As the battle began, everyone's attention focused on the two combatants.
One was a Guardian Knight, the other a Priest.
Neither was a high-damage class, but the matchup favored the Guardian Knight. The Guardian Knight had a magic resistance aura along with a number of disruption skills, which put the Priest — a healer-first class with fragile defenses — at a disadvantage.
In terms of HP, Ziyan Liuyun had just over seven thousand points. That might count her among the tankier casters, but compared to a main tank — especially someone like Dao Wanli, whose HP exceeded ten thousand — it was barely worth mentioning.
"Go down!"
Dao Wanli charged straight at Ziyan Liuyun from the start. He gripped the massive shield in his left hand and unleashed a Shield Bash. The shield whooshed through the air toward her, and Dao Wanli followed up with a single step forward. The long blade in his right hand tore through the air, transforming into a streak of light aimed straight for Ziyan Liuyun's pale neck. The entire sequence flowed together in one seamless motion, unfolding in the blink of an eye without giving her any chance to cast.
"Excellent combo attack technique." Canglang Zhantian watched the display and couldn't help but praise it.
An average player would struggle just to dodge a flying shield. And when the shield came hurtling toward them, most players would instinctively focus all their attention on it, ignoring Dao Wanli closing in right behind it.
Even an expert would be distracted by the shield and unable to face Dao Wanli at their best. Against those blindingly fast blade strikes that targeted vital blind spots with no visible trajectory, they would be likely to get hit.
Ziyan Liuyun quickly sidestepped at the last moment, dodging the Shield Bash with minimal movement, and instinctively activated Truth Shield. Truth Shield was an instant-cast skill, and a golden barrier immediately materialized around her.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three consecutive blade strikes slashed across the same spot on the golden shield, making it tremble and crack. Immediately after, a Hammer of Punishment descended from above, plummeting toward Ziyan Liuyun's head.
Ziyan Liuyun pivoted on her feet, dodging the Hammer of Punishment with the graceful agility of a cat.
"Quick reactions — too bad you can dodge the Hammer of Punishment but you can't dodge this." Dao Wanli smirked coldly and swung out a Grand Cross Slash that slammed heavily into the golden shield.
Boom!
The golden shield could bear no more and finally shattered. Ziyan Liuyun took over four hundred points of damage. If Truth Shield hadn't absorbed a significant portion, the damage would have been far worse.
After shattering the Truth Shield, Dao Wanli didn't stop. The blade flipped, and he immediately unleashed several more strikes aimed at her vital points.
Ziyan Liuyun reacted quickly, activating Fear Roar — a skill that would cause surrounding enemies to lose control of themselves out of terror.
Dao Wanli's expression remained calm. He let out a low shout, and golden radiance burst from his entire body.
First-tier skill, Sacred Immunity!
It granted the player immunity to all control effects for seven seconds.
Fear Roar was utterly useless under Sacred Immunity. Dao Wanli burst effortlessly through the spreading gray sound wave, his blade speed undiminished as it struck Ziyan Liuyun's body.
Caught off guard, Ziyan Liuyun tried to block with her staff, but the blade was too fast. She was still struck several times.
In an instant she was sent flying, her HP dropping in large chunks with each hit — nearly five hundred points of damage each time. Three consecutive strikes erased over fifteen hundred HP, leaving her with less than five thousand.
With Sacred Immunity still active, Dao Wanli pressed his advantage. He easily dodged Ziyan Liuyun's Punishment strikes, and in the blink of an eye he was right in front of her again.
Sacred Storm!
Holy Light Consecutive Slashes!