Ch.116Stonehenge (2)

# Stonehenge, the tomb where the dragon was sealed.

The subjugation party gathered at Stonehenge was maintaining their weapons while waiting for the time. The sun had long set, and the night grew deeper. As darkness fell, the knights fired light cannons toward the sky.

Flash.

The balls of light shot high into the sky illuminated the darkness. With light sources fired from cannons in the sky and light stone lamps on the ground, the area around Stonehenge was as bright as day despite the deep night.

How much time had passed like that?

Guuuung…

In the deep night, the moment after midnight, the ground trembled. The stone pillars lined up on the hill began to shake, and the trembling grew more violent as time passed. The subjugation party gathered at Stonehenge sensed it. The time had finally come.

“Ten seconds from now.”

Merlin whispered to Najin.

As she began counting, “Nine,” cracks started to form in the stone pillars that made up the sealing formation.

“Eight.”

The cracks spread. After spreading extensively, one stone pillar collapsed. The subjugation party frowned at the sight of the collapsing pillar.

This wasn’t part of the plan.

Throughout history, there had been moments when Stonehenge’s seal weakened, but never had the stone pillars completely collapsed like this. Tension spread among the knights who sensed the anomaly. Something was different. They sensed it.

“Seven.”

The stone pillars collapsed one after another.

Kung, kugugung… As the stone pillars collapsed with heavy thuds, cracks also ran through the ground. Dust rose and the earth began to split.

“Six, five, four…”

Nearly half the pillars had collapsed. Something pulsated beneath the violently shaking ground. Different from the vibrations shaking the earth. The sound of life stirring echoed throughout Stonehenge.

“Three.”

Tuhwak! Something shot up from the trembling ground. What emerged, tearing through the grave, was a skeletal claw. However, the moment it touched the air, red blood and flesh filled the snow-white bones.

All of this happened in an instant.

Before a second could pass, blood and flesh filled the skeleton, and scales covered it. It was closer to rewinding time than regeneration. The dragon’s claw, which had rewound a full thousand years of time, struck the ground.

“Two.”

Kuuuuuung!

The earth shook. All the stone pillars collapsed, shattering the sealing formation. The cracked ground sank downward, sending dust flying upward.

And then.

Piercing through the rising dust.

“One.”

Two dragons soared into the sky.

The moment the two dragons, which had shot up vertically, spread their wings in the sky, a gale blew in. The dust cleared at once with the incoming wind. The knights retreated with hesitation. Covering their faces against the wind, they looked up at the sky.

The Red Dragon covered in crimson scales.

The White Dragon adorned with pure white scales.

The two dragons were looking down at the ground from the high sky. The subjugation party immediately sensed that this was different from when these creatures had shown themselves through the gaps in the sealing formation hundreds of years ago. The injuries that should have remained according to the records were absent from these dragons.

No scars on the wings. No places where scales had fallen off. One eye wasn’t gouged out, and the sword wound that should have penetrated halfway through the neck wasn’t there. This meant only one thing.

Complete revival. Perfect resurrection.

Monsters from the mythical age had appeared, reversing a thousand years of time. As if to announce this fact, the two dragons opened their jaws wide and let out a monstrous roar.

————————————!

The roar that shook the air. The air trembled at the howl released by the beasts of the sky. The humans standing on the ground instinctively shrank back and retreated. However, there were those who did not retreat.

“Huh, shit.”

Red Eyes, Roseline Askarlo.

“This is no joke? Is that really weakened?”

“I don’t think so. Judging by how the sealing formation is completely shattered.”

“I agree.”

“I see it that way too.”

The other three White Horn adventurers responded to her grumbling. It was disconcerting for them as well. The story was different from what they had heard. The pressure emanating from the fully revived dragons was extraordinary.

“Hey, youngster. You…”

One person didn’t answer.

The boy called the New Star. The White Horn adventurers shifted their gaze to where he should have been standing. However, Najin wasn’t there.

Tak.

Because he was already running, having kicked off from the ground.

While everyone was overwhelmed by the dragons’ pressure, only Najin moved faster than the others. Seeing Najin charging ahead, Roseline burst into laughter.

“Heh, look at him.”

Roseline, gripping her twin swords, also began to run.

After all, she too was a White Horn.

White Horn represents the pinnacle of Cambria, City of Opportunity. And Cambria’s maxim tells its adventurers:

Adventure. Chase the gold coins. Seize the opportunity.

For success always lies within danger.

Led by Najin, the White Horn adventurers began to run. To bring down those dragons flying in the sky. To achieve greatness by taking risks.

2.

Since ancient times, dragons have been distant beings.

Looking through records of the old era, humans often regarded dragons merely as distant, celestial beings. They were considered a kind of natural phenomenon, like the rising and setting of the sun. The reason for this is simple.

They were unreachable.

How could one approach a dragon flying high in the sky? How could one inflict wounds on their bodies? How could those who live on the ground defeat beings of the sky?

That’s why humanity feared dragons.

They were simply regarded as mysterious and fearsome beings.

But time passed. Countless suns rose and set, and many eras disappeared into the annals of history. The primordial flames were extinguished. The primeval age that began with dragons and giants was buried in the abyss, and the mythical age met its end through Arthur.

Thus arrived the age of humanity.

In the human era opened by King Arthur, human civilization developed endlessly, and finally found a way to hunt the beings of the sky. A method to hunt dragons without being exceptional humans or superhumans. The Empire’s knights lined up at Stonehenge were demonstrating this method.

Kkeek, kkigigikeek…

The Empire’s knights, working in groups of five, pulled the bowstrings of giant bows.

From ancient times, it was giants who hunted dragons.

What was attached to the bowstrings of these giant bows, mimicking the weapons used by giants, were harpoons measuring 3 meters in length. Too massive to be called arrows, but this size was necessary to pierce through a dragon’s scales.

“Fire!”

As the command fell, the knights released the bowstrings. With a “tuwoong” sound, five harpoons shot up toward the sky. Dragon hunting always begins with lowering their altitude.

Shwaeeeeeek!

Arrows cutting through the air.

And the dragons began to fly. Dragons are inherently arrogant beings. As if it didn’t suit their temperament to simply stay high in the sky and evade, the two dragons descended toward the ground.

One arrow scratched the White Dragon’s scales, but it continued its charge regardless. The charge, crushing with the weight coming from its massive body, was truly threatening, but…

Kuwung!

Not so much for the Sword Seekers.

Facing the charging White Dragon, the former knight commander and White Horn adventurer, Rihart Folshen, slammed his great shield into the ground. As mana wrapped around the shield, it collided with the White Dragon.

The great shield, deeply embedded in the ground, was pushed back, tearing through the earth, but Rihart managed to withstand the White Dragon’s charge. As if expressing dissatisfaction with this fact, the White Dragon opened its jaws wide, about to breathe fire when—

Jjeok!

White Horn adventurer Grizel Parament, who had sprung from the White Dragon’s flank, swung her halberd and struck the dragon’s jaw. The dragon’s mouth closed, causing the breath to misfire. Realizing that this wasn’t an opponent they could face alone, the White Horn adventurers cooperated, and the same was true for those facing the Red Dragon.

“Let’s play with the red ones together.”

Red Eyes, Roseline Askarlo.

Former Inquisitor, Bashen Korte.

The two paired up to take on the Red Dragon, with the imperial knights supporting them. Arrows being fired. Weapons flashing with mana… But none were particularly effective. They merely bounced off the dragon’s scales.

Without a proper attack, nothing would work. Without a strike that gathered sufficient power, one couldn’t wound a dragon. That’s why everyone was calculating the moment to deliver their strike while drawing the dragon’s attention, when—

The White Dragon flapped its wings.

As the subjugation party clicked their tongues and prepared for impact, seeing the White Dragon about to soar into the air again, something wrapped around the dragon’s claws with a “chareurek” sound.

‘Chains?’

While the subjugation party was questioning this, the White Dragon soared into the air. But this time, it wasn’t just the White Dragon that rose. The chains wrapped around the White Dragon’s claws rattled violently and…

Tak!

Someone kicked off from the ground and jumped up. Twisting in mid-air and using the recoil of the chains, they soared into the sky. It looked almost like an acrobatic performance. However, the result of this feat was nothing to laugh at.

The boy holding the chains, Najin, climbed onto the dragon’s claws. He had mounted the dragon that had flown into the unreachable sky. Not stopping there, Najin began climbing up the dragon, stepping on its scales.

Relying on the chains and a single sword, Najin climbed the rapidly flying dragon’s body. The instincts he had honed while hunting wyverns helped him in this moment. In an instant, Najin climbed onto the White Dragon’s back and caught his breath.

Then, flash.

He raised his sword high into the sky. A sword aura resembling a constellation wrapped around Najin’s sword, flashing white. Najin swung down the sword he had raised as if to pierce the sky.

Chwaaaak!

And.

For the first time since the battle began, dragon blood spurted.

3.

There are definitely gaps between a dragon’s scales.

Especially in the case of the White Dragon, these gaps are larger. It was just as Merlin had said. At first glance, the White Dragon’s scales seemed dense, but if one looked closely, the gaps became visible.

Najin wedged his sword into those gaps.

Chwaaak, blood spurted up. Though it was a small hemorrhage compared to the dragon’s size, blood definitely splashed. A smile spread across Najin’s face at this fact. It works. The sword goes in. If so, he could cut it.

Kkuuk.

Gripping his sword tightly, Najin began running along the dragon’s back. Najin’s sword raced along the gaps between scales. Though they were very small gaps, the tip of Najin’s sword accurately penetrated them, cutting the dragon’s skin.

Chwaaaaaaak!

Blood spurted up. Perhaps because this was a wound the White Dragon couldn’t ignore? Noticing someone on its back, the White Dragon twisted its body in mid-air. It let out a monstrous roar and flapped its wings violently.

But Najin, having deeply embedded his sword into the dragon’s back, used the sword as a support to withstand the White Dragon’s thrashing. No matter how much the White Dragon twisted its body, Najin didn’t fall off.

Once you mount, never fall off.

There’s no safer place than a dragon’s back.

That was Merlin’s teaching, and Najin faithfully followed it. Najin moved while stabbing his sword into the White Dragon’s scales. Najin’s eyes were fixed on the wings extending from the White Dragon’s spine.

‘Arthur tore the dragon’s wings to make it fall.’

Then I.

‘I should cut off the dragon’s wings completely.’

So it can never fly again.

Slashing the back alone won’t end a dragon’s life. A dragon can only be killed by cutting its neck or piercing its heart. For that, he needed to bring the dragon down to the ground first.

‘That’s when the real battle begins.’

Stabbing his sword, Najin moved toward the White Dragon’s wing joint. From now on, he had to tear off the scales, rip the skin, and cut through the bone. This is a very difficult task even for a Sword Seeker.

Dragons have high resistance to mana, and dragon bones are so tough that ordinary attacks can’t even scratch them. Even if you cut the skin, it regenerates quickly.

But Najin had a method. Balancing on the thrashing White Dragon’s back, Najin raised his sword. Taking a deep breath, Najin widened his eyes. His heart pounded, blood circulated rapidly, and sword aura flickered.

Kok!

First strike. He stabbed his sword into the gap between scales. Immediately after, Najin twisted his wrist and lifted the embedded sword upward. The White Dragon’s scales that he peeled off scattered in the air.

Then, the second strike.

Skak, Najin’s sword tip cut the White Dragon’s skin. Along with spurting blood, a straight line was carved into the skin. Staring directly at that line, Najin took a breath. And that inhaled breath was never exhaled.

Ka, gagagagagagagagak!

Najin’s sword tip swung, leaving afterimages. A sword swung multiple times in a second. Just like when he deflected thousands of flame arrows scattered by the witch, Najin swung his sword, forgetting even to breathe.

Scales scattered.

Blood splashed.

Skin was torn away.

And what was revealed was the bone leading to the dragon’s wing joint. Najin struck down his sword at that bone as if wielding a pickaxe. It was the “bone-breaking sword strike” he had learned in the chain unit. Najin had learned through wyvern hunting that this method was more efficient for cutting through bones.

Najin’s sword was faster than the skin regenerating, faster than the dragon healing. When the skin regenerated by one span, Najin’s sword tip cut ten spans.

“———————————!”

The White Dragon let out a monstrous roar and thrashed wildly, flipping its body in mid-air, but Najin’s sword strikes didn’t stop. With his sword embedded in the wing joint as a pivot, Najin simply spun his body once to regain balance.

Finally, one of the White Dragon’s wings stiffened. The balance of its wing beats collapsed, and the White Dragon’s altitude began to rapidly decrease. As Najin, still mounted on the White Dragon, slowly fell toward the ground, he glanced at the Red Dragon.

Something was strange.

According to the plan he had discussed with Merlin, according to the battle situation he had envisioned in his mind, the Red Dragon should have interfered by now. But there was no interference. Why?

As he glared at the Red Dragon.

Najin and the Red Dragon’s gazes met.

The Red Dragon was also looking at Najin. Even while facing Roseline and the White Horn adventurers, the Red Dragon’s gaze was directly fixed on Najin. The moment he met the beast’s eyes, Najin’s instinct sounded an alarm.

Something.

Something was wrong.

An inexplicable sense of unease overwhelmed him.

Before Najin could ponder what the reason might be, the Red Dragon roared. With a roar that shook heaven and earth, the Red Dragon soared into the sky.