In response to Aila's question, Midir gave a wry smile and spoke.
“It's not that simple. That fellow just barely dodged my attack in the nick of time. Not to mention that using this power requires a long charging period. In my current state, it will take a while to return to my peak.”
“Then what should we do? Are we just going to sit here and worry? I checked the communication stone just now, and the Adventurers Guild reports that several cities are under dragon attack. It's impossible for reinforcements to arrive in the short term.” Hearing this, Aila couldn't help but feel disappointed, looking up at the sky with deep concern.
But Midir didn't dwell on it. He knew that worrying was useless at this point, so he found a relatively quiet spot to sit down, closed his eyes, and began to focus entirely on recovering his stamina and mana.
The battle above the clouds, just as Midir had expected, had fallen into a stalemate.
The Blue Dragon, with its powerful physique and flight capabilities, seemed to move with ease under the combined assault of Karl and Syndra. The two men, lacking effective means for aerial combat, appeared quite passive.
When the Blue Dragon's silhouette reappeared at the edge of the clouds, it barely had any wounds on its body. Instead, it was Karl and Syndra, who had been chasing it, who looked somewhat disheveled.
There was no helping it, however. One was a Paladin who excelled in defense, and the other was an assassin leaning toward surprise attacks and stealth. They had no effective means of launching an offensive in the air. Even when they did land a hit, they couldn't deal much damage to the thick-skinned dragon.
After seeing its kin being wiped out by the domain, the Blue Dragon refused to descend at all. It was completely leading the two on a chase for its own amusement. From time to time, it would lower its altitude slightly to breathe out scorching dragon breath, provoking the two below and leaving them fuming but helpless.
“Why hasn't it retreated even after all this... Is there some order it can't disobey? Or is it something else?” Midir, having recovered slightly, watched the chase in the sky with doubt in his heart.
The dragons that had fallen into the city were now basically trapped. Judging by the battle situation alone, this should undoubtedly be a great victory for the humans. Yet, the Blue Dragon refused to leave the battlefield. If it truly intended to flee, no one present would be able to stop it.
Dozens of minutes passed, and the battle in the sky still hadn't ended. Even spectators like Midir and Aila were starting to feel frustrated, let alone the two still chasing in the sky.
Just as the people on the ground began to relax their guard, the speeding Blue Dragon suddenly changed its movement. It flipped violently in the sky and dove straight toward the ground.
“Not good! It's going to attack the city!” Karl, who was behind it, was instantly left behind by the sudden sharp turn. He shouted anxiously upon seeing the direction it was flying.
Syndra accelerated sharply, trying to get close to the Blue Dragon's body. But as he approached, the Blue Dragon suddenly turned its head. In that instant, Syndra actually saw a human-like expression on its face—one of clear disdain and mockery.
Upon seeing this expression, Syndra felt a surge of alarm. By the time he tried to dodge, it was already too late. A spatial ripple rippled out from the dragon, instantly enveloping the two pursuers.
They were frozen in mid-air by this spatial power, like two insects trapped in amber, unable to move for the time being.
Just as they prepared themselves to face the dragon's wrath with their bodies, they found that it didn't seem to care about them at all. After a mere contemptuous glance, it turned and dove toward the ground.
“Why did that old dragon suddenly come down? Where are the two behind it?”
Aila, who was still watching the spectacle, suddenly saw the Blue Dragon pierce through the clouds like a sharp arrow and descend rapidly. Before she could voice her next question, she realized the Blue Dragon was speeding straight toward where they were standing.
“Not good! Its target is Mr. Midir!” Whiskey shouted after only a moment's thought.
Indeed, the dragon's target from the very beginning wasn't the two Saint Rank experts trapped in the sky, but Midir, who was recovering on the ground. After witnessing that terrifying domain, it had designated Midir as its highest priority target.
The nearly hour-long chase just now was only to wear down the stamina of the two human Saint Rankers while simultaneously lowering everyone's guard. It made people think it only wanted to dodge, and it hadn't even used its signature space magic until now.
In the process of repeatedly crossing the clouds, it was actually meticulously planning a probe against Midir. It yearned to confirm whether this opponent could once again manifest that bone-chilling domain magic.
After multiple probes, the Blue Dragon keenly perceived that magic of such a level must be accompanied by massive energy consumption and was certainly not something that could be recovered in a short time.
Thus, it took decisive action, using space magic to temporarily bind those two persistent nuisances before diving with all its might toward Midir, the most threatening target.
The Blue Dragon's silhouette turned into a flash of blue lightning during its dive. With its massive maw wide open, it headed straight for the spot where Midir and Aila were.
Midir tried to struggle and counterattack, but his physical exhaustion made his movements a beat too slow. Aila stood up without hesitation, using her small body to shield Midir. However, facing this hundred-meter-long dragon, the strength of the two seemed so minuscule, like ants facing a giant wave.
At this life-or-death moment, a sudden shadow wrapped around the two like a shield, instantly pulling them away from the spot and deep underground.
Whiskey performed a secret technique at the critical moment, transferring Midir and Aila to a safe zone dozens of meters away. The dragon's strike missed. Its massive body was unable to stop in time due to momentum, and the enormous impact overturned the entire block, leaving it in ruins.
This sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. Whether it was the pureblood dragons still bound or Sherry and the others who were focusing on maintaining their spells, all were blown away by the powerful force. The battlefield instantly fell into an even more chaotic state.
Failing its first strike, the Blue Dragon immediately turned around and charged at Midir again with the force of a thunderbolt. Its massive body and staggering strength made the buildings along the way as fragile as paper, failing to slow its progress in the slightest.
Seeing this, Aila quickly supported Midir, and the two wove through the alleys that hadn't yet been destroyed, attempting to use the complex architectural layout to confuse the Blue Dragon's vision.
But how could the clever dragon be so easily stumped by such a small trick? As it moved, its wings flapped once, and countless wind blades spread out like a rainstorm toward the direction they were fleeing, slicing the surrounding buildings into pieces like tofu.
Midir barely managed to put up a barrier to neutralize the damage from the wind blades. However, the two were still trapped in the ruins of the buildings. He and Aila used instant movement to leave the spot just before the dragon's next attack arrived.
However, the Blue Dragon's keen perception immediately captured their trail. In almost a breath's time, a new round of attacks followed them like a shadow.
Midir had to activate space magic again, frequently changing positions to try and shake off the dragon's pursuit. Unfortunately, the Blue Dragon was equally proficient in this field and could always accurately predict and lock onto their location, leaving Midir almost no room to breathe.
The two were like the moles in a game of Whack-a-Mole, constantly dodging the dragon's attacks. The side effects of performing instant movement more than ten times in a row caused Aila's face to turn deathly pale.
Rate on N.U.
