156: Chapter 156 Minor Injuries

However, even though the Black Wild Boar had lost more HP than Tang Yao, the current situation was still extremely grim.

Because although Tang Yao had managed to strike the charging Black Wild Boar with the longsword she held up, the boar's head was actually quite small. With its short face and long snout, it appeared rather compact compared to its sturdy body, making it difficult to hit in the first place. Since Tang Yao had her eyes closed and was relying purely on instinct to hold the longsword forward, she had managed to stab the boar, but not in any vital spot on its head; she had only struck its upper shoulder. This caused the boar's HP to drop by 25 points, which was acceptable for a boar with a total HP of two or three hundred.

However, the boar became extremely enraged from the pain. After knocking Tang Yao away, it lowered its head and continued to Charge toward her as she fell to the ground, aiming its tusks at her.

Seeing this, Hu Gualing, who was rushing over to help, became anxious.

Unlike before, when Xiao Niao was hit once by the boar and left with only a sliver of HP, the boar did not have enough distance this time to build up momentum for its "Charge." Therefore, the force of the impact on Tang Yao was not as fierce. Moreover, although Tang Yao was frightened when facing the boar's Charge, she did not put her weapon into her backpack and turn to flee like Xiao Niao. Instead, she held up the "scorching sharp longsword." The sharpness and durability of this blue-grade fine-quality longsword, forged from refined steel, went without saying.

Furthermore, the length of the longsword exceeded that of the boar's tusks. Coupled with the fact that Tang Yao was holding the sword out with her arm extended, the length of her arm was also added to the reach. Thus, before the boar's tusks could strike Tang Yao, the longsword in her hand had already pierced the boar's upper shoulder. Although this was not a vital spot, being stabbed and pierced by a longsword was still quite painful. Moreover... the harder the boar charged, the deeper the longsword sank into its upper shoulder. No matter how "Fearless" this "Fearless Black Wild Boar" was, it was not stupid. Faced with such a literal, bone-deep danger, its body instinctively reacted by pulling back and stopping the Charge. Consequently, its tusks failed to disembowel Tang Yao; instead, along with its long, hard snout, they simply knocked Tang Yao and the longsword in her hand flying away.

At this point, the situation on the field still favored Tang Yao and Hu Gualing, because after the boar knocked the longsword from Tang Yao's hand out of its upper shoulder, accompanied by a spurt of boar blood, a "Slight Injury" status appeared beneath its HP bar. It stated that under this status, all attributes were reduced by 10%.

However, Hu Gualing had no time to rejoice, because the Black Wild Boar had become incredibly enraged. Completely ignoring the "Slight Injury" and "Bleeding" status effects, it thrust its large tusks forward and lunged toward Tang Yao, who had not yet managed to sit up after falling to the ground. Given Tang Yao's current state, she would likely be killed by the boar in two hits.

Considering Tang Yao's substantial wealth, dying a few times might just be a matter of a few "revival coin"s, which was nothing compared to the game points she possessed. However, Hu Gualing had to consider something else: Tang Yao was such a clean and beautiful girl; what kind of psychological trauma would it cause her if she died under the boar's mouth?

He had gone to great lengths to "persuade" Tang Yao to leave the "Novice Village" and team up for an adventure. He was counting on riding her coattails to success. If she got angry because she died under the boar's mouth and returned to the village to raise pigs and fish, refusing to play with him anymore, what would he do?

Therefore, Hu Gualing, seeing the Black Wild Boar's tusks about to strike Tang Yao, became anxious. Immediately, while running, he leaned his body forward, planted his hands on the ground, and performed a "Lazy Donkey Roll" × 2. His body rolled five times on the ground, instantly closing the distance to the boar. However, even then, he was still two body lengths away from reaching it. Not daring to even catch his breath, Hu Gualing quickly performed a third "Lazy Donkey Roll."

The "Lazy Donkey Roll" skill had no cooldown time and could theoretically be used continuously an infinite number of times. However, each use engaged the muscle groups of the entire body, placing a significant burden on the body. That night, after using it two or three times consecutively under the "Office Building" of the "Jinkai Factory," Hu Gualing felt all the muscles in his body cramping and his bones felt like they were falling apart. The only reason he was able to stay standing until the "Black-Clad Men" threw a smoke bomb and fled before collapsing to the ground was that he was holding on by a single breath of willpower.

Of course, during the time since then, his base attributes had improved somewhat through long-term blacksmithing. Coupled with the increased frequency of using "Lazy Donkey Roll," Hu Gualing had realized some insights into using this skill. As he became more proficient, the burden it placed on his body was not as great, which is why he was able to use the "Lazy Donkey Roll" twice while dodging the Black Wild Boar's Charge, and could now use it three more times in a row without any pause.

However, it seemed that even this might be a bit too late.

After Hu Gualing performed the third "Lazy Donkey Roll," he was rolling on the ground with his head down. Through the gap between his legs, he saw the boar dash in front of Tang Yao, pull its tusks back, and then thrust them out heavily. Hu Gualing was burning with anxiety, but there was nothing he could do.

In the blink of an eye, just as Hu Gualing was burning with anxiety and Tang Yao, who had fallen to the ground, had not yet sat up and was naturally unable to dodge in time, a pinkish-white figure rushed out from the side. Who else could it be but Tang Yao's "Sharp-toothed Piglet"?

Sharp Tooth slammed fiercely into the Black Wild Boar's stomach, but the boar's belly only sank in slightly before returning to normal, and it even sent the "Sharp-toothed Piglet" flying. However, Hu Gualing remembered that the piglet's Charge seemed to cause a stun status. The first monster they encountered after leaving the village, the "Hungry Wild Dog," had been stunned by the "Sharp-toothed Piglet" for several seconds, allowing Tang Yao to kill it with a single sword strike.

Thinking of this, Hu Gualing looked at the Black Wild Boar's head. Sure enough, he saw the exact same white, circling icon on its head that had appeared on the "Wild Dog" back then.