novel
| ← Ch.045 | Ch.047 → |
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'Alpeon this is unlike you, just spit it out. '
'Dragons'
'Dragons?'
'Yes they're...'
I jumped out of bed and left Valenor sleeping on the bed, rushing the the highest tower of my palace. It was high enough to see past the cliff of the Pit and I could see the army of Elves assembled on the plains nearby. Above them soared five multicolored dragons.
"Shit, there are actually five of them."
I wasn't able to see their status pages because of the distance, but I could tell that two of them were the same size as Valenor and one of them was much larger.
'Gnoss, those dragons.... '
'Yes, those must be the dragons who have formed contracts with the elves. There had been rumours of this happening in their major families, but their numbers couldn't be confirmed. It was one of the main reasons why I brought you to meet Valenor. '
'Well it doesn't help much, 5 vs 1 is hardly a fair fight. '
We might have had a small chance if we were able to face them individually while I acted in concert with Valenor. Of course this probably didn't apply to the large green dragon because for their race, their size was often an indication of their age and power.
However now that they had all gathered together and were also backed up by a coalition army of elves, human adventurers and kingdom soldiers.
"Ughhuaaa! Johra why didn't you wake me up!"
Valenor rushed up to meet me on the observatory. She looked very calm, still wearing her pajamas.
"You were sleeping so well."
"Oh the elves have arrived... wait, why are my people with them as well."
"Indeed"
I responded to her without betraying any of my insecurities.
"So how are you going to deal with this?"
I crossed my arm, deep in thought.
"I don't have any idea."
"Lord you must have a solution right?"
"Hmm, I'm thinking now"
"Alpeon you forget yourself, my husband is King."
Luckily Valenor intervened on my behalf
"No, I would never dare doubt you my Lord."
"Why don't you just focus on battle aspect."
I ordered Alpeon with a tinge of coldness.
"I'll see to it."
When Alpeon had left, Valenor approached me and spoke.
"Five dragons, isn't that a bit too much to handle? Will we be running away Johra?"
"Truly Valenor?"
I was surprised by her suggestion.
"We are not likely to win versus five dragons. I'm perfectly fine with eloping with Johra and leaving the Pit behind."
Valenor proposed with a bright expression. No wonder she waited for Alpeon to leave.
But I was quite stubborn and hated the idea of turning tail to run.
"Sorry Valenor, I know we can't win... but I just hate the idea of running away, I know I'm stubborn...."
"No problem, does that mean we won't be backing down."
"Yea, but in the end, if we really have no hope, then we should find a way to escape and survive. After all keeping our lives is more important than our pride."
"Together?"
I nodded.
"I'm the rightful owner so I refuse to give any of it up."
"Why is it that you sound like a villain?"
"Really? I never noticed, I'll just focus on winning!"
"So do you have a plan, what will you do?"
I looked out at the Elves' camp in the distance.
"Once I settle something, we'll ride out and meet them."
"Just meet?"
"Yea, please give me a ride in a bit."
"Ok, I'll wait for you here. Polymorph!"
Rushing down the stairs I returned to my bedroom and fished out a gorgeously jeweled belt from my treasure chest.
"Life Vessel!"
The belt shone a faint red as the spell took effect.
"It's a bit risky this time so I'd best take all the precautions."
I dressed myself in all my equipment, including a standard leather upon which I could secure 20 bottles of nectar. I also reached out for the two swords hanging on my wall and strappe them to my back. Finally, I secretly hid Gnoss' gem under the bed.
'Johra what are you doing? You're going to need me!'
'Shut up! At the most critical times you always hold back some information. It might not be intentional, but you always seem to have a hidden agenda. You're staying behind so take the time to reflect on your actions.
'No, Johra if you don't have me.... '
Blocking out his telepathy, I climbed back up to the observatory.
"Let's head out now."
I climbed up behind her head.
"Thanks for the ride Valenor."
"Anytime, Johra."
"On your way can you please fly over the lake."
As she flew near it I took the chance to throw in the Treasure Chest containing my Life Vessel. I was hoping Nymue would look after my life saving trump card.
"Ok, let's go!"
"Hold on tight!"
Four of the dragons greeted us as we approached. We were still about 1 kilometer from the Elves army, which seems to suggest that the dragons wouldn't get involved until the battle started. They were all different colors, one was dark blue while another was pale. There was also a red and brown colored dragon. I was surprised to see that they were all rank B which was even stronger than Valenor. Their health was in the 14~18, 000, 000 range which was much higher than Valenor's, but they didn't seem to be very proficient in magic. Still, they all had a HP Recovery skill which made my tactic of trying to grind away their health useless.
Of course the biggest problem was still the green Elder dragon. Positioned at the back of the army, I could see that it was a rank A monster. His HP was over 70 million and had an array of maxed out skills and titles. It was the perfect boss monster in every sense of the term.
I took a closer look at the Status page.
'Damn, even the other four dragons combined don't match up to half it's power. And what are those specter like creatures? Have the Elves I killed yesterday been revived in some way? Wait, does it also have that?'
★
Name: Noradriana
Gender: Female
Status: Balanced/Blessing of the world's nectar
Race: Green Elder Dragon / Dragon
Class: Protector of the Boundless Nature
Rank: A
Level: 78241/99999
HP: 71, 865, 541/71, 865, 541
MP: 5, 678, 344/5, 678, 344
Attack: 141, 324(32, 411)
Defense: 697, 110
Agility: 3769
Intelligence: 156, 724
? Unique Skills
[Dragon's Breath LvMax] [Flying Lv5] [Resurrection Song Lv3] [Magic Cleanse LvMax] [Physical Resistance LvMax] [Magic Resistance LvMax] [Healing Song Lv5] [Fairy Dragon Summoning Lv3] [ Potential Lv7] [ Summon Healing Spring Lv7] [Telepathy Lv9] [Mind Reading Lv7] [Greater Magic Nullifying Song Lv7] [Life's Protector Lv6] [Nature's Blessing Lv8] [Nature's Army Lv7] [Nature's Sanctuary Lv4] [Greater Healing Lv8] [Health Regeneration LvMax] [Elder Dragon's Authority] [Claws of Purity Lv5]
? Titles
The Guardian of Life] [The Guardian of the Dragons] [The Lord of the Ellen Forest] [The Lord of the Lake of Life] [The Guardian of the Rain] [The Messiah of Gaia] [The Destroyer of Darkness][The singer of everlasting]
★
I nervously swallowed my saliva. The pressure was much more than my first duel versus the former Pit king, or even my recent one with Valenor. Actually, even if I disregarded the monstrous rank A boss, I still couldn't deal with the other four dragons.
'Should I have brought Gnoss along and asked him about some of those skills?'
It was too late to regret my actions as the red dragon came forward.
"Do you wish to fight, right here and now?"
He spoke out challengingly with his loud Dragon's Roar.
'Johra?'
'No, I'm here to discuss terms, please relay them this message. '
"The King of the Pit wishes to speak with Noradriana"
Valenor spoke out on my behalf.
"Why is it that one form the glorious dragon clan has become a servant to an evil undead?"
'Don't get angry Valenor, they are only seeking to divide us. '
Valenor was ready to attack them so I needed to reign her in.
"Again, the King wishes to speak with Noradriana."
For the next little while the four dragons would exchange looks with their Elder, most likely conversing through telepathy.
"My mother has allowed for the King to come forward and speak. However, the little female dragon must stay behind.
'Johra let me go with you!'
'No Valenor, I'll have to go alone this time. No matter what happens, don't start fighting. Just take who you can and escape, got it?'
'You must come back alive!'
'Don't worry, I'm an undead. I won't easily die.
It was the truth as the Life Vessel provided a safe resurrection point. If were to die in this hostile situation surrounded by dragons, I would simply resurrect in the same spot, allowing them to camp my location.
The pale blue dragon arrived to pick me up and I hopped onto his back.
"Time to go undead."
It was a short ride before I was standing before Noradriana.
"What did you want to speak to me about, undead."
"Noradriana, Guardian of Nature, my name is Johra and my title is that of King. Please refer to me properly as these are formal negotiations to prevent a war.
The Elder dragon looked at me with bored eyes before continuing.
"Tell me, what concessions could you possibly enforce on me, undead King? Speak quickly, I hate long and drawn out conversations."
"Ha ha ha, you are indeed a prideful dragon. Still, at least you have the strength to back up such arrogance. I have but one condition, Go back home and I will proceed with helping the elves find their homeland."
Pffffff!
She couldn't contain her laughter.
Do you really believe that I serve these puny elves and came here for the purpose of finding their homeland? That kind of thinking can only originate from such a small head. Unfortunately, you are terribly mistaken. I am the Guardian of Life, so I'm tasked with eliminating pesky undead before they become even more dangerous. I owed a favor to a certain warrior and she called it in just for you. Children, seize this miscreant!"
'Shit! I was their target all along! That warrior must be Lorina!'
"Teleport! Teleport!...."
Kuuu Kung Kuukung
The four dragons chased after me, trying to stomp, bite or smack me with their tails. Staying behind lazily, the green Elder dragon cast curses to slow me down and buffed her children's speed.
Fortunately, I wasn't relying on my movement speed and they weren't able to keep up with my teleports.
'I'll make you regret this. '
I was mixing in the occasional Meteor between Teleports in sync with my Multi Spell. Although the Elves had approached to box me even, they served little purpose other than for me to vent my anger on as I buried them in magic spells.
Aaahhhh!
"Set up Magic Shields! Don't stop shooting!"
"Try to predict his next teleport location!"
Some of their best commanders were trying to salvage the situation, but I had fought Valenor for five days straight in this fashion and was well versed in the tactic. It's impossible to lock onto me if I jump between the dragons. Moreover, these dragons focused on the physical prowess and had few magic skills. As they weren't able to polymorph, their large bodies couldn't handle my quick teleports.
"Don't worry about defending, I will heal all your injuries!"
Noradriana shouted out, and her children proceeded to go all out on the offensive. They tried their Dragon Breaths, Claws and tail slashes, but I simply teleported from dragon to dragon and they couldn't handle it.
"Stop!"
The Elder dragon shouted out with her Dragon's Roar and Magic Cleanse However, I had experienced it often with Valenor and could notice the telltale signs. Whenever she used these spells, I would simply teleport to the opposite side of another dragon and use it as a meatshield.
"You dare call yourself a King when all you are doing is scurrying around like a little rat?!"
"Ha ha ha, how dare you speak of pride when you assaulted someone who came to negotiate! Meteor! Teleport!"
I continued focusing on killing the elves, throwing in the occasional Multiple Death Stare. Whenever they approached me they seemed happy, as if they had succeeded, but instead my magic spells were cutting them down like cattle. I would mix it up between short and long range spells, trying not to form a pattern that they could easily predict.
"I will instill upon you a true fear of death!"
'Create Invisibility!'
[You have learned Invisibility Lv1]
"Invisibility! Teleport!"
I ran along the common elves, invisible and having turned on my Life Steal skill.
"Meteor! Teleport!"
I ran amongst their lines while also casting long range spells. The Elves' formation was completely in shambles and between my invisibility and quick teleports, the dragons couldn't get a lock on my position.
"Greater Magic Nullifying Song!"
After casting the spell, she continued in a long and deep song. Soon after my invisibility disappeared and I was no longer able to cast any spells.
'Has she created a null-magic zone?'
It was the worst possible situation for someone like me that relied heavily on my magic spells. I no longer had any way to evade their capture.
'Damn it! I'm doomed!'
I ran away as my last hope was to get as far as possible from her her song, hoping to leave the spell's range. The elves took the chance to drown me in waves of arrows, but faced with my physical immunity, they barely stung. Luckily Noradriana's spell also stopped others from using magic as well.
"Valenor!"
She had been rushing towards me but was still aways out. I turned around to see Noradriana had stopped singing and raised her head.
"Don't Valenor!"
Within moments, a shadow twice as large as Valenor appeared and ignored me as it flew past.
"No!"
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Glossary:
Noradriana: Green Elder dragon, rank A Monster.
| ← Ch. 045 | Ch. 047 → |