Chapter 695: The Giant Panda’s Ultimate

Shit! He was ridiculously lucky!

According to the official website, when a player used Taming to capture a monster as a pet, the captured creature would normally retain its original form, level, condition, and skills. In other words, it would essentially become a pet without undergoing any special transformation. Marcus’s Violet Thunderwing Steed was a perfect example of this.

However, there was a catch. Every time a player successfully captured a monster, there was a 5% chance that Taming’s hidden effect would activate, transforming the creature into a pet egg.

Five percent!

That was an absurdly low probability, and it wasn’t difficult to understand why. Monsters that evolved into pet eggs were guaranteed to become stronger after hatching and growing, making them considerably more valuable than pets captured through ordinary Taming. In other words, Marcus hadn’t merely captured a Divine Beast. Thanks to his incredible Luck, he had obtained an opportunity to raise an even more powerful version of one.

He could hardly believe his good fortune.

However, there was still a problem that needed to be dealt with.

As the Divine Beast, Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, transformed into a pet egg, the Spider Demoness’s treasure, the Venomous Sky Spider Silk, transformed along with it. The black-glowing silk remained tightly wrapped around the egg, still under the control of the four Millennial Spider Demonesses.

Marcus couldn’t pick it up.

Unless he killed the four demonesses first, that precious Divine Beast pet egg would remain out of his reach. And after going through so much trouble to capture it, there was no way he would leave it behind.

Fortunately, with the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf now reduced to a pet egg, he no longer had to worry about the Divine Beast itself attacking him. Unfortunately, the four Millennial Spider Demonesses were still alive, and they had no intention of letting him walk away with their treasure.

The moment Marcus successfully captured the wolf, the four demonesses shifted their attention toward him.

To make matters worse for them, the black light released by the Ghost-Face Mask’s Nameless Fear and the golden light of Pebble’s The Ascendant’s Domain had swept across the battlefield just moments earlier. Not only had the two abilities helped weaken the Ice-Fire Howling Wolf, but they had also struck the four Millennial Spider Demonesses, who were standing less than ten meters away.

By then, Marcus and the four demonesses were already in combat, and their attributes had been reduced by a combined 25%. The effect was immediately apparent as identical red damage numbers appeared above all four of their heads, indicating the damage they had sustained from the overlapping attacks.

Naturally, the four Millennial Spider Demonesses weren’t going to stand around and let him attack them without retaliation.

They charged forward, unleashing waves of venomous energy as razor-sharp strands of spider silk and enormous webs hurtled toward Marcus and his companions. Their attacks were aimed not only at him and Pebble, but also at the two Sea Demon Souls and the Yin-Yang Giant Panda standing near the center of the group. Judging by their movements, the four demonesses intended to surround them and overwhelm them with sheer numbers.

Unfortunately for them, Marcus had already anticipated this possibility.

"Adamant Shield Wall!"

He raised the divine artifact Adamant Shield in his left hand, and a brilliant golden light erupted from its surface. In an instant, a massive protective barrier enveloped Marcus, Pebble, the two Sea Demon Souls, and the nearby Yin-Yang Giant Panda, shielding them from the incoming attacks.

The venomous energy crashed against the golden barrier, followed by the razor-sharp spider silk and the enormous webs. Yet despite the relentless assault, the barrier held firm. The four Millennial Spider Demonesses’ attacks simply couldn’t inflict damage fast enough to overcome the group’s HP regeneration.

Marcus wasn’t about to sit back and let them keep attacking, either.

"Taunting Light!"

The two Sea Demon Souls immediately launched icy-blue orbs toward the four Millennial Spider Demonesses, activating their taunt ability to draw the enemies’ attention. Marcus and Pebble followed up with their own taunt skills, further provoking the demonesses and ensuring that their attacks would remain focused on the group.

Sure enough, the four demonesses charged straight toward Marcus.

Unfortunately for them, there was one important limitation they hadn’t accounted for.

Debuffs didn’t stack.

Marcus’s Nameless Fear and Pebble’s The Ascendant’s Domain had already reduced the four Millennial Spider Demonesses’ attributes by a total of 25%. As a result, Pebble’s Face of Nameless Fear couldn’t apply another reduction, nor could a second activation of The Ascendant’s Domain lower their attributes by an additional 10% or drain another 10% of their HP.

Instead, the latter skill simply increased Pebble’s own attributes by 10%.

The system’s rules were perfectly reasonable. If attribute-reducing effects could stack without restriction, players could simply gather a hundred Warlock-type classes and have them bombard a monster with debuffs until its HP dropped to zero. There would be little point in fighting powerful bosses if they could be defeated so easily.

With the four Millennial Spider Demonesses closing in, Marcus’s carefully arranged formation finally sprang into action.

The two Yin-Yang Giant Pandas unleashed their ultimate skills almost simultaneously.

"Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker!"

"Yin-Yang Whirlwind Slash!"

The ranged Yin-Yang Giant Panda, which had been standing farther away from Marcus, was the first to act. Gripping the Yin-Yang Divine Drum, it struck the instrument repeatedly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each strike sent ripples of black-and-white yin-yang energy spreading through the air. Unlike ordinary attacks, Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker could draw upon the elemental energy in its surroundings, gathering and manipulating it to unleash a devastating assault.

And the battlefield happened to be saturated with venomous energy.

It was practically the perfect environment for the skill.

Whoosh!

The surrounding venomous energy responded immediately, surging toward the black-and-white yin-yang radiance. Within a fifty-meter radius, the energy in the air was seized by the skill’s control, drawn together and swept into a rapidly expanding vortex.

The venomous energy swirled violently around the yin-yang radiance, growing denser and more concentrated until it formed an enormous gray-black tornado.

Whoooooosh!

The sky seemed to darken as the massive tornado descended. Its enormous body slammed toward the ground, carrying a terrifying concentration of venomous energy that threatened to swallow everything in its path.

At its center was Marcus.

The tornado covered a full twenty-meter radius, naturally engulfing all four Millennial Spider Demonesses in its destructive reach.

"Shit!"

Marcus stared at the spectacle in disbelief. He had known that the Yin-Yang Giant Panda’s ultimate skill would be powerful, but he hadn’t expected it to manipulate the surrounding elemental energy so effortlessly, much less unleash an attack with such a massive area of effect.

A twenty-meter radius!

That was an absurd range for a single ultimate skill. The power on display far exceeded his expectations, leaving him momentarily dazed as he watched the tornado tear through the battlefield.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The enormous gray-black tornado spun violently, striking everything caught within its reach. Damage numbers poured out above the four Millennial Spider Demonesses’ heads, appearing one after another as the venomous energy battered them relentlessly.

By the time the tornado finally dissipated, all four demonesses had lost more than 100,000 HP.

"Shit! That’s insane!"

Marcus couldn’t help exclaiming in amazement. The skill was even more devastating than he had imagined. These were Level 68 Golden Bosses, after all, and his ordinary attacks could deal no more than around 6,000 damage to them at best. Yet a single ultimate from his Yin-Yang Giant Panda had inflicted over 100,000 damage on each of them.

The attack had another effect, too.

The venomous energy gathered by Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker had poisoned all four Millennial Spider Demonesses. Their bodies turned green as the poison took hold, draining approximately 2,000 HP per second.

Unfortunately, the demonesses possessed exceptionally high poison resistance, particularly against venomous energy. The poison lasted only two seconds before their resistance neutralized its effects.

Even so, the result was impressive enough to leave Marcus in awe.

As expected of Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker. It really did shake the heavens!

He couldn’t help wondering how powerful the skill would become as the Yin-Yang Giant Panda continued to level up. If its range and ability to control surrounding energy increased alongside its growth, its destructive potential would be frightening.

And that was only one of the two ultimate skills at his disposal.

While the ranged Yin-Yang Giant Panda was unleashing Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker, the other panda, which stood beside Marcus within the protective golden light of Adamant Shield Wall, was already making its move.

"Yin-Yang Whirlwind Slash!"

The Yin-Yang Giant Panda tightened its grip on the Green Bamboo Yin-Yang Sword and spun violently, sending a brilliant burst of black-and-white light erupting from the blade. The two opposing energies intertwined as the sword rotated, forming a swirling yin-yang orb that rapidly expanded before transforming into a massive tornado of yin-yang energy.

Whoooooosh!

The tornado swept outward, spreading across a fifteen-meter radius and engulfing all four Millennial Spider Demonesses.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The enormous vortex spun and struck repeatedly, completing five full revolutions. With each rotation, the yin-yang energy grew more powerful, and the force of its strikes increased accordingly. By the time the skill ended, each of the four demonesses had suffered approximately 150,000 damage.

Marcus was stunned.

That was even more powerful than Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker!

It made sense that the Yin-Yang Giant Panda specialized in close combat. Its Yin-Yang Whirlwind Slash was an absolute monster of a skill, delivering devastating damage to everything caught within its range.

What Marcus didn’t realize was that the difference wasn’t simply a matter of close-combat strength. The four Millennial Spider Demonesses were attuned to venomous energy, which had made them particularly vulnerable to the destructive effects of Yin-Yang Whirlwind Slash while limiting the effectiveness of Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker. Had the surrounding energy been fire or another more suitable element, Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker could have inflicted even more than 150,000 damage on each target.

In other words, the ranged ultimate hadn’t even reached its full potential.

And the two ultimate skills had accomplished something else, as well.

The near-simultaneous assault of Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker and Yin-Yang Whirlwind Slash had left the four Millennial Spider Demonesses completely disoriented. Even as Level 68 Golden Bosses, they couldn’t withstand the combined effects of the two massive tornadoes. The relentless spinning energy had thrown them into a state of Confusion, leaving them unable to react properly to their surroundings.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Taking advantage of the opening, the ranged Yin-Yang Giant Panda immediately charged toward Marcus. Its heavy footsteps echoed across the ground as it rushed to join its companion, reaching the protective barrier just as the four Millennial Spider Demonesses began recovering from their confusion.

But by then, Marcus’s side was already prepared to unleash another devastating assault.

"Yin-Yang Whirlwind Slash!"

"Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker!"

This time, the two Yin-Yang Giant Pandas switched their ultimate skills. The panda that had just unleashed Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker now used Yin-Yang Whirlwind Slash, while the one that had previously performed Yin-Yang Whirlwind Slash activated Yin-Yang Heaven-Earth Shaker.

After all, what else could anyone expect from a Super Divine Beast like the Yin-Yang Giant Panda?

It possessed two ultimate skills, and both were devastating.

Whoooooosh!

The battlefield erupted into another chaotic spectacle as two enormous tornadoes formed almost simultaneously. One was composed of venomous energy drawn from the surroundings, while the other consisted of swirling black-and-white yin-yang energy. Both tore through the battlefield, their immense destructive power converging on the four Millennial Spider Demonesses.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The tornadoes spun and struck relentlessly, each inflicting more than 100,000 damage on the four demonesses. The attacks arrived in rapid succession, leaving the already weakened Golden Bosses with virtually no opportunity to recover.

The damage accumulated at an astonishing rate.

First came the approximately 120,000 damage inflicted by Nameless Fear and The Ascendant’s Domain. Then came the four ultimate skills unleashed by the two Yin-Yang Giant Pandas, which dealt more than 450,000 damage in total.

Combined, the attacks proved overwhelming.

Before Marcus even had the chance to lift a finger, all four Level 68 Golden Boss Millennial Spider Demonesses had been killed.

The two enormous tornadoes gradually dissipated, their destructive energy fading into the surrounding air. As the last traces of black-and-white light vanished, the four Millennial Spider Demonesses collapsed heavily to the ground, their bodies finally motionless.

A system notification immediately rang out.

Ding!

[Congratulations, Player Stonehaven! You have killed four Level 68 Golden Boss Millennial Spider Demonesses. Rewards: 800 Reputation and 10,000 gold coins.]