Lure

In the dungeon forest, the three players, having settled on a battle plan with Wang Zhifan at the lead, cautiously advanced deeper inside in search of the dungeon boss.

However, before long, an unexpected situation appeared before them.

"Boss, there are too many gorillas. We need to revise our plan."

At that moment, the three players poked their heads out from behind a barrier formed by the trunks of two trees growing side by side. In the forest some twenty meters ahead, they saw more than a dozen gorillas! Some were large, some small; some male, some female. Some leisurely chewed on unknown fruits, some played with one another, and others lay sprawled across tree trunks, fast asleep.

But the most eye-catching of them was undoubtedly a Silverback Gorilla that was exceptionally huge and muscular, nearly three meters tall and weighing over a thousand pounds!

It sat on the ground like a human, leisurely watching its fellow gorillas, like a squatting statue of a bodybuilding world champion in gorilla form.

"We do need to change it. I didn't expect this dungeon boss not to be alone... If we attack rashly, things probably won't end well."

Wang Zhifan fully agreed with his teammate's suggestion. Their original plan had been designed for a single target, but although this dungeon truly had only one boss, it had quite a few underlings around it!

Those ordinary gorillas might not look as intimidating as the silverback, but there were more than a dozen of them, and none would be weaker than an average person. If the three players directly attacked their leader, those gorillas would swarm them alongside a boss-level silverback. At that point, it would be hard to say who was hunting whom.

"We can't rush it. First, we need to find a way to get rid of the lesser monsters around the boss, then focus on the boss."

Wang Zhifan then proposed his strategy: his usual cautious approach. Eliminate the smaller targets that brought additional risk first, then deal with the main target.

"I'm confident I can take out those ordinary gorillas with my gun, but it might provoke a group reaction."

The bespectacled gunman in the black leather jacket said that he could handle the lesser monsters, though there was a risk of the situation spiraling out of control.

"We can lure them out and kill them one by one. There's a kind of fruit in those trees over there. It should be what they're eating, so we can use it as bait."

The young mage in the plaid shirt offered his opinion at the right moment. He had noticed something nearby that could be used as bait.

"Let's try it. But first, we'll try to lure the boss away by itself. If that works, it'll save us a lot of trouble."

Wang Zhifan considered completely separating the boss from the lesser monsters as another possible option, and it would be much easier if it worked.

"Lure the boss away directly? What if it spots us by accident?"

The bespectacled gunman in the black leather jacket immediately questioned Wang Zhifan's new plan. The problem was that it was too risky. Tossing something from afar to lure an ordinary gorilla on the outskirts was no big deal, but getting noticed by the boss would be serious trouble.

"There is some risk, but it won't be a major problem. I'll handle it myself. You two get farther away and prepare to support me."

As someone naturally rather cautious, Wang Zhifan generally preferred to avoid potential risks. But that did not mean he feared every challenge or dared not face enemies head-on.

At certain times and under certain conditions, taking an appropriate amount of risk was the more efficient choice. Like now—he judged that he had the strength to escape the monsters' pursuit or kill them outright, so he was the right person to carry out the task of luring the boss.

"Boss is a boss, all right. We'll listen to you!"

Seeing Wang Zhifan willing to shoulder the risk and responsibility, the bespectacled gunman and the mage in the plaid shirt both relaxed and became even more eager to cooperate with him.

Wang Zhifan did not hesitate in the slightest. He quickly discussed the details with his two teammates, had them hide in a patch of bushes farther away, ready to provide ranged support at any time, then picked some of the fruit the gorillas were eating nearby. After that, he slipped back close to the gorillas' territory and began his operation.

First, he lightly struck the ground three times with the Blade of the Wolf Fiend, stacking both the Berserk buff and the Rage buff to three layers. Then, boosted by his 24 Strength and 17 Agility, he began throwing fruit from a great distance at the Silverback Gorilla sitting on the ground.

Wang Zhifan's powerful attributes made both his strength and bodily control far superior to those of an ordinary person. After the first fruit he threw landed slightly off target, the second struck the Silverback Gorilla squarely on the back.

Though the Silverback Gorilla was huge and burly, its reactions were not slow. When it realized something had struck it—and struck hard enough to hurt—it immediately dropped to all fours, quickly turned around toward the direction of the attack, and searched for the culprit.

That was exactly the reaction Wang Zhifan had been waiting for. He remained carefully concealed, but under the cover of the trees' branches and leaves, he threw a third fruit at the Silverback Gorilla from some distance away, striking it accurately.

The Silverback Gorilla immediately caught sight of the direction the attack had come from. It rose upright at once, standing solely on its two thick hind legs, while its equally massive forelimbs began pounding its broad, furry chest. At the same time, it bared its fangs and let out a deafening roar toward Wang Zhifan.

"Still not coming over? Here, have another one."

Seeing that the Silverback Gorilla was still striking poses instead of charging over, Wang Zhifan showed it no respect at all. From far away, he threw another fruit at the silverback that was beating its chest in warning, hitting it directly in the chest.

This time, the repeatedly humiliated Silverback Gorilla was utterly enraged. Even though it still could not see what its enemy looked like, that no longer mattered. It only wanted to pound the thing taunting it into pulp! With one kick of its hind legs, its enormous body, like a giant muscular statue, leaped seven or eight meters forward. Then it charged straight toward Wang Zhifan on all fours. Whether branches or trunks stood in its path, anything that blocked it was snapped apart with a single swing of its arms, each thicker than a human's body! It was like an unstoppable tank rampaging across a battlefield!

"This thing is really fast... But those ordinary gorillas behind it didn't follow. The plan is going smoothly."

Wang Zhifan did not rush to flee. Instead, he first confirmed whether the dozen or so ordinary gorillas behind the Silverback Gorilla had followed their leader over.

He found the situation fairly promising. Most of the other gorillas remained in their previous states, with only a few turning their heads to watch their leader's movements. None of them immediately came over to join the commotion.