Chapter 37: Tier 3 Lord

Lu Cang spoke, and behind him, Ji Di gripped his wooden staff tightly.

Even though they hadn't encountered danger every single time, they maintained a serious attitude.

After all, they had already taken the money.

They couldn't afford to have a sloppy attitude, could they?

Inside the carriage, Ji Di had already prepared the incantation for "Detoxification."

As the defender, Gaeton stood at the carriage exit, ready to leap out at any moment to soak up damage.

They were on high alert, poised for action.

But in the end...

Nothing happened.

Lu Cang cast a "Pillar of Charge" followed by an "Ice Shard."

With just two spells thrown out, he pierced the scorpion and froze it into an ice sculpture, killing it dead...

Uh.

Little brother...

Your attack range is a bit too long.

Finally, to prevent it from coming back to life, Lu Cang added a final "Breathless Wind Swarm."

He was truly being overly cautious.

In the end, it was still just Zhou Er who went over there, scurrying about to collect the loot.

As expected of the Harvest Moon, he gathered 2 gold and 12 silver.

The drop rate was indeed high.

Currently, every Lord they killed provided extra loot.

This time, the extra loot was Earth Crystals.

Lu Cang held an Earth Crystal in his hand, contemplating it.

*Do these elemental magic crystals always drop during the Harvest Moon? Why does the drop rate feel so high?*

Scorpions were creatures of the earth and poison elements, appearing in crypts and poison-type dungeons.

Dungeons themed around scorpions would naturally have a high probability of them appearing.

Besides Earth Crystals, there were also poison-type spoils produced by poison Lords.

Poison sacs, poison tails... anything with venom could be sold for a good price.

After all, coating a weapon in poison was the simplest way to increase extra damage; such items were never hard to sell.

This was especially true for archers, where the lethality of poisoned arrows was significant. Hiding in the shadows to fire poisoned arrows was incredibly underhanded.

...

After killing this scorpion, the remaining Tier 2 Lord was not far away.

It was also approaching on a Dragon Rhino.

Everyone stood ready according to Lu Cang's instructions, maintaining a rigorous posture.

Once it entered attacking range...

Lu Cang simply threw two spells, and it was completely dealt with.

Forget a bitter struggle.

The three Lords practically died the moment they laid eyes on Lu Cang.

Achieving such results, Lu Cang couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder.

It seemed the only truly difficult fight was Izpalut.

He actually possessed the strength to sweep through all enemies of the same tier.

Moreover, if Izpalut really was at Level 2...

He might not necessarily be able to win against him.

Thinking of this gave Lu Cang a boost of confidence, making up for the period when he was brutally crushed by Izpalut.

...

After killing all the Tier 2 Lords on the commission, only one Tier 3 Lord remained.

Since all four bosses were located at different positions on the same plain, traveling between them was quite fast.

Lu Cang watched the creature's tail, which swung like a morning star, from a distance.

It was huge.

Its size was roughly equivalent to two trucks driving side-by-side...

*Thump—*

*Thump!*

Furthermore, its long, thick tail, tipped with a massive spherical spike, was constantly lashing about.

Every swing produced a massive sonic boom.

It was heavy, yet the tail was incredibly agile and possessed immense power.

Lu Cang swallowed hard just watching it.

With his weak physique, if he were struck by that tail, he would likely die instantly...

This was a Tier 3 monster.

Its thick, coarse skin and massive body gave off an overwhelming sense of power.

Just looking at it with the naked eye, it was clearly on a different level than the giant snake from before.

Hunting Lords multiple times gave Lu Cang the feeling that he was playing *Monster Hunter*, except it was the magic version.

"Go."

Lu Cang patted the Dragon Rhino.

The Dragon Rhino began to run! It continued its sprint toward the target.

But this time, before they even reached spellcasting range, the [Hammer-Tail Horned Ox] turned its head toward Lu Cang!

Upon seeing Lu Cang, it charged directly at him!

Lu Cang's mouth twitched slightly.

*Hey...*

*Do you have to be that sharp?*

The sense of pressure given by a Tier 3 Lord was exactly what distinguished it from a Tier 2.

Lu Cang thought this to himself, but his hands did not stop moving.

Upon realizing the opponent intended to ram into him, Lu Cang immediately cast a spell!

*Rumble—*

Three layers of dense, massive walls rose up!

Blocking the path the creature was bound to take!

He had to block it; otherwise, if he were hit by a body the size of two large trucks, he'd be covered in bruises.

The distance between the two sides was not far.

Almost in the next second.

The [Hammer-Tail Horned Ox] slammed headfirst into the heavy walls Lu Cang had created!

*Boom!*

The sturdy stone walls were struck with countless cracks.

However...

They were not broken!

[Heavy Wall (LV: 195) — Unparalleled hardness, self-repair, rapid generation, extra hardness reinforcement, impact absorption, massive width, massive height, ultimate hardness reinforcement]

The evolution of Lu Cang's Stone Wall spell was its hardness.

Furthermore, during his practice, he had consistently focused on strengthening the hardness of the Heavy Wall.

The reason for practicing in this direction was simple: this was his rare spell that leaned toward defense.

Lu Cang did not lack offensive capabilities at all.

What he lacked were the means to survive.

Regarding the Heavy Wall that could block an enemy's attack, it was actually the spell Lu Cang practiced the most.

But counting properly, this was the first time Lu Cang had used a Heavy Wall to block an enemy's assault.

When sparring with Izpalut, the Heavy Wall was either violently pierced through by Iz or easily bypassed; it never served its purpose.

And the Lords they killed today were killed by Lu Cang before they even had the chance to attack the walls.

Therefore...

The [Hammer-Tail Horned Ox] truly became the first subject for Lu Cang to test the defensive hardness of his Heavy Wall.

And this scene...

Left [Gaeton] on the carriage dumbfounded.

*Wait, seriously?*

*He blocked it?*

*And he blocked it with the very first wall?*

Lu Cang had erected a total of three layers of Heavy Walls, stacked like three slices of bread.

The fact that the creature couldn't even break the first wall meant it was still far from breaking through Lu Cang's defense.

He didn't need a defender like him at all!

*Boom!*

[Pillar of Charge] rose!

A sharp earthen pillar instantly thrust toward the [Hammer-Tail Horned Ox]'s abdomen!

*Splatter!*

Blood sprayed everywhere—

The "Earth Spike" skill was very useful in many situations.

Because for the vast majority of monsters, the abdomen is soft, and for four-legged creatures, the belly often rests close to the ground.

Ordinary warriors or archers would need to create an opportunity or timing to attack the belly.

Only a Mage...

A class with such versatile combat methods, could use a spell like Earth Spike to launch an attack directly from beneath the ground.

This was also why, even though people complained about how slow mages were to cast, they never truly looked down on them.

The effect of [Pillar of Charge] was exceptionally significant.

Lu Cang had already closed in to within 400 meters.

The [Hammer-Tail Horned Ox], pierced by the pillar, fell into a state of restricted movement.

This was no ordinary earth spike.

Once it pierced an enemy's body, the only way to pull it out was to break the pillar.

But the hardness of the Pillar of Charge was much higher than a normal earth spike... breaking it would come at a heavy price.

And Lu Cang's offensive would not stop.

[Curse Arrow]

The massive walls cast shadows, and within those shadows, fifteen pitch-black Curse Arrows quietly formed.

*Puff!*

*Puff-puff-puff-puff-puff—*

Fifteen Curse Arrows pierced through the tough, thick skin like water, driving into the body of the [Hammer-Tail Horned Ox].

[Curse Arrow (LV: 175) — Weakness curse, exhaustion curse, defense softening, blood fusion, penetration, stealth, shadow integration, complex dispelling, rapid onset]