The Northern Duke's Swift Submission
About sixty thousand soldiers charged, convinced they would naturally overpower the three hundred Dragon Tooth Soldiers. They had not yet realized that each Dragon Tooth Soldier possessed the strength of a medieval knightly order.
Thud. Thud.
The Dragon Tooth Soldiers strolled leisurely toward the charging sixty thousand. A soldier who swung his sword at one of them watched in horror as the blade bent upon impact, slicing into his own wrist and drawing a scream of pain.
"I... I didn't see that wrong, did I?"
"Be careful! Swords are useless against them."
"Then... hah!"
One soldier bravely swung a hammer at a Dragon Tooth Soldier. Yet the Dragon Tooth Soldier kept walking unharmed while the hammer's handle snapped clean off.
"H-how is this possible...?"
"Why do you keep getting in our way?"
One Dragon Tooth Soldier grew irritated at the soldiers who kept attacking them when all they wanted was to go home. He grabbed a soldier who had been striking him repeatedly and casually tossed him like a baseball.
"Aaaaargh!!"
The soldier flew three hundred meters, vanishing from the frontline troops' sight as if he had disappeared into the sky.
Meanwhile, the commander watching from afar was horrified.
"Aaaaargh!"
Thud!!
Suddenly, soldiers began flying in from the front lines with thunderous impacts, flattening upon landing and dying instantly. Thud! Thud!!
"R-run away!!"
The streets descended into chaos as soldiers tried to flee. Yet, as if by some unspoken agreement, whenever a Dragon Tooth Soldier passed by, the troops froze like ice, maintaining perfect composure. They parted obediently like the Red Sea, clearing a path for the Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
The Dragon Tooth Soldiers marched majestically all the way to the city walls before returning home, as the story goes.
* * *
Meanwhile, Dragonai's scales gleamed even more brilliantly than before. He soared into the sky and began smashing the magic cannons on his own. Something strange caught the eye—his movements looked suspiciously like a dragon enjoying itself. The dragon, sparkling brilliantly, was even breakdancing in midair with pure delight.
The Archduke could hardly believe his own eyes.
"Fire! Get a hold of yourselves and fire! Aim for the vital points!"
Another volley of the day's fifth full barrage rained down. With this final bombardment, the Archduke ordered all cannon fire to cease completely. He looked at the dragon once more. Its entire body now shone with a glossy sheen, as if it had been washed with golden olive oil like some foreign luxury car.
"Damn it all!!"
The Northern Archduke, consumed by rage, grabbed a nearby soldier by the neck and twisted it with a sickening crunch. The soldier's head spun a full 360 degrees before he collapsed into a cold, unjust death.
All the surrounding commanders flinched in shock. But knowing the Archduke's temperament all too well, no one dared to intervene.
The Archduke then slammed his fist down on the strategy table. The table cracked and broke exactly where his fist and forearm struck.
* * *
In the blink of an eye, the eighteen magic cannons aimed at Dragonai unleashed an enormous barrage. All the oxygen around the dragon ignited and burned completely for several seconds. The surrounding air was pushed outward by the tremendous explosion and pressure, creating a secondary shockwave. This left a temporary vacuum at the epicenter. Once the few seconds of complete combustion passed, the air rushed back in at tremendous speed, generating a tertiary shockwave that only the epicenter could feel against the dragon's body. The remaining explosive residues were sucked upward with the incoming airflow, forming toxic mushroom clouds of smoke above the blast zone.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
The citizens, who would normally have died screaming before even seeing the mushroom cloud, were unharmed. The massive explosion cloud resembling a nuclear blast rolled across the sky, yet not a single person on the streets was injured. All the blast clouds had dramatically stopped several meters above their heads.
Dragonai had flown only within a range that would not harm them, thinking of their safety.
"A-ahhh... ahh! Lord Dragonai!"
"He is truly our empire's guardian deity!!"
Meanwhile, the citizens who had witnessed two dragons suddenly fall from the sky watched the battle between the two massive dragons.
"Wait, where did the black dragon go?"
"Why does it look like it can't wait to devour the red dragon?"
Many citizens outside the blast zone found it strange that only one dragon was now being chased by the cannons.
"That is none other than our empire's guardian deity, Lord Dragonai!"
"Sob... Lord Dragonai saved my entire family!"
"If it weren't for him, I would have..."
Only then did the soldiers' faces—and everyone who heard the news—turn deathly pale.
"What?! So we were trying to harm the Lusa Empire's guardian deity?!"
By now, all the soldiers were ready to lower their spears. The commander spoke reassuringly, judging the situation hopeless.
"Everyone, pick up your spears. If the Archduke finds out, you'll lose your heads."
"C-commander. What will you do? The soldiers have all lost their will to fight."
"From the start, we never stood a chance. And our opponent is the Lusa Empire's guardian deity... In that case—"
Step. Step!
The capital defense corps, once considered the elite forces of the Corazm Autonomous Territory, began turning their spearheads.
"We're going to persuade the Archduke!"
"Waaah!!"
"Long live Lord Dragonai!!"
At last, the soldiers' hearts united as one.
* * *
Not one, but two dragons had suddenly appeared in the once-peaceful skies above Lusa! Many citizens had watched as thousands of houses were effortlessly crushed within minutes of their arrival.
"G-good heavens...!"
"What do we do?!"
The citizens trembled with endless fear. Finally, when the red dragon bit into the black dragon's neck, the citizens erupted in cheers of relief, believing they were saved. Among them were many who mistook the legendary guardian dragon of the Lusa Empire, the Red Dragon, for their savior.
"Long live the Red Dragon! Please save us!"
"The Red Dragon has finally returned!!"
"Defeat the evil black dragon, Dragon Lord!"
Just when it seemed this mighty battle was finally ending, the final phase brought a sudden bombardment—from their own allies. Boom! And before anyone could even form an expression of shock, the Red Dragon endured it all, shielding the citizens from the merciless barrage.
This scene was actively recorded by a reporter from the Merofid newspaper, which published monthly special editions nationwide.
Click— Click—!!
The reporter named Primine captured the vivid scene of this massacre with photographic magic.
She was debating the article title "Red Dragon Saves the Citizens!" when she suddenly felt the roadside crowd stirring.
"Let's go save Lord Red Dragon now!"
"How dare they try to harm our guardian deity!"
"Northern Archduke, step down! Waaah!!"
Click, click!!
"Oh, this is a scoop!!"
Primine's camera began heating up without rest. The article that would later win her the Journalist of the Year award was titled: "Lusa's Guardian Deity and the Tide of Red Square."
* * *
Until just moments ago, the Archduke's camp had been cheering, believing the massive gray explosion had wiped out the entire city center.
"Why... why?! Why won't that dragon die?!"
One of the generals watching the scene from the ramparts with Archduke Niberia carelessly provoked him.
"Y-your Highness the Double Dragon Slayer! L-look, the capital defense corps is advancing this way with the citizens."
They had only achieved the feat of slaying one dragon, and even that was reportedly the work of the red dragon rather than their own dragon-slaying cannons, according to scout reports.
"Y-you bastard... are you mocking me?!"
"Huh...? B-but just moments ago, everyone agreed to call you His Highness the Double Dragon Slayer, didn't they?"
"I'll kill you! You bastard!!"
"Eek...!"
The adjutant's name was Naiok. As the Archduke's closest combat commander, he possessed excellent leadership skills but lacked flexibility. Just as Niberia was about to behead Naiok—
Rumble!!!!!!
Suddenly, as if an enormous bomb had landed, a massive roar shook the entire black castle. Immediately after, the magic cannons that had been firing nonstop all ceased at once.
"Hah... as expected. If I want to avoid the magic cannons, landing here is the only option."
"D-d-d-d-d-d-dragonai!!"
The one who prostrated himself at the dragon's feet faster than anyone else was none other than the Northern Archduke.