"A monster even more terrifying than a skeleton has appeared!"
"Creepers were already strong, but now a Charged Creeper has arrived!"
"Is it a boss? I can't imagine how much power it will unleash!"
"Has the Block World finally moved to sanction the Nine Provinces?"
"Great! Once Galen Yu dies, our Freedom Nation will be number one again!"
When the announcement appeared, the Freedom Nation's audience smiled again.
A Creeper is a green monster with a long body and small feet.
It looks strange, unlike any known creature, yet it possesses immense destructive power.
Whether players or the audience outside, even facing skeletons, no one wants to face such a powerful monster!
Thunder rumbled, startling everything.
On Mushroom Island, startled by the thunder, two Mooshrooms moved aimlessly.
For just a brief moment, Soren Park, on the very edge, felt a weight like Mount Tai crushing him with ten thousand tons of force.
The suffocating pain lasted for several seconds before it finally subsided.
Despite the physical pain, his face was filled with joy.
"A Creeper! Galen Yu is definitely dead this time!"
Unlike zombies and skeletons, this creature has unique biological traits.
It doesn't eat, does nothing, and doesn't even burn to death in the daytime due to a fear of sunlight.
If it isn't killed, it won't die!
Its body is like a giant bomb that gets close to players and explodes.
Even if you attack it, if you don't kill it instantly before it explodes, you must endure the blast damage!
Unfortunately, a Creeper's explosion damage is twenty health points.
Players are insta-killed if they get too close!
Even if you try to stay away, a Creeper will automatically seek out players, as if it were born just for this explosion.
Facing such a suicidal enemy, players simply can't think of how to respond!
"A Charged Creeper—its damage and range are even stronger than a normal Creeper!"
It has the same health as a zombie, taking four hits with a stone sword to kill.
Yet, a Creeper's self-detonation is extremely fast; it often explodes by the time the second attack arrives.
"With such limited space, where are you going to hide?"
Soren Park couldn't wait to see Galen Yu's sky island leveled to the ground!
"Even a Charged Creeper has come out!"
"Damn, I was just celebrating that the food problem was solved. What do we do now?"
"Even with skills, you can't exactly use bone meal on a Creeper to grow it, can you?"
"Sigh, the sky island is only this big. There's nowhere to run."
"Is it really going to end?"
The audience of the Nine Provinces was extremely worried.
After killing over a thousand zombies, were they really being sanctioned because of the sheer numbers?
On the sky island, a Creeper spawned on the roof of the stone house.
Struck by lightning, a surge of electric light gradually emanated from the Creeper, as if a powerful force were gestating within.
Dazzling lights and flowing lightning shadows protected its body, giving it a vague sense of sacred majesty!
"Quite a dramatic entrance."
Glancing at the Creeper, Galen Yu chuckled.
If he hadn't received the announcement beforehand, he would have thought the Wither boss had spawned based on this theatrical appearance.
It was indeed rarer than a normal Creeper, but in the end, it was still just a Creeper.
It was quite a commotion for nothing.
The explosion does indeed deal high damage, so the most important thing when killing a Creeper is to control the distance.
Possessing the Hand of Steve, he appeared to have infinite stamina and was indestructible.
In reality, he also far surpassed ordinary people in fighting monsters and mining blocks.
Whether it was zombies or skeletons, to deal damage, a normal player had to physically hit them with their weapon.
Other monsters were fine, but when facing a Creeper, players often failed to control the distance because their weapons weren't long enough, resulting in death by explosion.
However, with the enhancement of the Hand of Steve, Galen Yu only needed to swing his sword in that general direction, and the monster would automatically lose health once it entered his range.
This effectively increased his attack range and flexibility.
Under the protection of the lightning, there was still some time before the Charged Creeper would make its move.
Since he couldn't get to the stone house for the moment, he finished chopping the nearby oak trees, collected the logs and apple saplings, and turned to the crafting table.
An iron ingot was taken out and placed in the middle row of the crafting table.
Then, wooden planks were arranged in a Y-shape.
Unlike the game, which shows the crafted product in advance, the Block World had no crafting recipes.
Players had to explore on their own to discover what items could be synthesized.
What Galen Yu was making was the most practical and cost-effective equipment in Minecraft.
A shield.
Although the Hand of Steve gave him a three-block attack range, a Charged Creeper had double the explosion radius and damage.
With such terrifying power, even if he ate a golden apple and wore a full set of Netherite armor, he wouldn't be able to tank it.
For safety, it was best to equip a shield.
Even if he didn't make it now, he would need it later. It was just a few planks and an iron ingot.
The drop rate was a bit low, but after killing over a thousand zombies, he had about a dozen pieces of iron.
He swapped his weapon for an iron sword and put on an iron chestplate.
He wasn't worried about the crafting recipes being broadcast and learned by others.
The arena only broadcasted the visuals and wouldn't show the crafting table interface; others wouldn't be able to learn even if they watched.
As for things like bone meal, which were as basic as could be, so what if others learned?
Those truly large-scale and interesting things hadn't even been used yet.
Besides, given this world's understanding of Minecraft, he believed that even if he showed it, no one would understand.
"This should be enough."
Holding a sword in his left hand and a shield in his right, Galen Yu didn't feel tired at all despite them being all-iron products.
Having made his preparations, the Charged Creeper in the distance finished its transformation.
"It's finally starting!"
"There's no other choice. This thing isn't afraid of the sun. He can't run, only fight!"
"A boss appeared on the very first day? Large-scale civilizations are terrifying!"
"Big brother, go for it!"
Under global scrutiny, the Charged Creeper locked onto Galen Yu and crawled down from the stone house.
A fully-formed Charged Creeper looked no different from a normal Creeper, except for the addition of a blue electric aura surrounding its exterior.
It made the already fearsome Creeper's presence even more oppressive!
Choosing to take the initiative, Galen Yu met it outside the stone house.
Snap!
The iron sword lashed out in a jumping strike, dealing damage to the Charged Creeper from two blocks away.
[-9!]
Being in mid-air during the attack without touching any blocks triggered a critical hit!
Knocking the Charged Creeper back by one block, he followed up with another strike.
[-6]
This time his luck was poor, and a critical hit wasn't triggered.
After two strikes, the Charged Creeper only had fifteen health left; one final blow would kill it.
However, before the third blow could land, the Charged Creeper's body suddenly became bloated.
As if filled by some gas from the inside, it grew larger and larger.
"It's going to explode!"
Soren Park, who had been watching closely, exclaimed in delight.
At this distance, Galen Yu wouldn't have time to dodge and would surely be hit by the explosion's radius!
With the damage doubled, an iron chestplate wouldn't be able to block the attack!
Sensing something was wrong, Galen Yu retreated just as the Charged Creeper expanded to its limit.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out, kicking up a cloud of dust.
All the spectators' hearts jumped into their throats.
"It exploded! What a massive radius!"
"It's twice as big as a normal Creeper! Galen Yu was hit!"
"An iron chestplate can barely withstand a normal Creeper, but with the damage doubled..."
"Is Galen Yu... dead?"