Chapter 197
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Garai Raid
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"Holy shit! What the hell kind of attack is that? One-shotting us like that?!"
Chloe, revived by the power of the Revival Stone, shouted in frustration.
That previous attack had been so threatening it made them rethink the raid they thought they'd nearly clinched.
It had turned their two tanks and even their main dealers into ash. Naturally, with all their tanks gone, the raid party couldn't hope to withstand Garai's assaults.
"Vanessa, about that last attack... Do you think we could tank it if we combine Hero's Resolve and the shield?"
"...Who knows."
Vanessa, their main tank, trailed off in response to Minguk's question.
She was the sturdy shield of the Imperial Guard, fearless against most monster attacks, but that one had killed her before she could even react.
It was the kind of "one-shot" that heroes joked about among themselves. But this wasn't her mistake—it was a genuine failure to block the enemy's attack.
"We might have to give it a shot...?"
Minguk nodded knowingly at her uncertain tone.
They had to try something. To push the raid to the end, they needed to keep their main tank alive somehow. Even with Garai's health down to just 3%, losing the tank meant failure.
Dealers or healers couldn't survive even one or two of Garai's hits, let alone the fireball—not even with shields and heals.
"Ha! If the main tank gets one-shot, how are us dealers supposed to survive?"
"Healers would drop from a graze alone, right?"
The silver lining was that such a monstrous beast was confined to the dungeon. If a dungeon break let it loose into the real world?
The thought alone was horrifying. That's why, even after witnessing that insane attack in the last try and grumbling about it, the heroes' resolve hadn't wavered.
They had to stop this dungeon break to protect countless lives. That was why they were called heroes.
"At least that bastard's got a birdbrain, huh."
"Why?"
"If it'd used that attack from the start of the try, we'd have been screwed."
Minguk chuckled at Bridget's plausible take. It rang true.
[Insolent fools. Behold the power granted to me by Lord Garuda.]
Considering what Garai had said before hurling the fireball, that one-shot attack on their tanks seemed like an ultimate trump card it couldn't spam.
'Still, for now...'
He planned to test if they could block the fireball using ultimates and healer skills first. If so, the Garai raid would be a breeze.
But if not...
"Eh, there's always a way."
They'd hit snags like this countless times during their tries so far.
World First Kills were like that too. WFK wasn't just about downing the monster fastest—it meant figuring out its weaknesses or counters first.
And Minguk was a raid leader who'd claimed countless WFKs against terrifying bosses. He'd always found the right solution in situations like this.
'This isn't a game, but...'
Same here. Info was scarce for now, but persistent tries would reveal how to beat Garai.
***
After confirming what seemed like Garai's final pattern, Minguk gave the Imperial Guard five hours' rest—more like bedtime.
"Uh... Is this really okay?"
"Fights go better when you're not exhausted, right?"
At Minguk's orders, the Imperial Guard heroes grumbled but headed to their beds. They were beat.
Heroes could focus with mana, but they still got tired. Nearly a full day of nonstop fighting had left them sleep-deprived.
Sure, the stakes demanded grit and willpower to keep going, but Minguk boldly chose sleep.
'Pushing tries while exhausted just leads to more screw-ups.'
Back in his old world, raiding with other players, he'd seen it: bosses that wouldn't die despite grinding tries would drop after a smoke break or the next day's first pull.
Rest boosted focus. They'd cleared the path anyway, no issue. And Vietnam's raid parties were still mopping up the dungeon's trash mobs.
'They won't poke Garai.'
Outcome was obvious, but even if they did, no big deal.
Anyway, the raid leader needed rest too—not just the Guard.
Constantly reading patterns and calling shots without a break, the raid leader demanded the most focus of any of the ten heroes. One mistake meant wipe, so it was the highest-pressure role. With tries dragging on, even Minguk had flubbed his calls—he needed a break.
"Uh, um..."
"Shouldn't we wake them? Time's running out..."
Vietnamese officials looked haggard at the Imperial Guard's choice.
But Vietnam, heavily reliant on their aid, could do nothing.
Their top raid party could barely clear [A-2] dungeons.
Garai?
They'd tried once—wiped in under a minute. But the gods hadn't abandoned Vietnam.
"So this is Hoa Binh."
"Poor country. How many dungeon breaks is this now?"
While Minguk and the Guard rested, a few raid parties arrived in Hoa Binh.
England's 'Knights of the Round Table' and Germany's 'Iron Cross Clan'.
China wasn't wrapped up yet, but Vietnam's crisis had them hand off cleanup to their Chinese branches and rush here before the dungeon exploded.
"Is France's Imperial Guard mid-try?"
"No. They're sleeping."
The hero in white uniform nodded at the general in Vietnamese army garb.
Her weathered face brimmed with frustration at the situation. Seemed she disapproved of the Guard resting with the dungeon right there.
But the uniformed hero saw it differently.
The boss inside was Garuda's— one of the Twelve Disasters—minion. If the Guard was resting in front of it, the tries must've been brutal.
"...Can't wake them. Any info on the dungeon clear?"
Vietnam's general and Guard liaison handed Adel—Round Table's raid leader—the docs Minguk had compiled.
"Hmm..."
Adel scrutinized the Guard's strategy notes with a grave expression.
'Han Minguk, was it?'
The temp raid leader who'd taken over the Guard after Celeste's accident.
His strategy was impeccably clean, no fluff. Tries had progressed nicely, it seemed.
Garai's abilities and patterns—Garuda's minion—were mostly mapped, with precise counters listed.
"Not bad."
Considering how recently the Guard had resumed tries, that was quick progress. They'd even fought through 7th- and 8th-grade mobs to reach Garai.
Formidable foes, not to be underestimated. Factoring those in, the Guard's pace was impressive. And it wasn't just their skill.
'Must be his talent.'
Otherwise, Chloe Castel wouldn't appoint a male hero as raid leader. With that, Adel spoke up.
"While the Guard rests, we'll try Garai."
"Iron Cross will step up after the Knights pull out."
A woman in a dark red eyepatch took Adel's words. Her chest bore Germany's storied Iron Cross emblem.
"Not sure you'll get a shot. The Guard won't sleep forever."
"Eh, if the dungeon gets cleared without us, fine by us. Call it a vacation here."
"Not exactly vacation-spot material, is it?"
"For heroes like us, no monsters means no vacation, right?"
With that, Knights of the Round Table and Iron Cross entered to tackle Garai.
"Let's let our French friends rest easy."
The docs—really Minguk's work—detailed Garai strategy fully, so Adel and the Brits charged in confidently.
The Guard and Knights were evenly matched in skill.
But by the time the Guard woke, neither Knights nor Iron Cross had downed Garai—hadn't even seen its cheek pattern.
"Damn it!"
With strategy help, they survived Gaze and Feather Storm, but the chaotic melee after wiped them.
"Tougher than it looks, huh?"
Chloe drawled to her revived comrades. Adel's face chilled in response.
"Shut it. That birdbrain's ours."
Adel ground her teeth. She was fired up now. But Chloe paused, frowning.
"Whoa, easy. Our turn now."
"What?!"
Adel's voice spiked.
"No need to yell. And with time short, no infighting. You know we're the farthest along."
Chloe had her there.
Knights had cleared to phase 2; Guard was one step from victory.
As a temp dungeon, no dual-entry time-distortion items allowed.
Only one party per entry—Guard had the lead.
"Can't be helped."
Adel backed off, her Brits following. Pride stung, but they weren't dumb enough to prioritize ego here.
That's when it happened.
"Thanks for yielding."
"...Huh? Uh, yeah?"
A dazzlingly handsome man appeared, breaking Adel's voice awkwardly.
She glanced aside—Chloe smirked, shrugging, mouthing "raid leader."
"Han Minguk, raid leader?"
"Yes. We've heard tales of the Knights of the Round Table, shield of humanity. An honor to meet you."
"Ah, uh, I..."
Minguk offered a handshake; Adel eyed her dusty hands from the grueling tries, hesitating.
"We'll head in now. Briefing en route."
He shook her hand briskly, unfazed, and led the Guard inside. A teammate's whisper reached Adel's ear.
"Ah, fuck... He's too damn handsome."
Rude words, but Adel agreed 100%.
Maybe because he matched their level? He felt a cut above typical male heroes—like a superior being.