I hate being in pain, so I think I'll make a full defense build

Chapter 522: Defense Focus and the Burning Town

Chapter 522: Defense Focus and the Burning Town

As each group continued their progress, it was Kasumi who first reached the ‘Demonic Power of the Demon King’ in the fourth layer area. A message indicated that a quest had appeared with the reward of ‘Demonic Power III’, and the members of 【Maple Tree】 planned and set a date for the challenge.

On the day of the challenge, the eight gathered at the guild home to prepare.

“So, the fourth layer was the first to reach it. We got beaten to it,” someone remarked.

“I had a lot of fun exploring, so I might have completed more quests in a day,” Kasumi replied.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“The fourth layer suited Kasumi. Her experience with this layer is invaluable,” added another.

“Is the information already available?” asked a member.

“Yes. Since we can’t compete with the speed of large guilds, we’ll make full use of the information available online,” they decided.

They didn’t want 【Maple Tree】 to have any failures. To ensure victory, they decided to use all available information meticulously.

“Mai and Yui will be the key players in this attack. Do your best!” they encouraged.

“Yes!” Mai and Yui responded enthusiastically.

“Alright! Let’s go over the boss information and plan our strategy in detail!”

With eight members, they had many options. With Maple and Chrome on defense and Mai and Yui on offense, the other four would support, making the party complete.

“Let’s start. The boss’s attack patterns are…” they began to discuss.

They devised detailed strategies, including backup plans in case the initial strategy failed. The eight were ready to challenge the final boss of the fourth layer.

Since Kasumi was the one who could accept the quest, she led the way through the fourth layer town. They reached a prominent tower in the center of town, where the town leader who issued the quests resided.

“I’ve taken quests here several times, but this will be your first meeting,” Kasumi said as they climbed the stairs to the top floor.

“Are you ready to accept the final quest?” a figure in full armor, wielding a grand sword, asked.

“Yes, I’ll take the quest,” Kasumi replied.

“The flames are powerful, and they will soon overflow. Time is running out.”

“I trust in your past deeds. Bring back good news,” the man said as he issued the quest to Kasumi. The quest, named ‘Calamity’s Calling Hellfire,’ involved exploring an otherworldly realm and defeating a monster infused with demonic power.

“Alright, it will be a tough battle, even with the information we have,” they acknowledged.

“Let’s stay focused.”

“Yes, let’s go over the steps one more time.”

“I’m getting a bit nervous…”

“We’ll do our best!”

“Our roles are crucial, so let’s give it our all.”

“Let’s rely on Iz for transportation. She won’t need to use any special skills.”

“Everyone, let’s do our best!”

To obtain the third ‘Demonic Power of the Demon King,’ Maple and her friends set off from the town in the fourth layer area.

Accepting the quest, they moved through the field and opened a large door behind a wall of purple flames. The otherworldly realm revealed a burning Japanese-style town. Maple and her group stood on a long stone-paved road, looking at a tall, flaming tower in the distance.

“【Self-Sacrificing Love】【Ray of Salvation】!” Maple immediately deployed two defensive fields upon entering the otherworldly realm.

The majority of the enemies’ attacks involved fire, with wide attack ranges. Without 【Self-Sacrificing Love】, Mai and Yui could easily be killed.

“They’re coming!”

Kasumi’s warning made everyone look up. In the night sky, countless flaming arrows were launched at them from the burning town.

Maple quickly lowered her shield and saved the usage of 【Voracity】, nullifying the damage from the rain of flaming arrows. She began walking through the sea of flames as if nothing had happened.

The relentless rain of arrows and the spreading flames would be difficult for any normal player to handle. Maple’s presence alone was invaluable.

“Stay within the range of the shield!” Maple instructed.

“Yes!” Mai and Yui responded.

Stepping out from under the shield’s protection meant instant death from the flames at their feet, so Mai and Yui decided to stay close to Maple.

Two archer enemies appeared at a distance along the stone-paved road, drawing large flaming bows and firing powerful shots.

“We got this.”

“Leave it to us!”

Sally and Chrome stepped up. They knew these arrows had a defense-piercing effect, so Maple couldn’t block them.

Sally deflected the arrows with her daggers, while Chrome blocked them with his large shield.

“We’ll handle this!”

As soon as they focused forward, samurai enemies appeared, surrounding Maple’s group. These samurai had flaming bodies and blood-stained swords, with high HP.

However, their toughness was relative to normal players.

“Take this!” Mai and Yui swung their large hammers, easily crushing the samurai.

The samurai could also deal piercing damage upon close contact, making them dangerous. The strength of these monsters was several notches higher than anything they had faced before.

“Let’s move slowly and carefully.”

“Yes.”

With the piercing arrows and the close-range attacks of the samurai, they had to proceed cautiously.

“Keep your focus,” they reminded each other.

Kasumi used her teleportation skill, 【One Sword・Mirage】, to deal with any enemies that got past Mai and Yui’s hammers.

They formed a strategy where each member had a role, allowing them to proceed without using irreplaceable resources.

This was the optimal solution 【Maple Tree】 had devised to win.

Without letting their guard down, they steadily made their way towards the distant, flaming tower.

***

The closer they got to the boss, the denser the rain of flaming arrows became.

For 【Maple Tree】, this wasn’t a problem, but the increased number of samurai and arrows was challenging.

“【One Sword・Mirage】!”

“Thanks!”

“Sorry!”

“We’ll take care of it!”

“I’ll create a barrier!”

They handled the increased enemies calmly, knowing what to expect.

“Impressive,” Chrome remarked, blocking the defense-piercing arrows with his shield while glancing at Sally, who deftly deflected them with her daggers.

Initially, they had planned for Maple to block these arrows, but Sally’s confidence and Maple’s trust in her led to Sally being assigned this task.

Sally deflected the arrows perfectly, making it safer than even Maple could.

Realizing this, Chrome focused on blocking his share of the arrows. With Sally handling her part flawlessly, he couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

“Everyone, keep it up!”

Holding a potion ready for emergency healing, Maple also kept 【Ancient Weapon】 at the ready, avoiding the destruction of 【Machine God】 by the fire arrows.

Maple’s main priority was not dying. If she fell, the rain of fire arrows would become a real threat.

Understanding her significant role, Maple continued to maintain the protective field for everyone.

“【Ancient Weapon】!”

As they closed the distance, Maple’s energy stored from the countless fire arrows was unleashed, targeting the distant archers.

Without anyone to protect them, the archers were quickly overwhelmed by Maple’s sniper rifle blasts, allowing the group to move forward more quickly.

With the most dangerous enemies eliminated, they switched to the Gatling gun for maximum firepower, ensuring no enemies could draw their bows.

“【Ancient Weapon】!”

Using the infinite energy source of the fire arrows, Maple’s Gatling gun obliterated the stone pavement and the enemies.

The samurai with high HP couldn’t withstand the continuous barrage and fell, clearing the path for Maple’s group.

“We’re here!”

“Looks like it. The samurai have disappeared too.”

They had reached the center of the town, where the main roads intersected. The samurai had disappeared, and the rain of fire arrows had stopped for now.

However, the tall tower indicating the boss’s location was still far away. Despite this, they had a reason to say they had arrived.

With a loud crash, a burning, crumbling building fell, forming a wall of flames that surrounded them.

A sufficient combat area had formed, and the sound of galloping hooves was heard.

“We won’t let you pass!”

A large horse made of flames and an armored warrior appeared, wielding a long spear with a burning tip, glaring at the eight of them.

This was the gatekeeper before the boss. If they couldn’t pass this, they had no chance of obtaining the ‘Demonic Power of the Demon King.’

“Stick to the plan!”

Sally called out as she launched a magic attack at the armored warrior, drawing his attention.

The spear had a defense-piercing effect, so even within 【Self-Sacrificing Love】, it couldn’t be blocked.

Sally dodged the rapid three-strike attack, keeping the warrior’s back turned.

Sally’s role was to create an opening for Mai and Yui, not to deal damage.

“【Double Impact】!”

Just as Mai and Yui swung their hammers, the horse neighed, and both it and the warrior were engulfed in flames, dodging the attack.

Realizing the unexpected situation, Mai and Yui adjusted.

The flames behind them flickered, and the warrior charged again, aiming to trample everyone.

Chrome reacted first.

“【Cover Move】【Cover】!”

Using his skills, Chrome blocked the powerful thrust, preventing any damage to his teammates.

“【Tornado】!”

“【Barrel Expansion】【Commence Attack】!”

Kanade attacked with magic, and Maple with lasers, dealing damage but not enough to defeat the warrior. He commanded his horse to charge again.

“It didn’t go as planned…!”

“Sorry…”

“Don’t worry. We’ll adjust.”

Despite their best efforts, some things were still unknown. The fire attack had not been confirmed under similar conditions.

With the primary plan disrupted, they had to adapt.

“【Quick Change】!”

Mai and Yui changed their equipment, removing 【Saving Hand】 for minimal gear.

“Tsukimi【Awakening】…!”

“Yukimi!【Awakening】!”

As they prepared, the enemy charged again, engulfed in flames.

“Interesting use!”

Iz threw a blue-purple potion at Mai and Yui, creating an effect around them.

“Tsukimi!”

“Yukimi!”

“【Power Share】!”

“【Cover】!”

Chrome blocked the spear again while Mai and Yui, on their tamed monsters, attacked the warrior with their hammers.

With a loud crash, a massive damage effect appeared on the warrior’s body.

“We did it!”

“It worked!”

They used a strategy to share stats with their tamed monsters, weakening the enemy and delivering powerful blows. This combined with Kasumi and Sally’s follow-up attacks brought the warrior down.

“【Warrior’s Arm】【Fourth Sword・Whirlwind】!”

“【Quintuple Slash】!”

“【Commence Attack】【Ancient Weapon】!”

“【Hydro Laser】!”

Kasumi and Sally’s attacks, combined with Maple and Kanade’s lasers, destroyed the warrior and his horse.

“How… unfortunate…”

The warrior fell, and the walls of fire disappeared, revealing the straight stone road ahead.

“We need to remove the debuffs before proceeding.”

“Right. Let’s return the equipment too.”

After resetting their equipment and removing debuffs, they prepared to move forward again.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Despite some changes to the plan, they defeated the mid-boss. They knew the final boss wouldn’t be easy, so they meticulously prepared for the upcoming battle, leveraging their unique situation where the fire arrows were nullified.

With confidence and readiness, Maple and her team advanced toward the final battle.