Chapter 360 |
The Plains of Barbara, which once boasted vast lands and a cozy beauty, now presented a completely different scene. The once-orderly fields were utterly devastated, and massive flames rose from between the soot-black scorch marks scattered everywhere. The smoke billowing from the fires drifted away, vanishing into the crimson-stained sky.
Beneath a plain draped in a deep, blood-red twilight.
Soon, the sound of the Second Squad's Users drawing their bowstrings in unison filled the air. Though no signal had been given by the squad commander, the archers released their drawn bowstrings almost simultaneously. Now, on the third day of the war, the Users were moving with far more discipline than they had on the first.
Boom! shh-shh! shk! shh-shh-shk!
With a single explosive roar, no less than a thousand arrows densely covered the sky before them. The countless arrows soared into the air, tracing a gentle curve, and their trajectories, marked by the afterimages of magic, soon disappeared beyond the city walls.
Strictly speaking, when it came to sheer 'destruction,' arrows were significantly less powerful than magic. However, they had an advantage that more than made up for this weakness: their rapid-fire capability.
A second volley followed swiftly, once again keeping the enemies on the wall in check. And while the archers did their best to draw attention, the Users of the Third Squad finished preparing to deliver their decisive blow.
"Amplification!"
A chant that now felt familiar echoed through the air, and simultaneously, a single card thrown into the sky shone with a brilliant light. The card then generated that familiar rectangular, light-green curtain, facing the front of Barbara's gate.
His 'Lightning Strikes,' which precisely hit the empty spots on the battlefield with exquisite magic control, and her ability to grant special effects to hundreds of spells at once, were so tricky and ruthless that I would have cursed them out if I were on the receiving end.
"Acceleration!"
A special effect that added speed. The trajectories of the hundreds of spells passing through the curtain changed in unison, and with an added burst of speed, they surged toward the gate. In the blink of an eye, the mass of several hundred spells slammed into the thick gate. However, as if they had anticipated our intent to blow it away, an incredible number of protective barriers had already been layered over it.
Kzzzt! Kzzzzzt!
The distance to the gate was only two hundred meters. But the collision was so immense that azure sparks flew in all directions like water from a fountain before scattering into the air like mist.
The side trying to break through versus the side trying to hold on. The contest of immense forces soon saw one side begin to gain the upper hand.
CRACK! BOOM!
The magic finally broke through the barriers and struck Barbara's west gate directly. The violent, metallic clang that erupted from the gate echoed everywhere.
A brief moment passed. The smoke from the collision slowly cleared. The state of the gate that was revealed, though not breached in one go, showed clear results. Dents and craters pockmarked its entire surface, like it looked like a crumpled sheet of paper. It hadn't quite been pierced, but another attack of similar scale would surely break it.
A small cheer erupted from the Users watching the gate, many of whom seemed to share my thoughts.
It was then.
BOOM!
At the sudden explosion, a deafening roar that sounded as if it were violently lashing the air, I reflexively looked up at the wall. No, in truth, I knew what it was without looking. It was the sound of a large-scale spell being unleashed all at once, something we had exchanged to the point of exhaustion over the past three days.
"But... it sounds louder than usual, doesn't it?"
That wasn't all.
Shh-shk! Shh-shh-shk!
Siing! Siing! Siing! Siing!
The Eastern forces, who had maintained the upper hand throughout the three-day battle, had advanced quite deep into enemy range today to secure a decisive advantage.
But now, not just magic, but an immense number of arrows and javelins rained down from the walls. The Eastern forces were currently attacking from four directions, and the enemy had divided their troops to defend each wall accordingly. After some time had passed, we could roughly predict the scale of their attacks, but what I was seeing now far exceeded our expectations.
However, I quickly understood the situation. This was a kind of desperate struggle. The gate is incredibly important in a siege. Having lost such a crucial defensive measure to a single magic attack, they must be desperate to protect it at all costs. The unexpectedly large attack was surely the result of them pulling in reinforcements from the other walls.
— — — Protect!"
— — — Reflect Shield!"
The priests of the Fourth Squad responded swiftly. And not just the priests. Other Users, sensing that this attack was unusual, joined in. Even the mages of the Third Squad, who had just finished casting their spells, began to deploy defensive magic. In an instant, multiple layers of translucent barriers formed, enveloping the Eastern forces' entire formation.
A moment later. A storm of magic, arrows, and javelins, whipping up fierce winds, descended upon the Eastern formation without delay.
And then.
It began to mercilessly pound against the tightly woven barriers.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE! CRUNCH! CRACK!
"Ugh!"
"Kyaaaak!"
Perhaps because they had fired their magic haphazardly in their haste, a wide variety of spells could be seen outside the barrier. Exploding fireballs spread wide, engulfing the entire barrier, while sharp lances of ice pierced through the outer layers. The storm battered the barrier like a downpour, and streams of pain began to emerge from here and there as the strain took its toll.
The concentrated fire they had chosen for their decisive counterattack was certainly fierce. Of course, with their attention focused on us, the other units would have some breathing room, but that was their own affair. I didn't know how many troops they had mobilized, but the concentrated firepower was an unbearable burden for our forces, which were divided into four.
As time passed, the storm-like assault gradually weakened to a breeze, but the once-solid barriers were shattering in proportion.
The Users seemed to sense this as well, as the melee classes at the forefront began to raise their shields one by one. The priests, instead of casting time-consuming barriers, began to apply small-scale magic resistance spells to the Users' shields. There were quite a few mages who had mastered Rapid Casting, so the plan was to buy even a moment of time for additional barriers.
At the same time, the Gorveo Lord's amplified voice rang out thunderously.
"All units, fall back!"
The retreat order was finally given, likely to minimize casualties by pulling back the formation. It was a shame to leave the gate we had nearly destroyed, but it seemed they had decided it was better to wait for the next opportunity than to suffer heavy losses here.
The Eastern Users began to retreat step by step, maintaining their formation.
It was then.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble....
My heightened senses, already on high alert, felt the sudden appearance of a massive flow of magic. It was an immense amount of magic, incomparable to anything exchanged in the battle so far.
In that moment, the twilight hue of the plains suddenly began to deepen. For no reason, my throat grew hot, and a sensation of intense heat washed over my entire body.
"What is this...?"
An alarm bell rang in my head. I reflexively brought a hand to my ear and tightly gripped the transformed 'Victoria's Glory.'
And then.
Krrrrraaaaaaaa!
A sudden, massive roar accompanied by a shimmering heat swept across the plains like a whirlwind. The sound was so loud that the very air and the ground beneath my feet trembled.
As I frowned at the roar that suddenly assaulted my eardrums, I heard the astonished cries of the Users around me.
"U-Uwaaah! It-It's a dragon!"
"A dragon?"
There was no way a dragon would appear at this point in time. Knowing this full well, I immediately dismissed the idea in my head, but my eyes reflexively shot toward the sky. There, far above the city walls, I could see two suns floating in the western sky.
No, those weren't suns. It was a momentary optical illusion caused by the blinding light. After blinking a couple of times and looking up again, I could see what was a 'dragon.'
To be precise, it was a mass of flames in the shape of a dragon. A dragon's head with two horns at the end of a long neck. A massive body with two wings of flame extending from its back. And a tail that drew an S-shape like a giant serpent. Vomiting endless flames in all directions, it clearly held the form of a dragon.
Flap! Flap!
The dragon circled the sky slowly, very slowly. After circling a few times, it spread its burning wings wide to the left and right. A quick glance at its direction told me that it had moved toward the west, not straight ahead.
Letting out another blood-curdling roar, the dragon began to move its wide-spread wings. With every downbeat of its wings, the distance between it and the Eastern formation shrank. Its intention was clear.
The Flame Dragon intended to sweep over the entire West Gate unit, engulfing them completely.
"No. Is it trying to cut through the middle? Or block our retreat?"
The mages and priests were focused on maintaining the defensive magic, so their retreat was incredibly slow. But if they abandoned their defense to retreat, they would suffer considerable damage as well. Our bold decision to push in deep to secure a decisive advantage today had, in an instant, trapped the West Gate unit in a dilemma.
Krrrrraaaaaaaa!
I wanted more time to assess the situation, but the Flame Dragon gave me none. Instead, it began to beat its wings even faster, as if to deny us any time to react. It descended smoothly until it was level with the plains and then began to charge toward the flank of the Eastern formation like an arrow.
Fwooooosh!
The embers dripping from its entire body were creating a massive trail of fire. It seemed to be accelerating as it came, and the wall of fire in my vision grew larger in the blink of an eye. Facing the explosive charge of the flames, I readjusted my grip on the sword I had been clutching hard enough to break.
I hadn't played a significant role during the three days of fighting. I had my own role, and since I wasn't one to hold a shield, I often just watched from the back. But since I was part of the team meant to handle unexpected variables, it seemed it was time for me to earn my keep.
When it came to cutting through magic, I was the expert.
"M-Mercenary Lord!"
I felt the Queen of Swords's voice try to hold me back, but I immediately kicked off the ground and left my position.
I must have run with all my might, because I was able to move west in an instant. The dragon had already closed the distance in no time. As I faced the massive wall of fire head-on, I could feel its terrifying momentum pressing down on my entire body.
"This might be a little dangerous..."
I had no choice but to immediately revise my plan to counter it with magic alone. My resolve wavered for a moment at its explosive force, but I quickly steadied myself.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
Against the charging flames, I awakened the power dormant in my heart. Holding Victoria's Glory straight, I chose to pierce directly into the dragon's center. Because we were closing the distance from opposite directions, the gap vanished in an instant. The closer I got, the more intense the heat I had felt earlier became.
It was the moment Victoria's Glory was about to touch the flames created by the dragon.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
—Don't you dare.
In that instant, something sleeping in my heart...
—How dare you, a mere, lowly Dragon Flame.
...began to unleash an explosive force, as if it were growling.