Chapter 104: Fierce Battle, Methods to Hold Back the Three-Headed Monster

Suddenly, the right front paw of the three-headed defiler, Meril, began to scratch violently at the hard-paved stone road, kicking up a shower of gravel. Its three terrifying beast heads reared toward the sky and let out a wild, piercing howl. The sharp screech of a wolf, the deep roar of a bear, and the frantic neighing of a horse blended together into a shrill, grating sound, like a tyrannical claw eager to tear everyone's eardrums to shreds. Even the drifting clouds seemed to tremble under this terrifying roar, scattering in panic and leaving behind a devastated sky.

I was taken aback. It seemed that this fearsome, frenzied beast was no longer willing to stalemate with the weak opponents before it; it was impatient to unleash its tainted killing urge and might tear the young Baron Bink to pieces at any moment. Yet, we were simply too far away to effect a timely rescue.

At that exact moment, a fortunate accident occurred.

The section of the city wall we stood upon was already dilapidated. By then, the support provided by the cracked bricks and stones had likely reached its limit, unable to withstand even the sonic vibrations rippling through the air. Under the howling of the three-headed monster, the wall began to tremble timidly. A fist-sized rock first abandoned its post, detaching from the wall, bouncing off the stacked stones below, and crashing straight into the ground.

This tiny breach instantly triggered catastrophic consequences. Following the fall of that small stone, an unclosable gap tore open on the wall, loosening the entire structural integrity. This loosening caused a terrifying chain reaction, producing a series of small, grinding clicks among the bricks. Then, this faint sound escalated into a violent vibration. After a brief struggle, the entire city wall could no longer support its own weight and collapsed irreversibly. Massive boulders crashed into one another as they plummeted to the ground, kicking up an overwhelming cloud of dust and smoke that engulfed the entire sky. Even the earth could not bear such an intensive and heavy impact, shaking violently. Our footing instantly turned unsteady, sending us stumbling about.

Perhaps because the section of the wall beneath us had already crumbled away, it was spared the worst of this massive shockwave, and fortunately, none of us were injured. Before long, the dust settled, and the earth grew calm once more. Everything was utterly ruined; the entire city wall had been reduced to a rugged pile of massive rubble.

This breathtaking destruction naturally drew the attention of the three-headed monster, Meril. It immediately shifted its focus away from Baron Bink. Its three vicious heads gazed alertly toward the collapsed wall, six distinct eyes scanning back and forth restlessly.

Then, it spotted us.

Perhaps our robust, living flesh held a stronger temptation than Baron Bink's severely wounded and feeble body; perhaps this cunning and savage beast had judged us to be a greater threat than the injured baron; or perhaps... the five of us adventurers, belonging to five different races, simply fit the nutritional standards of the beast's healthy diet? Well... regardless, the three-headed monster temporarily abandoned its slaughter of the baron and his brave men, turning to charge straight at us.

The baron was saved.

Yet for us, this could hardly be called good news.

The three-headed beast came on fiercely. Three distinct low growls issued from its throat, sounding both like intimidation and warning. Its four thick, powerful limbs carried it swiftly across the ground, its tall and robust physique showing no trace of clumsiness. Every leap closed the distance between us significantly. Its movements were well-coordinated, bordering on agile, entirely devoid of the stiff, twisted movements of the zombies we had encountered along the way. Although I knew nothing of necromancy, I could still sense that as a bloodthirsty corpse stitched together by necromantic arts without life or soul, the craftsmanship of this beast was nearly flawless.

In the blink of an eye, Meril leaped onto the wall ruins. It effortlessly bounded onto an outcropping rock, pushed off powerfully with its hind legs, and lunged down at us from above. Its massive, pale-cyan horse head was aimed right at my skull. In that split second, we were so close that I could almost clearly see the wisp of black mist swirling within its eye sockets. It truly was just a thin wisp of black fog, seemingly on the verge of dissipating at any moment, yet at the same time terrifyingly dark, completely impenetrable to the gaze. It looked like two of the deepest magical whirlpools, capable of slowly pulling out the soul of anyone gazing into them and drowning it in bottomless darkness.

Under the ferocious assault of the three-headed defiler, any attempt at evasion was entirely futile. In the brief moment as it lunged, I only had time to raise my shield to my chest, barely managing to block the impact of the horse head. This collision apparently carried a special knockback effect; the immense shockwave threw me off balance, forcing me to stumble back three or four steps before barely steadying myself.

I was not the only one targeted by Meril. Simultaneously, the beast's bear head and wolf head lunged at Niu Baiwan and D-flat Nocturne respectively. Relying on the formidable defense of a Paladin's heavy armor, Niu Baiwan squared his chest to take the ferocious bite of the bear head head-on, while swinging his large stone pillar to smash heavily into Meril's left shoulder. After trading blows with the beast in such a bloody, life-for-a-life valiant combat style, the brave Tauren let out a heart-stirring, heroic roar:

"---Help! It hurts so much! Heal me quick! I'm dying!..."

The bard's fate was far more pathetic than the Tauren Paladin's. He neither possessed the heavy, tough metal armor nor the overwhelming vitality. The Pixie's nimble combat skills were completely ineffective against Meril's agile wolf head, and sharp fangs sank deeply into Nocturne's neck. Over a hundred and fifty health points vanished instantly, while a persistent poison effect embedded in the fangs kept chipping away at his life, twenty damage here, thirty damage there.

"Scatter! Don't bunch up, it has area-of-effect attacks!" The bard, having learned his lesson, shouted a warning to us while promptly retreating to the side by example. Skillfully retrieving a bottle of antivenom, he chugged it down, instantly halting the drain on his health, before chanting an "Immunity Battle Song" that significantly boosted poison resistance.

Nocturne's advice was undoubtedly correct. Facing the three-headed monster Meril, which could attack three targets simultaneously, swarming it would only increase the targets and cause needless losses.

However, dispersing did not mean our situation would immediately improve. The chaotic, shattered bricks and stones littering the wall ruins were rugged and treacherous, making footing exceedingly difficult. Every single one of us had our movement speed severely restricted, forcing us to stumble along clumsily.

Yet this complex terrain posed no hindrance whatsoever to the three-headed defiler. Although it was a dead magical creation, the beast's instinct for traversing mountain slopes and rocky terrain remained intact within its body. It leaped and lunged agilely across the ruins as if walking on flat ground, making it impossible for us to shake off its pursuit.

Fortunately, Dinding Xiaoge had already summoned his second minion—the "Shadow Martial Spirit," specializing in close-quarters combat and defense. Although this black demon from an otherworldly dimension was all brawn and ferocious looks with combat prowess falling short of even our weakest D-flat Nocturne, it hovered through the air using magic, thus bypassing terrain restrictions. Under the Orc Warlock's command, it managed to appear by the three-headed monster Meril's side in the nick of time, drawing its attention and buying the others time to escape.

When the Shadow Martial Spirit finally could no longer withstand the fierce tearing of the three-headed defiler, dissolving into a puff of blue smoke under Meril's claws and retreating pathetically back to its native dimensional plane, the five of us finally broke free from that chaotic ruin and set foot on solid ground.

Facing such a ferocious monster, I did not dare let down my guard for even a second. The moment I steadied myself, I snatched a longspear from my pack, triggered the "Full-Force Throw" skill, and hurled it straight at Meril, which was still in the center of the ruins. The spear dragged a milky-white afterimage through the air before embedding deeply into the back of the three-headed beast. Over four hundred health points erupted into a dense cloud of blood mist with this fierce blow, followed by the beast's enraged roar of pain.

"Nice hit!" Niu Baiwan seemed deeply inspired by my fruitful result, roaring excitedly before enthusiastically pulling out his exclusive ranged weapon—a "birch slingshot" even shorter than two of his knuckles.

When you see a Tauren Paladin delicately holding his pinky out while gingerly catapulting a stone the size of a peanut at the three-headed defiler, meagerly scraping away a mere single-digit amount of its health, I imagine you would cherish whatever lousy weapon you happen to be holding—no matter how terrible its stats, at least you won't look half as unseemly as this Tauren Paladin while using it.

"Nice my ass, that cost money!" My heart ached profoundly, and I directed a wave of remorseful, furious wrath toward the clueless Tauren who had no idea how hard it was to make a living. You see, the damage dealt by "Full-Force Throw" was closely tied to the weapon's base stats; over four hundred points of damage meant that spear had quite decent stats and could have fetched at least thirty gold coins on the market.

Thirty gold coins, squandered by me in a moment of impulse—that was probably the most expensive damage stat I had ever witnessed...

In my indignation and a surge of hot-headedness, I whipped out a battle saber and hurled it with all my might. The sharp blade spun through the air with a whistling sound, flying toward Meril and cleaving right into the three-headed beast's wolf head.

Five hundred and thirty-seven health points burst forth.

Ah! My heart was bleeding...

The swift-moving beast left us no more time. After I regretfully turned the two most valuable weapons in my pack into disposable consumables, less than five paces remained between it and us.

"Warrior, hold the line! Paladin and I will attack from the flanks! Druid, watch the heals! Warlock, mind your damage output and don't pull the agro away!" D-flat Nocturne immediately began issuing methodical arrangements.

I am a brave and honorable Warrior, and I will forever uphold the Warrior creed: "Strength stems from courage!" I am a friend to sword and shield. I stand at the forefront of my comrades, using my iron bones to fend off the invasion of evil, protecting my homeland and loved ones without a shred of lifelong regret, taking pride in it!

However, if—ahem... just "if"—"if" life could be replayed, perhaps a Paladin wouldn't be such a bad choice either...

I assure you from personal experience that in a party adventure, a Warrior is by no means an enviable class. You must realize that no matter how terrible the enemy—ugly, savage, rotting, disgusting, perverted... all of these enemies must be faced head-on at the closest quarters, head-to-head, shoulder-to-shoulder. You must endure their most fierce skills, block their heaviest blows, and sometimes suffer the perennial stench emanating from their bodies—just like right now.

Meril unleashed every surging desire for slaughter within its body entirely upon me. Its three massive mouths collided with and bit into my armor, while its thick, powerful claws tore furiously at my shield, producing a heart-pounding sound of wear and tear. I was like a tin toy placed before it, tempting its rotting curiosity, bearing all its attacks alone, praying that it would be ended before tearing me to pieces.

I believe that the twisted and evil mages of the Doomsday Empire endowed Meril with these three heads purely out of their alternative cultural aesthetic backgrounds. In fact, I am quite certain this terrifying magical beast was created solely as a lethal instrument for combat and slaughter, with each of its heads harboring several distinct, powerful magics. This granted it a distinct advantage when facing any opponent.

I already knew its huge, violent horse head was a formidable impact weapon. Every powerful charge threw one off balance, inflicting the detrimental "knockback" effect. Its two evil eyes radiating black mist concealed a soul-shaking, bizarre magic capable of hypnotizing opponents. Although the hypnosis lasted but a brief moment, it was more than enough for this ferocious demon to tear its target to shreds. The "Ice Witch" summoned by Dinding Xiaoge was utterly defeated precisely after falling victim to this move, caught completely off guard—as opponents leveled up, this beginner minion summoned early on by warlocks played less and less of a role. Her offensive power was extremely low, her defense pitifully fragile, and her freezing spells grew increasingly ineffective at restricting high-level foes. The only virtues left that I could think of were "pretty face and a hot body," adding a pleasing splash of color to this bloody battlefield. Her aesthetic value far outweighed her actual utility.

The withered, shrinking bear head inherited the bear clan's customary immense strength. Although its attack frequency was low and movements relatively sluggish, its lethality was the highest among the three heads. Furthermore, it could emit a chilling, massive roar, producing a paralyzing effect akin to "Terror Roar," plunging enemies into panicked confusion where they became incapable of fighting. Strangely enough, while the Tauren race possessed a five percent resistance bonus against fear effects, our very own Tauren Paladin, Lord Niu Baiwan, fell victim to it every single time. Whenever that bear head began to roar furiously, we would see him clutching his head and running around in panicked circles like a headless fly. The Pixies were always known for being cowardly and cunning, yet even the Pixie bard D-flat Nocturne... such soul-draining sonic attacks.

Yet, neither the reckless charging horse head nor the roaring bear head was anywhere near as hard to deal with as the cunning wolf head. This scarred wolf head served as the command hub for the beast's movements; its attacks were as swift as a squall, carrying the characteristic craftiness of the wolf clan, launching sudden assaults from unpredictable angles that were terribly difficult to parry. Moreover, potent toxins laced those sharp fangs, triggering a continuous poison-type damage effect nearly every three attacks. The damage dealt by that single head alone exceeded that of the other two combined.

"Is there anything this guy *doesn't* do?" Fighting such a decathlon-capable monster was a painful torment, D-flat Nocturne complained loudly with a woeful expression.

"At least it doesn't heal itself..." Niu Baiwan cast a healing spell on himself, speaking with a mix of boastfulness and relief.

Suddenly, the wolf head clamped down on my shoulder, uncharacteristically sucking greedily. I felt a wave of debilitating weakness surge through my shoulder, and looking up sharply, I saw a green line of text reading "+237" rise above Meril's head as my health drained.

Damn it, Life Siphoning, it even knew that spell...

"What was that you were saying just now?" I asked Niu Baiwan, tearfully aggrieved and utterly indignant.

"Uh... I didn't say anything..." The Tauren Paladin shrugged, sheepishly tossing a healing spell onto my head. His face at that moment looked like a boiled cowhide, glowing red and bright.

"---Wolf's ears, bear's strength, if they just slapped a panther head and an eagle head on it, it could straight up go star in BraveStarr without even needing makeup..." Dinding Xiaoge tossed an Shadow Bolt from afar, chiming in with sarcastic banter.

To my surprise, this offensive spell triggered a critical hit, blasting away over three hundred of Meril's health points and reducing the beast's vitality to near-critical levels. This potent spell instantly infuriated the three-headed defiler, causing it to abandon our fight entirely and pounce toward the Orc Warlock standing ten paces away, completely ignoring all our attempts to draw its aggro back.

Dinding Xiaoge's final minion had just been destroyed, leaving him completely unprotected with his mana pool completely bottomed out—he was at his most vulnerable. The thin cloth armor he wore stood no chance against the razor-sharp teeth of the three-headed monster. Following a flurry of frantic biting, he fell dead on the spot.

"Oh no, oh no, Jeff, weren't you supposed to hold it? How did you let it get pulled away?" Witnessing his comrade's death, Niu Baiwan sighed regretfully and grumbled at me with a whine.

"Count your blessings, I only have one shield while it has three heads. What else did you expect me to do? Stick my rear end out to block its mouth?" I argued back defiantly, though inwardly feeling rather apologetic toward the ill-fated Orc Warlock. I threw myself into hacking and slashing, desperate to make up for my lapse.

"That idea actually sounds pretty good..." The Tauren Paladin was just about to retort with another jab when the horse head stretched its neck out and bit squarely onto his plump, prominent rear end, putting that "good-sounding" idea into practical action with its own deeds.

You know, once that horse head found a target it was interested in, being left with only two heads suddenly made the beast a lot easier to deal with. It was just that this brief convenience required someone to pay a heavy price:

"Ouch, my butt..."