Chapter Forty: The Hunter Takes the Lead

“Do you want me to test the boss’s stats first before we start, just like I did last night? I can pull it out and hit it a couple of times to see its attributes,” Zhang Shan said to Storm Rises.

The main concern was this gatekeeping boss—although its name was exactly the same as the one he’d fought before, its stats might not be. If the dungeon version was enhanced and he only had sixteen thousand health, he wouldn’t survive more than a couple of hits.

“Alright, let’s do it your old way—test its stats first, then decide,” Storm Rises replied.

Zhang Shan summoned his panda companion, directing it to act as cannon fodder and land the first blow on the boss. The moment his pet fell, Zhang Shan immediately turned and ran back.

When he reached the edge of the altar, the boss couldn’t hit him, but he could still attack it. A few strikes were enough to reveal the boss’s attributes.

Demonic Tribe Priest: Level 20, Health 1,000,000, Attack Power 3,000
Skill 1: Heavenly Fire Meteor
Skill 2: Imprisonment
Skill 3: Will of the Demon God
Skill 4: Firestorm

Heavenly Fire Meteor: Calls down a heavenly flame on the target, doubling the damage.
Imprisonment: Casts a magical bind on the target, preventing movement, attacks, and recovery of health or mana for three seconds.
Will of the Demon God: As the earthly representative of the Demon God, the priest can summon the Demon God’s phantom to assist in battle.
Firestorm: Casts magic over a designated area, dealing full damage for five seconds, covering a range of fifty yards.

Fortunately, the attributes and skills were exactly the same as the one he fought before. They could handle it.

“Damn, such a fierce boss is only on normal difficulty? Then who can clear it on hard or extreme?” someone exclaimed.

“Yeah, it’s insane. Luckily, we should be able to beat this one. We just need to clear the dungeon to complete the guild creation quest—there’s no difficulty requirement,” another replied.

“Boss, how are we doing this? Give us the plan,” Storm Rises said directly.

“Here’s the division of labor: this time, Six Barrels will tank the boss. Support will be split into two groups—one to heal Six Barrels, the other on standby at a distance, so you don’t all get wiped out by the boss’s ultimate.”

“What about the rest of us? Do we all attack the boss?”

“Ranged classes should spread out as much as possible. The boss’s Firestorm covers fifty yards—not quite full-screen—so if you’re spaced out, you can save a few people.”

“Boss, should melee go up? The boss’s attack is so high, we can’t take even a single hit.”

“All melee with charge or stun skills, sound off,” Storm Rises ordered after thinking it over.

123456…12.

Storm Guild certainly had its share of heavy hitters. A single charge or stun skill book still started at 100,000 gold at auction, yet twelve people had the skill. They hadn’t looted many themselves; most came from the auction house. True big spenders.

“Twelve people, split into three groups. Once the fight starts, one group moves in. If Six Barrels gets imprisoned, immediately use your skills to pull aggro. The other two groups wait outside. When one falls, the next moves up.”

“So we’re just cannon fodder, huh?”

“Be glad you even qualify as cannon fodder.”

“One more thing: healing will be under the most pressure this time. Six Barrels only has sixteen thousand health, the boss’s damage is over six thousand, and even higher on a crit. He can only take two hits at most, so keep his health topped up at all times.”

“What’s the worry? He’s got two lives, anyway. After dying, he can get back up after ten seconds.”

“Don’t count on his second life. The goal is to beat the boss without Six Barrels dying at all. His resurrection skill is for emergencies—not part of the plan.”

“By the way, Six Barrels, what’s your attack power now that your legendary weapon’s been unlocked?”

“Just shy of three thousand.”

“Insane! That’s ridiculous—I barely have over three hundred.”

“Anyone with less than three hundred can’t even speak up.”

“With your sixteen hundred attack this morning, you did over six hundred thousand damage to the boss in five minutes. Now you have three thousand, and with attack buffs, it’ll be even higher. Others can add some damage too—let’s try to finish this within five minutes.”

“Got it. The longer it drags out, the more skills the boss will unleash. If everyone falls, I won’t survive either.”

“Alright, once everyone’s in position, Six Barrels starts the fight.”

“Are we all set? If you’re ready, I’ll go in. Healers, keep an eye on me.”

“We’re in position.”

“Don’t worry, Six Barrels. Go ahead.”

Zhang Shan didn’t send his panda to pull the boss—his pet could only take one hit now, barely two, so it wasn’t much use. He set the pet to follow and attack whatever he targeted. The panda’s damage wasn’t high, but every bit helped.

He walked straight toward the boss, and once in range, fired a shot. A red damage number of thirty-six thousand appeared above the boss’s head.

His first attack triggered the Holy Strike effect—a promising start.

Once attacked, the boss took two steps toward Zhang Shan. A Heavenly Fire Meteor came down, taking nearly six thousand of his health, but the support behind him quickly healed him up.

With just a hundred defense, Zhang Shan barely resisted the boss’s attacks; the boss was dealing almost full damage.

As the boss closed in, he and Zhang Shan entered a back-and-forth damage cycle. However, Zhang Shan’s attack speed was much faster. For every skill the boss cast, Zhang Shan landed three hits—spellcasting was indeed slow.

After Zhang Shan locked down aggro, the other ranged attackers joined in, including guild leader Storm Rises. While their attack power wasn’t as high as Zhang Shan’s, the boss’s defense wasn’t great, so each did over a hundred damage per hit.

With so many people attacking together and Zhang Shan’s explosive output, the boss’s health dropped rapidly—it didn’t seem all that hard.

At first, everyone could focus on dealing damage safely. The boss hadn’t used any other skills yet.

But when the boss’s health fell to eight hundred thousand, a red light suddenly descended on Zhang Shan.

He was imprisoned—unable to move, attack, or receive healing from support behind him.

Crucially, his health was already low. One more hit would put him down.

At this critical moment, Storm Blade charged in, quickly pulling aggro. The boss turned and dropped a Heavenly Fire Meteor on him, instantly knocking him out.

As soon as the boss took down Storm Blade, Zhang Shan’s imprisonment ended.

The boss’s imprisonment only lasted three seconds. As long as someone took over aggro, the situation could be salvaged—after all, the boss’s attack speed wasn’t high.

“Well done, Blade.”

“Just routine—cannon fodder’s role, after all.”

“Melee team one, pay attention. Do as Blade did. When Six Barrels is imprisoned, grab aggro immediately—don’t waste even a second. The boss seems to use Imprisonment when Six Barrels’ health is low,” Storm Rises reminded everyone, still uneasy. That last moment had been far too close—if Storm Blade had been even a heartbeat slower, Zhang Shan would have fallen.