begun. Moreover, the healers had to avoid the Skeleton Warriors and Hell Flame attacks from time to time.

In such a way, Hecate’s raid team whittled down the Skeleton King. When the Skeleton King’s HP fell to 50%, the Grand Lord went berserk and emerald fire wrapped around its greatsword.

Seeing this, Carnage commanded every player with a Berserk Skill to activate it.

By the time the emerald flames faded, less than 70 players remained standing. Fortunately, all three Tier 2 MTs were still alive. However, this reduction in combat power made defeating the Skeleton Warriors far more difficult for Hecate’s members.

As both sides fought, both the Skeleton King’s HP and Hecate’s member count continuously decreased.

20%… 10%… 5%…

By the time the Skeleton King collapsed, less than 20 players remained of Hecate’s 100-man team; only seven of the Twelve Heavens had survived. The outcome had been gruesome.

…

Cold Wind City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Hecate for obtaining the First Clear on the Normal Mode Snow Ruin. Rewarding 2,000 Guild Popularity Points and 300 Cold Wind City Contribution Points.

…

“We did it!”

“Vice Guild Leader, as we predicted, we only needed 500 Contribution Points to take control of Cold Wind City. Now, we just need to complete a few Epic ranked City Quests to earn the remaining 200 Contribution Points!”

The Hecate members that were still alive could not help their excitement upon seeing the system announcement. Even Carnage’s eyes glowed as a pleasant feeling warmed his heart.

…

Meanwhile, news of Hecate’s success shocked Cold Wind City’s players.

After this, Hecate’s dominance over Cold Wind City was inevitable. In the future, Cold Wind City was bound to become Hecate’s territory.

However, as everyone expressed their surprise over the news, another system announcement reached their ears.

…

Cold Wind City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to the Asura adventurer team for obtaining the First Clear on the Hero Mode Snow Ruin. Rewarding Hero’s Key and 500 Cold Wind City Contribution Points.

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