The Archer, wielding a long spear, cut into the battle, instantly creating a four-on-two situation. The oppressive pressure of the fight suddenly intensified.
"Sis, there are too many of them!"
Lin Xiyue deliberately raised her voice, her tone laced with just the right amount of panic.
Her giant shield seemed to "struggle" more and more with each block, her footwork growing chaotic as she was forced to retreat step by step.
Lin Qingyue understood instantly. She brandished her pink staff in a seamless flurry of motion. While she appeared to be desperately suppressing the Assassin Captain and a Ranger, her attacks were fierce in form but lacked true killing power.
"Don't panic! Hold the formation!" Lin Qingyue responded, her voice deliberately strained.
The sisters fought as they retreated.
To the four members of the Shadowwind Team, it looked as though the sisters were being relentlessly pushed back by their ferocious assault.
A Priest and a Paladin.
Even with excellent equipment and skill in close combat, being surrounded by four top-tier Agility-based classes meant certain death.
They could even see the sisters' formation visibly "falter" the moment the Archer joined the fray.
Their steps had already carried them beyond the cover of the giant boulder, and they were being systematically forced into an open clearing.
Lin Xiyue's swings with her giant shield grew wider, as if she were fighting with all her might. In reality, she was steadily retreating, inching closer to her sister, Lin Qingyue.
Lin Qingyue's situation was relatively stable, but she was completely pinned down, unable to spare a hand.
"Quick! They can't hold on much longer!"
A cruel glee flashed in the Assassin Captain's eyes. With a subtle hand signal, he issued the order for an all-out assault: "Focus fire on the Priest!"
The humiliation of being sent flying by her staff earlier was long forgotten, his mind clouded by the imminent victory and points. In his view, that move had been the Priest's ultimate life-saving skill, and its cooldown must be extremely long.
Now, with the four of them surrounding her, not even an Archon could save her!
Five meters!
Three meters!
One meter!
The sisters had nowhere left to retreat. Their backs were nearly touching, creating a perfect kill zone.
Now!
"Die!" the Assassin Captain snarled, channeling all his strength. The crimson glow of [Cold Blood] erupted from his poisoned dagger as he lunged straight for Lin Qingyue's heart!
Beside him, the Ranger's shortsword struck with vicious precision, completely cutting off all of Lin Qingyue's escape routes!
The other two instantly circled to Lin Xiyue's flanks. The Ranger's dual swords formed a cross-slash, while the Archer, fighting in close combat, thrust his spear straight forward!
Four attacks from four directions, yet their target was uncannily the same—Lin Qingyue, whom they saw as the breakthrough point and the team's core.
Triumphant, savage grins already spread across their faces.
Back to back, they were trapped like birds in a cage!
This arrogant Priest was finished
However, just an instant before the attacks could land...
The sisters, who had been passively retreating, moved.
It was a synchronization that transcended mere teamwork, bordering on pure instinct.
With Lin Qingyue as the pivot, Lin Xiyue—hefting her greatshield—slid sideways to the left, her body gliding like a block into the space directly behind her sister.
Simultaneously, Lin Qingyue stepped back and to the left, appearing precisely in Lin Xiyue's former position.
It was a Cross-Switch—executed with such blinding speed and terrifying coordination that it seemed like a single person had merely turned around.
The Shadowwind Team's simultaneous assault and the sisters' position swap were perfectly synchronized, as if rehearsed beforehand!
The Assassin Captain and the Ranger's sure-kill strikes, aimed at the fragile Priest's robes, instead met a greatshield shimmering with a heavy, solid light.
[Immovable Mountain]!
A flash of platinum Holy Light pulsed across the shield's surface, solidifying into an unbreakable barrier.
CLANG—!!
The deafening shriek of metal on metal ripped through the air.
The Assassin's poisoned dagger and the Ranger's fully powered shortsword slammed squarely into the shield.
Lin Xiyue stood firm as a rock, not even swaying.
In stark contrast, the two attackers, who had thrown their full strength into the blow, were staggered by an overwhelming rebound force. Their arms went numb, and they stumbled forward, losing control of their balance
"My turn!"
Before they could regain their balance, a sharp glint flashed in Lin Xiyue's eyes. Seizing the fleeting opening, she slammed her shield forward!
[Shield Bash]!
Thud! Thud!
Two heavy, muffled impacts echoed, like a battering ram striking their chests.
The Assassin Captain and the Ranger felt as if they'd been hit head-on by a charging iron-armored rhinoceros. Excruciating pain shot through their sternums as they were sent flying backward. A sweet, coppery taste filled their throats, and their breathing instantly fell into disarray.
The savage grins on their faces froze, replaced by utter disbelief and horror.
Meanwhile, the other side of the battle concluded even faster.
After the switch, Lin Qingyue stepped forward, spun, and reappeared like a phantom behind the charging Archer and the other Ranger.
The two attackers only had time for a flicker of confusion to cross their eyes—The target changed? Where did my attack go?
That fraction-of-a-second stun was the difference between life and death.
Lin Qingyue's gaze remained cold and impassive, without a ripple of emotion.
The cute pink staff in her hand had now become the deadliest of weapons.
There was no rush of air, no flash of light.
Only a silent, suffocating aura of immense, condensed power coiled around it.
Geo Spear Intent!
Pfft!
Pfft!
Two soft thuds, barely louder than the sound of beating a quilt with a laundry pole.
The pink staff struck with pinpoint accuracy at the knee joints supporting their bodies.
The force wasn't overwhelming, but the technique was viciously precise.
A condensed burst of power pierced through their leather armor and detonated inside their joints!
Crack!
The sickening crunch of dislocated bones echoed with chilling clarity amidst the chaotic battlefield.
Their forward momentum halted abruptly. Their bodies instantly lost balance, and their mouths gaped open in agony, yet no sound escaped.
Lin Qingyue gave them no chance to recover.
With a flick of her wrist, she retracted the staff, then lashed out again with even greater speed!
Thud!
Thud!
The staff's tip struck precisely at the nape of their necks.
Their vision went black, and their bodies crumpled, dissolving into two beams of white light as they were teleported out of the Dungeon.
[Ding! The Host and their teammate executed a perfect coordinated maneuver, instantly reversing the battle's tide and eliminating two enemies with lightning speed. This created an extreme visual and psychological shock. Elation Value +588!]
Lin Qingyue felt nothing, not even a flicker of emotion. In fact, she almost felt like complaining.
"I always knew that one day, the hunter would become the hunted." — by Hunter Amentu.
From ambush to reversal to instant kill.
All in under three seconds.
The chaotic battlefield fell into dead silence.
The Assassin Captain and the Ranger, who had been knocked back, barely managed to steady themselves. When they looked up, all they saw were the fading afterimages of their teammates dissolving into light.
Four versus two had become two versus two.
No...
The Assassin Captain stared at the two empty spots where his comrades had stood. A chill shot up his spine and spread through his scalp, turning the blood in his veins to ice.
What kind of attack was that?
No skill wind-up, no magical fluctuations—just two plain, unadorned strikes, and two top-tier experts had vanished?
His gaze locked onto the Priest holding the pink staff, her expression utterly indifferent.
His battle-honed hunter's instincts screamed in his mind, blaring a death-knell warning.
That's not a support who needs protecting!
That's not a squishy target to focus fire on!
That's a prehistoric beast in sheep's clothing!
"Run... Run now!"
The Assassin Captain's courage shattered completely. His fighting spirit and dignity were ground to dust before such absolute power.
He didn't even dare to spare Lin Qingyue another glance, turning to activate [Sprint] without a second thought.
However, the skill icon was grayed out.
He had already used [Sprint] during the failed ambush earlier, and it was still on cooldown.
As for the Ranger, his specialty was agility and finesse, not raw speed.
"Trying to run now? Too late."
Lin Qingyue's calm voice echoed behind them like a death sentence.
With the Blessing of the Anemo Archon and the [Swiftwind Step] aura, her speed already far surpassed that of an ordinary Priest. Chasing down two agility-based classes who had exhausted their burst movement skills was like a cheetah hunting rabbits.
The pink staff swung again, its movement slicing through the air with a heart-stopping whistle.
The Ranger tried to raise his sword to block, but the terrifying force imbued in the staff knocked his weapon from his grasp.
The tip of the staff then tapped lightly against his chest, and he followed his teammates into oblivion.
The Assassin Captain's soul nearly fled his body. He threw himself into a desperate sideways roll, trying to scramble into the shadows of the nearby rubble.
However, a heavy shield slammed down before him, cutting off all hope of escape.
Lin Xiyue had somehow already blocked his retreat. The "panic" on her face from moments ago was gone.
All that remained was the playful cruelty of a cat toying with a mouse.
"Who was it just now who called us 'little turtles' and 'dead weight'?"
The Assassin Captain's face turned deathly pale. Staring at the sisters closing in from both sides, his lips trembled as he tried to speak.
But Lin Qingyue gave him no chance to waste her time. Her staff struck his chest with pinpoint accuracy.
Bang!
A final flash of white light flared, then quickly faded.
The battlefield instantly fell silent.
From the moment the Archer joined the fight to the complete annihilation of the Shadowwind Team, the entire process had taken less than two minutes.
Lin Qingyue flicked her staff, shaking off nonexistent bloodstains. Her tone remained as calm as ever.
"Cleaned up."
Lin Xiyue retracted her shield and bounced over to her sister, her face alight with excitement. "Sis! Our teamwork was perfect! They really thought we were cornered!"
Lin Qingyue glanced at her. "Your acting was over the top. Your retreat steps were too deliberate."
Lin Xiyue stuck out her tongue. "I'll be more careful next time!"
Lin Qingyue let out a soft breath, feeling the abundant stamina still coursing through her. A barely perceptible smile touched her lips.
She checked their points. The team they had just eliminated had yielded nearly 3,000 points, bringing their total to 24,110 and boosting their squad ranking to fifth place.
"Let's pack up and find a new spot," she said without looking up. "The commotion just now might attract new 'guests'."
Lin Xiyue nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her sister.
Demonic beasts, Marauder Teams...
Before her sister, they all seemed to transform into gift-wrapped bundles of points, delivered right to their doorstep.