Screeeee!
Noticing that the ones who had killed all of its spawn were heading towards its way, the Tidemother was greatly incensed, letting out a loud screech that could even be heard from the defensive line in front of the village. Naturally, those moving closer to the Tidemother could not help but grit their teeth at the sound, covering their ears as best as they could while still trying to take a step forward.
Eventually, the Tidemother stopped screeching, its attention focused on the people that had somehow appeared in front of it. In its field of vision, it saw how six of the people had separated from the rest, moving closer towards it as they seemed to radiate immense killing intent. In response to this action, the Tidemother looked at them in silence, as if it was trying to tell them that it was waiting to see what they could do against it.
"Quick response team, move a bit further away from us." Damian looked back at the remaining people that came along with them and gestured them to move back. In response, a small portion of them lightly nodded, increasing the distance between the two groups as those who hadn't heard the order followed suit.
Nodding in satisfaction, Damian then looked at the five who accompanied him and rearranged them according to the roles they had been assigned earlier. Taking in a deep breath to calm his taut nerves, he then focused his attention towards Tristan. "Make the first move."
"You got it!" Being given the green light, Tristan grinned as a billowing flame of intangible energy emanated from him, which took on a deep crimson color.
Whoosh!
Condensing the energy he emanated, he then darted towards the Tidemother in front of them at speeds he knew were normally unachievable. If not for the fact that he had killed tons of monsters during the fourth wave beforehand, he knew he wouldn't have been able to achieve the speed he was traveling at the moment.
Eventually, he stopped in front of the Tidemother's legs, collecting all of the momentum he had created thus far before beginning to rotate in place. Gradually, the speed at which he rotated gradually increased as the energy surrounding him eventually disappeared, congregating around one of his fists.
"[Whirlwind Strike]!"
Bang!
'-132!'
In an instant, all of the momentum Tristan had built up was released in one punch, prompting a small explosion of energy to appear in the area he had punched. Naturally, the Tidemother did not take kindly to the gesture, letting out a loud screech as it deftly moved one of its legs to retaliate.
Bang!
"I've got its aggro!" Nimbly dodging the sharp end of the leg that tried to attack him, Tristan could not help but look at the crater it had formed before turning around and madly dashing. With a hint of laughter, he signaled to the five that they were ready to engage.
Whoosh!
Hearing Tristan's words, the five went ahead and moved forward at the greatest speed they could muster. Swerving around one of the Tidemother's attacks, Rampart inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he eventually appeared beside Tristan. Seeing that the leg in front of them seemed to not have any plans to move, the two looked at each other and nodded, jumping into the air before landing devastating attacks on the leg's joint.
"Graaagh!!!" Unsurprisingly, the Tidemother shrieked out from the pain it had received, enraged by the fact that one of its legs had been crippled without it even being able to retaliate. Fueled by the anger it felt, the Tidemother bent its legs as the orifices on its underside opened, multiple smaller-sized versions of itself appearing on the ground as they all madly charged towards the six.
"[Blade Blossom]!" With graceful execution, Damian jumped over one of the beings the Tidemother had spawned before landing a deadly blow on its upper torso. Conserving the momentum he had used in the attack, he then flowed the attacks towards a couple more of the spawned monsters, rendering the Tidemother's retaliation towards him useless.
Of course, he wasn't the only one affected by this sudden ambush. Myst, Tristan, and the others had become targets as well, though they also easily dealt with the portion that were in their immediate vicinity.
"Quick response team, it's time to move!" Turning around to command the larger group, Damian then signaled a few gestures to Myst before running towards one of the Tidemother's legs. In response, Myst lightly nodded before congregating where Damian was, jumping into the air as she unsheathed her blade and struck out. Naturally, seeing how Myst had made her move, Damian attacked as well, brandishing his blade in a way that allowed their attacks to meld together and form an X-shaped pattern around the leg they targeted.
"[Tempest Blow]!"
"[River Slash]!"
Bang!
As Damian and Myst had attacked the leg on the other side of the one attacked earlier, the Tidemother quickly lost its balance, letting out a loud shriek as it utilized its remaining legs to try and balance itself. Fortunately for it, the remaining legs it had were more than enough for it to regain balance. However, it knew for a fact that if the people it was fighting attacked one of its legs once more, it would undoubtedly topple over.
"Screeeeee!!!" Letting out a screech, an orifice opened on the Tidemother's underside, spawning a version of itself that was far larger than the ones that had come before it. Noticing this, the quick response team, which was already facing a bit of trouble with the spawned monsters that had appeared before, could not help but feel a sense of dread while looking at it.
"[Analysis]!" While fighting against one of the smaller monsters, Valyr went ahead and identified the monster that had been spawned, his pupils shrinking for a bit in slight fear before it regained its earlier determination.
Ding!
[Inferior Tidespawn (Elite)] (Level 18)
HP: 750/750
Remarks: I wouldn't really fight against that if I were you.
Activating [Strong Pierce] multiple times in a row, Valyr had cleared his portion of the spawned monsters from earlier while making sure to keep an eye on the newly spawned monster, tracking its movements. Helping the others fight against their portions, Valyr and the others making up the quick response team were eventually able to clear all of the monsters the Tidemother had spawned, their attention now focused on the Inferior Tidespawn that seemed to be headed their way.
Although everyone knew that the Inferior Tidespawn was heading in their direction, not even one person from the quick response team made a move to take the initiative, with everyone looking at each other to see which among them would be brave enough to do just that. Noticing this, Valyr could not help but let out a light sigh before dashing forward, seemingly acting as the impetus for the others to make a move against the Inferior Tidespawn.
'I wonder how I'd fare against a high-leveled Elite monster at the moment?' he thought as he continued to run, a bitter smile soon appearing on his face.
In the meantime, the six continued to land attacks on the Tidemother, with Lythia finally being able to deal enough damage on one of the legs to cripple it, turning the Tidemother's already precarious balance even more precarious than before. In response to another one of its legs being crippled once more, the Tidemother bent its knees to lower its center of gravity. However, this finally allowed Damian and the other close-range damage dealers to deal attacks on its main body.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With one destructive attack after another, the health of the Lesser Tidemother gradually declined, its vigorous screeches from earlier gradually turning into shrieks filled with pain. Eventually, at some point, the six had dealt enough damage to reduce its HP down to 50%, causing everyone to become more hopeful as they only needed to keep up the pace and they would eventually win the fight.
Whoosh!
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that easy.
"Graaaagghhh!!!" As if clutching onto a source of energy hidden deep within its body, the Tidemother straightened out its legs as a ferocious aura soon emanated from it, its legs now giving off the feeling that even being grazed by it would result in fatal damage.
Seeing the Tidemother's current state, Damian's expression darkened, ordering everyone to congregate at the front of the Tidemother as soon as possible.
"Get away from there! Head to the front!"
"The Tidemother's gone berserk!"
