Chapter Eleven: The Lizard King

Then, the three lizards lunged at me almost simultaneously, biting into my flesh. I groaned in pain, struck at three places in an instant, yet my health only dropped by six points. Averaging it out, each bite cost merely two points of blood? I immediately understood—this must be the effect of my enhanced defense.

With an angry shout, I threw a punch, hitting the lizard clamped onto my thigh squarely on its forehead. A muffled thud sounded, and its once-hard skull crumbled like tofu, splattering blood and brain matter everywhere. It was dead beyond any doubt.

The thrill of vanquishing a lizard with a single punch filled me with joy. “Not bad!” I exclaimed, and, wrapping my arms around another lizard clinging to me, I hurled it away with a fierce cry.

My immense strength sent it flying more than ten meters, crashing into a tree as thick as a bowl. The tree snapped with a resounding crack, and the lizard exploded in a burst of blood, dying instantly.

Arrows then whistled through the air, killing the remaining three lizards.

I saw a female archer appear, clad in tight-fitting linen. The arrows from her short bow pierced with extraordinary force—any lizard struck by them died instantly.

Within moments, all five lizards were dead. The others that rushed in soon became experience points as well. The gigantic lizard in the distance seemed momentarily stunned before finally staggering to its feet.

This time, I wasn’t thinking of escape; instead, I slowly circled closer.

The female player said, “Handsome, we meet again.”

She was the very one who, days ago, had been sent back to town by the Wolf King. Meeting again like this truly felt like fate. I replied, “We really do have a connection. How about we become friends? What’s your name?”

She answered, “You’re so direct, but I like it. I’m Phoenix, and I love the archer class, so I switched to it. Then the village elder’s quest brought me here. What about you? What’s your class?”

“I’m Weiwei Dragon, a summoner,” I replied.

Phoenix nodded. “A summoner, nice. Where’s your summoned beast?”

I glanced at my attribute panel; my summoned beast was still an egg, glowing and pulsing with unknown energy. “Sorry, it hasn’t hatched yet,” I explained.

Phoenix said, “I see. We’ll need to be careful then.” After inviting me into her party, Phoenix made the first move: from afar, she released an arrow that traced a dazzling arc through the air, instantly striking the massive lizard that had just gotten to its feet.

Lizard King, Level 15, boss—the information appeared before us. A Level 15 boss would be tough, but defeating it would be a windfall.

The Lizard King stood up, its body stretching over five meters long and two meters tall—a monstrous sight. The overwhelming sense of oppression made it hard for us to breathe as we approached. One thing was clear: this Lizard King was stronger than that giant slime.

Phoenix’s arrow struck the beast, but before she could celebrate, her face twisted in shock.

The arrow, hitting the Lizard King’s iron scales, merely sparked and then fell to the ground, disappearing. The beast was completely unharmed.

Phoenix froze, stunned that her arrow had failed to injure the Lizard King.

With a lazy roar, the Lizard King rose to its full height, letting out a long howl before leaping into the air. The spectacle was terrifying. I retreated in horror, just as a thunderous crash erupted behind me. Turning, I saw the Lizard King land, shaking the ground as if in an earthquake. Stones jumped, and fear coursed through me.

Another roar echoed, and the Lizard King charged at me with terrifying speed, its massive body like a truck barreling down. I barely managed to roll aside as it crashed past, smashing a tree as thick as a grown man’s leg, splitting it with a loud crack.

The Lizard King then swung its enormous tail, aiming at me. This time, I couldn’t dodge. Its tail slammed into me, sending me flying, blood spraying from my mouth as I crashed against a nearby tree, rebounding over a meter before finally landing.

In the instant its tail struck, the damage number—minus 52—flashed up. The Lizard King was indeed fearsome; a single tail swipe drained 52 points from my health, even with 50 defense points. Without my painstaking attribute boosts and the bonus from my Boots of Endurance, that blow would have finished me.

Fortunately, I had 500 health points and plenty of potions. Though the tail cost me 52 health, I wasn’t without hope—I still had a chance.

Climbing to my feet, confidence surged anew, but as I looked up, the Lizard King had already turned and was charging at Phoenix.

“Careful!” I cried, alarmed. Phoenix lacked the focused training skill; her HP was about 200, and her defense was certainly low. If she were hit, the damage would be severe. The Lizard King’s tail had dealt me 52 damage with 50 defense; Phoenix had none, and her health wouldn’t last two attacks.

As I shouted out a warning, Phoenix swiftly turned and leapt diagonally away, her agility remarkable.

Yet, after missing its charge, the Lizard King suddenly raised itself and, impossibly, slapped its front paw sideways. With a heavy thud, Phoenix grunted as the paw struck her back, sending her tumbling like a stone from a catapult, crashing seven or eight meters away. She lay motionless for a while, unable to rise—proof of the terrifying force behind that blow.

The Lizard King seemed to recognize the disparity between us, intent on eliminating the weaker one first. It brushed Phoenix aside and charged toward her as she struggled to get up.

Seeing the danger, I realized I was nearly ten meters away—too far to intercept in time. With a furious shout, I snatched a large stone from the ground and hurled it with all my strength.

With over a hundred points of attack, my throw was formidable—the stone whistled through the air and slammed into the Lizard King’s back.

The impact knocked the beast forward, its head smashing against the ground, stopping just two meters from Phoenix.

With a howl, the Lizard King struggled to rise, roaring in rage—truly enraged now.

This time, its hatred was fixed on me. It turned, abandoning Phoenix, and charged at me like a mad thing.

Phoenix breathed a sigh of relief, managing to sit up and spit out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing the Lizard King rushing at me, I knew I couldn’t withstand another hit. Swallowing a potion, I turned and ran, heading for a cluster of closely grown pine trees.

The Lizard King was faster, roaring as it crashed toward me. Just as it was about to catch me, I ducked.

The beast barreled past, slamming into the pine trees. One thick trunk snapped instantly, but the Lizard King was wedged between the others, unable to move.

As the saying goes, “strike when the enemy is vulnerable.” Without hesitation, I leapt onto its back and pounded its iron scales with my fists. A string of damage numbers flashed—minus 29, minus 25, minus 24, minus 22... My fists went numb from the hardness of its scales.

Nearby, Phoenix shouted, “Hit its belly while it’s stuck!”

Awakened, I rushed underneath and unleashed punch after punch against the soft flesh of its underbelly.

With over a hundred points of attack, each blow carried immense force—minus 78, minus 88, minus 91, minus 79, minus 113... The damage numbers were much more satisfying, and the Lizard King howled miserably, blood streaming from its mouth and nostrils.

With a furious roar, the Lizard King twisted violently. Two loud cracks rang out as it broke free, shattering the trees that trapped it.

Its eyes glowed blood red, its scales lifted, and a chilling howl escaped its jaws.

“Ding! Lizard King has entered berserk mode. All stats increase by 30%.”

“Damn!” I cursed.

With a sudden shriek, the Lizard King charged at me once more—this time, its speed doubled.

I barely had time to react before it slammed into me head-on. My body was launched high into the air, soaring over twenty meters before crashing down heavily.

That strike cost me 265 health points. My fifty defense points were meaningless against the berserk Lizard King. If it hit me twice like that, I’d be finished.

Its destructive power was truly terrifying.