.. At the sight of the White Dragon flying in with ferocious speed, a strange light rose in the dragons’ eyes.
“Hm, that one is?”
They quickly realized that Katroi was not one of Truvenia’s dragons.
Among the dragons of Truvenia, there were only four White Dragons in all, and not one of them was a young dragon who had only just reached Wyrm-class. Every one of them was an aged ancient dragon.
A trace of tension passed through the eyes of the Gold Dragon Renius.
“That must be the foolish dragon from Arcadia who is helping the Dragon Slayers.
What shall we do?”
Unexpectedly, the answer came from right behind his neck. Looking closely, a young man with striking red hair was hiding behind the Gold Dragon’s neck. It was the Red Dragon Verkis.
After examining Katroi, a thick murderous intent rose in Verkis’s eyes.
“No doubt about it. That’s the idiot who interfered with my plans in Arcadia.
Which means those bastards are hiding somewhere nearby…….”
After thinking it over, Verkis wore an amused expression.
“They possess two Bone Dragons in all. Judging from the situation, they seem to be planning to lure Musius away and fight him one-on-one in an aerial battle. Heh heh heh. A shallow trick.”
Turning his head, Verkis gave his order.
“Tell Musius. Have him pretend to be lured by that one for now, then pursue him to the end and dispose of him…….”
Renius was startled.
“You mean to kill Arcadia’s dragon?”
“Of course. A creature like that, who has forgotten a dragon’s pride and licks the soles of humans’ feet, has no need to remain alive.
So make certain you relay the order to Musius.”
“Still, he appears to be Wyrm-class. Wouldn’t Musius be in danger?”
Verkis waved his hand as if the notion were absurd.
“Even if he is Wyrm-class, he has almost no real combat experience. In other words, he doesn’t know how to fight effectively. Musius, on the other hand, has accumulated countless real battle experiences fighting humans. That is why I am certain Musius will win with overwhelming superiority.”
“Understood.”
Renius nodded without another word. Verkis’s order was soon conveyed to Musius through telepathy, the dragons’ innate method of communication. Upon receiving the command, Musius wore an amused expression. He had already been wondering how to deal with the White Dragon approaching him.
“Understood. I will handle it cleanly.”
Perhaps tense at the fact that he would be killing one of his own kind for the first time in his life, Musius trembled faintly. He could not help but feel excited at the fact that he was about to commit a forbidden act. Ironically, however, Musius was feeling joy from that very fact.
‘It is Lord Verkis’s command, so there is no need to think deeply about it.’
Having finished his thoughts, Musius spread his wings wide and increased his speed. He flew head-on toward the White Dragon coming at him with terrifying speed.
When the Blue Dragon he had been aiming for instead flew toward him, Katroi grew tense.
“His reaction is quite fast.”
Though it felt somewhat unsettling that he had achieved his objective of luring the opponent so easily, Katroi decided not to dwell on it. Letting out a burst of wild laughter, Katroi immediately banked away and ostentatiously increased his speed.
“Khahahaha. Try catching me, you bastard.”
As if enraged by those words, the Blue Dragon abruptly increased his speed. His target was the White Dragon fleeing for all he was worth. Musius’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he stared at Katroi.
The speed of the two dragons, one White and one Blue, was considerably fast. Blue Dragons were renowned for their speed, but the light-bodied White Dragon was by no means easy prey either.
In the blink of an eye, the two dragons vanished among the clouds.
Verkis’s gaze, watching that place, settled calmly.
“Hoo. Since Musius has been lured away, that bastard will appear now.”
“The moment he appears, the attack will begin in earnest.”
Perhaps displeased by the fact that they had only been wasting magic attacks so far, Renius suddenly wore a pleased expression. They were already fully prepared to annihilate the humans on the ground.
Listening, Verkis silently nodded.
“When he appears, we will deploy the golems and liches stored in the magic vault into battle. After that, I will return to my true body and deal with him, so you and Ryusike are to assist me with all your strength.
The golems and liches will cook those human rabble well enough.”
“Understood.”
Renius was certain that they would win this battle. That was only natural, for inside Verkis’s magic vault were no fewer than two hundred golems. They had brought every Stone Golem they possessed.
Because living beings could not be placed inside, they had only brought golem types, but if circumstances had allowed it, their honest desire was to mobilize mid-sized monsters as well. Most of the golems inside the magic vault were Stone Golems.
However, among them were the Iron Golem and Bronze Golems, masterpieces Verkis had created with pride. Therefore, if all of them were deployed, they could easily annihilate the human mages maintaining the shield along with the ground forces. Having finished his thoughts, Renius gave a sinister smile.
“Then the portal’s fate will be sealed as well, won’t it?”
If he, an Ancient-class dragon, joined forces with Ryusike and Verkis, the Dragon Slayers would not be their match no matter what tricks they used. Thus, Renius casually fired off magic attacks while counting down the moments until the Dragon Slayer party appeared.
Shrekheimer, who had been looking up at the sky, shouted joyfully.
“Lord Katroi has finally succeeded.”
“So he has.”
Though their objective had been achieved, Damon’s complexion remained dark. It seemed he found it suspicious that the Blue Dragon had been lured away so obediently. Kasim, standing beside him, was the one growing impatient.
“The casualties among the troops are too great. I think we must hurry and join the battle.”
“Stay still.”
Dismissing Kasim’s urging with a single phrase, Damon brought his hand to his chin. It was a situation in which the Kasim Mercenary Corps had to step in, but because something did not sit right with him, Damon continued to hesitate.
‘There is no way Verkis would make such a sloppy plan……. There must be something.’
But the situation was not moving leisurely enough for him to remain lost in thought.
“Half the archer units have already been wiped out. You must make a decision quickly.”
At Shrekheimer’s urging, Damon turned his head.
For some reason, Damon’s eyes as he looked at Shrekheimer were deeply沉 and calm.
“No choice, then.”
One soldier, who had been desperately firing his crossbow, irritably pulled the trigger.
“Damn it. When the hell are the Dragon Slayers coming?”
Before those words had even ended, a cheer erupted beside him.
“They’re here. It’s the Dragon Slayers.”
“What? Really?”
When the startled soldier raised his head, a pitch-black shadow was flying over him.
It was a massive Bone Dragon with nothing but bones left for a body.
Swaaaaaak.
Several soldiers were helplessly knocked sprawling by the shockwave left behind as the Bone Dragon passed. But rapture was clearly written on their faces. At last, the Dragon Slayers had appeared.
The soldiers had already heard more than enough of the Dragon Slayers’ brilliant reputation. At the thought that reinforcements had arrived to break through the deadlocked situation, the soldiers’ morale soared uncontrollably.
The Bone Dragon that had launched itself from the Elven Forest soared high into the sky.
Kwa-rurururu.
Letting out repeated shrieks, the Bone Dragon increased its speed and rushed toward where the dragons were.
“So, you’ve finally come out?”
Verkis’s eyes gleamed sharply. First, he focused his vision and thoroughly examined those riding on the Bone Dragon. A moment later, a voice filled with delight rang out.
“Four Death Knights and one fellow in a robe…….
Judging by his small build, it must be Zikreite. It’s him, no doubt.”
Verkis rearranged his mana with a triumphant smile. Now that he had confirmed the enemy, it was time to open the magic vault and deploy the golems and liches. After that, if he returned to his true body and faced him together with the other two dragons, victory was already assured. But as Verkis was opening the magic vault, he tilted his head as if something were strange.
“But where did the other Bone Dragon go?”
As far as he knew, the man named Damon possessed two Bone Dragons in all. Yet only one was visible. However, Verkis decided not to think about it for long.
“It seems he was unable to repair Russellant, which was destroyed at Felzentin last time.
Well, even I think I smashed it rather thoroughly……”
Looking down below, he saw a group of humans running out from the Elven Forest. Seeing that every one of them wore anti-magic armor, they seemed to be none other than the Dragon Slayer party.
Watching that sight, Verkis opened the magic vault wide.
“Human wretches. Today will be the last day of your miserable lives.”
Through the wide-open magic vault, countless boulders began to pour out.
Shururururu.
With a fierce sound of tearing through the air, the boulders drove mercilessly toward the ground. The faces of the soldiers who looked up at the sky instantly turned ashen.
“D-dodge!”
“Aaagh!”
Dozens of unlucky soldiers were crushed by the crashing rocks. Even soldiers who were not directly hit were knocked down coughing blood from the shockwaves. The soldiers guarding the portal scattered in all directions and braced for impact. But before long, they were forced to witness an astonishing sight.
The boulders that had mercilessly crushed their comrades suddenly transformed into enormous giants and began swinging their fists. Once again, several soldiers were struck by massive stone fists and sent flying as bloody lumps.
“S-Stone Golems!”
“Stop them!”
Although an unexpected formidable enemy had appeared, the soldiers charged toward the Stone Golems without faltering. In particular, the paladins who could control mana all stepped forward without exception to intercept the Stone Golems. Because Duke Perstein had stationed only the elite of the elite to guard the portal, there were enough knights to intercept the golems.
It was a point that clearly showed just how important the leaders of the expeditionary army considered the Dark Portal.
But Stone Golems were not the only things targeting them.
Hwarururu.
Various attack spells flew toward the soldiers surrounding the Stone Golems. They were not being cast by the dragons floating high in the sky. The knights who discovered the liches flying in while levitating their bodies with flight magic shouted warnings.
“L-Liches!”
“Protect the mages!”
Various attack spells were launched from the liches’ hands, mercilessly stealing the soldiers’ lives. Soldiers struck by Fire Balls became lumps of flame and thrashed about wildly, while soldiers hit by Lightning Bolts had their insides burned and collapsed helplessly to the ground. The startled unit commanders ordered the archers to aim at the liches.
“Bring down the liches!”
However, because most of the anti-air positions had already been destroyed by the dragons’ attacks, only a few arrows flew toward the liches. Even those merely struck the shields surrounding the liches’ bodies and fell uselessly. The Stone Golems that had barged in prioritized the anti-air positions above all else.
Bang, kwa-bang.
Because of that, the positions that had been firing arrows at the liches began to be destroyed one by one. Due to the sudden intervention of the Stone Golems and liches, the area around the portal had completely turned into a scene of chaos. But Stone Golems were not the only opponents the soldiers had to face.
“Good heavens. What is that?”
The eyes of a soldier widened when he saw a steel giant rising to its feet right nearby. But those words became the last words that soldier ever uttered while alive……
Thud.
After sending the soldier flying high into the sky, the Iron Golem spread both arms wide and roared. Beside it, the Bronze Golems that had fallen together with it hurriedly prepared for battle. There was one Iron Golem and eight Bronze Golems. Verkis had thrown all of his remaining high-grade golems into the destruction of the portal.
Though they numbered fewer than ten, their destructive power was comparable to fifty Stone Golems.
“Kraaagh!”
As if proving that fact, the soldiers who charged in began collapsing helplessly. Among those sent flying with desperate screams were paladins belonging to the knight order.