Chapter 159: The Boss on the Yellow Brick Road—The Collar Bear

Early the next morning, Liu Zong bade farewell to the Tin Man and the talkative Eggshell Lion, then stepped onto the yellow brick road paved with various biscuits and pastries, heading toward his final destination.

Only after setting foot on this road did Liu Zong truly understand what the Tin Man meant by the boss regenerating. They had barely walked a dozen miles when a massive horde of gummy bears appeared on the yellow brick road. They came in every color except black, and completely ignoring Liu Zong and his companions, they simply sprinted straight ahead.

Liu Zong tried catching a couple of gummy bears and discovered that no matter how many he killed, it did not affect the forward-running momentum of the others. It seemed these gummy bears existed for only one purpose: to keep running continuously along the yellow brick road.

This phenomenon astonished Liu Zong. He could already sense a faint, barely perceptible aura of the undead within each gummy bear. As their numbers grew larger and larger, Liu Zong could even visualize a flowing river of the undead surging along the yellow brick road toward the distant horizon.

After walking for about another thirty kilometers, a bizarre sound suddenly reached their ears. It resembled the sound of boiling sugar syrup, yet sounded distant and indistinct.

Liu Zong managed to catch a few recognizable words, which appeared to be a variant of some undead language he had studied back at the academy. However, the phrasing was somewhat crude, seemingly conveying things like, "Come quickly, immediately, tall."

At this moment, Bai Qi also stopped in his tracks, patted Liu Zong on the shoulder, and said, "Look over there."

Liu Zong followed Bai Qi's pointing finger and spotted a green gummy bear, roughly the same size as the ordinary ones, about a mile or two away.

The reason this particular gummy bear stood out so prominently was that it was standing atop a towering red square chair, reaching a height of up to fifteen meters. The chair was exceptionally tall and slender, and the gummy bear stood precariously upon it, looking as though it could tumble down at any moment.

It was evident that this must be the infamous Leader-Ribbon Bear—the very first gummy bear to be summoned.

[Leader-Ribbon Bear]
[Race: Sugar-Being]
[Level: Lv1 (3-Star) Boss Template]
[Attributes: Strength 7, Agility 8, Constitution 6, Spirit 11]
[Description: The Leader-Ribbon Bear is the first awakened gummy bear in this micro-world. It holds the method for awakening other gummy bears, and it is also the one commanding the gummy bears to leave their homeland and march toward the unknown bear-versus-bear battle arena.]

Liu Zong glanced at the Leader-Ribbon Bear from afar, finding it no different from the rest of the gummy bears. Why would such a weak entity become a boss?

With these thoughts in mind, Liu Zong quickly covered the thousand-meter distance. When he and his three undead minions appeared, the Leader-Ribbon Bear standing atop the red square chair also noticed their arrival.

Unlike typical bosses who would charge down to engage in combat, this Leader-Ribbon Bear pulled out a handheld megaphone and began roaring instructions downward.

At an incomprehensible command from the boss, the gummy bears that had been sprinting into the distance all came to a sudden halt, turning their heads to stare at Liu Zong and his group.

Liu Zong felt deeply unnerved by the gummy bears' behavior. If they wanted to watch him, couldn't they turn their entire bodies around? Instead, without turning their torsos at all, they simply twisted their heads entirely backward—a sight as awkward and unnatural as one could possibly imagine.

Once locked onto Liu Zong, the gummy bears rushed forward instantly, though all of them moved entirely in reverse, making their motions exceedingly bizarre.

Faced with this situation, Liu Zong instantly realized this must be the Leader-Ribbon Bear's skill. It possessed no combat prowess of its own, yet it could command combat-incapable entities like the gummy bears to fight—this was unmistakably the battle tactic of a necromancer.

Liu Zong waved his hand, and the Shepherd Bear charged straight toward the oncoming gummy bears. Along the way, the Shepherd Bear had constantly slaughtered these tiny gummy bears and had long since perfected a strategy to deal with them.

As the gummy bears rushed forward, the Shepherd Bear let out a roar, unleashing a freezing aura that severely slowed the horde's movement speed.

Next, the shepherd's crook in the Shepherd Bear's paws whipped back and forth, shattering a gummy bear to pieces with every single swing.

In mere moments, a massive number of gummy bears had fallen beneath the Shepherd Bear's staff, and the creature even found time to scoop up some of the shattered gummy bear heads and crunch down on them.

Meanwhile, Liu Zong had set his sights on the Leader-Ribbon Bear atop the chair. Gripping his spear, he charged straight toward the chair.

Thanks to the acrobatic leaping movements integrated into his spear techniques, scaling a height of fifteen to sixteen meters posed no difficulty for Liu Zong whatsoever.

Using the red chair for leverage twice, he vaulted straight up in front of the Leader-Ribbon Bear. Just as Liu Zong thought he could easily finish off the boss, the chair he had used for leverage suddenly collapsed.

Deprived of the Leader-Ribbon Bear's command, the gummy bears reverted to their previous behavior, streaming away into the distance along the yellow brick road.

From afar, Liu Zong watched as the Leader-Ribbon Bear reappeared three to five kilometers away, where a brand-new red chair had materialized in place.

This time, Liu Zong did not rush over immediately. Instead, he waited for Bai Qi to catch up, and the two discussed the boss's mechanics.

It was clear that the boss's offensive strategy relied on guiding the gummy bears in swarms; it remained to be seen what methods it might deploy when unleashing its burst potential.

In truth, none of this posed a major obstacle. Two of the three undead minions under Liu Zong's command could easily handle these tactics.

The real crux of the matter was how the boss had managed to escape just moments ago.

During the chaotic battle, Liu Zong hadn't seen clearly; he only knew that the moment he leaped onto the red chair, it had tipped over.

Thinking about it now, would things have gone differently if he had prevented the red chair from falling?

With this thought, Liu Zong shared his deduction with Bai Qi, then brandished his spear and led his subordinates toward the next location.

This time, Liu Zong exercised extreme caution. Even during his upward charge, he avoided making contact with the red chair, instead forcefully leaping to an altitude of around sixteen meters and thrusting his spear straight toward the Leader-Ribbon Bear with a piercing strike.

The thrust successfully penetrated the Leader-Ribbon Bear's body, causing it to explode instantly. Liu Zong clearly saw the ribbon tied around its neck fly off and plummet directly into the swarm of gummy bears below.

Immediately afterward, the gummy bears resumed their previous routine of marching along the yellow brick road, while three to five kilometers away, yet another new red chair manifested.

Observing this, Liu Zong knitted his brows. "The Leader-Ribbon Bear isn't just that single bear; it's also about the ribbon. Even if the bear dies, as long as a new bear snatches the ribbon, it will manifest on the next stretch of the road. This is an undead reincarnation and escape technique."

Muttering to himself, a flash of determination hardened in Liu Zong's eyes. "Then I'll just make sure you have no bear left to reincarnate into."