Trusting and relying on someone whose background you didn’t even know was kind of insane. What the soldier said to Walm wasn’t entirely wrong. But considering the situation, a little insanity was just what was needed. Dragons, after all, weren’t so kind as to care about your sanity.
“Most of the enemies and undead near the city gate were gone, right? It was me, who burned and killed them.”
In order to gain some trust, Walm told Edoardo what he had done.
Is it not enough?
――Walm had the next persuasion material in case that wasn’t enough, but one of the adventurers who were among the soldiers raised a voice.
“I think he’s speaking the truth. Inside the Labyrinth, I saw Walm-san use a blue fireball. It’s the same as the blue flame smoldering near the gate.”
It was a familiar adventurer. A male adventurer. His name was Peyrouse, and recently he had been active in the low-rank and mid-rank floors.
“That guy, the kind of man who dived into the deep floor of the Labyrinth alone. Wouldn’t be strange if he’d been hiding one or two trump cards.”
One of the terribly exhausted dwarves standing behind Peyrouse raised a voice.
Though they were demi-humans of the Forest Alliance, they were widely known for their fighting prowess and prestige as they continued their activities on the deep floor of the Labyrinth for a long period of time.
Edoardo hardened his decision, perhaps because the dwarves’ fame was such a decisive blow.
“I bet on you. It’s for the city.”
Walm nodded vigorously.
“Oi, keep this for me.”
“Y-yes.”
To be a little more agile, Walm entrusted his halberd to Peyrouse, who was one of the few acquaintances nearby, and began to run towards the Undead Dragon.
“As soon as your 《Demon Fire》 wears off, we will move to attack with the remaining troops… We must hold it until the rearguard troops arrive. No matter what.”
The 1000-man Commander Edoardo incorporated Walm as part of his strategy. If the plan failed, not only Walm, but also the lives of countless soldiers and citizens would be lost. Failure was not allowed.
While hiding in the rubble of a house, Walm got closer and closer to his goal. The closer he got to the Undead Dragon, the more he was amazed at its size. Its size far exceeded that of any dragon subspecies. Near its huge body, no sunlight would reach you.
To the sloppy attack of the soldiers, the Undead Dragon happily advanced.
Contrary to the rising tension, the demon mask vibrated innocently.
Walm, approaching from behind, released the mana he possessed. The air instantly grew hot, and blue flames streamed with the hot wind.
A blazing storm. Demonstrating the maximum firepower, comparable to that of when Walm was an active Highserk soldier. No pain disturbed the thoughts, no burning sensation disturbed the eyes, no blur disturbed the vision.
The hot air peeled from the roofs and walls of the surrounding buildings, and the spreading flames danced ecstatically about. To the point where they reached the height of the Undead Dragon. To the Undead Dragon, the blue flame was an abominable flame. Screams of pain shook the air, and the writhing limbs ran amok.
Both eyes of the Undead Dragon caught Walm, who continued to spit out the abominable 《Demon Fire》.
The Undead Dragon directed a great hostility at Walm alone and raised a roar. A terrible roar echoed through its stomach.
The Undead Dragon swung its strong arm as it had so many times buried humans under it. If it had been level ground, Walm wouldn’t have been able to dodge. Fortunately, the scaffolding was plentiful.
The house where Walm had been until just now was shattered, but he had jumped onto the roof with the hot wind and dashed forward.
The Undead Dragon that had brought many dead to the city was obsessed with a single human.
Walm jumped over the tail as it scraped the ground and dodged the claws that keep coming.
A gigantic open jaw followed Walm’s back, only to chew through the houses.
The debris kicked by the Undead Dragon’s leg flew like a bullet. Some grazed the back of Walm’s head, and the unavoidable fragments hit the armor.
“Ugh, guh.”
It was nothing but a dull pain. The armor mixed with mithril and the ashes of the half-body Undead Dragon showed their toughness. Shock ran through Walm’s body, but it wasn’t enough to stop his actions.
While Walm escaped the onslaught with some acrobatic movements, the undead dragon was consumed by blue flames. The magical barrier kept crumbling violently, and finally, the blue flame began to roast the rotten flesh.
Despite the short time of one and a half minutes, it seemed to Walm, who was accompanied by a hot wind, like half an hour and at the same time like a moment, as he circled the huge body without thinking of running back.
Now, most of the Undead Dragon’s magical barrier was scraped away by the 《Demon Fire》 that drained Walm’s mana, and burns were carved all over its body. In turn, the fatigue caused by the lack of mana weighed on Walm’s entire body. Similar to the symptoms of oxygen deprivation, it caused dizziness and nausea.
Then, “that moment” came unexpectedly.
The 《Demon Fire》, which Walm had been spewing out inexhaustibly, rapidly went out.
Walm slid down into a corner of the alley. The Undead Dragon had poor visibility due to the blue flames and hot wind, but there was no way it could forgive a human who was striking its body with an abominable flame and jumping around like a pesky fly. So with its tail and fangs, it meticulously turned the area where Walm was hiding into an empty lot.
Edoardo and his troops started attacking because the 《Demon Fire》 stopped, but the Undead Dragon’s attention wasn’t distracted and it still pursued Walm relentlessly.
Destroyed houses rained down from above. Building materials like studs and beams were coming.
For the moment, only sharp splinters scratched Walm’s skin. But the fact that his body would soon be crushed didn’t change. Would he be suffocated by the debris or crushed to death by the Undead Dragon’s tail or arms? In any case, he could only struggle with a body that lacked mana.
For some reason, many of the rubbles were suddenly blown away.
A continuous impact exploded right above. And the body of the Undead Dragon that was chasing Walm tilted.
The true identity was an astonishing number of magic attacks.
The Undead Dragon was flooded with all sorts of offensive magic, from magic with mass such as <Ice Lance> and <Earth Bullet> to intangible magic such as <Fireball> and <Air Blade>.
Ironically, the Undead Dragon’s huge body protected Walm from being hit by magic attacks.
Leaving Walm, with whom it had been so obsessed until a moment ago, the Undead Dragon left the place.
“Uhh, hah, huff, damn it, are you, going outside?!”
Grabbing the broken pillar, Walm rose from the sea of rubble and glared at the departing Undead Dragon’s back.
Even the emergency-constructed embankments and trenches for slowing the Undead Dragon down were of no use. And despite the numerous magic attacks the troops cast, no fatal wound was inflicted.
On the contrary, to get out of the unfavorable topography of the city, the Undead Dragon began to aim outside the city walls. The flatlands surrounding the city were free of obstacles. There was no chance of victory for humans, once the field changed there.
“I found Walm-san! Leake, Matthio, Donna, over here!! I’m glad. That this won’t be a memento.”
Said Peyrouse to Walm, who was chasing the Undead Dragon with slow steps like an old man.
Behind Peyrouse, his companions followed.
Walm, who was handed the halberd instead of a cane, entrusted himself to the halberd.
“With the time you bought, the heavy magic unit in the border area was able to make it in time, but still, the, the Undead Dragon was heading outside the castle walls without stopping…”
Peyrouse choked on the words. That, of course, was the case. Evidently, even after receiving 《Demon Fire》 and an all-out attack from the troops, the monster hadn’t stopped walking.
“Together with the building, Eigeff and the others have been eateeEENN!!!”
“Don’t stop!! Keep moving around!! KEEP SHOOTING!!!”
“Aim for the joints!! STOP ITS LEEEEGGS!!”
Mixed with countless sounds of destruction, the hoarse cries of the soldiers reached Walm.
The troops did their best. But it wasn’t enough to stop the living natural disaster. Just from a careless sting of the monster, people died.
“Aaah, it will soon cross the walls, there are a lot of citizens over there.”
“Don’t let it go! DON’T LET IT GOOOOO!!”
Ruthlessly, the claw was hung on the walls. The defensive wall that divided the city collapsed without being able to support the mass of the Undead Dragon.
Lungs couldn’t take in oxygen properly. Walm could only gasp at the sight.
Again. Am I going to fail again?
The memories of Dandurg were revived even if Walm didn’t want it, and the scenery overlapped.
Nothing changes even if I struggle. I can’t change anything!
At this moment, for Walm, tomorrow and hope felt like only an illusion that would never come true.
It’s going to repeat again huh…?
――Walm could only stare at the despair before him.
While despair started to feel so overwhelming, suddenly Walm’s muddy eyes caught hope.
It was a bright flash that shattered the blackened scales of the Undead Dragon.
A glorious light caused by the mixture of three different magic attributes.
“MERRILL!!!”
The 《Trimagitack》, which didn’t lose its brilliance even at the bottom of the Labyrinth, made an appearance.
Merrill, who had made the blow, stood in the half-destroyed wall passages while being supported by her party members.
The giant that didn’t know how to stop, swayed sharply and bent backward.
The ferocious attack of the troops that followed soon enough hit the Undead Dragon that had its magical barrier peeled off.
Right now. This moment. Was a turning point for all who lived in the Labyrinth City.
Even while being hit by magic attacks and projectiles, the Undead Dragon swung its arms down the wall passage in front of it. Before its sharp claws cut through Merrill, the second shot of 《Trimagitack》 pierced its crushed chest without fail.
Pitch-black pieces of meat and scales danced in the sky, receiving the flash of the 《Trimagitack》 and reflecting the light irregularly.
Fresh blood rained down on the city.
The giant could stand it no longer and collapsed into the city, and the earth trembled in praise of the dragon’s fall. It was the loudest roar of the day.
Quickly, humans rushed to the fallen Undead Dragon.
“DON’T BE AFFRAIIIIDD!!! Kill it!! Kill the dragon!!”
“Attack it now!! If it gets away from here, you won’t be able to do it again!!”
People from all over the city flocked to the collapsed Undead Dragon. Peyrouse, who was by Walm’s side, the dwarves of the Forest Alliance, and Edoardo, the frontline commander, were no exception. Like a serpent circled by ants, the dragon crawling on the ground writhed and crushed the people who rush to it, but it wasn’t enough to stop those possessed by madness.
Numerous weapons pierced the entire body of the Undead Dragon, which was unmatched in toughness until a moment ago.
The blood that flowed from the Undead Dragon like a river dyed the city red and black.
Leaving the ring of people and corpses, Walm sat alone on the nearby rubble. He looked up at the sky, it was bloody dusk.
“Is it, finally over……?”
Mountains of rubble and corpses stretched as far as the muddy eye could see. At its center, the Undead Dragon didn’t move any longer.
Belgana, which served as a cage of the Undead Dragon, lost half of its functions as a city. Regardless of whether they were soldiers or civilians, countless casualties were piled up, just to subjugate the Undead Dragon.
In this way, a century-planned upheaval show orchestrated by Gundor came to an end.
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