“It’s a dragon…! A dragon has appeared─!”
The identity of the giant golden mass that had broken through the citadel quickly spread. Even though it was floating high in the sky, its immense size made it unmistakable as a dragon. Naturally, the troops gathering under Delphina’s orders fell into chaos.
Despite the Royal Guards and royal knights raising their voices to calm them, the confusion did not subside easily.
“Your Highness!”
Aser quickly made his way to the now immobile Delphina, thinking she had gone berserk again and intending to take her away. However, contrary to Aser’s thoughts, Delphina was not in a state of rampage. She was simply frozen in shock.
“What the hell… Is that the boss…?”
“Boss? What do you mean! Thief!”
“Not thief, it’s Alejandro, never mind that. Can’t you see, knight? That human clinging to the dragon’s back. That’s clearly the chief!”
Maxim looked up as Alejandro pointed out, and Aser, with a skeptical expression, stared intently at the dragon’s back. Then he realized what Alejandro was talking about.
‘Is it really…?’
It wasn’t entirely clear because the dragon’s massive body blocked much of the view, but it was evident that someone was riding on the dragon’s back.
Aser was astonished, just like Delphina and the balding thief beside her. While one might expect such audacity from someone of Delphina’s bloodline, how could this ridiculous thief…
“Warrior Pashantu!”
“Hm.”
While Aser and Maxim shared the same doubt, Delphina called for Pashantu, who had stayed by her side. Upon recognizing the prearranged signal, Pashantu took a deep breath. And then…
“Prepare for battle──!”
It was a somewhat awkward but clearly a ‘War Cry’ of a barbarian. The troops, who had been in a state of confusion, were caught off guard by the shout and began to gather around Princess Delphina. Following the ensuing orders to form a defensive formation, they organized themselves as if they had been trained for this scenario in no time.
It was a formation that even the fiercest beast would find difficult to break through. Yet, their opponent was a monster far beyond human capabilities.
『──────!』
The dragon floating in the sky let out a roar and dove like an arrow towards the center of Delphina’s formation.
The Royal Guards’ angry shouts echoed.
Protect the princess at all cost!
As they shouted, hundreds of gathered soldiers raised their voices in unison, mirroring the same cry.
Protect Her Highness!
However, despite their fierce resolve, as the golden dragon drew closer, more soldiers started to retreat in fear. The reality of what they were trying to stop dawned on them. Charging against a monstrous creature the size of a palace would only result in them being crushed like meat.
Even the esteemed knights would be helpless in front of such a monster!
“Ahhhh…! We’re going to die!”
“Run away──!”
“Damn it! Boss, you bastard! If you’re going to die, do something─!”
The formation fell apart.
The pretense of loyalty as royal guards and the allegiance bought with money meant nothing before a transcendent being resurrected from millennia past. As the soldiers composing the formation fled, only the knights bound by their oath remained to protect Princess Delphina.
Delphina saw it all.
The fear and despair in the knights’ eyes, and the feeling of resentment.
‘Ah.’
Delphina resigned herself. No matter the means, stopping that unreal monster’s charge was impossible. She also realized that no matter where she ran, the monster would follow her. The only way she could save the soldiers and knights was to face death with dignity.
‘If I die, the others might escape…!’
Delphina, instinctively understanding that the dragon’s goal was something inherent in her bloodline, was half-resigned to death. Through her unnaturally clear vision since the last rampage, she saw Khan’s actions clearly atop the dragon’s back.
He suddenly released his grip on the scales and moved with speed that seemed isolated from time, lifting his foot. That happened as the golden dragon reached mere moments from Delphina’s face, at its most vulnerable.
“Everyone…! Prepare for battle!”
Unconsciously, Delphina shouted at the knights.
However, before she could fully articulate her order, a figure had already charged ahead.
『Karyanis─!!』
Moving with the speed of a leopard despite her size, Pashantu pushed through the fleeing soldiers and charged towards the dragon. Simultaneously, Khan’s powerful stomp struck the dragon’s back.
Boom……!
Crash────!
The dragon was slammed into the ground.
The arrogant ancient dragon that had ruled the skies since ancient times and enslaved the continent’s mortals to hoard gold. Areolus’s massive body couldn’t withstand the force from Khan’s stomp and was driven down, breaking the earth and creating a crater.
Everyone who witnessed it up close was struck with disbelief.
The majority of the royal guards hadn’t even recognized the person riding the dragon. The knights weren’t much different, only the few people near Princess Delphina had recognized Khan’s presence.
But whether they knew Khan or not, their reactions were the same.
“Un…believable.”
The vice-captain of the Royal Guards, Lucia, gasped.
Clinging to the dragon’s scales and enduring in the sky until the end was already an incredible feat, a life-risking adventure.
‘He stomped the dragon into the ground?’
Seeing it firsthand was hard to believe. No, it was unbelievable. She couldn’t even fathom the mechanism behind such a feat. Even with her being one of the kingdom’s top knights, she couldn’t understand the technique Khan had used. Just how high a level must one reach to perform such an astonishing act?
Of course, it wasn’t some intricate martial technique as Lucia might have thought. It was simply overwhelming brute strength that defied common sense.
‘When the body fails, the head takes the brunt.’
At the moment of collision, Khan minimized the impact with a leap skill and twisted his body. In the past, using “Surging Strength” would have rendered him unable to continue the fight, but now, with his stamina nearly matching his strength, that was no longer the case. Moreover, with Aries present, he had no immediate concern about exhausting himself to the limit.
In short, he no longer had to worry about his previously debilitating weakness, his stamina. And while the effect of “Surging Strength” had not yet entirely faded, he needed to accumulate as many effective strikes as possible.
“Ahahaha!”
Luckily, Pashantu, whether having sensed Khan’s intent or just wanting to fight, rushed at the toppled dragon, slashing at it wildly. Though her strength wasn’t enough to inflict significant damage on the dragon, her constant attacks acted like pesky gnats, becoming increasingly troublesome.
“Protect the kingdom─!”
“For Her Highness──!!”
The knights’ auras lit up the dark night. Just as the golden dragon, still dazed, began moving towards Delphina, the royal protectors took action. The dragon, now on the receiving end of multiple attacks, staggered. Even the overwhelming barrage of auras couldn’t bring the dragon to its knees — such was its relentless will.
The golden dragon stubbornly took a step towards Delphina.
『Interfere, die!』
For the first time, the dragon, annoyed by the pests, showed signs of countering. This was precisely when Khan, twisting mid-air with his cursed sword, intervened.
『Antares Arcane Swordsmanship (B)』
Crack!
A red comet descended. The red energy, a result of the dragon-slaying curse, engulfed Khan’s entire body as he slashed, deeply penetrating the dragon’s neck. The damage was severe enough to be considered fatal to any normal creature. However, the golden dragon was a transcendent being, deemed almost perfect.
『Interfere, die!』
It was as if it felt nothing. No, it seemed as though the wound had awakened its mind, making its psychic wave clearer. The golden dragon’s eyes, burning with rage and determination, stared directly at Khan.
“Alright, you damn lizard. Let’s do this.”
The wind spirit’s blessing enveloped Khan. The blessing, now stronger than before, increased his agility stat as if cheering him on in his reckless challenge. As the effect of “Surging Strength” waned, his rapidly decreasing stamina partially recovered thanks to the healing magic from the Pantheon church.
At the same time, a pure white sword struck down like lightning onto the golden dragon’s head.
『Traitor’s Power!』
Aries’s ‘Punishment Sword’ struck, causing the dragon to stagger for the first time. She bore the power of the Goddess of Justice, a particularly mighty god among the divine. The dragon, stepping back for the first time, was pushed into retreat.
Joining in, the nation’s elite, numbering in the dozens, relentlessly struck the dragon’s scales with their auras. It seemed they might just push it back. As more and more voices shared the sentiment that the dragon was surprisingly manageable given its size,
『Krk.』
Despair manifested.
It happened in the blink of an eye. Blood and flesh scattered around the golden dragon. Knights clad in special armor engraved with protective spells and guarded by their auras were suddenly turned into chunks of meat.
“Wha-?”
A knight, belatedly realizing the death of his comrades, uttered in his last breath.
The claws of the golden dragon, Areolus, known for its exceptional speed even in ancient times, swept in all directions. No shield could withstand the dragon’s claws. With each blink, the number of knights visibly dwindled.
“Fall back…!”
Aser cried out, blood from his heart. In less than a few seconds, more than half of his comrades had met a futile death. The most significant issue was that they couldn’t even see how they died clearly.
Thus, an invisible death swept over them. No one dared approach the golden dragon surrounded by a storm of death. They turned their backs and fled with all their might. Instead of resisting, they offered prayers to the heavens.
Only one barbarian stepped forward. As Khan prepared to leap, he saw a vision of scales heavily tipped on one side. One side was the golden dragon’s, and the other was his own, which Khan instinctively understood.
It was as if the imbalance claimed he could never defeat the golden dragon. Despite this, Khan advanced. And the goddess, recognizing the courage of a warrior who advanced even in the face of certain death, responded.
『Scales of Courage』
The heavily tipped scales were balanced.
『Agility: 37 -> 50』