King of Beasts

Chapter 64: Public Boss Encounter

“In the novice level public secret realm at the Thousand Rocks Mountain Range, a lower commander species has spawned. Let’s hurry!”

“The guild members are calling me, I’m not eating anymore.”

At this moment, the restaurant was abuzz, and Lu Ran and his companions frowned.

In an instant, Lu Bing’s expression changed as he said, “Lu Yi sent a message saying that a lower commander species of the Dragon Blood type, the Red Rock Dragon Tail Scorpion, has appeared in the public secret realm at the Thousand Rocks Mountain Range. He’s asking us to come take a look.”

“A Dragon Tail Scorpion?” Little Wu looked around at the commotion and said, “Really? A Dragon Blood creature?”

“Holy crap, then what are we still eating for? Let’s go, we might miss our chance if we’re late…” Lu Dingding exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Yi shook his head and said, “It feels like the chances are slim now. It must be those big guilds who have monopolized it again, and we can’t compete with them…”

Unlike ordinary or breakthrough secret realms, the entrance to a public secret realm is located at the Teleportation Plaza, not in a private room.

Moreover, there are no entry limits to a public secret realm. As long as one meets the secret realm level requirements, even a hundred or a thousand people can enter, unlike ordinary secret realms where at most only four can team up.

In public secret realms, the projections of monsters are randomly spawned, often bringing forth some rare creatures whose dropped resources are also more precious, and their drop rates are significantly higher than those of ordinary secret realms.

These rare supernatural being projections appearing in public secret realms are affectionately referred to by beastmasters as “wild bosses.”

Although wild bosses are powerful, since the public secret realm does not limit the number of participants, no matter how strong they are, they can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, unless they are exceptionally formidable.

Thus, when any rare creature appears in a public secret realm, for beastmasters, it’s like a moving treasure trove. If one can’t handle it alone, they call in a bunch of friends and family to take it down together.

The Red Rock Dragon Tail Scorpion, a rock-type creature with Dragon Blood traits and part of the lower commander species, is not a true Dragon-type. But even a slight connection to dragons makes it extremely valuable, no wonder everyone is so excited.

“Let’s go have a look then. I heard the situation is still pretty tense, otherwise why would Lu Yi and the others call us over?” Lu Bing said.

At that moment, the Lu Village group of four pondered for a moment, then abruptly left without finishing their meal. They also told Lu Ran, “We’re going to check it out. Why don’t you order the food? Just order anything, and we’ll pay when we get back!”

With that, they left, despite their recent complaints of hunger.

“Damn!” Lu Ran stood there dumbfounded, watching as his group deserted him, cursing inwardly about the unreliability of his fellow villagers.

A wild boss had lured them away.

It would have been better to invite me along to watch the excitement than to leave me here alone!

Was it because they were worried about having to look after me???

Feeling resigned, Lu Ran thought for a moment, decided not to order food, and followed the crowd out the door.

“Let’s go see, although it feels like it’s already too late.”

…

Teleportation Plaza, public secret realm, Thousand Rocks Mountain Range.

This is a public map restricted to apprentice beastmasters.

Since the Thousand Rocks Mountain Range doesn’t have any special leveling spots or fixed resources, it isn’t occupied by any officials or major guilds. It only occasionally spawns rare species.

At the Teleportation Plaza, people continuously spent crystal coins to teleport into the Thousand Rocks Mountain Range. Although many knew they had little chance of securing the final blow on the public boss, the excitement drew them. Many were willing to spend 100 crystal coins just for the thrill of the event.

The Lu Village group had already sprinted inside, seemingly with actual plans of battling for the creature.

Following behind, Lu Ran also arrived at the Teleportation Plaza, driven by a similar curiosity.

After all, the news had spread, and for all he knew, the boss might have already been defeated a hundred times.

Lu Ran was willing to join the crowd mainly because the entry fee for the public secret realm was very low, and although it was difficult to find unclaimed treasures there, it wasn’t due to a lack of resources. In fact, this realm often had more resources than ordinary secret realms. However, with more beastmasters entering, resources per person dwindled, akin to bandits passing through and taking everything. He might as well have challenged an ordinary secret realm.

Upon entering the secret realm, Lu Ran followed the crowd and quickly arrived at the scene. Surprisingly, there weren’t hordes of people frantically fighting over the boss as he had expected.

And indeed, the Red Rock Dragon Tail Scorpion was still alive and well.

“Is it not over yet?”

Lu Ran, with sharp eyes, spotted the recently arrived Lu Village team and squeezed over, asking, “What’s going on?”

He looked towards the open space and saw at the center a dark red scorpion that was six to seven meters long. The dragon tail scorpion was significantly larger than any creature Lu Ran had encountered in previous secret realms.

Name: Red Rock Dragon Tail Scorpion

Attribute: Rock

Species Level: Lower Commander Level

Growth Level: Level 11

At that moment, the dragon tail scorpion was confronting a team of people, and the surrounding beastmasters seemed hesitant to engage due to this team’s presence.

“Why are you here too? Well, it’s good to watch the excitement,” Lu Bing said. “It’s the Star Cluster Guild. It seems they were the first to discover this scorpion. Because of them, others are hesitant to step in, but it looks like they can’t handle it alone.”

“We’ll all have a chance once they give up.”

At this time, the five people confronting the scorpion wore clothing marked with a six-pointed star, signifying their identity. Lu Ran looked on silently, not because of the symbol, but because one of the fighters was none other than Pluto.

He was currently commanding a Thunder Eagle in the sky, continuously striking the scorpion with electric shocks. However, the scorpion seemed immune to the lightning, as the Golden Lightning couldn’t breach its defense.

“Argh!!!” the dragon tail scorpion rasped, breaking free from the electric light with a fierce glare.

“Damn it!” Pluto from the Star Cluster Guild cursed loudly. What’s wrong with this scorpion?

The other four, less powerful than Pluto, had pet beasts that could only inflict limited damage on the scorpion.

Moreover, due to the fear of the scorpion’s power, they dared not get too close.

And the scorpion, wary of the hundreds of spectators around, had not dared to make any rash moves, mostly defending passively, fearing that an offensive move might provoke a collective attack from the crowd.

Both parties were at a stalemate.

“Pluto, can you handle it or not? Just give up and let everyone join in. We’ll wear it down. Who gets the last hit is all up to luck,” shouted a beastmaster from another guild amidst the crowd.

Pluto ignored the other party’s comments.

“This scorpion is really formidable!” Meanwhile, Lu Yi remarked, “Pluto’s Thunder Eagle ranks second on the divine beast leaderboard, and its combat power might be the best among the newcomers, yet it still can’t break through the defense.”

“Although it’s not a Dragon-type, that Dragon Tail Scorpion still has some Dragon Blood. Creatures from the Dragon species have very strong physical defenses and energy resistance,” Lu Bing explained.

“Fortunately, this Dragon Tail Scorpion seems a bit fearful and hasn’t counterattacked; otherwise, just looking at its tail dripping with venom, it seems like it could give the Star Cluster Guild quite a trouble.”

Everyone acknowledged the difficulty posed by the Dragon Tail Scorpion—a level 11 lower commander species creature. For the newcomers entering the Thousand Rocks Mountain Range, it is definitely a formidable boss. It would probably take a group of several dozen people to slowly wear it down.

However, such a scenario was the last thing Pluto wanted to see. After all, he was the first to discover it—why should he just hand it over!

Now, everyone was wary of the Star Cluster Guild’s reputation and didn’t challenge Pluto, but as time passed, Pluto also felt embarrassed; he couldn’t defeat it, yet he was reluctant to let others take over, which would make him look foolish.

Just as Pluto was feeling frustrated, he suddenly received a message.

Passerby A: Brother, you seem to be in trouble? Can’t defeat this scorpion?

If it had been someone else, Pluto would have ignored it, but this person was Passerby A, who ranked above him on the divine beast leaderboard, so he couldn’t just brush it off.

He quickly scanned the surroundings and indeed spotted Lu Ran also watching the scene.

Without showing his annoyance, Pluto replied: Our guild’s beastmasters will be here soon. We’ll wear it down, no need for you to worry.

If the apprentice beastmasters in a guild can’t take down this Dragon Tail Scorpion… well, we’ll see about that.

Passerby A: Brother, you can’t handle it, huh? Can’t even solo a lower commander, and you still want to compete with me?

Pluto was infuriated by these sarcastic remarks. There was not only a level difference but also a species difference.

Pluto: What do you mean by that? You think you can defeat it?

Passerby A: I could give it a try. Don’t we have a wager? If I win against you, you owe me a Thunder Awakening Fruit. How about we change the terms a bit? If I can solo this Dragon Tail Scorpion, wouldn’t that prove I am better than you?

Afterward, you’ll give me the Thunder Awakening Fruit as promised, and I’ll take whatever the Dragon Tail Scorpion drops. Just don’t give me any trouble once it’s done.

Pluto: Damn.

He had never seen someone so shamelessly bold before!

Pluto couldn’t help but laugh in frustration. Lu Ran, with just a middle supernatural snowfield dog, thought he could solo a lower commander species creature with Dragon Blood?

Pluto gritted his teeth: Fine, go ahead. I really want to see if you can beat it.

If Lu Ran suddenly comes out and fails, at least Pluto would have saved face.

At that moment, when Pluto actually agreed, Lu Ran was momentarily stunned.

Did his casual inquiry really work?

The next moment, he broke into an audacious grin.

Alright, looks like there’s something to gain here.

Since Pluto, the person directly involved, had agreed, Lu Ran felt no pressure about stealing the kill. If it were another guild fighting the boss, he really wouldn’t dare to interfere, but with Pluto… it’s a different story.

This Dragon Tail Scorpion… its defense is indeed impressive, but Lu Ran felt that it was more about Pluto’s attacks being too weak.

That Golden Lightning seemed barely a fraction as powerful as a storm slash.

That makes sense, after all, one is just an ordinary skill, while the other costs General Ha all its teeth… no rookie would dare to play like that.

“Better disguise myself.” Seeing so many people around, Lu Ran felt it might be troublesome to just go out there. He didn’t want to become famous in Infinite City, afraid of being harassed on the streets later. He pondered for a moment, then pulled a black windproof mask from his backpack and put it on his face, covering what he could.

“Uh, Lu Ran, what are you doing?” At this moment, Lu Bing noticed Lu Ran putting on the mask, and asked in confusion.