Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Without hesitation, Zhou Ming rushed toward the sound.
Anyone who had played games knew that the drop rates of normal monsters and bosses existed in entirely different worlds. Bosses might be difficult to kill, but anyone who wanted top-tier equipment had to be willing to take the risk.
And in Zhou Ming’s current situation, his most urgent priority was killing bosses for exceptional gear.
Without it, completing the Sin of Pride would be nothing but a pipe dream.
A few minutes later, he reached the boss’s location. An enormous black panther, fully two meters tall, entered his sight.
The vicious beast wore a savage snarl, its furious roars rolling across the plains as it relentlessly pursued a short, wiry player. Whenever it closed the distance and swung its razor-sharp claws, the player escaped by the narrowest of margins.
“Another player?”
Zhou Ming blinked in surprise.
Besides him, there was actually someone else bold enough to grind on Twilight Plains at this stage, and even solo a boss?
He quickly spotted the problem, however.
The fleeing player’s attributes were nowhere near sufficient to run wild in a place like this.
[Tingfeng Xiyu] (Windshadow Rogue)
[Level: 10]
…
A Windshadow Rogue!
So this player possessed a hidden class too!
As Tingfeng Xiyu sprinted for his life, he noticed Zhou Ming watching from nearby and shouted, “Run! This boss has a huge aggro range!”
He didn’t try to dump the boss on me?
Not a bad guy.
After a moment’s thought, Zhou Ming called out with a smile, “Want some help?”
“Don’t joke around, man. This is a Silver boss!” Tingfeng Xiyu replied, speechless.
This guy clearly didn’t understand the situation!
The Blackwind Panther King wasn’t something players at the current stage could afford to provoke. One hit was all it took to erase someone!
Zhou Ming chuckled. He raised a hand toward the Blackwind Panther King as fire elements gathered in his palm.
“What a coincidence. Silver bosses are exactly what I came to kill!”
If it had only been Bronze, he truly wouldn’t have found it all that interesting.
Only the first kill of a Silver boss could command this much of his attention!
Fallen Sword!
Rip!
A fiery crimson greatsword materialized above the Blackwind Panther King and smashed down, hindering its movements as it roared in pain.
-238!
The blood-red damage number floated into the air.
“Holy crap!”
Tingfeng Xiyu stared at Zhou Ming’s damage, dumbfounded. “This game has cheaters!”
While the Blackwind Panther King was slowed, he hurriedly widened the distance. Looking back, he saw the boss’s aggro had shifted entirely to Zhou Ming.
Zhou Ming had no time to chat. Against an enemy this ferocious, he had to devote every ounce of concentration to the fight.
“Rrraargh!”
The instant it closed in, the Blackwind Panther King opened its cavernous maw. Fetid saliva coated its razor fangs as it lunged for Zhou Ming with savage force.
Rending Slash!
Zhou Ming showed no fear. He swung his sword and met it head-on.
“Ding!”
[System: You have used [Rending Slash]. Your next attack deals damage equal to 200% of your Attack. The enemy loses 0.2% of its maximum HP per second and suffers a 30% reduction to Movement Speed for 5 seconds!]
-169!
-210!
The Blackwind Panther King’s Attack was every bit as terrifying as expected. Even its basic attack dealt far more damage than Zhou Ming’s skill.
Rending Slash’s secondary effect quickly took hold, however, and blood continued pouring from the boss’s wound.
-40!
-40!
-40!
…
“!!”
Watching from a distance, Tingfeng Xiyu could hardly believe his eyes.
He had tried inspecting the Blackwind Panther King’s panel earlier, but his level had been too low. Every field had shown nothing but question marks!
Yet another player was somehow trading blows with it. It defied belief.
[Zhouyou Shijie] (Flame Demon Lord)
[Level: 16]
[HP: 3,660]
[Attack: 328-333]
[Defense: 279-286]
[Skills: Fallen Sword, Rending Slash]
…
“So you’re Zhouyou Shijie!” Tingfeng Xiyu exclaimed as realization dawned. Then his expression turned strange.
Even if this was the player who had claimed the first Bronze boss kill, there was no way his panel should be this ridiculous!
Over three thousand HP!
My health is barely a fraction of yours!
“Buddy, could you stop being a cheerleader?”
With both of his major skills on cooldown, Zhou Ming immediately fell into a disadvantage.
Compared to Lin Tao, the Blackwind Panther King was in another league entirely.
If Zhou Ming hadn’t been covered in Gold equipment, even he wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.
[Blackwind Panther King] (Silver Boss)
[Level: 30]
[HP: 20,000]
[Attack: 480-520]
[Defense: ???]
[Skills: Lesser Bloodlust, Desperate Bite, Flurry of Claws]
[Description: Leader of the Demonized Black Panthers and overlord of Twilight Plains. It is also your doom.]
…
“Got it!”
Tingfeng Xiyu snapped back to his senses. Without hesitation, he entered Stealth and approached the Blackwind Panther King. His dagger shot out with Gouge, one of the assassin archetype’s signature skills.
“Ding!”
[System: The Blackwind Panther King was struck by Tingfeng Xiyu’s [Gouge], losing 1 HP and becoming Stunned for 0.93 seconds!]
The enormous attribute gap had reduced Gouge’s 1.5-second stun by a wide margin.
While the boss’s attack stalled, Zhou Ming hurriedly pulled away. He gulped down a red potion to recover HP and bought time so Rending Slash’s effect could deal its full damage.
The Blackwind Panther King possessed no real intelligence, and all its aggro remained fixed on Zhouyou Shijie. It immediately charged after him, but the powerful slow kept it from catching up anytime soon.
When the slow expired, Zhou Ming repeated the same trick. Tingfeng Xiyu circled nearby, watching for chances to land control skills and reduce the pressure on him.
With their methodical coordination, the boss’s HP steadily fell. When it reached 50%…
“Rrraargh!”
The Blackwind Panther King threw back its head and roared. Its body abruptly swelled, while its eyes turned a chilling shade of blood-red.
“Ding!”
[System: The Blackwind Panther King has used [Lesser Bloodlust]. Attack +20%, Attack Speed +20%, and Movement Speed +20% for 20 seconds!]
Zhou Ming remained perfectly composed. He immediately widened the distance and used Fallen Sword to damage and slow the boss, keeping his HP firmly above 50%. The Blackwind Panther King’s buff did not last long. It merely managed to claw him twice more before he easily stalled out the duration.
40%!
30%!
The Blackwind Panther King’s HP continued dropping.
“Are we really about to kill a Silver boss?” Tingfeng Xiyu swallowed hard, his heart trembling.
The first Silver boss kill, on the second day after launch!
That would cause far more of a sensation than the first Bronze kill ever had!
“Ding!”
[System: The Blackwind Panther King has used [Desperate Bite]. Its next attack’s damage is increased by 250%!]
Driven into a frenzy by its critically low HP, the boss lunged at Zhou Ming with its fang-filled maw.
“Shut that filthy mouth!”
Zhou Ming’s gaze sharpened. He thrust his left hand forward, commanding Fallen Sword to descend directly in front of him. The greatsword crashed down squarely atop the Blackwind Panther King’s lunging jaws, smashing its head into the ground and pinning it in place.
“Ding!”
[System: You used [Fallen Sword], successfully interrupting the Blackwind Panther King’s skill and inflicting Suppression for 1.35 seconds!]
Zhou Ming had not forgotten that Fallen Sword’s Suppression was an exceptionally domineering form of crowd control.
An ability like that had to be exploited properly.
-688! (Critical Hit)
The instant that astonishing number appeared, the Blackwind Panther King lost its final chance to turn the battle around.
“???”
Tingfeng Xiyu could only stare, thoroughly bewildered.
“Die!”
Zhou Ming brought his sword down once more. The Blackwind Panther King’s enormous body crashed to the ground.
First Silver boss kill, secured!
…