Nie Yan had absolute confidence in defeating the scaley frog. With his level-up, his speed had increased significantly, allowing him to completely disregard the Scaley Frog Lord. The level gap between him and the Scaley Frog Lord was only one level, so his attacks could cause massive damage.
Nie Yan stealthily approached the Scaley Frog Lord, getting within about ten yards.
The Scaley Frog Lord had not yet noticed Nie Yan, so Nie Yan cast a Scout spell on it.
Scaley Frog Lord: Level 30 boss, HP 50000/50000.
Based on Nie Yan’s current damage output, he estimated that it would take around twenty minutes to wear down the Scaley Frog Lord—nothing too long. Back then, Tang Yao had taken ten hours to kill the Scaley Frog Lord, partly due to his low level and limited damage, and partly because spellcasters like Tang Yao had a much lower attack frequency compared to Nie Yan, a rogue. Moreover, Nie Yan’s current bleed and poison damage were extremely powerful. With his Hemorrhage Blade and the Scarlet Toxin Ring, his normal attacks could deal over fifty points of combined bleed and poison damage per second. If he added skills like Eviscerate, that number could rise to seventy or eighty. Bleed damage alone could wear the Scaley Frog Lord down to death. Bleed damage ignored defense, unlike normal attacks, making it especially effective against high-level creatures with thick armor and low HP.
“Be careful,” Yaoyao said anxiously, a bit worried about Nie Yan’s safety.
“Don’t worry,” Nie Yan smiled slightly and crept up behind the Scaley Frog Lord. The frog sensed something and began to turn around, but Nie Yan suddenly burst into action, rushing forward and landing a sneak attack on the frog’s back.
The Scaley Frog Lord paused momentarily, immobilized for one or two seconds.
Nie Yan’s dagger plunged into the frog’s back, followed by an Eviscerate, slicing open its back as blood gushed out.
-151, -32, -12, -20, -32…
A series of damage numbers floated above the Scaley Frog Lord’s head. The first was the basic attack damage, followed by bleed, poison, and Eviscerate bleed damage. The numbers were terrifyingly high, even more devastating than a mage with high spell damage gear. Especially against high-defense creatures like the Scaley Frog Lord, bleed damage was extremely effective.
Nie Yan’s current damage output could easily outclass any creature of the same level, making even level-up challenges manageable.
The Scaley Frog Lord angrily turned its head and charged toward Nie Yan like a massive tank.
Nie Yan anticipated the frog’s attack direction, dodged to the side, circled behind it, and performed a Backstab, his dagger effortlessly piercing the frog’s hardened armor.
His dagger relentlessly stabbed into the Scaley Frog Lord, maintaining a position behind it no matter how it turned. Damage numbers continued to float above its head.
Nie Yan’s movements were fluid and incredibly fast. Every time the Scaley Frog Lord moved, Nie Yan could predict its attack direction in advance, narrowly dodging each strike.
His agile movements were nearly indistinguishable from those of a true Shadow Dancer.
This was Shadow Dancing—utterly dominating all spellcasters. Without small-area knockback skills like Warriors’ Shockwave, fighters would also be doomed against a Shadow Dancer.
The dazzling swordplay and blood splatter were mesmerizing.
The Scaley Frog Lord’s HP steadily dropped. Although it had a natural regeneration of nearly 20 HP per second, it was practically useless against Nie Yan’s relentless bleed and poison damage.
Sun watched Nie Yan’s movements intently, his eyes gleaming like a wolf’s. This was the technique he had been chasing all along! Such precise prediction and dodging movements were nothing short of spectacular. A sudden realization flashed through his mind—this was the true essence of a rogue!
“A teacher leads you to the door, but practice makes perfect.” Nie Yan had shown Sun what Shadow Dancing truly was; the rest would depend on Sun’s own understanding.
With Nie Yan’s damage output, he didn’t even need any teammates to support him—he could solo the Scaley Frog Lord alone.
Yaoyao waved her staff, casting Holy Judgments and Holy Lights onto the Scaley Frog Lord. Although her level was much lower than the frog’s, her damage was around fifteen or sixteen points per hit. At least it was something. With Nie Yan’s high damage, she didn’t have to worry about pulling aggro.
Yu Lan, Sun, and Bai Kaishui also took out crossbows and started firing at the Scaley Frog Lord. Although their damage was only two or three points per hit, it was still better than nothing.
For nearly ten minutes, the Scaley Frog Lord failed to land a single hit on Nie Yan. It opened its mouth and spat out a wave of crimson poison that spread into the air, quickly expanding.
At the moment the Scaley Frog Lord released its poison, Nie Yan quickly retreated, perfectly timing his escape so that the poison missed him entirely.
The Scaley Frog Lord was now enveloped in red toxic mist, yet damage numbers continued to float above its head from bleed and poison effects.
Although its regeneration had increased, it was still no match for Nie Yan’s terrifying bleed damage.
Nie Yan kept a distance of more than ten yards from the Scaley Frog Lord and switched his dagger for a Bloody Crossbow. Arrows flew toward the frog.
Puff! Puff! Puff! The arrows all hit, but the damage was minimal—only five or six points per shot.
The Scaley Frog Lord still had about 23% HP left, faster than Nie Yan had expected.
The red toxic mist rapidly spread, thinning out but expanding in range, covering an area of about fifty yards in radius.
Bleed damage stopped working. If the Scaley Frog Lord continued to regenerate HP, all previous efforts might be wasted.
Nie Yan held a basic antidote potion and cautiously tested the frog’s poison. Upon contact, he started losing 5 HP per second. It seemed the poison’s damage had weakened after spreading, but 5 HP per second was still shocking—300 HP per minute. Without potions, Nie Yan would die in two minutes. He drank a basic antidote potion, which lasted only thirty seconds but had a five-minute cooldown, making it extremely limited for countering continuous poison effects.
Thankfully, he hadn’t brought Cui Can Dao Guang and others. With the Scaley Frog Lord’s attacks combined with poison damage, they might not have survived. Cui Can Dao Guang’s level wasn’t high enough yet; he would probably need to reach around level 30 to tank the frog.
The Scaley Frog Lord opened its mouth again and spat a stream of toxic liquid toward Nie Yan.
Nie Yan rolled to dodge the attack and charged toward the frog through the poison mist.
The frog lunged at Nie Yan, but Nie Yan sidestepped and swiftly circled behind it, performing a Backstab followed by an Eviscerate.
The frog’s lunge missed again. Its bulky body clearly couldn’t match Nie Yan’s agility.
Nie Yan unleashed his maximum damage output. Two minutes later, the Scaley Frog Lord’s HP dropped to around 5%, and it became enraged, its speed increasing significantly.
The frog’s speed now surpassed Nie Yan’s, making him feel the pressure. He couldn’t move as freely as before.
The frog charged sideways, and Nie Yan had no way to dodge. He activated Rapid Retreat and quickly pulled back.
The frog furiously chased Nie Yan, who darted through the forest. Though it seemed dangerous, Nie Yan always maintained a safe distance, avoiding all attacks.
Yaoyao and the others also increased their damage output. Although their damage was low, it became more noticeable now that the Scaley Frog Lord’s HP was below 5%.
Nie Yan’s bleed damage was still active.
It was almost dead!
The Scaley Frog Lord leaped from above toward Nie Yan, seemingly about to land a hit. Nie Yan activated Shadow Step, instantly disappearing and dodging away.
With a loud crash, the frog landed on the ground. Nie Yan immediately reappeared behind it, landing a Lethal Strike and an Eviscerate. The frog took another heavy blow, its HP rapidly dropping—4%, 3%…
As the frog turned to attack Nie Yan, Nie Yan had already moved five or six yards away. He wanted to kill it purely through bleed damage!
The frog furiously chased Nie Yan, its HP now below 1%.
Yaoyao’s spells and the others’ arrows continued to hit the frog.
The Scaley Frog Lord was getting closer to Nie Yan’s back, seemingly about to catch him—-12! The final bit of HP was drained by bleed damage. The frog’s massive body lost support and crashed heavily to the ground.
“It’s dead,” Sun said excitedly.
The entire battle had been almost entirely Nie Yan’s effort. A level 29 player soloing a level 30 boss was unbelievable, yet Nie Yan had done it.
Nie Yan checked his experience gain—around 12%. Although still substantial, it wasn’t as rewarding as when he used to challenge much higher-level bosses before.
“Let’s see what dropped,” Bai Kaishui said in the party chat.
What would a boss drop?
Nie Yan bent down and picked up the items on the ground—a skill book, two gems, and a dark red medal. The ancient-looking medal was engraved with a beast totem, appearing extremely eerie and exuding a sinister, bloody aura.
Nie Yan’s heart skipped a beat—was this the Maniac Killer Medal?
In his previous life, Nie Yan had seen pictures and descriptions of the Maniac Killer Medal online, so he had some vague memory of it.
As he picked up the dark red metal medal, he heard a crisp system notification. He opened the message.
System: Do you wish to bind the Maniac Killer Medal?
Two options appeared: Bind or Discard.
The medal could only be used by Nie Yan himself, so he naturally chose Bind.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage