217: Chapter 217 BOSS's Combo Skill

With the vines no longer restraining him, Hu Gualing collapsed onto the ground in immense pain.

This was because his lower body had just been dragged downward by the vines, only to be fiercely impaled from below by the Earth Spike that had erupted from the ground; the combined assault from above and below had caused him to suffer greatly.

"Tang Yao, take the aggro!" Xiao Niao shouted hurriedly upon seeing Hu Gualing's miserable state, while his hands remained busy, rapidly casting 'Recovery Spell' upon him.

Tang Yao didn't quite understand the specific meaning of "take the aggro," but she roughly grasped what Xiao Niao meant and immediately stepped forward with her sword to attack the Millennium Tree Demon.

As for Hu Gualing, who was sprawled on the ground, his health immediately began to recover after Xiao Niao cast three 'Recovery Spell's in quick succession as if they cost nothing, and the pain in his lower body became less noticeable; he pushed himself up from the ground and leaped back into the battle.

After unleashing that combo of 'Vine Entanglement' and 'Earth Spike Technique,' the Millennium Tree Demon remained still for the moment, allowing the tense atmosphere of the battle to briefly ease.

Looking at his mana bar, which had instantly dropped by thirty points, Xiao Niao couldn't help but marvel at the power of the 'Recovery Spell' skill; its strength lay in having no cooldown and providing instant healing, allowing him to cast it as much as he wanted as long as he had enough mana, healing a target back up in one breath even if they were left with a sliver of health!

It was truly worthy of being a blue-quality skill; he had only just learned it, yet it could already exert such powerful effects.

It was precisely because he had witnessed the role the 'Recovery Spell' skill played in actual combat that he dared to ask Tang Yao to step forward and take the aggro; that way, even if an accident occurred—for instance, if the Tree Demon BOSS unleashed the same combo it had used on Hu Gualing against Tang Yao without pausing to catch its breath—it would only cost her seventy or eighty health points, which he could heal back with three or four 'Recovery Spell's.

Fortunately, that situation did not arise; it seemed the Tree Demon BOSS's combo skill did have a cooldown, which saved him quite a bit of mana.

While feeling pleased, Xiao Niao took a small sip of water from a half-bowl he had taken from his backpack, which could slightly speed up his mana recovery. "It seems that after the BOSS reaches half health, it unlocks a restriction skill that summons vines to limit your movement. While I haven't found a way to counter the combination of this skill and Earth Spike Technique yet, this combo skill should have a certain cooldown. Feel free to continue outputting damage and maintain a steady rhythm; I will keep an eye on your health."

Only after finishing his water did Xiao Niao have the time to analyze the new skill the BOSS had just unleashed for Hu Gualing and Tang Yao, who were currently in the heat of battle.

Upon hearing his words, both Hu Gualing and Tang Yao felt a sense of reassurance for no apparent reason. Yet, it was strange; clearly, Xiao Niao was the weakest member of the party—perhaps not even equal to Sharp Tooth—so why did he now seem somewhat irreplaceable?

Hu Gualing and Tang Yao were still in the midst of battle and didn't dwell on this strange feeling, following Xiao Niao's instructions to maintain a steady rhythm while attacking the Millennium Tree Demon BOSS.

After Xiao Niao silently counted for about thirty seconds, the cage woven from tree vines appeared out of thin air without any warning, though this time the target was Tang Yao.

Tang Yao was entangled by the vines before she realized it; after reacting, she swung her sword to cut them, but her sharp, steel-forged longsword had no effect on the vines.

Feeling the ground beneath her feet turn soft, it was clearly the exact same scenario Hu Gualing had encountered. Tang Yao couldn't help but panic and struggled to break free, but the result was only that the vines wrapped tighter.

Whoosh! The Earth Spike shot up—another critical hit, dealing 78 points of damage to Tang Yao.

Meanwhile, one flash of green light after another swept over her: +19, +19. Her health quickly recovered.

This was, of course, Xiao Niao's doing. He had prepared the 'Recovery Spell' skill the moment the vines appeared out of thin air, waiting only for Tang Yao's health to drop before casting it. Thus, after a brief moment of pain, Tang Yao's health recovered, and she was in no danger, nor was her combat ability affected.

After the second observation, Xiao Niao had a deeper understanding of the Millennium Tree Demon BOSS's combo skill after reaching half health. The combo had a cooldown of approximately thirty seconds and consisted of two parts. The first part was the sudden, unannounced generation of vines that pinned the player in place; these vines appeared without any warning and seemed indestructible—at least, with their current strength, they saw no possibility of breaking them.

The second part of the combo was, naturally, the Earth Spike Technique. This skill could normally be dodged, but when preceded by 'Vine Entanglement' to immobilize the player, there was absolutely no possibility of dodging, and one had to obediently take the hit.

But... was it truly impossible to dodge?

"Tang Yao, take Sharp Tooth and retreat for now; wait outside the combat zone!" Xiao Niao suddenly issued the command.

Tang Yao didn't understand Xiao Niao's intention, but she didn't ask for the reason and immediately retreated outside the combat zone with Sharp Tooth.

"Gualing, stop attacking for now and be ready to use 'Lazy Donkey Roll' at any moment. Use it the second I tell you!" Xiao Niao continued to command.

Hu Gualing possessed quite a bit of combat talent. Upon hearing Xiao Niao's instruction, he vaguely guessed what he intended to do, immediately retracted his fists, and shouted in response: "Understood!"

"Good!" Xiao Niao replied, counting aloud: "Seventeen, eighteen..."

Tang Yao frowned, confused and not knowing what Xiao Niao was counting, while Hu Gualing felt his spirits lift upon hearing it—was it really as he had thought?

"...Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, roll! Gualing, roll!" After counting to twenty-nine, Xiao Niao suddenly raised his voice, his face flushing red as he shouted, fearing Hu Gualing wouldn't hear him. After shouting, he stared nervously at the area around Hu Gualing's body, not knowing if things would develop as he had anticipated.

Hu Gualing had long since guessed Xiao Niao's intention, so his body was already prepared. The moment Xiao Niao shouted "roll," his body, which had been coiled and ready, moved instantly; he thrust his hands forward, kicked off the ground with his legs, and rolled forward with great speed.

Xiao Niao sat on the ground, his hands pressed against the floor, involuntarily clenching into fists from nervousness, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Hu Gualing's rolling movement.

The thought in his mind was actually quite simple.

He had previously seen that the 'Vine Entanglement' skill, part of the Millennium Tree Demon's combo, had no warning before it was cast, leaving someone as battle-hardened and experienced as Hu Gualing unable to predict the appearance of the vines in advance, forcing him to be extremely passively entangled and restrained by the suddenly appearing vines, unable to make any effective countermoves.