Cruel

For the first twenty minutes of the dust battle, He Gu learned that the Wild Boar Leader had only one attack pattern: charging. This was the Wild Boar Leader's signature move, but also its weakness.

Using this weakness to hunt it down!

A thought flashed through his mind, and He Gu's expression turned extremely serious. He planned to fight like a bullfighter, landing a blow after each dodge. If successful, he wouldn't be hit by the Wild Boar Leader and could slowly wear it down.

With his mind made up, He Gu stared intently at the charging Wild Boar Leader, judging the optimal distance to dodge. However, what suddenly appeared before him made his pupils shrink to the size of pinpricks.

The Wild Boar Leader, galloping from a few meters away, had terrifying tusks that emitted a red glow from its mouth, similar to the light emitted when using sword skills.

"No, that's impossible..." He Gu couldn't help but take a step back. As he considered a possibility, a sense of dread suddenly surged within him.

The Wild Boar Leader's next action confirmed He Gu's unbelievable suspicion.

It was using the technique of a one-handed straight sword while running!

How could a monster use a skill application method he had figured out himself?

As soon as the fearful thought surfaced, the Wild Boar Leader became like a Flame Meteor streaking across the night sky, giving him no chance to react. Its red-glowing tusks crossed a two-meter distance in the blink of an eye, piercing his chest.

A brief, sharp pain made He Gu cry out, his HP dropping rapidly. He knew clearly that if he didn't escape the tusks quickly, death would be his only fate. Gritting his teeth, He Gu fiercely raised his sword and, while sliding, plunged it deeply into the Wild Boar Leader's right eye.

"Roar!"

With his vulnerable eye pierced by a sword, the Wild Boar Leader frantically shook its head, directly flinging He Gu onto the grass several meters away.

At the same time, its Health Bar lost a third of its total.

He Gu, thrown onto the grass, still had 10 HP left. If he hadn't allocated some of his upgradeable stats to Physique, he would have died already. Moreover, if his second skill hadn't been chosen as Strength, he would have fallen into Paralysis due to his extremely low health, leaving him with only death to await.

However, even so, the danger still remained.

There was no way out. How could he possibly defeat an elite monster that could use a one-handed straight sword while running?

He Gu got up from the grass. If his HP dropped by more than half, he would fall into Paralysis and only death would await him. This was a blessing in disguise.

Yet, he now felt only despair. He glanced at Xiang Kong, who was lying not far away, and a thought suddenly struck him.

Lure the Wild Boar Leader's aggro to the prone Xiang Kong, then seize the opportunity to escape! As this selfish thought emerged, He Gu himself was startled.

How could he have such a thought? That was something only a beast would do!

"Damn it! Better one dies than two!" He Gu gritted his teeth and squeezed out the words. Having made a momentous decision, he turned and ran.

However, the direction he chose was the opposite of Xiang Kong's.

He intended to lure the Wild Boar Leader far away. At the very least, if he died, Xiang Kong could survive.

Seeing He Gu's actions, how could Xiang Kong not understand that He Gu intended to sacrifice himself to ensure his safety?

The moment he used his one-handed straight sword while running, Wang Yang saw it too. At the same time, he felt utter despair in his heart, but he never expected He Gu to do something like this for someone he'd known for less than a day.

Having seen all sorts of players revealing their true natures and numerous scammers in online games, Wang Yang had become reluctant to trust players in games. However, in a death game, He Gu's actions had a tremendous impact on him.

At this moment, he forgot the fear of death. At this moment, he knew that if he turned and fled without hesitation, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

His health and blood only recovered 10 HP after leaving the Wild Boar Leader's range, but it was enough. Enough for him to regain his mobility.

Climbing up from the grass, Wang Yang chased after the Wild Boar Leader. After running a short distance, he saw that the Wild Boar Leader, chasing after He Gu, had its fangs glowing red again.

"Be careful!" Wang Yang roared, his eyes seemingly about to split open.

But it was too late. A meteor-like red light streaked through the air, directly smashing into the running He Gu and sending him flying. A sound like shattering glass rang out. Wang Yang watched as He Gu, flying away with his back to him, exploded into dancing fragments in mid-air.

A living person died right before his eyes. The bright future he had built over the past few hours vanished into nothingness along with those scattered fragments.

In the end... this was just a cruel world.

Wang Yang, his eyes red, looked at the Wild Boar Leader with both grief and hatred, his mind filled with only one thought.

Kill it. Avenge He Gu!

Someone who would fight over the right to use a basketball court would have some spirit. But under the threat of death, that spirit would only be suppressed. It was only when the stimulation made death seem insignificant that the spirit would emerge.

After killing He Gu, the Wild Boar Leader's aggro immediately shifted to Wang Yang. Its intact left crimson eye flashed with hatred as it charged at Wang Yang again.

While running, its sharp fangs, as long as an adult's arm, glowed red once more!

Wang Yang, however, ignored it and met the Wild Boar Leader, which was about to use its Straight Stab skill. He hadn't lost his mind to anger; instead, he knew that once the one-handed straight sword was used, its trajectory couldn't be changed, nor could it be stopped. It would only forcefully advance two meters.

This meant the Wild Boar Leader would unleash its Straight Stab when it was two meters away from him. By using this, his chances of blocking would greatly increase.

One man and one boar charged towards their respective targets. One figure possessed a meteor-like brilliance, while the other was merely a firefly emitting a faint glow.

A cloaked figure, arriving from a distance, watched this scene. A pair of clear eyes under the hood couldn't help but reveal a hint of guilt. She almost believed that the firefly, which couldn't compare to a meteor, was about to die.

"Die!" Calculating the two-meter distance, Wang Yang suddenly widened his eyes and let out a roar that echoed through the sky on the grassland. At the same time, he raised his shield and smashed it forcefully into the void.

As if it were a pre-arranged scene, just as Wang Yang smashed his shield into the void, the Wild Boar Leader, having crossed the two-meter distance with its Straight Stab, directly met Wang Yang's shield. Wang Yang, meanwhile, cunningly charged into the two fangs.

The effect of the Block skill manifested at this moment.

The skill's effect of resisting Charge Force meant Wang Yang didn't suffer any impact or damage. On the contrary, the Wild Boar Leader's HP bar dropped to less than half, and it was also knocked back one meter, falling into a stunned state.

After using the Block skill to stun the Wild Boar Leader, Wang Yang immediately assumed the starting stance for his one-handed straight sword. This was a rare opportunity because there was no guarantee the Wild Boar Leader would give up its newly learned running skill after suffering a setback. If that happened, Wang Yang would have no chance to turn the tables.

Either the Wild Boar Leader would die, or Wang Yang, who would be in a state of rigidity after using his skill, would die.

"Die!"

With another roar, Wang Yang's small sword emitted a blue glow. Instead of trying to slip past the Wild Boar Leader, he set his sights on its eyes, intending to kill it with a single blow.

Puchi!

The sword blade plunged directly into the Wild Boar Leader's eyes, and its health bar slowly emptied.

Peng!

Unlike the sound effect when a player dies, it sounded like firecrackers – a short, muffled bang. The Wild Boar Leader's body suddenly exploded into countless fragments.

A golden light signifying a level-up flashed across Wang Yang. Immediately after, a purple UI box displaying a string of items appeared before his eyes.

At the same time, the system prompted that Basic Sword Skill: Single-Handed Straight Stab had leveled up to Lv2...

However, Wang Yang showed no reaction to any of this. He slowly tilted his head back, gazing at the dim horizon with a vacant expression.

This should have been a moment of immense excitement and celebration, but all that remained was sorrow.

"Amazing!"

A clear and pleasant voice sounded from his left. Wang Yang's slightly dimmed eyes shifted in that direction. He saw a girl, about 1.5 meters tall, wearing a cloak, walking towards him.

The dim light obscured her face beneath the hood, burying it in shadow, so Wang Yang couldn't see her features. He could only tell she was female by her voice.

"I was worried you might die earlier. I didn't expect you to take down the Wild Boar Leader all by yourself. You must be a Beta Tester, right? But at this stage, to be able to defeat the Wild Boar Leader without relying on traps... as far as I know, no one has managed it yet." The cloaked girl's tone carried a hint of lingering fear mixed with astonishment.

Wang Yang simply watched the cloaked girl, his eyes like a stagnant pool.

As night approached and the light grew dim, the cloaked girl didn't notice Wang Yang's unusual state. Instead, she said with a hint of pleading, "Since you're a Beta Tester, you should know that the Wild Boar Leader only spawns after a player accepts a quest. The quest item it drops is also unique. Therefore, I need the quest item dropped by the Wild Boar Leader. Of course, I won't ask for the quest item for free. I don't have a single Kael on me right now, but I guarantee on the name of Argo of the Rat that if you give me the quest item, I will provide you with a piece of information you need for free in the future."

After speaking, she looked at Wang Yang expectantly. She failed to notice that her words caused a sharp glint to flash in his otherwise dead eyes.

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