Chapter 120: The Frustration of Taming

“I guess finding Star Lake really is just a matter of luck,” Marcus thought with a quiet sigh.

He moved carefully across the plains, deliberately clearing out every Wild Steed in the surrounding area. If he wanted a clean fight, he needed to remove all distractions first, otherwise dealing with the Wild Steed Leader, or possibly the Wild Steed King, would turn into a mess the moment the battle started.

That was assuming he could even win.

After his miserable encounter with the Level 45 Zephyr Steed, Marcus had already learned his lesson. Dominion placed extremely strict restrictions on mounts, especially horses. Truly exceptional mounts were never easy to obtain, and strength alone did not guarantee success.

With steady steps, he approached the large red horse standing in the distance. The moment it entered the range of his Insight skill, Marcus activated it without hesitation.

Wild Steed Leader: Level 35, Intermediate Common

Health: 4500

The leader of the Wild Steeds roaming the Atlan Plains. It loves galloping freely across the grasslands and constantly dreams of one day becoming a Pegasus that can soar through the sky.

Skills:

Whinny: Active skill. Summons Wild Steeds within thirty meters to attack the enemy.

Flame Wave: Active skill. Emits a Fire-element wave of light to attack enemies within five meters, with guaranteed accuracy.

Roaring Charge: After a long whinny, the steed charges forward, dealing double damage, with a chance to knock back and stun the target.

A Knight riding a Wild Steed Leader can use the skill Roaring Charge.

’So it really was the Wild Steed Leader.’

Marcus studied the information carefully. Its skill set looked fairly ordinary. Aside from Flame Wave, which gave it a ranged option, its overall attributes were not much better than the Level 45 Zephyr Steed he had fought earlier. In fact, once he compared everything, Marcus felt confident that its actual combat strength was even lower.

Based on this, soloing it should not be a problem.

He began using Taunt repeatedly, pulling the nearby Wild Steeds away from their leader one by one and cutting them down. These low-level monsters were weak enough to be considered trash-tier, but they all shared the same irritating personality, arrogant, hot-tempered, and easily provoked.

The leader watched its subordinates fall, yet it showed no concern at all. It stood there calmly, head held high, eyes filled with pride, as if the deaths around it had nothing to do with it. Compared to higher-level monsters, it was noticeably less cautious and far less cunning.

Marcus could not help recalling something he had read on the official Dominion website. Monsters above Level 50 were described as utterly shameless. They had no sense of pride or dignity whatsoever. When facing a threat, they would simply issue an order and let dozens of subordinates swarm the enemy, while the leader itself stayed safely behind, striking only when it was convenient.

The more shameless a monster was, the stronger it tended to be, and the stronger it was, the more shameless it became.

After quickly clearing out all the surrounding mobs, Marcus paused to apply every buff he had. Once everything was ready, he locked his gaze onto the Wild Steed Leader.

Then he sprinted forward.

Almost instantly, the Wild Steed Leader let out a sharp cry and charged toward him as well.

“-280.”

The leader struck first.

While Marcus was still nearly ten meters away, the Wild Steed Leader spat out a blazing red sphere of light. Flame Wave lived up to its description as a long-range skill, but Marcus barely flinched. His defense was more than enough, and the attack only shaved off 280 health, nothing more than a shallow wound.

He pushed forward without slowing, closed the remaining distance in a few strides, and launched his counterattack.

“Desperate Strike!”

“-1850.”

’Holy cow, that’s insane.’

The triple damage from Desperate Strike combined with a critical hit exploded in a massive burst, tearing away nearly half of the Wild Steed Leader’s health in a single blow.

Even as a boss monster, it was clearly no match for the Zephyr Steed he had faced earlier. Because the level gap was under ten levels, Marcus’s high Agility and Critical Hit rate were finally able to shine, rather than being suppressed.

Now that he had a solid grasp of the Wild Steed Leader’s strength, the lingering fear left behind by the Zephyr Steed vanished completely. Confidence surged back into his chest.

He switched to his Skeleton Blade, lifted a hand, and gave a brief signal.

The Shadow-Stained Gryphon King responded immediately, letting out a sharp cry as it charged alongside him.

“-210.”

“-250.”

The Wild Steed Leader’s attacks still hurt, each strike dealing a little over two hundred damage, but compared to Marcus’s output, it was no longer threatening. His own attacks consistently hit for over three hundred damage, and when the Gryphon King unleashed its newly acquired skill, Dark Thunder Flash, the damage soared past four hundred.

After only two full rounds of coordinated attacks, the Wild Steed Leader’s health dropped below ten percent.

’I’m a freaking beast,’ Marcus thought, a grin spreading.

The Wild Steed Leader was Level 35, and even if it was only an Intermediate Common boss, defeating it this easily was far beyond what Marcus had expected. The frustration and self-doubt left behind by the Zephyr Steed were completely swept away, replaced by a renewed sense of confidence that felt stronger than before.

Only now did Marcus truly understand the situation.

It was not that he was weak, and it was not that the Zephyr Steed had been absurdly powerful. The real issue had been the level gap. When a monster stood too far above a player’s level, Dominion simply refused to let skill and stats bridge that difference.

With the Wild Steed Leader’s health reduced to less than ten percent, Marcus and the Shadow-Stained Gryphon King stopped attacking. He gestured for the Gryphon to circle the area and keep watch for any respawning Wild Steeds, while he himself endured the leader’s weak attacks and began using his Taming skill.

“Alright, big red. You’re coming with me.”

The Wild Steed Leader immediately responded by repeatedly using Whinny, clearly attempting to summon its subordinates. However, Marcus remained calm. His Insight skill had already revealed Whinny’s effective range, thirty meters, and he had deliberately cleared all Wild Steeds within forty meters earlier.

There was no one coming.

The Wild Steed Leader was completely isolated now. Its attacks barely chipped away at Marcus’s health, and with no reinforcements available, it was utterly helpless.

Marcus allowed himself to smile as he continued casting Taming, his thoughts drifting ahead.

’What are your stats gonna be like?’

He imagined himself riding the Wild Steed Leader across the endless Atlan Plains, the countless Level 30 Wild Steeds bowing their heads and parting respectfully as he passed, as if acknowledging their rightful king.

“Ding! Stonehaven, unfortunately, your Taming attempt failed.”

“Ding! Stonehaven, unfortunately, your Taming attempt failed.”

“Ding! Stonehaven, unfortunately, your Taming attempt failed.”

…

Marcus froze.

Seven or eight attempts had already failed. Yet instead of frustration, excitement slowly crept in. A mount that was this difficult to tame had to be exceptional. There was no other explanation.

Filled with renewed enthusiasm, he continued casting Taming again and again.

“Ding! Stonehaven, unfortunately, your Taming attempt failed.”

“Ding! Stonehaven, unfortunately, your Taming attempt failed.”

…

’You’re stubborn’, Marcus thought, narrowing his eyes, ’but I’m more stubborn. Let’s keep going.’

“Ding! Stonehaven, unfortunately, your Taming attempt failed.”

“Ding! Stonehaven, unfortunately, your Taming attempt failed.”

…

“Ding! Stonehaven, unfortunately, your Taming attempt failed.”

…

Marcus finally went silent.

Two minutes had passed before he even realized it. Nearly a hundred Taming attempts had been made, yet not a single one succeeded. The endless system notifications blurred together, pounding against his ears until his head started to spin.

The Wild Steed Leader, still clinging to its last sliver of health, continued thrashing wildly. It charged, jumped, and slammed into Marcus with Roaring Charge again and again, as energetic as ever despite being on the brink of death.

’Are you kidding me?’

It was just a Wild Steed Leader, yet taming it felt impossible. Marcus had no idea what he was doing wrong.

’Fine’, he thought grimly, tightening his grip, ’I’ll stay here all day if I have to. I’m not leaving without you.’

He prepared himself for a long battle of patience, but before he could continue, movement caught his eye.

The Wild Steeds he had cleared earlier were beginning to respawn.

Almost immediately, the Wild Steed Leader let out a sharp Whinny. The newly spawned horses reacted at once, charging straight toward Marcus.

“….”

’Screw this. I’m done’

Marcus felt a deep, genuine frustration well up inside him. He had only just recovered from the crushing blow dealt by the Zephyr Steed, and now the Wild Steed Leader had dragged him straight back into that same helpless feeling.

There was no other option.

Marcus raised his blade and brought it down in a clean, decisive strike, severing the Wild Steed Leader’s head.

Was he really supposed to wait until every Wild Steed within thirty meters had fully respawned, only to have Whinny summon fifty or more horses to trample him all at once?

Unless he was wearing the Level 30 Cabaro Set, surviving that was pure fantasy.

Marcus exhaled sharply, anger and resignation mixing together.

’Damn it. Why is getting a proper warhorse so hard?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep