172: Chapter 172 Sweating profusely

Hu Gualing threw a simple and unadorned Farmers Three Punches straight at the Mutated White Wild Boar. It was unclear if the Mutated White Wild Boar was too bulky to dodge easily, or if it simply didn't take Hu Gualing's punch seriously, as it neither dodged, avoided, nor blocked, allowing the punch to land squarely on its body.

-6.

A terrifyingly low damage number popped up above the Mutated White Wild Boar's head, and its health bar appeared at the same time.

"This guy has at least six hundred health!" Xiao Niao, who was observing the BOSS's weaknesses, saw the damage Gualing dealt. Comparing it to the terrifyingly long health bar above the Mutated White Wild Boar's head, which had only lost a sliver of health, he immediately estimated its total HP and shouted to remind Hu Gualing and Tang Yao Dao.

Hu Gualing looked down at the steel knuckle duster on his knuckles, then looked up at the Mutated White Wild Boar's completely unfazed body, his face filled with disbelief.

This Mutated White Wild Boar was massive, but its hind limbs weren't very long. Of course, it could be that when it stood upright, the sagging fat from its belly and rump obscured part of them, making the hind limbs look short. Overall, compared to its entire body, the Mutated White Wild Boar's head and legs were relatively small; the vast majority consisted of its chest and belly. Since it stood upright, its unprotected chest and belly were exposed, allowing Hu Gualing to easily land punches on those areas, which lacked the protection of bristles or spines. This was why Hu Gualing had been so confident in defeating it.

But that punch to the White Wild Boar's belly only dealt -6 damage, and the White Wild Boar's belly barely reacted. Instead, he felt as if his fist had struck hard wood, the recoil causing a bit of pain. Hu Gualing immediately broke into a cold sweat. Didn't this mean that without these Blue Quality steel knuckle dusters, he wouldn't even be able to break the White Wild Boar's defense, and might even take recoil damage himself?

While Hu Gualing was still in shock, he heard Xiao Niao report the White Wild Boar's total health. He looked up at the health bar above the White Wild Boar's head and was stunned by its length... While he was dazed, the Mutated White Wild Boar's counterattack arrived. It reached out a hand and slapped down toward Hu Gualing's crown.

Originally, Hu Gualing didn't want to dodge; he wanted to tank the White Wild Boar's attack head-on to see how strong it was and how much health he would lose per hit, so he would know what to expect in the upcoming battle.

However, the Mutated White Wild Boar's hand was as large as the mouth of the giant pickling jar he had sold to Wang Dachui, and it was coming straight for the top of his head. Facing this, Hu Gualing shivered. He couldn't care less about testing its attack power anymore and almost subconsciously rolled forward to dodge the Mutated White Wild Boar's attack.

Just then, Tang Yao's attack arrived. Her longsword lashed out, trailing slightly as it sliced across the Mutated White Wild Boar's belly. It left a shallow mark and caused a -15 damage number to pop up—a single attack had taken nearly two percent of the Mutated White Wild Boar's health!

Hu Gualing was both shocked and delighted. He hadn't expected Tang Yao's damage to be more than double his. However, he quickly figured it out. Although his Fist Technique's attack speed was extremely fast, allowing for quick punches and easy Combos that could double his total damage, compared to Tang Yao's longsword, even with two hits, he couldn't bridge the gap in final damage caused by the difference in base attack power. This disparity only grew when facing stronger monsters.

Take this Mutated White Wild Boar for example. According to Hu Gualing's original thinking, if Tang Yao dealt 15 damage with one swing, even if his single-hit damage was lower, a left-right punch Combo would be enough to match her. But the reality was that even with two consecutive hits, his total damage was still a fifth lower than hers. As monster defense increased, this gap would only continue to widen.

"It seems Tang Yao will have to be the main damage dealer for this BOSS raid."

Hu Gualing understood the Dao Dao within this in an instant. He knew they had to rely on Tang Yao for damage. If she could shave off two percent of the Mutated White Wild Boar's health with one swing, then theoretically, she only needed fifty swings to empty the health bar.

But the Mutated White Wild Boar wasn't stupid; it wouldn't just stand there and let her attack. It would surely swing its jar-sized hands at her. With Tang Yao's combat experience, she would likely struggle to perform a series of blocks, parries, and dodges like he could. So, while it seemed easy enough to solve the problem in fifty hits, the reality was bound to be more complicated. Hu Gualing decided his role in this fight would be to harass the Mutated White Wild Boar, keeping it from bothering Tang Yao so she could successfully land her fifty attacks as a support character.

Of course, even as a support character, he wouldn't be like Xiao Niao hiding in the back dealing zero damage. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to hold the Mutated White Wild Boar's Aggro.

With that in mind, after getting up from his Lazy Donkey Roll and steadying himself, Hu Gualing didn't bother looking for a specific angle. Standing at the side, he threw two quick punches at the Mutated White Wild Boar's ribs.

-6, -5.

Because the Mutated White Wild Boar was so massive, its flesh was incredibly thick—it likely weighed at least a thousand pounds. Although Hu Gualing aimed for the ribs, it wasn't much different from hitting its belly; both were thick layers of flesh. He dealt only five or six points of damage per hit. If there was any difference, it was that the hide over the Mutated White Wild Boar's ribs was slightly tougher than the belly. Hu Gualing felt a stinging sensation on the skin of his knuckles.