V53C2P2 – Dragon Hunt

Weed clicked his tongue as he observed the fight in bone dragon form.

“As expected, dragons are something else. I saw a glimmer of hope for the Hermes guild, but it ended up being futile.”

The dragon’s presence was great enough to sp.a.w.n two S rank quests. As he observed from afar, just in case he decided to step into the dragon hunt, the Hermes guild was dwindling down helplessly. After Kaybern used the mirror of fate, none could step up valiantly and cavalries retreated quickly after charging forward. Deep down, they had already accepted defeat.

“Overwhelming magic attack and a defense that renders courage to dust. At this rate, the dragon is going to fire his magic attacks at will every time he recovers mana.”

Weed simulated how things would have turned out if he was leading the Hermes guild. There was no realism in it, but all guild members would obey his command.

“They have to hit and run according to the situation. What is needed instead of high attack frequency is weapons with the armor penetration attribute.”

Warriors were more effective over mages. Huge damage to its health points could truly drive the dragon to a corner.

“Even if all the preparations were to be made, it would all be wasted efforts if the dragon spreads its wings and escapes. The dragon must not be allowed to slip away.”

Weed let out a long sigh. Even if he were to command the Hermes guild flawlessly, the odds were too tight.

“Mapan-nim. How is the situation with the red dragon in the east?”

– Mapan : It is slaughtering orcs. There is no sign of it moving to another region.

“How powerful is it?”

Mapan was a.s.sessing the situation as he was pulling out of Garnav plains. Being a merchant, he would be of little help if he joined the battle.

– Mapan : I cannot be certain. I am downloading the footage from that region, but the orcs are just too weak. They are being stomped.

Orcs! A race empowered by numbers, were pathetic creatures beneath the might of the dragon.Moderate power level had no meaning against the almighty dragon.

To start off, it is a dragon so it would be safe to say that it’s approximately as strong as Kaybern. There are a million reasons not to hunt it down.

The dark dragon Kaybern fought carefree even after landing on ground. The Hermes guild were once rulers of the Central continent, but it seemed that they had lost the will to fight due to repeated defeats.

*Fooo.

Fooooooooooooooo!*

“Get on top of it!”

“Attack the head. The head is a weak point even for dragons!”

“I need to go around back instead of a frontal attack…”

The knights’ charge was intercepted by the dragon’s forepaw or stopped by the ground splitting apart. Users fell target to the magic spells and were scorched or melted away.

“Krrah!”

The draconic warriors were under focus fire, several of them destroyed at a time but had little effect on the grand scheme of the battle.

– Tidal wave of darkness.

Once again, ripples of darkness spread out from Kaybern. The ultimate dark magic cast by a dragon! It swallowed up Hermes guild members, Haven imperial knights and demonic beasts whole. Once devoured by darkness, all creatures are deprived of health points and mana, withering away to death like mummies.

“Aghhh!”

“Get, get out of the way!”

Dark tidal waves quickly spread in all directions like a huge tsunami. Users and knights tried to run the opposite way but were swept away by the spell. Weed’s eyes glowed sharply as he witnessed the scene.

“Ultimate area of effect spells cannot be used in succession, not even by a dragon. Judging by the looks of it, he needs at least 5 to 7 minutes to recharge, and due to the characteristic of dark magic there needs to be enough offerings of the same type of sacrifice”

Weed seemingly grasped the combat style of Kaybern. It was rather a radical method specialized in exercising the most powerful attack. Some dark magics required the user to harm himself, which is why he fought close-combat.

‘It’s too irrational for it to be an effective method of combat, but on the other hand it is perfectly menacing and oppressive.’

A being capable of using the ultimate dark magic that could cause a ma.s.s genocide every few minutes during an intense battle. It truly could not get anymore gruesome than this.

‘The dragon is looking down upon the humans and is certain of its own victory. It is reckless and arrogant.’

***

Dain, the 19th legion commander of the Haven imperial army. She had joined the side of the Arpen kingdom, putting her on an awkward position to be on the chase. Hence, she was put in charge of the retreat from the Garnav plains.

“The wounded come this way. If blacksmiths can repair the equipment on the verge of being destroyed, they will be rewarded later!”

She took charge of the aftermath, captured horses and oxen to mount users on wagons.

“Hurry on! To a safe place!”

She evacuated over a hundred thousand users and looked after the wounded. The northern users witnessed her act and began to open up.

“Nothing less to expect from the lord of castle Evaluk… She is saving users without distinguis.h.i.+ng the northern or central continent users apart. I can see why she has high reputation.”

“Isn’t she also a famous Hermes guild member?”

“Even so, she is different. Rumor says that she was originally a comrade of Weed-nim.”

Dain pinned gra.s.s that she picked from the Garnav plains into her hair. That showed the northern users that she was on their side, and the users within the 19th legion also mimicked her.

“Well, objectively speaking the Hermes guild is kind of evil.”

“We aren’t a.s.sociated with the Hermes guild. Just users of castle Evaluk.”

“Then shouldn’t we be after the Haven imperial army?”

“I mean, with our skill level… there are enough users chasing after them already.”

Users took out crystal b.a.l.l.s and watched the footage being streamed by the broadcast station. It was an endless stream of spectacular scenes from the battle between the Hermes guild and the black dragon.

“Scatter! It is too dangerous here.”

“The dragon is coming. Everyone, evacuate!”

They heard the news of danger, but a significant number of users were still standing on the Garnav plains.

“Could the dragon possibly come all the way here?”

“No way. Maybe the Hermes guild will succeed in hunting it down…”

They did not want to leave the Garnav plains that still carried remnants from the heat of the battle.

“Draconic warriors!”

“There are draconic warriors in that direction…!”

The situation took a split turn by an anonymous shout. From the west, approximately 600 draconic warriors were tracking down some forces of the retreating Haven imperial army.

“Agh!”

“Draconic warriors are coming!”

Users finally realized the danger upon them and began escaping as a group from the Garnav plains. Dain was looking after the wounded soldiers as a shaman, then called out to the 19th legion to a.s.semble.

– Everyone! Users of castle Evaluk, stand together with me and defend against the draconic warriors.

The 19th legion responded to her call and began a desperate battle against the draconic warriors.

“Even if we stop the draconic warriors, the dragon will still be on its way. Novice players evacuate quickly!”

“When everyone has evacuated, the 19th legion shall pull back as well. Pull back!”

The users on Garnav plains were escaping with positive thoughts about Dain in their minds.

***

The Haven imperial army was being torn apart by dark dragon Kaybern. Fatigue had acc.u.mulated from the battle dragging out from the Garnav plains, moreover the presence of the dragon loomed over them.

“D.. dragons can’t be overtaken.”

“It is too powerful.”

The Hermes guild members spit out discouraged voices as they looked upon the black dragon. Renunciation spread like an epidemic, scaling with the size of their ambitions.

“Maybe we should just run now?”

“We could have a chance at survival if we all scatter in different directions.”

Hermes guild members known for their tight bonds all acted on their own accord and began to scatter away. They were defeated by Weed and the Arpen kingdom before, but they were now crumbling to an enemy they could not possibly deal with. They had also lost in the battle against the dragon. Weed also felt that the situation was coming to an end, so he posted on the regional chat channel.

– Weed : Escape now. A little longer and there will be no opportunity left to escape.

The users that had chased after the Haven imperial army abided to Weed’s words and began to disa.s.semble. They were also concerned of becoming the next victim of the black dragon. Dark dragon Kaybern that was in the middle of fighting against the Hermes guild on ground level captured the sights of the users scattering away.

– No human can escape. Ties of darkness!

Activation of dark magic. Including the bone dragon Weed who was afar, black chains cuffed users by the ankles. It was an area spell that covered tremendous surface area.

< Ties of darkness have been applied. The black dragon Kaybern has declared you as sacrifice. Effects of dark mana restrains your movement. >

< Movement speed is reduced by 27%. You are bound within a fixed radial distance from the current position. >

A restraint spell!

“We can break away from this with divine magic.”

“Come this way. I will lift the curse until my mana runs out.”

The priests among the Central continent users exerted themselves, casting divine magic spells. Pale looked sympathetically towards the bone dragon in the air, far away.

“Weed-nim…”

The ankles of the bone dragon were also chained up with shackles. Weed was not under sculptural transformation spell, instead he was resurrected as the undead. So divine magic had no effect on him. The moment Weed fell under the dark magic he realized it, and he knew exactly what to do.

– Weed : Everyone, just leave without me.

“Alright. Weed-nim.”

“Take it easy.”

“Stay safe.”

“Have a blast.”

– Weed : …

Pale, Irien, Python, Seasoned Crab and the Central continent users broke away. Kaybern was destroying the Hermes guild and everyone knew that there was little time left.

‘They don’t turn back even once.’

Weed firmly flew across the sky as a bone dragon shackled to the ties of darkness.

‘I guess I have to prepare for my second death soon.’

Advanced Cooking level 2, Advanced Blacksmithing level 3, Intermediate Fis.h.i.+ng level 8, Intermediate Tailoring level 7, Intermediate Sailing level 1, Intermediate Mining level 3, and s.h.i.+pbuilding that had just reached the Intermediate level. He had tons of other combat skills. The skills that are fully mastered will not decline in proficiency level upon death, but dozens of skills will be affected all at once.

‘Since it has come to this, I’m glad the Hermes guild still stands.’

Weed flew slowly and drew closer to the battle field. He carefully read Kaybern and the Hermes guild clas.h.i.+ng at ground level, approaching to 600 meters.

‘There. Right about here…’

*Fwoooos.h.!.+*

Weed inhaled as much as he could, then his entire body inflated with a huge concentration of mana. The moment it reached its peak,

– Here ya go. Breath!

(To be continued…)