7: Chapter 7 Guardian Goddess, the Boar King Dares Not Cross the Line

The members of the Wild Wolf Gang were still lying on the ground wailing.

But the area around the earthen slope had already exploded into a commotion.

"Hahaha! That's what you get for trying to snatch territory!"

"Go on, keep being arrogant!"

"Your gang leader was sent flying like a dog, what's there left to pretend!"

Wild Wolf's face was ashen. Clutching his chest, he stared fixedly at Lin Zhe with a terrifyingly venomous gaze.

But he didn't dare to attack again.

Neither did the ten gang members behind him.

That impact just now had nearly sent them all back to the resurrection point.

Lin Zhe stood where he was, his expression indifferent.

At his feet was still that pile of potions, wild fruits, and miscellaneous white-grade equipment sent by the players.

More and more solo players gathered around, instead making the Wild Wolf Gang members look even more pathetic as they were squeezed in.

Just then.

From the direction of the distant woods, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps was heard!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The speed was incredibly fast!

It was accompanied by heavy, ragged breathing.

Many players instinctively turned to look.

In the next second, someone's eyes widened in shock.

"Holy crap! What is that!"

A figure could be seen sprinting frantically from the forest path.

It was a girl.

She wore a white newbie mage robe, the hem of which was torn by branches, and she held a staff in her hand, running at extreme speed.

However, her condition was very poor.

Her face was pale.

Her breathing was rapid.

Her health bar was almost empty, with only a tiny sliver of red remaining.

And behind her—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground was shaking!

A black-maned Elite Boar King, a full two meters tall, crashed through the bushes with bloodshot eyes, chasing her frantically!

Its tusks were thick and long.

Its back was like a small mountain.

With every step it took, the ground thudded loudly.

The health bar above its head was terrifyingly long.

[Elite Boar King]

[Level: 5]

[Health: 5000/5000]

At a single glance, the surrounding players' scalps went numb.

"An Elite BOSS!"

"It's that Boar King from the Boar Forest!"

"Damn, how did it end up over here!"

"5000 HP? Who the hell can beat that!"

When someone saw the ID above the girl's head, they shouted until their voice cracked.

"Wait! That's Xing Jianwan!"

"The number one goddess of the entire server, Xing Jianwan?"

"The honorary leader of Lingxiao Pavilion?"

"It really is her!"

For a moment, the entire earthen slope fell into even greater chaos.

Some were shocked that the goddess would appear in Luofeng Village.

Others were already so terrified by the Elite Boar King that they were backing away.

The Wild Wolf Gang members, who had been lying there playing dead, didn't care about losing face anymore when they saw the Boar King charging. They scrambled and crawled to get out of the way.

"Get out of the way!"

"It's charging over!"

"Don't block the path, dammit!"

Lin Zhe looked up at the girl charging toward him.

In the next second, player information automatically surfaced.

[Player: Xing Jianwan]

[Level: 5]

[Class: Mage]

[Affiliated Guild: Lingxiao Pavilion]

[Health: 48/560]

[Status: Heavily Injured, Rapid Flight]

Lin Zhe's eyes flickered slightly.

560 HP.

For a mage class, this was already not low.

Furthermore, the name was even more familiar to him.

Xing Jianwan.

In the few days since miracle launched, she was one of the most popular female players in the entire server.

Top-tier skills.

Top-tier looks.

And a powerful background.

On the forums and in the world channel, people were talking about her every day.

Only now, this universally acknowledged number one goddess of the server was clearly in a bit of a mess.

As she rushed over, there were scrapes on her shoulders, and her mage robe was covered in mud.

She had clearly been chased for a considerable distance.

Xing Jianwan also saw the players on the slope and Lin Zhe.

She was originally very calm, but when she glanced at the group of low-health players and Lin Zhe standing in the middle, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes.

But that sliver of surprise was only momentary.

She had no time to think.

The Boar King behind her was too close!

If she were a second slower, she would be gored to death!

"Move!"

She gave a low shout, and with a sliding step, she charged directly toward the center of the slope.

The surrounding players instinctively cleared a path for her.

Nobody dared to block her.

Xing Jianwan's strategy was simple.

Find cover.

Break line of sight.

Even a single second of breathing room would do.

And the only thing on the slope that could barely serve as an obstacle wasn't the players, but that special-looking Refugee NPC standing in the very center.

She rushed directly behind Lin Zhe.

She stopped her feet.

Turned her body halfway.

Her grip on her staff tightened.

She clearly intended to use Lin Zhe's position to hard-block the Boar King's charge path.

The surrounding players' eyelids jumped wildly.

"It's over!"

"Why did she hide behind an NPC!"

"That's the Boar King, not a player!"

"Even the NPC will be sent flying by this impact!"

Wild Wolf was stunned.

Just a moment ago, he had been questioning his life after being knocked back by Lin Zhe.

But now, what was charging wasn't a player—it was a monster, a BOSS!

NPC rules shouldn't apply to monsters, right?

No matter how weird this Refugee was, could he really block a 5000 HP Boar King?

The next second.

Boom!

The Elite Boar King charged onto the slope!

Dirt flew everywhere!

Its black mane bristled!

Its crimson eyes were locked onto Xing Jianwan, its nostrils snorting heavy breaths, its tusks almost reaching her.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps!

And then—

It suddenly stopped.

It stopped dead exactly three meters in front of Lin Zhe.

As if it had slammed into an invisible wall.

The entire field went silent.

Xing Jianwan had been prepared to use another movement skill, but the Elite Boar King that had been chasing her so violently all this way unexpectedly came to a halt near Lin Zhe.

It stopped charging.

It stopped goring.

It just stayed in place, irritably pawing the ground.

Snort!

Snort!

The Boar King paced back and forth in front of them, its gaze still fixed on Xing Jianwan, but it simply didn't dare to take another step toward Lin Zhe.

The feeling was very strange.

It was as if it clearly wanted to kill someone in its rage, but was being held back by some higher-priority rule.

The surrounding players were all dumbfounded.

"It... it stopped?"

"What's going on?"

"The Boar King chickened out?"

"Wasn't it just about to eat someone a second ago!"

A member of the Wild Wolf Gang stood with his mouth agape, only managing to squeeze out a sentence after a long while.

"This NPC... even monsters don't dare touch him?"

Lin Zhe's expression remained unchanged.

But in his heart, he understood instantly.

As expected.

Monsters will not actively attack an NPC they have no aggro towards.

This was one of the underlying logics of miracle.

Players usually didn't care about this rule when grinding monsters because normal NPCs wouldn't stand right in the middle of a monster pack.

But now, Xing Jianwan had lured the Boar King all the way here.

And he happened to be standing right here.

Consequently, the Elite Boar King was simply stuck.

Xing Jianwan had clearly realized it too.

She first looked at the irritated Boar King that didn't dare to approach, then at the consistently calm back in front of her.

In those eyes that were originally as cold as ice, a visible tremor appeared for the first time.

She was no rookie.

On the contrary, she understood the game mechanics all too well.

Precisely because she understood them, she knew even better how ridiculous this scene was.

In her panic, she had only instinctively hidden here.

But she never imagined that a Refugee NPC she picked at random would actually manage to block this Elite Boar King.

And block it completely.

This wasn't luck.

This was a mechanic.

And an opportunity!

Xing Jianwan didn't waste a single word.

She directly pulled out health potions from her bag.

One bottle!

Two bottles!

Gulp! Gulp!

She downed them all!

At the same time, she quickly raised her hand to apply a basic Mage Shield to herself.

A faint white film of light lit up around her body.

Her health bar, which had only 48 points left, finally began to climb back up.

120.

180.

230.

Though it was still far from full health, she was at least stable.

Only then did the surrounding players seem to snap out of it collectively.

"She's healing!"

"Damn, that actually works!"

"The Boar King really is stuck!"

"What kind of god-tier play is this?"

The way some people looked at Lin Zhe had completely changed.

Just now, they only thought this Refugee NPC was some untouchable counter-damage freak.

But now, they suddenly discovered that Lin Zhe's value wasn't just in reflecting damage back at players.

By just standing there, even an Elite BOSS had to stop obediently!

The venomous look on Wild Wolf's face froze.

He had originally thought Lin Zhe was just weird.

Now he realized this guy was weird beyond measure.

Even the highest-level Elite Boar King in the wild had to slam on the brakes when it got to him!

In the center of the slope.

The Boar King was still pacing back and forth, nostrils snorting heavy breaths, its tusks carving deep furrows into the ground.

But it never dared to step across that line.

Xing Jianwan stood behind Lin Zhe, taking the time to recover her status.

Her breathing gradually steadied.

But her gaze fell on Lin Zhe again and again.

This Refugee NPC was definitely not simple.

And Lin Zhe just stood there calmly.

In front of him was the irritably circling Elite Boar King.

Behind him was the number one goddess of the server, currently healing up.

And all around was a circle of dumbfounded players.

No one spoke again.

Only the unwilling low growls of the Boar King weighed down on the earthen slope, one after another.