Chapter 9 Skull

The bear-like man spoke with his arms spread wide, leaning back as if reclining on a spacious, plush sofa, his right foot resting on his left knee.

In reality, he was merely sitting on a wooden stool. The air behind him seemed to obediently support him, as if he were constantly exercising his abilities.

Though appearing languid, everyone around him listened intently. This alone revealed the man's absolute authority. He seemed boorish, but was actually meticulous. The slightest disrespect might be etched in his mind.

A man with a goatee echoed his sentiments,

"The boss is right. Too many MTs (Main Tanks) on the battlefield are a real headache. Each MT has the ability to save or strengthen teammates in time. If an MT seizes an opportunity, a potential kill or even an exchange can turn into a complete loss. I've suffered more than once in previous battles. So, in the upcoming team fight, we must devise a way to deal with them properly."

"Focus fire! Our team's four heavy sniper rifles alone can take down two MTs!" a man in sunglasses snarled.

"It's not that simple," the goatee man said, seemingly unwilling to offend the bear-like man, but clearly dismissive of the sunglasses man's words.

"Have you ever actually fought a strong MT? Snipers are effective against plot characters, but even the highest attack is limited by the 40 Rule, and then weakened by the MT's high defense. I've seen an MT's shield; it's almost equal to the total defense of all my equipment! Finally, the damage is further reduced by the MT's own defensive talents! Four heavy snipers focus-firing can take down two MTs? What a joke! Considering the Honor Potion factor, you'd be lucky to kill one MT with four heavy snipers!"

The sunglasses man's eyes widened as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Four heavy snipers can't take down an MT? Are you kidding me! Do you know how much maximum damage I can deal now? One critical hit can break seven thousand!"

"Seven thousand is high?" the goatee man sneered. "First, your perception is your weakness, so your accuracy is always a problem. Second, truly strong MTs often have the ability to suppress your critical hit rate. You probably won't be able to land critical hits on them, so the theoretical damage is only 3500. After the 40 Rule reduction, that's only 2100 theoretical damage. With the MT's high defense, at least half of that damage will be negated. Your actual attack power will be, at most, around 1000 points. And don't forget, the MT has powerful defensive talents to support him! That 1000 points of damage might even be reduced to around 800! And I haven't even calculated the MT's talent skills and auras!"

"The HP of a Su Xing (Awakened) MT is at least three thousand! Four heavy snipers hitting him simultaneously would barely reach that number! And don't forget team abilities. The MT will definitely have a chance to drink an Honor Potion! Raki Farián, do you still think four heavy snipers can instantly kill an MT? Using the experience of battles between plot characters to measure battles between contractors is foolish. Using the experience of battles between plot characters to measure battles between teams led by MTs is an even bigger mistake!"

"Tass is right, it's always good to be cautious," the bear-like man concluded, putting an end to the argument. "Our team doesn't pay enough attention to MTs. Sharpening our swords now is probably too late. However, our attack power is still second to none, so our positioning shouldn't be based on attacking head-on, but on surprise attacks!

The bear-like man's face turned fierce, and he waved his arm forcefully.

"A surprise attack from the flank! After the enemy's main force is drawn away, we appear and break through their proud defenses in one fell swoop! Tass, there shouldn't be too many MTs, right?"

Tass smiled easily.

"Lord Bill, MTs require not only strength, but also luck. A team with one is already hitting the jackpot. Besides, the opposing team already has a numerical disadvantage."

The bear-like man, Bill, nodded with satisfaction, grabbed a greasy roasted pig leg beside him, and began to devour it.

"Good! Contact Team Five. Their team lacks attack power, but they're particularly good at attrition. Let them attract attention in front, and we'll chase after them from behind! Go all out!"

The sound of Bill tearing the roast meat with his teeth mixed with his mumbled words, creating an amplified sense of crudeness and greed.

"Fuck those guys' undefended asses!"

Fang Senyan and Reef pushed open the door to room fourteen.

The guy who was raising a wine bottle to his mouth was... to Fang Senyan and Reef's surprise! This person wasn't their first choice for inviting guests, nor even a backup.

"Skull...?" Fang Senyan said in surprise.

Skull drained the remaining wine in the bottle, then bit into the bottle and crunched it down.

"Yeah, surprising, isn't it?"

Fang Senyan smiled wryly.

"It is a bit... but your fondness for wine bottles surprises me even more."

Skull laughed heartily.

"This is a special product of the space, crystal chocolate wine. The bottle tastes like chocolate. Did you think I liked chewing equipment? So I don't let go of even the wine bottles."

"Is that so?" Fang Senyan couldn't help but snap his fingers and order a bottle. He found that biting into the bottle made a cracking sound, but it tasted like a very thin ice flake with a sweet chocolate flavor, much better than the wine inside.

Such a misunderstanding quickly narrowed the distance between the three. Moreover, although Skull thought highly of himself, Fang Senyan and Reef were also powerful MTs who caught his eye. Fighting to the death in the Nightmare World was commonplace, so there wasn't much to say about past grievances. What mattered was the present, so it was nothing to laugh it off.

The three talked about their experiences since their last meeting and learned that Skull's team had suffered a heavy blow, and his team members had almost all perished. At this time, he was introduced by Zeus and brought into Nightmare Space C. Of course, both Zeus and Skull benefited greatly.

Zeus was also an ambitious person. The reason for introducing Skull was that he was somewhat envious of the double MT mode. However, not everyone can initiate the double MT mode.

The relationship between Fang Senyan and Reef was built up little by little. In addition, Reef himself was already disheartened. However, Skull was not willing to be a second-in-command, or rather, Zeus's ability was not enough to make Skull willingly take on the role of second-in-command.

Therefore, the conflict between the two was buried from the beginning. In the end, the two managed to maintain some rationality and parted peacefully. Now, Skull had also pulled together a team and even had a chosen one. However, he didn't expect to encounter a bloody world at the most critical moment of the team's creation! If he wasn't careful, this new team could fall apart in an instant!

Of course, if he could survive at this time, the team would expand dramatically.

So Skull thought of Fang Senyan. In the battle that day, the double MT configuration had also left a deep impression on him. Skull was also a pragmatic person. His first hope was to protect his team, and then to advance.

At this time, Fang Senyan did not refuse such cooperation. With his planning and arrangements, he was naturally not afraid that Skull would dare to trick him. The two discussed for a while, finalized the various cooperation agreements, and then gradually moved on to other matters. However, most of them were still worried about fighting against the many with few.

"I just don't know what the battlefield is? It only says choose one from the Battle of Helm's Deep, the Battle of Minas Tirith, and the final battle at Mount Doom. It hasn't been decided yet," Reef suddenly said.

"In any case, since we are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, we should always be assigned to the side that occupies the terrain advantage, right?" Skull said. He looked at Fang Senyan expectantly. "I like the final battle at Mount Doom. To be honest, that's also our closest opportunity to the One Ring. If possible, even if we lose on the bloody battlefield, it would be worth it if we could get the One Ring."

Fang Senyan's expression became heavy.

"The One Ring is something that the stronger it is, the greater the price of using it will be. It's like the Fangtian Huaji (Halberd) used by the most powerful general in our history. It can be said to be a divine weapon, but if an ordinary person uses it, they will only smash their own feet. It's best to have something that suits you."

Reef suddenly asked Skull about the MT aura again. Reef's MT aura had not yet awakened, which had always been a concern. But after hearing this, Skull congratulated Reef in turn. It turned out that it was good to awaken the MT aura early, and it was also good to awaken it late.

Awakening early can certainly help in advance, but this thing needs to be upgraded, and the consumption of Merit Points is also amazing! If you awaken late, then it is possible that you will awaken at lv3 or lv4 in one go, which can save a lot of money.

For Reef, since the MT aura was not an urgent need, there was no need for it to come out now to add icing on the cake. It would be better to accumulate it for a while.