Dung Defender

Behaviour
The Defender does a variety of attacks:
 * Dung Toss: Conjures two balls of dung that he throws out after one another that bounce around in the boss arena for a short while.


 * Bouncing Beetle: Curls into a ball and bounce around, usually along with the two balls of dung.


 * Dung Eruption: Sinks into the ground, moving around underground before reemerging, throwing four, smaller balls of dung that break upon impact with the ground or the player.


 * Dung Leap: Dives up and down through the ground as though it were water, moving back and forth across the stage and dealing contact damage.


 * Zeal: Once enough damage is done to him, he will do the above attacks in a quicker succession. After this, he will also detect where the player is on the ground when he dives and will try to reemerge close to them.

Tactics
In the beginning of the fight, try to dodge the balls as best as possible. When he stops to conjure the two balls of dung, stand next to him, hit him once, step back when he throws the ball, step forward to hit him again and quickly step back when he throws the second one. This is the safest way to damage him with little risk.


 * Towards the end of the fight when he does his attacks more frequently, particularly Dung Eruption. Staying right at the left side of the arena is almost completely safe as he will always try to reemerge from the ground close to the player and the balls will just bounce off of the wall, giving a safe spot to damage him.

Generally speaking, he is one of the easier bosses in the game. Quick Focus will allow the player to almost trivialise the battle. Standing in a corner while he throws his dung balls typically provides lengthy opportunities to heal.
 * During Dung Eruption, if the player uses Desolate Dive/Descending Dark while he is burrowing, he will be knocked out of the ground and stunned for a few seconds. This is an opportune time to use a Nail Art or a Spell against him, as he will go right back into attacking as soon as he is hit.

Trivia
"'Deep in the Waterways beneath the City of Tears lurks a shunned being. Once a knight, now lost to puerile obsession: The Dung Defender."
 * From the Kickstarer reveal page:

"Despite his exile, the Dung Defender has for centuries maintained a self-conferred charge: the protection of his mysterious gleaming 'beloved.'" "Stalwart and full of bravado, the Dung defender eagerly challenges all who would enter his noxious realm.'"
 * He is presumably one of the only two living members of The Pale King's five Great Knights (the second being Ze'mer).


 * After his boss fight, the player can access a room by using Descending Dark below the giant switch in the room to the right of the boss arena. In it is the Dung Defender sleeping amongst a set of five statues made of dung, presumably depicting the Great Knights. Another statue is found to the right with a King's Idol on it - presumably a statue of the King himself.
 * In this dream, he mentions Isma, one of the other Great Knights, in a revered and admiring tone. This, combined with the fact that the Defender is guarding Isma's Grove, along with Isma's Dream Nail dialogue, all suggest that the two had some form of relationship before Isma died.


 * He's also one of four bosses to survive his boss battle, the others being Hornet, Zote the Mighty, and the Mantis Lords.


 * With the Hidden Dreams update, White Defender appearing in white armour implies that all five of the Great Knights most likely dressed in white while serving the King.

Навозный защитник