Outside the boulder field, the four members of the Shadowwind Team exchanged glances, the disdainful smiles on their faces growing even wider.
"Playing hide-and-seek?"
The Assassin Captain let out a cold snort and gestured to the three behind him.
The tactic was clear and ruthless.
"Archer, use parabolic shots to force them out. Rangers, fire at will and seal their escape routes. I'll take down the Priest. Once she's down, that tin can will be nothing but a sitting duck."
The plan was simple, brutal, and, in their eyes, foolproof.
How tough could a Priest possibly be?
Swish! Swish!
The two Rangers abandoned charged shots in favor of high-frequency suppressive fire.
Arrows screamed through the air from different directions, striking the massive boulder the sisters were hiding behind. Sparks flew with sharp clinks as the barrage covered every inch of their potential escape routes.
Meanwhile, the Archer at the rear took a deep breath, drawing his bowstring to its full extent. He released the arrow high into the sky.
The arrow traced an arc nearly invisible to the naked eye, soaring precisely over the boulder's cover and plummeting straight down toward Lin Qingyue's head!
This was an advanced Archer technique: Parabolic Shot!
"Sis, watch your head!"
Lin Xiyue, constantly monitoring the entire battlefield, had spotted the threat the moment the arrow was launched.
Lin Qingyue didn't even look up.
Her feet shifted almost imperceptibly, her entire body swaying like a boneless willow branch as she sidestepped less than half a pace.
Thud!
The arrow, imbued with immense force, grazed the hem of her Priest's robe before burying itself deep into the earth behind her.
The fletching quivered violently, emitting a resentful hum.
In that same instant, a blur of distorted air flickered in the shadows to the sisters' flank and vanished.
The Assassin had entered Stealth.
"A support class daring to be so arrogant?"
The Archer in the distance frowned at the sight, but a cold smirk quickly replaced it.
To him, such a last-second dodge was nothing but sheer dumb luck.
Lin Xiyue held the Immovable Mountain shield before her, its surface as steadfast as a mountain, deflecting every arrow that came from the front.
Her concentration was at its peak, yet she couldn't pinpoint the Assassin's location.
"Sis, that Assassin..."
"Let him play by himself."
Lin Qingyue's voice remained as calm as ever, betraying no hint of tension.
"Circle this rock. Match my pace."
She began to move, her speed neither fast nor slow, circling the massive boulder—over five meters in diameter—in a textbook "pillar-hugging" maneuver.
Though Lin Xiyue didn't understand the strategy, her absolute trust in her sister compelled her to follow immediately, hefting her giant shield.
One behind the other, their figures flickered in and out of sight behind the massive boulder.
The Rangers and Archers on the perimeter were utterly dumbfounded.
Their arrows either slammed into the boulder or missed entirely, as they couldn't predict the sisters' movements.
This tactic, so simple it was almost shameless, was infuriatingly effective, completely neutralizing their ranged firepower.
"Fuck! She's toying with us!" a Ranger roared in frustration.
While everyone's attention was captivated by this ridiculous "two-person dance," the stealthed phantom had silently crept to the other side of the boulder.
An opening!
A cold glint flashed in the Assassin's eyes. He precisely calculated the exact moment Lin Qingyue would step out from cover, his poison-coated dagger already trembling with anticipation.
He was absolutely confident that within a single second, he could eliminate this arrogant Priest with a perfect Backstab into Eviscerate combo!
Three steps...
Two steps...
One step!
Now!
He erupted from the shadows, his entire body transforming into a lethal blur as he lunged at Lin Qingyue's defenseless back.
A savage grin of victory already spread across his face.
However, just as his dagger was about to touch the thin Priest's robe, Lin Qingyue—who had been walking at a steady, unhurried pace—abruptly froze without any warning.
She didn't even turn around.
That pink staff—the one he'd dismissed as a mere "decoration"—shot backward like lightning, thrusting with a force completely unbecoming of a magical implement!
No dazzling magical effects, no complex maneuvers.
Just a simple, brutal, and supremely swift straight thrust!
THUD!!
A dull, bone-jarring impact echoed.
The butt of the staff slammed squarely into the Assassin Captain's chest.
The anticipated thrill of his dagger slicing through flesh never came. Instead, a terrifying force, as if struck head-on by a siege hammer, erupted through him!
The savage grin on the Assassin Captain's face instantly froze, replaced by an expression of utter, absurd disbelief.
Agonizing pain exploded from his chest and abdomen. He felt his sternum crack.
His body was violently knocked out of Stealth, doubling over like a cooked shrimp as he staggered several steps backward before barely regaining his balance.
He looked down in horror.
A distinct, circular indentation had been punched into the chest of his fine leather armor
That pink... staff—its end was unbelievably hard!
"You..." He clutched his agonizing chest, his face draining of color.
[Ding! The Host has interrupted an assassin's sneak attack with an "unremarkable" physical strike, inflicting severe psychological trauma. Elation Value +122!]
Lin Qingyue's expression remained utterly impassive. "..."
"What the hell just happened?!"
The Rangers and Archers on the perimeter stared, dumbfounded.
Their Captain, while in Stealth, had been thrust out of hiding by a Priest with a staff?
Was this some kind of joke of the year?
"Something's wrong with that Priest! Her strength is unnatural! That staff is a melee weapon!"
The Assassin Captain was furious and shocked, but above all, he felt a primal fear born of a hunter's instinct.
He activated [Sprint], his body blurring into a phantom as he retreated without a second glance, instantly creating a gap of several dozen meters. His eyes were filled with dread.
"All of you, attack together! Melee fighters, surround and overwhelm her!"
The Assassin Captain finally realized they had kicked a steel plate disguised in cotton.
"You two, switch to melee weapons and charge with me! Archer, find an opening and suppress her—don't give her any chance to cast!"
The Assassin Captain reasoned that the Priest must have used some special burst skill to land that last strike—she couldn't possibly sustain it!
The two Rangers exchanged a glance, hearing the fury and shock in their Captain's voice.
Without further hesitation, they stowed their shortbows and drew the twin shortswords from their waists, their eyes turning ruthless.
The three formed a triangular formation, abandoning their ranged advantage to launch a fierce assault on Lin Qingyue from three directions.
In their minds, no matter how strong a Priest was, she stood no chance against the combined assault of three melee classes.
In the distance, the Archer drew his longbow again, the arrowhead locked on its target, searching for a fatal opening.
The battle instantly devolved into the most brutal form of close-quarters combat!
"So they're getting serious."
Lin Xiyue licked her dry lips. Far from feeling fear, her eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
As a Paladin, close-quarters combat was what she feared least
"Sis, I'll hold off two of them! You find an opening and take one out first!" Lin Xiyue let out a low growl and charged forward.
"You take that one."
Lin Qingyue's tone was calm as her gaze swept to the lone Ranger on the right. "Make it quick."
Lin Xiyue froze.
Sis, you're going to take on two of them? You're a Priest!
Before she could react, Lin Qingyue flicked her wrist. The pink staff danced in her hand, tracing a brilliant arc as she single-handedly met both the Assassin Captain's dagger and the other Ranger's shortsword!
Clang! Clang!
The crisp clash of metal rang out as densely as a torrential downpour.
Lin Qingyue moved with light, unpredictable steps. Her staff would strike like a viper, precisely targeting her opponents' wrists and joints.
Then, it would sweep like a gale scattering leaves, forcing the two men to scramble back in disarray.
The longer they fought, the more horrified they became.
This Priest's combat skills were far too polished for a caster!
Every strike was vicious and cunning, backed by astonishing strength. Their vaunted speed was utterly useless against the staff's phantom-like tip.
What humiliated them even more was that the two of them—both high-burst agility classes—were being utterly dominated by a single Priest.
On the other side, the battle was an even more one-sided slaughter.
Lin Xiyue facing the lone Ranger was like a giant bear toying with a wild rabbit.
Under the effect of her [Swiftwind Step] aura, the Ranger's speed was meaningless.
Every one of his cunning attacks was effortlessly blocked by her [Immovable Mountain], the impact jarring his hand until it went numb.
Meanwhile, each of Lin Xiyue's simple sword swings forced him into a desperate struggle for survival.
Her one-handed sword, [Dawn's Light], was incomparably sharp. A mere graze was enough to slice a bloody gash through the Ranger's fine leather armor.
Shhlick—
The Ranger failed to dodge in time, and a deep cut opened on his arm. The searing pain made him cry out.
"Captain! Help me! There's something wrong with this girl! I can't hold on!" he screamed in terror, watching his health bar plummet at an alarming rate.
The Archer observing from a distance paled completely.
He realized that in this terrain littered with jagged rocks, he couldn't find a clear line of sight for his ranged attacks.
With his teammates and enemies locked in a chaotic melee, he risked hitting his own men with any careless shot.
Seeing his Ranger teammate about to be cut down by the Paladin, the Archer could no longer stand by.
"Damn it, I'm going all in!" he roared.
Stowing his longbow, he drew a standard-issue long spear from his back and charged into the fray like a shooting star!
Archers did learn some basic close-combat skills for self-defense, but this was clearly an act of desperation.
He intended to join the siege, leveraging their four-on-two numerical advantage to force a comeback!
As Lin Qingyue watched the Archer charge forward with his spear, a cold, sharp curve finally formed on her lips.
Excellent.
All the fish have swum into the net.
This was the moment she had been waiting for.