Deep Sea Hunter, but Deep Sea Titan

"Rhodes Island has done so much for me. I am already very satisfied."

"Bad guys deserve a bad ending, don't they?"

Froststar forced herself to stand up. The oppressive aura of these cloaked, black-clad men reminded her of the gas-masked saber-wielding men she had once defeated on the Ursus snowfields. She could sense that the enemies before her were at least on the same level as the gas-masked saber-wielding men.

"Tearing apart allies for the sake of enemies is not a decision you would make, Doctor."

"The tyrant wearing the mask of a savior is still weaving conspiracies in the towers of Chernobog."

“You cannot simply stop here for my sake.”

Froststar still had a determined look on her face.

She was overwhelmed with regret and anger more than once—why did they sacrifice countless lives only to create a lie?

The infected set themselves on fire, only to discover that they had not lit torches, but rather a chaotic wildfire. By the time they realized this, it was too late to turn back, and the conspirators, having succeeded in their scheme, were already grinning maliciously.

For over a decade, bitterness and turmoil had been burning within her chest, yet her heart still beat strong. Froststar was ready to unleash her last strength to protect her people and prove her friends' innocence.

The temperature was dropping rapidly, Greythroat's instruments were malfunctioning, and endless pain flowed into Amiya's heart. She wanted to go up and stop Frostnova, but found that the terrifying cold made it impossible for her to take another step forward.

Froststar's Originium Arts were a hundred or ten times stronger than when she was in Chernobog.

"It still came to this."

A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed the Doctor. Frostnova was the first friend she had made since awakening, a friend with whom she had gone from complete strangers to mutual understanding. Even though she knew the ending beforehand, she still couldn't change it.

A chilling sensation ran through the doctor's chest; a gold coin in her pocket was frosted over.

"Froststar, there's no need to fight anymore."

The doctor's hands were white with cold, and the frosted gold coins fell to the ground as the cold air jolted them.

In the end, she still prayed for the power of the brass ghost.

If she asks Kal'tsit for help, she believes Kal'tsit will only make her and the Rhodes Island members leave as soon as possible.

Kal'tsit's judgment was indeed well-founded. She knew that Kal'tsit would not support her actions from the beginning, and that Kal'tsit would not tolerate her willfulness.

That's why she only recruited operators who volunteered to go. If the situation becomes too critical, she will also leave with these operators who are willing to trust her.

She has to be responsible for the trust others place in her.

In the current situation, only by praying to Nautilus's power can Frostnova be saved.

A purple halo converged on the base of the last gem, and amidst the artificial snow and cold, a towering, imposing figure gradually took shape.

"Rhodes Island Doctor, you summoned the Brass Ghost?!"

Not long ago, the Yeti team had heard about the Brass Ghost's code from Laurentina.

"hehe."

"So you did indeed beg for my power, Doctor of Rhodes Island."

Chapter 52: All Three Targets Can Be Stacked

Two beams of yellow light pierced the wind and snow, the giant anchor swung, creating a shockwave that fully revealed the bronze giant's body in the artificial snowstorm. The hunter and the nun stood behind him, but Lotin seemed to have no intention of letting them participate.

"Lord Wei once said that you are a distinguished guest of Longmen."

Why are you here?

The three shadow guards each took a step back. Wei Yanwu had instructed them before the operation began that they should "treat each other with courtesy and not act rashly."

"If your superiors truly treat you with courtesy."

"Given the wealth of Longmen, how could they be unwilling to offer even a small tribute?"

Wei Yanwu only felt that Luo Ting was "very likely the bronze giant depicted in the Scroll of Mountains and Seas," but this matter was not yet a done deal.

Wei Yanwu's thinking was simple. It was better to avoid trouble. Being respectful and letting Lungmen complete the agreement with Rhodes Island would be most beneficial for him, and he would not suffer any unnecessary losses in this way.

From Wei Yanwu's perspective, given his current attitude, if Luo Ting really is the one from the Mountain and Sea Scroll, at least he won't leave a bad impression.

Even if his judgment was wrong, he did not incur any real sunk costs.

If Wei Yanwu could insist that Luo Ting was the bronze giant he depicted in the Mountain and Sea Scroll, he would have respectfully offered tribute long ago, fearing that Wei Yanwu would no longer be willing to lend a helping hand to the Great Yan.

"Since your superiors want to compromise."

"Why don't we just let them go here and pretend nothing happened?"

"They will no longer be enemies of Lungmen; they will wash away their mistakes on the battlefield of Chernobog."

Although conflict was certainly unavoidable, Loting wanted to make things clear first.

He believes that since he has already accepted the offering from the Doctor, he will surely fulfill the Doctor's request.

"Your request seems rather unreasonable."

The Shadow Guards clearly wouldn't accept Luo Ting's suggestion. They drew their swords quickly. As the elite of the nation, they were different from the glass cannons Luo Ting had encountered before—those enemies were either capable of decent damage output but fragile in body, or agile in action but weak in damage output and fragile in body.

They either take damage and get instantly killed, or they hide for a while and then peek out and get instantly killed.

The only true enemy that could go toe-to-toe with Loting was the "Bell Ringer" he encountered at level 3, whose attacks were truly brutal and blood was exchanged for blood.

The Shadowguards possess exceptional physical abilities, even among Terrans with their superhuman physiques. Their melee combat skills are unparalleled, and their equipment represents the pinnacle of modern Terran technology.

Korotin is now level 6 and, aside from support items, has two major item sets: [Gathering Storm], [Scepter of Ages], and [Overgrowth], all of which have accumulated a certain number of stacks. Among them, [Scepter of Ages] has already accumulated 5 stacks.

His health reached around 2880, and his ability power reached around 85. If he continued to fight against hero units, his mana would not be too lacking under the passive effect of the Staff of Time.

Although Lothing hasn't released any armor yet and his resistances are relatively average, his resilience and survivability are absolutely phenomenal.

Moreover, the pay-to-win gear [Mountain Barrier] and [Heart Steel] provide 100% and 200% base health regeneration respectively.

While the Shadow Guards are undoubtedly the elite fighting force of the Great Yan Dynasty, the Deep Sea Hunters are also a specialized elite force under the Agor genetic engineering program, and their strength is still terrifying to land dwellers.

Even though their strength was affected after they went ashore, they were still a force that the Shadow Guards could not ignore.

Lotin started with his classic W skill, a giant anchor brimming with destructive energy striking the sword light flying from above his head, while the brass cabins clashed head-on with the weapon, simultaneously parrying three Black Guards, which posed no problem for Lotin at this point.

The impact of the first strike was exceptionally heavy, simultaneously activating the Deep Sea Titan's passive skill, W skill, and the charge of [Heart Steel], with a massive shockwave transmitted through the blade to the Shadow Guard's wrist.

The energy of the Deep Sea Titan was being transferred to the opponent's body through the sword, but the opponent used a technique to deflect the force, causing the entire sword to be deflected from his hand and deeply embedded in the wall.

Even with the best protective gear from Lungmen and mastery of Yan Kingdom's most mysterious force-dissipating techniques, the brass giant's attack, now fully enhanced with special effects, still crippled one of the opponent's arms.

If the sword had struck the body instead of the blade, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

These shadow guards are extremely fast, but fortunately, they don't need to use the Q skill [Clear the Channel] in close combat, unless they need to chase away a fleeing enemy.

The Shadow Guard's strikes were fierce and swift, but Lotin's main strength was low resistance but high health, allowing him to withstand a lot of damage without any pressure even if his shield was broken.

[Heart of Steel] only takes three seconds to charge (with a 30-second cooldown per target), allowing it to stack repeatedly in high-intensity combat, increasing his maximum health with each hit. During this process, the stacks of [Mana Binding] also accumulate.

Frostnova's spell gradually stopped, and Huang's Originium Arts made the area around Frostnova accessible. The Yeti team immediately swarmed around her and carried their eldest sister back.

"The Black-Cloaked Men, who have been unilaterally slaughtering us like rats, would find it difficult to gain any advantage in the battle against the Bronze Ghost, even if three of them were to fight together."

The Yeti Squad could only observe the battle from a distance; they were powerless to intervene. The Brass Ghost that had thwarted the Reunion Movement's offensive was a true metal monster, a war machine, a humanoid tank.

However, the doctor found that the situation before him was not as surprising as he had imagined.

It was as if she knew the outcome the moment she inserted the coin.

The passive ability of the Staff of Time, Eternity, provides a continuous regeneration of health and mana when fighting heroes. Damage dealt by enemy attacks is converted into mana, and mana consumed is converted into health.

Even though the wallpaper behind Loting had been sliced ​​up like tofu, the brass giant still stood firm, while the shadow guards suffered varying degrees of damage.

Especially the wrists; soon, all three swords were neatly stuck in the ground.

His arm could no longer hold a sword, and facing such a skill-based enemy with high base stats, Lotin, as usual, used the unchanging approach, and using AOE skills in confined spaces often proved very effective.

Lotin excels at dealing with enemies who launch direct attacks, while cowards who hide in the shadows tend to survive a little longer under his anchor.

As Lotin stepped onto the ground, the destructive energy burst forth in three streams. The remaining two Shadow Guards were unable to dodge the hemispherical [Dark Tide Surge] in the narrow underground passage, and all three shockwaves hit the Shadow Guards who had been driven there by Laurentina and Skadi.

In an open area, given the Shadow Guard's agility, it's unlikely that all three shockwaves would hit the target.

Their protective gear was pierced, and although the damage Lotin caused was not immediately fatal, it did cause them severe internal bleeding.

The three shadow guards were almost easily defeated by Luo Ting. Although their lives were not in danger, their strength was reduced to less than 20%. Their dominant hands were completely useless due to Luo Ting's attack effects, and they also suffered serious internal injuries.

Although the brass wetsuits also have many cracks, they are healing at a visible rate.

Loting is no longer the level 1 version of himself. With level 6, two major equipment items, and a top-tier support item, his strength is now incomparable to what it used to be.

However, the Shadow Guards' strength was something that Loting could indeed sense. At least compared to other enemies, they were much more resilient, allowing him to stack steel and also build up the [Undying Grip].

The three shadow guards leaned against the wall. Their fighting spirit was strong, and they were not afraid to fight even when they encountered a strong enemy. However, the physical damage prevented them from drawing their swords from the ground and continuing their attack.

Just as Loting was contemplating whether or not to execute his opponent, an old voice called out to him.

Please spare their lives.

An old, gray-haired Zalak man walked forward amidst gusts of sand.

"Even Lungmen's last trump card can't threaten you, so why bother arguing with them?"

"Lord Wei entrusted me to tell you that this was due to his subordinates acting impulsively and recklessly, and that he will definitely present tribute afterward."

The old man spoke calmly to the enormous object before him.

Lotin realized that he couldn't let things get too tense between Rhodes Island and Lungmen.

After a few exchanges, the opponent wasn't really a big threat. Maybe I can "spar" with them again in the future. It's better to get a beating once than to get a beating every time.

After careful consideration, Loting did not resort to the final, fatal blow.

Moreover, the doctor's request has already been fulfilled.

Chapter 53: Defeat Rewards

The system notification changed "Kill" to "Defeat", and the reward and experience were changed to two-thirds of the "Kill Reward".

[If you repeatedly defeat the same target, the rewards and experience will gradually decrease.]

In the past, every hero unit that Lotin encountered had died under his giant anchor without exception. The fact that he did not deliver the final blow today was the first time such a situation had occurred.

The monsters encountered in Iberia are beings that require a fight to the death.

The six Deeppool war criminals and Mandra encountered in Hillshire were people whom many of the residents of Hillshire demanded be killed. The residents of Hillshire had paid a tithe to the traitors, demanding that they pay for their crimes in blood, so Lotin had to be ruthless.

Colonel Hamilton of Little Hillshire was in the same situation. His spy adjutant, however, ordered his men to keep firing, saying they wanted to riddle him and himself with bullets, leaving Lottin with no choice but to end his life prematurely.

Therefore, this is indeed the first time that a hero unit has survived after becoming an enemy of Lothian.

Because this was the first time this had happened, it triggered a new system notification.

Since it wasn't entirely without any benefit, and the other side really had no reason to continue fighting against me, I decided not to kill them.

With the help of the newly purchased [Amplification Tome], Lotin's spell power finally broke through 100 points, which is one of the materials used to synthesize [Rift Creator].

Loting had to admit that the Shadow Guard's combat skills were indeed superb, something he could hardly match. However, Loting also had his own set of combat strategies.

Lotin's offensive style is very similar to Skadi's: to unleash his violence with restraint and precision.

Once hit, even if the enemy survives the first hit, they will be immobilized by the chaotic energy brought by the passive [Overwhelming Force]. Then, by using the W skill [Titan's Wrath] to reset the attack, they can burst damage at an unpredictable speed.

Lotin's defensive strategy is simpler and more brutal than that of the deep-sea hunters who develop a series of dodging techniques from dance.

Back in Little Hills, because the Heartsteel hadn't been purchased yet, Lotin focused on strategically avoiding unnecessary damage. But now things are different; Lotin can more directly implement his defensive strategy—that is, not defending.

Although he can now use the [Light Knight] skin, which is conceptually similar to the "speed" type, it's mainly for quickly chasing enemies rather than dodging.

Lotin's massive size makes dodging less effective, while the real fatal blow can be handled by [Flash].

His W ability, Titan's Wrath, provides a shield, allowing him to withstand significant damage even if the shield is broken.

These shadow guards hacked away for ages, but they couldn't reduce Luo Ting's health to less than three-quarters.

This defensive strategy complements Lotin's offensive style, creating more opportunities to attack, because he doesn't need to parry, dodge, or block, allowing Lotin to launch a sudden counterattack at unexpected moments.

This allowed him to hit the agile Shadow Guards in the previous battle without using his ultimate move or relying on Laurentina to call out their positions. They couldn't deal with Loting using normal combat logic.

"As you wish, this matter ends here."

The brass giant hoisted the anchor and watched as the incapacitated shadow guards were led away from the scene.

"Bright, Greythroat, Amiya."

"And Mr. Nautilus."