Swift Slash was gone, but Leon still had other skills.
When the invaders appeared again, he chose a different approach—running a marathon.
This was his third phase.
Using terrain traps to disrupt the invaders, then swarming them while they were thrown into disarray and beating them down with sheer numbers. Armor made from rust monsters wasn't going to corrode his fists, after all.
Sure enough, these country-bumpkin invaders had clearly never seen such an advanced marathon strategy. It worked every single time.
By the end of the day, Leon felt like he'd been fighting Darkwraith nonstop.
These invaders seemed as though they had undergone special training specifically to counter them—it made every fight deeply uncomfortable.
Although the group could always rely on their solid overall strength to pull through dangerous situations, the constant pressure still wore them down.
Only after engaging in so much PvP did Leon truly realize just how wonderful PvE was.
In reality, invaders didn't appear that frequently—usually two or three every one or two hours.
Yet by the time Leon, both mentally and physically exhausted, chose to leave the dungeon, he had already fought no fewer than ten Darkwraith. During that stretch, Drew and Terl had each died once due to brief lapses in attention.
Their normal dungeon-clearing experience had been completely ruined.
Leon couldn't help but wonder how these people were even invading them in the first place. There were so many adventurers in the dungeon every day—could invaders really choose exactly who to target?
If even a powerful group like theirs could potentially wipe under repeated invasions, how were ordinary adventurers supposed to cope?
Just imagine it: you're immersed in a normal dungeon run when suddenly a few red-glowing figures appear out of nowhere and kill you. After reviving, you're forced to run miles all over again.
Just thinking about it made Leon's blood boil—enough to curse the invaders' entire families.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Under the starlit night sky, Leon left the dungeon with more resentment in his heart than ever before.
Those who invaded him would have to pay the price.
But how was he supposed to get his revenge?
Leon pondered for a long time. The invaders all used code names and concealed their real identities—there was no way to track them down directly.
Did the Sein Dungeon have any countermeasures specifically for invaders?
If he ran into them again tomorrow, he'd have to capture one alive, wring every bit of information out of them, and then tear them to pieces.
He glanced down at the sword in his arms—now reduced to nothing but a hilt—and sighed. The most urgent matter was still visiting the blacksmith to see if it could be repaired.
However, when Leon walked out of the blacksmith's shop, his expression was grim.
It couldn't be fixed.
Even if it were forcibly repaired, it wouldn't function properly. The blacksmith's advice was blunt and simple: forge a new one.
"Damn it."
Leon wandered the streets in frustration. This sword had witnessed so much of his journey—he had grown attached to it. Letting it go felt impossible.
What he felt now was similar to the state he'd fallen into after being killed by the Guardian Ape's roar back then—not fear, but the same crushing sense of helplessness.
Perhaps guided by fate, Leon continued walking absent-mindedly. When he finally came back to his senses, he found himself standing in front of a familiar shop.
[Magic Item Shop]
It really had been a long time since he'd last come here.
Thinking back, it was the shop owner who had inspired him to be brave. Without that pouch of fear-repellent powder, he might have completely fallen apart.
"I even thought about coming back to thank the owner… and then I completely forgot."
He turned to leave—only to return shortly after with his hands full, carrying mostly dairy products and fruit baskets.
When Wade inside the shop saw Leon approaching with all those gifts, he nearly thought Leon was a hospitalized patient coming to express gratitude.
"I was really in your care back then, boss."
"You are… ah, right, I remember now. It's you," Wade said, pretending to recall.
"You didn't need to bring gifts."
"Thank you for helping me back then."
When Leon wasn't in his Soul-player mode, he was refined, polite, and very mindful of social etiquette.
Wade smiled and chatted casually with him, discussing mundane topics a proper merchant would care about.
Before long, Leon couldn't hold back anymore and revealed his true reason for coming.
"Is there any way to repair a weapon?"
Wade looked helpless. "Sorry, I don't really deal with weapons. You should probably ask a blacksmith."
"That's exactly because the blacksmith couldn't do anything that I came here…"
Leon thought to himself: I really must be crazy.
Why would I come to an item shop looking for a way to fix a weapon? Was I hoping for some magic item that repairs it with a single pat?
He stood up to leave—but at that moment, Wade spoke again.
"I'm curious. How did your weapon break? Could you tell me about it?"
Leon hesitated, then explained everything from beginning to end.
He didn't know why he was telling all this to an ordinary item shop owner. Perhaps he just needed to vent to someone familiar but not too close.
Or perhaps it was because Wade seemed to radiate a strange aura—as if talking with him would somehow lead to unexpected answers.
"Hm. Invaders really are a bunch of morally bankrupt scumbags," Wade said righteously.
Leon sighed. "I want revenge, but I can't find a way."
He stole a glance at Wade and noticed the young shop owner hesitating, as though he wanted to say something.
Is there really a way?
Leon's breathing quickened. He deliberately sighed again, dragging out his tone.
"Sigh… if only someone could help me come up with an idea. I wouldn't even mind spending a lot of money."
"Well… I might have a way," Wade suddenly said.
Got him.
Leon's eyes lit up. "What way?"
"Wait here. I'll go get something."
Not long after, Wade returned from the storeroom holding a strange object.
Leon's expression turned odd. "Is that… a tongue?"
"That's right. This item is called Taunter's Tongue."
He carefully placed it in front of Leon.
"Using it in a dungeon attracts invaders, and it has a higher chance of drawing in those who've invaded you before."
Leon instantly grasped its purpose, his eyes blazing with excitement.
"I'll buy it!"
In an item shop, you never asked about the source of the merchandise—that was basic common sense.
As long as it worked, that was enough.
"Wait."
Wade suddenly grabbed Leon's hand before it could reach the tongue. Looking straight into his eyes, he asked:
"Do you really think you can kill all the invaders by yourself?"
"…No," Leon replied after a moment.
"I have an idea. Want to hear it?" Wade smiled with a just-as-planned expression.
And so Leon listened obediently—just as he once had when hearing Wade's "beating theory."
"No matter how hard you suppress them, the Darkwraith Covenant will eventually become public. It's only a matter of time before invader numbers explode. Can you really kill them all on your own? You're human—you'll run out of stamina."
"So I should find teammates?" Leon asked.
"No. You don't need teammates. You only need to do one thing."
Wade smiled faintly and said:
"Make public all the anti-human combat techniques you've accumulated so far."
"Huh?"
Leon froze. "But wouldn't that let invaders learn them too?"
"You need to understand this: invaders already possess specialized techniques for fighting people. Ordinary adventurers who only know how to clear dungeons are already at a disadvantage."
"Once your techniques go public, the biggest beneficiaries will be normal adventurers. They'll be on guard against invaders, learn how to respond, and at least won't die instantly. Even if they fall, they'll tear off a chunk of flesh first."
"As for invaders—even if you don't publish anything, once you use the Taunter's Tongue and fight them a few times, they'll learn anyway. Running, baiting recovery frames—anyone can figure that out."
"Right now, invaders profit from an information gap. What you need to do is close that gap—or even muddy the waters! The dirtier—cough, the more complex—combat becomes, the less profit invaders gain for the same risk."
"Give everyone a chance to become you."
Moments later, Leon left the item shop in a daze.
He couldn't help but reflect on Wade's words.
A few seconds later, he had his answer.
Wade was right.
What needed to be done next was obvious—go home, organize all his notes, and make them public.
"Heh… cough, cough. What am I even laughing at?"
Leon shook his head. The conversation had completely enlightened him, making the world feel vast and open once more.
As for the challenge from the new group? Who cared. Those people probably wouldn't accomplish anything major anytime soon.
Just as Leon found his future direction, the members of the new group were hard at work exploring the dungeon.
The new raid group had five members: "Black Bat" Luluwo, "Giant" Belto, "Iron Arm" Mira, and the twins Ais and Aim.
At this very moment, they were in the Catacombs zone—following the Death Knight route.
Why not explore Farron Keep instead, where information was richer and the map nearly complete?
The reason was simple.
They couldn't beat the Abyss Watcher.
They could only hope the final boss of the Catacombs zone would be weaker.
They believed their progress was top-tier among all adventurers—very few groups could keep up with them.
"Captain, this dropped after we smashed that big jar," Mira said, picking up a glowing object from the pile of flesh left behind by the shattered Warrior Jar. After checking it, she frowned in disgust.
[Yellow Wildflower]
[A wildflower with no value beyond being cute. It carries children's sincere blessings—perhaps, for a Living Jar, that was its greatest worth.]
"Just throw it away if it's useless," Luluwo waved dismissively.
They had encountered a Warrior Jar besieged by monsters. When the monsters turned on each other, it had been the perfect opportunity.
So they swarmed in and killed both the Warrior Jar and the remaining monsters.
Unfortunately, those dumb creatures didn't drop anything worthwhile.
"I don't get it," Belto said, puzzled.
"Why didn't that big jar fight back when we attacked it?"
He glanced toward a door—the one the Warrior Jar had previously blocked tightly with its own body.
"Captain, should we go in and take a look? There might be treasure."
Excited, the new group pushed the door open.