Chapter 254: Positioning

The skills attached to the two items, the Weaver’s Ring and the Crawler’s Ring, had already brought Nie Yan significant benefits. Without these two treasures, he wouldn’t have been able to complete the Shadow of Darkness set. Now, he had another treasure—the Flyer’s Ring—though he lacked enough ring slots to equip it, he could keep it in his backpack for now and take it out when needed.

His equipment was becoming increasingly complete. Thinking about it, Nie Yan felt the Flyer’s Ring would still be quite useful. When encountering obstacles that were difficult to overcome, he could take it out and use it.

Nie Yan considered his current collection of treasures and the sub-legendary mounted crossbow he possessed. He was now ready to obtain a powerful set of divine gear! Of course, this “divine gear” referred to sub-legendary equipment; as for true legendary items, he could only dream of them for now.

Additionally, he needed to acquire some sub-legendary items to place in the guild warehouse. The guild warehouse needed a few precious treasures to serve as its foundation.

Nie Yan continued to search around but found nothing else. Then he exited the building and headed toward the team’s direction.

Soon, he rejoined the team. The group had advanced quite far inward, but the good news was that there had been no casualties.

Under Nie Yan’s guidance, they entered a vast open plaza. It was spacious enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people, more than sufficient for a team of over six hundred players to maneuver. In the center of the plaza stood a giant mechanical golem, seven or eight meters tall. Its body was covered with tightly fitted steel bars and massive screws. Its left arm was a thick iron pillar, while its right arm was a massive cutting machine. Its entire body was covered in patches of rust, and its lower half resembled a tank, with thick chains on both sides, moving forward like a tank.

This terrifying large machine resembled a giant beast with menacing fangs.

This was one of the five lords of Eternal City—the Goblin Cutter!

It was undoubtedly a powerful creature. In Nie Yan’s previous life, countless teams had been wiped out by it. It respawned only once every three days, and the gear it dropped was at least dark gold quality, with a one-thousandth chance of dropping sub-legendary items.

“I’ll go check it out,” Nie Yan said, moving forward cautiously. The towering Goblin Cutter exuded a suffocating pressure.

Nie Yan stealthily approached and cast a Detection spell on the Goblin Cutter from behind.

Goblin Cutter: Level 40, HP 100,000/100,000.

The Goblin Cutter had several powerful skills, such as Mechanical Cut, which could instantly deal triple critical damage. If a boss-level monster unleashed triple critical hits, even a shield warrior with high defense could be killed in one hit.

It also had skills like Accelerated Charge, which could knock players flying, and Crush, a group attack effective against units within a three-meter radius, dealing devastating damage.

In his previous life, Nie Yan had joined teams to farm the Goblin Cutter, but they had wiped twice before finally defeating it.

At that time, they had over a hundred players, all level 40 or higher.

They had followed strategies posted on the official website while experimenting firsthand, and only after two wipes did they figure out some tricks to deal with the Goblin Cutter. Now, although Nie Yan’s team had over six hundred players, their levels were too low. He wasn’t sure if they could succeed.

“Dao Guang, come with me! Another rogue and a priest too!” Nie Yan said in the party chat.

Cui Can Dao Guang looked around at the other rogues, unsure whom to choose, when Yi Chui Ding Qing stepped forward from the crowd and said, “Let me do it.”

Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zi also stepped out from the group: “Count me in.”

“Add Li Li Hua Sha, Yue Er Ya, and Hei Se Tian Tang to the team, but they don’t need to come over. If we die later, let them come and resurrect us,” Nie Yan said. It was a necessary precaution.

Cui Can Dao Guang, Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zi, and Yi Chui Ding Qing ran toward Nie Yan.

Nie Yan had confidence in their skills. He turned to Cui Can Dao Guang and said, “Don’t attack yet. Just block the Goblin Cutter’s position. Pay attention to adjusting your position and keep maintaining the defensive stance—don’t let it break! The Goblin Cutter moves fast when charging head-on but has difficulty changing direction. As long as you block its front, it will take a while for it to maneuver around you.”

He instructed the other players in the team to stay far away to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Nie Yan turned to Yi Chui Ding Qing and said, “When Dao Guang blocks its position, follow my command. We’ll slowly lead the Goblin Cutter toward the fountain and flowerbeds in the center of the plaza.”

“What should I do?” Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zi asked.

“You’ll be healing Dao Guang,” Nie Yan replied. Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zi had the easiest role among them.

In the center of the plaza stood some fountains and sculptures—excellent obstacles that could limit the Goblin Cutter’s mobility. If the team fought it in an open area, the Goblin Cutter could use its charge or crush abilities to easily break through the warriors’ formation, leading to an inevitable massacre for Nie Yan’s team.

There was a specific strategy to deal with the Goblin Cutter!

Nie Yan explained the entire process of pulling the monster to Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zi, Cui Can Dao Guang, and Yi Chui Ding Qing. They understood the theory, but the actual execution would be very difficult, and they might not succeed on the first try. Therefore, Nie Yan’s team might die one or two times.

“Alright, let’s start. Let’s practice a bit,” Nie Yan said, looking toward the wandering Goblin Cutter.

“I’ll go first,” Cui Can Dao Guang said, raising his heavy shield and running toward the Goblin Cutter. Nie Yan and Yi Chui Ding Qing also moved separately, heading east and west across the plaza.

Cui Can Dao Guang appeared in the Goblin Cutter’s field of view first. Upon detecting an enemy, the Goblin Cutter immediately charged toward Cui Can Dao Guang.

Cui Can Dao Guang quickly switched to defensive stance, raising his heavy shield to block the Goblin Cutter’s attack. With a loud thud, the shield collided with the Goblin Cutter.

Cui Can Dao Guang’s health dropped by over 300 points immediately. A beam of white light landed on Cui Can Dao Guang’s head, restoring his health—Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zi’s healing!

Cui Can Dao Guang steadied himself, maintaining the defensive stance and enduring the Goblin Cutter’s attacks, but never launching any counterattacks.

From a distance, Nie Yan took out his mounted crossbow and fired five arrows at the Goblin Cutter. The arrows struck its body, and floating numbers like “20+” appeared above its head, indicating the damage dealt.

The Goblin Cutter’s aggro was immediately drawn to Nie Yan. Slowly turning, it shifted its target toward Nie Yan.

As the Goblin Cutter prepared to charge at full speed toward Nie Yan, Cui Can Dao Guang acted like a roadblock, appearing in front of it and firmly blocking its path while slowly retreating.

The Goblin Cutter slowly advanced, but it struggled to maneuver around Cui Can Dao Guang.

On the other side, Yi Chui Ding Qing fired more arrows at the Goblin Cutter, drawing its attention again. The Goblin Cutter adjusted its direction accordingly.

However, following Nie Yan’s instructions, Cui Can Dao Guang kept blocking the Goblin Cutter, allowing it to move forward only gradually.

Under the guidance of the three, the Goblin Cutter slowly approached the area filled with sculptures in the center of the plaza.

If only a shield warrior led the Goblin Cutter, the aggro would be concentrated on him, and the Goblin Cutter could easily kill him in a few hits. However, Nie Yan and Yi Chui Ding Qing alternated their attacks, distributing the aggro between them. This allowed Cui Can Dao Guang to remain unharmed while slowly guiding the Goblin Cutter toward the center of the plaza.

Cui Can Dao Guang and the others finally understood Nie Yan’s careful planning.

They proceeded cautiously, not daring to make the slightest mistake.

Under Nie Yan and Yi Chui Ding Qing’s adjustments, the Goblin Cutter’s movement direction gradually entered the designated area in the center of the plaza.

“Coordinate 382, 278, 285! Block that spot, defensive stance!” Nie Yan shouted anxiously.

Cui Can Dao Guang focused, retreating a few steps to locate the position Nie Yan mentioned. He quickly stood still, but he was just a bit too late. The Goblin Cutter accelerated and charged, knocking Cui Can Dao Guang flying.

The Goblin Cutter broke free and charged toward Nie Yan, who had the highest aggro. Nie Yan quickly fled.

However, the Goblin Cutter was closing in fast. Its massive cutting machine on its right arm swung sideways, the spinning blades striking Nie Yan.

-723!

A one-hit kill!

Nie Yan fell to the ground. The Goblin Cutter turned its attention to Yi Chui Ding Qing and chased after him. Soon, Yi Chui Ding Qing was also killed. Then Dai Tou Da Ge Qi Zi fell, followed by Cui Can Dao Guang.

After finishing off its victims, the Goblin Cutter resumed its wandering state.

After a while, once the Goblin Cutter had moved away, Hei Se Tian Tang, Li Li Hua Sha, and Yue Er Ya rushed over and began casting resurrection spells on Nie Yan and the others.

Beams of white light flashed, and Nie Yan and the others were revived.

Nie Yan picked up his dropped equipment and checked his experience loss—over 30%. The experience penalty was quite severe.

The four sat down on an empty patch of ground at the edge of the plaza.

Nie Yan looked at Cui Can Dao Guang and asked, “How was it? Did you get the feel for it?”

Cui Can Dao Guang apologized, “Sorry, I messed up earlier. But I think I understand now.”

Nie Yan nodded. In his previous life, his team had seven shield warriors, each trying five or six times before finally succeeding. He could imagine how difficult that positioning maneuver was. For Cui Can Dao Guang to figure it out after just one death, his comprehension was quite impressive.

“Under normal circumstances, the Goblin Cutter only attacks with its right arm. As long as you position yourself on its right side, you’ll reduce the incoming damage by over 60%. In that sculpture area, if you block the spot I mentioned, you can easily deal with the Goblin Cutter,” Nie Yan explained. This was the accumulated experience of countless players from his previous life, a strategy that could completely neutralize the Goblin Cutter’s Mechanical Cut and Accelerated Charge abilities. With this, they could easily defeat this level 40 boss!