Chapter Twenty-Two: The Pangolin’s Ambush (Please Subscribe and Recommend)

“I’ve dreamed of it—every tank’s ultimate dream!” Monk Dingyuan nodded fiercely, his eyes shining as he stared at the potion in Ye Chen’s hand, utterly ignoring the attacks of the undead knight.

“Drink this, and your dream will come true!” Ye Chen smiled like a devil tempting mortals into ruin.

Without hesitation, Monk Dingyuan grabbed the potion and gulped it down.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Like the heartbeat of a giant echoing through the entire fortress, the booming thumps were so loud the six archers on the tower locked their gazes onto the suddenly transforming monk. Even Huzi and the others guarding near the Heart of the Demon looked on curiously.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Monk Dingyuan’s body began to swell rapidly. Each pounding heartbeat made his form expand further. After hundreds of beats, he had grown to fifteen times his original size—towering like a small mountain. The entire team was dumbfounded; mouths agape, eyes wide with disbelief, and their throats caught in a hoarse croak as if their voices had been trapped.

“Ding! The Green Giant Potion has taken effect. Player Monk Dingyuan has successfully transformed. Transformation lasts two minutes. Potion side effects imminent. Warning: side effects will persist for one week.”

At first, Monk Dingyuan was overjoyed hearing this, but as soon as the mention of side effects came, a terrible premonition struck him. Seeing Ye Chen’s strange smile, he immediately realized he had been tricked.

Sure enough, just after the announcement, the legs of the mountainous Monk Dingyuan turned green, the color rapidly spreading to his thighs, abdomen, chest, neck, and finally his head.

A colossal green monster was born!

Instantly, the entire team chat burst into laughter.

“Record this! We’ve got to take a photo of Brother Monk for posterity.”

“Yeah! Brother Monk looks absolutely awesome.”

“He’s going to be a green-skinned monster for a whole week—this is hilarious!”

The chat was filled with merriment while Monk Dingyuan’s face darkened—though at his size, the expression was hardly visible.

“Monk, those centaurs are yours now. I just helped you fulfill your dream,” Ye Chen chuckled loudly, causing Monk Dingyuan’s basketball-sized eyes to widen.

He snorted fiercely, about to protest, but the swarm of nearly two hundred centaurs charging in silenced him immediately. All archers, they launched a barrage of two hundred arrows from afar, skewering Monk Dingyuan like a porcupine.

Fortunately, with his doubled stats, Monk Dingyuan’s defense and vitality were absurdly high. Each arrow only chipped away about ten points of health—barely piercing his guard. Still, the volley drained nearly 3,000 health points in one salvo. With the centaur king and the undead knight also attacking, his health was halved in an instant.

Two holy priests turned pale, hurriedly casting healing spells on Monk Dingyuan.

+2000, +980. Thanks to the holy light boost from the priests atop the tower, their healing was much stronger than those on the ground. Together, they restored nearly 3,000 health points, greatly reassuring Monk Dingyuan.

“Monk, coordinates 135 by 268, unleash the Angry Red Lotus!” Ye Chen suddenly shouted.

Without hesitation, Monk Dingyuan raised his massive Dragon Coil Staff and slammed it down at the designated spot.

Boom! The ground shook violently as a fiery red light exploded from the staff’s end, instantly forming a blazing red lotus that engulfed the entire centaur swarm.

The massive lotus spanned over 150 yards in diameter, flooding the battlefield with flames. Even Ye Chen, who was prepared, was stunned. Monk Dingyuan himself was dumbfounded—he never dreamed his Angry Red Lotus could be so devastating.

-600, -600, -600...

Damage numbers rained down on the centaurs, cutting deep into their health bars, many of which had less than 6,000 HP.

“This feels amazing! Absolutely amazing!” Monk Dingyuan laughed heartily at his own performance. Without waiting for Ye Chen’s orders, he unleashed several more area attacks, all striking the heart of the enemy cluster.

His excited face twisted with fervor as he hammered down, venting the frustrations of a tank who had chosen the Monk path—a class that had always denied him the joy of swift monster slaying. At level 30, his attack power was still weaker than a level 15 swordsman. Such was his tragic fate.

Two holy priests kept an eye on Monk Dingyuan’s health. The two hundred centaurs were no match for him anymore. Seeing the situation at the city gate stabilize, Ye Chen quickly instructed the archery tower operators to prepare their magical attacks and dashed toward the inner city.

Near the Heart of the Demon, some onlookers still gazed enviously at Monk Dingyuan’s display. One silver-armored swordsman even ran far out to watch, forgetting to drink a potion to restore his health.

Ye Chen’s expression darkened as he coldly glanced at the wounded swordsman, then turned to the fully healed Huzi and the others, sternly saying, “There’s going to be an ambush soon. Prepare for battle.”

Ambush!

The words immediately tightened Huzi and his companions. They trusted Ye Chen implicitly—if he said an ambush was coming, it would happen. The lazy, wounded silver swordsman paled and fumbled hurriedly to gulp down a healing potion.

Suddenly, the ground trembled violently. With a muffled thud, a red monster the size of a centaur burst from the earth—right where the wounded swordsman stood.

Thud! The silver swordsman was thrown to the ground by the creature. Everyone finally saw the monster’s true form—a giant pangolin!

[Mutated Pangolin] (Elite)

HP: 13,000
Level: 33
Skill: Rend (double damage to the Heart of the Demon)

Seeing its stats, Huzi and the others were all shocked. An elite monster! If the Night Team hadn’t ordered everyone back to defend the Heart of the Demon earlier, the consequences would have been disastrous!

“Help me! Help me!” The wounded swordsman scrambled to his feet in panic but was pinned down by the over 200-kilogram mutated pangolin, desperately begging Ye Chen and the others for aid.

Huzi and the others instinctively wanted to charge to his rescue but were halted by Ye Chen’s sharp command: “Stand your ground! He can’t be saved. Guard the Heart of the Demon! If it shatters, all our efforts will be wasted!”

They hesitated, but the swordsman glared hatefully at Ye Chen, shouting, “You bastard! You’re just a bastard!”

Ye Chen shot him a cold look but said nothing. Huzi pointed angrily at the swordsman and cursed, “Shut your mouth! The Night Team told us to return and recover immediately. You were too busy watching the show to heal yourself! Now you’re dying because of your own stupidity. If your recklessness wipes us out, I swear I’ll deal with you later!”

Huzi’s fierce scolding silenced the swordsman. The other two heavily armored men cast strange looks at him as well. They had poured millions of experience points into the Heart of the Demon—this disobedient swordsman’s death was well deserved.

Crack! The pangolin’s razor-sharp claws flashed red as they tore through the swordsman’s breastplate. Two heavy strikes later, the swordsman was dead.

“Prepare for battle! The main force is coming!”

Feeling the ground trembling beneath them, the three swordsmen and an elementalist gripped their weapons tightly. Without Ye Chen’s prompt, they knew the ambush was imminent. No one spared a glance for the fallen swordsman.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

With muffled sounds, dozens of mutated pangolins swarmed from underground, shrieking as they charged toward the Heart of the Demon. Their speed was alarming, and the onlookers turned pale.

“Flame Tower, Earth Tower, coordinates 53 by 76, unleash tower magic!”

Thanks to prior warning, the operators on the Flame and Earth Towers reacted swiftly. They input the coordinates and without hesitation unleashed their tower magic. Flames and earth spikes blanketed the pangolin horde.

Damage numbers immediately floated above the mutated pangolins.

“Berserkers and swordsmen, engage the enemy! Elementalist, support with area spells. Mage, don’t pull aggro or you’re dead!” Ye Chen instructed as he swung his Abyssal Staff, casting a rapid-fire Fireball spell. Over 5,500 points of damage instantly obliterated pangolins already weakened by the towers.

Over forty pangolins broke through the earth spikes, engulfed in flames, screeching as they charged the front lines of berserkers and swordsmen. Their frantic speed and ferocity drained the color from the two men’s faces.

“Ice Tower, coordinates 65 by 118, release freezing aura!”

At Ye Chen’s command, Xianyun atop the Ice Tower paled but promptly input the coordinates and activated the chilling frost.

A rush of pale blue cold swept from the center point, enveloping the pangolins in a layer of ice, drastically slowing their movements. However, the freezing aura did not deal damage, so their health remained intact.

“Ding! Freezing aura active: all monsters within the area have movement speed reduced by 50% and attack speed reduced by 30% for 60 seconds!”

“Kill them quickly! If they’re not wiped out within 60 seconds, we’re done for!” Ye Chen growled, swinging his staff fiercely, casting continuous Fireballs. The two heavy-armored men and the elementalist knew the stakes—they fought with all their might. It was kill or be killed within the minute.

Huzi, ordered to guard near the Heart of the Demon, stared anxiously at the battlefield, itching to charge in. Suddenly, the ground beneath him shook violently. He felt as though ascending an elevator, and looking down, he was stunned to find himself standing atop a giant pangolin—the leader of the pack!

Huzi’s respect soared. The Night Team’s orders were no accident—he was left here precisely to deal with this near-boss monster.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please support it on Qidian with recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

P.S.: Sorry for the late chapter today. Thanks so much for everyone’s generous support; I’ll try to write two more chapters in the coming days to repay you. Please continue subscribing—the subscription numbers have dipped. Also, a few more recommendation votes would be greatly appreciated. So far, they haven’t even reached ten thousand, which is embarrassing.