The 'Balrog' Elite towered above the Golem, who 'chose' his own initiative to meet this new enemy head-on.
Looking around him and seeing that he was inside the suppression field modifier of the enemy, Michael frowned.
Not only was it stupidly big, easily over five meters tall, but it also looked cooler than any monster should look like.
Probably because of the shadow enchantment modifier, there were dark blue tints over his muscles.
The fact that it also showed up to the fight without any weapons except his bare hands also helped the 'heroic' figure of the demon.
But probably, the thing that made the Necromancer truly jealous was the strange synergy effect the two modifiers had.
"This... is really unfair."
The 25 meters dominated by the demon turned into a dark field. It wasn't fully dark but similar to black fog obscuring the view further than a meter in front of you.
To make matters even worse, his minions were in a similar state. The Cold Mages especially became useless, as they could show their worth only by attacking from afar.
Now, that was no longer a possibility. Unable to do anything about it, Michael used the Golem and the Reapers as beacons to give out the demon's position, allowing the Accountants to successfully target him.
And then... nothing!
"Oh, right. Cold Mages use spells as ranged attacks, both of which are made obsolete in under this field. Looks like I'll have to step in personally to wrap this up."
Shield and sword in hand, he approached the location where his minions were confronting the overly cool demon.
With his connected senses, he already had a general idea of how things were going, but he still frowned upon observing the Elite's Life Points.
'In the end, the minions and the Golem can't keep up with me in terms of damage. They barely deal damage in the hundreds, with the Golem reaching 1.5k if he hits a critical. *Sigh* I can only place my hopes in the upgrade ritual Natalia has prepared for me.'
Once he entered melee range, the demon immediately noticed him and wanted to attack, but Quarterback used his taunt to keep him in place.
Testing the waters, Decrepify was successfully used on the Elite, making the Necromancer nod to himself. It was, after all, a curse and not a spell—semantics and all that, but as long as it worked, he wouldn't complain.
Then, noticing the seven Corpses formed by the Golem's decreased Life Points and the continuous attacks of the Reapers, Michael immediately detonated four of them, stacking the miasma thick while the Balrog-wannabe was kept in place.
Of course, it wasn't a stupid creature, so when it noticed that things weren't going his way, it directly pummeled the Golem into the ground. Free of the nuisance, it once again prepared to jump the summoner, only to find out that, at some point, strange vines crept up his lower body.
With a mighty yank, the demon was kept in place and stunned as the Reapers kept piling damage.
Seeing no reason to intervene just yet, Michael remained close but didn't participate in kicking the Elite while it was down.
Unfortunately, even with the periodic stun brought about due to the passive skills he picked, the Elite was still able to gather his bearings and charge through the skeletons, crashing down onto their master.
Moving his left leg half a step back as a pivot and extending the left hand with his shield slightly, the incoming 'fist of fury' was successfully parried without any issues.
Deflecting the blow and destabilizing the demon, Michael viciously stabbed at the unprotected nether regions, producing a sharp and loud squeal of pain.
Buying himself some time to reposition and attack again, the sword came from the demon's right side and stabbed precisely in the eye socket, taking out one of the eyes.
Before an enraged shout could follow, the Necromancer viciously kicked the nose of the Elite, sending it stumble back.
"Jeez... I think I pulled a muscle with that kick. How is it over two meters tall when kneeling!?"
Distancing himself from the target, Michael watched the demon rage and start charging at him again, only to be distracted by the Golem's taunt once again.
With the thirty seconds passed, the summoner lost 50 Essence points and brought the big boy back to the field.
While a bit worried about the strange costs for summoning recently, he immediately used Corpse Explosion four times and Raise Skeletons once.
Since five Corpses were used, his Essence regenerated somewhat due to his passive skill, Grim Harvest, and with a Skeleton Priest temporarily summoned, the Reapers went into overdrive and began madly slashing at the enemy.
Five minutes later, Michael looted the dead Elite and saw the Stronghold Quest update.
[ World Stronghold Event update - The Ruins of Qara-Yisu
Objective: Find and destroy the Infernal Spires (1/3). ]
With the area of the Event being relatively small in comparison to other similar missions he had previously dealt with, he decisively steamrolled through the mobs, finding the second Infernal Spire in a matter of ten or so minutes later.
Following the same pattern of drawing the mobs near the spire and then getting rid of the structure and the demonized people at the same time, Michael encountered his second Elite from the Balrog series.
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[ Az'skaron Coldclaw (Elite) - Level 51
*Tempest: Surrounds seven small areas with a cyclone, silencing the use of skills.
*Crystal snowflakes: Summons 12 snowflakes in random locations around itself, targeting an enemy. The snowflakes have a homing modifier, allowing them to chase the enemy and deal 450 damage each. Enemies affected by the snowflakes would be inflicted with a Chilled debuff, slowing them by 20% for 3 seconds (stackable). ]
Unlike his cool colleague who had been sent back to Hell, Az'skaron 'reported for duty' with a beautifully decorated staff in his hands.
Even if the suppression field was no longer there, the tempest modifier was just as horrendous to deal with. Even if the Cold Mages could participate in the fight this time, once the Crystal Snowflakes were invoked, the Necromancer had no choice but to sacrifice them to survive.
While the fight was much easier due to the continuous use of skills and spells, it was longer because of the constant sacrifices the minions had to make for their master.
Still, with the miasma from the Corpse Explosion dealing damage at every moment, the Elite collapsed after putting up a decent fight.
[They were weak before me! Dying! Now, they shall feast on your bones!](?)
The same angered voice boomed once more, shattering the salt covering many of the previous inhabitants of Qara-Yisi, releasing a large number of Cursed Yisuni to attack him.
Unfortunately for the demons, large swathes of pitiful monsters were incapable of resisting the might of a Necromancer and its annoying crowd-control skills.
With well-placed Decrepifies and Corpse Tendrils, he used the AOE effect of Corpse Explosion to deal with them in a swift manner.
Then, the third and final Infernal Spire was located and wrecked, prompting the angered voice to whine again.
[Leave! Now! Please!](Cursed Yisuni)
[Who are you to take what is mine!?](?)
Wondering exactly what he stole from this demon to be so pissed, Michael read the information of the latest edition of the Balrog series.
[ Gorash Flarebang (Elite) - Level 51
*Fire Enchanted: All attacks deal an extra 600 Fire damage. Enemies hit are afflicted with the Burning debuff and might take additional damage per second if Fire Resistance is low.
*Explosive: Explosions send shockwaves around the creature afflicted with this modifier, dealing 550 damage to its surroundings. Enemies hit are afflicted with the Burning debuff and might take additional damage per second if Fire Resistance is low.
*Mortar: Randomly throws eight fireballs around itself. Each fireball deals 450 damage. Enemies hit are afflicted with the Burning debuff and might take additional damage per second if Fire Resistance is low. ]
Holding a whip in his hands, the Necromancer internally sweated at the possible copyright infringement as he began running around to avoid the fireballs descending from above.
The fight lasted surprisingly fewer minutes in comparison to its predecessors, but the minions - especially the Skeletons - died more times than the previous two times combined.
A furious roar shook the land under his feet once the third Elite fell, making Michael look in a particular direction.
"That came from the north. It should be time for the Boss stage."
[ World Stronghold Event update - The Ruins of Qara-Yisu
Objective: Investigate the disturbance at the mine. ]
Opening his MAP, he saw a second golden circle covering an area smaller than the blue-encompassed one he was currently in.
With his Healing Potions full and somewhat rested, he didn't waste time contemplating strategies.
The best plan was a punch or kick to the face! If it works, there's no need to overthink things.
Stepping inside the open mining field, he noticed a red but transparent 'curtain' surrounding the area, effectively blocking his retreat.
Realizing it was a Boss Room mechanic, Michael curiously waited to see what popped up.
[You care for these worms, huh!? I'll spend them all to watch you die!](?)
Following the sentence that declared the start of the Boss fight, a demon Shaman, probably only three meters in height, rose from a crack in the ground.
[ Utulku, The Voice Below (Boss) - Level 51 ]
The fight was underwhelming, to the point that Michael wasn't sure if the three Balrog brothers were the real Bosses and this one was the fake.
Except for some crappy ranged magical attacks, all it did was continuously break the salt on the demonized miners and force them to attack.
Dying while leaving some cliche lines like 'No! I will not go back to the salt!' the fake Boss perished, prompting the Necromancer to reply with a similarly cliche line.
"You shall never harm another soul!"
Feeling goosebumps on his arms, he shook his body a couple of times to get rid of the cringiness.
[ World Stronghold Event update - The Ruins of Qara-Yisu
Objective: Rekindle the Wanderer's Shrine to conquer Qara-Yisu. ]
Opening the MAP again to see where the shrine was, Michael decided to speedrun the whole thing and get back to his goat search.
Upon seeing the familiar arch, he placed his hand on it and sent some Essence in, igniting the fire on its small altar.
A pulse of green energy radiated outward, melting away the remaining salt figurines.
After completing the Stronghold, he moved closer to the actual Qara-Yisu, where the residents received him with open hands and thanked him for clearing the recently appeared Event.
From what he gathered, it was this morning that the demonic forces struck, but only five to six old miners died.
It was a small group of stubborn old mules who lived in that quarry and couldn't bear to part with the small amount of money they earned daily from mining.
As for the other usual workers, due to the increase in demonic activity, the boss of the mines asked them to take a break.
"So, there were only five casualties this time?"
[Six, actually. *Sigh* An old friend of my father also died. That foolish old bull wanted to save more money so he could have his daughter return home instead of being a mercenary. Now... *Sigh* I'm not even sure where his daughter is.](Arban)
"What about you? It looks like you need some help since you approached me first."
[Yeah. Three workers fled in the night, and by the sound of morale, more are behind them. They say the mine is cursed. Maybe it is, but we've a job to finish.](Arban)
"Oh? So you're the boss of the mines? What do you want me to do? I can't force them to mine for you, just so you know."
[Yes. *Sigh* Old superstitions say that Khazra bones ward against curses. I've never put much stock in old wives' tales, but if it keeps folk from fleeing, I'll wear them myself, eh?](Arban)
Hearing the boss laugh so merely, even if six of his oldest workers died today, Michael inwardly labeled him as a ruthless capitalist.
[I have no men to go hunting, but I have coin. It's yours if you collect some bones.](Arban)
"Got it. Where can I find Khazra goatmen around here?"
[Soutwest of the city is a vast plain dominated by the creatures. Even with the help of many Wanderers in the past week, we couldn't get rid of all of them.](Arban)
"Understood. I'll return swiftly."
Since the Quest seemed to involve more monster extermination, AND it was close to the settlement, he could just wrap it up fast and be on his way.
[ Side Quest issued - Phases of the Moon
Objective: Collect Khazra Bones (0/25)
Description: Superstitions and worry have infected the workers of Qara-Yisu. You've been tasked with collecting Khazra Bones to help ward off curses and put the people's minds at ease.
Khazra roam outside of the mine, in the Barren Steeps and Yin'ada Gur. ]
On his way out of the city and toward the Yin'ada Gur plains, Michael almost tripped over a strange object on the floor.
Moving some rubble covering it, he was stunned on the spot when he saw the system identify it as a Quest Item.
The single word 'Tuji' placed the Necromancer at a loss of what to do next.
Grabbing it, he sighed and tossed it in his Quest inventory, only to be surprised by a notification he had not seen before.
[ Item received: Tuji's body
You can view it in your Quest Inventory. ]