Chapter 38: The Light(1)

.…###-!

The Dragon roared.

As the thick cloud of dust settled, its massive form emerged.

The knights, locking eyes with the creature’s vertical-slit pupils, could only groan.

Their hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.

Their knees went numb, and it felt as if they might turn and flee at any moment.

But they could not run.

Not when their superiors—Polk, Jack, Richard, and their comrades—stood their ground so boldly.

“Screeeech!”

The first attack was Huger’s, as he charged in from the Dragon’s left.

His axe, brimming with golden Aura, crashed down upon the green scales.

Right behind him, Richard and Aaron launched their assault from the Dragon’s right.

“Second Squad! Charge!”

Polk’s shout rang out from the front, drawing the Dragon’s gaze.

At his command, twenty knights brandished their weapons and surged forward.

They were advanced knights, skilled in wielding silver Aura to perfection.

“Uaaah!”

The twenty knights split into two groups, latching onto both flanks of the Dragon.

Craaaack—!

Yet, even with their attacks, the scales barely showed a scratch. Instead, the immense rebound left only their grips numb.

-KRAAAAH!

With a furious bellow, the enraged Dragon swung its tail.

To the knights, it looked like a giant green wave crashing toward them.

“Fifth Squad!”

At Polk’s desperate cry, thirty intermediate knights with large shields rushed in.

“Uoooooh!”

They braced themselves in front of the oncoming tail.

And in the next instant, they were sent flying.

The thirty knights, bodies reinforced to the utmost with mana, scattered with their interlocked shields.

But thanks to them, Richard and the knights on the right had time to fall back.

Clang—!

Meanwhile, Huger and his men relentlessly hammered the Dragon’s left flank.

Polk and Jack stabbed sharply between its claws and scales.

.…###-!

Once again, a furious Piercing Aura echoed through the air.

The Piercing Aura burst right before their eyes.

The knights’ bodies froze on the spot.

The Dragon lunged at Jack, maw wide as if to swallow him whole.

Just as Jack’s vision was swallowed by darkness—

KANG—!

From the cave to the open field.

Gide Meyer, who had dashed across that great distance in an instant, drove his spear down onto the Dragon’s crown.

At the same time, the Dragon let out a roar.

It was a cry of rage, confusion, and pain all tangled together.

“Gide!”

Richard turned his gaze to Gide.

The old man’s body was glowing red-hot, blood-hued energy steaming off him like vapor.

He looked as if he could collapse at any moment.

Richard bit his lip, watching the unfocused eyes of the man before him.

“Second Squad, fall back!”

Polk’s shout shattered Richard’s thoughts.

At his command, the knights who had been swinging their swords madly retreated in perfect order.

“KRAAAAH!”

The Dragon shook its head, howling again and again.

It had never felt such pain in its life—agony stabbing at its skull.

To feel pain from a human, a creature not even fit for a snack—this humiliating situation was utterly foreign.

CRACK!

Gide’s spear struck the Dragon’s lower jaw.

The force snapped its head back, making it squint in pain.

Thud, thud—

A few brilliant green scales fell to the ground.

“Sir!”

Richard exchanged glances with Polk.

Though Second Squad had pulled back, the commanders—Polk, Jack, Richard, and their group—stood their ground.

They were First Squad, after all.

“Draw its attention!”

Richard’s shout, filled with faith, struck their backs.

He couldn’t let Gide shoulder all the danger alone.

Even a little—just a little—they had to lighten his burden.

First Squad moved as if their lives meant nothing.

Richard’s Dragon Tooth wedged itself savagely between the scales.

Huger’s axe hammered the tip of the tail, while Aaron’s spear, wrapped in Piercing Aura, pounded relentlessly against the scales.

…###-!

“Don’t be afraid!”

Whenever the Dragon unleashed a Piercing Aura, Richard’s shout followed without fail.

CRACK!

It wasn’t long before Gide shattered yet another scale.

The Dragon was in agony.

It couldn’t figure out how to counterattack in this situation.

Whenever it focused on the threatening human right in front of it, the weaker humans never stopped battering its body.

Even if they posed little threat, it wanted to crush those who dared damage its flesh.

But it couldn’t.

If it tried to focus elsewhere, it would be struck by a deadly blow from the human before its eyes.

How dare they.

Mere humans.

A young Dragon cannot use magic.

More precisely, it lacks the wisdom to wield the miracle called magic.

For now, it was closer to a monster than the supreme being known as a Dragon.

CRASH—!

Gide kicked off the ground, soaring into the air.

His strike ran up the Dragon’s back, shattering more scales. Blood seeped from the cracks.

But for the Dragon, this was its chance.

It threw its head back, trying to swallow Gide whole.

At that moment—

A terrible pain burst from its lower jaw.

“KRAAAAH!”

Before anyone realized, Richard had climbed up the Dragon’s body and driven his sword into the battered lower jaw.

Holy Aura tore through the Dragon’s tough muscles, digging into the wound.

“Squad, charge!”

At Jack’s shout, twenty knights charged in with swords drawn.

Again, they targeted both flanks of the Dragon.

While they attacked, Gide unleashed another round of strikes from its back.

Schliiiick—!

The heavy chains that bound the Dragon’s body rattled violently.

We have to break these chains—

The barely-conscious Dragon snapped one of the chains.

Just then, something red filled its widened vision.

A scar covering half a face.

A familiar face.

The red Orc raised his axe high.

“Screeech! Die! Dieee!”

SPLAT—

The Dragon’s left vision went black.

Agonizing pain radiated from its eye, and it threw its head back.

But only for a moment—pain flared in its lower jaw once again.

This time, Aaron’s spear, wrapped in Piercing Aura, was driven deep into its jaw.

“Third Squad, fall back!”

Polk, surveying the battlefield, shouted.

It was a superb decision.

CRASH, CRAAASH—!

As soon as the knights retreated, the Dragon’s tail whipped back and forth across its flanks.

RUMBLE!

A torrent of mana gathered in the Dragon’s maw.

It wasn’t the elegant magic called Breath, but a brute lump of gathered mana.

Seeing this, Richard took a deep breath.

And then—

“Ballista Eight, fire!”

He shouted loud enough to shake the forest.

BOOM—!

A tremendous roar followed. It was the sound of the ballista stationed on the snowy ridge overlooking the battlefield.

A monstrous bolt smashed into the Dragon’s mana-filled jaws.

At the same time, the chain attached to the bolt wrapped around its upper and lower jaw.

KAAANG!

The condensed mana exploded inside the Dragon’s mouth.

Its one remaining eye rolled wildly up and down.

“Uoooooh!”

In that chaos, the frenzied First Squad clung to the Dragon, stabbing at its cracked scales and exposed wounds.

SPLAT! CRACK!

Gide, who had been tearing up the Dragon’s back, was now hammering its left flank with ferocity.

The Dragon’s body twisted as if in a dance.

It’s doable.

That thought flashed through everyone’s mind.

“Don’t let your guard down! It’s still a Dragon!”

But Richard never let himself lose focus. Shouting as if cursing, he climbed the Dragon’s back again.

He desperately targeted the already ravaged scales.

Even as he fought, he kept his eyes on Gide.

The explosive energy Gide radiated was starting to fade.

The life he had burned so fiercely was reaching its end.

We have to finish this before then.

No matter how much they wore down the Dragon, only Gide could deliver the final blow.

If Gide fell, the outcome of this battle would be anyone’s guess.

“Charge [“

They had to end it within that time.

The knights gritted their teeth and gave it everything they had.

To let Gide fight a little more freely.

Sixth Squad, intermediate knights with shields, rushed in to buy time against the Dragon’s raking claws.

With a single swipe, they were sent flying and lost consciousness.

Second, Third, and Fourth Squads—composed of advanced knights—moved as one, harassing the Dragon in perfect coordination.

Gide’s attacks, now at their limit, grew even more reckless.

Losing all reason, he hammered the Dragon mercilessly, breaking several chains.

“Ballista Thirteen, fire!”

Whenever they needed more, another ballista bolt would fly in with a thunderous roar.

And when even that wasn’t enough, Adele’s magic would bind the Dragon’s green body with wooden roots.

-KRRRRGH!

A muffled wail leaked from the Dragon’s chained jaws.

“Die!”

Richard swung his sword.

His mana had long since run dry.

Now, only Aura woven from faith pierced between the shattered scales.

The knights let out roars to mimic the Dragon’s cries.

Far off, the lower-ranked knights stationed at the ballista joined in, raising their voices.

Victory was within reach.

The Dragon’s eyes darted around, full of unease.

No longer could it find the will to fight.

A Dragon meant to rule the world—reduced to a frightened lizard before two hundred humans.

Sensing victory, the knights pressed the attack even harder, and Huger, consumed by vengeance, raised his axe to burst the Dragon’s last remaining eye.

Suddenly.

Until the sky shattered.

***

Rattle—

The sound of bones grinding echoed.

Then, a tense voice followed.

“The darkness… the King’s darkness is coming!”

A chill swept through the ranks.

As that chill gathered and formed a complex sigil, cracks began to appear in the sky.

A fracture.

The gateway to the underworld that would stain this cruel world black.

From beyond, crimson eyes revealed themselves.