Ch.713Not an Easy Fight

A brilliant and vivid explosion unfolded dazzlingly like a blooming bouquet of flowers.

Though flames and beams of light embroidered the surroundings, there was no dragon’s scream as the Imperial people had expected.

The fierce attacks from the magic towers and the Holy Corps failed to inflict even a single wound on Nidhogg.

The invisible sound pressure contained in the Wyvern’s roar swept away like a shield wielded by a Paladin, shattering the rain of magic and miracles into pieces.

With ordinary strength, it was impossible to penetrate the sound barrier created by Nidhogg.

At minimum, one needed to be at the level of a high-ranking mage. Without reaching that level of mastery, not only was wounding Nidhogg impossible, but even touching its scales was no easy task.

The same applied to the arrows fired by the archers that followed.

Arrows shot toward the Wyvern lost their power and scattered like fluttering leaves as they were pushed back by the sound pressure. Some even changed direction and flew toward the Imperial knights.

“The arrows aren’t working!”

A panicked archer turned around and shouted.

“Don’t panic! Even that beast can’t roar forever!”

Leopold shouted, pointing his sword toward the front.

“Divide the units and fire in sequence. Aim for when it takes a breath!”

If it blocked arrows with its roar, they just needed to keep firing arrows until the roar stopped.

After all, being a living creature, it would eventually have to stop roaring and take a breath.

The archery units, divided into three, fired in sequence. An endless downpour of arrows filled the sky like the bars of a cage.

“How much longer for the Dragon Slayer?”

“Loading complete!”

“Good, fire all at once as soon as the roar ends! The first volley is just to test its power. Save the second shot for when the beast takes flight!”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers gripping the handles of the Dragon Slayer responded in unison.

With Leopold personally taking the field and commanding them with unwavering composure, the morale of the soldiers on the wall had somewhat recovered.

—-

【 Kraaaaaaaah! 】

Not all magic was blocked by the barrier of roars.

The statement that only high-level magic could penetrate meant, conversely, that high-ranking mages and masters could penetrate the Wyvern’s roar.

– Kwaaaang!

A needle-thin stream of fire struck the Wyvern’s carapace.

The fire arrow, which seemed too small to be high-level magic, explosively expanded upon contact with the Wyvern’s flesh, becoming a massive firestorm that swept around.

It was Floheta’s signature magic that compressed flames to the extreme before firing.

“Her firepower is impressive.”

Ophelia unleashed three spells simultaneously with admiration mixed with competitiveness.

She penetrated the air barrier created by the dragon with a spinning wind drill, compressed the surrounding air like an invisible hand to hold open the punctured hole, and then fired a black flash containing a curse of weakening through the gap.

An incredibly precise chain of magic. Her talent for mana control was shining.

‘Unpleasant power…’

Lacy frowned at the sight of Ophelia skillfully handling curse-type magic, but she refrained from voicing criticism.

If someone were using dark mana or heretical powers like half-soul techniques, they would need to be immediately captured and burned, but curse-type magic was legally permitted for acquisition and use under Imperial law.

– Kwaaaang!

Following this, others also unleashed ranged attacks toward the Wyvern.

The massive arrow shot by Millia tore through the air like a beam of light heading toward the dragon’s eye, while magic from high-ranking mages who had joined the battle in exchange for amnesty for their collusion with the Church of Grimnir surged from all directions.

The lightning spear summoned by Bels, a high-ranking Paladin, cut through the air with thunderous noise, and master-level knights led by Demian hurled black iron javelins with all their might.

Each of these attacks contained enough power to crush rocks and shatter steel.

A feast of killing intent pouring from all directions. Nidhogg growled fiercely, folded its outer wings, and raised its tail tightly.

【 Kraaaahk! 】

What unfolded next was, literally, a storm of destruction.

Nidhogg swept away all attacks coming from three directions by lashing its tail like a whip while simultaneously spreading its folded outer wings wide.

It was a movement as fast as lightning yet as powerful as a volcano.

Then, it inhaled deeply to swallow the firestorm trying to engulf its body, and swung its front legs like scythes to deflect all the incoming javelins.

Though the masters’ javelins and arrows did pierce through the carapace, they barely penetrated the edges. In front of the Wyvern’s massive body, they were merely scratches comparable to needle pricks.

【 Kaaak! 】

After blocking all attacks with such ease and turning a hundred-meter radius into an empty space, the dragon charged toward the speechless humans like a beast. As if it was now its turn.

“Damn it, everyone dodge sideways!”

Even without Demian’s warning, others were already launching themselves in all directions. Facing such a massive charge head-on would be nothing but recklessness.

Millia and Perneisia leaped across building rooftops to create distance, while Floheta and Ophelia lifted themselves into the air.

The other four high-ranking mages were already far away to begin with.

Bels picked up Lacy and jumped upward, while Percival and the captain of the Royal Guard rolled sideways after throwing another javelin.

【 Grrrrrrr…! 】

The Wyvern stopped in its tracks as the enemies before it scattered like ants hit by a splash of water.

The aura emanating from the Wyvern was now filled with burning killing intent, unlike before.

While the soldiers’ arrows posed no threat, the attacks from the thirteen humans surrounding it contained enough power to pierce its carapace and wound its flesh.

Even though they would only be scratches unless it took a direct hit, that was enough stimulus for the Wyvern to recognize them as enemies.

【 Khaaaaaaaaak!】

Eight eyeballs rolled around in all directions tracking the enemies’ whereabouts, and the dark mana pooled beneath its feet began to boil and surge.

The worm-like monster that had infected Nidhogg’s remains began to rampage in earnest.

—-

The rampaging Wyvern became a disaster itself as it swept through the city.

The encirclement was broken in an instant, and knights and mages were either trampled and burst to death like insects or forced to flee in all directions like bugs.

It was a scene where the roles and positions of insects and humans seemed reversed.

In just thirty seconds, one-tenth of the city collapsed into ruins and sank underground.

The Wyvern covered its entire body with bubbling dark mana like lava, then used building rooftops as footholds to rush forward, swinging its tail, claws, wings, and head to crush and pulverize everything in sight.

There was no one who could stop this frenzy.

The Dragon Slayer had enough power to penetrate Nidhogg’s carapace, but it was difficult to aim and too slow to reload, rendering it ineffective. The core forces, including Demian, couldn’t even attempt to gather and launch a coordinated attack, instead being scattered in all directions and forced to fight recklessly.

Strategy? Who had the luxury to think about such things? In a situation where stopping for even a moment might result in being blown apart into pieces of meat.

“Haa… Really, nothing is going right in this world.”

Perneisia, who had jumped onto a church bell tower to avoid the dragon’s tail, ground her teeth while exhaling an irritated sigh.

Even with the strongest bow she could draw, ordinary arrows could at best only break parts of the carapace.

‘If I use elemental power, those elder bastards will detect it…!’

Since defying the Elder Council’s orders and hiding under Haschal’s protection, Perneisia had not summoned elementals even once.

The moment an elemental was summoned on the continent, the Elder Council would immediately detect it.

At first, they might wonder what was happening, but soon they would realize that Perneisia had betrayed Alvheim and sided with the Empire.

If that happened, she would clearly lose most of her power.

For now, they might be leaving her alone thinking she had been captured by the Empire, but the moment her betrayal became certain, the Elder Council would sever her connection to the World Tree’s blessing.

Perneisia had no objection to severing her connection with the World Tree—in fact, she wished for it—but that could only happen after everything was over.

The moment the blessing was cut off, the power remaining to her would be no more than that of a physically fit human. In such a state, she would certainly be subdued by Hush with just one finger.

That would be troublesome. With such a weakened body, she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Having decided to betray her own kind, shouldn’t she at least cause a great fire in Alvheim?

For this reason, Perneisia couldn’t unleash the power of elementals even as she watched the Wyvern rampage.

Until now.

‘I have no choice…!’

Perneisia bit her lips repeatedly as she traced the flow of blessing dwelling in her body, awakening the consciousness of a high-ranking elemental she hadn’t summoned for a long time.

This was no time to worry about future consequences.

If the continent was destroyed here and all the Empire’s forces were killed, her revenge would be impossible even if her power remained intact.