Foster's eyes lit up with excitement.
He recognized that the dance the Saker Falcon was performing was a common form of communication used by the Beastfolk, and the message it conveyed was clear:
"To the southeast, travel 16 kilometers, and there is a being of extraordinary power!"
"Perfect."
Foster nodded in approval. He immediately activated his Lord's ability to recall all his soldiers.
Five minutes later, the Saker Falcons began returning from all directions. The Knight Retainers lined up, while the twenty Saker Falcons perched one by one on the shoulders of the retainers, forming a perfectly organized group.
"Everyone, follow me."
With that, Foster led his army away, leaving the territory completely unguarded.
He wasn't worried. They were still in the beginner stage. Outside of the Conquest and Slaughter event, no enemies could invade his territory. Once the beginner phase ended, however, he would need to station forces to defend it.
This was because, in Heroic Epic, aside from regular beast attacks, there were random events that could occur. For example, an extremely powerful being might pass through your territory. If you had a Hero to greet them, they might offer you some rewards. But if no one greeted them, the situation could go either way—if the powerful being was in a good mood, they'd simply pass by; but if they were in a bad mood, they might destroy your territory with a single strike.
Foster recalled these details from Heroic Epic as he traveled, heading straight along the path.
After about twenty minutes, he finally spotted what the Saker Falcon had described: a being of incredible power.
It was a massive creature, its skin a grayish-blue, resembling a giant, round ball. The creature had two enormous tusks and wielded a massive stone hammer that had clearly been forged through brutal strikes. The monster looked grotesque and intimidating!
At the moment, the giant creature was lying on the ground, snoring heavily.
Foster focused his gaze, and immediately noticed something troubling—
[???]
[???]
[???]
He couldn't access any information about the boss. All he saw were three question marks, along with a skull symbol above the monster's health bar, signifying that this creature was extremely dangerous for him.
Upon seeing this, Foster couldn't help but feel…
overjoyed!
"A Mountain Goblin!"
"Old friend!"
Foster wasn't worried at all about not being able to view the BOSS's attributes. That's because he already knew all the data for the Mountain Goblin by heart!
The Mountain Goblin was a level 15 wild boss with the following attributes:
Strength: 35
Constitution: 35
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Its abilities included:
Tough Skin: Reduces physical damage taken.
Crush Attack: An active skill that deals high damage and has a Crushing effect. Units whose health drops below a certain threshold would be instantly killed.
Vigorous Life: Increases health by an extra 150%.
Foster smiled. This was exactly the type of boss he had been looking for!
In addition, Foster also knew that the Mountain Goblin would only awaken after a certain amount of its health was depleted.
The Crushing Attack had three distinct wind-ups: first, the goblin's single eye would turn red; second, it would stagger slightly; and third, for every 25% health lost, the goblin would unleash a Crushing Attack that began with zero frame delay.
Moreover, the Mountain Goblin's attack speed was 0.3 attacks per second, and its movement speed was 8 meters per second. Once its health dropped below 25%, it would enter its second phase, becoming enraged. During this phase, its agility and attack speed would double, and its damage output would increase by 20%. The goblin would also suffer a stagger after receiving 21 attacks from the player. This stagger could interrupt its phase transition. After that, for every 10% health lost, the goblin would attempt to enrage again, and it could still be interrupted by the stagger.
Foster recalled all these details from memory.
If it were any other boss, he would admit that with the Arrow Tower, his own skills, and the 40 Second-Order Branch soldiers, it would be possible to win, but it would definitely come at a cost with heavy losses to his soldiers.
But the Mountain Goblin?
Not a problem!
Sorry, I can do this with my eyes closed!
In his past life, Foster had a special instance dungeon near his spawn point, where the Mountain Goblin could be farmed infinitely. It was a popular farming spot for nearby Lords. Foster had done it too.
At first, he was slaughtered by the Mountain Goblin, but eventually, he got so good at it that he could solo the boss without carrying any soldiers.
He could confidently say that when the Mountain Goblin moved, he already knew what attack was coming!
"Although the Mountain Goblin is one of the most common bosses near new Lord spawn points, I'm still lucky to run into it!"
Foster's breath quickened.
The Mountain Goblin was level 15, and he was level 9. This meant he was facing a boss one level above his own, which was definitely a level challenge!
When Foster fought this boss in his past life, he was already level 20! Bosses were much stronger than normal units, and it was generally considered a reasonable challenge for players to face a boss one full level higher than themselves!
Unfortunately...
The Mountain Goblin didn't stand a chance against Foster as long as he could deal damage!
He quickly began constructing the Arrow Tower, building five of them at once, making use of the terrain.
Although this would alert nearby wild monsters, the Mountain Goblin had a special mechanic: it wouldn't awaken until its health was lowered.
Instead, a group of scruffy wild wolves emerged, quietly growling as they approached.
"Saker Falcon, deal with them," Foster ordered casually.
In an instant, the Saker Falcons, with their sharp claws and talons, tore the wild wolves apart in seconds.
A few experience notifications popped up in front of Foster.
Soon, more wild creatures appeared, but they were quickly shredded as well. After all, the Second-Order Branch soldiers were more than enough to easily suppress these low-level monsters that were meant for beginner training.
Twenty minutes later, the five Arrow Towers—grayish-white at the base, topped with blue brick roofs—had successfully taken form.
Earlier, after building the Barracks, Foster had only 2500 Wood left, so he had built only five Arrow Towers.
With everything in place, he immediately began the monster hunt.
"Attack! Everyone, stop when I say so!"
With a single command, the Knight Retainers surged forward, swinging their long swords at the Mountain Goblin, while the Saker Falcons also launched their attack at high speed.
Foster himself didn't make a move and kept the Arrow Towers from firing. He focused intently on the Mountain Goblin's health bar, watching closely for a critical point.
"Stop!"
Foster's roar echoed through the battlefield, and the Knight Retainers and Saker Falcons immediately obeyed. However, there was always a slight delay in command transmission.
A few more strikes landed before his soldiers ceased their attacks.
But...
It didn't matter!
Foster wasn't aiming for the critical health limit, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed a long sword and delivered a few solid blows to the Mountain Goblin, bringing its health down to the very limit.
At this point, the Mountain Goblin would wake up from any attack. As soon as that happened, Foster issued another round of commands.
"You guys on the left, form teams left one and left two!"
"You guys on the right, form teams right one and right two!"
"All Saker Falcons, get ready to attack from above!"
After arranging his forces, Foster had all his soldiers take their positions. He approached the Mountain Goblin's side.
Then, he silently chanted in his mind,
"Activate autonomous attack mode!"
The Arrow Towers, which had been idle until now, whirred to life. The crossbows were raised, ready to fire.
The next moment!
The full barrage erupted all at once.
The blades of the Knight Retainers, the charging attacks of the Saker Falcons, Foster's own strike, and the combined firepower of the five Arrow Towers—all hit at once!
Arrows rained down!
Swords flashed like a forest of steel!
The Mountain Goblin's health bar visibly dropped, losing a significant chunk.
Then, Foster barked more orders,
"Left one, retreat! Right two, attack!"
"Right one, continue! Right two, keep attacking!"
"Left two, hurry up..."
...
At this moment, a sharp glint flickered in Foster's eyes. This was the level of command proficiency that only years of experience as a seasoned Lord could bring!
The result of his strategy was clear:
After the Mountain Goblin rose, it immediately attempted several heavy stomps, but each time, the Knight Retainers managed to dodge just in time.
Under Foster's command, his soldiers acted preemptively, so none of them were knocked back or injured—not a single drop of health lost.
Each time the Goblin stomped, another Knight Retainer would step forward from the opposite side, striking right after the stomp.
The Arrow Towers continued their relentless fire, sending volley after volley of bolts.
The Saker Falcons screeched and charged relentlessly as well.
The Mountain Goblin's health slowly but steadily dropped.
Just from the fixed actions before and after the Goblin woke up, it had already lost nearly 20% of its health!
Meanwhile, Foster's side was completely unscathed!
As for Foster himself, he danced around the battlefield, delivering a total of twenty precise strikes.
Unlike his soldiers, Foster didn't simply back away from the stomp's area of effect. Instead, he evaded by sidestepping and executing a small jump right before each major attack, dodging both the direct hit and the shockwave damage.
His movements were as graceful as a dance!
Although his damage output wasn't as high as his soldiers', Foster's purpose had already been achieved!
He quickly retreated and stopped attacking, waiting for a few more seconds before shouting,
"Everyone, retreat!"
All the soldiers, with their loyalty maxed out, immediately dispersed.
In that very instant...
The Mountain Goblin, with lightning speed, raised its massive stone hammer and swung it towards the ground in a wide arc.
One swing!
It was the Goblin's ultimate move—Crushing Attack!