Chapter 268: Harpy Kingdom Revival 8
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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Everyone knows that monsters with hard shells have a healing pattern.
It doesn't matter if it's a turtle, hermit crab, or snail; these creatures inevitably hide inside their shells during a fight to recover their health.
Failing to disrupt this healing process almost guarantees a loss.
Some of these creatures emerge after healing a bit, showing a semblance of fairness.
However, the most infuriating ones stay hidden until their health is fully restored, essentially resetting the battle and wasting all the resources invested in the fight.
'Whatever it is, just crack that shell open!'
Driven by this thought, I charged forward, with Rebecca quickly catching up.
Her instincts as a fierce warrior kicked in at the sight of the enemy's defensive tactic.
Despite not knowing about this healing mechanic in games, she aggressively pursued the creature at the first sign of vulnerability.
Rebecca, having abandoned her greatsword during an earlier escape, now wielded a large battle-axe she had taken from a subordinate.
Her red hair streamed behind her like a flag as she led the charge.
Under Rebecca's command, her team followed with disciplined urgency.
"We need hammers and heavy weapons!"
"If you've got a spear, go find something heavier, like a pickaxe!"
"Damn it! Is this a monster or a mining operation?"
"Roland! Are you going to summon Durandal now?"
This included Katie, among others.
It made me question if the 'Mercenary Queen' title really suited her, but I pushed that thought aside for later.
The real question was whether to summon Durandal.
After all, if there's a healing phase, it logically follows that there are other phases to the battle.
It would be too simple and quite disappointing if a monster couldn't do anything once its healing was interrupted and just died.
So, the choice was clear: should I disrupt the healing phase with Durandal, or wait and attack during its final desperate moves?
'Since when did I become someone who dwells on decisions?'
The decision came easily.
"Durandal, come forth."
"What's that? You talk to your sword?"
Ignoring Rebecca's teasing, I held the glowing greatsword.
My plan was to interrupt the monster's healing and then cut through its massive shell.
With the monster exposed, it would be vulnerable to attack.
Our group, consisting of nearly fifty knights and priests, plus about thirty mages saved by the knights, and a large contingent of mercenaries and adventurers, totaled one hundred and fifty.
If we couldn't defeat a monster with a broken shell with such a force, then something was seriously wrong with this game.
-The hero's majestic holy sword has appeared!
-Seeing that Durandal only appears when its name is called, BB Games is f*cking ruthless.
-Calling out for Durandal feels oddly similar to summoning Siri, which feels kinda weird.
However, BB Games twisted their creativity to fool players once again.
The creature's thick shell had no hollow space inside.
This meant the shell was three to five times thicker than I had anticipated.
Even after thrusting a 10-meter long sword of light into it, the creature's soft flesh remained hidden.
Definitely not what I had hoped to encounter.
"Hey! Do we have any more scrolls?"
"Do you think?!"
At this point, I could hear the adventurers below me, also puzzled and frustrated.
They, too, were trying to break through but were astonished by the shell's unexpected thickness.
Suddenly, a woman's breathless voice called out from a distance.
"Roland! Roland! Can you give me a lift?"
"Hmm?"
It was Han Se-ah, who had just dashed over with a burst of inspiration.
Despite her skill, her stamina was low.
After sprinting from the catapult to the boss monster, she was panting heavily.
I pulled out Durandal and jumped down to her.
She attempted to explain, but she was too out of breath to make sense.
"huff- I, I, huff-"
"Just catch your breath first. You're asking to be lifted up there, right?"
As I prepared to jump with her by my side, she tried to explain something but struggled to get the words out.
-Can't even finish her sentence.
-Lol, she's gasping just from that run? Got a debuff or something?
-Reminds me of the studious class president forced to run a marathon in middle school.
-At least she finished the marathon, lol. What's this, how far did she even run?
-Run like you're chasing the morning bus, Han Se-ah.
The viewers found her struggle amusing yet endearing, thanks to her natural charm, leading to a mix of laughter and teasing comments.
Han Se-ah, too exhausted to even wave her hand, leaned against the boss's rugged shell, catching her breath before speaking.
"Roland, the shell is too thick. Can you make a hole deep enough for a person to fit through?"
"I can do that," I responded, ready to act on her request without hesitation.
I charged Durandal with mana and drove it deep into the shell, carving out a circular section as if drawing a manhole cover.
After laying Durandal aside, I extracted the carved shell piece, pulling it out with a grinding noise to reveal a cylindrical fragment.
Despite the shell pillar being 10 meters tall and heavily filled with metal, making it extremely heavy, I had more than enough strength to manage it, thanks in part to my own mana and the beautiful hymns from the nuns supporting us from behind.
"Should we drop something into it? I've dug 10 meters, but it looks like there's more below."
"I've brought something specifically for breaking through the shell, not just for the tentacles."
Han Se-ah looked down at the deep hole with a wicked smile.
From her inventory, a player's magical storage space, she pulled out something squishy and colored, which was oddly familiar.
...Ah, so she brought a troll bomb in the end?
The explosive tumor from a troll, ineffective in the venomous swamp and overlooked, was now dropped into the depths below at Han Se-ah's gesture.
