Chapter 71

King Mantis, burning with anger, knows that his HP hasn’t decreased at all. After all, I’ve only torn off his wings. If Mother finds out I’ve torn off a bug’s wings, she’ll be angry, so I have to be careful. If she scolds me for doing such a cruel thing, I’ll apologize sincerely. Mii-chan is a good girl, after all.

Moreover, I know that King Mantis isn’t really that angry.

“Gii!”

King Mantis swings his six scythes in a staggered pattern again. However, his attacks have lost their luster and are nothing more than a mere attraction in front of me.

In other words, it’s a playground where I can play without risking my life.

I dodge the scythes, moving like a dancer. Because of the lingering afterimages, there are even fewer attacks that seem likely to hit me, making it easy to avoid them.

His attacks no longer hit at all, and I move so quickly that I need to use Metal Cutting. The afterimages increase, and the more they do, the less likely the enemy’s attacks are to hit, creating a positive feedback loop.

‘Weapon Disarm IV’

I exhale sharply and slash at the approaching arm with a sharp sword strike. However, I only scratch the skin, and the arm doesn’t sever. It’s really hard to activate against a higher-level opponent. I need to use ‘Hide’ for sure.

I guess I have to chip away at it gradually. This guy’s HP is enormous. If other people come and interrupt me halfway through, I’ll be in trouble.

Outside the wall of the storm, the samurai and Kongo are trying to dispel the barrier with their discussions and magic. Unfortunately, the barrier doesn’t easily disappear with magic.

Still, it’s just an effect. I have no idea how long it will last. Therefore, I need to defeat King Mantis quickly.

...In that case, this is indeed the best thief skill, yes.

“I’ll take you down in one go!”

I jump up to the height of six meters, where King Mantis’s head is, and approach him. King Mantis swings his scythes to counter my approach.

First, a horizontal slash. The scythe, as long as I am tall, comes at me, so I softly step on it with a gentle step. Thanks to this unbelievable body technique, my foot isn’t cut, and my body is moved sideways, allowing me to land gracefully.

Next, a diagonal slash. He attacks with the opposite arm. The other arm swings sharply, but I ignore it, aiming for the afterimage.

I lean my body to dodge the scythe coming at me with a diagonal slash, and I start climbing up the blade by placing my foot on it. This is Mii-chan’s wall-running technique. For a Thief IV, this is as easy as twisting a baby’s hand. But since babies are pitiful, I’ll use a mantis’s leg instead.

King Mantis, probably not expecting me to climb up his scythe, hastily launches simultaneous diagonal slashes from both sides.

“That’s a bad move.”

The scythe’s attack lacks momentum and is too large to catch me. After all, he’s just a mantis and can’t learn.

“Torya!”

I put strength into my legs, accelerate, and jump high. The scythe passes by me at high speed. Trapped between the scythes, I lean my body and, using the scythes as walls, I kick and zigzag my way up, like a triangle jump.

As I get closer to King Mantis’s head, he opens his jaw to threaten me. If I get bitten, I’ll be cut in half.

However, after swinging his scythe, King Mantis can’t bite me because his head is extended, and his posture is off. If he had human intelligence, he would have used a feint, but he’s just a mantis. Even if he’s somewhat smart, he acts on instinct in a crisis. He doesn’t even pretend to bite.

“So, you’re just a bug!”

‘Sandstorm IV’

I wave my hand sideways, and a sandstorm covers King Mantis’s face. The thief skill ‘Sandstorm’ robs the opponent of their vision. At level IV, it’s quite effective.

“Kii, Kii!”

King Mantis shakes his head to escape the sandstorm, but unfortunately, it’s a skill. The effect doesn’t easily disappear.

“You’ve shown a fatal opening!”

‘Hide IV’

With his vision impaired by the ‘Sandstorm,’ King Mantis loses sight of me when I hide right in front of him.

Hidden in the space, I use King Mantis’s jaw as a stepping stone, float up, and ready my Queen Dagger. I’m going to deal a massive blow here.

With a sharp sound, I ready my Queen Dagger and leap onto King Mantis’s head.

‘Ambush’

Unlike ‘Critical Strike,’ which has a high chance of instant death and critical hits, ‘Ambush’ has a high damage multiplier and can inflict one of the mental status effects: ‘Confusion,’ ‘Daze,’ or ‘Stun.’

The strike at the base of his neck causes green blood to spurt out, and his massive body shakes. A smoke effect floats above King Mantis’s head.

It’s ‘Daze.’ It’s on. ‘Confusion’ wears off when the target takes damage, and ‘Stun’ leaves the target defenseless for one turn. However, ‘Daze’ causes a minimum of one turn of ‘Stun’ and, on average, two turns of ‘Stun.’ Additionally, attacks during ‘Daze’ always result in critical hits.

Even without a critical hit, it’s a powerful blow from a dagger with a special effect against insects. A significant amount of damage has been dealt. I wonder if others can see the status effect. I grip my dagger tightly with my small hand.

I call up my status board and check my remaining MP. I think I can do it. I can win this solo.

“It’s all thanks to Mii-chan’s good behavior!”

I spin around and launch a follow-up attack on King Mantis.

‘Spin Blade!’

A multi-hit skill, ‘Spin Blade’ is a dagger technique that strikes the enemy three times. I spin my body violently and swing my dagger.

One more time.

‘Spin Blade’

And one more.

‘Spin Blade’

Green blood showers down on my body, and with the continuous spinning slashes, King Mantis’s head is shredded. Despite taking multiple critical hits, King Mantis shows his toughness, shakes his head, and turns his eerie compound eyes toward me, roaring.

“Kiiiii!”

He emits a screech that sounds like a sound wave attack, and his green body turns red, with an aura rising from it like steam.

It’s ‘Super Frenzy.’ A common skill for bosses. It significantly increases strength, critical hit rate, and the chance of missing. It activates when HP drops below 50%.

This skill is particularly troublesome for King Mantis because he has six arms and can attack a player at least three times. Even if he misses a few times, a single critical hit can deal massive damage to the player.

If not handled correctly, King Mantis can lead to a total party wipe.

However, I’ve been waiting for this. It’s my chance to take him down quickly.

“The queen is in danger! Come forth, guards!”

‘Imperial Ant Summon’

The Queen Ring on my finger glows, and a red line forms a magic circle in front of me. A 3-meter-long golden ant with wings, holding a platinum spear and shield, emerges from the circle.

‘Imperial Ant: Level 45. A summonable insect from the Queen Ring. MP cost: 60’

I use this unique skill of the Queen Ring frequently because it’s very handy.

The Imperial Ant spreads its wings, hovers, and I jump onto its head and give it an order.

“‘Pride of the Paladin’!”

The Imperial Ant follows my command, raises its platinum shield, and uses a martial skill.

‘Pride of the Paladin’

A geometric magic circle appears in front of the shield, and the Imperial Ant’s body is enveloped in a green aura.

“Gii!”

Enraged and in a frenzy, King Mantis raises his six arms and activates a martial skill.

‘Red Light Strike’

At that moment, King Mantis’s arms vanish, and a red flash of light attacks me. I can’t react and take the hit.

‘Red Light Strike’ is a high-level martial skill. It always strikes first, increases hit rate and critical hit rate. However, other martial skills have a high damage multiplier and critical hits, so players don’t use it.

However, when used by King Mantis in ‘Super Frenzy’ mode, it’s a different story. It deals enough damage to kill one party member per turn, typically dealing over 1000 damage.

A nightmare of six consecutive critical hits. The sound of a red light-like scythe attack hits me with a loud boom.

But I’m fine. I’m not even scratched. Instead, the Imperial Ant takes the damage, its exoskeleton cracking and blood flowing. However, it continues to hover without falling or shaking.

“Nice. ‘Pride of the Paladin’ is working.”

‘Pride of the Paladin’ is a skill that protects the entire party from physical attacks. The user is treated as being in a defensive stance and takes all physical attacks. The key feature of this martial skill is that it nullifies critical hits, making it a solid defensive skill that only deals base damage.

It’s a perfect skill for a tank in the ‘Paladin’ composite class. Of course, if you don’t have the right equipment, you might go down in one turn from a full-party attack.

The Imperial Ant is a ‘Paladin,’ making it a perfect tank for solo play.

I knew King Mantis would use ‘Red Light Strike’ repeatedly. That’s why I summoned the Imperial Ant at this moment.

“Alright, it’s time for the king to step down.”

With a Mii-chan smile, I face King Mantis, clenching my hand as if to grab something.

It’s time to show the best combo of Thief IV. Your life is the payment.

‘Ability Steal: Strength’

A master thief skill. The best skill. The ultimate skill for a thief.

A burning aura flows out of King Mantis and is absorbed into me as a cloud of mist.

The moment it’s absorbed, I feel an overwhelming surge of strength. My stats skyrocket, and my body is filled with power.

Strength: 241

The stat board shows a level similar to a normal warrior.

‘Ability Steal’ is a skill that can steal 20% of an opponent’s stats during battle. It buffs the user and debuffs the opponent. It can’t be dispelled during battle unless a ‘Dispel’ type skill is used.

I stole King Mantis’s strength, which had increased due to ‘Super Frenzy.’

“Let’s finish this. As the name suggests, I’ll take you down in the blink of an eye.”

For the final attack. This will end the battle. I hold the queen’s dagger, which glows with a red light, and smile confidently.

Just as I was about to launch the attack, something unexpected happened. King Mantis, having his strength stolen, staggered backward, and I could sense fear from his body. Why? He’s the king.

“You’re the king. Don’t run. A king who shows his back is finished. A cowardly king deserves death.”

I narrow my