Although most of the effective combat force was hidden within the safest underground fortresses, that single strike from the dragon's eye, which vaporized nearly half of Mountain Father, still brought immense shock to everyone.
It was truly a terrifying power, and that was merely from a single dragon's eye!
It was impossible to imagine just how exaggerated a true dragon in its prime would be.
The only ones who remained calm were Lola and Selena; as mother and daughter, they inherited the memories of the first Midwinter princess and did not find dragon warfare to be particularly foreign.
Lola even spoke out directly, "This isn't a bad thing. I arranged these spell barriers specifically to deplete the mana reserves of the dragon's eye."
"In the end, it is merely an inanimate object. No matter how strong a dragon is, once it loses its source of mana, the power of the dragon's eye is a finite resource. After that single dragon-speech spell, its threat level will drop by nearly half."
As if to verify the words of the Queen of Midwinter, the dragon's eye no longer loomed high in the heavens. The rift that seemed to tear the sky apart began to sink, stopping only when it nearly touched the ground.
It no longer squandered its dragon flame recklessly. Instead, it utilized the surrounding molten steel and rock to shape simple puppet creations. They surged forward atop the lava, prepared to purge the remaining enemies within Mountain Father.
Such a frugal use of power was enough to prove that the previous strike had indeed cost the dragon's eye dearly.
"Wear it down to death, huh... Well, that's one way to do it."
Although he didn't know where mortals got the confidence to compete in a war of attrition with a dragon's eye, it was at least a viable method. Faust sat into the Neural Link Pod and allowed the titan to pull him into its body.
Faust was delighted to see that Selena had realized the blueprints he had designed. His ability to participate in such a high-level battle depended entirely on his role as a titan pilot.
【I didn't design it! I didn't design it! I didn't design it!】
"Shut up, Faust the First Thief. Steal again and be prosecuted!"
Ignoring Mephistopheles's grumbling, Faust powered up the titan mecha and laughed loudly, "Zilliax (near-mint condition), preparing for sortie!"
Behind Zilliax, Lola expanded her workshop as a high warlock, manifesting as a floating black traveling palace. Viviana, Selena, and the others met the enemy from atop the workshop, avoiding the lava-filled terrain created by the dragon-speech spell.
As for the other frost-walkers and the many human warriors qualified to participate, they had to fight the kin created by the dragon's eye within the ruined fortress.
Thump—
Facing the all-out charge of the resistance, the dragon's eye tore another rift in the void, manifesting a phantom of a giant dragon to meet the enemy.
Compared to a real demonic dragon, this phantom was undoubtedly a mere knockoff, but it was enough. Even if it was just a cheap imitation, the force driving it was a genuine dragon's curse.
The titan mecha and the spell workshop immediately began to exchange blows with the dragon's projection. The resulting shockwaves added new scars to the long-suffering mountains.
The white snow that originally covered the mountain range also melted under this intense heat.
...................
At the same time Faust and the others were locked in a fierce battle with the dragon's eye, by the lakeside far from Mountain Father...
Azure Maiden gazed at the earth boiling under the dragon flame, her silver teeth biting into her sleeve, her beautiful eyes filled with resentment and panic.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!!!"
How could it be a dragon? Why was it a dragon?!
Wasn't this just a simple mission to clear out ancient profane creations? How did the dragon's curse manifest into a physical form?!
That dragon should have been dead for ages, its bones ground to dust and its soul prevented from entering the circuit of the great wheel of life.
But even so, its eye can still come back as a corpse? I haven't exactly never seen a dragon before; do you think I'm as ignorant as those mortals?!
This is absolutely not a normal development!
Only now did Azure Maiden realize what a terrifying script of fate she had stepped into, her heart filled with bitterness.
Because she had been greedy for Faust's beauty, or perhaps to reclaim her own pride, she had momentarily failed to notice the danger and fallen into such a predicament.
"Lady!"
At that moment, the call of a grail knight came. Two grail knights arrived at the lakeside and knelt on one knee before Azure Maiden, saying, "Please allow us to join in and combat this dragon disaster! As grail knights, it would be an unpardonable disgrace to stand idly by in the face of a dragon disaster!"
Dathrohan and Royce had recovered their condition after several days of rest.
Right now, their fighting spirit was even higher than before, their eyes shining.
Because that was a dragon!
The most terrifying and powerful of fiends, the name of an evil dragon was a walking natural disaster, an enemy of the world.
Regardless of previous stances or how they had fought to the death, even irreconcilable enemies had to set aside their differences and jointly resist the great foe in the face of a dragon disaster.
But at the same time, the act of slaying a dragon was the most supreme honor and glory!
No warrior who valued honor more than life could possibly sit back and watch!
The only evil dragons currently existing in the world were the dragon lords of the Second Empire. But on that exaggerated battlefield, a grail knight wouldn't even be able to see Lady Lian; they would likely be ground into the front lines instantly.
Even if there were countless people with the ambition to slay a dragon, they could only die in regret before Lian's followers.
But now, a dragon's eye was laid out before them. It wasn't as powerful as a true dragon, yet it was still part of one. Even if it couldn't be called a hundred percent dragon-slaying feat, surely getting a piece of the action counts for something, right?
If they didn't act now, they might as well be stripped of their status as humans.
Dathrohan and Royce trembled with excitement. They had suffered repeated defeats in the Midwinter Kingdom and had almost lost all face, but if they could achieve something in this dragon disaster, then it would be completely worth it. This trip could be called incredibly glorious!
"Go then. Bring back victory... at any cost."
Azure Maiden waved her hand expressionlessly, nearly exhausted. No matter her stance, she could not refuse this perfectly reasonable request.
The Lady of the Lake could get away with using her power for personal gain normally, but under a dragon disaster, evasion was not permitted. She had to do everything in her power to deal with the greatest fate-defier.
"Yes! We shall surely crush the great enemy and dedicate this glory to you!"
The two grail knights immediately took their orders. As soon as they left the lakeside, they manifested their Knight-God Stance and charged toward the dragon phantom.
Arriving even faster than their mecha were spears like lightning. The spears, burning with blazing lake-light fire, pierced directly through the giant dragon's wings, marking the grail knights' entry into the battlefield.
"People of Midwinter, and the prince of Qingxi, we have come to lend you a hand!"
Dathrohan shouted, "Though we have clashed before, each performing our duties, we now have a common enemy. In the face of a dragon disaster, let us temporarily forget our previous unpleasantness!"
Seeing this, Faust couldn't help but snark, "Oh, look at that. Looks like we're all one big happy family now."
Rate on N.U.
