「Nie Yan, how strong is a Variant Lord?」Tang Yao asked. He had never encountered a Variant Lord-class monster before. So, he didn’t know how powerful they were.

「Don’t let yourselves get hit. Variant Lords are really powerful. A Level 100 Variant Lord is basically equal to a Level 150 Lord,」Nie Yan replied. Tang Yao and Xie Yao were both cloth-armoured casters. Even though their defense had risen sharply after becoming Magisters, they still wouldn’t survive a single hit from a Variant Lord.

With his leather armour, high defense and defense rank, Nie Yan could probably endure a few hits from a Variant Lord. However, he had no way of tanking indefinitely like plate-armoured Warriors.

Hearing Nie Yan’s words, Tang Yao and Xie Yao raised their vigilance.

The two Variant Skeleton Kings were fast approaching. The putrid stench coming of their bones was dizzying.

Nie Yan looked down at his status bar. He was inflicted with a debuff.

These were the special debuffs of Variant Skeleton Kings.

Shortly after Nie Yan’s group was affected by the debuffs, Battle Angel Kalenna waved her staff. Rays of light fell over their bodies, sweeping away all negative status effects. They also received six blessings, which greatly increased their various stats, including movement speed, health, and defense.

“Damn! Where did you get that angel from? She’s amazing!” Tang Yao exclaimed after looking at his status bar. The value of a guardian angel like Kalenna was definitely no lower than his Arcane Fairy.

The Arcane Fairy and Kalenna specialized in different things. The former raised their owner’s stats, mana, and mana recovery rate, while the latter was proficient in all sorts of support magic, including blessings and removing debuffs.

“I got her after becoming a Luminous Dancer,” Nie Yan replied. Looking up ahead, the Lord-class skeletons were getting closer and closer.

The two Variant Skeleton Kings brandished the great war-axes in their hands and charged over.

“Leave one of them to me!” Xie Yao said after glancing at her skill bar.

“Are you sure?” Nie Yan asked. Even though Xie Yao had obtained many pieces of Legendary-grade equipment, she had yet to show off her true strength in front of him.

“Yeah.” Xie Yao nodded in earnest.

Nie Yan always felt Xie Yao required his protection. He rarely let her take action on the battlefield herself. Only now did he realize that he had no understanding of her true strength. The fact that she could successfully become a Holy Magister and obtain so many pieces of Legendary-grade equipment was clear proof of her skill.

“Alright. Leave the other Variant Skeleton King to me,” Nie Yan declared confidently. It would be a piece of cake for him.

“Hey! If you two are taking one each, what am I supposed to do?” Tang Yao joked.

“Don’t worry, you can deal with the rest,” Nie Yan chuckled.

Tang Yao rolled his eyes. “You two sure are cruel. Not only am I third-wheeling here, but you’re also leaving me to deal with all these Lords and Elites by myself!”

Nie Yan and Xie Yao smiled at each other.

“I’ll have Lil’ Gold and the 30 Paladins support you.”

“Phew, that sounds more like it.” Tang Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the Variant Skeleton King getting closer and closer, Xie Yao dashed over to the side. With a wave of her staff, a Holy Judgement descended from the sky.

Xie Yao was the first player to attack the Variant Skeleton King. So, it immediately aggroed onto her. It brandished its war-axe and charged toward her.

Xie Yao ran off some distance, leading the Variant Skeleton King away. Seeing Xie Yao coming over, the skeletons nearby moved into surrounding her.

Just as Xie Yao was about to be surrounded, she activated Glorious Light of the Divine. Her body shone with a dazzling, silver-white radiance, which enveloped everything within a 50-meter radius. The skeletons in the vicinity started emitting white smoke as their bones slowly melted.

This holy light was far from dangerous to ordinary monsters. But to these skeletons, it was their nemesis. They retreated one after another, lest they be purified into ash.

Wherever Xie Yao passed, the skeletons would retreat in a fluster. Like this, she wouldn’t have to worry about the small fry and could focus on dealing with the Variant Skeleton King.

Xie Yao led the Variant Skeleton King into an open space. Waving her staff, she unleashed a flurry of spells on it.

?9.323

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...

A string of damage values floated up above the Variant Skeleton King’s head. It let out an enraged roar and quickly closed in on Xie Yao. Brandishing its war-axe, it chopped down on her.

Flash!

Xie Yao’s body disappeared as she reemerged some distance away behind the Variant Skeleton King. She continued bombarding it with magic.

CRRAASH! The Variant Skeleton King struck the spot where Xie Yao previously stood, leaving a large gash in the earth. Seeing that it had missed, it looked around in a daze until it felt its back being attacked. Only then did it discover that Xie Yao had gotten behind it.

The Variant Skeleton King immediately turned around and rushed toward Xie Yao with its war-axe raised.

Xie Yao waved her staff, buffing herself with a speed boosting spell. She immediately became as quick as the wind. As she kited back, she fired out spell after spell.

Xie Yao gracefully dodged and kited back, causing the Variant Skeleton King to run around in circles. It had no way of getting close to her.

Meanwhile, Nie Yan used the Dullahan Cavalry Crossbow to lure the other Variant Skeleton King to the side. Looking over in Xie Yao’s direction, it appeared he didn’t need to worry about her at all. Her movements reminded him of the several encounters he had with Magisters in the previous timeline. Their kiting technique was truly marvelous.

As long as there was no interference from the outside, Nie Yan was confident Xie Yao could easily dispatch that Variant Skeleton King.

Nie Yan lured the Variant Skeleton King into some nearby thickets. After activating Extreme Deterrence, all the ordinary skeletons in the surroundings scattered away, giving him an open stage to deal with the Variant Skeleton King. He unsheathed Zennarde’s Sword and pounced forward.

Seeing Nie Yan dashing over, the Variant Skeleton King let out a thundering roar and chopped down with its war-axe.

Nie Yan’s figure blurred as he dodged the Variant Skeleton King’s attack. Circling to the side, he leaped forward and slashed down on its chest.

The Variant Skeleton King staggered several steps back, then charged back forward.

Nie Yan employed the techniques of a Shadow Dancer. His silhouette blurred and flickered in every direction. No matter how the Variant Skeleton King swung at him with its war-axe, it couldn’t touch a single hair on his head. All of its attacks were futile.

Facing the Variant Skeleton King in a one-on-one situation was nothing difficult. Killing it was simply a matter of time. As a Variant Lord, it had a huge amount of health.

Due to the effects of Glorious Light of the Divine and Extreme Deterrence, the ordinary skeletons couldn’t approach Nie Yan and Xie Yao. So, they all swarmed toward Tang Yao.

Lil’ Gold let out a loud roar. It barreled forward into the crowd of skeletons and collided with a Lord-class Skeleton King. He was immediately surrounded by five other Skeleton Kings and entered a hectic one versus six melee. The Paladins formed a human wall in front of Tang Yao, protecting him from any oncoming enemies. At the same time, they continuously restored Lill’ Gold’s health.

After erecting a perimeter of flame walls around him, Tang Yao raised his staff and began chanting. The darkness elemental energy in the air surged toward him, creating a powerful tempest with him standing at the center.

One set of syllables, two sets of syllables, three sets of syllables...

Nie Yan looked over in Tang Yao’s direction. From the intense fluctuation of magic in the air, he could tell Tang Yao was casting Forbidden Magic! As for what kind of Forbidden Magic, he couldn’t tell.

Time ticked away. The Paladins were met with a fierce assault. Fortunately, they could heal each other as they endured the endless waves of attacks. At this moment, all 30 of them raised their swords into the air and erected an enormous Radiant Barrier which protected them all. The Skeleton Lords relentlessly attacked the barrier, but it showed no signs of faltering.

After chanting 10 sets of syllables, Tang Yao finally cast his Forbidden Magic.

Decree of Dusk!

A ripple of dark energy slowly spread out toward the surroundings. Each and every Skeleton Lord it touched suddenly froze in place as if they had been paralyzed. The Decree of Dusk spread out for 500 meters before finally stopping.

All the skeletons caught in the spell turned completely motionless.

What powerful Forbidden Magic!

Nie Yan glanced at the frozen Variant Skeleton King in front of him. He himself was also immobilized by Decree of Dusk. However, a moment a later, Tang Yao dispelled the spell’s effects on him.

Tang Yao could freely decide who the Decree of Dusk did or didn’t affect.

All of the skeletons were completely immobilized. This was an excellent opportunity!

Tang Yao waved his staff. Wave after wave of flames started pouring down on the skeletons from the sky.

The surroundings were immediately transformed into a sea of flames. A blanket of damage values rose up into the air.

Tang Yao’s damage was extremely frightening when he went all out.

“Tang Yao, how long does this Forbidden Magic last for?” Nie Yan asked. He circled behind the Variant Skeleton King and unloaded one skill after another.

“I don’t know either. This is my first time using this spell. I think it keeps the ordinary skeletons CC’d for around 70 seconds. As for the Lords and Variant Lords, I’m not sure. Be careful,” Tang Yao said as he focused on DPSing, blasting 30 Elite- and 6 Lord-class skeletons to smithereens while the remaining were at half health or lower.

A 70-second crowd control... Nie Yan gulped. This Decree of Dusk was truly frightening. If Tang Yao managed to cast this Forbidden Magic on the battlefield in a war, the enemy would definitely be doomed. The only flaw, one which it shared with all Forbidden Magic, was its long cast time. It required the caster to chant 10 sets of syllables, which equated to 100 seconds. In a chaotic battle, only the most skilled players with excellent awareness could cast such magic without being interrupted.