Hotpot versus Galaxy (II)

"Using lightning against me?! Ha, I will show you what real lightning looks like!"

Cyclone shouted in annoyance and began to cast skills.

Nearby an invisible shadow crouched on the ice. Suddenly his eyes lit up.

My chance!

Severed Fang slowly sneaked towards Cyclone, eyes focused on her neck, ready to deliver a devastating blow.

But right then his ears twitched.

Did I hear something? It wasn't Cyclone, right? Am I overreacting?

The experienced thief decided to listen to his instincts and froze in place.

Between Cyclone and Fortune another invisible thief waited patiently. Bloody Edge glanced roughly in Severed Fang's direction, frowning faintly.

Strange. I was sure Severed Fang was about to attack. Hmm, nothing I can do. Just wait.

While the two thieves were caught up in an invisible duel on knife's edge, both teams finally clashed fiercely.

Arrows and crossbow bolts shot through the sky, forcing the tanks to scramble to block them.

Galaxy had an additional bow user next to the crossbow-wielding dwarf, but as a consequence they had one less warrior than Hotpot.

Liam tied down Thunder Fairy, pressuring the warrior until she didn't know up or down. On the other hand, Radiant Shield was under enormous stress holding back the enemy's physical damage dealers.

Watchful Eye managed to dodge the two attacks focusing him right at the beginning and was now making life difficult for the tanks. His mix of physical and elemental damage was devastating to defend against.

Meanwhile Quickstep was extremely depressed after being hit by an aggro-drawing skill.

Thanks to the aggro her normal attacks dealt no damage to anyone else but the tank while the damage of her AOE attacks was reduced as well.

Additionally, she couldn't run away from the tank since the effect's duration passed faster within a certain range around the tank.

Thus, Quickstep had to take the risk and stay close to the tank while making sure not to get hit by another one of his skills.

Candle, the Tauren, huffed, and hot steam came out of his nose. He slammed his shield forward, covered in powerful magic, aiming right for Quickstep's chest.

Eyes narrowing, Quickstep was ready to dodge. But abruptly she felt a strange force engulfing her, slowing her down as if the air had become viscous mud.

She knew that if this skill landed, the aggro on her, which was about to run out, would be prolonged. A sharp light flashed through her eyes.

Suddenly Quickstep used [Carrier of Storm]. In front of Candle's shocked eyes, she transformed into a sharp blade made of wind and slashed through the battlefield.

With the aggro still applied she didn't deal much damage, but at least she managed to escape from Candle. When her skill ended, she suddenly reappeared next to Star Gazer and Age of Frost.

Quickstep's grin sent a chill down the two mages' backs.

"Damn, can't you hold her back?!"

Age of Frost shouted anxiously as he tried to get some distance between himself and Quickstep.

The female warrior moved instantly. She pointed her sword forward and activated her ultimate skill [Storm of Baldes]. Quickstep showed impeccable timing. The aggro just ran out when a small sphere of chaotic wind appeared in the air before her. Suddenly it erupted, creating a terrifying storm filled with radiant, sharp blades.

Star Gazer's eyes twitched. He instantly used flash step to get away. But in his haste his cast got interrupted and additionally, he appeared right next to Korn. He could only curse his bad luck.

Silent Acacia watched everything closely. Noticing Star Gazer's blunder, he wasted no time and immediately ordered Korn to attack. It was too late for Star Gazer to dodge.

[-2482!]

"I got you, boss!"

At the last moment a round shield made of rocks suddenly appeared above Star Gazer blocking the Tiger's claw. The man's teammates proved their quick reaction and managed to protect him just in time.

However, while Star Gazer got out of the situation unscathed, the same couldn't be said for Age of Frost.

The arrogant mage failed to escape in time and was caught by the whirlwind. Sharp blades ruthlessly cut at his body. Yet, just as he tried to get out of the skill's range, he suddenly felt the floor disappear below his feet.

"Whaaa."

"Damn!"

[Candle: Boss, should we shield him?]

[Star Gazer: No. Let's heal him later!]

Liam was still fighting against Thunder Fairy, but he perceived everything happening on the battlefield. Watching Age of Frost flying through the air due to the power of the storm and realizing that their opponents didn't bother to shield him, he instantly knew that their chance had come.

Quickstep and Silent Acacia got a message from Liam and followed it quickly. They instantly adjusted their targets, putting pressure on Galaxy's healer Falling Diamond.

"NO!"

Suddenly a shocked cry echoed through the battlefield as Age of Frost was hurled away by the storm, sailing through the air.

Everyone followed the miserable figure with their eyes watching as he drew a beautiful curve and landed straight in the water outside the ice platform.

Water splashed in all directions and Age of Frost let out a bitter cry:

"Ahh! It's so cold!"

"Come one, aren't you called Age of Frost? You should be able to endure it, right?", mocked Cyclone.

Age of Frost had no time to retaliate. He noticed that the freezing water began to reduce his HP at a frightening rate. Age of Frost hurried to swim back to the ice platform, saving his life.

Clawing his gloved fingers into the ice, the mage managed to pull himself out of the water. He stood up, his body shivering from the cold. Luckily the reduction of his HP stopped.

A blinding light quickly fell on Age of Frost, recovering his HP. But as she had to use her skill, Falling Diamond had to endure the retaliation from Quickstep and Silent Acacia, taking huge damage herself.

"Bastards! Do you think you are the only ones with ultimate skill?!"

Thunder Fairy's eyes were brimming with anger. Thanks to Liam she couldn't show her strength at all. If it weren't for the help of her team she would have died already.

Finally, the warrior had enough. She held her sword high towards the sky. A dark cloud was instantly gathering above her.

Boom!

Lightning struck, smashing into the tip of Thunder Fairy's sword. But instead of attacking the warrior it was reflected, searching for a different target.

Liam knew exactly what was coming. When Thunder Fairy made her move, he had already taken a few steps back. This proved to be the right decision as a bolt of lightning now shot towards him at a frightening speed.

However, Liam also knew that Thunder Fairy's ultimate skill would be more powerful with each subsequent strike. Thus, he came to a quick decision, saving his stance and instead paying the cost of some HP.

[-259!]

Silver Blade activated her [Aura of Ranged Protection] to diminish the damage even further, making it easy to endure for Liam.

But the skill naturally didn't end there. For a few seconds all the friends had to keep watch for the chance of being targeted by lightning.

Cyclone gritted her teeth when a bolt came right for her. Her cast was just about to be finished. She made a quick estimate and decided to release her skill first.

[Chain Lightning] erupted, landing on a tank before making its way through the enemy team. Right then Thunder Fairy's attack was about to hit her fellow lightning user.

Cyclone closed her eyes, gathering mana with her full concentration, faster than ever. Right before she was about to struck by lightning her body flashed and disappeared.

Her friends were relieved but suddenly startled cries came from the back.

"Ah!"

"What!?"

"I stepped on something."

Bloody Edge looked in Cyclone's direction and his eyes opened wide in shock. The location where Cyclone aimed her flash step at was exactly where Severed Fang was waiting in ambush.

When Cyclone reappeared the two players collided. They both lost their balance, quite comical. Severed Fang's stealth was cancelled.

However, the thief was only surprised for a moment before he realized what a gift suddenly fell from the sky. He immediately attacked Cyclone with long, black claws.

[-2218!]

[-1106!]

Severed Fang managed to land two heavy hits before Cyclone's friends reacted. Radiant Shield quickly saved the blonde mage with [Holy Barrier].

A moment later Bloody Edge appeared behind Severed Fang. Sharp daggers made from holy light were about to nail the enemy thief in place, but Severed Fang was highly vigilant, managing to dodge.

Bloody Edge nevertheless landed two hits before Severed Fang escaped with the help of a skill.

After the short shock Liam rushed toward Thunder Fairy again. The skills he had used so far were already coming off cooldown. He swung his sword engulfed by a powerful force which came from [Brutal Strike].

[-4003!]

[-810!]

The powerful blow horrified Thunder Fairy. Two holy marks were triggered, delivering additional damage. On top of that she was affected by a stun lasting for a full three seconds.

Fear could be seen in the warrior's eyes. She knew that she might lose her life if none of her teammates helped her.