Chapter Sixteen: The Demonized King of the One-Horned Mountain Goats

Zhang Shan pulled up the game map, carefully retracing the route he had just run. Suddenly, he realized there was a corner he hadn't searched before.

He remembered passing by there earlier, but since he hadn't seen any red dots, he didn't pay much attention. Unexpectedly, there was another nook inside. If the distance is too great, the minimap won't show red dots, so that must be the spot he missed. He decided to take a look—maybe the boss was hiding there.

Zhang Shan made his way through a narrow alley, entering the corner of the map. Sure enough, several red dots appeared on the minimap. He tracked them down one by one: Demonized One-Horned Goats, all of them just regular mobs. There were still a few more red dots left—he was determined to check them all. He couldn't believe the boss wouldn't be there.

When he reached the fourth red dot, he finally found something different—a monster much larger than the ordinary One-Horned Goat King, about four or five times the size of a regular goat.

He grinned. Finally, he'd found it.

He crept closer to take a good look. It was a boss with a purple name—Demonized One-Horned Goat King. As for its stats, he couldn't see them yet.

"I've found the boss! Demonized One-Horned Goat King, it's purple!" Zhang Shan shouted excitedly in the party channel.

"Awesome, you finally found it! I thought you were going to have to come back empty-handed. What are its stats? Can we take it?" Qianli Riding Alone asked, equally thrilled.

"I don't know yet, haven't tried it. I'm still thinking about how to test it. I can kite the mobs, but the boss is bound to be fast. I might not outrun it. Dying for nothing would be a waste."

"It should be fine. Purple bosses, unless they have speed skills, usually move about as fast as you do. As long as you don't turn back to attack, you should be able to escape. Give it a try," Wind Chimes encouraged him.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot."

Zhang Shan scouted the terrain nearby, hoping to find some obstacles to use, but there was nothing useful. Oh well, he decided to hit the boss once and then run out along the narrow path, kiting it to the main map outside. He could always find somewhere to break line of sight and lose the boss.

He adjusted his attack range, fired a shot at the boss, and immediately sprinted outside. This time he was smarter—he checked the boss's stats instantly.

While running, he posted the boss's stats in the party channel:

Demonized One-Horned Goat King: HP 20,000, Attack 500, Skill 1: Charge, Skill 2: Bind.

Charge: When enraged, the Demonized One-Horned Goat King charges at its enemy, knocking them back and dealing an extra 1,000 damage. Bind: Randomly binds a target, rendering them unable to move or attack for three seconds.

"This boss is a bit weak, huh? Its stats are about the same as the Boar King, but its skills are much worse. I think we can beat it," Qianli Riding Alone said.

Zhang Shan ignored their chatter and focused on running. The goat king wasn't actually that fast—about the same speed as him. As long as he kept moving, he wouldn't get hit. He just needed to avoid pulling more mobs; otherwise, things would get complicated.

When Zhang Shan burst out onto the main map, he suddenly realized there was no sound behind him.

Where was the boss? He turned to look—the goat king hadn't followed. Could it be that this boss was fixed to that corner of the map? Interesting.

He decided not to go back in, instead waiting outside for Wind Chimes and the others.

About ten minutes later, the rest of the party arrived one after another.

"Boss Tianxia, this boss looks easy, practically a freebie, right?" Qianli Riding Alone joked.

"Normally it shouldn't be hard. The only question is what happens when it enrages. If it doesn't, it'll be a piece of cake," World Under Heaven said uncertainly.

"Doesn't matter, let's just fight," the Little Secretary chimed in.

"Hey, Secretary, how much health do you have now?" Zhang Shan asked curiously.

"Heh, with Guardian's Heart leveled up, I get ten percent more HP per level. I saved nine skill points and put them all into Guardian's Heart, nearly doubling my HP. With gear and base stats, I've got over 2,000 now. This weak boss shouldn't be a problem— even if it enrages and doubles its attack, I can handle it," the Little Secretary boasted.

"There's one issue, though—the boss's second skill, Bind, randomly targets someone. If anyone but Wind Chimes gets hit, it's fine. But if Wind Chimes gets bound, and she can't heal, the Secretary won't last long even with potions," Zhang Shan said, a bit worried.

"No problem. Wind Chimes shouldn't attack the boss, and at first, don't heal too much. Let the Secretary use potions to recover; only heal if it's not enough. That way, the boss's aggro stays low on Wind Chimes. If she does get bound, the Secretary should stop attacking and fall back a bit. Qianli, you take over tanking—you should be able to take two hits now. If it gets really bad, just run, kite the boss for a few seconds until the skill ends," World Under Heaven planned.

"Alright, let's clear the mobs before we fight the boss," he ordered.

The Little Secretary charged ahead, the others following through the narrow path into the boss's domain.

They quickly cleared the mobs, and the Secretary pulled the boss. Everyone took their positions, with Wind Chimes furthest back.

The Secretary tanked the boss directly while Zhang Shan and the other two attacked nonstop.

"This boss is a pushover; is it just an elite? It only hits the Secretary for a little over three hundred—doesn't feel like a boss at all. Probably just drops junk gear?" Qianli Riding Alone said as he swung his axe, sounding a bit worried.

"Yeah, it's pretty weak. We shouldn't expect much from its loot. Hopefully, it gives a lot of experience. If we could all level up, you'd hit level ten and be the first to leave the newbie village—think of the fame!" Zhang Shan replied.

"Leveling up instantly is wishful thinking. The Boar King only gave less than ten thousand experience. This boss is higher level, but of lower quality. At best, two or three thousand experience each," Wind Chimes analyzed.

"Even two or three thousand would be nice—saves a lot of grinding. The sooner we leave the newbie village, the better," World Under Heaven said casually.

Meanwhile, the boss's health was dropping rapidly. Their damage output was far higher than when they fought the Boar King at noon—not just because of better gear and higher levels and skill points, but also because this boss's defenses were much lower.

Within a few minutes, the boss was already at half health. Though it used its skills every so often, it posed no real threat.

The boss only Charged at the Secretary, but luckily, the Secretary's orange shield had a special effect: immunity to knockback. It was rock solid, though his HP would drop rapidly when hit by the skill.

But with a healer in the party, that was no issue. Wind Chimes had prioritized her Rejuvenation skill, and each heal restored nearly a thousand HP, quickly topping off the Secretary.

As for Bind, the boss used it now and then, but it didn't cause any chaos. Wind Chimes stood far back, never attacking the boss and only healing when necessary, so her aggro stayed the lowest and she hadn't been bound yet.

For Zhang Shan and World Under Heaven, it hardly mattered—they were ranged, so being bound just meant three seconds without attacking, and they rarely moved anyway.

Only Qianli Riding Alone got nervous when bound, being a melee fighter standing next to the boss and unable to move—it was a bit nerve-wracking.

"Haha, ten minutes to take down a boss—how about that?" Qianli Riding Alone laughed.

"Don't get too happy yet. The boss should enrage soon. Everyone, watch your positions. Secretary, be ready to fall back if you can't tank anymore. Qianli will pick up the boss. You can't die—if you go down, it's over. The rest of us are too fragile and would drop in one hit," World Under Heaven warned.

"Got it, don't worry," the Secretary replied.

"What about me? Can I really take two hits from the boss? If it crits, I might go down in one," Qianli Riding Alone said worriedly.

"What can you do? You're the sacrificial lamb. According to the script, you have to lie down, haha," Zhang Shan teased.

Qianli Riding Alone was speechless.

"It's fine. Even if you die and miss out on experience, you'll still get your share of the loot," Wind Chimes tried to comfort him.

That "comfort" only made things worse—it basically meant he was doomed.

Unwilling to accept his fate, Qianli Riding Alone protested, "Why do I have to tank? Zhang Shan can kite the boss. Let him do it for a bit, and once the Secretary's HP is back up, he can take over. Makes perfect sense."

"That won't work. If I'm kiting, I can't attack, and if someone else attacks, the boss will target them. If things go south, we could get wiped. It's better to sacrifice you and save the group," Zhang Shan countered.

Without someone holding aggro, the boss's attacks would become chaotic. At best, Zhang Shan might survive by running fast, but the rest would likely all die.

"Watch out, the boss is about to enrage," the Secretary warned.

When the boss dropped to ten percent health, its attacks suddenly became much fiercer. The Secretary's HP plummeted, and even though Wind Chimes was healing nonstop, his health bar kept jumping up and down, making everyone anxious that he'd drop at any moment.

"Full DPS! Secretary, keep an eye on your health. Qianli, get ready to tank. Come on, just one more minute and we'll finish the boss!" World Under Heaven shouted encouragement.

The boss Charged the Secretary again, nearly emptying his health bar. He quickly retreated while Qianli Riding Alone stepped up, using Falling Leaves Slash to try to hold aggro. Since the Secretary stopped attacking, the boss's aggro switched to Qianli, but sadly, the boss crit him on the head and he dropped instantly—Wind Chimes didn't even have time to heal.

"Damn."

Everyone was speechless. Both were strength-based classes, but the difference was stark. The Secretary still hadn't fully recovered, but had to pull the boss back; otherwise, the run would end in failure.

Fortunately, the boss was almost dead. Everyone gritted their teeth and attacked while Wind Chimes kept healing the Secretary. It was a contest to see who would hold out longer—the Secretary or the boss.

Zhang Shan kept shooting, occasionally landing a headshot for +50 damage, sometimes even a heavy hit for five times the damage. These passive skills truly shone at moments like this—victory depended on luck and crits.

Suddenly, the boss landed a critical hit, instantly emptying the Secretary's health. Wind Chimes couldn't heal in time, and the tank fell. But the rest of the group didn't panic— the boss's health bar was also empty, with only a few hundred HP left.

The boss turned on World Under Heaven, who was now second on the aggro list. He braced himself and attacked without flinching, while Zhang Shan also kept firing.

Just as the boss was about to strike World Under Heaven, Zhang Shan triggered a heavy hit—five times damage—and the boss finally fell. The entire fight had been tense and thrilling.

One could say that in this boss fight, Zhang Shan's passive skills truly made the difference. That final burst of damage sealed their victory.