The Tide Turns, the Two Boars Are Stunned

Gan Ming found his attack rhythm in less than a minute.

He closed in and slashed three times, triggering the charged strike.

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Then he retreated to wait for Rotten Root Entanglement to cool down before closing in again for another three slashes.

Although he was struck by branches a few times in between,

he simply used Healing to restore 51 health.

It was practically effortless.

In less than two minutes,

the Withered Wood Treant's trunk was covered in crisscrossing blade marks.

Dark green sap flowed from the cracks.

For the final strike, Fanged Charge!

Bang!

-14!

Gan Ming gripped the hilt tightly and brought the blade down onto the crack in the Tree Spirit's main trunk.

Crack!

The entire tree split down the middle.

The green light in the two tree hollow eyes on that "face" slowly went out.

[Killed Withered Wood Treant (Level 5), gained 200 experience.]

Gan Ming sheathed his blade.

Compared to the five-minute grueling battle with the Pig Monster, this fight had been far easier.

There was only one reason.

Fanged Charge.

A 150% Heavy Strike every three slashes was a weapon for piercing high defense.

Without this passive, he might not have been able to chop through the Withered Wood Treant's defenses even after half an hour.

"Thank you, Master Pig!"

Gan Ming crouched and placed his hand on the Tree Spirit's remains.

Soul Snatch.

[Soul Snatch successful!]

[Skill acquired: Bark Armor (increases own Defense by 100% for 10 minutes. Costs 20 Mana.)]

[Skill acquired: Woodland Affinity (Passive. While in a woodland environment, Defense increases by 10% and restores 1% Health per second. Takes effect whether in combat or not.)]

Whoa!

He had successfully taken two skills at once?

Not bad luck!

The Tree Spirit had three skills in total. He had snagged two in one go, making his success rate much higher than when he had fought the boars.

Gan Ming opened the activation interface.

[Currently Active (1/3): Fanged Charge (Passive)]

He put both Bark Armor and Woodland Affinity into the active slots.

[Currently Active (3/3): Fanged Charge (Passive), Bark Armor, Woodland Affinity (Passive)]

All three slots were filled.

Gan Ming stood and immediately cast Bark Armor on himself.

A thin layer of dark green film rose from the surface of his skin, covering his entire body before sinking beneath it.

It felt as though he had put on an extra layer of soft armor beneath his clothes, yet it did not hinder his movements at all.

At the same time, Woodland Affinity's passive effect began to take effect.

He felt a faint warm current rising from the soles of his feet.

The bruises and scrapes left from the battle visibly faded within a dozen seconds.

Restoring 1% Health every second.

In this forest, it was like having permanent health regeneration cheats enabled.

Two god-tier skills.

Freebies!

Gan Ming stored the Tree Spirit's remains in his ring and opened his attribute panel.

[Defense: 50 (5+19+26)]

Of that, 5 points came from the Defense converted from his Endurance attribute,

19 points came from the three pieces of gear,

and 26 points came from the 100% Bark Armor bonus and 10% Woodland Affinity bonus.

In other words,

Gan Ming was now wearing two sets of three-piece gear.

Twenty seconds later.

Gan Ming rose to his feet but did not continue forward.

He turned around and headed back the way he had come.

His destination was naturally where the two Iron Bristle Wild Boars were.

But this time, the offense and defense had switched!

Though several minutes had passed,

the old tree was still there, the muddy ground was still there, and the two boars were still there.

They had merely moved to another spot to continue rooting through the soil, less than twenty meters from where they had been before.

This time, Gan Ming did not circle around behind them. He stepped out from the front.

Hearing the movement, both boars raised their heads.

Four cloudy little eyes locked onto him at once.

Oink! Oink!

The boar on the left launched an Ambush first, its gray body shooting low across the ground.

The one on the right was half a beat slower, but it charged in as well.

Gan Ming faced the left boar's charge without moving his feet.

Its three-hundred-pound body slammed into him.

Bang!

Gan Ming's body swayed slightly.

But it only swayed.

The same Gan Ming who had been sent flying by the Pig Monster's Ambush last time

only took half a step back this time.

Huh?

It hadn't broken through his defense!

The boar on the left was equally stunned.

After launching Ambush, it felt as though it had rammed into a wall.

Before the left boar could react, Gan Ming raised his blade and slashed.

One slash.

-13

Two slashes.

-16 (Weak Point Strike)

Three slashes... Fanged Charge!

-20

Splat!

The Heavy Strike chopped into the Pig Monster's neck, sending its bristles flying and blood spraying.

At the same time, the boar on the right finally arrived, its Ambush tusks thrusting in from the side.

Gan Ming took a deep breath and decided to take the hit head-on.

Bang!

It still hadn't broken through his defense!

He did not even turn his head. With a backhand slash, he cut across the right boar's snout and put it on the tab.

One slash.

-14

Then he continued focusing fire on the boar on the left.

Two slashes.

-13

Three slashes... Fanged Charge!

-21

The two boars began rooting, ramming, and charging around Gan Ming.

Gan Ming stood between them, slashing left and right with astonishingly steady rhythm.

The Pig Monsters' Potential Stimulation triggered frantically, restoring 10 health every five seconds.

But Gan Ming's damage output was no longer what it used to be.

He had gone from landing eleven slashes a minute to standing his ground and trading blows.

His efficiency had increased three or fourfold!

The 150% damage from Fanged Charge every three slashes cut solidly into flesh,

making the two boars' recovery speed completely unable to keep up with their health loss.

And what about him?

Bark Armor blocked all damage!

For a full two minutes, he did not use Healing even once.

The left boar was the first to fall.

Its neck had been struck by Fanged Charge four or five times. When the last strike landed, it collapsed outright.

Seeing its companion dead, the boar on the right became even more ferocious, howling as it slammed itself into Gan Ming.

Gan Ming ignored it.

Three slashes!

Three slashes!

Three slashes!

The ninth charged strike landed at the base of the boar's front leg.

The sound of bone shattering was crystal clear.

The Iron Bristle Wild Boar let out a miserable cry and dropped to its knees.

A finishing blow.

Over.

[Killed Iron Bristle Wild Boar (Level 3), gained 120 experience.]

[Killed Iron Bristle Wild Boar (Level 3), gained 120 experience.]

[Level Up! Current Level: 2]

[Gained unassigned attribute points: 5]

Gan Ming looked at the consecutive notifications and let out a breath of stale air.

A level up!

He immediately assigned the attribute points to Strength.

[Strength: 17]

[Physical Attack (Main Hand): 25.4]

He crouched and placed his hand on the first boar's corpse.

Soul Snatch!

[Soul Snatch successful!]

[Skill acquired: Ambush (Charges at a target, dealing physical damage and knocking the target back, stunning the target for 1 second. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Costs 10 Mana.)]

[Skill acquired: Fanged Charge (Passive). Duplicate acquisition converted into Talent Proficiency.]

Duplicate abilities could be directly converted into Talent Experience.

This mechanic was useful!

He turned toward the second boar's corpse.

Soul Snatch.

[Soul Snatch successful!]

[Skill acquired: Gluttonous Recovery (Passive. Restores 1% of current Health after eating. Effect lasts 5 seconds and triggers once every 30 seconds.)]

[Skill acquired: Potential Stimulation (Passive. After taking an attack, restores 10 Health every 5 seconds for 15 seconds. Effect can trigger repeatedly.)]

[Skill acquired: Fanged Charge (Passive). Duplicate acquisition converted into Talent Proficiency.]