Of course, the young man was none other than Rusellant. As if there was no need to think any further, he spoke curtly.
“I won’t waste words. Hand over the mage. If you do, I’ll spare your miserable lives.”
Every member of the escort was struck dumb. The words had been spoken in a quiet tone, but their contents were truly shocking. If such words had come from the mouth of a bandit chief commanding a thousand or so thieves, it might at least have been worth considering. But they were not words that should ever come from someone blocking the road alone. Thus, without thinking long, Bertek spoke coldly.
“He’s mad. Arrest him. We’ll drag him to the capital with us and teach him how stern the law is.”
Before Bertek had even finished speaking, a frigid voice pierced sharply into the ears of every escort member.
“I knew you would say that. With that answer, your fate has been decided.”
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa.
The moment the young man finished speaking, an immense wave spread out in every direction. With the young man’s body as its axis, the wave fanned outward, shaking the entire ground.
Rumble, rumble.
The earth trembled and screamed, and soldiers staggered here and there, unable to steady their shaking bodies. The horses pulling the carriages, startled by the heaving ground, began to rear and panic.
Neighhh!
“Whoa, whoa, calm down!”
The startled soldiers were busy trying to soothe the horses. Wilkerson and the other knights had already leapt down from the carriages. As if there was no need to think, they drew their swords and rushed toward the young man. It was an instinctive action born from the realization that their opponent was no ordinary foe. The fact that they showed not the slightest agitation proved that elites were elites indeed. But the knights’ charge was soon blocked.
“Ugh.”
At the light that spread together with the wave, every one of them had to cover their eyes and turn away. A dazzling sphere of light had swallowed the young man’s body, so the knights could not even open their eyes. Of course, they could not even think of continuing their charge. The light was so intense that they could not tell which direction was which. Meanwhile, a strange change was slowly occurring.
“Huk.”
“Wh-what is that?”
When the soldiers finally became able to make out their surroundings, what entered their eyes was a gigantic silhouette soaring as if it would pierce the heavens. What had appeared out of nowhere was a colossal monster that seemed to stand thirty meters tall. Its entire body was covered in black scales, and enormous wings wrapped tightly around its torso. From its huge horned head, sharp fangs gleamed. And the cruel light flowing from its massive eyes had utterly seized the hearts of the soldiers.
“A-a dragon.”
“It really is. To think I’d witness a dragon here... It feels like a dream.”
The soldiers stood with their mouths agape, busy admiring the majesty of a dragon they had never seen before in their lives. Not only the dwarves, but the dragons of Arcadia as well were extremely isolationist by nature, so it was no exaggeration to say that they had almost never had the chance to see a dragon until now.
It was the same for the mercenaries trapped inside the carriage. Through the iron bars, they gazed at the dragon and cried out in admiration.
“Ha! It’s a dragon!”
“To think I’d see a dragon while I’m still alive...”
From the body of Rusellant, an Ancient-class Black Dragon, flowed overwhelming power and energy. In a sense, his form could even be called beautiful.
“He’s so magnificent...”
Yuliana, the only woman among the group, stared blankly at the dragon, the strongest life-form on the continent, with dazed eyes. She did not even realize that they were in mortal peril.
“Prepare for battle! The dragon is after the prisoner we are escorting. Everyone, form a defensive formation!”
Before long, Wilkerson came to his senses and roared. The soldiers who had been staring at the dragon as if entranced snapped back to themselves at his shout.
“Prepare to defend in close formation!”
They immediately tried to form a circle around the carriages, just as they had been trained. Naturally, all the skilled knights were deployed around the carriage holding the black mage. But Rusellant was not one to give humans time to prepare. With his vast experience, he had already drawn up all the power within his body.
“Humans. You should consider it an honor that I shall personally sever your lowly lives as you struggle so pathetically to survive.”
After speaking, Rusellant opened his maw wide. From it, countless tiny droplets like mist sprayed forth.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa.
It looked like fog caught in a furious storm. Before they even had time to prepare, it engulfed the escort formation.
Because the sun was blazing brightly overhead, the mist instantly created countless rainbows. It was a cluster of rainbows so beautiful that cries of admiration would rise of their own accord. But it was revealed before long that they were, in truth, a terrifying murderous mist.
“K-kugh. What is this?”
“A-acid! Save me! My body is melting!”
The soldiers screamed from all over and collapsed to the ground. The armor they wore discolored in an instant and began to melt away. If even steel armor had been reduced to that state, what need was there to speak of human flesh? The soldiers’ bodies were already melting away until their bones showed.
“Kkeuuugh.”
The soldiers trembled violently, and no sooner had they fallen than their bodies went limp. It was truly a murderous mist of dreadful power.
Acid Breath—a breath that only Black Dragons could spew—displayed nearly absolute power in battles against many opponents at once. Within the mist of strong acid that covered the entire air and swept through the area, it was difficult for anyone to remain unharmed. The only beings who could survive this breath were mages or knights of Paladin rank or higher. For ordinary soldiers, there had never been any chance of enduring Acid Breath from the start. The five hundred or so soldiers belonging to the escort were annihilated in the blink of an eye, left in a ghastly state with only the frames of their armor and their bones remaining.
At the sight, Bertek’s eyes widened as if they would tear open.
“By... by the heavens...”
He was so shocked that his jaw was trembling. It was only natural, since he had witnessed the massacre of no fewer than five hundred soldiers right before his eyes.
Fortunately, he and the other Paladins were unharmed. The moment the Paladins who had followed from Dontrel realized that it was the Black Dragon’s unique Acid Breath, they hurriedly gathered around Bertek, and because Bertek cast Shield at just the right time, they had managed to save their lives.
However, the Paladin who had approached to ask the young man his business unfortunately lost his life. The breath had been spewed from too close a distance, so he had not had time to infuse mana into his armor.
“Th-this is...”
Bertek hurriedly looked behind him. The soldiers at the rear had also been unable to escape annihilation. Every last one of them had melted away, leaving only bones behind.
The only ones unharmed were Wilkerson and his subordinate knights. Because they had concentrated mana into their armor, they had fortunately escaped being melted. The membrane of aura formed over the surface of their armor was protecting both their armor and their bodies from the murderous mist.
However, their faces had turned bright red. No matter how great a Sword Master one was, if the murderous mist seeped in through the respiratory tract, death was inevitable, so they could not breathe at all. Bertek hurriedly gestured.
“H-hurry, come here!”
Wilkerson quickly approached Bertek with his subordinate knights.
Ssssss.
When Bertek hurriedly cast Shield around them, they were finally able to exhale their labored breaths. Had they stayed there even a little longer, they would have suffocated before the mist could melt them.
“Hah, hah. Th-thank you.”
They watched the murderous mist sweeping all around them with fearful eyes. It was truly a breath so terrifying that it sent chills down their spines. In a situation like this, it was impossible to worry about the safety of the prisoners trapped inside the carriages. The prisoners had most likely been completely melted away, leaving only bones.
Judging from the circumstances, Bertek believed that had to be the case. Needless to say, his dream of becoming a court mage had vanished into nothing along with them.
“Wh-why on earth is a dragon targeting the prisoners?”
“H-how would I know?”
The survivors stared with terrified eyes at the huge silhouette of the dragon, faintly visible through the mist. Only then did they truly realize the terrifying destructive power of a dragon, which they had only heard of in words. Meanwhile, the murderous mist was slowly beginning to clear.
Whooooosh.
As Rusellant stopped spewing his breath, the murderous mist slowly began to disperse. The beautiful—and horrifying—rainbows that had covered the surroundings were vanishing one after another.
Acid Breath melted everything it touched. Of course, Rusellant could not avoid being enveloped by the mist either. However, because he possessed immunity, Rusellant’s skin was not injured in the slightest. In other words, he had resistance to it.
The same was true for all dragons. If he had not possessed resistance to his own breath, Rusellant’s internal organs would have melted before he could even finish spewing it.
As the acidic mist slowly cleared, the gruesome scene of the battlefield was gradually revealed. Looking upon it, Rusellant let out a roar. It was what one might call a roar of victory.
Kwaoooooo!
Rusellant’s roar spread far, far into the distance, seizing the hearts of the few survivors who had barely managed to live.
Only seven people remained. Wilkerson and Bertek concluded that they were the only ones from the escort who had survived. There was no way ordinary mercenaries could endure Acid Breath. Though one Paladin had been among them, the result would have been the same. Unless one was wearing anti-magic armor, surviving the acidic mist was impossible.
But the situation was unfolding in a completely unexpected direction. When Bertek casually turned his head and looked toward the carriages, his eyes widened as if they would split.
“What?”
The carriages, which he had thought would have melted away, leaving only their frames, were surprisingly intact. Of course, their surfaces had melted here and there, but the sections with the iron bars were not damaged in the slightest. Bertek stared carefully beyond the bars. Astonishingly, not a single prisoner inside had died. Seeing the prisoners moving about and trying to escape the carriage, he was utterly bewildered.
“How did this happen?”
As Bertek continued staring at the carriages with an incredulous expression, a blue curtain covering them entered his eyes. It was a faintly glowing curtain, so subtle it was difficult to identify properly.
“Th-that is Shield?”
Realizing the true nature of the curtain, Bertek fell into confusion. Just who had deployed a Shield to protect the prisoners? Bertek had never had the spare capacity to do so. No, to be precise, he did not possess the skill to cover two entire carriages with Shield in the first place. Then a strange light appeared in Bertek’s eyes.
“Could it be the dragon?”
When Bertek turned his head, he saw Wilkerson rushing toward the dragon with two knights in tow. It was a brave action taken at the risk of death, but to Bertek’s eyes, it only looked reckless. However, judging from the situation, the only way they could survive was for Wilkerson to slay the dragon. Thus, Bertek’s insides began to burn with anxiety. Normally, he should have stepped forward and supported Wilkerson as well, but he could not even muster the courage.
A dragon of that size was undoubtedly Ancient-class, and if so, there was no doubt that it was a master of the 10th Circle. In that case, for Bertek, a mage, to challenge the dragon could be described in one phrase: throwing eggs at a boulder. And so Bertek trembled, praying only that Wilkerson’s attack would work. Though the possibility was exceedingly low, at present, it was the only thing he could place his hopes on.