"Just hold the line. The commander doesn't need our help!"
After calming down the villagers who wanted to go help the powerful commander, Usop stopped worrying about the commander and his pet.
The two kings were still tearing into each other. Their movements were so savage that they kept accidentally hitting the wild wolves nearby, and the area of the battle was slowly expanding.
Sun Busong fought while following them. He didn't have time to worry about the defenses now. For one thing, he was worried about Humar; for another, how could he waste such a perfect opportunity to farm monsters?
In just this short while, his Kill Points had already passed 300!
Humar was ambushed by the Wolf King again. This time, the Shadow Magic Missile didn't hit a vital spot, but it still blew three charred holes in Humar's silky fur. Roar! Humar was ready to fight to the death.
The fight had been going on for more than ten minutes, and both sides were already below 20% health. But neither cared. Every move drew blood, every swipe left a mark!
Humar was covered in wounds, and its Health Points were nearly gone. If you were wondering why Sun Busong didn't heal Humar, well, sorry! He didn't have that skill (hiding his face and crying). The only skill Sun Busong had involving Humar was a whistle. As long as he blew it, Humar would quickly come to his side. But there was one condition: Humar and Sun Busong had to be in the same area. Otherwise, he could blow the whistle until it broke, and Humar still wouldn't be able to come.
The battle was nearing its end. The Wolf King was running out of strength. It had only 2% health left, while Humar still had 8%. Sun Busong unleashed his ultimate move!
Whirlwind Slash Instant cast 5-minute cooldown Requires a melee weapon Whirl your weapon around like a whirlwind, attacking up to 8 enemies within a 10-yard radius and dealing damage to each target equal to the combined damage of all your equipped melee weapons.
Sun Busong, wielding an axe in each hand, suddenly spun around, blocking all the wolf pups trying to help the Wolf King. The wild wolves could already feel that their king was about to die. They didn't care about their losses and charged desperately toward Humar.
Awoooo!
Just then, the Wolf King let out a mournful howl and crashed to the ground. A flash of white light shone over Humar, Sun Busong, and the others—they had leveled up!
But this was no time to relax. Sun Busong's health bar was still at 80%, but after a fierce battle, Humar had only a sliver of health left. Just as Sun Busong realized they were in danger and prepared to scoop up Humar and leap out of the wolves' encirclement, the pack suddenly stopped attacking. They retreated!
One by one, the wolves howled mournfully at the Wolf King's corpse, then tucked their tails between their legs and quickly fled. The werewolves retreated as well. Only after seeing them withdraw did Sun Busong finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Usop, who had been inside the defenses, leaped out and hurried to Humar's side to cast a healing spell.
"Commander, Humar's badly hurt. It needs to be bandaged right away. And, well, it's like you—the health bar's pretty long. Even if I used up all my mana, I couldn't fill it."
"It's fine. Let it rest and its health will refill on its own. Just heal it a little. With the wolves and werewolves gone, the most important thing is to have everyone reinforce the defenses right away."
"Yes, sir!"
After Usop left, Sun Busong picked up Humar and returned to town. He found a quiet spot and took out some first-aid bandages to dress its wounds.
"You were incredible today, kid. You actually took on an elite monster by yourself. Impressive! Hahaha."
After finishing the bandages, Sun Busong stood up and glanced toward the passage defended by the Night Watchers.
"I don't know what's going on over there. Don't go wandering off. Once you've mostly recovered, come find me. I'm going to help them first!"
He patted Humar on the head, then headed toward the entrance guarded by the Night Watchers.
He hadn't even reached the southern defenses when waves of battle cries reached him. Things weren't looking good over here, either.
Sun Busong quickened his pace.
Soon, the two forces fighting fiercely up ahead came into view.
One side was the Night Watchers, led by Commander Althea Eberlock. Almost the entire Night Watch was out this time. Their enemies, however, were a strange combination of ogres and Spider Monsters!
There was no shortage of Elite Professionals among the Night Watchers, and most were between levels 28 and 42. Compared with Sun Busong's Imperial Guard, they were the real main force. Yet now they were being forced onto the defensive and looked utterly disheveled.
Only after taking a closer look did Sun Busong realize these ogres were no ordinary foes. They had four types of troops: two physical fighters, the level 28 Cracked Fist Warriors and the level 32 Cracked Fist Ogres.
Then there were the Caster Classes responsible for the Night Watchers' heavy losses: level 30 Cracked Fist Fire Controllers and level 33 Cracked Fist Warlords.
These ogres were quite intelligent. They had the higher-level Cracked Fist Ogres hold the front and pin down the Night Watchers, while the casters stood far behind and hurled spells. The Night Watchers were thrown into disarray in no time.
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The enemy had reinforcements, too.
Level 25 Black Widow Spiders and level 29 Green Lone Spiders.
These monsters were supposed to be melee fighters, but now they were being used as ranged attackers. They shot webbing from their abdomens, clinging fast to the Night Watch soldiers inside the defenses, then dragged them out to be surrounded and killed!
Their levels weren't high, but there were far too many of them, packed together in a dense mass. Several Night Watchers had already been dragged out and bitten to death!
"Hold on, everyone! Dawn's coming soon. As long as we last until dawn, the enemy will retreat!" Commander Althea encouraged the other Night Watchers while defending with a large shield.
"Watch out for their webs! Don't get separated. If someone gets stuck, use a torch to burn through the web. They're afraid of fire!"
Just after she shouted, several streams of webbing shot toward the large shield in her hand and stuck fast to it. Before Althea could react, the enemy's webs had dragged the shield right out of her grasp!
Sun Busong had just arrived in time to see what happened. He leaped several meters into the air, and his two axes came crashing down on the Black Widow Spiders with a thunderous boom.
Heroic Leap: 5–45 yards Instant cast 5-minute cooldown Leap high into the air, then strike the ground, dealing weapon damage equal to 200 + 62.4% of Attack Power to all enemies within an 8-yard radius of the target area and stunning them for 1.
The attack dealt more than 1,800 damage. The Black Widow Spiders had gathered in a tight group, so they were all killed instantly!
After landing, Sun Busong didn't bother checking whether the monsters were dead. He quickly picked up the shield. "Commander, here's your shield!"
The whole sequence, from start to finish, took Sun Busong only five seconds!
The shield flying toward her startled Althea, and only then did she react. She quickly recovered and called out to Sun Busong, "Be careful! The enemy has caster monsters!"
"Hehehe! Casters are exactly what I'm here for!" Sun Busong replied with a ferocious grin. Then he charged straight into the ogre casters and began slaughtering them!
These caster ogres had two heads and carried staves made from the bones of some unknown animal. Their defenses were terrible, and they had only a little over 1,200 health. But their magic attacks were powerful, and they were responsible for most of the wounded among the Night Watchers.
Sun Busong was like a reaper, charging back and forth through the crowd of Magic Cloth Armor-wearing monsters.
Thunder Strike! Whirlwind Slash!
He had been able to use these two moves for a while. In just one minute, Sun Busong had carved out an empty patch in the middle of the monsters, leaving 27 ogre casters lying on the ground.
Then he used his Charge Skill to rush toward the Spider Monsters. He threw an Arcanite Grenade into the densest part of the enemy formation.
An explosion rang out. The Black Widow Spiders in the smoke-filled area all froze in place. The Arcanite Grenade's special effect had activated, paralyzing any enemy it hit for three seconds.
The Arcanite Grenade dealt less than 500 damage, but three seconds was enough time for Sun Busong to swing his axes more than a dozen times.
He hacked through them like vegetables. By the time Sun Busong charged toward another group of ogres, only seven or eight corpses remained on the ground.
Seeing Sun Busong slaughter the enemy, the Night Watch soldiers shouted with excitement. The oppressive feeling the enemy casters had forced on them now vanished, and their fighting spirit surged.
"Kill them! Take out the ogres blocking the entrance, then go support the Imperial Guard commander!"
"Ranged fighters, pick off the low-health enemies. Don't let them recover!"
"Don't charge too far! Our mission is to defend! Sir, please stop showing off your powers!"
Some of the life had returned to Althea's eyes. They no longer looked as dull as before. She had seen hope. This extraordinary Imperial Guard commander was even more powerful than she'd imagined.
Sun Busong wasn't reckless, either. After fighting for a while and using up all his skills, he quickly returned to the defenses to rest. In three minutes, he had killed 57 enemies and gained nearly 200 Slaughter Value.
"Don't use the things the mayor sent just yet. They're meant for the necromancer. I have some bandages here, so come take some if you need them."
Sun Busong found a spot inside the defenses and sat down. He needed to recover his strength. Using skills so frequently was putting a serious strain on him.
"Rest, sir. We'll take care of this wave. Hahaha, you really looked like a savior just now. We were all completely stunned."
The speaker was a level 38 Elite Night Watchman. He had already given up hope for this defensive battle. Just a few minutes ago, he'd even written his last letter. But now, as he looked at Sun Busong, a conviction had taken root in his heart: they would definitely survive!
"Sir, I have some food here. Have a few bites. There are still plenty of enemies behind us, so I'll get back to the defenses. I'll leave the rest to you, sir. Please, you have to save our town!"
Sun Busong hadn't planned to concern himself with these Night Watchers. He needed to recover his strength and fight another round. But everyone had a heart, and the Night Watchman's attitude warmed him.
"Wait, I have something for you!"
As the Night Watchman watched in puzzlement, Sun Busong took a weapon out of his backpack.
It was a Blue Gear weapon he had crafted some time ago. But it was a polearm, which he didn't like, so he'd left it gathering dust in his backpack.
Black Widow Reaver (Blue Gear): Item Level 46. Two-Handed Polearm 88–133 damage Speed 3.10 (Damage Per Second 35.6). +12 Agility +12 Stamina Durability 100 / 100 Required Level 38 Chance on Hit: Deals 130 damage to the target.
"This weapon's yours. You're level 38, so you can use it." Sun Busong tossed the Blue weapon to him without a second thought, ignoring his dumbfounded expression.
"Fight well. Don't let this weapon down."
Then Sun Busong closed his eyes and stopped paying attention to him.
"This..."
The level 38 Elite Night Watchman held the weapon and glanced at its stats, his face full of shock!
This weapon was a top-tier item. Not only did it deal high damage, it also boosted two attributes, both of which he desperately needed. Most importantly, it had a special effect!
Freyzer was so moved that he wanted to kneel before his benefactor. But when he looked up and saw that Sun Busong had already closed his eyes to rest, he understood that the Imperial Guard commander didn't care about receiving thanks face-to-face.
He gripped the polearm, bowed deeply to Sun Busong, then charged back into the battle.
Sun Busong rested for less than five minutes before all his skills had recovered and were ready to use again. His strength had mostly returned, too. Just as he stood up, ready to charge into battle once more, he suddenly caught a familiar scent. It was Humar!
"You came all the way here without saying a word, huh? Hahaha, good. We'll fight together." Sun Busong smiled as he stroked the fur scorched by the Magic Missiles.
Humar's health had completely recovered. As long as it wasn't killed, its health would recover at an incredible speed—faster than if healers used magic on it. This was another one of Humar's hidden attributes.
"(^w^) Meow!"
"Hahaha, let's go!"
After Sun Busong's rampage, the enemy hadn't lost many casters, but they were terrified by his imposing presence.
While Sun Busong recovered his strength, the ogres hadn't launched an attack. Instead, they had retreated behind the Spider Monsters to hide, giving the Night Watchers a chance to catch their breath.
Just as Sun Busong was about to sneak up on the ogre casters in their Magic Cloth Armor, a commotion broke out behind the Spider Monsters. A dense mass of spiders rushed out of the woods. They waved their forelegs but didn't attack, as if waiting for some kind of signal.
Sun Busong was a little puzzled. Since when had this bunch of spiders learned to be afraid? They were only beasts. Unless someone was directing them!
All right! He'd barely thought that when Humar suddenly roared twice. It had clearly entered combat!
A huge creature slowly crawled out from behind the enemy ranks. When it got closer, Sun Busong finally saw what it was.
A red-and-green Wolf Spider more than three meters tall.
Nalakhsis, a level 29 rare Silver Elite monster. The Spider King had arrived!
Its head and eight legs were red, while its body was green. Each leg was more than two meters long, its fangs jutted out, and its eight pitch-black eyes fixed on Humar!
"Is this another one planning to fight one-on-one?"
Sun Busong looked at Humar, crouched low and growling as it braced itself for battle. "Why is it that whenever you growl at someone, they get mad at you?"
But he couldn't let Humar go up now. Never mind the level 29 Silver Elite's attack and defense—the spiders gathered around the Spider King would be more than enough to devour ten Humars.
"Althea, you and your people handle the smaller ones. I'll go kill the Spider King. Half an hour ago, I killed a Wolf King in the north, too. If I'm right, these spiders will retreat once the Spider King is dead."
Althea was standing beside Sun Busong now. She had seen the enormous Spider King, too.
"All right. We'll hold the line. I'll leave the Spider King to you. Please be careful!"
"Hahaha, don't worry. This'll be a piece of cake. But you'll have to draw the smaller monsters over first, or I won't be able to get through."
"Ranged fighters, focus your fire on the spiders surrounding that giant one and draw them over. Melee fighters, prepare to defend. We'll hold them off for another wave. Once the Imperial Guard commander kills the Spider King, we'll win!"
Althea gave the Night Watchers their orders, and they quickly got moving.
A volley of fire streaked toward the spiders. The Night Watchers' ranged archers had fired flaming arrows. As they flew into the crowd, more than a dozen spiders caught fire, throwing the pack into a commotion.
But the flames quickly went out. Seven or eight charred spider corpses lay on the ground, yet the rest of the pack still didn't charge over.
It seemed these Spider Monsters wouldn't act on their own while the Spider King was there. Just as Althea was about to think of another way to draw them over, Humar let out a loud roar, taunting the Spider King again.
This time, the Spider King reacted. The nearest spiders, several level 32 Carrion Lone Spiders, stopped surrounding the Spider King and led group after group of other Spider Monsters toward the defenses.
"Nice work!" Sun Busong praised Humar. Althea was delighted, too. Humar had helped her out a great deal.
Now, it was Lion King versus Spider King!
Before you continue