Chapter 125: Leap Stomp

Huang Yunshuo gathered his energy into his dantian and cleared his throat, just about to roar a challenge, when he noticed Gege-Luo, which had been strutting proudly toward the city wall, suddenly stop. Its chicken head snapped around to stare right at him.

"...Is its aggro range really that long?"

Seeing the fifty-meter gap between man and chicken, Huang Yunshuo was dumbfounded.

"Cluck! Cluck-cluck-cluck..."

Gege-Luo flapped its wings excitedly, the meat-heavy wings slapping against its body with a sound like iron fans hitting a target. Its claws began to sprint across the grass with a rhythmic thumping.

The massive flock of agitated roosters, not needing a second invitation, immediately wheeled around to charge behind their boss.

The chickens scrambled and leaped, their wings flapping as if they were trying to take flight, while their chaotic cacophony pierced the sky. Their speed was absolutely insane.

"Holy crap!"

Huang Yunshuo was terrified. Damn it! Why were these bastards moving so fast?

He had dealt with these agitated roosters before, and usually, they were only slightly faster than the common variety. Back when he was a miner, his own movement speed couldn't compare to his current stats, but these little monsters, which used to run at roughly the same pace as him, were now significantly faster than he was.

"Are you guys using hacks or something?!"

Huang Yunshuo didn't dare to linger. He turned on his heel and bolted.

Of the two hundred deserters, a hundred split off to chase after Gege-Luo, while the rest continued to close in on the city wall.

"Big Yellow!" Yu Shiyin pinged him in the Brotherhood channel. "The small white geese are running thin. If the macaque riders and piglets take their place, we won't be able to hold them off. Do you have a way to deal with the boss?"

"Tell everyone not to worry!" Huang Yunshuo replied. "I ran into some NPC reinforcements sent from the town. I've lured Gege-Luo away, and I'll find a way to finish it off!"

"That's great! Take it down, Sister Yin is sending you a virtual watermelon!" Yu Shiyin sent a heart-shaped emoji.

"Sister Yin, keep an eye on the loot over there. All those copper coins and materials are real money!" Huang Yunshuo reminded her. If things went well, there would inevitably be a scramble for the spoils. Since his friends were outnumbered, they might end up empty-handed, which would be a massive loss.

"Don't worry! We're even more focused on that than you are. We won't be losing out."

During their brief chat, Huang Yunshuo realized that Gege-Luo and its minions had closed the distance to just thirty meters. Its movement speed was at least fifty percent higher than his.

Considering Huang Yunshuo’s agility stat of 94 with his rocket launcher equipped, plus a 51% movement speed bonus outside of combat, the fact that he was being outrun showed just how absurd these creatures were.

*Knockback!*

Huang Yunshuo spun and fired a knockback shell.

*Boom!*

A group of agitated roosters was sent flying, but Gege-Luo itself remained largely unaffected, merely stumbling for a moment before charging forward again with renewed ferocity.

*Thump, thump.*

Sacrificing some of his own speed, Huang Yunshuo fired back as he ran. The rockets landed repeatedly at the front of the pack, sending the minions flying.

Gradually, he noticed a strange phenomenon. Whenever the minions were knocked back, their speed plummeted as they recovered, returning to normal levels. However, Gege-Luo remained completely unbothered, continuing its headlong dash.

"It's a buff aura from Gege-Luo. How overpowered!"

Huang Yunshuo realized what was happening and felt indignant. *Friend, if you're going to have an aura, fine, but let's not cheat, shall we? Giving your minions a thirty or fifty percent speed boost is one thing, but doubling it so they run as fast as you? That’s just excessive.*

Gege-Luo had closed the gap to twenty meters. Seeing danger, Huang Yunshuo prepared to dash to create some distance.

Just then, Gege-Luo let out a piercing shriek.

"Cluck-cluck!"

Its massive body launched into the air, performing a giant leap toward him.

"Vertical takeoff!"

With a burst of energy from his thrusters, Huang Yunshuo shot straight up into the sky.

*BOOM!!!*

The spot where he had been standing was pulverized into a deep crater by Gege-Luo’s heavy landing. The ground nearby rippled as if it were water. Clearly, the leap-and-stomp move carried a stunning effect, but since he had suddenly jetted twenty meters into the air, he had escaped the skill’s radius.

"..."

Huang Yunshuo didn't know what to say. He fired a shot at Gege-Luo and used his hover thrusters to glide forward.

-30!

Gege-Luo was stunned in place, and a series of "-3" bleed damage icons began to appear over its head. In less than half a second, the boss recovered. Enraged, it squawked at Huang Yunshuo and sprinted after him again.

"Sixty points of defense!" Huang Yunshuo nearly vomited blood. He looked at Gege-Luo’s massive health bar, which hadn't even dropped by one percent. That thing must have had seven or eight thousand HP, at least. No wonder it didn't show up in the starter village; with stats like that, even a level 20 player would be crushed.

"The good news is that it takes bleed damage. Even with its high defense, my shots deal about 60 damage each. Nice! With the half-second stun, if I play it right, wearing down 20% of its health should be a piece of cake."

Huang Yunshuo remained confident. After all, this was just the first task of a legendary quest; there was no way it would be impossible.

"Come on, you little brat."

Noticing that the tree branches could support his weight, Huang Yunshuo landed on a thick bough, allowing his energy to recharge quickly while he continued to rain rockets down on Gege-Luo.

The chicken flapped its wings at the base of the tree, looking up and squawking, trying to find a way up while enduring the bombardment. But a chicken is a chicken—it couldn't suddenly sprout wings and become a bird of prey, could it?

"This Sloth Forest is quite comfortable. I think I might be able to finish off Gege-Luo right here. Doesn't that mean I could have skipped the luring part entirely?" Huang Yunshuo laughed heartily.

As he landed a few more hits, he accurately estimated the boss’s total HP: 10,000. He needed to deal 2,000 damage, and with these few shots, he had already completed 20% of the quest! Satisfying!