The Bone Dragon had sunk its teeth deep into Katroi’s side. Seeing the faint green glow
emanating from its bones, it seemed to have been a Green Dragon in life, and judging by the fact
that it was slightly smaller than Katroi, it was clear it had become a Bone Dragon before reaching
Wyrm class.
-Kyaaaak!
Katroi twisted his body desperately, struggling to break free. But it was futile. In his battle with the Death
Knights, he had lost far too much blood and no longer had the strength to escape.
On top of that, the Bone Dragon’s claws were clamped tightly around his wings, so there was no way
to keep himself from plummeting.
-Th-this can’t be.
Panicked, Katroi attempted levitation magic in rapid succession, but it was no use. Seeing that his mana
would not rearrange itself properly, it seemed the human mage was continuing to interfere.
Katroi’s face turned ashen.
-I-it’s over.
He had never imagined that the mage might possess a Bone Dragon. Judging by the situation, the claim that he had
hunted a dragon had not been a lie. As the ground rushed up toward him, Katroi squeezed his eyes
shut. A moment later, an impact like heaven and earth shaking followed.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
The White Dragon’s body, tangled together with the Bone Dragon, smashed squarely into the ground.
Shattered fragments of stone slabs flew in all directions, and a massive pit was gouged deeply
into the spot.
Katroi, who had fallen into the center of the pit and was flailing about, soon let his long neck droop
limply. The impact of colliding with the ground had knocked him unconscious on the spot. But the Bone Dragon
did not faint. As if displaying the tenacious vitality of the undead, the Bone Dragon quickly rose
and mercilessly pounced on the unconscious Katroi. A grotesque roar spread out
in every direction.
Kwarururu.
Having pinned Katroi down completely with its own body, the Bone Dragon opened its jaws wide and bit down
on the White Dragon’s long neck. Now, with only a little pressure from its molars, the White Dragon
Katroi would depart this world cleanly. Then the Bone Dragon looked to one side,
as if waiting for an order.
“It’s a success.”
A smile spread across Damon’s lips. His third dragon hunt had finally succeeded as well.
This time, it had been a close fight in which he had even deployed the secret weapon he had kept carefully hidden. The
secret weapon Damon had been making was none other than a Bone Dragon.
Immediately after killing Zicrate, Damon had wondered what would happen if he turned his corpse
into an undead. That was precisely why he had placed Zicrate’s body inside
Incresia. In truth, the method of facing dragons through a combination with Death Knights
was the best option available to him in his current situation. Since he had already hunted
Russellant, the Ancient-class Black Dragon, the effectiveness of that combination had been thoroughly proven.
However, there was one enormous weakness: vulnerability to aerial attacks.
Dragons had wings that allowed them to fly freely. If a dragon took to the air and
launched magical attacks, they would inevitably face great difficulty. Because of the difference in level,
Damon’s long-range magical attacks would hardly be effective, and even if he used flight magic
or a Phantom Steed, a single Dispel would send him plunging to the ground.
For that reason, Damon and the Death Knights absolutely needed a mount that would not be affected by Dispel.
Of course, it would be even better if it possessed powerful combat ability and defensive power as well.
For that reason, Damon had begun making a Bone Dragon from Zicrate’s corpse
from the time he was living in Sevain.
Of course, it was impossible to have a Bone Dragon directly fight a dragon. No matter how
powerful an undead monster a Bone Dragon might be, it could not fight a dragon one-on-one.
Though it possessed powerful strength and magic resistance, it was still insufficient against
a dragon that could freely cast magic. It was the same principle as a single Skeleton
being unable to handle a single human soldier.
However, Damon had focused everything on the Bone Dragon’s aerial combat capabilities. A Bone
Dragon was an undead monster capable of flight, and because only its bones remained, its body was extremely
light, so its flight speed surpassed that of a dragon. Of course, since its only offensive weapons
were sharp teeth and Frost Breath, it would be unreasonable to engage in aerial combat against a dragon
armed with magic, but Damon was not worried about that aspect at all.
That was because he had powerful warriors capable of easily piercing a dragon’s tough scales.
“If I put Death Knights on the Bone Dragon’s back, it’ll be excellent. I’ll make it into what you might call a Dragon
Rider. One composed entirely of undead……”
If that happened, there would be no more need to worry about aerial battles with dragons. After flying up
on the Bone Dragon, if he took charge of defense against magical attacks and the Death Knights handled
the offense, then even if their opponent was an Ancient-class dragon, they would be able to deal with it sufficiently.
Furthermore, if he used a Dragon Heart to dramatically enhance the Bone Dragon’s magic resistance,
there would be no need to concern himself with ordinary magical attacks. The Bone Dragon, covered in
an anti-magic defensive field, would serve as a shield.
“Good.”
Because of that, Damon had great expectations for the Bone Dragon that would be created. The corpse of
Zicrate, which he had obtained first, had already become a Bone Dragon long ago. Since Zicrate had been
a relatively young dragon, the Bone Dragon created from him was not very large, but Damon was not
worried at all. By now, inside Incresia, the corpse of the Ancient-class Black Dragon
should also be transforming into a Bone Dragon. If the dead Russellant became a Bone Dragon, it was certain
to display tremendous power.
However, making a Bone Dragon was not such an easy task. He knew the manufacturing method
perfectly, and he had more than enough dark magic power, but one crucial thing was missing.
That was extreme cold energy.
A Bone Dragon itself was an undead monster with the Frost attribute, and in order to complete it,
an enormous amount of cold energy was necessary. Only by absorbing enough cold energy could the Bone Dragon
fire Frost Breath, and it would also be able to move freely beneath sunlight.
Originally, Damon had thought Incresia would resolve that issue. He had thought the ultra-low temperature inside
the magical vault would provide more than enough cold energy needed to manufacture the Bone Dragon.
However, that was a clear miscalculation. Though it maintained an ultra-low temperature, there was almost no
cold energy inside Incresia. As Incresia was merely a distorted gap in space
where the power of nature did not reach, its temperature was low, but there was almost no cold energy
that could be absorbed into the Bone Dragon. When Damon realized that fact, he was startled.
“How can this be? Even though the temperature is so low, there’s no cold energy for the Bone Dragon to absorb……”
But since there was no sign of the Bone Dragon being completed, he had no choice. The completion of his
secret weapon had to be delayed considerably because of that, and the Bone Dragon
Zicrate, who had now revealed himself, was still an incomplete being. Looking at Zicrate,
Damon clicked his tongue.
“I’ll have to hurry and put him back inside Incresia. His outer surface is melting because of the sunlight.”
Indeed, Zicrate’s entire body, which was pinning Katroi down, was slowly melting.
Its surface was gradually melting and running down. This was happening because the cold energy it had
absorbed was still insufficient. Growing anxious, Damon quickly looked at the Death
Knights.
“Keep him suppressed. But don’t kill him. I need to hurry and put the Bone Dragon back inside
Incresia.”
“Very well.”
Since they, too, knew the Bone Dragon’s condition, the Death Knights approached Katroi
without another word.
Chachang.
Four longswords, filled with Aura Blade, were aimed at Katroi’s head.
Saramis and Reindelf’s longswords were each placed against one of his eyes. Primberg’s greatsword
pressed down on Katroi’s long neck, and Helbertron, who had leapt up onto
the White Dragon’s head, had lightly placed the tip of his longsword against the spot where the brain was. If Helbertron
drove the longsword in as it was, Katroi’s brain would rupture just like Russellant’s, and he would
depart the world cleanly.
After confirming that Katroi had been thoroughly suppressed, Damon placed Zicrate inside
Incresia.
Shuuuk.
Incresia, which had rapidly grown in size, swallowed Zicrate’s massive body in an instant.
In that state, Damon waited only for the White Dragon to awaken.
The hall fell silent all at once. The people who had watched the tremendous clash between the mage and Death Knights
against the White Dragon were all standing with their mouths wide open, drooling. The scene they had just
witnessed was an incomparable shock to them.
They had witnessed, quite literally, a perfect dragon hunt. When the battle began,
most people had predicted the White Dragon’s victory almost absolutely. The race known as dragons,
as far as they knew, was the most powerful existence on the continent……
In particular, the members of the Terenbeti delegation, who had personally experienced Katroi’s power,
had been utterly certain of that fact. They had thought there was no chance whatsoever
of capturing a White Dragon with one mage and some Death Knights.
But the result completely overturned their expectations. Even when three Death Knights suddenly
appeared and charged in, they had never doubted the White Dragon’s victory. But the fierce battle
that followed was one-sided domination.
The Death Knights overwhelmingly pressed the White Dragon. The terrifying magic that had already turned
dozens of their comrades into blocks of ice had no effect at all on the Death Knights.
At the skill of the Death Knights, who darted all over the place and tore the White Dragon’s skin to shreds,
the people could only be astonished. It was the first time they had ever heard of knights who could display
their full abilities so calmly and coolly before a dragon. Unless they were Death Knights who felt
no fear, no knight would dare attempt such a thing.
A little later, when the Death Knights were caught in magic and pinned in place, the people let out
cries of regret. They thought the Death Knights, who had shown such terrifying power, would soon be destroyed.
However, thanks to the mage’s unexpected intervention, the Death Knights were able to escape the crisis,
and from the moment the White Dragon, unable to endure any longer, tucked its tail and fled,
drool began to run from the corners of the people’s open mouths. It was a spectacle they had never seen
in their lives.
And the climax began with the appearance of the Bone Dragon. Beside the mage, a rift in space
opened wide, and when the monster of nothing but bones—the Bone Dragon—emerged from within,
the people were completely stunned. After Death Knights, even a Bone Dragon had been deployed.
Each and every one of them was a being not easily seen. They had never had the chance
to witness such an incredible battle before.
The Bone Dragon, which had flown up at astonishing speed and overtaken the White Dragon, plunged straight down
from the air. The result after that was exactly as they had seen. Faced with the unbelievable sight,
the people could not even bring themselves to speak.
As the Princess of Terenbeti stood there stupidly with her mouth hanging open, the sound of chatter reached her ears.
It was the conversation of the people she had dismissed as madmen earlier.
“Ha! This time it’s a Bone Dragon. I’m really curious what will come out next.”
“So that’s why Damon needed dragon corpses. To make a Bone Dragon,
you absolutely need a dragon’s corpse.”
“But isn’t that Bone Dragon much smaller than the dragon he hunted before?”
“That’s true. It seems that one is the dragon Damon said he caught after crossing over to Truvenia.
Judging by the fact that it’s smaller than the White Dragon, it must not have reached Wyrm class yet.”
“Wow. Then if he makes a Bone Dragon from the Black Dragon he caught last time, an incredibly huge
one will be created.”
“That’s right. A Bone Dragon retains the skeletal structure it had in life. The book said
the larger its body, the stronger its power and magic resistance.”
The Princess of Terenbeti, listening to the conversation, felt as if she were about to go mad. To think such an
incredible mercenary corps existed in this world……
A mercenary corps that possessed four Death Knights comparable to Grand Sword Masters, a
master of the 9th Circle, and a Bone Dragon should, even by a rough estimate, be considered
the most powerful group in Arcadia. It was a force that would not fall behind any knight order.
Moreover, a dragon was not an existence that even the Crosen Knights, the strongest knight order in Arcadia,
could ever take lightly. Yet those mercenaries were treating dragons as if they were nothing more than
neighborhood puppies. In the end, she had no choice but to fall into serious worry—whether she should
believe their words, or dismiss them as before. However, the situation was unfolding more and more
according to the contents of their conversation.
-Ughhh.
The awakened Katroi slowly lifted his head, as if in agony. In that instant, a sharp voice
pierced his ears.
“If you want to die, go ahead and move your head. After all, all we need from you
is your corpse.”
At the same time, sharp pain came from his neck and the crown of his head. As he moved his head,
the Death Knights’ longswords had dug into his flesh. When he realized that two other longswords
were touching his eyes, Katroi was seized by despair. He had never dreamed
that he would suffer the humiliation of being hunted by humans, whom he had always considered insignificant.
Regret for having decided to amuse himself surged up like a flood, but it was already too late.
Now, he had no choice but to wait helplessly for death.
Thud, thud.
Someone slowly walked up beside Katroi’s head.