Indeed, on the shallow shore of the lake to their left, a feline resembling a lion with a long, pale blue mane was pacing back and forth. The moment their gazes landed on it, the creature became aware of their presence and roared as it charged toward them.

"Whoa! This beast reacts fast!" As Don spoke, Dust and Cappuccino had already switched positions. Dust took the lead and rushed forward with impressive speed.

At the same moment, Diana sprinted along a straight parallel path, running alongside Dust on another route. She immediately posted the boss’s attributes in team chat.

[Crystal Lion King — Normal Boss]

[Level 27 ]

[HP: 570,000]

[ATK: 970–1,400]

[PDEF: 680]

[MDEF: 700]

[Skills: Water Strike, Crushing Blow, Tear Strike]

[Boss Description: A jungle king destined from birth to guard the Forest of Strange Sounds. Its existence is solely to protect Elder Tree Spirit Huron. Once slain, Elder Huron will appear.]

Don was a little frustrated. Although the Assassin class had high skill bonuses for Backstab and strong burst damage, leather armor defense was genuinely lacking, and Constitution growth was only average. There was no way for him to take the front line. And his Agility was poor too, so relying on footwork alone would be suicide against a boss this fast.

Which meant improving equipment quality had become the top priority.

He switched to the Larsel Bow and calmly nocked an iron arrow, taking it at a relaxed pace.

Actually, calling it "relaxed" was unfair, thanks to his high damage stat allocation, his normal bow shots against the boss weren’t low at all.

Significantly higher than Lily’s damage even with her skills active. The little beauty kept glancing at him with envious, resentful eyes, which made him feel a pang of pity.

The boss, however, wasn’t gentle with the beautiful swordswoman. Its body transformed into a pale blue blade mid-strike, crashing into both Diana and Dust.

[1,597!]

[2,104!]

Even after switching into the Rare Wood set, Dust’s equipment quality still wasn’t on Diana’s level. The boss’s Water Strike stripped nearly half his HP in one blow.

What happened next shocked everyone. The Crystal Lion King pounced on Dust and struck him repeatedly at dazzling speed. His HP bar emptied in an instant, his chest armor split down the middle, and blood erupted outward.

[System: Player ’Dust’ has been struck by Crystal Lion King’s Tear Strike — 959 damage]

[System: Player ’Dust’ has been struck by Crystal Lion King’s Crushing Blow — 3,078 damage. Dust has died. Level decreased by 1]

Due to their angle, Diana and the others were all stunned. Three hits. A mercenary with 4,000 HP and a full bronze set, dead.

But from their position in the rear, Don and Lily had a better view.

Lily’s starry eyes widened in disbelief. "Brother Dust seemed to block just now. How did he still die?"

"Block penetration," Don murmured. "The more you block, the more damage you take."

"It’s okay, wait for me a moment. I’ll be right back." In team chat, Dust laughed wryly. "Didn’t expect this lion to be so stupid. It actually killed me."

Don had actually seen a little more than that. He’d watched Dust get targeted and die, but he’d also seen Bernita raise her staff. She had started healing Dust, but it simply wasn’t enough.

Thankfully she was a professional healer and recovered quickly, refocusing her attention on Diana.

Only Diana could serve as the main tank now. Cappuccino had upgraded his weapon, but as an agility-focused mercenary, his DPS still wasn’t strong enough.

Diana remained unusually calm. She hit the boss with Taunt to pull aggro, and shouted, "Don, stop attacking! Cappuccino, go all out! Get your DPS ahead of Don’s!"

That one instruction carried real weight. Her reasoning was correct, if she died, aggro wouldn’t fall on Don, and they’d still have a chance to bring the boss down.

The Crystal Lion’s attack speed was even faster than the Wind Treant’s. It launched a strike roughly once per second, and although its skill list was short, its combos were lightning-quick. Diana’s forehead was already beaded with sweat, her breathing slightly uneven, her full firm chest rising and falling sharply. She really was a girl with an excellent figure, her curves were rounded and full, but also had a clear elasticity that suggested she exercised regularly.

Don had a feeling she looked the same in real life.

Diana was clever enough to notice the panic in his eyes immediately and couldn’t help sighing. "Don has never had a girlfriend, has he?"

He nodded. "I’ve already celebrated twenty-three Singles’ years."

"Find one this year when you have time."

"Nothing suitable."

Lily was taken aback. "Brother Don, you’ve really never been in a relationship?"

Don said irritably, "Is that a problem? Is it shameful to be twenty-three and never have dated?"

"Hehe. Kind of."

"Ugh. What kind of logic is that, girl?"

As they spoke, the boss’s HP began slowly dropping. There were only three damage dealers left now, with Don and Dust offline. Cappuccino was performing decently after his weapon swap, but Lily was basically coasting.

Although she kept aiming for the lion’s eyes, she couldn’t hit. The Crystal Lion King’s reactions and movements were far faster than the leopard’s, fully demonstrating the saying that big beasts came with great intuition.

Don opened the map and found that Dust wasn’t far from the dungeon entrance.

But Dust suddenly stopped moving.

Don quickly asked in team chat, "Dust, what happened? Why aren’t you coming back?"

Dust lowered his voice. "Everyone wait a moment. I’ve got some personal business to handle."

Cappuccino’s face hardened, and he asked cryptically, "What happened?"

"Ran into some old friends of ours."

Don’s interest sharpened. "Cappuccino, who are these old friends?"

Cappuccino smiled faintly. "Nothing serious. Just some small fry from the Gon Alliance. We crossed paths with them in a previous MMO. Those guys are remarkably gifted. We’ve built a deep friendship over time."

Don understood perfectly that this "friendship" belonged firmly in quotation marks. Which showed just how utterly worthless the Gon Alliance was.

He bolted toward the dungeon entrance. "I’ve got the boss in your hands, everyone. I’m going out to catch up with some old friends."

Although Cappuccino’s expression carried gratitude, his tone was firm. "Don, don’t go. This is personal between us and the Gon Alliance. I trust Dust’s skills. If he couldn’t handle it, he’d have called me already."

Dust said calmly, "Actually, brother, I would like to ask for help now. They’ve cornered me in a grove of trees, and I think they’re about to jump me. I can’t get out for the moment."

Cappuccino smiled helplessly. "Looks like I should step in. Sister Diana, over here—"

Don stopped him. "If you leave, this boss fight falls apart. I’ll go. My sub class is rogue, and Rogues are built for jungle warfare."

"Damn it, the busier things get, the more trouble you cause. Don, watch yourself. We’ll sort this out properly later."

Lily grabbed his hand. "Brother Don, I’m going too."

"You shouldn’t go. You know what I mean." He shot her a look.

Lily ignored every bit of it and ran out the door before he could.

Diana smiled. "Why not take her along to bully some newbies? It’ll be a good chance for her to gain some experience."

Don inwardly groaned. The reason he hadn’t wanted Lily to come was because she had some connection to Elias Finch, and the Gon Alliance currently had a somewhat ambiguous relationship with the War Fire team. It didn’t seem right for Lily to get involved in this kind of fight.

No. Wait. That wasn’t quite right. And the pretty girl seemed to see right through him, immediately sending a private message. "Brother Don, I’m your friend. Not those idiots from the Gon Alliance. If I don’t help you, who would I help?"

Those words warmed him. Well, it was true. He hadn’t spoiled this girl for nothing.

They ran to the entrance, clicked the teleportation array in front of the dungeon door, and transported out. Dungeons in Realms Online were quite flexible, as long as party members were still alive inside holding the instance, members could always return after handling outside business.

When they rushed to the grove where the incident was unfolding, they found dozens of players bearing the Gon prefix already gathered at the entrance.