Chapter 74: Versus Gatekeeper (2)

Chapter 74: Versus Gatekeeper (2) Henrietta and Uriel’s attacks dealt significant damage, causing the monster, Cerberus, to stagger. This, of course, wasn’t just because of their set items or stats. It was also thanks to their "more refined" use of their Qi compared to the rest. After all, the two of them were taught directly by Xu Tao in a one-on-one session. ’Right,’ Xu Tao smiled, watching them scramble. ’The key to victory here is to master your use of Qi. This might be just an illusory world, but all the experiences here are definitely gonna pay off.’ Among everyone, only the first group—Henrietta, Uriel, Tyler, Grosso, and Roger—were able to reliably survive the attacks. Sliding under a claw swipe, kicking against a tree trunk to change direction quickly, and sometimes riding the monster’s back—they did everything they could to stay alive and land more hits. Those five were making perfect use of the terrain, their game characters’ stats, and a bit of footwork to steer clear of the Cerberus’ attacks. The others, realizing this, of course, tried to copy their moves... but most failed. It wasn’t as easy as they made it seem. "Fuck... Still too far...!" Henrietta spat, trying to catch her breath. The battle had been going for a while, but looking at the boss’s HP bar, only two bars were down. Six more remained. What’s worse, the monster actually recovered 5% of its HP bar every 10 seconds, adding to the difficulty of their mission. Everyone but the first group had already experienced at least one death and rushed back, continuing the fight. However, even with their zombie attack at play, they could barely outpace the monster’s regeneration. CRASH! "Ritta, we need to attack more frequently...!" Uriel suggested as she was thrown off the monster’s back, landing beside Henrietta. The jiggle physics of her body going into overdrive as she skidded to a stop. "At this rate, we’ll run out of Qi and stamina before it’s even over!" she emphasized. "...That’s true." Henrietta nodded. She checked her current status bars. Her HP bar was still full, but that didn’t mean anything if the enemy could literally one-hit them with any of its attacks. Her stamina was down to 25%, with her Qi barely over half remaining. All the moving around was draining their stamina fast! However, this didn’t mean they could limit their movements or stay put either. Doing that would be equivalent to death. Henrietta’s mind started to churn rapidly, thinking of a solution—until a certain technique surfaced in her mind. "Right, there’s that!" she exclaimed, lips curling into a brief grin. "Everyone, keep your distance! Instead, fire Qi Blasts from afar, nonstop!" "Qi Blasts...!" Uriel gasped. In the real world, it was a technique that any cultivator would learn right after reaching Bronze Level 1—the most basic technique that almost everyone could use. And of course, all of Henrietta’s guards were able to use it. As she commanded, all but the first group pulled away from the Cerberus and began gathering Qi into their hands—palms facing toward the enemy. After collecting around 25% of their Qi, they let it fly like colorful blue bullets, hitting their target squarely. GRAAAAAAGH! It cried in pain— [Critical! 5!!!] [Critical! 3!] [2!] [1...] —as damage bubbles rained above the Cerberus’ head, showing values ranging from 1 to 5. A small value individually, but... they had numbers on their side. With all 45 members attacking at once, the overall damage in that single instant had amounted to almost two HP bars! "We can use martial arts Master taught us without the System’s support... So we definitely can use techniques we learned even before that!" Henrietta smiled brightly, finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. "We’re halfway there now! Don’t let up the pressure—" Without holding back anything at all, Henrietta, Uriel, Tyler, Grosso, and Roger charged at the Cerberus once more. A claw swipe almost automatically headed for them as they came close, but they dodged it at the last instant. "HAAP!" "Take this!" "Haiyaaa!" "DIE!" "..." Multiple hits landed, making the monster stagger once again—followed by the second wave of Qi Blasts. The boss’s HP bars drained rapidly, leaving only one last line for them to deplete. "We’re almost there...!" Everyone was already half-cheering, some lowering their weapons, others fist-pumping the air—until— "Hmm?" —the instant only one HP bar was left on top of the Cerberus’ head, Xu Tao felt something was amiss. Suddenly, the monster’s body began to change. Earlier, it was just like a Doberman, with the ends of its paws, its tail, and the lower part of its mouth being a blazing red color. But now... its body started to look like flames itself. Black flames as its coat, with red flames coming from its hands and feet. Eyes like burning embers, filled with hatred toward the living. It exuded a profound aura of intimidation, rendering everyone unable to breathe—much less move or run away. "This is bad...!" But that wasn’t all—just a minor visual upgrade wouldn’t make Xu Tao panic like this. Instead, he detected something within the Cerberus that changed drastically... It was now possessing True Qi! And not the virtual kind, but the real one! Xu Tao wasn’t sure what was truly going on, but he could tell that this wasn’t going to play out nicely. The Cerberus was stirring the True Qi within its body, trying to use it in its next attack. And with everyone around it being at Qi Gathering Stage and below, a True Qi attack could lead to deadly consequences, even if this was just a game. At best, they’d turn into vegetables with their minds shattered. At worst, their Dantian and meridians would explode, leading to a painful death! But thankfully, Xu Tao was there at the scene. He moved fast—faster than the Cerberus could begin its attack. In a split second, Xu Tao waved his hand, using Sword Telekinesis to grab everyone present—and throw them all behind him. It was rough treatment, but this was a game anyway. They wouldn’t feel pain. With that done, he moved his hands, performing complex hand signs one after another. It was so fast, his fingers turned into a blur—combining the actions for three techniques at once! First was Severing the Heavens—a special barrier that isolates space for a brief moment, allowing one to block even the deadliest attacks. He used this not to protect himself, but everyone behind him. Next was the Nine Vines Holding Seal—a special Plant-Element seal that could hold even the strongest of Spirit Beasts for a few seconds easily. He used this to keep the Cerberus in place, depriving it of the ability to dodge the next and final technique. The third was the finisher, Golden Sword Descending—a special attack that comes with a powerful curse, cleansing the Qi of any "impure" beings it hits, and at the same time, funneling the "cleansed" Qi toward the caster. The next second, a transparent film appeared, cutting the space between Xu Tao and his students. Five large vines grew from the ground, wrapping around the Cerberus like tentacles from hell. A beat later, everyone’s eyes went wide as they watched a gigantic, glowing, golden sword descend from the heavens and pierce right through the monster’s back. It was so powerful that the graphics engine of the game actually started glitching! BOOM! A powerful blast and explosion occurred, clearing the immediate vicinity of trees. Only a large crater was left behind—along with the shining loot scattered on the ground where the Cerberus used to be. Xu Tao frowned, however. Even though he did "get" the True Qi that had been inside the Cerberus, it was clean... He couldn’t tell where it came from, or who put it inside the monster. But his nerves slightly eased when a cheerful voice echoed from behind him. "It’s over... We won!" Henrietta cheered. Xu Tao decided to think about the culprit’s identity later, and praised his students and disciples first. "You all did well," he smiled. "Now, let’s get back to cultivation and raise you all to Qi Gathering Stage by the end of today!" "..." It was a short-lived cheer. The moment he said that, half of them collapsed in despair.