BXBX NOVEL Chapter 97: Dragon Slayer 2
Chapter 97: Dragon Slayer 2
The strange physics of the fortress walls resisted damage and healed from breaks on their own. Enough applied force would break through, but Hannah’s magical cubic fortifications were tougher than anything normally made by the kingdom without some source of higher quality stone.
Too bad Hannah hadn’t the time to lay her enchantments on every cube or they would’ve been even more impervious. Maybe next time.
As of now, the kobolds were struggling to get a proper hold of the magic cube-made walls. Claw marks faded away with time. Only their strongest could resist the cube’s self-repair and scramble up.
But their strongest were only in the Level 40s, and a gang of spectral spiders could make their attempts futile with arcane webbing and smartly dropped iron balls.
Loner and Mighty stood on the ramparts left of the gatehouse lane. Darko, Icicle, and Blender waited on the ramparts to the right of the lane.
They chipped in to deal with tenacious Level 40s by throwing down more iron balls or shooting shards of ice, at least in Icicle’s case. If that wasn’t enough, any Level 40 who drew uncomfortably close to the top had to face Hannah.
She aimed down her Runic Gauntlet and unleashed a quick destructive beam. The Level 40s stopped being a problem the moment a destructive beam touched them.
Gilbert gave Hannah a ride on his eight-legged horse to quicken the response to rising Level 40s. All of their efforts, along with the soldiers and acolytes shooting arrows nonstop, forced the kobolds to funnel toward the only reasonable entrance they could take.Two hundred feet long.
Fifty feet wide.
With nobody else in their way but the Madness Wizard.
Well, there was a giant behind him. But Stony wasn’t the one who’d doused them in Black Fire.
Zarian smiled as the kobolds sluggishly funneled toward him. The black and gray flames were painless. They left no damage. The kobolds grew familiar with them without realizing the true danger of the flames.
Bit by bit, the Black Fire disappeared.
Once they ate away all the vitality they could get, the Black Fire didn’t have much of a purpose anymore and snuffed out. Stripped of their vitality, thousands of kobolds heaved labored breaths and moved with weary muscles.
They had no more vital energy for their stamina. They had no more vital energy for their health and recovery. They had to rely on their bodies and whatever points they put into Strength and Agility.
The face of the horde ran sloppily at the Madness Wizard. In return, he walked forward as his Parasite Cloak scythed through them like a whirring blender, his Bloody Lifesteal spell activated.
Zarian enjoyed the greatest high ever as Para lashed out with bladed tentacles, curved bone swords, lengthy axes, dozens and dozens of scythes, hallowed needle-point tubes, countless lamprey mouths, numerous arms with extendable claws at the end of alien fingers, and new forms that looked like gaping wolf-mouths and predatory beaks.
In the middle of the chaos of blood, gore, and uncanny death, Zarian strode at a casual but unstoppable pace. Every splatter of blood glowed from the use of his Bloody Lifesteal spell, which shone so brightly it reddened the air within the walled lane. And all Zarian had to do was step forward in a straight line down the middle.
Even when the kobolds threw magic at him, Para slapped aside their ranged attacks and kept up her attack of a hundred transformed limbs of death. She even went as far as shooting out tough strings and hooks into kobolds, using their bodies as puppets to distract other kobolds. She kept them alive too, for more psychological damage.
Or just because she was having fun playing with living meat dolls.
Either way, things were looking good.
While Zarian was getting a majority of the kills – again – the enemy force was pacified once more. The soldiers and acolytes could attack without worry and rack up kills for themselves.
Because of how distracting the Bloody Lifesteal spell could be, he dropped it in favor of more focus. He kept a near-omniscient view of the entire event from multiple places, which was easier now that he was only strolling as Para committed to a bloodbath.
He slowed down a little to give the kobolds a chance to flee. The ones closest to him scrambled against more of their brethren who were pushing into the contested lane to the giant gatehouse.
The walls were painted with so much blood, everything was coated red as body parts floated in the rising crimson flood. From their view, Zarian was the eye of ravenous death. He was more of a wolf than their wolf dragon idols. He was their doom.
And he was laughing.
Yeah, okay, I’m so stupid OP, I think this Mythical Regional Event is going to end up looking like a joke because of me.
Zarian let himself have a moment to gloat.
Then everything fell to shit when an actual wolf dragon appeared.
Not from the northern front.
Not from the east, where Naomi kept pitching artillery cannon balls. And not even from the unguarded south.
The wolf dragon barreled across the lands from the west at a speed that was so fast Zarian would’ve missed it if it wasn’t for its massive size. He barely had time to even use Identify through his spectral spider as the sixty-foot tall and over two hundred-foot long serpentine creature lunged onto the rampart with its massive maw gaping wide open to take a bite of Bianca.
<Wolf Dragon, Monster, Level 72 Giant Devourer, Best Alpha Skill: Destructive Death Bite.>
“NO!”
Zarian exploded out of the walled lane with so much force he demolished the cubic floor and left a crater. He hit a high enough altitude and used Para’s help to redirect his body to point west. Then he shot more dark jets from his feet and rocketed toward Bianca’s wall.
He was too late.
Hasty and Glowy lost their torsos to the Destructive Death Bite and wouldn’t rise again.
Flamer and Windy couldn’t act fast enough to slow down the wolf dragon nor damage it much. The wolf dragon was already dashing away after taking a huge chunk of the rampart with its bite.
Warper tried to jump onto the wolf dragon and missed.
Zarian saw the creature circling around the walls with blurring speed, going from the west and to the north. He saw it turn its attention to a portion of the wall where Amabel and some other acolytes stood.
He stopped panicking. He went cold and zeroed his focus.
One shot.
One kill.
He prepared a javelin.
But someone landed their hit before he could.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
A torrent of light shot out of the wolf dragon’s belly and stopped it mid-lunge before the monster snatched away Amabel and others. The massive creature crashed against the wall, shaking soldiers and acolytes alike. Spectral spiders hopped to action to secure the young men and women with arcane webbing.
Zarian landed heavily on the edge of a platform overlooking the thrashing monster as the torrent of light became a giant blade.
The giant light blade hacked from low to high as steaming hot innards spilled out from the wound. Zarian held back as he watched Bianca burst out from inside of the wolf dragon’s belly with a battle cry, her amber hair slick red with blood while her dress came out crimson-free and still as colorful and radiant as gemstones in a lush field.
The Light Princess somersaulted, kicked off the wall and returned to battle against the wolf dragon, whose wound was slowly but surely healing.
“Keep shooting arrows at the kobolds,” Zarian told the onlookers.
“Yes, milord,” Amabel said. The others did as told. But she hesitated before asking, “Aren’t you going to help her?”
“No,” Zarian said.
“Why?”
“Because I’m curious about a few things. Now shoo. Keep grinding up your levels.”
Amabel bobbed her head up and down. She went back to shooting arrows.
Meanwhile, the Light Princess dashed around the bloody field using her Field Stride enchantment. She raised zombies using her Corpse Bloom enchantment. The flower zombies were mere distractions as the wolf dragon lunged and juked with extraordinary Agility that was beyond its incredible size.
Now that Zarian had a better look at it, he could see that its name matched its appearance, like someone fused a wolf with a great wingless serpent.
Its ferocious set of jaws and flicking fork tongue was the stuff of nightmares. Its body of bristling fur and silver metallic scales moved like one powerful muscle in sync with all of its limbs. Its vitality must’ve been way high, because even with its innards dragging along the ground, the creature remained nimble and vicious.
Bianca, however, was just as vicious while more nimble.
She was unrelenting and inevitable.
She flashed searing light in the wolf dragon’s eyes. She dashed around at blitzing speeds and slashed at the tendons to the wolf dragon’s legs. She brought it crashing down and avoided its wild thrashes and Destructive Death Bite.
After some time, Zarian realized Bianca had escaped death by diving into the wolf dragon’s throat before its skill completely annihilated her.
Just as he realized that, Bianca proved his theory true when she used her Light Step skill and became a flurry of fast moving photon particles rushing down the wolf dragon’s throat. She avoided annihilation once again while going for a more intimate solution to slaying a legendary monster.
Zarian kept track of her with the spectral spider in her mind this time around. He lived vicariously through Bianca as she carved her way through flesh, gristle, and bone. She ripped and tore apart organs. She reached the heart and went into a stabbing frenzy.
The wolf dragon howled and vomited blood. It entered a destructive fury that barreled over its own kobolds, crushing them under its tumbling body. It struck against the wall in its clumsy effort to rid itself of the pain from inside.
The spectral spiders on the ramparts ensured nobody on their side fell off as the wolf dragon kept suffering and rolling about. The Level 40 kobolds who were trying to climb up the wall got knocked off because of their own idol.
The only thing keeping it alive, which prolonged its torment, was its massive vitality. Clearly, as a high-quality monster, the wolf dragon wouldn’t suffer death easily. It kept healing the damage to its heart, and Bianca kept slashing away at it savagely until she finally put away the swords.
Bianca charged up one big, bright attack. Then she made the wolf dragon’s chest glow like an x-ray illustration before it exploded with a bright eruption.
Bianca hit the ground with a little less grace than usual, having pushed herself to the limit. Behind her, the massive wolf dragon staggered left and right with a gaping, steaming cavity where its torso should be.
Even then, its vitality was trying to heal the wound. It was a race against time. How much life energy did the wolf dragon have to withstand total death? Could its vitality repair enough damage to secure its life?
Zarian prepared the appropriate spell.
Bianca turned to watch while in the shadow of the legendary wolf dragon. Then she came up with the bright idea not to leave things to chance.
She stretched her arms into the sky. She focused her aura and intent on forming a hard light construction above the wolf dragon. It was immense and bright. It looked like a guillotine blade with an oblique angle.
Bianca dropped her arms.
Down came the guillotine.
And down came the wolf dragon’s head.
Zarian doubted it had enough vital health energy to save it from that maneuver, and he was right to think so. The body of the wolf dragon, the first of the legendary monsters of this Mythical Regional Event, crashed down dead.
Bianca stood victorious in front of the gaping maw and lolled tongue of the beheaded face. More and more blood poured over the ravaged field from the neck of the wolf dragon’s body. Nearby kobolds screamed, cried, and called out for a full retreat.
They didn’t concern Zarian anymore.
He didn’t bother focusing on anywhere else.
Nearly all of his attention was on Bianca.
Her back was still to the wall and him.
He noticed her twitch a little.
“Ah, so it finally happened,” Zarian said.
“Isn’t Princess Bianca amazing, milord!” Amabel cheered. “Surely, you could’ve destroyed a wolf dragon or two yourself. But it looks to me that all of you Floridians are massively capable.”
Zarian reached over and placed his hand on Amabel’s head. She froze from the friendly gesture as Zarian gave her a couple of head pats.
“You’re a cute kid, Amabel. I hope you grow up to be a real fine lady.”
Amabel burst into nervous giggles. She leaned into the head pats. “Well, of course, milord. I’ll be even finer if I have a real fine man who I can pick. Or one who’ll pick me.”
She looked up at him with kitty cat eyes.
Zarian didn’t pay it much mind as he kept watching Bianca. She still didn’t turn toward the wall. She still wouldn’t look up at him.
“Well, Amabel, if today’s my last day among the living, I’m sorry for any broken promises,” Zarian said.
“What? Huh? I don’t understand what you mean, milord?”
Zarian didn’t explain himself further as he retracted his hand. He jumped over the edge to the surprise and confused shouts of the young men and women of his temporary guild.
The Parasite Cloak fluttered against the wind before fanning out widely and catching some air. Then the Madness Wizard touched the ground behind the Light Princess.
He used his Identify trait.
<Unable to Identify>
He tried to look inside Bianca’s head only to find his access blocked and the spectral spider crawling out of her skull. The little guy fell to the ground dead.
Zarian slowly nodded. “Got anything special, aye, dragon-slaying princess?”
“First Corma Dragon Slayer in Many Years,” Bianca answered flatly. “It’s a legendary achievement and gave me +10 Wonder and a new epic trait, Overcomer.”
Zarian whistled impressively.
“Why didn’t you intervene?” she asked.
Zarian chuckled. “I wanted to see if you can do it. Look how far you’ve come. You were constantly crying when we first started against corrupted koi fish and goblins. Now you’re slaying dragons. I’m proud, Bianca.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
There was a lull in the conversation filled by the sounds of an immense battle. Then Zarian finally asked, “How high is it now?”
“High.” Bianca tilted her head slightly. She still faced away from him as she explained. “It was a vote that included all the good gods. Lovewar and Serveserf disapproved. Lawkeep, Hopeland, Kingsblood, Purehome, and Purgehunt approved.”
“Those five are definitely on my godly naughty list,” he said. “And I’m going to check it twice.”
Bianca shook her head. “This is not the time for jokes, Zarian. I’m good +5 now.”
“Jokes or no jokes … this … is going to be interesting.”
For a moment, he felt sad. He felt a thousand instances flash past him. A thousand hopes and dreams. Then he let go of the sadness and felt merry.
He spread his arms instead, as if he was welcoming Bianca for a hug. That was not the case. Instead, he let his evil alignment unfurl as an oozing +2 entity. He let his darkness deepen around him. And he spoke in a terrifying voice.
“Come now. Let me have it. I won’t hate you for it. I’ll outlast everything you have to throw at me and give you a challenge like nobody else.”
Bianca shuddered. She was still faced away from him. “You shouldn’t say that. You’re not only evil, you’re the man who ruined the life I would’ve lived back in the old world.”
Zarian lowered his arms. “Oh, yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. You took that rum bottle from me with your evil magic and stole me away. I won’t get to talk to my cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles ever again because I’m here. I won’t get to visit my parents’ grave again. You’ve taken all of that from me, and I ignored that because it was the easiest thing to do.”
Bianca raised a hand and curled it into a loose fist. “I don’t care about the elf husband. I’m no real princess outside of this game. I made myself all silly to hide the pain I felt every day. And I blame you for it all.”
Zarian slowly nodded. “Well, I apologize. And I’ll apologize again and again if I must. Because I’m your friend.”
Bianca shuddered once more. She didn’t respond. She didn’t say they weren’t friends, however, even if she hated him right now.
Zarian smirked. “But other than that, I can only care so much about what’s in the past. What matters more to me is the here and now. So, what’s it going to be, Bianca?”
She turned around, her eyes flashing while filled with tears. “You say what’s it going to be, papi? I say it’s going to be me killing you.”
Zarian grinned. “Dale, mami! Give me your all!”