Chapter 159 – 1-Hit KO
The news that one of the five books required to gain a hidden cla.s.s had been auctioned for a sky-high 1.21 million gold coins quickly spread through the entire CN region. The first reaction from many people was, “What big business family is the young master who bought this skill book from?” At the same time, the Golden Scale Guild became a subject of ridicule, having failed to rob their victim who killed one of their members and silently disappeared. Many people were looking forward to the bustle to follow. The Golden Scale Guild’s patron was no small-time, so they definitely wouldn’t let this go after losing so much face.
In contrast, the person of interest couldn’t care less about the gossip. At that moment, Fatty had arrived at a forest outside White Tiger City to meet up with Purple Bell’s party.
This was a beautiful coincidence for Fatty: He originally wanted to find the last skill book in the White Tiger City region, and the monster Purple Bell’s group wanted to slay was there as well.
“Big Brother Fatty,” Purple Bell called out to the rogue with a sweet smile as he approached. Fatty, himself, felt delighted every time he saw Purple Bell. Her laughter was like the sound of wind chimes, crystal clear and pleasing to the ears.
Wind G.o.d’s World walked up and greeted Fatty warmly, “Fatty, long time no see. How are you lately?”
“Still good!” Fatty nodded, his eyes landing behind Wind G.o.d’s World on the guild master of the Cloud Dragon Gang, Cloud Dragon Sailing.
“Money Grubber, we meet again,” said Cloud Dragon Sailing, practically gritting his teeth.
“Hehe, let’s let bygones be bygones. How do we not encounter some kill-stealing when gaming? We still need to rely on Fatty to lure the boss out today.” Wind G.o.d’s World smiled and prompted Cloud Dragon Sailing to keep calm.
To Fatty’s surprise, Cloud Dragon Sailing only darted a few glares at him before completely ignoring him and walking away.
“Come, let me tell you about the mission.” Wind G.o.d’s World quickly turned to the main topic as he feared the two would be at each other’s throats once again.
The story was simple: Cloud Dragon Sailing took great effort to gain intel on the possible monster that carried the first Guild Establishment Token of White Dragon City. However, even the Cloud Dragon Gang was unsure if they could kill this monster with their strength; so, they sought out the Wind G.o.d Guild, who had cooperated with them in real life. Moreover, the Wind G.o.d Guild wouldn’t take this token because they had already acquired their own.
The two guilds successfully avoided drawing public attention by bringing only a small number of people. But, this lack in quant.i.ty also prevented them from even nearing the monster’s territory. Many small bosses tightly edged them out. The guilds didn’t dare lose too many lives, or else they would only serve as delivery food when they reached the final boss.
“What monster is it?” Fatty asked casually.
“Level 50 gold boss: Golden-Winged Tiger King, skillset unknown. We only know that it can spit out golden waves and blades to attack and teleport.”
Teleport? The thought rather excited Fatty. “What do you need me to do?” The rogue’s eyes radiated a blazing fire; he seemed even more pa.s.sionate about the boss than Wind G.o.d’s World now.
“Bell said you could come and lure the Golden-Winged Tiger King out. As long as you succeed in doing so, your mission will be complete. We’ll pay you 10,000 gold coins. What do you think?” Wind G.o.d’s World still replied despite being terrified by Fatty’s heated gaze.
“I don’t need the money. If the boss dies, I want first pick of the drops aside from the Guild Establishment Token,” Fatty said.
“Deal!” Wind G.o.d’s World nodded. Watching as Fatty disappeared into Stealth, Wind G.o.d’s World couldn’t help but ask Purple Bell, “Lil’ Sis, is he trustworthy? I really hope he won’t sell us out and lead others here for the Guild Establishment Token.
“Rest a.s.sured, I believe him,” Purple Bell said with a smile.
Stealthing through the forest, Fatty began to understand why the two guilds couldn’t make their way in even with cooperation. Their small numbers were one thing, but the other was that the monsters here were too powerful: Level 30 boss Swordfang Tiger with a bunch of underlings; level 35 silver boss Greenface Tiger with a bunch of underlings; level 40 silver boss Whitebrow Tiger with a bunch of underlings…
Fatty spotted three bosses and up to ten thousand monsters just walking three kilometers. And, that was just one of the paths leading into the woods; there might be even more on another path. If the guilds forced their way in, they’d lose at least half their manpower.
The territory of the Golden-Winged Tiger King was located so deep in the forest that even Stealth wore off halfway and revealed the player to monsters. Lucky for Fatty, he still had the Brutal Saddle.
Fatty summoned Wheat and equipped the saddle, turning the reluctant pet into a mount again. Wheat could only earthwalk at 20% its original speed, so Fatty had to suppress his impatience while they slowly crawled forward.
“Why is he so slow? He hasn’t run away, has he?” Cloud Dragon Sailing blurted after the guilds had heard no news from Fatty for quite a while.
Wind G.o.d’s World also turned to Purple Bell, who only smiled blandly. She took out her communicator, chatted with Fatty briefly, then said, “Wait a little more. Big Brother Fatty is approaching the boss.”
Slowly but carefully, Fatty and Wheat finally reached the boss’s territory.
The Golden-Winged Tiger King was about three meters tall with a vibrant coat of fur and a pair of golden wings on its back, thus its name. This mighty tiger king was currently lying down in a bush with its eyes half closed. There were several powerful tigers stalking about, diligently guarding their king.
As soon as Fatty and Wheat got closer, the Golden-Winged Tiger King sharply rose, eyes wide and alert. The boss’s senses were, indeed, very keen.
Taking a deep breath, Fatty whispered the order, “Up.”
Whoos.h.!.+ Wheat leaped with Fatty from underground. When they landed, Fatty immediately jumped off the rodent’s back and retrieved the Brutal Saddle. Wheat quickly shrank back to the size of a normal mouse and popped into a bush.
“Rooaaah!” the Golden-Winged Tiger King bellowed to the sky upon seeing player and pet appear from nowhere. The rogue didn’t get to utter a sound before a sonic wave visible to the naked eye rolled outward from the boss, sweeping toward him.
Boom! Fatty felt his entire body shake as the soundwave hit him head-on. He retreated several steps and saw a big number rise from his head:
–300
Only one sonic attack was able to wipe out 300 health! This clearly demonstrated how powerful the Golden-Winged Tiger King was, especially considering this soundwave was an AoE skill.
“Wheat, pounce!” Fatty shouted loudly, retreating and replenis.h.i.+ng his health simultaneously. Such a soundwave was absolutely a bane of existence for rogues and their sneak attacks. Fatty alone wasn’t a match for the Golden-Winged Tiger King.
Bang! Bang! Wheat heavily thumped its front paws against the ground. A dozen stalagmites rumbled forth and impaled the boss in its stomach. After the attack, Wheat also retreated per Fatty’s order.
–24–28–33
Wheat’s attack couldn’t break through the Golden-Winged Tiger King’s defense at all. The creature’s health didn’t drop so much as a visible sliver.
“Roaahh!” The boss let out another thunderous roar. The pair of wings on its back flapped open, and the creature flew into the sky. As it ascended, numerous golden wind blades shrieked through the air and slammed into the ground behind Fatty and Wheat.
Floompf! A big piece of the bush Wheat had hidden in was sliced away. Meanwhile, a tree huge enough to be encircled by three people was severed in the middle. With a creaking, it fell.
Between a flying creature and a running one, the former was definitely faster, especially with a bunch of monsters on the ground to block the path. In less than a minute, the Golden-Winged Tiger King had already caught up with Fatty’s b.u.t.t.
“Wheat, stop him!” In this moment, Fatty could only sacrifice Wheat.
Upon command, the rodent resolutely turned and shot out a Howling Bullet at the boss’s approaching face.
Bang! The Golden-Winged Tiger King merely raised a paw and easily swatted the bullet to the ground. Then, the beast’s golden wings fluttered, sending a dozen golden crescent-shaped blades hurtling at Wheat.
Whoos.h.!.+ In mid-panic, Wheat instantly earthwalked, and the golden blades only gouged into the earth. Underground, Wheat was shaking in fear. If it wasn’t for the lucky 50% damage reduced, it would have been insta-killed by the earlier attack.
“Dang it!” Fatty exclaimed bitterly. Several dozen vibrantly colored tigers had finally caught up with him, and he found himself surrounded.
“Invisibility.” Fatty suddenly disappeared. While the Golden-Winged Tiger King could easily discover his position, the regular mobs didn’t have this ability. Silently sneaking around the circle of tigers, Fatty carefully moved farther away. As long as he maintained distance between himself and the pack, he could slowly lure the boss out.
Bang! A golden egg-shaped object dropped in front of the rogue and exploded, and Fatty skidded to a halt. The energy from the blast swept over him, stripping away his invisibility.
Swis.h.!.+ The boss fluttered its golden wings rapidly and disappeared on the spot. When it reappeared, the beast was already above Fatty’s head.
“Illusion!” Fatty cried gutturally. Two exact clones of himself suddenly emerged from where he stood, split up, and ran off in opposite directions.
The Golden-Winged Tiger King was dumbstruck for a moment. Then, it chose one of the two directions and gave chase. In the flash of a single golden streak, one illusion was sliced in half and vanished.
Good chance! Fatty was quietly overjoyed when he saw the boss chase after an illusion. He’d be safe as long as he created some distance.
“Roaaah!” All of a sudden, the pack of tigers roared madly as one. Wave upon wave of sound surged outward in all directions. The surrounding trees and plants rustled and toppled to the side.
Fatty stumbled and stopped right before the pack. A single monster over level 40 was enough to give Fatty trouble, let alone a herd of them all at once. Even a knight would fail to stop their attacks in Fatty’s shoes.
Whoos.h.!.+ Fatty died. Wheat also turned into white light and vanished.
The Golden-Winged Tiger King looked around in confusion. It then raised its head to the sky and let out a thunderous roar. With simply that, it returned to its cozy bush lair and laid down.
Thud! During the last moment of his life, the sound of something falling made Fatty’s heart tremble. He looked at the notification and, indeed, the Quad-Elemental Movement Book had dropped.