The Tiger King’s Den

Half an hour later, the entire party had assembled at the entrance of the Newbie Village. Iron Blood Plume, in particular, had brought an additional person.

Ye Jue’s heart gave a sudden lurch upon seeing the newcomer.

This was Iron Blood Berserker, the formidable leader of the Iron Blood Clan. In the real world, he was a major general.

In Ye Jue’s previous life, he had heard that Iron Blood Berserker had led the Iron Blood Clan to cooperate with the national army, eventually ceding power to the military’s top brass.

Regardless, as the dominant force in Divine Realm during its early stages, Iron Blood Berserker’s name resonated like thunder in Ye Jue’s ears. He himself had received numerous favors from the Iron Blood Clan in his past life.

When Iron Blood Berserker saw Ye Jue approach, a look of stern authority gleamed in his eyes. “So you are Peerless Karma Fire?”

Ye Jue offered a faint smile. “If there isn’t another player with the same name in this game, then you’ve found me.”

Iron Blood Berserker observed Ye Jue’s composure, then smiled lightly. “Good kid, you’ve got guts.” He then turned to Lin Shenyue, pausing for a moment before chuckling. “Yue’er, are you also part of this team?”

Lin Shenyue was momentarily stunned by Iron Blood Berserker’s question. She then replied with a touch of awkwardness, “Um, I don’t remember things from before. May I ask who you are…?”

Hearing this, Iron Blood Berserker sighed. “It’s all my fault. I was originally supposed to take you out, but then something came up, and another guard took over. In the end, something still happened.” Iron Blood Berserker spoke these words through a private message, so the others remained oblivious.

Lin Shenyue was slightly taken aback. She hadn’t expected the man before her to have such a close relationship with her. After all, if they weren’t close, even if her family had agreed to let him take her out, she might not have consented herself.

After reading his private message, Lin Shenyue fell silent for a moment before finally replying, “Uncle, I’ve lost my memory. I can’t recall much from before, so perhaps it’s best to let the past stay in the past.”

Iron Blood Berserker smiled at her response, then shifted his gaze back to Ye Jue. “Plume told me you’re going to challenge the Newbie Village’s final boss?”

Ye Jue wasn’t surprised that Iron Blood Berserker knew. After all, Iron Blood Plume was a member of the Iron Blood Guild first, and only then a member of their team. For anything important, Iron Blood Plume would undoubtedly report to the guild’s high-ranking officials.

He nodded. “That’s right. The Tiger King, the final boss of Newbie Village, determines whether our No. 1 Newbie Village can establish a connection with the outside world. If we don’t defeat it, no one will be able to leave for a while. Other newbie villages might even get ahead of us.”

Iron Blood Berserker nodded, pondering for a moment. “Since this boss can’t be defeated with a human wave tactic, there’s nothing I can do to help you. You’ve run this dungeon together many times. If I were to join halfway, our coordination might not be as good. From now on, you’ll have to rely on yourselves.”

Ye Jue nodded, stating calmly, “The game company wouldn’t create an unbeatable boss. If we can’t defeat it, it only means we haven’t found the method yet. We’ll be as careful as possible during the assault; we won’t joke around with a 50% experience penalty.”

Iron Blood Berserker fell silent for a moment, then looked at Lin Shenyue. “Yue’er, be careful.” He had been informed by Lin Shenyue’s parents that her pain simulation was set to 100%, which made Iron Blood Berserker feel a pang of heartache.

From childhood, Lin Shenyue had been the family’s princess, essentially never experiencing any harm. Now, she was about to face her first hardship in a game, and it was no ordinary trial.

Listening to Iron Blood Berserker’s concerned tone, Lin Shenyue felt a warmth spread through her heart. She understood that people like Iron Blood Berserker weren’t very good at expressing their emotions, so his concern for her was truly heartfelt.

Lin Shenyue offered a slight smile. “Thank you, Uncle. I’ll take good care of myself.”

Iron Blood Berserker chuckled. “Alright, off you go. Be extra careful.”

****

After bidding farewell to Iron Blood Berserker, Iron Blood Plume asked with some curiosity, “Yue’er, do you know our guild leader?”

Lin Shenyue hesitated. “I don’t know him now. Perhaps I did before.”

Iron Blood Plume was about to ask more, but Ye Jue cut him off. “Alright, let’s not dwell on this. We need to hurry and complete the quest.”

Though Iron Blood Plume wanted to retort, wondering what hurrying along had to do with asking questions, he ultimately held his tongue.

Without another word, Ye Jue led the group to the entrance of the cave where he had once brought Lin Shenyue and Shifting Winds and Clouds. Two elite tigers had already respawned and were currently resting on the ground.

Ye Jue simply declared, “Let’s begin!” and charged forward.

At this point, everyone could tell that Ye Jue was in a foul mood. Though they didn’t quite understand the reason for his displeasure, they instinctively formed their battle positions and advanced.

Ye Jue felt a profound sense of irritation. Especially after seeing Lin Shenyue recognize someone who was essentially a stranger, and their relationship seemed quite close, his annoyance intensified.

Once he understood the source of his feelings, Ye Jue sighed. It seemed that even after only a few days, he had already developed feelings for Yue’er. However, this was not the time for such thoughts. Ye Jue braced himself, turning his gaze towards the cave.

The two elite monsters vanished without so much as a ripple, dropping a few pieces of equipment and some coins before crumbling into dust.

Ye Jue looked into the cave, taking a deep breath. “The Tiger King boss has a significant advantage inside the cave. We need to lure it out. So, Yue’er and I will go in; the three of you will remain outside on standby for now.”

Once everyone understood, Ye Jue turned to Lin Shenyue. “Yue’er, be careful.” He then walked into the cave.

Lin Shenyue silently glanced at Ye Jue before following him inside.

The cave was not large, measuring approximately three meters high and four meters wide. If they were to fight the boss in such a confined space, the team would surely be unable to maneuver effectively, ultimately leading to a wipe from the boss’s area-of-effect attacks. Therefore, after a moment of thought, Ye Jue decided to lure the Tiger King boss out.

The cave was dim. Perhaps to keep the difficulty from being too high for players, there were a few torches illuminating the cave walls. Although the cave remained gloomy, it at least prevented them from being completely blind and unable to find their way. Since this was the Tiger King’s den, they didn’t encounter any other monsters along the way.

Suddenly, Ye Jue stopped. “Be careful, the Tiger King is right ahead.” No sooner had Ye Jue spoken than a white shadow flashed past, and a large “-343” appeared above Ye Jue’s head.

Ye Jue’s expression changed. The Tiger King’s speed had caught him off guard, leaving him no chance to block and forcing him to take the full force of the attack. He hurriedly drank a medium recovery potion, then retrieved his shield, holding it in front of him as he rapidly retreated.

Lin Shenyue dared not heal him at that moment, as the aggro was still unstable. Instead, she cast a ‘Check’ skill on the Tiger King.

[Tiger King (Gold-tier BOSS): Level: 10. Physical Attack: 380-420. Health: 40000/40000.]

Lin Shenyue was astonished by the Tiger King’s stats. Clearly, as a Newbie Village boss, the Tiger King had virtually no weaknesses: high speed, high attack, high health. Its defense likely wasn’t low either, suggesting that a tough battle lay ahead.

After Ye Jue stabilized the aggro, Lin Shenyue quickly cast a healing spell on him, temporarily halting the trend of his rapidly depleting health. Ye Jue also hurried backward, occasionally blocking the boss’s attacks with his shield, though most attempts were fruitless due to the boss’s incredible speed.

Due to the boss’s extremely high damage, Ye Jue’s health had dropped to about one-third by the time he managed to pull the boss to the cave entrance. Seeing Fissure, he shouted, “The boss’s damage is too high; we need to rotate taking damage!”

Fissure instantly understood Ye Jue’s meaning and intensified their attacks.

Lin Shenyue, meanwhile, found the safest, furthest position to heal everyone.