“Grrrrrrruu…. Guooooooooooooooooo!!!”
Karl who had lost one of his eyes, was far from intimidated; instead, he was infuriated. He roared in anger and assaulted the False Bone Dragon with his proud claws and tail.
He had focused on evasion previously, especially since he was facing two opponents at the same time. But now, his approach had changed dramatically. Regardless of being slashed by the enemy’s claws or bitten by its fangs, he rampaged without care. If slashed, he struck back harder with his claws; if bitten, he bit back with greater ferocity. He seemed utterly unconcerned about his remaining health.
“This is bad! We need to defeat it quickly!”
“Fuuuumuuuuu!”
“Gogoooooooooo?!”
The worst-case scenario flashed through my mind: Karl might end up in a mutual takedown with the enemy. It was at this moment that the False Bone Dragon we were fighting stumbled and fell. Apparently, Eiji and the others had concentrated their attacks on its ankle, successfully destroying that part. This was the perfect opportunity!
“Now! Go all out!”
“Understood!”
“Of course!”
Iris and the others seized this moment to unleash their most powerful attacks. The False Bone Dragon, now struggling even to rise, couldn’t leverage its immense strength against us, who were significantly smaller. The only sounds were the cracking and breaking of bones and the dragon’s screams of agony. Its health was rapidly diminishing.
“Gaaaaah… Gwoaaaaaahhh!!!”
As we continued our relentless assault, we finally managed to deplete the False Bone Dragon’s health to the point where its [Dragon Force] skill was activated. With that as a trigger, an aura similar to mine rose from the False Bone Dragon.
“Don’t let it get up! We must finish it off right here!”
“I got it!”
“Oryaryarya!”
With that command, a barrage of martial techniques and magic spells flooded in. My companions” swords, axes, arrows, claws, fangs, and horns shattered the dragon’s bones throughout its body, while dazzling [Holy Magic] turned its very bones to dust. This onslaught outpaced the dragon’s ability to recover and rapidly reduced its health to the last dot.
“This is the end for you!”
“Gwaaaahhh…”
Eiji, positioning his axe overhead in a grand gesture, swung it down with all his might towards the dragon’s head. This final blow marked the end of the first False Bone Dragon.
“W-we won!”
“W-we did it!”
“No, no, we’re not done yet.”
“Just one more push!”
After defeating the gigantic and powerful False Bone Dragon, Shishu and Sei were about to let their guard down when Usaji and Moth-san admonished them. There was still another False Bone Dragon that was still alive on our side, and more importantly, there was also McFarlane who was equipped with even stronger enhanced armor.
“…Isam. Please, let me take command of everyone.”
“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden, Iris?”
Just as I was about to give instructions on our next move, Iris said this to me. Why so suddenly? Now that one battlefront had been settled, I thought I could take overall command…
“Are you worried about Karl?”
“Guuh!”
“It’s pretty obvious.”
“What?! How did you…?”
“You want to go to him, right?”
“Yes, that’s true, but…”
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll join Hanna and Roja and keep fighting.”
It seemed my inner desire to rush to Karl’s aid as soon as possible was transparent not just to Iris but to everyone. The vanguard group waved their hands and encouraged me to go to Karl. I thought as a leader I couldn’t just abandon them, but this time, I decided to rely on my companions.
“…Thank you!”
With that, I expressed my gratitude and leaped into the sky. Karl, I’m coming for you now!
◆◇◆◇◆◇
Since the battle began, Karl had been feeling incredibly fulfilled. This satisfaction stemmed from two reasons. The first reason was that his beloved master relied on him in the fight. The second reason was that the enemy he faced allowed him to unleash his full strength.
Karl was aware that he was a strong monster. However, he also understood that there were many creatures stronger than himself. Specific examples of this were Jigoro, Genjuro, and his master, Idam.
In terms of sheer size, simple muscular strength, and agility, Karl surpassed all three of them. But when it came to combat, the situation was different. Even if he swung his claws and tail with brute force, he couldn’t even graze Jigoro and Genjuro. Conversely, their attacks would hit him even when he tried to dodge. In mock battles, this was the case, so Karl knew that in a real fight to the death, he would undoubtedly be defeated. He couldn’t claim to be stronger than them.
Therefore, Karl had been learning techniques to maximize his physical abilities and tactics to gain an advantage in battle with Jigoro and Genjuro. Although he was still rough and inexperienced, Karl was confident that he was gradually mastering these skills.
As for Isam, he had so many tricks up his sleeve and was skilled at using them effectively. Karl was certain that if Isam fought him head-on, he would easily win. However, he was convinced that he couldn’t win against Isam’s traps and cunning strategies.
However, there was one thing that all three had in common: if they were to take a direct hit from Karl’s attack, they would suffer significant damage. While Genjuro, with his high defensive power, and Jigoro, with his abundant health and high recovery ability, might not be severely injured, Isam would undoubtedly be critically injured or killed.
Karl felt a slight dissatisfaction. He couldn’t find an opponent to fully unleash the techniques and tactics he had painstakingly learned. Most enemies were simply overpowered by his massive size, ending the fights almost immediately. The strongest in the vicinity, the Spartan Leader, had considerable health but that was it. It lacked the strength to withstand Karl’s charge or the skill to dodge and counterattack. Once Karl was on top of it, he could easily defeat such an enemy, just like any small fry.
However, the False Bone Dragons were different. They were larger than Karl, and along with that, they had more health. Karl could fully make use of everything he had learned against such a foe. Moreover, there were two of these formidable opponents. It was a situation where victory seemed nearly impossible even with all his might, but Karl was rather happy because dragons were a race that instinctively desired to fight.
For a while after the battle began, Karl fought calmly. He bit into the throat of one, immobilizing it while scraping its bones with his claws, and used his tail and wings skillfully to restrain the other. When he was shaken off, he focused on evading and landed small, damage-inflicting attacks. Whenever a large opening appeared, he immediately pounced back into a biting, restraining hold. This was the repeated pattern of his combat.
Furthermore, Karl did not forget to maneuver in a way that involved the undead hordes in the enemy’s attacks. While wounded, Karl was still holding his own against the two False Bone Dragons, but then a significant change occurred on the battlefield. McFarlane had activated his enhanced armor.
Immediately after that, Isam and the others annihilated the horde of undead. Thanks to Eiji drawing one of the dragons away, Karl ended up in a one-on-one battle with a False Bone Dragon. Now, there was not a trace of a chance for the dragon to defeat him. All that was left was to quickly finish the job and receive praise from his master, Isam.
“Goaaaaaaah!”
“Gyaaaaaaah?!”
Karl’s complacency proved to be fatal. Seizing the opportunity, the False Bone Dragon gouged out Karl’s eye with its claw. Caught off guard by the intense pain, Karl let out a scream and retreated.
Karl, who had endured the pain and calmed down just a little, felt an anger like never before. He was furious not just because his eye had been gouged out, but even more so with himself for letting his guard down and getting injured in the midst of battle.
“Grrrrrrruu…. Guooooooooooooooooo!!!”
With rage driving him, Karl charged and slashed with his sharp claws. Despite his fury, his technique was not sloppy. On the contrary, his attack was more powerful than ever.
“Grrrraaaaah!!!”
“Gyaaaooooon!!!”
In response, the False Bone Dragon’s claw swipe deeply wounded Karl’s body. Karl’s attacks, now stronger than ever, were consequently wider and left him more vulnerable. But even as he sustained these attacks, Karl continued his own assault, ignoring his own injuries. His technique remained the same, but he was lost in a frenzy of rage, forgetting himself in the heat of battle.
“Calm down, Karl! Star Magic Circle, Remote Activation, Spell Adjustment, Holy Ring!”
“Gyaoooooooooo?!”
“Grrrrru…?”
Someone shouted and then used a spell to restrain the False Bone Dragon. While the False Bone Dragon was confused and screaming from the damage to its weak point, someone landed on the battle-worn Karl’s back. Recognizing the weight, Karl came to his senses and turned around. There stood his master, wearing a familiar silver mask.
“Did it hurt? Poor thing… Let’s fight together from here, shall we?”
“Grrruu…”
“There, there, I’ll heal you now. Intermediate Soul Healing…”
Isam gently stroked Karl’s nape while attempting to heal him with [Soul Magic]. Slowly but surely, Karl’s health was being restored.
“I’m sorry for pushing you too hard. Let’s defeat him for sure.”
“Grrr!”
Deep inside, Karl still felt a pang of regret for not being able to defeat the foe alone. However, the joy of fighting alongside his master was far greater. Karl, who had been furious just moments before, was now in a much better mood.
“Guaaah… Gyaaaaoooon!!!”
The False Bone Dragon let out a roar as it tore off the binding of the Holy Ring used by Isam. Unlike Karl, the False Bone Dragon was not equipped with an AI capable of complex thought. However, this only made its desire to defeat its enemy and strengthen itself even stronger. Therefore, even though something just got added to its enemy’s back, it only thought of the increased experience points it would gain.
It was unaware of the grave mistake it was making.
“Karl, fight as you wish. I will adjust to you.”
“Grrr! Gaoo!!”
Karl parried the swipes of the False Bone Dragon’s claws with his own. In a one-on-one duel, Karl would have countered and then defended with the claws of his other hand. However, Isam was on Karl’s back now.
“Take this! Star Magic Circle, Spell Adjustment, Holy Ray!”
“Gyaaaaah!?”
“Garoooooon!!!”
“Ggyaaaaah!?”
Immediately after Karl successfully blocked the enemy’s attack, Isam’s [Holy Magic] pierced through. The dragon was vulnerable to this particular element and it saw its health plummet at an alarming rate. Reacting instinctively to the damage, it flinched back, only to be knocked aside by Karl’s tail. This tail, as sharp as any blade, sliced through several of the False Bone Dragon’s bones.
If it defended against one attack, it would be hit by the other. Even trying to evade both attacks was futile, as somehow their direction was anticipated. Faced with the skillful combination of magic and physical attacks, the False Bone Dragon was helplessly cornered.
“Garrrrrrr… Gyaooooooooooh!!!”
And just like that, the [Dragon Force] was activated, infusing the False Bone Dragon with a surge of power throughout its entire body. The dragon was convinced that this endless, overflowing power could definitely reverse its disadvantageous situation.
“Karl, now.”
“Gooo… Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Of course, Isam had already factored in the possibility that the False Bone Dragon would become stronger. As soon as it was triggered, he instructed Karl to unleash his Dragon Breath. At the same time, Isam himself was pulling out several healing potions from his pocket.
“Gyao!? Gyaooooooooooooo!!”
In response, the False Bone Dragon, faced with Karl’s approaching Dragon Breath, hastily used its own Dragon Breath in retaliation. The pitch-black beam from Karl clashed with the False Bone Dragon’s poisonous purple ray. After a few seconds of deadlock, Karl’s Dragon Breath mercilessly turned half of the False Bone Dragon’s body to dust.
“Ga… Gaoaa…”
Yet, despite such a formidable attack, the False Bone Dragon had not been defeated yet. Thanks to the enhanced stats and healing power granted by the [Dragon Force] skill, it managed to somewhat neutralize Karl’s Dragon Breath with its own.
“It was a precaution, but it seems it was the right decision to be prepared.”
Unfortunately for the False Bone Dragon, it was up against a man whose nature was to reinforce a stone bridge with steel before crossing. Isam had already gauged the possibility of the dragon surviving from its decreasing health bar and poured a potion he took from his pocket onto himself. For him, the potion did nothing but damage, but he deliberately inflicted self-harm to reduce his health to the point where his [Dragon Force] skill would activate.
“Vanish! Dragon Breath!”
“…!!!”
Isam’s breath was similar to Karl’s Dragon Breath with its pitch-black essence, but it also resembled a congregation of vengeful spirits each marked with an expression of agony. This spectral force engulfed the False Bone Dragon as it lay vulnerable on the ground. Overpowered and unable to weaken the assault, the False Bone Dragon was defeated without even a chance to let out its death cries.
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