The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

Sofia and Tarik quickly noticed the situation on Philippa's side and immediately rushed over.

An eighth-tier monster is clearly not something Philippa can handle alone.

"A sub-dragon species, the Rot Scale Poison Dragon, is probably a monster leader similar to the Swamp Dragon we killed earlier. Its characteristics are that its whole body is covered in poison, and its tail, claws and teeth are also quite lethal."

Before arriving, Taric, who was quite knowledgeable about monsters, gave Philippa a heads-up.

"learn!!!!!"

Philippa's heart pounded in her chest, not with fear, but with a long-lost excitement and pressure of facing a powerful foe. The colossal creature before her—the Rotten Scale Poison Dragon—exuded a palpable, eighth-tier pressure that made her entire body tense, her blood seemingly burning.

"Well done!" Philippa shouted, advancing instead of retreating, her figure transforming into a pale golden streak as she charged towards the Corrosive Scale Poison Dragon.

The light sword in her hand burst forth with dazzling holy light, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that tore through the poisonous miasma, piercing straight towards the monster's relatively vulnerable eyes.

"His-!"

The Corrupted Scales Dragon let out a deafening roar, its massive head swung violently, and its bony horn struck Philippa's sword with pinpoint accuracy.

"clang--!"

A deafening clang of metal clashing was accompanied by a burst of blinding sparks!

Philippa felt an overwhelming force coming from the sword, and her delicate body flew backward.

He used magic to adjust his posture, barely managing to avoid falling directly into the swamp mud.

It seems that I am not yet capable of confronting an eighth-tier monster head-on.

But during the adjustment of the situation...

With a twist of its massive body, the Corrupted Scale Poison Dragon unleashed a powerful slash, its long tail, covered in barbs and tipped with pulsating venom sacs, sweeping across like a battering ram. The resulting gust of wind swirled the poisonous miasma into a vortex, striking Philippa head-on at astonishing speed.

Philippa's pupils contracted sharply, and she only had time to concentrate her light-attribute magic on her sword to block.

"Bang-click!"

The magical shield of holy light shattered instantly, the light sword groaned under the strain, and the barbs scraped against the blade with a piercing sound, leaving deep dents.

Philippa was sent flying by the force once again, this time crashing into a rotten, dead tree before coming to a stop. Her internal organs seemed to have shifted, and she felt a sweet taste in her throat, forcing herself to swallow the blood that surged up.

She knelt on one knee, leaning on her sword, breathing heavily. Her light-attribute magic was barely enough to protect her, but the light had dimmed considerably.

An absolute disadvantage.

The eighth-tier monster's strength, defense, and speed far exceeded her expectations.

A one-on-one fight is probably unlikely, but she has companions!

Sofia and Taric's anxious shouts came from behind them. They had just arrived when they witnessed the terrifying energy burst and the sight of Philippa being blasted away.

Taric roared, hoisted his giant axe, and charged into the battlefield with astonishing speed. Sophia followed closely behind, staff raised high, chanting rapidly, "Purification of Light, dispel the filth!"

A brighter and purer halo than before spread out from Sofia, forcibly dispelling the thick poisonous miasma around Philippa and attempting to purify the toxins permeating the air, giving Philippa a chance to catch her breath.

Sensing a new threat, the Corrupted Scales Dragon abandoned its pursuit of Philippa. Its wrinkled neck suddenly bulged, and a dark green, toxic, and putrid slime sprayed out like a high-pressure water gun towards the charging Taric and Sofia!

"Tarik, be on defense!" Sophia exclaimed, a shield of light appearing at the top of her staff.

Taric roared, and the magical light emanating from his giant axe slashed fiercely at the torrent of venom.

The axe blade tore through some of the venom, but more of the highly toxic slime impacted the axe surface as the light shield and Taric crossed and parried, producing a terrifying sizzling, corrosive sound.

Taric groaned as the splattered venom rapidly corroded holes in his leather armor, causing a burning pain in his skin. His light shield also shook violently, and its light quickly dimmed.

Sophia was doing her best to maintain the light shield, her face pale, clearly the venom attack from this eighth-tier monster far exceeded her purification speed.

Two sixth-tier monsters were fighting against an eighth-tier monster, and it was only thanks to the restraining effect of light attribute magic that they were not instantly killed and rendered unable to fight.

Philippa seized this precious moment, forcefully suppressing her injuries, and her light-attribute magic surged through her body once more.

She let out a sharp cry and charged forward again, her target aimed directly at the relatively soft area where the scales on the rotten scale dragon's abdomen met.

The Corrupted Scale Dragon reacted extremely quickly, slamming a massive claw covered in thick scales down on Philippa with a piercing shriek that tore through the air.

Philippa dodged with lightning speed, the tip of her sword slicing a trail of sparks across the giant claw scales, leaving a faint white mark so shallow it couldn't even drip blood.

The monster's other claw came at her, forcing her to tumble and roll in a desperate situation.

The three were caught in a fierce battle.

With his powerful physique and light magic, Taric repeatedly tried to get close and slash to attract the monster's attention, but the scales of the Corrupted Scale Dragon were harder than he had imagined. His giant axe could only leave shallow wounds on them. Instead, he was forced to defend himself by its thick tail and sharp claws. His wounds continued to increase, the effects of the poison began to appear, and his movements became noticeably slower.

Sofia is the sole ranged support and purification core. She continuously unleashes holy light arrows to disrupt the monsters' eyes and joints, while striving to maintain a large-scale light purification field to dispel the poisonous miasma and slow the spread of toxins within Taric and Philippa.

But the Corrupted Scales Dragon seemed to sense her threat, spitting venom at her from time to time or whipping its tail to create waves of highly toxic mud. Sophia's magic power was greatly depleted, her light shield was on the verge of breaking several times, and blood was spilling from the corner of her mouth. The range of her purification aura was being forced to shrink.

Philippa was the main attacker; her holy light had a natural advantage against monsters, and each hit caused the Rotten Scale Poison Dragon to let out a painful hiss, its scales emitting white smoke. However, the eighth-tier monster's defense and vitality were too strong, and the effective damage she inflicted was far from fatal.

However, compared to Taric and Sofia's attacks, which were like scraping water, Philippa at least managed to deal damage instead of just a string of letters "miss".

Although she was fast, she could not completely avoid the ferocious attack range of the Corrosive Scale Poison Dragon. The protective effect of the light attribute magic on her body was getting weaker and weaker, and her physical strength was being consumed rapidly.

The situation remains unfavorable.

The Corrosive Scale Poison Dragon was like a mobile fortress of poison, possessing boundless strength, astonishing defense, and a pervasive venom. The three's attacks were like tickling it, while each of its counterattacks was incredibly powerful.

"This can't go on!" Philippa thought anxiously as she watched Taric being swatted away by a claw, crashing into a rock and coughing up blood.

Sophia's light shield was shattered by the venom once again, causing her to stagger backward, her face ashen.

You can't keep using spells and martial arts with low mana consumption; you have to deal enough damage!

“We must… break the deadlock!” Philippa’s eyes sharpened, as if she had made a firm decision.

She abruptly stepped back, creating some distance, gripped the hilt of her sword tightly with both hands, and plunged the tip of the sword deep into the mud.

She closed her eyes, no longer trying to avoid the stench that was rushing towards her.