Deathclaw

Elsewhere, Black?Rod, Xiao Yu, the fire elemental, and the three orc brothers had also engaged Hogger.

Hogger lived up to his name. Even facing the three of them at once, he showed no fear. With a furious roar of "Get out of my way!" he charged at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu hurriedly called the three orc brothers in to block him.

"Get out of my way!" Bang! One orc took a hammer blow and was knocked unconscious on the spot. Hogger swung again, sending another orc flying. Charge! Bang! He slammed into Xiao Yu, then followed up with a Cleave.

-47! Damn, that damage is high.

Xiao Yu was inwardly surprised. They both had elite templates, but the gap between him and Hogger was pretty big. He now had 480 health, second only to Hogger among those present, so in theory he could serve as the MT. But leading the charge wasn't Xiao Yu's style. He backed away, casting Heal on himself as he shouted to the side, "Get in here already!"

At last, Black?Rod made his move.

"Don't worry, he won't get away!" Black?Rod snorted, suddenly leaping into the air and launching a flying kick at Hogger.

Huh, this guy's agility is pretty high. He jumped so high in one bound.

The move looked impressive, but the kick itself wasn't very powerful, dealing only -13 damage. Still, it made Hogger stagger for a moment.

The off-balance effect triggered.

Xiao Yu seized the chance to blast him with a Lesser Fireball.

After landing the kick, Black?Rod immediately did a backflip. The instant he landed, he raised a hand and sent a throwing knife into the gnoll Hogger. The knife was coated in poison.

The poison effect triggered.

Hogger let out a scream, abandoned Xiao Yu, and turned to charge Black?Rod. Unhurried, Black?Rod tossed a handful of lime powder straight into his face.

The blind effect triggered!

Hogger immediately covered his eyes, unable to see his surroundings. He wandered around in confusion while Xiao Yu took the opportunity to open up some distance and blast him with a barrage of Flame Missiles.

But that also freed Hogger from the blind effect.

Monsters really were stupid. After taking the Flame Missiles, Hogger charged at Xiao Yu again, while Black?Rod seized the opportunity to get behind him and deliver a vicious Backstab.

Pfft! -37! It dealt the highest damage from a single hit so far.

The two took turns attacking. Though it was their first time working together, they coordinated remarkably well. Hogger couldn't defend himself from both sides, and in the blink of an eye, he had lost nearly two-thirds of his health. Seemingly sensing that things were going badly, Hogger finally showed some sense and turned to run out of the tower.

Xiao Yu grew anxious. Although his damage had improved, he had no real crowd-control skills. He could only keep throwing Flame Missiles, but they didn't seem enough to kill Hogger.

"Blind him, quick!" he shouted at Black.

"It has a three-minute cooldown. You think I can just use it whenever I want?" Black?Rod said as he chased Hogger, throwing knife after knife. Unfortunately, his damage was even lower than Xiao Yu's. Hogger was about to rush out of the tower when suddenly a dark figure slammed into him.

Charge! Bang! Hogger was rooted in place, and the dark figure moved to block the watchtower's exit. Who else could it be but Derek?

The **** looked at Derek in disbelief. "You traitor, you damned traitor. Hogger's angry!"

His body suddenly turned red and swelled in size as he entered a frenzy.

The sight was very familiar to Xiao Yu. That ogre back then seemed to have had a similar move.

Derek was a little frightened too. The impression Hogger had given him in the past had been too terrifying, and when he saw Hogger fly into a frenzy, he instinctively backed away, leaving the doorway open.

A vicious glint flashed in Hogger's eyes. Rather than charging at Derek, he rushed for the gap beside him.

Xiao Yu silently cursed him as useless. You have over three hundred health, and you don't even dare tank one hit? Hogger was about to make his escape when, without warning, a dark figure lunged out of the darkness.

The figure seemed to appear out of thin air. Judging by its size, it was clearly a beast. It opened with a Pounce, pinning Hogger to the ground. Throat Lock! -43. Bite! -27. Enrage Claw Strike! -19, -13, -14! A string of red numbers appeared, and Hogger's remaining hundred-odd health vanished in an instant. The dark figure raised its head from Hogger's corpse, blood clearly visible around its mouth. It turned and bared its teeth at the group, giving Xiao Yu a fright. The figure before him was a black panther, with a graceful build and fur as black as the night. He looked at the portrait above its head.

Deathclaw (shadow cheetah), level 15. The portrait had a golden border—it was an elite beast.

System notification: In the year 1375 of the Sky Epoch, Eric, the goblin pyromancer, participated in the killing of Hogger, the gnoll leader, and gained 27 reputation points.

Only 27 points? That little? Xiao Yu couldn't help feeling frustrated. Hogger had an elite template and was a higher level than him. By rights, killing an enemy above his level should have given him a reputation bonus. That's it. Obviously, it's because someone stole the final hit.

(Damn, where did this one come from? Was it hiding nearby in stealth the whole time? Wouldn't that mean it heard our entire conversation? Could it be a druid? No, that's not right. Druids have moon markings on them.) As thoughts raced through Xiao Yu's mind, he instinctively raised the staff in his hand.

A message flashed in the chat box-

Deathclaw (shadow cheetah): "Don't be nervous, everyone. I'm a player too."

Beasts couldn't speak, so they could only communicate with other players this way.

A player? The group immediately breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Deathclaw was a player, things would be easier; they could communicate, after all. But they remained on guard. Deathclaw was a higher level than everyone there and was an elite beast, giving off a very dangerous impression.

Xiao Yu asked in surprise, "But wait, how did you know something was going to happen tonight? I don't think I invited you."

"Simple. While I was hunting in the forest today, I bit a goblin messenger to death and found a letter on it. That's how I found out you were planning a gathering. I had nothing better to do, so I came to take a look. I stayed hidden nearby in stealth and heard everything you said. Then you were fighting Hogger, and when it looked like you were about to fail, I stepped in to help."

I see. That makes sense. But if you wanted to steal the kill, just say so. Did you have to make yourself sound so righteous?

Xiao Yu grumbled inwardly. Even if Deathclaw hadn't appeared, Xiao Yu was confident he could have killed Hogger. Of course, there was still some risk. If Hogger had escaped the watchtower and called his men, a major battle would have been unavoidable. Victory would still have been inevitable, but it would have been a hassle.

"Um, could you let me loot the corpse? There's something I need to get," Derek said at that moment.

The black panther nodded and stepped lightly backward into the shadows, making way for him to reach the corpse.

Beasts couldn't wear equipment, so most items were of little value to them.