Five meters tall, and around six to seven meters long, that was how big stage-5 Deere was. Of course, the size was not the only difference, its fur also different. This one had crimson fur with black stripes instead of white and black.
"We have an important guest here, get ready for the battle!" Tang Shaoyang reminded his team to get ready.
Moon acted smart, it did not charge toward the enemy as he ran back toward Li Na. Both were beasts and maybe he recognized the strength of stage-5 Deere. Zhang Mengyao took her shield and lance out while getting closer to Tang Shaoyang.
Opening its snout, the Beast King let out a mourning howl through the forest. The Deere was expressing the loss of its people that was burned by the blue flame. It was a solid fifteen seconds howling before it stopped and cast a hostile gaze to the group of humans.
"Our guest is angry, get prepared for its fury!" Tang Shaoyang yelled as he ran to the side. He decided to change the area for the battle. Since the Deere was so big, fighting against the Beast King in the woods might give them an advantage.
The Beast King's massive body would be an obstacle to fight in the forest with dense trees. They could use the trees to their advantage. On top of that, it was to protect the village since he wanted to use it as a temporary base.
The team followed Tang Shaoyang even without his order while the Beast King merely followed the group with its eyes. When the group was about to reach the wood, a fire started to gather in the center of its antler.
"Watch out!" Tang Shaoyang warned his people at the sight of the fire around the antler. His focus never left the Beast King. The fire formed a round shape, about three meters in diameter before the Beast King shot the fireball toward the group of humans.
"Split!" At Tang Shaoyang's shout, the group immediately split into different directions. Zhang Mengyao managed to follow his movement. His timely order caused the fireball to the empty ground and exploded.
Boom!
A wave of heat on his face as the fire burned the trees. Tang Shaoyang ignored the explosion behind him as he went further to the wood. The others glanced at their Boss before they followed his move.
With the group of humans going into the wood, it left the Beast King with no choice but to chase after the human. The Beast King was smart enough to identify who was the leader and gave a chase toward Tang Shaoyang's direction. The ground was shaking as the Deere took its first furious step.
Tang Shaoyang looked back and found the Beast King was chasing them. A wide grin formed on his lips, this was what he wanted, "How's your Magic Power attribute?" Amidst the running, he asked Zhang Mengyao. If she had a decent amount of Magic Power, he could give her Mana Mastery skill book to her since he had two of them now.
"Ten!" Zhang Mengyao did not know why he asked her, but she still answered honestly, "Ten, huh!?" Tang Shaoyang was contemplating for a moment. He wanted her to learn the skill to face the Beast King. If it was 10 Magic Power, it would be converted into 100 Mana, "It's about once or twice, but it could change the tide of the battle,"
Anyway, he would have her learn the skill book sooner or later. Giving her now would help them in the battle against the Beast King, "Here, learn this skill," he threw the skill book.
"Mana Mastery!?" She muttered in a low voice before she learned the skill, "It's a skill that will strengthen your other skills. Just learn the skill, for now, I will tell you everything later," her man's voice explained the use of Mana Mastery.
Noticing Zhang Mengyao had learned the skill, Tang Shaoyang made an abrupt stop as he pulled the girl with her. They hid behind a big tree, big enough to cover both of them from the sight of the Beast King.
"Here is the plan, we will probe how strong the Beast King is until the others catch up," Zhang Mengyao nodded in response, "Don't use your [Shield Wall] unless it's necessary, it will drain your mana before the full raid,"
The shake was getting stronger, indicating the Beast King was getting closer. She nodded her head while checking her status screen. There was a new skill and attribute called Mana.
"Good, get ready to greet our guest," Tang Shaoyang smiled as he kissed her forehead.
The Beast King scanned the surroundings carefully, but it lost its target thanks to the dense trees. It was about to bombard the forest with fireballs until it noticed the two humans it looked for came out of a tree. The two humans rushed toward it instead of running away now.
Fire immediately gathered in the center of its antler. This time it was smaller than the beforehand fireball, around two meters in diameter as it shot the fireball faster than before.
Tang Shaoyang moved to the right while Zhang Mengyao moved to the left. The fireball once again hit the empty ground. It exploded behind the two humans.
Zhang Mengyao and Tang Shaoyang exchanged glances before both nodded their heads. He slowed his pace while Zhang Mengyao picked up her pace. The action caused the Beast King to focus its attention on Zhang Mengyao.
The plan was for Zhang Mengyao to clash against the Deere, providing a space for Tang Shaoyang to attack the Beast King from the other side. So far the plan was going smooth as she managed to attract the Beast King's attention.
When she shortened the distance to thirty meters, she noticed there was a big red line five meters ahead of her. The red line stretched wide on the ground to the side, she had a bad feeling about this. When she was a meter away from the red line, she made an abrupt stop.
In the next second, Zhang Mengyao knew that she made the right decision. From the red line, the crimson rose, creating a ten meters firewall that stretched wide. The firewall blocked her view of the Beast King.
[Envisage]
An image of the Beast King antler passed the firewall and hit her body appeared in her eyes. At the sight, Zhang Mengyao raised her shield, and in the next second, the Beast King passed the firewall and butted her with its big antler.
Dang!
The hard antler hit the shield hard and sent Zhang Mengyao to fly backward. The shield reduced the impact of the Beast King's force but it still sent her flying back anyway.
Since she predicted the move, she received the attack prepared. Zhang Mengyao landed on her two legs fine aside from a little shake of her left arm from the impact.
Hrrrrhh!
The Beast King let out hot air from the nostrils. It was confused as to how the human managed to block its attack and fine even after all of that. The firewall died down, leaving the big Deere and Zhang Mengyao stared at each other.
"You should not stare at another's woman too long, you big bastard!" Tang Shaoyang leaped from the side and swung his battle-ax downward to the neck. The battle-ax cut through the Beast King's leather and pushed the beast slightly to the side.
A bloody line formed and the crimson fur turned even redder because of the blood.
"A shallow cut, but it's fine since I am not activating [Spirit Integration]," the cut was a good sign for them, meaning the Beast King's defense was penetrable, "Are you ready for another battle, Karan?"
—Kuhahahahaha… I am ready anytime, the battlefield is my home!
Karan's excited voice rang in his head. After Karan, Zaneos spoke too.
—This Deere should be a beast that relies on its magic, should be weak in close combat, but this kind of beast usually has a defensive spell. Don't lower your guard!
"Aye, Sir!" Tang Shaoyang replied with a grin while activating [Spirit Integration]. The Beast King changed its target to Tang Shaoyang. As it turned toward the new target, its crimson fur lit up, and fire blazed out from the fur. The crimson fire covered its whole body including the antler.
"I think I know this beast defensive spell," Tang Shaoyang spoke to himself while looking at the blazing fire that covered the Beast King's body.
While the Beast King was distracted by Tang Shaoyang, Zhang Mengyao took the chance to attack the Beast King. She was about to cast [Unbending Strike], but she was forced to change into a defensive stance when the Beast King raised its hoof and was about to trample her.
With her moment, it was impossible to avoid the hoof. She positioned her shield upward and cast [Shield Wall].
Bam!
The hoof that was covered in fire stomped on the shield wall. Zhang Mengyao noticed her shield wall's concentration was thicker than usual, 'This must be the mana's effect,'
Her heels sunk to the ground but she stopped the stomp without a crack on the shield. At this moment, a roar resounded from the Beast King's back. Moon's body that shrouded in the blue flame charged toward one of the Beast King's hind legs. The blue fire and the crimson fire clashed and burst out.
The Beast King let out a painful howl. At the same time, Li Na, Fu Dandan, Dai Wenqian, Liang Suyin, Shi Niu, and Zeng Dongmei assaulted the other hind legs.
Despite the Beast King's defense being amplified by the crimson fire, their combination attack hurt the Beast King. The stage-5 Deere's howl reverberated through the Clarity Forest as it fell on its hind legs while its foreleg remained standing still.
"100 mana for [Spirit Integration], 60 mana for [Wild Axes], [War Cry], and [Earth Split]," he calculated his mana, and a grin formed on his lips, "I have enough mana,"
"This is my chance, I will claim your life!" Tang Shaoyang rushed forward, midway, he cast [Wild Axes] toward the Beast King's forelegs, each ax spun at a different target, one toward the left foreleg and the other one toward the right foreleg.
Louder howl resounded when the ax struck the forelegs. Tang Shaoyang immediately let out a lion-like roar to rival the Beast King's howl.
Roar!
[War Cry activated, boosting your attributes by 30% for five minutes!]
With additional attributes, Tang Shaoyang's speed became faster. Ten meters away from the Beast King, he made a big leap with his right foot aimed at the Deere's neck.
[Earth Split]
He cast [Earth Split] on his flying kick. The moment the kick landed on the Beast King's neck, the beast instantly stopped howling. Bigger body, bigger bone, a louder noise when it broke too.
CRACK!
The Beast King's neck crooked as its head turned toward Tang Shaoyang. Its eyes opened wide in shock while its body falling to the ground.
[You have leveled up!]
[You gained 2 attribute points!]
[You can allocate the attribute point by opening the status screen!]
The notification of leveling up rang in his head right after he killed the Beast King.
[You have killed The Beast King of Clarity Forest!]
[Congratulations! You have acquired hidden rewards, +1 Level and 1 Level 8 Treasure Chest]