Chapter Seventeen: Slaying the Boss

On the other side, Mingyue Cheng put away her sword and shield, drew her greatsword, and charged forward, knocking down the awakening pirate leader. She raised her blade and delivered a heavy strike, cleaving into him.

Spring Thunder Zhang, positioned at the rear, quickly reacted. As a ranger, he didn’t need to approach; instead, he leaped onto a nearby rooftop and pointed, causing a fiery mark to appear above the pirate leader’s head. He then drew an arrow, nocked it to his bow, and began to charge his shot.

This was Zhang’s innate talent: he could mark a target, making them unable to hide or sneak. Against a marked target, he dealt 50% extra physical damage, and his allies dealt 20% extra physical damage.

The team's sole mage, Qing Zhang, slammed his staff to the ground and began chanting. A mass of invisible flame gathered before him, its scorching heat causing the ordinary soldiers to scatter, their faces filled with awe.

Meanwhile, Chen Chu had circled behind the pirate leader, separating him from his underlings.

The pirate squad leaders, seeing that Chu was blocking their way, exchanged glances and immediately turned to flee.

There was no camaraderie among pirates; they would fight fiercely when winning, but would run faster than anyone else when losing.

With the squad leaders gone, only the pirate leader remained.

This pirate leader was far stronger than the one Chu had encountered outside Brad Town before. That one was only level fifteen; this one was level twenty, with much higher health and base attack. Alone, Chu could not defeat him.

But with five teammates cooperating, it was a different matter.

Chu, Weilong Wang, and Mingyue Cheng surrounded him at close range. Chu acted as the main tank at the front, while Wang and Cheng stayed slightly behind, ensuring the pirate leader could only face Chu.

Knowing escape was impossible, the pirate leader turned his fear into rage and launched a ferocious assault on Chu.

This time, Chu didn’t foolishly trade blows as before. He raised his twin scimitars, defending without attacking and blocking every strike.

With four teammates, there was no need to risk his health; he only had to hold the line for them to deal damage.

His superb reflexes allowed him to parry most attacks, and he endured the rest. After blocking for a while, he swapped positions with Weilong Wang, who took over with his shield, giving Chu time to bandage himself and recover. Once healed, Chu stepped back in to face the boss.

This pirate leader was level twenty-two, his normal attacks hitting for just over two hundred. After accounting for talents and defense, Chu received about one hundred thirty per hit—he could withstand four or five solid strikes.

As long as the boss didn’t use any explosive skills.

To be safe, Chu called for Wang to cover him whenever his health dropped below half.

Mingyue Cheng, as a berserker, could also take a couple hits.

With this rotation, Chu restored his health before stepping back in.

The three alternated, trapping the pirate leader in a corner of the alley, unable to escape.

At the rear, Spring Thunder Zhang calmly loosed arrow after arrow.

Qing Zhang cast fireballs every dozen seconds—a slow cadence, but each fireball dealt two to three hundred damage and exploded in a wide area, an astonishing output.

The only drawback was the high mana cost and long casting time—four to five seconds of chanting, which required a reliable frontline to unleash his full power.

The pirate leader had 2,600 health, but under their siege, he lasted less than a minute before being beaten to death.

He dropped a green treasure chest, which Captain Weilong Wang kept for now.

Within the Chaos Realm, treasure chests were divided by quality: wooden, green, blue, red, purple, orange, gold, and supposedly even higher grades above gold, though Chu had never heard of them.

The chest’s quality determined the loot inside, but it wasn’t absolute—a blue chest from a small dungeon was not as valuable as a blue chest from a medium dungeon.

Besides, a wooden chest dropped from the dozens of slain minor monsters.

“This battle went rather smoothly.”

“Having a professional tank with MT talents really makes a difference,” Weilong Wang remarked with some emotion. “I take up my shield and wear this rare-quality armor, but my defense and health still fall short of yours.”

Chu responded modestly, “My talent is good for dealing with minor enemies, but you’re better against bosses.”

Wang shook his head. “Gear and skills can be improved, but talents are innate. Run a few more dungeons, get some special training from the instructor, and your durability will easily surpass mine.”

Chu grinned, saying nothing more. A little humility was enough—too much would seem false.

Besides, Wang was right. With his talent plus his exceptional constitution specialty, Chu’s durability was among the best at his level.

Especially because his golden finger could enhance his skills and specialties. Once he saved enough, bought some suitable skills, and acquired quality armor and a shield, he’d be a veritable tank—tougher than some bosses.

At that point, even without a team, he could solo ordinary bosses.

After a brief rest to recover, they followed the soldiers to another nearby battlefield.

Chu and Spring Thunder Zhang climbed onto a rooftop to observe. With reinforcements, the soldiers had managed to block the pirates and were slightly gaining the upper hand. Barring surprises, victory was assured.

They jumped down and relayed their findings to the others.

Weilong Wang didn't hesitate, saying, “Since the defenders have the advantage, we might as well go straight for the heart—circle around and assassinate the pirate leader.”

“Agreed,” came the reply.

The group looked to Chu, who nodded. “I’ll go first.”

“Alright.”

Resolutely, they flanked around, moving through alleyways to the rear of the battle, where they saw many wounded pirates lying at the edge of the main street.

Chu drew his blades and charged without hesitation, frightening the wounded into drawing their flintlock pistols.

A burst of gunfire erupted—then all the gunners lay peacefully once more.

Weilong Wang, following behind, lowered his shield, and Spring Thunder Zhang put away his bow.

“Your talent is ridiculously OP—a monster killer!”

Chu’s lips curled in a sly smile. He strode toward the front of the broad street; the gunshots had alerted the pirates ahead, who looked back. Further up, a pirate leader was directing the attack, surrounded by several squad leaders.

Chu didn’t attack immediately, but waited for his teammates to get into position. He also waited for more pirates to approach; just a handful wasn’t satisfying.

After some shouting, a squad leader led a dozen pirates in a charge.

Chu stepped forward to meet them, covering his face with his hand as seven blades struck him.

-3

-30, -30, -30…

-4

-30, -30, -30…

……

Seven shimmering waves, invisible to the eye, exploded in succession, tearing seven massive wounds into the ten pirates at the front. They toppled backward, unconscious, instantly entering a near-death state.

Chu stomped down with his foot, killing one on the spot.

The remaining pirates recoiled in horror, then turned and fled.

When Weilong Wang and the others arrived, they casually finished off the remaining near-dead pirates. Wang commented, “This was the easiest fight I’ve ever had.”

“Same here.”

“+1.”

Chu looked back and smiled. “Me too. At least I don’t have to fear the boss anymore.”

With those words, he bent his knees, lightning crackling over his body. After charging for a second, he shot skyward as a bolt of thunder.