Chapter 56: You

Use your skill now!

Luo Chenyu felt his shield still had over 800 left!

Don't dodge!

He made a decision: activate 【Defensive Stance】, and stand his ground against the 【Blood Skull·Giant Lizard】, tanking the elite monster head-on!

Zero offensive skills—extreme skill pattern!

Basic attack became his only source of supplemental damage.

Finally!

The skull's tail swept toward him, and over a dozen blood-red bone spikes struck simultaneously.

"Ding! 【Stalwart Resolve】 triggered successfully! Constitution increased by 5%. Current stack count: 6!"

"Ding! 【Stalwart Resolve】 triggered successfully! Constitution increased by 5%. Current stack count: 7!"

……

"Ding! 【Stalwart Resolve】 triggered successfully! Constitution increased by 5%. Current stack count: 20!"

"Ding! Constitution stack cap reached! Gain a shield equal to 100% of maximum HP!"

The prompt flashing before his eyes Luo Chenyu ignored.

The message in his mind was what truly mattered to him.

【Prompt: Your skill 【Defensive Stance】 senses you being attacked under its protection—its emotion is rising!】

【Prompt: Your skill 【Defensive Stance】 senses you being wounded under its protection—it vows to protect you harder!】

Luo Chenyu: "???"

Is this thing insane?

It gets excited when I'm attacked?

Continuous attacks shattered the shield; two bone spikes struck his chest, the slight pain real and tangible.

But…

【Defensive Stance】's 70% pain reduction was indeed useful.

Moreover, the damage from the bone spikes was low—under 10 points—due to the combined effects of 【Defensive Stance】's increased defense and 【Wild Bear Battle Shield】's passive damage reduction.

Come to think of it, this was his second time losing HP.

The first time was that "car accident"!

Too bad.

【Wild Bear Battle Shield】's damage reduction effect doesn't apply to shields.

Shield reappeared.

Luo Chenyu dared not be reckless anymore.

Two shield explosions dealt nearly 7,000 damage total; the monster still had over 3,600 HP left.

Current shield value is insufficient to kill it outright.

Keep attacking!

While its defense is still lowered, deal as much damage as possible.

……

In the monster forest.

Facing Ye Xingtong stared, dumbfounded, at the battle outside.

Her Yu-gege really is reckless!

At level five, he dares to tank a Tier 2 elite monster—and not only survives, but deals substantial damage!

You're a tank!

Not a berserker!

How long has it been? That elite monster has already lost nearly 70% of its HP, and it's still slowly dropping.

If this got out, no one would believe it!

But all of this was happening right before her eyes.

"I wonder what kind of opportunity the silent one got—this insane combat style can't possibly be from berserker bloodline effects!"

"Since getting knocked out last time, the silent one has changed so much!"

Facing Ye Xingtong recalled Luo Chenyu's behavior over the past two days; her doubts grew—but then she looked again at his strong back and reckless stance.

A different light sparked in her eyes.

"This Luo Chenyu is better than the silent one… hehe…"

……

"Roar!!"

【Blood Skull·Giant Lizard】, sensing its weakening state, let out a roar and spat forth blood-red flames.

Blood Yen!

This attack—

was its ultimate skill, reserved for desperate moments.

Blood Yen was its exclusive skill: consuming primal energy to burn the target and suppress their life force.

Life force, in this context, meant reducing the target's maximum HP.

The flames erupted instantly.

Luo Chenyu was helpless—his skills were still too few; faced with this overwhelming AoE attack, he had no choice but to endure it.

Moreover, 【Steel Shield】 was still on cooldown—two seconds left—impossible to activate taunt or taunt aura.

"Heh, a mere elite monster can instantly kill me while I'm in 【Defensive Stance】!"

So what if I tank it head-on!

Flames engulf the body!

The shield of 【Adamant and Unyielding】 instantly exploded, taking over two thousand HP from 【Blood Skeleton · Giant Lizard】.

As the shield exploded, Luo Chenyu felt his body being devoured by endless flames.

"Ding, resisted burning effect!"

"Ding, resisted effect that lowers max HP!"

Notifications popped up one after another.

HP gradually dropped, then a second later, it was full again.

This cycle repeated over and over.

Under the effects of 【Defensive Stance】 and 【Desolate Bear War-Shield】, the HP recovery was downright terrifying.

Especially against damage-over-time, for him, it worked even better than a recovery potion.

【Prompt: Your skill 【Defensive Stance】 sensed that you were under attack, and under its protection you were perfectly safe. It is in an extremely delighted mood, and the skill has evolved, unlocking a new skill effect!】

Stone hammer confirmed!

【Defensive Stance】 is a total masochist!