Chapter 52: Completing Mission |
Karta was blasted half to death.
But there were still some signs of life remaining.
Xia'er was completely indifferent to this.
There was nothing to say to an idiot; fortunately, this Karta wasn't a dragon under her own command.
However, the speed at which the Dwarves had obtained the information and the timing of their retreat were quite well-managed.
Because of this, the condition of catching them off guard was lost.
Xia'er glanced at the barely-alive Karta, then said, "You all take this fool back. I'll continue south to see if I can encounter the remaining Dwarves out in the wild."
Regarding Karta, Xia'er had already lost any interest in nurturing him.
Now, even if Karta showed up with two crates of milk for a visit, Xia'er wouldn't allow him into the dragon group.
After all...
Her Slaughter Mission was still short by a dozen or so kills!
Having said her piece, Xia'er beat her wings, tearing through the smoke-filled air, and shot rapidly towards the south.
Xia'er's massive form became a streak of emerald light high in the sky, scanning the undulating ridgeline of the Karugu Highlands below.
Just as Xia'er had anticipated, the Sixth and Fifth Fortresses she passed along the way were already empty, abandoned.
The stone fortresses' gates stood wide open, the firing ports behind them empty, with only some hastily abandoned clutter scattered on the cold stone floors.
The meticulously arranged defensive nets inside the fortresses now lay silent, like abandoned giant stone beasts.
Xia'er could even see the chaotic drag marks and wheel ruts left on the ground, pointing towards the direction of the Fourth Fortress further south.
"Tch."
A low draconic rumble rolled from Xia'er's throat, carrying a trace of surprise.
These Dwarves' decisiveness far exceeded her expectations. Abandoning sturdy strongholds without the slightest hesitation, rapidly gathering their scattered forces and retreating—this required immense courage and highly efficient command.
That Dwarf Legion Commander named Adrei was clearly no mediocrity.
Xia'er's internal vigilance rose another notch.
An enemy who understood trade-offs and acted with decisive resolve was far more troublesome to deal with than a simple brute.
Xia'er continued flying south.
The deep emerald silhouette of the massive dragon tore through the cold air currents above the Karugu Highlands. Soon, Xia'er caught up with this retreating Dwarf army.
Over a thousand Dwarf warriors were formed into tight columns, like an iron-grey serpent struggling to crawl through the grey-brown ridges. The formation was somewhat chaotic, interspersed with many limping wounded and Goblin slaves with numb expressions, roughly bound by ropes.
At the very front of the column, a large banner forged from Refined Steel, engraved with the emblem of crossed warhammers, flapped noisily in the wind. Clustered beneath it were several Dwarf officers wearing especially heavy armor, their beards braided into complex plaits—clearly the command core.
"Caught up, as expected."
Xia'er thought to herself. The Dwarves' retreat speed was fast, but no matter how fast, it couldn't outpace dragon wings.
The rough, heavy outline of the Fourth Fortress was already visible in the distance, but this force clearly wouldn't have time to fully withdraw inside before Xia'er arrived.
Almost the instant Xia'er's figure appeared on the horizon, piercing horn blasts and roars erupted from the Dwarf legion below.
Faced with the terrifying threat descending from the sky, the well-trained Dwarf warriors displayed astonishing discipline. Panic lasted only a brief moment before, under the roars of their officers, the entire legion transformed like a startled steel hedgehog, shifting formation with incredible speed!
"Shield wall! Stand—!"
"Ballistae, load! Target that Green Dragon!"
"Sorcerers! Prepare wind spells! Be ready to disperse the poison mist at any time! Once the poison is dispersed, this Green Dragon will have no means left!"
"..."
Orders rose and fell. Squad leaders shouted commands. The front-rank Dwarf warriors instantly slammed their massive tower shields into the ground, layer upon layer, forming a curved barrier in the blink of an eye.
Warriors in the rear ranks thrust spears and battle-axes fiercely through the gaps in the shields, creating a deadly forest of steel.
Further back, the already-prepared heavy ballistae were rapidly pushed to the front of the formation. Their thick arms were drawn back by several Dwarves working together. Refined Steel heavy bolts inscribed with runes reflected a cold gleam in the chilly wind.
Most eye-catching was the center of the formation, where several Dwarf sorcerers clad in heavy leather robes and holding gem-encrusted staves stood in a circle. Chanting incantations, intense air currents began swirling around them—clearly gale spells prepared specifically to counter Xia'er's poison mist breath!
Xia'er's gaze swept over this instantly formed, tight defense, lingering for a moment especially on those poised Dwarf sorcerers.
Xia'er understood perfectly.
The other side had clearly learned about the nature of her poison mist breath, either from deserters or some other channel, and had made targeted preparations.
Charging headlong into this iron bucket formation and ballista fire net, even she would likely get injured.
She might even fall on the spot.
If she wanted to annihilate this entire Dwarf army, she would probably need her Bullywug, lizardmen, and kobold minions to charge and break their formation, while she waited for an opportunity from the air. Only then could she wipe them out in one go.
However, she had come in a hurry and hadn't brought any minions at all.
But it didn't matter. Xia'er's main goal wasn't to annihilate this army, but to complete those last dozen or so kills to finish the Slaughter Mission.
Xia'er's gaze finally settled on the Goblin slaves being used as cannon fodder, driven to the outermost edge of the shield wall, some even tied with ropes in the open ground before the formation to block charges.
These green-skinned creatures screamed in terror, trying to curl up, but were whipped by Dwarf overseers, unable to retreat.
"Now!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Xia'er's massive body executed a nimble mid-air hover. Two blazing gold-red points of light suddenly ignited within her deep emerald draconic pupils!
Xia'er completely abandoned any plan to dive and spew poison mist, opting instead for the safest, most precise method of long-range attack: the spell, Scorching Ray!
The Winged Breath effect was stronger, but Xia'er didn't plan to reveal that method in front of these Dwarves.
After all, judging by the current situation, these Dwarves would likely become her major enemies for a long time to come!
"Go!"
The gold-red ray carrying terrifying high heat, like the precise ruler of death, shot out instantly from the magical construct formed by Xia'er's dragon claw!
"Sizzle!"
The Scorching Ray instantly pierced through the air. The Goblin slaves driven to the outermost front bore the brunt, instantly melted through by the terrifying heat and falling to the ground.
The Goblins had no protective gear whatsoever, forced to rely on their flesh and blood to withstand Xia'er's Scorching Ray.
[Slaughter Mission: 1000/1000.]
['Slaughter Mission · The First' Completed.]
The game panel flashed before her eyes and vanished. Xia'er understood.
A few of the rays, even more cunningly, shot into gaps in the shield wall, striking Dwarf shields and armor. However, they only produced a few sizzling sounds and Dwarf screams. Immediately, those Dwarves took off the armor, discarded the shields, and other warriors from behind filled the gaps.
The Scorching Ray's killing power was still too weak. Only against unarmored targets could it cause significant casualties.
Xia'er understood this perfectly. And almost simultaneously with the rays hitting, the Dwarf military formation erupted with a heaven-shaking roar. Dozens of Sky-Hunter Heavy Ballistae instantly roared to life!
Accompanied by the twanging of massive bowstrings, a net of deadly steel thorns composed of Rune-Inscribed Heavy Bolts, carrying the shriek of tearing air, blanketed the sky towards the emerald giant in the air!
Xia'er had anticipated this. Her wings beat fiercely, her massive body climbing upward with incredible agility!
Several heavy bolts whistled past, grazing her rolling scales. Xia'er scanned the military formation below, no longer lingering for battle. Her enormous wings stirred up gale-force winds, the emerald dragon form soaring upward, tearing through the low-hanging clouds. Amidst the angry long-range arrow shots and unwilling roars of the Dwarves, she calmly vanished over the horizon.
Kill and leave!