Side Stories: Chapter 22
“What in the world is happening?!” The cardinals next to the Pope exclaimed, but no one could answer that question. Lubella was also stunned, but thanks to the experiences she gained with Zich, she quickly regained her calm and assessed the situation. Bellu’s evil stench reeked everywhere, and this smell originated from the dragon that began moving which clearly showed what happened.
“It’s those damn Bellids! They turned the dragon into an undead!”
“An undead?”
Usually, an undead wasn’t a very fearsome existence for the Karuwimans since these creatures were extremely weak against the Karuwimans’ holy power. Yet, the Karuwiman people were still tense because they had never met an undead made from a dragon’s corpse. Furthermore, there were types of undead that had a strong resistance to the Karuwimans’ powers depending on the creation methods. If a dragon’s corpse was used as an ingredient for an undead, it was probably not made with any normal means.
“How in the world…no, we have to block that immediately!”
As long as it was controlled by the Bellids, the undead dragon wouldn’t act as how they wished. The Pope tried to order his people, but the rest of the Karuwimans thought another matter was even more important.
“L-Let’s move His Holiness to safety first!”
“The holy knights should guard His Holiness to safety!”
The Pope didn’t like how his cardinals were acting. “What are you all thinking?! We have to protect the people first! Why are you prioritizing my safety?!”
Yet, the cardinals didn’t back down.
“We apologize, but your Holiness’ safety is our first priority! We will take care of that creature here, so please evacuate to a safe place!” Nobody could allow the person in the highest position among the Karuwimans to stay in a dangerous place like this. The holy knights moved and they seemed determined on moving the Pope to a safe place by force if needed. The Pope let out a sigh in the end. He resisted at first thinking about the damages that would be done to the city and its citizens if the undead dragon wreaked havoc, but he wasn’t foolish enough to not know the value of his life. Before he retreated, he did what needed to be done.
“Dispatch all the forces we can and protect the people! Don’t consider things like property damage at all…!”
Then, a cardinal looking at the undead dragon shouted, “The Miftil Kingdom’s knights are moving!”
People’s eyes focused on the knights’ movements and hope rose in their eyes.
“Ohhh, if it’s those guys…!” “The Miftil Kingdom is a great military nation!”
Yet, not everyone was hopeful about the situation. People’s responses were split in two: those who had witnessed the dragon’s strength before and those who didn’t.
“You can’t rush forward from the front!” Lubella shouted, but it was too late. Whoosh!
The dragon swung its front legs. The legs looked small and weak compared to its massive body, but to the Miftil knight who jumped up high to aim for its head, it was basically like the god of death leading them to the underworld.
Bam!
The knight fell to the ground at a much higher speed than he had jumped. The hard stone floor cracked from the shock and the knight’s body also broke. Between the crumpled and contorted armor that the knight wore, crimson blood flowed out. The people staring at them hopefully looked disheartened. An elite knight of the Miftil Kingdom had died instantly like a fly being whacked onto the ground.
“…That’s why I said you can’t,” Lubella said regretfully.
However, the Miftil Kingdom’s knights didn’t give up. They courageously rushed forward at the dragon, but they couldn’t do much against the dragon’s gigantic movements.
“We need to help them!” One cardinal shouted. Everyone could see that the Miftil Kingdom’s knights were embodying the definition of heroism and sacrificing their lives for the safety of the city and its citizens. It seemed only natural to help them, yet someone argued,
“Let them be.”
“…Sir Zich?” Lubella looked at him in surprise. People suddenly realized that Zich was with them.
“Oh, ohhh! Now that you mention it, we have Sir Zich with us!”
“There are also other dragon slayers! If it’s them…!”
As if they heard these people, Hans and the other dragon slayers jumped down from their VIP seats. However, instead of trying to defeat the dragon, they focused on protecting the common people first. Seeing this, the people became even more hopeful. Yet, Zich’s words bothered one person: Lubella.
“What do you mean by just letting them be?”
“It’s as I said. The people collaborating with the Bellids to make the undead dragon are probably the Miftil Kingdom’s people, specifically Wesker Grashane and Fejiadiru Browning. Seeing how they are acting now, it seems like their original plan was to try to catch the dragon once. So, what is the point of going out of our way to intervene? There is no need to hinder guys working hard to achieve their dreams by risking their lives.”
The surrounding atmosphere froze instantly. The shocking accusation that the Miftil Kingdom was collaborating with the Bellids stunned all of them. Since the news came from nobody else but Zich, it seemed reliable and trustworthy. Lubella felt hopeful from Zich’s statement. It sounded like he had already assessed the general situation, and she thought if it was him, he would’ve surely thought of a solution.
“Sir Zich, what’s your countermeasure?”
“What countermeasure are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you come up with a countermeasure after learning that Wesker Grashane was planning something and investigating him?” Lubella hadn’t noticed even the slightest sign of Wesker’s suspicious activity. As expected of Zich—Lubella was sure that Zich had a plan in mind.
“I don’t have such a thing?”
“…You don’t have a countermeasure?”
“Not only do I have no countermeasure, but I didn’t investigate him at all. All I did was just enjoy the festival.”
Lubella became speechless as she saw Zich shrug his shoulders. He lost his touch because peace made him soft—Lubella couldn’t help but recall the bad evaluation that was spreading about Zich once again.
* * *
When the dragon first moved its legs and made its presence known, Wesker’s reaction had been swift. Since he practiced this scenario hundreds of times in his mind, there was nothing to be flustered about, and he was confident in his ability.
He first shouted at the soldiers in the crowd. “Get the people to safety!”
Although Wesker did not hesitate to make necessary sacrifices, he also did not plan to make any unnecessary sacrifices. It was not because he valued the lives of citizens, but because he thought his reputation would soar even further if there were less damage. The crowd thought that the dragon’s movement was also part of the event at first, but they began to notice that things were getting strange little by little. Wesker’s speedy evacuation order confirmed their thoughts.
“What! What the hell is going on?!”
“Let’s run away first!”
If a closely knit crowd ran away all at once, it would likely lead to a terrible disaster. As people stepped on one another, casualties occurred repeatedly. Fortunately, the knights and holy knights stationed among the crowd were extremely skilled. With their voices infused with mana and superhuman strength, they lessened the crowd’s confusion and prevented people from falling down.
‘I successfully showed everyone how I’m protecting people!’ After finishing his first task, it was now time to defeat the dragon.
“Knights of the Miftil Kingdom! Stop the dragon for the safety of the citizens!”
Rooahhhhhhhh! With a loud roar, the knights moved toward the dragon. A knight jumped high and aimed for the dragon’s head. As he watched this knight jump, Wesker grinned underneath his helmet.
‘Good! Finally, I can now join the ranks of the dragon slayers…!’
However, his brilliant fantasy came to a screeching stop as the attacking knight fell to the floor. The knight had been one of the higher-ranking knights of the Grashane Estate, but he died instantly from one shabby movement from the dragon’s front leg. Of course, the knights didn’t stop moving since they were all elite soldiers, but the atmosphere definitely got tenser.
“Haaat!”
“Happ!”
The knights raised their swords with a strong shout. Strong mana flowed through their swords, and their faltering confidence flared up again. They charged toward the dragon once again.
Thud!
“Aghhh!” However, two knights were hit by the dragon’s simple kick. Their hard armor was easily torn by the dragon’s sharp claws. Although they didn’t die, it was no longer possible for them to continue fighting with their shattered and torn bodies. In an instant, three elite knights were immobilized. Moreover, anyone could see that dragon was not moving properly at the moment. A sense of crisis prevailed. However, the knights’ sacrifices were not in vain as some knights were able to get right under the dragon’s feet.
“Haaaat!”
“Haaaap!”
The knights swung their swords at the dragon with all their might. It was a powerful attack that could even cut through hard steel. However, their efforts were in vain.
Bang! Bang! With a loud metallic sound, the knights felt a huge rebound in their hands.
“It’s not working?” With only a slight scratch, their attacks failed to penetrate the dragon’s scales. Then the dragon’s retaliation followed immediately after.
Swoosh! The dragon made a simple kick again, but this simple movement turned into a brutal attack with only the dragon’s strength, speed, and durability.
“Ugh!”
“Ack!”
The knights saw how their comrades had ended up with just a simple kick, and they desperately twisted their bodies away. Thus, they were able to receive only a fraction of the force of the dragon’s kick by raising their swords and defending themselves.
“Ughhh!”
“Aggggh!”
Their swords broke, and the knights fell back. However, thanks to their quick defense, they were able to fare better than the previous knights—although their injuries were still fatal.
“Knights! Don’t be afraid! Attack with your life as a knight of the great Miftil Kingdom!” Wesker cried irritatingly.
“Sir! The dragon slayers!”
At Feijadiru’s words, Wesker looked at the VIP seats. The dragon slayers were beginning to move. Were they planning to attack the dragon? However, judging by their movements, it seemed like they were moving to protect the safety of the citizens first. For a moment, Wesker became conflicted. Should he hold out like this and get cooperation from the dragon slayers, or should he attack a little more forcefully while they were focused on the safety of the citizens? The first was a stable and secure plan, but the second one allowed him to gain more merits.
Wesker glanced at the undead dragon and thought, ‘It doesn’t seem like it’s back to normal yet.’
The dragon pulverized a couple of knights, but its movement was still simple. It wasn’t at the level that he had heard in stories yet.
‘Since it hasn’t been long since it’s been revived, it might not be able to use all of its strength.’ Wesker made his decision. All of this was for his glorious merit anyway.
“Everyone attack…!”
At that moment—
Whoosh! The dragon showed a completely different move than before.
Baaam! Its enormous tail swung toward Wesker.