Chapter 715

The first major blow landed more than five minutes after the full-scale battle began.

A net of lightning wrapped around the Insect-Dragon’s hind legs, and a burning rock struck its back.

A towering spray of water turned into icy stakes, piercing its hide, while hundreds of blade-like shadows emerged from the darkness, tearing into the armor of its legs.

Invisible, intangible blades slashed through three of its eyes, and a curse of blindness cast darkness over the remaining five.

Then, Milia’s arrow pierced the Insect-Dragon’s cheek, tearing through its tongue.

【 Grhaaaak! 】

The Insect-Dragon, its mouth wide open, spat out its severed tongue and groaned. Even the severed part seemed to retain some consciousness, as the shredded, leech-like flesh squirmed, spitting acidic saliva and thrashing against the ground.

“Keep attacking!”

Ferne shouted as she drew her bowstring. The magicians began gathering mana once more, and the knights, seizing the opportunity of the dragon’s blinded vision, closed in and swung their cold weapons.

Against a monster spanning over a hundred meters, the Empire’s longswords were no more effective than toothpicks, so the Royal Guard’s captain and Persval wielded halberds instead.

“Haaah!”

Damien, amazed by the durability of his greatsword that wouldn’t break no matter how roughly he used it, stepped on the Insect-Dragon’s knee and leaped, bringing his sword down on its back. The armor shattered, spraying blood.

Nidhogg writhed in agony, its body slashed, torn, pierced, and crushed, sweeping everything around it. It tore off the insects from its blinded eyes and replaced them with others.

However, the dragon’s frenzied rampage failed to achieve its goal.

“This is why swordsmen are the best!”

“Elpinel, guide us!”

Every time the three masters were in danger of being trampled or blown apart, Ferne’s Rock Spirit and Lacey’s Holy Barrier absorbed the Insect-Dragon’s attacks, giving them a chance to escape.

Lacey, who had once been the sole defender, could barely protect herself by purifying the dense miasma, leaving no room for other miracles. But now, with the emergence of a high-level spirit as a shield, she finally had the leeway to support her allies properly.

“Thank you, Archbishop!”

“We owe you our lives.”

The masters, saved by the shields of Lacey and Ferne, offered brief words of gratitude.

“Fall back! Its vision will return!”

Ferne, who was repairing the shattered body of her Rock Spirit after it was struck by the dragon’s wing, warned them.

The Insect-Dragon’s eyes, which had been slowly regrowing, were now fully restored.

【 Kurrrrr…! 】

Its burning gaze, filled with hatred, glared at them with eight independently moving eyes.

The masters quickly distanced themselves, and the magicians unleashed their high-level magic once more.

Ferne and Milia focused on blocking the dragon’s mouth to prevent it from roaring, while Lacey bestowed the Blessing of Purification on the three masters who had been tainted by miasma during close combat.

The Rock Spirit’s punches, high-level magic bombardments, curses to block senses, and the knights’ slashes—though not pre-planned, their coordinated attacks flowed seamlessly, like perfectly meshed gears.

The Insect-Dragon’s body began to accumulate wounds.

– Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang…!

The City of Exra-shapel also began to bear more scars.

—

While relentlessly firing arrows and manipulating the high-level spirit to hinder the Insect-Dragon’s movements, Ferne also took command of her allies.

Having shaken off the effects of alcohol, Ferne began to fight in earnest.

She proved that her over a century of experience as a guardian was no waste, displaying truly remarkable skill.

Had Hashal-leur seen this, he would have praised her, saying the money spent on alcohol was worth every penny.

To those fighting alongside her, Ferne’s prowess was deeply impressive. Especially to Damien, Milia, and Ophelia, who had seen her drunken state daily.

‘So Senior Ferne is this strong… No wonder Hashal-leur wanted to keep her close.’

‘I want to learn Spirit Arrows too…’

‘She drinks every day, yet she’s still this strong? She must have been even stronger in her prime. Well… if you live over ten times a human lifespan, you’d better be this strong.’

Of course, not everyone was purely admiring her. Some, like Floheta, the Tower Master, and the Royal Guard, were wary.

‘If all fairy guardians are this strong… we should avoid a full-scale war. We must strike Alvheim’s capital and burn the World Tree.’

Needless to say, Lacey felt the same.

—

Of course, Ferne paid no attention to their admiration or wariness. She was too preoccupied with the growing suspicion that something was off.

‘…This is strange. Is this really a dragon?’

It was utterly bizarre.

Based on its aura, it seemed like a monster that would require eight guardians of her level to subdue, yet in actual combat, it was manageable with just three guardians.

Even a mediocre high-level spirit could block its movements, making it seem like a manageable opponent.

Its massive size allowed it to sweep away everything within a twenty-meter radius with a single tail swing, but its attacks were crude and clumsy.

All it could do was roar, swing its tail, wings, and forelimbs, and bite with its jaws. It couldn’t even properly utilize the miasma swirling beneath its feet.

Even its armor was only as strong as steel.

A monster that couldn’t fly, breathe fire, or manipulate mana. It was nothing more than a giant beast.

To Ferne, it felt more like fighting a giant insect than a dragon. It thrashed around like a mindless beast, showing none of the majesty of a true dragon.

‘Not that I want to see that… but still, this is…’

The uncertainty was unsettling.

If its incomplete resurrection was the reason it couldn’t fight properly, that would be one thing. But if there was another reason… it might suddenly become much stronger once that reason was resolved.

【 Grraaaa! 】

Yes, like this.

The Insect-Dragon, battered and disoriented, raised its forelimb and slammed it into the ground—specifically, into the Pool of Magi beneath its feet.

Black fountains erupted from the boiling pool of miasma.

A low, rumbling vibration followed, and the rising miasma drew strange lines and shapes in the air.

“What is this…!?”

Ophelia’s eyes narrowed. She, more than anyone, understood the meaning of the strange magical formula being etched in the air.

Soul Extraction Technique.

Unlike her own research into manipulating souls with mana, this was the genuine article.

– Hwaaak!

The circles and countless shapes drawn in the air by the miasma glowed with a dark light, then melted away as if collapsing.

And then,

– Crack.

From the Pool of Magi surrounding Nidhogg, black hands suddenly emerged.

Skeletal hands, blackened as if painted with miasma, glistening with dark energy. The black bones gripped the surface of the pool and pulled up the bodies submerged beneath.

Arm bones, shoulder bones, skulls, and ribs emerged as if crawling out of the depths, their empty eye sockets glowing with blue light.

– Crack, crack!

One was not enough. Two, five, ten, dozens. Countless bones began to crawl out of the Pool of Magi.

Each had a different form.

Some had shattered skulls, others missing limbs, some wreathed in flickering flames, and others clad in rusted, broken armor.

“Such evil trickery…!”

Lacey’s face twisted with anger and contempt. She knew immediately what Nidhogg had done.

“Defiling the rest of the dead!”

An army of spirit monsters, created by overlaying miasma onto wandering souls.

This was the magic once mastered by Peirus Haransior, the legendary dark sorcerer who had fallen to become a priest of the Ancient Gods.

“Elpinel, guide us!”

Lacey pulled the Cross Spear from the ground and unleashed a radiant burst of divine light.

– Gooooooo!

An immense pillar of pure white light pierced through the clouds.

“Gaaaaah…!”

The spirits caught in Elpinel’s divine light screamed as they turned to ash and scattered.

Even knights would struggle against these spirits, yet they crumbled without resistance.

Lacey’s holy power had grown to a level where she could confidently claim to be a saintess chosen by Elpinel.

Yet, even she couldn’t purify the endless horde of spirit monsters.

No matter how many she turned to ash, more skeletons continued to rise from the Pool of Magi, their numbers only increasing.