Chapter 8: Gold that shines everywhere
Translated by: Chua
Edited by: TN and Elkassar
Presently, Archeaphill couldn’t deny that this Seaman brat did have a pretty useful support ability. If not for that additional enhancement of 3 strength, he believed his proficiency in mobilizing his shield would be lacking now.
“SCRAM!” Archeaphill roared furiously, sweeping horizontally with the giant shield, smashing it against the body of an incoming viperwolf! The pointed pyramids stabbed a agonizingly deep memory in the creature’s mind; to the extent that if it dreamt at night, it would definitely relish in a nightmare of having its naked body ravaged by a thousand cactuses. Releasing a mournful howl, the viperwolf was flung off with blood splattering about.
Suddenly, an elite viperwolf who had been prying in a corner, instantly jumped on this chance and pressed forward ferociously. Archeaphill roared as he drilled his shield into the ground, before pressing his shoulder against the top; his frame instantly formed into a firm triangle with the shield as its front. Though his strength wasn’t adequate, but by using the shield in this manner, it would be hard for any collision to break through his defense.
“Thump!” A thunderous knock resounded.
The elite viperwolf had rushed head on into the impaling pyramids; before emitting a pitiful wail as 6 blood-gushing holes instantly surfaced on its body. The long range firepower then arrived and beat it into consecutive retreats. Archeaphill had consecutively repelled two viperwolves, but the repercussions of using this double handed shield excessively was manifesting fully. Though his defense was impregnable, it inevitably opened an immense gap during rotations or dodging. Hence, he required the collaboration of his party to compensate for that flaw.
Yet the supremacy of this model of shields was thoroughly clear as well; with its immeasurable depths of defence, it frequently absorbed loads of incoming damage. Citing a simple example, if Reef had wielded this shield to go against the Blood-gold Sunken Colony back in the Starship Trooper world, then he would’ve probably been able to handle it without breaking through the boundary. However, if he encountered an arachnid sea with it……then rotating 360 degrees around would be a nightmare.
Although he had driven away that elite viperwolf, Archeaphill remained depressed internally. This was because he had just witnessed one of this auxiliary tanking assistant being pounced to the ground, and having his throat ripped with one chomp; falling into a critically wounded state. The party skill had activated with a flash, and he vanished.
As for that viperwolf who had just sampled the wondrous taste of blood and flesh, it roared in rage; gazing direct towards the nearest Archeaphill, baring fangs and brandishing claws as it charged ahead.
At present, Archeaphill was already exhausted beyond limit, the consequential extent of using this giant shield. He panted deeply, but at that instant where his nape was about to be assaulted, that area of his skin shockingly turned ash-grey, as though it had transformed into granite. Evidently, that region of defense was substantially raised! This was definitely one of Archeaphill’s trump card! ‘Stone-Skin art’ ! Right now, if not for his party warning him that he cannot retreat or collapse now, Archeaphill wouldn’t have executed such a technique.
To the contrary of his expectation, that impending wild strike of pain never arrived! A fist that was shimmering with metallic glint abruptly stretched over, as it heavily pounded the head of the viperwolf; smashing it far away into the sky. Archeaphill turned to glance; just nice observing that Seaman brat lunging forward, before promptly guarding himself and the region to his side. This event of sending charcoal in a snowy weather was indeed welcoming to anyone. Archeaphill nodded in approval as he chuckled heartily.
“Many thanks, endure for 2 minutes until Huckle heals up and replace you.”
In the end, Sheyan stayed on for an entire 10 minutes! This wasn’t because Huckle didn’t return to replace him, but instead, it was that Archeaphill didn’t wish for him to leave.
In Archeaphill’s perspective, ever since he discovered the potions Sheyan had tossed out could grant 6 base attributes, he knew that he and Sable had underestimated this fella. After giving a rather good evaluation of Seaman afterward, now that he experienced defending alongside this Seaman brat, he had discovered that he underestimated him once again.
In actual fact, Archeaphill had already collaborated with Huckle for 4 entire worlds, having established a mutual cooperation between them. Yet once Seaman had replaced Huckle for that moment, Archeaphill could instantly sense a difference. His cooperation with Huckle beforehand could be described as a volatile gas of carbohydrate. Normally when Huckle held position beside him, he would only compensate for the gaps that surfaced when Archeaphill moved his giant shield. However, deep down in his bones, Huckle remained an offensive individual. Once any crack surfaced in the enemy, he couldn’t resist the urge to assault the enemy.
To the party, that appeared as a proactive action; yet to Archeaphill, that action wasn’t favourable at all. Due to the manifold instances of myriad changes in the battlefield, nobody could prevent sudden mishaps from happening. If something unexpected occurred and Huckle wasn’t holding fort beside him, then the severity of the matter would be grave.
Even though Archeaphill had advised Huckle several times, Huckle still remained obstinate without major changes. Moreover, there weren’t many who were willing to be an assistant defensive tank – Slaving bitterly while doing the dirty work, yet glories of it were still overshadowed by the brilliance of the MT. Simply put, it was like eating meat without drinking soup. Hence, Archeaphill could only helplessly come to terms with reality.
Instead, Sheyan was different, all his focus was placed on assisting Archeaphill! He definitely wouldn’t bother with other matters. Even if the situation changed vastly, his reaction was equally smooth! With such a conduct, Sheyan displayed an appearance of relative low profile, so low key that it seemed like he was slacking. For example; forgoing a near death creature nearby, letting off a beast that he could easily handle, or just appearing as if he was daydreaming at times.
Only the beneficiary, Archeaphill, understood. Ever since Sheyan made his entry, it was as though his blind spot hadn’t been exploited by the enemy a single time. Once a gap surfaced from rotating his giant shield, at first notice, Sheyan would be the one to eliminate the crisis. Furthermore, when Archeaphill needed a breather, without muttering a single word, this Seaman would proactively replace him and guard him.
As for the times when Sheyan appeared to be daydreaming, he was actually calculating the current statistics of the enemies, before advising the current state of the party to Archeaphill. He was judging the state of others recovering, when they would rejoin the battle, or if others were breathless due to their depleted MP, how long would it take for the long rage combatants need to refuel and reload magazines and so on. Hence, Sheyan allowed Archeaphill, who was wholly focused on defense with a disadvantageous viewpoint, to have a clear grasp and understanding of the entire situation.
In other words, after battling alongside Sheyan, Archeaphill had realised what the marvellous aid a qualified and professional assistant tank could supplement.
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Actually in reality, Huckle was doing a pretty remarkable job as the assistant defensive tank. However, comparing him to Sheyan was an utterly colossal error.
There is a saying; only a woman can understand women. The same logic applied; only a MT would be able to understand another MT. Why did Sheyan have such qualifications, and could comprehend what Archeaphill required? Apart from his own intrinsic wisdom, it was due to the fact that his own position wasn’t an assistant tank, but an exact MT!
Moreover, during previous battles, Reef understood that both of them had to fight shoulder to shoulder in the future, complementing each other’s gaps. Hence, he had shared his personal wisdom with Sheyan. With all these factors combined, where the water flows a canal would form; Sheyan was naturally able to fulfil Archeaphill’s requirements.
Bluntly putting, if Archeaphill wanted to find an assistant tank like Sheyan, it was equivalent to seeking another MT. Yet since he governed this positioning authority, why would any MT be willing to take on the position of an assistant tank?
Hence, this topic was doomed to be a dilemma, unless the party had already determined to traverse down the path of twin MTs right from the get go. However, it wasn’t easy to find suitable candidates. Because, the current situation was that MTs belonged to a rare commodity. Many would’ve already held a notion of securing the chicken head, instead of the bull’s tail – Before when a MT matures fully, to establish a party with twin MTs would simply be a one-of-a-kind situation; a path of thousand hurdles. As for the many prerequisite conditions, one just had to recall the coincidental encounter between Sheyan and his recruitment of Reef.
As the battle gradually reached its climax, the other Illume-union members started to discover certain abnormalities. This was because, the Archeaphill of today was actually able to hold the frontlines for an excessively longer period! Those who had entered this realm war were mostly veteran contestants; moreover, they had coordinated with him for so long, obviously they understood the underlying mechanics of this phenomenon.
Logically speaking from the start of the battle till now, with the appearance of elite viperwolves, the war had already reached a menacingly intensified state. Right from the beginning, Archeaphill had been tanking the frontlines, and his substitution for a 30 seconds rest was already long overdued. According to their usual practice, this vacant space would normally be filled by a combination of Yuan Zhan, and another core member, Demondream. A summoner, plus another high damage output contestant to mend this gap.
However, Archeaphill hadn’t signalled for any substitute; hence, Yuan Zhan and Demondream, who were already prepared for action, could continue acting as the party’s insurance and observe the situation peacefully. Both their perceptions were incredibly sharp, and could very swiftly identify the crux of this smooth and unhindered battle. It was shockingly due to that outsider, Seaman!
With his gene-mixes, he allowed an overall surge in the party’s fighting capabilities, and even produced such a tacit coordination with Archeaphill. So much so that even when other close combatants nearby Sheyan encountered a crisis, they would similarly receive his emergency aid and attention.