Second World Chapter 1956: Defeating a Punching Bag

Chapter 1956: Chapter 1956. Defeating a Punching Bag

Only seven beings were inside this spectral plane. They were Jeanny, Spring Crown, Freddie, David, John, Joe, and the devil himself, Mammon. Two additional beings appeared when Jeanny and Spring Crown resummoned their spirit weapons.
"Okay, folks. We don't have much time. Only ten minutes," John stated. "Let's get this over with. Chop-chop! We have five minutes to slay him, then five minutes to take out his HP during his Infernal Soul Rebirth. I expect everyone to stop fooling around and give it your all."
The others glanced at him with irritated expressions. This dude indeed helped them greatly by trapping the devil in this plane, but couldn't he choose better words when speaking? The most angered by John's speech was Mammon. What did this outworlder take him for? A common wilderness monster to be slain? He wanted to tear this outworlder to pieces!
Yet, he quickly comprehended that his situation was less than ideal. He was not in his true body. He couldn't unleash his true power. The best he could do was survive these ten minutes. "Attacckkk...!" Jeanny gave the go command. She activated Dragonflight and zoomed forward at high speed.
Most of the combatants here had their skills or spells still on cooldown. When John informed Jeanny that he would be coming to help, he asked Jeanny to tell the others to save their big skills, but it hadn't been that long ago. Only a few had them available. Spring Crown used Devilize. Jeanny and David used Demonize Weapon.
Mammon fought them using the axe in his hands, but he soon realized something was off. "This... This archdemon is not a melee combatant!" He exclaimed in surprise. Not only was the archdemon he possessed weaker than a typical melee combatant, but it also didn't have any melee skills. The battle skills this archdemon had were all spells. This archdemon was a spellcaster!
"Hehe."
He heard a chuckle and turned to the person. It was John. The outworlder was giving him a wicked grin.
"You... This is your doing?" Mammon asked.
"Hehe, blame yourself for always picking the best," John replied.
"How did you do it?!"
"You can keep wondering about it," John answered while firing his Repeating Mana Bullet. Six rapid mana bullets shot at Mammon.
What John used to trick Mammon was the Mind Control ability of his Staff of Mind Breaker. After arriving on the battlefield, he went around the battlefield looking for a candidate to control. He chose a spellcasting demon of the highest level and grade he could mind control. After defeating Beelzebub, his level increased to 98, so he could control a level 88 mythical demon.
After mind-controlling the archdemon, he swapped the magic staff it was wielding for a battle axe. This was to fool Mammon into thinking he was targeting a melee combatant. He then secretly informed the nearby allies to leave this archdemon alone while having another ally fake a battle with it. That's how it still had such high HP compared to the other demons. Mammon was not aware of this. He knew John intentionally did not tell him to rattle him, but he couldn't help but keep wondering about it like John told him to. He realized something as his mind thought back about the time he started possessing this archdemon.
The outworlder he saw fighting this archdemon before he possessed it was the same outworlder who shot him from below. It turned out the outworlder had moved away once he possessed the archdemon. That outworlder then took a position to send him up into the sky, where the other outworlders were waiting.
Mammon gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe he got played like this. The turmoil in his mind, paired with his inefficiency as a spellcaster, made him an easy target for his enemies. His HP dropped rapidly.
Even before it was five minutes, his HP had fallen to zero. Black Mists burst out of the defeated archdemon as Mammon entered the Infernal Soul Rebirth.
"This is the moment of truth! Throw everything you have at him!" John exclaimed.
The offensive skills from Freddie and David's Fallen Apostle's weapons were ready, so they used them.
Freddie's Fallen Apostle's Curved Stick conjured the wrath of nature. Wind, lightning, and earth churned where the black mist was. A group of giant bees, seemingly immune to the elements, swarmed around the black mist and dealt physical damage.
The offensive skill of David's Fallen Apostle's Rifle was the Mega Buster Shot. It fired a bullet in the form of a speeding meteor. Upon impact, it caused a large explosion that engulfed a large area.
Everyone used whatever skills were available. Jeanny didn't have many big skills available since she already used most of them earlier. She compensated by using martial arts powered by mana manipulation. She performed the Seven Spears Assaulting Heaven repeatedly. Freddie also joined in the assault. He got in close and used his martial arts while firing his standard ranged attacks from point-blank range. His attacks didn't deal much damage, but it was better than nothing. No one needed healing at this time, anyway.
John activated his bloodline power, the Sea Deity Arms. He also got in close and personal. He shot standard ranged attacks while his watery tentacles slapped the black mist.
When his team slayed Beelzebub earlier, he took all the loot. One of these loots was a legendary robe for a summoner. The robe was called the Infernal Ruler Robe. John was wearing this robe in this battle. He used the robe's active skill, which summoned an eternal- grade Archfiend following his level.
The archfiend announced its arrival by firing a breath attack at the black mist. The breath contained a combination of dark and chaos elements. While Mammon had high resistance against the dark element, the chaos element was another matter.
After the breath attack, the archfiend's body burst with black and dark purple aura. It charged forward and engaged the black mist in melee.
"Hey, can Mammon possess your summon?" David asked.
"A summon is not a native," John answered.
"He is right," Spring Crown agreed. "I have seen several summons roaming around Mammon during his Infernal Soul Rebirth, including our spirit weapons, but he never possessed them."
"There's a possibility it was because he chose not to, not because he couldn't," David argued. "Don't worry. My Monster Overlord class is special. No one can take control of my summon," John assured them.
"It's going to be close!" Spring Crown warned.
He made a rough calculation on their attacking pace. The first time Mammon used the Infernal Soul Rebirth, they needed four minutes to deplete the black mist's HP. But at that time, they were all using Devilize and Demonize Weapon. They also had the Soul Swan, Leda, and several others aiding the attacks. This time, they were just six. Nine, if counting the archfiend and the spirit weapons. Furthermore, not all of them could use big skills.
After hearing Spring Crown's statement, everyone tried to increase their attacking pace. It was easier said than done. Jeanny's arms were getting numb because of repeatedly using her
spear arts. She slowed down instead.
After some time, the black mist started moving.
"Shit! It can still move without someone to possess?" David complained.
Mammon couldn't possess anyone, but it didn't mean he would just stay in one place and let himself be a punching bag. He moved so it was harder for the enemies to hit him. It was difficult, though. His movement wasn't the Infernal Soul Rebirth's natural ability. It happened because of his form manipulation. Every movement required great effort and concentration. Hence, he stopped for a period before he could move again.
To limit Mammon's movement, everyone positioned themselves according to John's instructions. Although Mammon was without a physical body, he still acted like he had one. The black mist couldn't phase through an object. If someone was in the way, it couldn't move
past.
"How are we doing? Number one gamer?" John asked.
"Uh... Close... But I'm not hopeful...," Spring Crown answered.
"I guess I can't save this item," John said. He took out a small plate. It was a Recall Plate. He
always kept a pair in case of an emergency.
He used the plate, and Paytowin appeared next to him.
Paytowin didn't ask any questions. He just started shooting. He was prepared. John had given
him the other half of the recall plate earlier and asked him to be ready. The recall plate could pierce through a barrier erected by a divine being like Greed. It could also pass through the barrier between planes.
With the addition of Paytowin, their damage output went up a bit. This let them achieve their target just ten seconds before the Infernal Soul Rebirth completed its five minutes duration.
An inhuman roar sounded from the black mist. It echoed throughout the spectral plane. The black mist trembled heavily before dispersing. The loot that dropped from Mammon floated where he was. There was no gravity in the spectral plane, so the loot didn't fall.
Everyone heaved a relieved sigh, except for John, who uttered, "What a letdown, to take so much effort just to defeat a punching bag. It is truly hard to find reliable minions nowadays." Everyone had the urge to throw a skill or spell at him.