At that moment, an unexpected change occurred, one that Ye Tianxie had anticipated. The massive, ferocious wolf, whose health had dropped below 20%, suddenly stopped its attack. It howled into the sky, releasing a terrifying aura of violent rage. Its fur stood on end, and its enormous eyes turned blood-red. The abrupt surge in its terrifying presence caused the five players to shudder in fear. The apprentice shield guard involuntarily stepped back and exclaimed, "It's going berserk! Everyone be careful! Increase your damage output!"

  Berserk: When the health of the giant ferocious wolf drops below 20%, there is a 50% chance to trigger this skill. Once triggered, its attack power, attack speed, and movement speed all increase by 30%, while defense is reduced by 30%. The effect lasts for 1 minute.

  After entering a berserk state, the giant wolf’s previous "Taunt" effect was naturally lifted. Instead of continuing to attack the apprentice shield guard blocking its way, it suddenly leaped into the air with a furious roar and pounced on the apprentice priest standing behind the shield guard. The priest was caught off guard and didn’t even have time to scream before a huge paw slammed into his chest, taking half of his health.

  The apprentice shield guard, startled, quickly turned around, but his "Taunt" skill was still on a 10-second cooldown, leaving him unable to immediately attract the wolf’s aggro. The apprentice priest, in a panic, tried to retreat, but how could he possibly outrun the berserk wolf? It clawed at his chest again, and the priest’s health bar was instantly emptied. His body collapsed to the ground, turning into a white light and vanishing, sent back to the novice village.

  With the priest down, the remaining four players were thrown into disarray. The two ranged players frantically tried to deal damage. The wolf, having killed the priest, turned with an angry roar and charged at the apprentice mage, who was still casting magic projectiles.

  "Fall back!" the apprentice shield guard shouted. With the mage’s low health, he wouldn't survive even two hits from the berserk wolf. Now that the priest was sent back to the novice village and his healing potions were all used up, with the wolf’s remaining 200 health, it felt like an insurmountable obstacle. Even if all four of them were wiped here, they might not be able to take down those last 200 health points. The four players scattered in different directions, heading for the safe zones outside the map. The apprentice shield guard charged straight toward the direction where Ye Tianxie was, shouting, "Hey! Can you help us out? This boss is about to die. Join our team, and we’ll trade you our healing potions... After we kill the boss, we’ll give you one of its dropped pieces of equipment!"

  Ye Tianxie narrowed his eyes slightly, and a calm smile appeared on his face. "Alright, but you better keep your word."

  "Ding… Player Red Leaf Iron Wall has invited you to join his team. Do you accept?"

  "Heh, accepted."

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  The system prompt notifying him that he had successfully joined the team sounded in his ear. The apprentice shield guard had already arrived in front of Ye Tianxie and hastily said, "Quick, trade me your healing potions... This is a level 5 boss, not only can you gain a lot of experience, but you’ll also get a piece of equipment. You’ll make a huge profit!"

  If it weren’t for a desperate situation, Red Leaf Iron Wall would never have asked for help from a player who hadn’t even bothered to change out of their starting clothes. Ye Tianxie efficiently took out five small healing potions from his inventory and traded them. The apprentice shield guard quickly accepted without saying a word and turned to charge toward the giant berserk wolf, which was chasing after the apprentice archer. He shouted, "Prepare for damage!"

  The apprentice shield guard quickly used his "Taunt" skill, making the giant wolf momentarily hesitate and turn to charge at him. He stood still, holding his shield to block the wolf’s attack. The other three, who had been running away, gathered back together and began another round of attacks. Ye Tianxie, seemingly without urgency, strolled over leisurely and began stabbing the giant wolf with his starting sword. The damage numbers were unmistakably... -1, -1, miss...

  The team panel now displayed Ye Tianxie's name, and his level was clearly 1. The faces of Red Leaf Alliance's four members showed the same expression of disdain.

  The wolf’s health dropped from 200 to 150, then down to the 100 mark. The fighter wielding a two-handed sword cast a cold glance at Ye Tianxie and whispered to Red Leaf Iron Wall, "Kick him out of the team, or else we’ll share our experience with him... Who knows, he might even try to steal our loot."

  Before the apprentice warrior even finished speaking, Ye Tianxie’s ears rang with a notification: "You have been kicked out of the Red Leaf Iron Wall party." A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He suddenly took a step forward, and his starting short sword disappeared. In its place, a massive black arc swept toward the giant wolf’s body...

  -142!

  A magnificent yellow critical hit appeared above the wolf’s head. With a pitiful wolf's howl, its health was instantly emptied. The giant wolf’s body collapsed to the ground, and it dropped a pile of copper coins, health potions, and three pieces of equipment glowing with blue light.

  "Ding, you have successfully killed the 3-star elite Giant Ferocious Wolf and gained 400 experience points."

  The four members of the Red Leaf Alliance stood frozen, staring in shock as Ye Tianxie picked up the three pieces of equipment from the ground. The gleaming equipment confirmed that they were made of steel, and getting three pieces of steel equipment from a single drop was enough to surprise them. Their eyes were now fully focused on the enormous black weapon in Ye Tianxie’s hands. Its form was more exaggerated than a two-handed greatsword, with a twisted, indescribable shape, and occasional flashes of strange colors. Any player who saw this weapon for the first time would probably have the same reaction.

  After the shock came a feeling of greedy excitement. They no longer felt guilty for kicking Ye Tianxie out of the team, nor did they feel the humiliation and anger of having their boss stolen. That strange weapon, along with the over-100 damage that Ye Tianxie had just dealt, made it clear that this was no ordinary, powerful weapon.

  "How dare you steal our boss! Get him!" The apprentice shield guard’s expression shifted repeatedly, before he finally growled and rushed at Ye Tianxie. However, seeing the eerie smile on Ye Tianxie’s face, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat, and his step faltered. He swung his sword toward Ye Tianxie.

  "Ding... You have been attacked by Red Leaf Iron Wall’s party. You have 30 minutes to retaliate."