Nie Yan glanced around and noticed a spot nearby with dense bushes, which was the ideal location to deal with the Manticore King. He instructed his teammates to take position there.
“Are you all ready? I’m pulling the aggro now,” Nie Yan turned back and asked the team.
“We’re ready.”
Nie Yan raised his Bloodied Crossbow, aimed at the Manticore King, and fired three arrows in succession. Swish, swish, swish—thud, thud, thud—the arrows struck the Manticore King.
The Manticore King spotted Nie Yan, leaped into the air, and charged toward him at high speed.
Nie Yan quickly sprinted toward his team while glancing back to fire a few more arrows.
The Manticore King accelerated, rapidly closing the distance.
Watching the Manticore King’s fierce charge, Nie Yan realized that anyone hit by its charging attack would be instantly killed. Even Kuangtaomanjuan couldn’t withstand such an attack. After accelerating through a sprint, the Manticore King could instantly kill a warrior with 500 HP and 150 armor.
Kuangtaomanjuan, unaware of the Manticore King’s current danger, charged forward with his shield raised, attempting to tank the beast.
At a distance of thirty yards, Nie Yan took out a Scroll of Polymorph Sheep, bit his finger, and dripped his blood onto the scroll, beginning to chant.
An unusual magical force overflowed from the scroll and spread outward.
The Manticore King was getting closer, now only twenty yards away.
After two seconds of chanting, the Scroll of Polymorph Sheep suddenly emitted a dazzling light. Countless magical runes flowed across the sky. With a loud pop, the scroll vanished into thin air.
A beam of light descended upon the Manticore King.
The Manticore King suddenly shrank dramatically, transforming into a small white lamb. It continued running forward for a short distance before stopping. Two seconds passed in the blink of an eye, and the Manticore King immediately reverted to its original form.
The Polymorph Sheep spell cast from the scroll could turn ordinary monsters into sheep for ten seconds. During that time, attacking the polymorphed monster would end the spell prematurely. The Manticore King had high resistance to transmutation magic, which was why the polymorph only lasted two seconds.
However, even those two seconds of polymorphing significantly reduced the Manticore King’s charging speed.
Just as the Manticore King returned to normal and hadn’t started accelerating again, Nie Yan pulled out another scroll.
Web Spell!
A massive web fell from the sky, covering the Manticore King and trapping it.
The Manticore King roared furiously and struggled, tearing the web apart within moments.
The Manticore King stood still for a moment. Although it sustained no significant damage, its previous speed was completely gone.
Nie Yan’s two scrolls had neutralized the Manticore King’s most powerful and dangerous initial attack, effectively resolving the team’s crisis.
Kuangtaomanjuan advanced with his shield raised, delivering a heavy shield strike that slammed into the Manticore King. The paladin immediately cast Protection from Evil on Kuangtaomanjuan, and the priest cast Holy Shield on him.
Taunt!
Kuangtaomanjuan quickly drew the Manticore King’s attention and pulled aggro.
The Manticore King roared and attacked Kuangtaomanjuan, continuously striking him.
-150, -152…
The team members suddenly realized that the Manticore King wasn’t as terrifying as they had imagined. Previously, when they faced the Manticore King in the easy difficulty dungeon, the first attack from the Manticore King had sent Kuangtaomanjuan straight back to respawn. There were several reasons for this: first, the Manticore King was in a charging state with attack bonuses and a high chance of critical hits. Second, they hadn’t cast Protection from Evil, which could significantly reduce damage from the Manticore King. Third, Kuangtaomanjuan’s gear and level (only level 3 at the time) weren’t as good as now, and he had no damage-absorbing shield.
Now, Kuangtaomanjuan could barely withstand the attacks of this lord-level Manticore King and was relatively safe under the healing and protection of the priests.
Banxing Huli finally understood why Nie Yan had cast Polymorph Sheep and Web Spell earlier. These actions, seemingly insignificant, had deep implications, resolving a crisis for the team. Nie Yan just hadn’t stated it outright.
“Perhaps even a lord-level Manticore King isn’t as terrifying as we imagined,” Banxing Huli thought while looking at Nie Yan’s back. With a rogue like Nie Yan in the team, every dungeon would become much easier.
Magic spells flew through the air in elegant arcs, exploding on the Manticore King like dazzling fireworks.
Nie Yan circled behind the Manticore King and unleashed his attacks, each dealing seventy to eighty points of damage—far surpassing any other melee class. Other warriors and paladins could only manage fifty to sixty points of damage.
Besides having better gear, most of his stats came from the Chapter of Courage. Rogues naturally had fast attack speeds, and with a 30% bonus when attacking from behind, Nie Yan’s damage output quickly rose to the top, even surpassing some Holy Word Mages who were naturally effective against the Manticore King.
Under the team’s intense assault, the Manticore King’s health steadily dropped—80%, 70%, 60%…
The Manticore King’s aggro started to waver slightly, so Nie Yan immediately stopped attacking and retreated.
Demoralizing Shout!
MISS!
The Manticore King had partial immunity to Demoralizing Shout, and at this moment, it resisted Kuangtaomanjuan’s ability.
Kuangtaomanjuan felt a jolt of panic—if he couldn’t maintain aggro, the consequences would be severe.
Before Kuangtaomanjuan could launch another attack, the Manticore King suddenly turned and charged toward a nearby warrior and rogue. With a swipe of its claws, two white flashes appeared—one rogue and one swordsman were instantly killed, sent back to respawn. Another shield warrior was also hit, barely surviving with critically low health, and quickly retreated.
Kuangtaomanjuan charged forward and used Cleave on the Manticore King.
Cleave was a common attack skill among warriors, dealing moderate damage, but it was effective for gaining aggro.
After being hit by Cleave, the Manticore King seemed uninterested in Kuangtaomanjuan, who was proving to be a tough opponent to break through, and turned its attention back to Nie Yan.
Nie Yan’s attacks hurt the most, dealing the highest damage. Seeing Nie Yan nearby, the Manticore King charged toward him.
Seeing the Manticore King approach, Nie Yan quickly took out a Flash Powder and threw it. With a loud pop, the powder exploded midair, emitting blinding light that nearly blinded the Manticore King, causing it to roll around wildly.
Taking the opportunity, Nie Yan quickly retreated a few steps and cast Web Spell again, trapping the Manticore King in place. Kuangtaomanjuan rushed forward with several shield strikes and another Taunt.
The mages in the team adjusted their positions slightly but never stopped casting, sending wave after wave of spells flying.
The Manticore King’s blindness lasted only a short moment before it recovered, once again focusing on Kuangtaomanjuan, the closest target.
Nie Yan’s response to this sudden change was nothing short of quick and decisive.
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