Chapter 140: A Prolonged Battle with the Boss

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Right at this moment, the Magic Lizard, which was luxuriously lounging in the stream, savoring the cool, refreshing touch of the water, was suddenly startled awake by a soft, unfamiliar pair of footsteps. It snapped its eyes open!
A pair of perfectly round green pupils immediately stood out in striking relief!
Shifting swiftly, the figures of two humans dressed as archers fifty meters away instantly reflected in the Magic Lizard's vision!
Hiss! Hiss-hiss!!
A snake-like tongue darted rapidly in and out of the Magic Lizard's mouth, emitting a low, summoning call...
At the Magic Lizard's summons, the green lizards soaking in the stream and those resting upon the riverbank simultaneously jerked their heads around, locking onto the two humans halted forty meters away!
The next moment, dozens of green lizards responded in unison to the Magic Lizard's call, each clutching green bows and unleashing a chorus of harsh, grating shrieks as they charged forward...
"Their speed isn't bad... though much slower than the Dragon Wolf beasts... around 100 points of agility!"
Staring at the massive horde of green lizards hurtling toward Dr. Ye and Falcon, I quickly mentally rated them.
At this speed, leaving them for Dr. Ye and Falcon to handle was more than enough!
However...
I glanced once more at the Magic Lizard, which was still standing unhurriedly in the shallow water of the stream, and frowned slightly:
"Damn overgrown bug, still putting on airs... No, I need to find a way to lure it out of this oasis. Otherwise, if it summons the green lizards from the woods again, things will get troublesome."
...
Hiss!
As soon as the dozens of green lizards were lured away, the Magic Lizard immediately noticed another human entering its field of vision, and to make matters worse, the intruder was merely a lowly Tier 2 Bow-Warrior.
Its oily green eyeballs rolled in their sockets!
It instantly issued a second round of summons, yet almost the moment the call left its throat, it suddenly discovered that the human Bow-Warrior's speed had surged dramatically...
Before the green lizards in the forest could respond, the fifty-meter distance shrank rapidly to less than thirty meters!
The Magic Lizard could finally no longer remain still...
Though it had no intention of moving for a mere Tier 2 human adventurer, it was even less inclined to be disturbed and injured by one...
Therefore, realizing this battle was unavoidable, the green lizard-claw that had been trailing in the stream lifted out of the water with a splash. Accompanied by an even louder surging sound, a magnificent staff, transparent as pure crystal, broke the surface and appeared in the Magic Lizard's grip, countless shimmering water droplets cascading from it.
Simultaneously, the Magic Lizard moved its feet, and the nearly three-meter-tall King of Lizards finally stood in its entirety before my eyes.
Yet, at that moment, I paid no mind to its "majestic" heroic posture. All my attention was riveted entirely on the staff in the Magic Lizard's hand, my eyes suddenly lighting up:
"Hey! Who would have thought a hideous creature like the Magic Lizard has decent taste after all, crafting such a gorgeous staff! What a pity... holding it is absolute sacrilege!"
Even as I pondered, I did not forget my objective...
Seeing the distance close to twenty-four meters, I abruptly stopped and swiftly drew my Ink-Stained Bow――
Long Shot!!
The arrow flew like a shooting star! The very instant the Magic Lizard stepped out of the stream, it struck its head with pinpoint accuracy!
"Target hit, dealt 32 damage to the Magic Lizard!"
The moment the arrow struck home, I had already spun around and broken into a run, though the combat log feedback from the system made me involuntarily frown—only 32 damage! Even after specifically switching to the Ink-Stained Bow (Attack 32-37, +6 Strength) and utilizing the 20% damage bonus from the Long Shot skill, it had only managed to scratch out 32 points of damage.
Damn it...
A Level 25 boss has a full 5,000 HP! How long is this going to take to grind down?
Squeak!!
Provoked to genuine fury by the ignorance and audacity of the human, the Magic Lizard let out a harsh shriek, and a set of shimmering crystal armor materialized out of thin air, completely encasing the greater part of its body—except for its head...
It took a step forward, its heavy strides carrying it in pursuit out of the oasis;
At that moment, only a dozen or so green lizards drawn by the commotion emerged from the forest, trailing dozens of meters behind and utterly incapable of catching up to either the Magic Lizard or me...
"Splendid."
Seeing the Magic Lizard take the bait, my heart settled. I had no worries about the trailing green lizards; they were far too distant, and once the distance between them and the Magic Lizard grew too great, they would inevitably turn back!
Thus, holding to a steady and cautious strategy, I switched to the Gold-Slaying Sword (Agility +6) and sprinted for a while alongside the Magic Lizard, whose speed was nearly on par with mine, quickly shaking off the green lizards trailing behind...
However, this tactic was soon perceived by the Magic Lizard. Whenever the green lizards fell too far behind, it would immediately let out a low, echoing call, summoning the returning green lizards from afar to catch up once more.
Yet, as the separation grew wider, the effectiveness of the Magic Lizard's summons steadily dwindled... Once the green lizards turned back, some seemed unable to hear the call anymore and failed to continue the pursuit;
Within a few minutes, the final dozen or so green lizards were left far behind, one after another turning back toward the oasis!
By then, the Magic Lizard also seemed to sense the sinister intentions of the human ahead. Just as the last green lizard a hundred meters away turned around to head back, the boss finally dismissed the crystal armor on its body and pivoted as well, preparing to return to the oasis.
Unfortunately, having lured it all the way out here, how could I possibly let it turn back so easily?
The very second the Magic Lizard turned around, I whirled and loosed an arrow!
"Target hit, dealt 34 damage to the Magic Lizard!"
Squeak!!!
Struck once more, the Magic Lizard was thoroughly enraged by the obnoxious human before it!
Disregarding the summons for its minions, it lunged forward two huge steps as three giant ice spikes materialized out of thin air directly above its head.
However, having prepared beforehand, how could I possibly give it an easy opening to attack? After loosing my arrow, I immediately whitted around and bolted, escaping the Magic Lizard's attack range... forcing the boss to dispel its magic, causing the ice spikes to dissolve back into water elements and vanish into the air.
Rushing out of the Magic Lizard's attack range, I halted and unleashed another Long Shot!
"Critical hit on weak point! Dealt 151 damage to the Magic Lizard!"
The arrow unluckily pierced right into its protruding eyeball. Accompanied by a piercing, desolate shriek, the Magic Lizard let out a terrifying roar as a massive six-pointed star array abruptly materialized around it!
Summoning Magic!!
One, two... six!
Six green lizard-men, standing roughly two meters tall and carrying green ancient-vine bows, appeared flanking the Magic Lizard!
Having suffered heavy injuries, the Magic Lizard finally realized it held no advantage in speed or the initiative of attacks. If it didn't summon reinforcements now, there was every likelihood it would be slowly toyed to death by this shameless, cowardly wretch who refused to engage in a fair fight.
Yet...
Could six green lizards rewrite the outcome of this battle?
The answer was naturally no!
The very instant the six green lizards appeared, my two reinforcements arrived as well—upon learning that I had successfully lured the Magic Lizard out of its lair, Dr. Ye and Falcon unhesitatingly shook off their green lizards and sprinted over to support.
Under my deliberate guidance, the three of us quickly converged!
Without a word, Falcon stepped up, grabbed a handful of arrows, and through specialized technique and magical control, unleashed a flurry of arrows raining down upon the green lizards hot on the heels of the scavenger Qilin.
This unexpected onslaught instantly drew the attention of four of the green lizards!
After Dr. Ye successfully pulled away the final two green lizards, the situation reverted once more to a one-on-one duel between myself and the Magic Lizard.
At that very moment, the Magic Lizard finally caught the scent of extreme danger...
Yet right now, it could no longer walk away!
Because the moment it turned to leave, an attack would instantly fly at it... As the king of the Green Lizard clan, it could not simply drop its pride like the scavenger Qilin and blindly flee from a challenge!
...
Discerning these very traits of the Magic Lizard, I began leading it on a frantic chase across the desolate, endless wilderness; calculating the timing, whenever the distance widened to roughly twenty-seven or twenty-eight meters, I would swiftly spin around, switch back to the Ink-Stained Bow, and charge up a 'Long Shot'!
By the time the Long Shot was released, the Magic Lizard would still be over twenty meters away.
I would rapidly swap weapons and bolt again, denying it any opportunity to cast magic.
...
Whenever the Magic Lizard attempted to turn and flee, I would immediately wheel around and give chase, provoking it anew with a Long Shot, pulling it back, and continuing our forced march.
As a result, my MP consumption was considerable, forcing me to reserve just enough MP each time specifically to provoke the Magic Lizard while waiting for my natural regeneration of 1 point every 15 seconds for the rest.
Though dragging it out this way would take a very long time, I had no alternative. Who made it a boss? Acting too rashly could easily result in respawning back at Greenwild Town...
Therefore, safety first!
Besides, there were still over six hours left until nightfall. Even if I could only loose two rounds of Long Shots per minute, two hours would be more than enough to wear it down!
Thinking about it now, the prey Dr. Ye found was truly fantastic!
As long as I could peacefully get through these two hours to grind the Magic Lizard to death, it was vastly easier and safer than the perilous and intense battle I had anticipated! However... I was still somewhat apprehensive.
I worried that things might not proceed as smoothly as I planned...
While attacking the Magic Lizard, I remained on high alert, scanning my surroundings: praying fervently that no "uninvited guests" would show up at a time like this!
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