Tap, tap—
Normally, he would have sensed their presence and leapt into the air, but he ignored the ghouls’ gaze and didn’t even glance around.
Because of that, the Kasaka’s Half-Dragon Dagger Karua wielded pierced exactly the critical spot Dahav had aimed for—the center of the Harpy Queen’s head, the crown.
Stab—!
[Critical Weak Point…]
[With the effect of Yedo: Split Ruin Style…]
[Special option of the Half-Dragon Dagger, Tanryonga’s Bleeding Poison…]
Kiiik!
As if the continuous message windows proved it, the Harpy Queen’s mouth burst open with shrill, frantic screams.
But Dahav didn’t relax for even a moment.
‘You’re not down until you’re actually down. Wounded beasts are even more terrifying.’
That was a lesson learned from his days as a boxer.
Recalling that memory, Dahav kept his guard up and continued to work his hands and feet, stabbing relentlessly.
Pow—! Pow!
Dahav’s dagger tore into the Harpy Queen.
Yet even with such a rapid assault, the Harpy Queen didn’t give Dahav so much as a glance.
Her entire focus was locked on the Dark Knight in front of her, who was roaring a provocative roar.
Kiiik—!
As their distance closed, the Dark Knight finally entered the fray.
The Harpy Queen lashed out with her sharp talons at the Dark Knight.
Though those claws had mercilessly impaled dozens, even hundreds of rookies, the Dark Knight, protected by sturdy armor and helmet, stood firm without retreating an inch.
It was almost as if the Dark Knight’s immovable, mountain-like solidity startled the Harpy Queen into changing tactics.
She spread her huge wings wide, twisted her waist, and seemed ready to spin her body.
‘Silver Wing Gale!’
It was a technique that fired dozens of razor-sharp feathers like finely honed blades.
Because Silver Wing Gale was a skill, it naturally dealt more damage than a normal attack like “Scratch.”
Even the toughest armored Dark Knight would definitely suffer damage from a direct hit of those dozens of feathers.
But Dahav, who had prepared thoroughly, hadn’t overlooked this skill.
In fact, he had been waiting for it.
Dahav let out a sly smile.
‘High risk, high return.’
Because Silver Wing Gale, though powerful, had a clear weakness in its long casting time, or rather, its preparatory movements.
Dahav quickly stretched his hand toward the ground, and ghouls appeared from the black magic circle.
“Come out.”
The ghouls that appeared wasted no time—they instantly pinned down the Harpy Queen’s wide-open wings on the long, pink ground.
Slurk—lock!
Although the Harpy Queen’s strength was tremendous and the holding time was brief, that alone was enough.
Using the Harpy Queen’s body as a fulcrum, Dahav slid downward.
Even while descending, he didn’t waste a moment.
Twisting his waist to prepare for the next attack, he readied a powerful strike.
Finally, the moment he reached her heart, Dahav twisted his waist in the opposite direction and slashed with fierce speed.
Ka-chik—!
The Harpy Queen’s mouth exploded with a different kind of shriek than before.
Kiiiiiik—!
***
The Harpy Queen’s Raid success rate was about 60% to 70%, neither very high nor low.
Of course, that success rate was based on ‘Party’ criteria.
Therefore, Karua and Claine boldly concluded.
“She’s going to fail.”
“Looks like it.”
It wasn’t just wishful thinking.
Challenging the Harpy Queen solo was reckless, and attempting it without a proper strategy was tantamount to suicide.
‘Judging by how she quickly spotted the weak point after seeing Silver Wing Gale, her reaction speed and situational analysis are quite impressive, but no matter how you look at it, that alone won’t be enough.’
So far, Dahav’s play had been flawless and neat enough to earn praise from the users.
But everyone already knew his skills well through the videos, and the mere fact that he was attempting a solo kill suggested he had some kind of confidence or base, so it wasn’t surprising.
Above all else—
“The Harpy Queen Raid really begins from Phase 2.”
The Harpy Queen had three phases in total.
Phase 1 was just Silver Wing Gale, based on her flying abilities, so if you were careful, it wasn’t too difficult. Most just passed through it.
However, once her health dropped below 50%, Phase 2 triggered, and that was when many started dropping out.
Those familiars—the ghouls, right?—blocking Silver Wing Gale were a good preparation.
Thanks to that, the Dark Knight-looking familiar successfully took the tank role.
But from Phase 2 onward, the Harpy Queen would summon ten loyal offspring, and it would be difficult to fend them off.
Even if they managed to hold them back, there was still Phase 3, so the attack wouldn’t succeed.
Even fully prepared parties found themselves overwhelmed in real time by the Harpy Queen’s summoned minions, and it was common for formations to collapse.
Trying to solo kill meant having to control the equivalent of five people at once.
Moreover, a user who didn’t even know the proper strategy wouldn’t have anticipated such a situation, so it was doomed to collapse like a sandcastle.
Naturally, Claine predicted failure.
“You’ll be entering the Harpy Queen Raid soon, so how about warming up slowly?”
As Karua nodded and started stretching, the Harpy Queen emitted a sharp scream, signaling the start of Phase 2.
***
‘Its already at phase 2’
Instantly, Dahav recalled Wilhelm’s strategy video.
Wilhelm had struggled so much dealing with the ten harpies that appeared in Phase 2 that his feet were barely visible.
‘This phase was truly nerve-wracking.’
Any user who had done raids in the RPG game could sympathize.
How annoying it was when a boss monster summoned its minions.
When you had to switch from focusing on one to dividing your attention, your judgment and reactions inevitably declined.
That split focus could be a tiny crack in the overall raid, but tiny cracks always led to collapse.
Therefore, unless you had special tactics like Amor de Croixoruc, the approach to dealing with such tactical patterns was generally similar.
All team members held their positions, support tanks grabbed the minions, and dealers focused damage on the boss to force it into the next phase.
Unfortunately, that method didn’t work on the Harpy Queen.
Because the summoned minions absorbed a portion of the damage dealt to the boss through lifesteal.
‘In the end, the only option is to eliminate the minions as fast as possible before the Dark Knight holding aggro falls.’
Numerically, the lucky part was the Dark Knight’s tanking ability far exceeding expectations.
Kraang!
With the roar of Taunt, the Harpy Queen and her ten summoned minions fixed their gazes on the Dark Knight.
If the Dark Knight had been the same as in Phase 1, he would have been overwhelmed in no time.
But that was not the true face of the Dark Knight.
Aside from the roar of Taunt that grabbed aggro, he was tanking with just his set equipment and basic stats.
‘This is where it really starts.’
With the Taunt, the Dark Knight drew the harpies’ attention and immediately cast another skill.
Kraaang!
His pale skin turned jet black, as if he had become a massive black crystal.
Indomitable Body.
Movement speed dropped by 80%, practically losing all mobility, but defense rose as if by 100%.
Normally, such slow movement would be a hindrance, but when facing a flying monster like a harpy, where mobility meant winning, it was meaningless.
Especially in a situation like now, where simply stalling time was enough.
The drawback vanished, leaving only the benefits.
“And it’s not over yet.”
He immediately cast Desert’s Wrath.
The Dark Knight’s body rapidly swelled, growing over twice his size in the blink of an eye.
Moreover, sandstorms erupted around him, as if a protective aura had settled on his body.
With Indomitable Body and Desert’s Wrath combined, it was like witnessing a titan arise.
Of course, the transformation was not only in appearance.
His stats had soared sharply as well.
Kka-ang—!
The Harpy Queen and her ten minions swarmed like a violent storm, but the Dark Knight firmly planted his feet deep into the ground, standing resolute like a gravestone.
He didn’t just defend.
The moment the harpy tried to dive down from the air and injure him with her talons, the Dark Knight raised his shield and slammed the flying harpy into the ground.
Kugung!
The weight and power coming from his large frame was so overwhelming it cracked the earth beneath them.
Though the concentrated attack weakened his defense momentarily and he was pounded on all sides, the undead trait perfectly compensated.
He even let out a roar as if telling them to attack more.
Kraang!
The valiant roar of the stalwart Dark Knight sent chills down Dahav’s arm, as well as the Harpy Queen’s.
‘I made him, but his performance is amazing.’
Originally, the goal had been just to divert the Harpy Queen’s attention.
But the result exceeded expectations thanks to how well it worked.
Of course, that didn’t mean they could afford to relax.
‘The more we hold the ground, the more we have to push forward aggressively.’
There was no doubt about the Dark Knight holding the Harpy Queen’s and harpies’ aggro; now it was truly Dahav’s stage.
Dahav immediately adjusted the necklace, lifted his limit, and charged forward with full power.
Tap—tap.
His target was the harpy the Dark Knight had just slammed to the ground.
With whirlwind-like movements, Dahav closed in fast and slashed at the harpy.
Because the harpy had been injured by the Dark Knight’s attack, it couldn’t fly and was slow enough for Dahav to pierce its heart easily.
Stab—!
Dahav didn’t pull out the dagger but pushed it in deeper, pinning the harpy down.
At that moment, as the dagger deeply pierced the body, he twisted his wrist and pulled it out.
Slaaash!
Even without the system message, it was unmistakably a critical hit—or perhaps the system had already registered it as such.
‘As long as the Dark Knight holds, offense is the best defense.’
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Dahav moved his hands swiftly.
Swech—!
Three consecutive stabs.
The harpy’s body was shredded, torn to pieces, and finally reduced to chunks of flesh.
This was only the beginning.
Dahav raised the pace even more and began impaling the harpy rapidly.
‘Second one.’
With nimble movements, he successfully took down the second harpy, then smoothly dealt with the third and fourth minions.
Everything was going so smoothly that question marks floated in Dahav’s mind.
‘What’s going on?!’