Since Zich was holding a sword, it was advantageous for him if the dragon came closer. At the same time, the sight of a dragon rushing at him like a speedy arrow with its giant mass wasn’t very welcoming either.
Whoosh! Zich swung Estellade. It colored its surroundings white and headed for the dragon’s face. Flash! The dragon moved its neck slightly and evaded the light. Simultaneously, it managed to move closer. It was then that the dragon spread its wings out. Its large body floated in the air and Tornium swung through the air.
‘Damn it, how can it move like that with its size?!’ Zich grumbled as he looked at the dragon flying at him with its mouth wide open. If a creature was this big, it was only reasonable for its movements to be duller too, but with some exaggeration added in, it seemed to move like a soft and fine hairball through the air. Yet, it was simply mad that despite this, the destructive power it showed matched its size. After infusing a load of mana, Zich swung Estellade again.
Bam! His palms vibrated from the shock. Even when the dragon’s scales were hard, Zich thought that with all his freed-up mana, Estellade, and Tornium, he could penetrate the dragon’s body. Yet, Estellade failed to inflict critical damage on the dragon.
‘Ah, I see.’ Zich noted calmly after his attack, ‘Its talons are much sharper than its scales.’
Estellade couldn’t advance further against the talon that the dragon stretched out.
Sha! The dragon opened its mouth again and mana quickly gathered inside its mouth. Hot heat began to fluctuate around the area between Zich and the dragon.
“Tch!” After clicking his tongue, Zich poured mana into Tornium and Estellade.
Baaaam! The dragon shot its breath at Zich. There wasn’t even space for Zich to escape because of their close distance, and Zich became swept into the breath.
“Sir Zich!” After Lubella healed him and he took out his replacement sword, Hans tried to jump back into the battle. However, he yelled Zich’s name in shock. Even though Hans had all the faith in Zich that a person could possibly have, the might of the dragon’s breath was too powerful. Others were also shocked, as Zich was shot by the dragon’s breath directly. There was no one among them who would be able to survive an attack like that.
The dragon’s breath died down. It appeared to be refreshed after letting out a large breath, and perhaps it was satisfied that it got rid of the guy that bothered him the most among its opponents. Yet, the dragon couldn’t remain happy for long. After the breath disappeared, one figure remained standing behind two crossed swords. Although smoke was coming out of his body, his clothes were charred, and his skin was reddened. Zich had survived the dragon’s breath.
‘I managed to block it.’ Although he borrowed the strength of his released mana, Estellade, and Tornium, Zich had managed to endure the dragon’s breath. Of course, Zich didn’t plan on doing something like this again since he hadn’t been able to deflect the damage completely. Yet, with this, he at least checked that he wouldn’t die even if was directly attacked by the dragon’s breath. His conditions seemed to have improved.
‘Good, it’s worth a try now!’
Rooooar! Perhaps, it was enraged that it had failed to remove Zich and the dragon let out a gigantic roar. It flapped its wings and flew into the air. Then, it rushed at Zich. Mana moved around it and magic began to form.
‘It’s doing all sorts of things now.’ The dragon was now creating magic while moving at high speed. Even with two swords and freed-up mana, Zich was still not at a level to face a dragon.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Zich swung a series of air blades. They sliced the magic and bounced off the dragon’s talons so that the breath missed its mark. Still, even if he had the same amount of mana as the dragon or had good weapons, Zich didn’t have an advantage over the dragon.
Whoosh! The dragon activated its magic again. It seemed it was planning to shoot out a triple elemental magic attack and double elemental magic attack simultaneously this time. Usually, Walwiss would have nullified the double elemental magic attack while the others dealt with the rest. However, it was different now.
Whoosh! Light stretched out from Estellade and clashed against the magic. It couldn’t pierce through the gaps between the elements like Zich had done with Walwiss’ Inferno—there were absolutely no openings in this damn dragon’s magic attacks, and Estellade’s light simply pushed against the magic with its force. Following it, Tornium mana also collided with the magic attack.
Bam! In the end, the double elemental magic attack failed to beat Estellade’s strong attack and became nullified. The triple elemental magic was also weakened greatly by Tornium’s attack, and Elena finished it off with her magic. This gave Walwiss the opportunity to do something else besides nullifying the dragon’s magic.
Wiiing! A great deal of mana whirled around his staff.
“Attacking a dragon with magic…I am dealing with all sorts of things after living so long.” Walwiss spoke like an old man. Yet, unlike his lamenting tone, mana moved furiously from his staff.
“I won’t run out of things to brag about at least,” he said and activated Inferno; it was the same spell that had threatened Zich’s life before. Strong wind engulfed fire and earth and headed straight toward the dragon. The dragon quickly tried to fly higher, but the light and dark mana hindered his movement.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” Zich sent out mana slashes in all directions. The dragon waved its arm and shattered them one by one. However, because of Zich’s attacks, the dragon failed to completely escape Walwiss’ spell. The strong wind containing fire and stones continuously struck the dragon’s body. The dragon’s tough scales had powerful resistance, but it was continuously struck by magic from the best mage among humans. The dragon’s scales burned and broke and revealed its flesh underneath; then, wind cut through its exposed flesh.
Roaaaaar! The dragon screamed, and its gaze turned towards Walwiss. It opened its mouth wide and gathered mana in its mouth. Until now, Zich and his companions busily moved their bodies when it looked as if the dragon was going to let out its breath attack, but it was different this time.
Bammm! The dragon spewed a bright, red breath and heated the air. Its target was Walwiss and those next to him. However, Zich intervened before the breath could reach its target.
Swoosh! Estellade and Tornium were already letting out a strong resonance with mana. Zich took a deep breath in, exhaled once, and then swung his sword.
Bamm! The two swords collided against the dragon’s breath and engaged in a fierce struggle. Even though it seemed like a simple swing, it contained all kinds of techniques that Zich had accumulated so far. Of course, it was not easy to block the dragon’s breath. Regardless of how much stronger he got, the dragon’s breath was no ordinary attack. However, even then, Zich successfully changed the direction of the breath. The breath moved away from its original trajectory and disappeared into the empty sky.
“Aaaaah!”
“Hyaaat!”
Til and Weig used this opportunity to jump toward the dragon, and their attacks destroyed the dragon’s scales and injured its flesh.
Roaaaaar! The dragon raised its legs and tried to strike those two, but they quickly escaped. Then the dragon immediately attacked with its tail. The tail swept across the ground and swept everything in its path, but Zich intervened again.
Bam! Tornium and the dragon’s tail collided. Zich’s companions hadn’t even dared to block the dragon’s tail once it moved, but Zich successfully stopped it. Til and Weig tried to widen their distance a little further from the dragon’s tail, and when they saw Zich block the dragon, they immediately turned back toward the dragon again. Their swords injured the dragon’s body once more, and the flow of the battle changed. Before, their strategy relied on avoiding the dragon’s powerful attacks while hurting the dragon in between, but now, they focused on injuring the dragon as much as possible. Even though the dragon’s attacks were as powerful as before, Zich intervened and blocked all of them.
The battle between Zich’s group and the dragon was visible to onlookers even from a distance due to the dragon’s gigantic size. The dragon let out its breath, shot magic, and shook the whole ground with its enormous body. Even from far away, the dragon’s attack was so overwhelming that it made people feel tiny and weak in comparison. It was a terrifying sight to see even from a distance. However, unlike before, the dragon’s powerful attack no longer reached Zich’s companions.
A figure covered in light and darkness. The sight of a single person confronting a dragon head-on was the embodiment of ancient tales and legends. Zich’s companions were also working hard to attack the dragon, but Zich was the most noticeable by far. It was also true that he held the most important role in this battle.
“Young master!” A couple of knights came running toward Zich. They were the elite knights that Danny called for support. Mihen, the captain of the Steelwall’s Steel Sword Order of Knights, stood at the forefront and loudly announced their arrival. “We’ll join you!”
The knights pulled out their swords and rushed toward the dragon. As the best knights of the Steelwall Estate, their support would be a great addition to the battle. The pressure on the dragon increased. Zich received most of the dragon’s attacks, and the others focused on attacking the dragon. The dragon also tried its best to fight back, and it even tried to kill the others before finishing off Zich. However, the result of its effort was worse than before.
Bam! Bam! The dragon’s magic was blocked by Walwiss, Elena, and Snoc, and its physical attacks were hindered by Hans, Lara, and the Steelwall knights. Til and Weig made up for their shortfalls, and Lubella immediately healed those who were injured. While all of Zich’s companions nullified the dragon’s attacks, Zich was free to make his attack.
Cracck! Screeeeech! The dragon let out a piercing scream as its shoulder was pierced, and a long cut slashed its side. Tornium greedily ripped apart the dragon’s side, and blood dripped down its blade. Compared to Tornium, Estellade, which had pierced the dragon’s shoulder, boasted a pure white shade. When Zich rushed toward the dragon again, the dragon hurriedly moved away, and the others furiously attacked the dragon. For the first time, the dragon began to feel a sense of crisis, and it spread its wings and flew up.
‘Is it running away?’ Zich looked up at the dragon. Unlike before, the dragon flew at a much higher altitude than before. However, the dragon was still full of fighting spirit. It opened its mouth wide and began to gather a large amount of mana inside its mouth for another breath attack. At the same time, magic began to form all around the dragon.