173: Chapter 173 Steady Progress

"This BOSS is way too tough! Hitting it really hurts my hands!"

Hu Gualing shook his hands, feeling the slight pain in his knuckles. He didn't doubt that if he hadn't been wearing a pair of steel knuckle dusters to protect his joints, the damage he dealt to the Mutated White Wild Boar might not even equal the HP he'd lose from the recoil.

However, it wasn't without effect. After the Mutated White Wild Boar's hoof missed because Hu Gualing dodged, Tang Yao's sword cut away nearly two percent of its health. Its target immediately switched to Tang Yao, who was holding a Steel Longsword. But just as it raised its pig hand to strike Tang Yao, it was hit twice in the side by Hu Gualing's fists. The pig's head turned, focusing on Hu Gualing, and its target naturally shifted back to him. The pig hand that was about to strike Tang Yao changed direction and slammed down heavily toward Hu Gualing's crown.

"Damn it, can't you hit somewhere else?!" Hu Gualing wanted to test the Mutated White Wild Boar's attack power so he'd know what to expect if he had to trade blows later, avoiding panic or mistakes.

But whether it was habit or its size, the Mutated White Wild Boar kept aiming for the crown of his head. Who would dare not dodge? Even though they could use Resurrection, Hu Gualing couldn't accept his head being turned into tofu dregs by a pig's hand. So he had to use the Lazy Donkey Roll again, rolling forward from the side to the front of the Mutated White Wild Boar. After standing up, he landed two more punches on its belly.

-5, -6.

When the two damage numbers popped up, Hu Gualing had already expected it, so he didn't even look at the health bar. Instead, he spoke to Tang Yao, who was standing slightly behind him: "Don't worry about attacking, I'll keep it busy. If either of us accidentally dies, just use Resurrection in time!"

Tang Yao swung her sword at the Mutated White Wild Boar's belly. With one slash, its health dropped by 15 points. Tang Yao then said, "Okay!"

Xiao Niao watched intently from behind. Seeing how capable his teammates Hu Gualing and Tang Yao were—taking off so much of the Mutated White Wild Boar's health in just a few rounds of attacks without him even helping, and with the boss never landing a hit—it seemed the BOSS wasn't as hard to deal with as he'd imagined.

"Go for it! You've almost taken off ten percent of its health! If you stay steady, we can definitely kill it!" Seeing his teammates doing so well, Xiao Niao couldn't help but get excited. Since he had nothing else to do, he acted as a cheerleader for Hu Gualing and Tang Yao.

Hu Gualing and Tang Yao didn't feel it was unfair that Xiao Niao was blatantly slacking off behind them. They knew he only had 10 arrows in his bag. One was stuck in the Timid Ostrich's butt and carried away by that surprisingly fast runner. Another was shot at an Irritable Red Wild Boar soaking in a mud pit when Xiao Niao used his "top-tier expert" mob-pulling technique. If the arrow hadn't been snapped by the boar, it might still be in that pit, needing a wash. So Xiao Niao only had 8 arrows left. Saving them was reasonable. Even if all 8 hit the boss's vitals, they might not deal much damage. So it was fine for him to watch the battle and occasionally offer reminders. As long as he didn't come up and cause trouble, the situation looked optimistic.

In the subsequent battle, Hu Gualing and Tang Yao repeated their attack rhythm.

Hu Gualing acted as the melee tank. Though he had no shield and didn't block, his agile movement—rolling around the front, left, and right of the Mutated White Wild Boar to dodge every attack—made him a tank in a different sense.

Every time he finished a roll, he didn't forget to land two punches. The damage seemed like scratching an itch, but it added up and kept the boss's aggro firmly on him while its health slowly dropped.

As for Tang Yao, who stood slightly behind with her longsword, her safety was higher due to her longer reach. Most importantly, Hu Gualing kept the boss's aggro. The pig hands rarely swung her way, giving her a great environment to deal damage. She only had to adjust her positioning based on the boss's movement, barely worrying about dodging. It was basically stationary DPS.

Tang Yao didn't disappoint. In the stable environment created by Hu Gualing, she focused on using the Basic Swordsmanship she'd gained from Cutting Pig Grass. Based on the damage feedback, she constantly adjusted her angles, power, and timing, trying different body parts. She gradually entered a flow state, and the experience for [Basic Swordsmanship] soared.

Hu Gualing and Xiao Niao naturally noticed this too.

The most direct evidence was the damage numbers above the Mutated White Wild Boar's head, which started at 15 and slowly climbed: -15, -16, -17... -21, -27 (Ignore Defense)!