I Came Prepared
The majestic appearance of the King Bushwolf resurfaced. It was still as grand as ever.
Heaths and Corus were both struck by the creature's imposing stature. Even Meldor and Jin could not deny that the King Bushwolf was indeed a creature worthy of his regal name.
"The legendary guardian of the forest... so it really does exist," Meldor grumbled.
"We will proceed as planned. Brace yourselves." Jin ordered. Before entering the forbidden forest and finishing the spawning requirement, Jin has already drawn up a plan for Meldor, the Heaths and the Corus on how to deal with the King Bushwolf. Although his last encounter with the majestic beast was brief, he had deduced a lot from such a short time.
First, although King Bushwolf was fast, he did not rely entirely on his speed alone. Jin pondered during his respawn time, and he inferred that the moment he was distracted by the fog that suddenly enveloped the beast, it was at that very moment that he lost track of where it went, giving the King Bushwolf ample time to attack without being noticed.
Secondly, the fact that King Bushwolf could avoid the attacks of the demonic sword Seyna without moving would mean that either he was too fast that the eyes could not keep track of such movements, or he used a skill that could allow his body to phase through solid objects. In any case, Jin now knows that direct, yet slow, attacks are futile.
Finally, King Bushwolf's passive Thorn of the Thickets could only be activated if King Bushwolf could attack directly. The Bleed effect would only be applied when the attack was severe enough to cause continuous bleeding. Although it is indeed a terrifying passive, it can easily be negated by avoiding hits from the King Bushwolf.
The demonic sword Seyna hovered overhead, and Jin looked closely at King Bushwolf, not letting a second slip by without him paying full attention to the majestic beast. If he were careless, he would be killed in a snap. Now that he has barely enough HP to tank attacks, Jin needs to rely on his speed and reflexes.
Although the King Bushwolf kept his calm and serene look, a hint of fear and anger gleamed in his eyes— the brazen demon came back, bringing with him ugly creatures unworthy of stepping into his domain. Is that demon courting death? He came back alive somehow? Tsk, typical of damnable weeds; they persist so hard that they refuse to die.
*Aroo!*
A low howl resounded, sending shivers down the spines of those who could hear it. Suddenly, a strong and cold wind swept through the forest, blowing dry leaves off the ground; an imposing aura suddenly burst from the King Bushwolf. In an instant, the feral figure of the majestic beast disappeared in a nebulous veil caused by the wind.
"Meldor, now!" Jin commanded.
*Tak!*... *Toog— Boom!* *Toog— Boom!* *Toog— Boom!*
Meldor hit the ground with the staff he usually carries. In a split second, a runic circle formed from the cracks on the ground, from which spheres of bright lightning appeared. At the next moment, Meldor, without hitting any allies, threw every sphere in all directions, puffing up a huge cloud of dust along the way, covering the entire surroundings with a powdery haze of dust and dirt. The remaining Corus followed, reducing the surrounding visibility even more, making it impossible for anyone— Not even Jin— to see.
However, Jin doesn't even have to be able to see. First of all, the one who attacks is the demonic saint sword Seyna, and a 'skill' doesn't need an eye to lock its target ...
*Aroo!* — *Swash* *Swash* … *Aroo— ack...ack...ack*
An obscure cry, as if someone was suffocating, resounded in the dense haze. Paired with the sound of a blade slicing against the skin like melted butter, the unintelligible noise became somewhat awful to hear. As long as the veil of dust and dirt was up, they couldn't see what was going on. Although, everyone around, especially those who were present during the bout between Meldor and Jin, knows exactly what was happening.
...
HP: 274,780 (-220)
HP: 274,570 (-210)
HP: 274,325 (-245)
HP: 274,125 (-200)—
…
Jin stared at the downpour of damage notifications from the fog. The effects acquired by the demonic sword Seyna after the improvement of DEX and AGI were just too terrifying, the fact that the King Bushwolf could not do anything showed how dominant the skill has become. Although he couldn't see the battle himself, he clearly knew what was going on— Everything was going as planned.
It took about three minutes before the surroundings were cleared off of the thick haze. During those minutes, the eerie cry didn't stop. Meldor and the rest of the Corus recovered their MP during the downtime. The Heaths then prepared for their turn.
A battered King Bushwolf appeared from the haze. His once silky, smooth fur was now tattered, his fair skin now covered in deep wounds. Blood dripped from the cuts, coloring the green and gray fur into a crimson-drenched coat. Claw marks were also apparent from the rest of the injuries, showing that it hurt itself from all the confusion.
The King Bushwolf gritted his teeth in anguish, some of them were already shattered. It would seem like the demonic sword wasn't picky in what part it hit. As long as it could cause damage, the swift and brisk blade would slice down and pierce through.
...
HP: 234,500
MP: 0
Fatigue: 60
…
"His fatigue rose this much? " Jin marveled. He saw that only a small portion of King Bushwolf's total HP was damaged, but his fatigue meter rose too high that it was almost on the verge of paralysis. Was this caused during the confusion? Did it flail too much that it exhausted itself along the way?
In all honesty, what caused the exhaustion didn't really matter. In fact, Jin felt like it was a disguised blessing. Since the damage caused by Seyna was a little too low, in contrast to how much HP the King Bushwolf has, it was only right to exhaust the beast to the point where it could not even move. Without hesitation, Jin directed the Heaths to proceed—
Giant clubs swung towards the limping beast. Although the attacks were not quick, the sheer number of them attacking at once made it quite impossible for King Bushwolf to escape. Surrounded by dozens of Heaths, the once majestic beast's chance to get out in such sticky situations was slim.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
The resounding banging echoed as several clubs struck the ground. Somehow, the joint attack of the Heath's missed! How was that possible? Although it was a shocking feat for the King Bushwolf, Jin could only smile with excitement— The fatigue meter of the beast went up again drastically…
...
HP: 234,500
MP: 0
Fatigue: 92
…
From a single Houdini-like exhibition, King Bushwolf exhausted himself to the point that he dropped countless beads of sweat. The beast was now panting so hard that everyone around could hear his breathing. "Attack it again, everyone!" Jin swiftly commanded.
Lightning orbs invoked by the Corus rained towards the direction of the exhausted beast, followed immediately by a volley of club attacks by the Heaths. It looked grim for the guardian of the forest; King Bushwolf, however, tried to maneuver himself out of the situation… Unfortunately—
Fatigue: 100 (Exhausted)...
*Thud!*
In his attempt to jump away, fatigue caught the King Bushwolf... the once majestic beast fell, and a resounding thud echoed. An extreme sense of fear could be seen from his still wide open eyes. How was it possible for a demon and his filthy minions to exhaust him!? A forest guardian like him should be revered, not treated like a stray dog. Why was he suddenly beaten into a pulp!? The crippled beast could only weep internally.
Jin slowly walked towards the unmoving feral beast, "I told you, I came prepared…"
---
HP: 0 (-200)
...
'It's odd how 'Conversion' hasn't even kicked in once...' Jin wondered. The other passive — Corruption —was repeatedly applied during Seyna's attack on the crippled King Bushwolf. The black flames that swallowed the unmoving beast— which caused a stacking D.O.T. of 5 HP/sec— actually made the task of killing it a lot faster and easier. The chances for 'Corruption' to apply only has 4% more than that of 'Conversion'.
'Perhaps there is a hidden requirement to be able to trigger it?' Jin pondered. It was an indeed an intriguing topic, but it was something that he had to hold back for now. There was no way for him to get an answer to such a query. For now, he was happy that he could finally finish the first quest, thanks to the abundant EXP the King Bushwolf gave.
…
[You defeated a Pseudo-Legendary Hidden Boss — "King Bushwolf"]
[You received 25,000 EXP]... [You reached LV 19!]... [You reached LV 20!]...
[3,500/24,150 EXP to LV 21].
[You received an item: 'King Bushwolf Royal Hide']
…
[Quest 1 of 13: Reach LV 20] (Completed!)
["Now that you are stronger, and could probably fend off intruders on your own, it is time for you to strengthen the people of your kingdom. Establish a martial utopia that would be envied by your peers and enemies alike."]
[Received Reward(s): +10 bonus stat points]
....
[Issuing quest…]
[Quest 2 of 13: Improve Thy Armory]
["Increase your kingdom's combat capability. It takes more than good soldiers to fight a war; you need good armors and weapons as well. Develop or manufacture weapons and armors to increase your soldier's combating ability. Reach a hundred on the quest meter.]
[Current Progress: 0/100 ]
[Reward(s): 10 bonus stat points, Skill: 'Clairvoyant Sight']