The colossal Red Water Dragon roared like a mountain, bearing down on me furiously. I charged straight at it!

I couldn't retreat! One step back, and countless mage players behind me would blast me to ashes with a spell barrage!

A formidable foe ahead, an abyss behind—I had no choice but to push forward!

This was troublesome. In-game, stats bound characters. Life and death hinged on HP, not weak points. And this opponent was a monster I'd never seen.

It still had 30% HP. I couldn't one-shot it. I had to stall. But that meant exposing myself to all enemies' sight. From shadows to spotlight, I'd be on the defensive!

"Dragon Pounce on the Moon!"

A dash skill, combined with Dragon Pounce on the Moon's knockback. A crescent light surged upward, clashing violently with the lightning-wreathed horn!

Clang! Sparks flew like grinding metal. The Red Water Dragon's weak point took damage. Its massive head tilted back from Yingning's single sword strike!

The girl's Silver Mithril Armor gleamed heroically in sunlight. She became a silver streak, shooting toward the Red Water Dragon like lightning!

Yingning!

Silly Yatou!

Aggro instantly shifted to Yingning. In desperation, I didn't retreat to the Priest group. We stood together in the center, basking in Jian Hui Tianxia players' stares!

Now, both of us were fully exposed!

Before this behemoth, even Yingning's superb skills couldn't last long!

Yingning's max HP was 300. Barely enough for one normal attack. If lightning hit her, she'd be one-shot at full health!

I quickly cast Moon Goddess Blessing.

Moon Goddess Blessing: Increases target's max HP by (caster's spell attack x1) points. (Exclusive skill for Demon Clan healing pets.)

My spell attack was 151. I boosted Yingning's max HP to 451. But she might still not survive the horn's lightning. Its damage was unknown. Seeing it blast craters into the ground, it was far deadlier than normal attacks. Plus, magical damage—a Fighter's weakness!

Yingning rolled sideways awkwardly, dodging the BOSS's Sweeping Strike. She slashed at its serpentine neck.

Crack! Her longsword deflected off its tough hide! She was briefly stunned. The BOSS's horn grazed her waist!

[-400]

For a level 30 world BOSS, the damage was abnormally low. Yet it nearly killed Yingning!

[+400]

Quick as a flash, I cast Redemption Grace. This big heal went on a long cooldown, unusable soon. My mana finally depleted.

Gritting my teeth, I chugged the last mana potion. Wielding my Priest Staff, I charged forward.

I struck the Red Water Dragon's horn. My staff deflected. I was instantly stunned.

The Red Water Dragon roared, unleashing a lightning bolt.

Breaking stun, I rolled away at the last second.

Just as expected! The horn was a weak point! Hitting it generated massive aggro!

As the Red Water Dragon charged at me, Yingning landed a heavy slash on its neck. This time, it wasn't deflected. It carved a clear gash!

The beast hesitated, then turned to pounce on Yingning. She was about to dodge with a side roll, but I shouted:

"Don't roll sideways! Jump back!"

Yingning paused, then reacted fast. She executed a back jump.

Just as she leaped, before landing—the Red Water Dragon's bone wings swept low, tracing a circle on the ground. With crushing force, it grazed past Yingning's nose at the last second.

Even so, she was knocked back by the bone ridge. Her HP dropped to critical!

But if she'd rolled sideways, she'd have been sliced in half instantly! No escape from a one-shot!

In a spare moment, Yingning shot me a stunned glance.

I guessed right!

Just as expected, the dragon crouched, pressing its wings flat. Its leg muscles tensed for that new slicing move!

I kept casting Sacred Light Spell to keep Yingning's HP up. Thankfully, my high spell attack made small heals nearly as strong as big ones. I topped her HP bar fast. I also stole the Red Water Dragon's aggro.

Simultaneously, the horn glowed. A scorching lightning bolt tore through the air at me!

Luckily, I'd watched the horn's brightness. While casting, I'd already dodged sideways.

Yingning seized the lightning cast moment. She Charged into its face, reclaiming aggro.

I hurriedly closed in with my Priest Staff. Before it raged, I whacked its horn. I stole aggro before it could unleash lightning at Yingning.

We alternated aggro, sharing damage. I predicted attacks by reading its wind-up animations, directing Yingning. Barely, we held off the Red Water Dragon.

This was my first true fight side by side with Yingning. Yet we felt in sync. Always understanding each other at critical moments. Perfect coordination, as if we'd fought together for years.

Even so, my mana drained extremely fast. Once empty, we couldn't hold on!

Yet, the Jian Hui Tianxia players behind us stayed still. No support. They just watched us narrowly escape death repeatedly before a world BOSS 20 levels higher!

"Guild Leader, aren't we attacking yet?" The burly man—ID Black Mirror Lifesaver, Healer Team Leader—looked anxiously at the Jian Hui Tianxia Guild Leader.

The Guild Leader was the robed-in-blue mage, ID Jian Gu.

"The BOSS's 30% danger phase isn't over. Wait one minute... But who are these women? Which team?"

"Well..." Black Mirror Lifesaver thought. He decided to keep the cute little Healer's identity secret. "They're from my team, brought to gain experience... I just didn't expect their skills to be this decent."

"Indeed," Jian Gu mused. "They have unseen skills. Lucky veteran players. Plus, so beautiful—rare species like beautiful experts... After this BOSS falls, bring them to me. They'll join the Elite Squad's substitute assessment."

"What now? Shouldn't another Tank take aggro?"

"For secrecy, we brought limited elites. Minimize losses. Aggro's on that Female Warrior. Wait until she dies to swap. I'll award her extra contribution points later." Jian Gu turned his gaze to me, thoughtful.

"What? Interested in this Demon Clan Healer girl?"

"Is it coincidence..." Jian Gu stroked his chin, suspiciously locked on my movements. "Haven't you noticed? All Deathblow Thunders targeted only her. She dodged every one! Did she figure the BOSS's lightning pattern? Steal aggro with heals before each strike? No... impossible..."

Jian Gu turned to a blue-geared Human male Priest beside him. "Green Dog, can you do it?"

The Priest shook his head. "Impossible! I can't! Must be coincidence!"

"Probably... If not... terrifying... How long have they lasted?"

"40 seconds."

"During the first phase, how long did our Warrior Corps' first Main Tank last? With the whole Priest Order backing him," Jian Gu asked again.

"10 seconds."