-Hmm, you're not wrong.
Wrath narrowed his eyes as he looked at the violently shaking sand mountain.
-If we had continued like that, we wouldn't have been able to save the dwarves and humans.
'That's right. The Light Wind division would have been in danger, and some of the hostages would have died too.'
Raon nodded as he dusted the sand off his hands.
'Because Dsiouros' lair has boundary magic.'
Dsiouros had placed defensive magic on his sand-built lair that could incinerate both the outside and inside. It was a cruel trap that would turn not only intruders but also hostages trying to help from within into ashes.
'If we had just dug into the sand like that, Latiru and the other dwarves waiting for us would have all died.'
As Latiru had said, the dragon Dsiouros was not simply strong, but a cunning lizard.
"Hey! You crazy bastard!"
Martha burst out of the sand as if swimming and screamed.
"Why are you really doing this?!"
Burren also gritted his teeth, his patience seemingly at its limit this time.
"Haaa..."
Runaan calmly brushed the sand off her clothes, as if thinking there must be a reason for all this.
"At this point, he's an enemy! An enemy!"
"Why is he interfering after giving us the mission himself!"
"What the hell are you trying to do, you damned demon spawn!"
The other Light Wind Palace swordsmen also screamed as they emerged from the sand.
-Even among demons, there's no one like him!
Wrath frowned, wondering why they were comparing him to demons and such monsters.
-But today, I can understand how those kids feel.
He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling sorry for the Light Wind Palace children.
"If you had continued in that state, not only you but also the hostages inside would have been roasted alive."
Raon jerked his chin towards the frowning Light Wind Palace swordsmen.
"What...? Really?"
Martha's eyes widened as if she hadn't known at all.
"I've been constantly spreading my aura perception, but I didn't sense anything like that..."
Burren's fingertips trembled as he said he hadn't felt any flow of magic.
"It feels like there might be something very faint..."
Runaan narrowed her eyes as if she had just now sensed the flow of magic.
"Then..."
"For our sake?"
"Palace Master..."
The Light Wind Palace swordsmen bit their lips slightly as if they had realized Raon's intentions.
"We're dealing with an Ancient Dragon. It can easily set up magic to deceive your aura perception."
Raon shook his head as he looked at the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.
"Latiru gave you a hint beforehand that Dsiouros is not only strong but also a cunning lizard. You should have searched the area around the lair more thoroughly. Points deducted."
He clicked his tongue, saying that while the plan itself wasn't bad, the preliminary investigation was lacking.
'If they had really searched the surroundings in detail, they could have found the flow of magic.'
Dsiouros, the dragon, must have underestimated the hostages as well, as he hadn't perfectly hidden the boundary magic. There were places where the flow of magic was distorted here and there, so if the officers had concentrated until the end, they would surely have found it.
-To be honest, it's not an easy task.
Wrath lowered his eyebrows as he looked at the surprised Light Wind Palace swordsmen.
-For those kids' level, detecting the flow of magic while avoiding the dragon's eyes is as difficult as passing through the eye of a needle.
He nodded, understanding why they couldn't find it.
"So, Palace Master, you were trying to save us..."
Dorian clasped his hands together, seemingly moved.
"Not really?"
Raon shook his head firmly.
"I don't particularly care if you burn to death, but I have to keep the promise I made with Latiru."
While it was good to break down the Light Wind Palace swordsmen's confidence and teach them a lesson, even if it weren't for the promise with Latiru, he couldn't let the hostages burn to death.
"Since it's come to this, I'll go rescue the hostages. You try to hold off that lizard."
Raon waved his hand lightly and entered the sand again. The ground shook as if it would collapse, the sand mountain sank, and a transcendent being covered in eerily red scales revealed itself.
A neck so long it seemed endless shot up into the sky, and enormous wings that could cover the earth spread out, bringing a gray sandstorm.
A red glow brighter than the sun flashed in the sky, dripping with killing intent. The dragon's aura, the terror that only dragons possess, swept over the Light Wind Palace swordsmen. The Light Wind Palace swordsmen trembled, their hands holding their swords sweating profusely as they felt the transcendent killing intent emanating from the Ancient Dragon.
They all had the same thought as they felt Dsiouros' immense malice.
'Raon Zieghart, you crazy bastard!'
How are we supposed to kill that!
* * *
Dsiouros frowned as he looked at the humans cowering under his aura.
'These worms dare...'
He had been satisfyingly appreciating the new exhibits he had received from his slaves when he was insulted as a lizard by these humans he considered insects. It was the first time in thousands of years that he had been mocked, so he had destroyed his lair and revealed his true form to crush them one by one. However, looking at the humans, they weren't complete vermin after all.
'There's more than one or two Grandmasters.'
The humans before him possessed enough power to easily chew up and spit out a mature dragon, even if they couldn't reach him.
'Though they're not difficult opponents.'
The human swordsmen were trembling all over, terrified by his aura. If he swung the tail he was hiding behind him, he could kill them all in one blow.
'I'll kill half of them first, and keep the rest alive to extract information.'
No one except his own kind knew that he had made his lair here. It meant information had leaked from somewhere, so he decided to torture them to extract information. As Dsiouros was about to raise his tail, which seemed longer than the desert itself...
"You bastards! Don't chicken out!"
The black-haired human woman roared as she drew her sword.
"We endured that crazy guy's training! We can definitely tear apart a mere lizard!"
She stomped her foot fiercely, telling them not to think about losing before even fighting.
"Yes. We'll win."
The silver-haired human woman raised her sword, which was wrapped in a chilling killing intent despite her blank gaze.
"We can do it..."
She calmly assumed a battle stance, seemingly unaffected by his aura.
"That's right. Raon, no, the Palace Master wouldn't give us an impossible task. Let's save the hostages and catch that lizard!"
The blue-haired human man stepped forward.
"Formation!"
When he shouted "Formation!", the humans who had been cowering in fear gathered in one place, emitting a powerful aura.
As the human swordsmen raised their swords, an aura of a completely different caliber from before rose from them. A chill ran down his spine at the eerie sword aura that could certainly reach him.
'This could be dangerous...'
While he wouldn't die, he might sustain serious injuries fighting them. The Lord had told him to take care of his body for the upcoming war, so it seemed better to avoid a direct confrontation.
'Should I use the hostages?'
Judging from these humans' words and actions, it was clear that saving the hostages in the lair was their priority over killing him. If he used magic while placing the hostages in front, he could easily kill them.
[Come out.]
He gestured towards the lair, calling for the slaves. The slaves were so terrified of him that they couldn't refuse his voice, as if under a spell. But even after hearing his call, not a single slave showed themselves.
[What is this...]
Dsiouros frowned and sent mana flowing under the lair.
'Not a single one?'
Impossible! Not much time had passed since he revealed himself, but currently, there was not a single person left in the lair. All the dwarf and human slaves had disappeared, and the guardians watching over them were all dead. It felt like a nightmare.
'This is impossible...'
His lair had his boundary magic and protective magic. If one carelessly opened a path, they would die roasted by 9th circle magic, but he couldn't understand where they had disappeared to.
[What have you done!]
As Dsiouros glared fiercely at the human swordsmen, the sand behind him exploded violently.
"Ah, fortunately, I made it in time."
A golden-haired, red-eyed human burst out from the exploded sand dune, smacking his lips. Behind him stood the dwarves and humans he had been using as slaves, with bewildered expressions, as if they couldn't understand the current situation either.
[So it was your doing!]
Dsiouros gritted his teeth and glared at the golden-haired, red-eyed human.
[I don't know what method you used, but it's all futile. None of you will leave this place alive...]
Normally, he would have shouted that he would kill them all and unleashed his magic, but strangely, his hand wouldn't move.
'What is this?'
Even though the human looked weak enough to kill with just one 9th circle magic spell, he felt an odd sense of unease.
'That guy. Something's different.'
An alien presence was coming from him, but he couldn't just stand still. As he was about to use magic to assess the golden-haired, red-eyed human's abilities...
"Is it okay to just focus on me?"
The golden-haired, red-eyed human shrugged his shoulders as if asking if it was really alright.
[Shut...]
As he was about to say "Shut up," he felt a pain piercing through his flesh from his toes. The human swordsmen, who had somehow approached, had created deep wounds in his legs, piercing through his mana barrier and scales.
[What!]
Dsiouros's eyes widened. He had felt their threatening aura and put up a triple-layered mana shield, but he didn't expect it to be penetrated.
"We broke through!"
"If we amplify the power of the Astral Ring with the Light Wind Sword Formation, it's enough to work!"
"Let's keep going!"
The human swordsmen, feeling that their attack had succeeded, raised their morale even higher.
[You worms!]
Dsiouros frowned and summoned a rain of fire. Although the range wasn't wide, it was a powerful magic that could burn all those humans to ashes.
"Scatter!"
The blue-haired human raised his head and gave the order to scatter. The human swordsmen, without a moment's hesitation, abandoned their sword formation and dispersed in all directions. They avoided the massive rain of fire pouring down on the center and cut through the thin flames that followed with their swords.
"Regroup!"
As soon as the rain of fire ended, the human swordsmen gathered in the center again and unleashed a barrage of sharp slashes towards him.
[You, you bastards!]
Dsiouros twisted his mouth and summoned a massive spear of flame that distorted the air. As the spear of flame that even a god might wield fell to the earth, it caused a huge explosion that engulfed the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.
[You vermin...]
Just as Dsiouros was about to turn his gaze away, expecting the annihilation of the humans, the Light Wind Palace swordsmen broke through the storm of flames and once again drove their slashes into his body.
[Defense!]
Dsiouros uttered a dragon word and created a barrier that the humans' swords could not penetrate further.
'This is insane...'
Fortunately, the dragon word barrier prevented their swords from penetrating further. If he had been even a little late, his leg might have been cut off.
[Get away!]
Dsiouros used a dragon word to summon a storm that pushed all the human swordsmen away.
"This actually works?"
The black-haired woman smacked her lips as if she couldn't believe it was actually effective.
"The training in the sand field paid off. If we wrap ourselves in aura, we can even withstand a dragon's heat."
The blue-haired human nodded with satisfaction.
"But it's still tough..."
The silver-haired woman stuck out her tongue, saying it was hard to endure the heat.
[Damn you all!]
Dsiouros gritted his teeth as he looked at the humans muttering that it was manageable.
'Those worms are a problem, but the biggest issue is that guy.'
The golden-haired, red-eyed human standing at the back. Because of him, his movements were being restricted.
'I can always gather more slaves. Let's kill him first.'
No matter how special he might be, he's still just a human. Deciding to completely erase him, he opened the Dragon Heart's mana to its maximum. Dsiouros raised the transcendent magic Crimson Radiance to drop on the golden-haired, red-eyed human's head.
The Crimson Radiance is magic that causes chain explosions by containing the light attribute within heat that melts everything.
No matter how strong that human might be, he couldn't block all the explosions. The Crimson Radiance exploded in front of the golden-haired, red-eyed human, melting the gray sand like molten iron, and red lava spurted up around it.
However, even in the midst of that massive explosion, the golden-haired human and the slaves behind him weren't harmed at all.
[Huh...?]
Dsiouros's eyes widened as he looked at the golden-haired, red-eyed human.
[What did you just...]
The human had merely raised his sword, yet his magic had been cleanly cut off. He couldn't understand what had been done.
[What did you just do!]
As Dsiouros roared at the golden-haired, red-eyed human, the human swordsmen behind him once again broke through his barrier and attacked.
[Kuaaaah!]
Although the wounds weren't deep, feeling pain repeatedly for the first time in hundreds of years irritated him deeply.
"Don't mind me, focus on those guys. Let's play according to our levels."
The golden-haired, red-eyed human jerked his chin arrogantly.
[You insolent worm!]
The dragon Dsiouros spread his massive wings. As his wings moved, the powerful wind pressure pushed back the charging Light Wind Palace swordsmen. The Light Wind Palace swordsmen shot out Astral Rings and Astral Energy, but Dsiouros had already risen into the sky, deflecting all their attacks.
[I wanted to leave you alive out of some lingering affection, but I have no choice! I'll erase you all!]
Dsiouros revealed his bloodthirsty gaze as he gathered mana from the atmosphere.
[Blame them! Your deaths are all because of those humans!]
With a malicious cry, he opened his massive maw that could swallow even the sun. From the dragon's gaping black mouth, heat that could burn the entire world began to pour out. The Red Dragon's strongest weapon, the Flame Breath, was about to be unleashed.
* * *
"As expected..."
Raon briefly smacked his lips as he watched Dsiouros concentrating vast amounts of mana.
"He's reacting just like that."
Dragons, born as the strongest species, can't contain their anger at the mere thought of humans matching them. Even now, instead of thinking about fighting wisely by buying time, he was only thinking about erasing them with power.
"R-Raon! Shouldn't we block it now?"
Martha stomped her foot, asking what he was doing.
"Y-yeah. It looks like it's coming..."
Burren swallowed dryly as he looked up at Dsiouros.
"Wow, two suns..."
Runaan blinked as she looked at the sun and Dsiouros's Flame Breath compressing beside it.
"Aaaaaaah!"
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
Dorian and Krein screamed as they clung to each other.
"Look at that damn bastard just standing there!"
Trevin also gritted his teeth, as if he had given up.
"F-Flame Breath..."
"W-what are we going to do now!"
"We're all going to die!"
"This is why we shouldn't have come out! We should have just stayed below!"
The humans who had been held as slaves by Dsiouros shouted, asking why they had even been rescued.
"No, this might be better."
"At least it's the end of suffering under that damn dragon."
"We are the proud people of the earth. We won't beg even here."
While some of the dwarves felt the fear of death, most clenched their burnt hands into fists, saying it was better to die than continue living like this.
"Don't give up, friends."
Latiru, the chief of the Brown Beard Clan, stepped forward and shook his head.
"These are people sent by Borgos. He wouldn't have spoken about us without a plan."
He showed more faith in Borgos than in Raon or the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.
"You mention Borgos's name..."
Raon turned to Latiru and smiled briefly.
"Then I can't act carelessly. I'll definitely keep my promise."
Saying that, he plunged both the Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem into the burnt gray earth.
[This is the end!]
Dsiouros opened his mouth wider and poured out the Flame Breath he had been concentrating. Even before the Flame Breath touched them, a heat wave that made it impossible to breathe fell, further dampening the humans' fighting spirit.
[Be erased completely... Hm?]
As Dsiouros continued to spew out his Flame Breath, a golden sun and a silver moon rose on either side of him.
[I don't know what you're trying to do, but it's already too late!]
He seemed to believe in his own flames as he exhaled to the very end, pouring out the Flame Breath at its extreme. Just as he was slowly closing his mouth, expecting the disappearance of the arrogant human's face, the swordsmen who had wounded him, and the slaves he had used so shabbily...
A clear frosty wind brushed past his nose, and in that moment, time seemed to stop as the breath froze in mid-air without reaching the ground.
[What...]
As Dsiouros blinked his eyes at this bizarre situation he had never experienced in his life, the Flame Breath that had been spreading as if to swallow the entire desert shattered into thousands of pieces, frozen solid and blue. The golden-haired, red-eyed human twisted his mouth into a smile amidst the shower of ice with red flames embedded in it.
"I told you. Pay attention to that side."
Raon jerked his chin towards the Light Wind Palace swordsmen, his eyes flashing a cold light.
"You and I are not on the same level."