Chapter Forty-Six: The Centaur Chieftain with Terrifying Attributes

Enraged Centaur Chieftain (Terror)

Race: Centaur
Primary Attributes: Constitution 115, Strength 124, Agility 42, Perception 36, Intelligence 5, Spirit 4
Secondary Attributes: Fortitude 21, Reflex 11, Willpower 8, Health Regeneration 20
Health Points: 15,750
Attack Power: 496 + 75 (Cleave)
Physical Defense: 42
Magic Defense: 20%
Skill Resistance: 30%
Movement Speed: 192

Skills/Passives:
Terror Template: +5,000 Max HP, +100% Attack Power, +100% Spell Power, +30% All Spell Resistances
HP Adjustment: 1 Constitution = 50 HP
Attack Power Adjustment: 1 Strength = 2 Physical Attack
Centaur Chieftain: +5,000 Max HP, 20% Damage Reduction, +20 Health Regeneration

Skills/Actives:
Centaur Charge: Charges at extreme speed toward a target up to 50 meters away, knocking aside all in the path, dealing maximum attack damage, and inflicting double physical damage (max attack x2) to the target, stunning for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Centaur Stomp: Slams the ground with great force, sending a shockwave that deals maximum attack x2 physical damage to all enemies within an 8-meter radius and stuns for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 90 seconds.
Double-Edged Sword: The Centaur Chieftain forsakes defense to unleash a powerful attack, dealing max attack x2 physical damage to himself and all nearby enemies. Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Savage Frenzy: When HP drops below 20%, the Centaur Chieftain enters a berserk state: +50% movement speed, +50% attack speed, +100% attack power, takes 100% extra damage. Lasts 60 seconds. After frenzy ends, all attributes are reduced by 75%, weakness lasts for two hours.

"This is just insane!"

Having seen the Centaur Chieftain’s stats, every single one of the group of ten was utterly daunted.

Even Zhang Chunlei and his companions were feeling deeply uneasy, none dared volunteer to go forward.

They exchanged anxious glances. Zhang Chunlei swallowed hard and said,

"I think we should forget it. The risk is just too great."

It was clear the boss could be killed; with more than twenty people from Classes Five and Six ganging up on it, sooner or later it would fall. But with these attributes, death was certain for some.

If it started with a charge, even a single follow-up normal attack would instantly kill someone.

If it chained a stomp, it could likely wipe out several at once.

Even a tank couldn’t withstand two skills in succession—a base attack of 571 was simply preposterous.

"So, none of you are taking the challenge?"

Chu Cheng wasn’t at all surprised by Zhang Chunlei’s reply. These attributes were beyond shocking, even to him.

After knocking the Centaur Chieftain’s HP below half and obtaining its full detailed stats, he had actually considered giving up.

His plan was to stay put, hold out until the Chieftain gave up in frustration, and then leave.

But with a sudden arrival of more than thirty people, he wondered if they might try to take down this boss together.

Clearly, after seeing the Chieftain’s stats, they were all frightened, none daring to make a move.

Outside the Centaur encampment, Wang Weilong broke a ten-second silence to ask Zhang Chunlei,

"Didn’t Chu Cheng say he already whittled the Centaur Chieftain’s HP down by half?"

Zhang Chunlei nodded.

"To be precise, it’s at 60%. Though it’s already regenerated a little by now."

"So, are you thinking of trying?"

Wang Weilong nodded.

"A half-HP Terror Template boss—such a chance is rare."

"But how would you try? No one can survive a full combo from the boss."

"Isn’t he quite tanky? Our team has two tank classes, a lot of melee, plus Zhang Hong is a mage, and several others have crowd control skills."

He turned to address everyone, speaking gravely.

"We’ve got over twenty people; with our combined output, I’ve calculated carefully: if we go all out, we can bring down the boss in less than thirty seconds."

"But there’s a key problem."

"Who can survive a full skill combo from the boss?"

Zhang Chunlei shared the boss’s stats again in the temporary channel and said,

"If the boss opens with a charge, then follows with a stomp or double-edged sword, the burst can reach over two thousand. Worse, after two skills, it can still do a normal attack, or even a three-skill combo plus a normal attack—total burst over 3,500. How could anyone withstand that?"

Wang Weilong spoke up immediately,

"Ordinarily, no one could. But we can interrupt the boss’s combos, even break the opening charge. As long as it can’t chain attacks, Chu Cheng or either of the other two tanks can each take one skill."

"Three tanks go in together, rotate aggro and damage, the mage focuses on crowd control—hold the boss for thirty seconds, that’s entirely doable."

Everyone fell silent. Some showed a hint of interest, but most were still unwilling.

Those tempted were mostly ranged; after all, they wouldn’t have to tank.

The ones truly hesitant were the two dedicated tanks and the melee classes, since the burden would fall on them.

At that moment, Chu Cheng’s voice suddenly came through the channel:

"I can take the full brunt of the boss’s burst."

"Even if the boss lands a three-skill combo, I can take it. But afterward, someone else needs to take over for the next move, and for ten seconds I won’t be able to step back in."

Everyone stared in surprise. Wang Weilong immediately asked,

"You’re sure?"

Chu Cheng chuckled,

"I wouldn’t risk my life as a joke."

He had done the math: a Centaur Chieftain’s combo—charge, stomp, double-edged sword—equals max attack x6, for a total of 3,426 physical damage.

Since these are three skill attacks, his talents and equipment could reduce damage by 42 x 3 = 126.

His physical defense was 51, reducing 57% of the damage, leaving 1,419.

His Blood God’s Body talent reduced another 10% (not stacking with defense), so he’d only take 1,277.

But that wasn’t all; before the centaur charged, he would activate Blade Storm, gaining basic super armor (prevents stun) and 30% damage reduction for the skill’s duration.

So 1,277 reduced by 30% leaves only 894.

Since the boss’s combo couldn’t possibly all land within one second, his base regen of 15 per second would recover 30 HP in two seconds.

His max HP was 990, so even if all three skills hit him at once, plus a follow-up normal attack, it still wouldn’t be enough to kill him.

While in super armor, he couldn’t be stunned; after the combo, he could immediately down a high-grade healing potion for 700 HP.

In theory, he could endure a full combo and remain combat-capable. But of course, he couldn’t reveal all his cards—others needed to feel involved too.

His proposal passed unanimously.

The biggest obstacle to killing this boss was that no one could survive its burst; as long as someone could, the boss would be forced onto normal attacks for the next minute. During that time, any of the three tanks could take hits in rotation. In sixty seconds, they would definitely be able to burst the boss down.

"But before we begin, let’s agree on loot distribution," Chu Cheng said in the channel. "I soloed the entire camp and will be taking the brunt of the danger. I don’t want much—just first pick of one item from the Centaur Chieftain’s loot chest. If the loot isn’t suitable for me, I’ll auction it and keep the money."

Wang Weilong and Zhang Chunlei exchanged glances and nodded decisively.

"No problem!"