Crossed Battlefields (3)
The dragon soldiers sent by Salamanca's Evil Dragon had discovered the elves' village. But they couldn't enter.
Thick earthen walls, artificially formed, encircled the village like massive fortifications. Crafted by earth spirits, Kalen Dae had raised these walls to protect the village the moment Salamanca's Evil Dragon soared overhead.
With their advance blocked, the dragon soldiers swung their weapons futilely at the innocent barriers. But walls built by spirits wouldn't crumble under the assault of their rusted, worn-out arms.
"To think she can truly command spirits..."
Leticia Santander watched in awe as Kalen communed with the earth spirits, borrowing their power. The spirits bustled about like fairies flitting through the air, swiftly repairing the scratches left by the dragon soldiers on the walls.
The dragon soldiers bellowed and swung at the earth spirits, but their weapons passed right through like phantoms—incorporeal entities with no physical form.
"Everyone, hold your assigned positions. We've stopped the dragon soldiers, but the real problem is the dragon itself."
Kalen issued orders to the elves. From atop the walls, elves and dark elves nodded down at the dragon soldiers below.
They had repelled the invasion of the dragon soldiers. But the true threat was the dragon—their summoner, a fallen being who had fled her kin, ignoring all draconic laws. Who knew what radical acts she might commit? Kalen remained vigilant, directing the earth spirits.
"Dragon soldiers, huh... Takes me back."
"Back then, they were armed to the teeth with all sorts of magic gear."
Yushin Gilliard's subordinates muttered as they observed the horde gathering at the base of the walls. These weren't like the ones from before. They had joined Yushin in a dragon subjugation campaign in the past, so they could tell these dragon soldiers were a far cry from the real deal—barely stronger than skeletons or other undead.
For puppets controlled by a dragon, they were pathetically weak.
"They're dumber, too, and way weaker than other dragon soldiers. Doesn't seem like much to worry about."
Isana murmured. Leticia piped up at his words.
"Other dragon soldiers?"
"Yeah, miss. The boss took down a dragon once. We were there with him."
"So these ones aren't much of a threat. That's a relief—no damage to the village."
"Right, so just relax and... wait for the boss."
Isana trailed off as he spotted a black mass hurtling straight toward the village.
BOOOOM!!!
A blood-soaked dragon charged in. Both wings were broken, scales shattered beyond repair, deep wounds covering every inch of its body. Crimson eyes blazing with madness fixed on the elves' village.
The dragon had no intention of stopping. At full speed, it planned to smash through the earthen walls. Like a beast unchained, it rammed its head into the spirit-forged barrier.
Life force! Mana! Lend me your power, you worthless scum!!
Blood-drenched Salamanca's Evil Dragon shattered the wall and burst into the village. Elves atop the walls dodged with swift steps, but a major problem arose. With the wall down, the dragon soldiers began clambering over the rubble on their limping legs.
"D-Dragon?!"
"It's a dragon!!"
The bloodied, scar-riddled beast charging forth looked like a monster risen from purgatory. Even the battle-ready elves screamed, their legs frozen in terror at the evil dragon's visage.
"Squad 1, intercept the dragon! Squad 2, combat support! Squad 3, protect the elderly and children first!"
Kalen shouted. Her sharp cry snapped the elves out of their daze. They turned their weapons on the dragon. In a village teeming with elves, the evil dragon bared its fangs, preparing to feast for power—just as it had before, intending to chew elven flesh into mana fuel.
"Don't be scared—follow me!"
"Wh-who's scared...!"
Alonne Valencia leaped from the wall first, drawing her sword. She exhaled a tense breath and blocked the path of the advancing dragon soldiers amid the rubble. It was her first real fight—tension locked her body stiff.
Leticia followed close behind, sticking tight to Alonne's side—whether to not leave her alone or out of pride, who could say. Other elves joined, sparking battle with the dragon soldiers.
"Get out of my waaaaay!!!"
As Kalen and other elves moved to block the evil dragon, something plummeted from the sky. A blue-haired knightess—the mad dog Allen Rocksfield.
Furious at losing her prey, her eyes were bloodshot red. The elves hastily retreated. Allen, consumed by rage, terrified them to their core.
As its relentless pursuer closed in, the evil dragon shuddered like it had encountered the plague itself.
You cursed bitch!
"Die by that cursed bitch."
Thud!
Allen slammed Dragon Pursuer into the ground. The evil dragon paled at the bastard sword radiating sharp sword aura. No distinct expression on a dragon's face, but it was clearly trembling in fear.
A massive dragon quaking before a single knightess—an absurd scene. With every step Allen took, Salamanca's Evil Dragon backed away several paces. Pressured relentlessly, it chose flight once more.
"Damn bitch— just vanish already!"
Polymorphing back to human form, the evil dragon summoned pitch-black lightning. A deadly poison spell—touch it, and your body rotted from the inside.
But Allen deflected the desperate strike with a casual sword swing. She cleaved the lightning in an instant, then severed the fleeing dragon's neck as it turned tail.
"Grahhh!!"
The dragon instinctively raised its scale-armored arms. But the slash was unavoidable. Crimson blood fountained from the gash across its neck and chest, sending its body tumbling.
Sensing their master's peril, the dragon soldiers turned from the elves they'd been fighting, charging with rusted weapons. But none landed on Allen. Worn blades couldn't scratch her skin.
These useless fools!!
Foaming at the mouth, the evil dragon glared venomously at its impotent puppets—too worthless to even draw the brutish human woman's attention. Protect me! Protect your master from that horrifying bitch with her terrifying weapon!
"Salamanca's Evil Dragon!"
Space tore open as a lich appeared. It thrust out a hand, unleashing a shockwave. Allen raised her sword to block it.
The lich, who had fought Yushin, was battered too. Its supreme robe half-burned, skull cracked, only half a face remained. Cordoba strained its broken arm to cast a spell.
"Who the hell are you... How did you even know about us...!!"
Cordoba felt unknown dread toward Yushin and Allen—strong enough to overwhelm it, the fourth underling of a Demon King. Fearing humans? Pitiful, short-lived weaklings it despised so much it became a lich to escape mortality and incompetence.
Yet these humans—what were they? Where did they come from?
"You pathetic scum—I won't bow to the likes of you!"
The lich swept its arms wide; the ground cracked like spiderwebs, hellfire erupting. Elves recoiled in shock. Kalen commanded earth spirits to raise small walls, shielding from the flames.
Hellfire... Definitely 6th circle. A bit more growth, and it'd have evolved to an archlich.
The lich was in ruins now—unilaterally ravaged despite nearing archlich status. In a final frenzy, it burned the mana in its phylactery to fuel the hellfire.
The earthen walls turned to ash. Hellfire's power overwhelmed even earth spirits.
Rescuing this lizard? Dream on.
Allen slammed Dragon Pursuer down, ending the evil dragon. Simple work—the beast was defenseless, barely stemming blood from its throat wound with both hands.
Judging the lich's goal as dragon rescue, Allen snuffed it out before theft. Simultaneously, Yushin descended from the sky, gripping Lightning Sword Karus, panting from the long sprint.
"Kahak!!"
The lightning-charged blade pierced Cordoba. Its inner phylactery shattered under the bolt. The red glow in its sockets flickered dimly. An attack potent enough to slay even a lich reborn from death.
With its phylactery critically damaged, Cordoba expanded hellfire desperately to rise again.
"Bro's Thunder Slash!"
"That's not the name."
As flames surged, Yushin and Allen retreated from Cordoba. They watched the lich engulfed in crimson blaze. Then Allen asked Yushin, a thought striking her.
"What took you so long?"
"That damn lich force-teleported me the wrong way. Took time sprinting back. You lost the dragon too."
"That sneaky lizard sprayed tear gas."
As Yushin and Allen blamed each other, hellfire raged unchecked. It consumed the lich's body—Cordoba turning itself to fuel, like suicide.
Red eyes flashed amid the inferno. Some final gambit? It reached toward Salamanca's Evil Dragon's cold corpse—a holy martyr sacrificing for revival?
"The hell you scheming..."
"Bro, Thunder Slash now."
"Not Thunder Slash!"
Thunderclap Eight Forms
Thunder Claw Strike
Three thunderclaps and three slashes struck Cordoba almost simultaneously. The lich's body exploded—bones scattering like a shattered skeleton doll.
Watching Cordoba's end, Yushin muttered, "Lacked grit... nah, calcium deficiency." Simultaneously, the dragon corpse—thought dead—began to twitch again.