Chapter 40: The Azure Dragon’s Forest: A Treacherous Plan Unfolds

“What the hell, that kid has a mount! Where did he even get it?” Kabasiji exclaimed, a hint of surprise and envy in his voice, as he watched the Shamatte-styled individual ride a large white “cat” deeper into the forest. “Is that guy heading towards the Azure Dragon?! Has he already reached level 200? That’s impossibly fast!”

At that very moment, three stealthy figures were concealed in the tall grass near the entrance of the Azure Dragon Forest: Hank and his two companions. It turned out that, just as Xue Hu had predicted, the Shamatte-styled individual had indeed snuck off to the Azure Dragon Forest alone. While crossing the map, the loading time had caused his character model to appear at the teleportation point momentarily, giving the trio, who had been waiting there, a perfect view. However, instead of confronting the Shamatte-styled individual, they had retreated into the grass to monitor him, curious about his intentions.

“It’s possible. There must be a reason why this guy always acts alone; perhaps his efficiency is higher when he’s by himself,” Hank mused, nodding as he gazed in the direction the Shamatte-styled individual had gone. “Alright, let’s follow him and see what he’s up to. If he’s planning to solo the Azure Dragon, we’ll let him fight. There are only two outcomes. If he can’t defeat the Azure Dragon, we’ll observe its moves, making it easier for us to deal with it later, and we can even use the Azure Dragon to eliminate him. But if he *can* defeat the Azure Dragon, we’ll keep a close eye on its health and see if we can snatch the kill from him!”

“But if we snatch the kill, our level isn’t high enough to capture the Azure Dragon, right? Oh, I understand what you mean!” Kabasiji said, his initial confusion giving way to sudden realization. “In this game, the kill goes to whoever lands the last hit! Even if we can’t capture the Azure Dragon, since we’d be the ones to kill it, and he’s not in our party, it won’t count as his kill, so he won’t be able to capture it! What a brilliant idea!”

“Exactly. While we might not be able to capture the Azure Dragon ourselves, we can certainly disrupt his plan to do so. A boss like the Azure Dragon likely has a very long respawn time, and it’s not something you can just kill on a whim; he must have made extensive preparations,” Hank affirmed, nodding. “By the time he’s ready to solo the Azure Dragon again, we should also be level 200, making it even harder for him to contend with us! And don’t forget, killing the Azure Dragon will net us a massive amount of experience! So, Xue Hu, what are your thoughts?”

“White Tiger, that’s the White Tiger! There’s no mistaking it, even if its size is much smaller, it’s definitely the White Tiger!” Xue Hu excitedly scrawled on her wooden board, her gaze fixed on the retreating Shamatte-styled individual. “Battle pets always shrink in size after being captured, making it easier for them to fight alongside players. That mount, its appearance is identical to the White Tiger, and it’s clearly a battle pet—it *has* to be the White Tiger! Why is the White Tiger in his possession?!”

“Is that so? That’s really the White Tiger? So Xingxing died at this guy’s hands?” Kabasiji asked, his voice trembling slightly as he looked over with agitated eyes. “Could it be that Xingxing teamed up with that guy to hunt the White Tiger? They killed the White Tiger together, but Xingxing was betrayed in the process?”

“Let’s go, follow him, and we’ll know everything!” Hank urged impatiently. “We can ponder these things later. Our immediate priority is to stop that guy from capturing the Azure Dragon. What if he has some secret weapon and takes down the Azure Dragon in a flash? We can’t afford to lose! We need to quickly monitor him so we can intervene early if anything goes wrong!”

“I understand, let’s go! But don’t let that guy spot us!” Kabasiji replied, nodding as he followed. Xue Hu, clutching her small wooden board, hurried close behind. Though her character’s build was quite different from the two burly men ahead, this was a game, so her short legs didn’t make her any slower.

The trio covertly hid in the tall grass, two or three meters from the edge of the Azure Dragon’s aggro range. They feared not only the Azure Dragon turning its aggression towards them but also being discovered by the Shamatte-styled individual. Right before their eyes, a fierce battle was already underway.

“Roar!” The Azure Dragon let out a long cry, then charged at the Shamatte-styled individual, who met it without an ounce of fear, his long blade ready. The observers couldn’t help but inwardly scoff; while the daytime Azure Dragon might just be a collection of data without true intelligence, it was still a formidable boss with impressive stats. For the Shamatte-styled individual to charge it head-on seemed incredibly reckless.

Yet, the onlookers seemed to have forgotten that the Shamatte-styled individual was not fighting alone; he had his White Tiger battle pet! Just as the Azure Dragon’s gaping maw and the Shamatte-styled individual’s long blade were about to clash, a white figure shot forward. Despite its vastly smaller size compared to the Azure Dragon, it nonetheless knocked the mighty dragon’s head askew, creating an opening for the Shamatte-styled individual. With a powerful cleave, he struck the Azure Dragon’s neck, appearing to land a critical hit!

Since they weren’t in the same party, the observers couldn’t see the exact damage numbers. However, the blow looked incredibly painful, likely a weak point attack, and the Azure Dragon even showed an expression of distress, leaving them to guess at the specifics. They could, however, see the length of the Azure Dragon’s health bar. It had visibly shortened, if only slightly. Whether this was due to the Azure Dragon’s immense health pool or the Shamatte-styled individual’s attack not being exceptionally high, it was, at the very least, a discernible reduction.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

The Villain Caught Between Two Magical Girls

DramaFantasy

Read Now →
Not interested