When the battle was over, we looted the equipment at least 3000 Bloody Fortress Defenders had left behind. It was as incredible as Beiming Xue had said earlier. There were almost 200 Gold, Dark Gold and Spirit–grade pieces of equipment in total, and while none of them were Earth or Heaven–grade, that didn’t mean that they weren’t amazing within their own tier. If I went to Sky City and set up a stall right now, I bet I could earn enough money to eat Shui Zhu Yu for the rest of my life, all for less than half a day’s work.

We also picked up all the cards. Lin Yixin and I collected almost 50 Axe Fighter Cards in total, a sum that could sustain both of us for a very long time. Not everyone could find a card that buffed their Attack by 50% and their attack speed by 20%, which was almost as good as the buffs of a high-level bard.

"Let’s go. I think the light ahead of us is probably the exit. Once we put this fortress behind us, we’ll be one step closer to the Dharan City ruins," I said while checking my weapon for a bit. The Cyan Netherworld Sword still had 72% durability, but it was something I would have to keep an eye on. Usually, the stronger a mob, the more durability it cost to kill it. To make a comparison, I could spend an entire month killing the goblins at the newbie village and probably not lose even 10% durability.

Meanwhile, Lian Xin was complaining while organizing her bag, "Oh no, my 240-slot bag isn’t enough to fit everything, but there are still so many Gold-grade items to grab! Do I have to toss away this +17 Tactics Gold-grade wristguard? Maybe I can dump a set of Magic Consumables for it…"

I pulled her up to her feet and chided her. "Dump my ass, a manaless mage is a useless mage. Also, there’s no need to act like this over a shabby wristguard."

Lian Xin retorted, "It’s called ‘every penny counts’, okay? Boss used to drill it into our heads like a mantra…"

Murong Mingyue commented in a robotic tone, "What a good girl you are. You should just get married already."

It was at this moment Lin Yin said from the front, "Marriage can wait until later. Now come here, you three. I think I see a jackpot…"

“What do you mean, Sister Lin Yixin?" Beiming Xue asked.

I spurred my mount forward and stopped next to Lin Yixin. It was then I saw a pair of red lights hanging in the darkness not far away from us.

"Why is there a pair of lanterns in this place?" Murong Mingyue said while caressing her amazing tiddies, "Is it a welcoming party?"

Beiming Xue shook her head before saying warily, "That’s not a lantern, Sister Mingyue! It’s a pair of eyes!"

Beiming Xue fired an Explosive Arrow right after she said that, revealing a giant creature when the skill exploded in midair and illuminated the passage. It looked like a giant lizard, but its body was covered in thick armor, and its neck was wrapped in dark chains. It looked like it had been shackled here for some reason, but one way or another, it was blocking our exit.

"Watch out! It’s an Immortal Rank boss!"

I walked forward warily while gazing at the boss with Dark Pupils active. Very soon, I shared its stats screen inside the party channel—

Froststone the Licker (Immortal Rank Boss)

Level: 200

Attack: 11200~13400

Defense: 14000

HP: 40,000,000

Skills: Stone Skin, God’s Gaze, Bloody Devour, Hellish Rockfall

Introduction: The Licker was a Mountainous Giant Lizard who lived during the ancient times until an apocalypse froze it and the mountain ranges it resided in in ice. Tens of thousands of years later, a transformation took over the Licker, and it finally obtained the blessing of the gods, gaining a godly gaze and the ability to manipulate the earth. Hundreds of years ago, the Licker was tamed by Ovia the Bloody Finger and turned into the guardian beast of the Bloody Fortress. It is a violent creature who loves to devour human beings, and up until this point, tens of thousands or people have perished between its jaws.

……

"Heavens, it’s a Level 200 Immortal Rank boss…"

My sword hand was actually shaking a bit with nervousness and excitement. "This thing’s even higher level than the Yin Yang Tiger! It looks like this’ll be a tough fight, everyone, hahaha! First things first, watch out for its skill! Beiming Xue, use Bone Eroding Arrow to reduce its Defense, or neither Yiyi nor I might be able to penetrate its 14k Defense! Our main damage dealer will be Lian Xin this time, so pay attention to your DPS and don’t OT, Lian Xin!"

The girls nodded in unison and said, "Got it!"

"Sis, gimme Restore. I’m going in!"

I rushed in, but didn’t go too close to the boss because it had a devouring skill. Let’s just say that it wasn’t my style to be devoured right at the beginning of the fight...

First, I fired a Dragon Slaying Slash. The energy splashed across the boss's head, and...

Bang!

2781!

My jaws nearly dropped when I saw the damage. Holy mother of God, if even I could only deal less than 3k damage to it with my Attack, just what was its effective Defense? This is insane!

"Roar roar roar…"

Offended by the attack, the Licker struggled to its feet, broke its restraints and ran straight toward us. The chains wrapped around its neck was as thick as a human arm, but it was nothing to a monster this size. I hurriedly dropped a couple of Icy Cyclone Domains as I retreated to slow it.

Swhoosh!

Lian Xin also dropped her Gravity Trap, but even our combined effort failed to slow it by much. Even Beiming Xue’s attempts to control it with Shock Arrows and other CC skills failed miserably. Its level was simply too high for us to suppress. We didn’t panic though. It was common sense that bosses had an incredible amount of resistances, causing most players’ CC effects to be reduced by 70% or more.

An enraged Phantom Wolf King also swiped at the boss again and again, but it only managed to deal around 3k damage per hit. The Licker had a passive skill called Stone Skin, and I reckoned that it increased its base Defense by 100%. If I factored in its hidden stats as well, then that was probably another 100%. 14k Defense times three equals a whopping 42k Defense and an absolute monster of a tank. There was no way us needles could pierce a steel wall.

"Beiming Xue!" I shouted, "The Boss’ weak point is the spot 5 cm below its eyes! You cannot miss this Bone Eroding Arrow, or we’re all going to die here!"

Beiming Xue immediately drew her bow and loosed a steel arrow enveloped in purple ripples of energy. It hit the Licker’s weak point perfectly and lowered its Defense by 40%. Again, the skill effect was reduced because the boss was a boss, but it was just enough for us to penetrate its Defense.

I turned 180 degrees around and charged the boss!

Swhoosh!

The Armored Ice Qilin Horse slammed its horn right into the boss's head. Although the skill failed to stun the Licker, that didn’t stop me from dishing out Burning Blade Slash—

17288!

24582!

31200!

It wasn’t a bad result. Not only did my skill manage to penetrate its Defense, the Necklace of the War God’s Broken Blade triggered at the perfect moment and stunned the boss for 7 precious seconds. It was just the time we needed to reorganize our formation.

Lin Yixin and her ice dragon rushed forward and attacked the boss. The Phantom Wolf King, the Thunder Beast and the Stone Giant also launched their attacks. Even Murong Mingyue had summoned her Ironwing Dragon and dropped it right on top of the Licker’s back. The dragon tried to take a chomp out of the boss's stone-hard skin, but it nearly broke its own teeth instead!

"Roar roar…"

After the Licker regained its freedom, it abruptly swung its tail like an iron whip and sent the Thunder Beast and the Stone Giant King into the wall behind them. They lost a huge chunk of HP, but thankfully, the blow didn’t kill them outright.

Then, the Licker opened its bloody mouth and used its devouring ability!

Gulp!

The Phantom Wolf King failed to dodge in time and was swallowed in one gulp. At the same time, the Phantom Wolf King’s icon appeared beneath the boss's UI.

Beauty Lin said with a deathly pale face, "Little Cheat, look, there’s two more slots in the devour bar. It means that it can devour another two units. You absolutely must be careful…"

I was just as nervous as her. "I got it. You should be careful as well!"

I activated Great Earth Transformation and used Universe Break. Once a bagua formation appeared beneath the Armored Ice Qilin Horse’s hooves, and an indigo energy burst out of the blade of the Cyan Netherworld Sword, I stabbed the boss at its weak point again and used Burning Blade Slash!

Bang bang bang bang! Four explosions cascaded in rapid succession, and the damage I dealt looked much better than before!

51092!

29388!

35727!

41282!

The flurry of attacks seized over 80% of the aggro instantly. Growling, the giant lizard abruptly turned toward me and opened its giant mouth once more. I could even see the green, poisonous bubbles inside its mouth!

"Watch out, big bro!" Beiming Xue shouted.

I felt like I was about to suffocate. Tensed and fully concentrated, I abruptly moved to the side when the boss's teeth were just 50 cm away from my head. Now was the moment of truth to learn if the skill could be dodged or not!

Bang!

The boss's head slapped into the floor and caused a shower of rock and debris. At the same time, a gigantic MISS appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Lin Yixin exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "Beautifully done, Little Cheat!"

While the boss was pulling itself out, I moved to its sides and hit it with another cycle of skills. The probe had been a resounding success. I had found out that Bloody Devour was a dodgeable skill, and as long as the timing was right—not too soon, but not too late either—it was entirely possible to dodge the attack. Devouring skills usually had a good amount of delay slapped onto them due to how cheat-like they were. If a player couldn’t exploit this level of opening, then they were better off not engaging a boss like this. Brute-force assaults might suit the likes of Mad Dragon and Hegemon Palace, but it was definitely not for us.

……

Suddenly, the boss raised its head and stared at our beautiful wanderer with its bloody eyes. I could see a pair of demonic flames dancing inside it. For some reason, Lin Yixin simply stood where she was and didn’t react.

A bolt of shock flashed across my mind as I shouted, "Yiyi, don’t look at its eyes! Shit!"

Swhoosh!

It was too late. A golden light hit her squarely, and her entire body started turning into stone. It wasn’t long before her legs, waist, armor, breasts and finally her face were completely covered in a layer of stone!