Chapter 13

Meanwhile, the Black Mountain Imp's team was not having a smooth expedition in the Blood Howl Forest. After the priest and the bard were entangled and killed by the Murder Vine (a carnivorous plant that mostly lives in the canopy and shrub layers, with high agility, low health, and skilled at camouflage. Its attack methods include ambush and entanglement, and the accompanying toxins can cause varying degrees of damage based on the target's constitution) for the nth time, the Black Mountain Imp finally lost his patience and angrily shouted at the rogue in the team: "You, Ghost Blade, have you ever been a scout? Don't you even look up?"

The rogue named Ghost Blade, who was scolded, couldn't lift his head. The beautiful woman in front of him had a pleasant voice but a terrible temper, and she was also the team leader. He couldn't afford to talk back and risk bad luck.

"Alright, Imp, he's inexperienced. Everyone should be more understanding. Let's hurry up and move forward," the extremely popular beauty, the gatherer, said. The others, who had complaints, couldn't voice them. Only the Black Mountain Imp couldn't help but mutter, "If I had known, I would have brought Cube. Even if he's not great, it would be better than this..."

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener had other thoughts. Ghost Blade, who was scolded by the Black Mountain Imp, was already unhappy. Hearing the warrior's words, he started to think, "How could a high-level player give up the chance to clear a dungeon? I bet he's just pretending!" He secretly harbored resentment towards this imaginary competitor.

Fang Yi, of course, was unaware of what was being said about him. At that moment, he was busy setting up tactics for everyone.

"The Doghead Mage's casting level is very low, with only two to three spells. I can confirm that he has Fear and Charm Human, both of which are ranged spells. The elite monsters in this dungeon shouldn't be as crazy as those in the wild. Let's try this approach..."

After giving his instructions, everyone quickly took their positions as Fang Yi had ordered. The bard and the ranger stood at the farthest distance to operate, Fang Yi and Shenxian Jiao approached the boss, Ice Rabbit and Brick stood in the middle. After Shenxian Jiao confirmed that everyone was ready, he took a step forward, charging and blowing the horn to signal the attack.

Leader-level Doghead and Ogre monsters all have the Aura of Stench effect, which continuously applies a debuff to enemies within a 3-foot radius—Nauseating Stench: each layer reduces movement speed by 1% and increases damage taken by 1%. Later on, melee players' constitutions mostly exceed 20 points, making them immune to such low-level toxins. However, Shenxian Jiao and the others didn't have that luxury.

Previously, Shenxian Jiao had to endure the damage, but it was too high, forcing him to run around to avoid the boss's skill range, which led to the team's formation being disrupted. The usual solution was to sacrifice some output and have two tanks take turns tanking the monster. This time, Fang Yi's solution was to take turns with Shenxian Jiao to tank the boss.

Shenxian Jiao saw that the debuff on him was already stacked high enough, so he reminded Fang Yi and quickly retreated. Fang Yi kept moving in and out to control the aggro. As soon as Shenxian Jiao left the melee range, the boss let out a series of barks, and the staff in his hand began to glow with the distinctive purple light of the Charm Human spell.

Fang Yi quickly slid behind the boss and started stabbing the large buttocks in front of him. It wasn't that Fang Yi was being crude; the boss was generally tall, and he couldn't run away to build momentum, so he had to make do with the boss's behind.

When was the last time I took a bath? Maybe when I was a kid, catching fish in the river. Seeing the human warrior's flustered reaction, he even covered his nose and tried to run away. I couldn't help but laugh in triumph. Using our stench as a weapon is a secret weapon of our Doghead race, and I am one of the best!

Running away won't help. I raised my staff to cast Charm Human, but suddenly a sharp pain shot through my buttocks. My incantation faltered, and the spell failed!

Rage filled my mind. I turned around and saw the lowly human at my feet, a small figure darting around me. I used to be a warrior, and you, a despicable rogue, will face my fists and feet!

I swung my staff in a wide arc and lunged forward with my left hand, but the rogue vanished from my sight, and another sharp pain shot through my buttocks. Ahh, cursed human!

Shenxian Jiao stepped back to rest, but his eyes never left the rogue. Shenxian Jiao could see that Cube's agility was high, but so was Doraemon's. After reaching level 5, Doraemon's agility was already 17 points. Letting Doraemon tank the boss? Shenxian Jiao knew it was impossible; otherwise, they wouldn't have left the Doghead until now.

The rogue's movements were so natural and fluid, as if they were instinctive. But with years of gaming experience, Shenxian Jiao knew it was the result of countless battles. He had seen similar skills from other experts before.

"Shenxian Jiao, come on!" Suddenly hearing Cube's shout, Shenxian Jiao was taken aback but quickly reacted, charging to the boss and following up with a shield bash to the Doghead's groin, firmly taking the aggro and replacing the exhausted rogue.

Fang Yi quickly moved out of the boss's skill range, panting heavily. A level 3 higher elite leader was his limit. As long as his stamina allowed, he could grind the boss down, but with his current damage, it was impossible.

Shenxian Jiao and Fang Yi's cooperation became increasingly默契 (默契 means "默契" in Chinese, which translates to "coordinated" or "in sync" in English). The boss's health quickly dropped to 70%, and Fang Yi loudly reminded everyone to be cautious. Sure enough, the Doghead Mage Kiri Stinknose raised his staff and chanted, and the gatherer and the bard at the back of the team felt their feet become light, followed by their bodies uncontrollably spinning around. A magic status: Fear, appeared on their status bars.

Fang Yi quickly shouted to Ice Rabbit, "Rabbit, fall back, behind Brick!" Ice Rabbit instinctively moved back, and sure enough, within ten seconds, Ice Rabbit, who was at the farthest distance, also became afraid, while the bard and the ranger returned to normal.

As expected, Fang Yi's heart, which had been on edge, finally relaxed. The Doghead Mage's most annoying spell was Fear. The boss's mechanism was now clear: the Fear spell would only target the farthest one or a few enemies, and when there were no enemies within 3 feet of the boss, it would randomly choose a target to cast Charm Human. Fang Yi thought it was much simpler than in the wild. When he encountered the Satyr in the Mil Forest, the Fear spell affected a wide area.

With Fang Yi's reminders, everyone gradually became familiar with the boss's spell mechanics, and the battle soon entered their rhythm. After ten minutes, the boss's health dropped to 20%.

Just then, the Doghead leader, unable to withstand the team's attacks, raised his head and roared, plunging his staff into the ground. A bright white circle of light spread from the staff to everyone's feet: Freeze! The Doghead Mage, who cast the spell, ignored the staff and charged straight toward the priest's position.