Kuuuuuuung!
The ground trembled from the impact of Artherion's landing. A massive tail shot toward Parniel and Piote in an instant.
Parniel gritted her teeth and offered a prayer. A shield radiating brilliant light unfolded in front of them. Piote poured all his strength into Parniel.
Without a moment to breathe, Artherion's tail swept across the ground once more.
Kwaaaaang!
Parniel's body was flung back. However, thanks to the shield formed by their combined holy power, they narrowly avoided severe injuries.
In that fleeting moment, all the superhumans clung to Artherion's massive body and unleashed simultaneous attacks.
Paaaak!
Hundreds of Belinda's daggers rained down like a meteor shower. Now that Artherion was grounded, she could join the attack.
The daggers grazed Artherion's scales, leaving wounds.
But Artherion ignored the others' attacks, relentlessly pressuring Parniel and Piote.
The two were continually pushed back, unable to spare any effort to protect their allies.
Fortunately, Parniel had the strongest defense among the group. With Piote's added strength, they managed to endure Artherion's fierce onslaught.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Parniel and Piote retreated while barely holding out. Meanwhile, the wounds on Artherion's body increased with every attack.
Ghislain, slicing mercilessly at the massive target, frowned.
'Is it trying to disrupt recovery first?'
If Parniel and Piote fell, the battle's outcome would be uncertain. A single direct hit could render them incapacitated.
It was a promising approach, but as long as Parniel and Piote focused solely on defense, Artherion would continue to accumulate injuries.
'Something's off.'
Psshh... Pssshh...
Even as the battle raged, magic continually flared and faded around Artherion.
'What is he trying to do?'
He should already know that magic was ineffective. If he wanted to use magic, attacking the fortress hiding the mages would be a better strategy.
By taking down the fortresses one by one and reducing the number of mages, he could eventually use magic freely.
Of course, they wouldn't let Artherion do that. The mages would focus on defense, and by the time Artherion could cast magic, it would already be a corpse.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!
In no time, Artherion's body was covered in wounds, disregarding the others' attacks.
Suddenly, Artherion twisted his long neck and lunged toward Belinda.
Kaaaah!
He opened his massive jaws, trying to devour her in one bite.
If she were swallowed, holy power wouldn't save her. Perhaps it was the most effective tactic.
Paak!
Belinda transformed into shadows and scattered.
However, Artherion's keen senses quickly detected her hidden location, turning his head and pursuing her without hesitation.
Paak! Paak! Paak!
Belinda had to transform into shadows several times to evade. Artherion pursued her with relentless determination.
If the others hadn't continued their attacks, she might have been caught.
Skkk!
But Yulian's sword slashed near Artherion's dragon heart, forcing it to withdraw.
Yet, Artherion didn't let Yulian off easily, swinging his claws at him.
Kwaaaang!
Yulian was knocked back. But his body was already enveloped in holy power.
As Artherion tried to chase him, Yulian had already recovered and was swinging his sword again. The others also attacked without missing the opening.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
The battle between the superhumans and Artherion resumed. It wasn't much different from fighting in the air.
No, now the odds were even worse for Artherion, especially with Belinda joining the attack.
Artherion targeted Parniel and Piote again. Magic still flickered and faded around it.
Whoosh!
At best, he managed to create tiny fireballs, easily dispelled with a light slash.
Ghislain's suspicion deepened at Artherion's erratic actions.
'What is he trying to do?'
Parniel, Piote, Belinda, and the mages were maintaining their positions. It was predictable that Artherion would target one of the three.
But his behavior was strange—fighting chaotically.
It couldn't just be madness. This was a dragon that won the great war a thousand years ago. He should be more experienced in combat than anyone here.
Even while seemingly fighting wildly, he delivered deadly strikes to anyone who came too close.
If Artherion were even slightly stronger, or if they lacked divine protection, the battle would have ended long ago.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!
Both sides were fighting recklessly, trading devastating blows. Everyone had been struck by Artherion multiple times, sent flying across the battlefield.
They focused only on avoiding instant death, caring little if a limb was shattered.
Parniel and Piote poured holy power into their defense as if possessed.
This battle wouldn't end until their holy power ran out.
Krrrrr...
Artherion growled continuously in frustration.
His body accumulated more wounds, unable to heal properly without magic.
Despite being visibly stronger and more dangerous, the battle gradually tipped in Ghislain's favor.
If things continued this way, Artherion would eventually collapse.
However, Ghislain's group wasn't in an easy position either. Holy power, no matter how strong, wasn't infinite.
Ghislain gritted his teeth.
'We need to finish him before their holy power is depleted.'
Meanwhile, Artherion kept burning through magic, attempting spells doomed to fail.
This was favorable. The more he wasted magic, the weaker he would become.
Ghislain shouted loudly.
"Push harder!"
While Parniel and Piote still had holy power, they had to press the attack relentlessly, inflicting greater wounds to incapacitate it quickly.
Only then could they claim total victory.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Even Artherion, burdened by his accumulating injuries, began retreating.
Realizing the disadvantage of fighting on the ground, he flapped his wings and slowly took to the sky.
Without magic, keeping his massive body airborne drained his energy.
But staying grounded meant more injuries and less freedom to maneuver.
So Artherion had no choice but to ascend.
Shaaak!
Belinda scattered daggers into the air, creating a silver staircase for the superhumans to ascend.
Kaaaaah!
At that moment, Artherion unleashed an enormous surge of magic—pouring in nearly half of his remaining power to force the spell.
Jerome gasped.
"Insane!"
Since the spell wouldn't form properly, Artherion tried brute-forcing it through raw magic power.
Jerome responded in kind, channeling his own mana to counter.
In a way, this was good. Using so much power would only exhaust Artherion faster. If they could just neutralize this spell...
Kuuuuuuung!
The colossal clash of mana unfolded, but the fiery orb resembling the sun began to dissipate as it failed to fully form.
Even so, Artherion kept pouring mana into it.
Jerome gritted his teeth, drawing more mana to resist.
Artherion had already spent over half its remaining energy. As Jerome kept up the pressure, its reserves dwindled further.
Despite its losing position, Artherion stubbornly persisted, relying on its raw strength.
Confidence and hope swelled among the group. If Jerome could just hold out a little longer...
But suddenly, Ghislain sensed something strange.
Artherion's blood-red eyes still burned with killing intent.
Yet...
'Is he smiling?'
Smiling in such a situation—wounded and increasingly disadvantaged.
Then, Artherion spoke softly.
"I found you."
"What?"
Artherion abruptly turned his head.
Kaaaaah!
As he opened his jaws, the air around him was sucked in, creating a massive pressure.
Ghislain, turning his head to follow its gaze, shouted urgently.
"Stop it!"
Everyone immediately charged at Artherion, ignoring their own safety.
A stronger attack than ever before struck Artherion. His body was severely wounded, blood spraying out as his wings were torn, his chest slashed, and his body pierced.
Yet Artherion ignored it all. The dragon was strong enough to withstand every attack.
He immediately unleashed his breath attack. There was no need to gather more energy.
This much was already enough to bring down his enemies.
Kwoooooooo!
Jerome's eyes widened in shock as he finally understood Artherion's true intention.
"So that's it..."
Artherion had been burning through his mana reserves to pinpoint the source of their mana.
Even though they had carefully hidden and concealed their mana, the dragon had detected the subtle flow of energy at the moment it concentrated. Truly, it was a dragon's skill.
And the current attack was astonishing. While they poured all their mana into dispelling his spells, Artherion unleashed a breath attack unrelated to magic.
That cunning dragon had sacrificed some of his mana to find a way to win.
"Vanessa!"
Jerome shouted as he drew on all his remaining mana, deploying a 9th-circle barrier.
Ziiiing!
A massive barrier enveloped the fortress. The surrounding mages collapsed as their mana was instantly drained.
It was that dire. Even mages from nearby fortresses were drained as Vanessa desperately channeled her mana into Jerome.
Kwoooooooo!
The breath attack clashed against the barrier, generating a massive shockwave that rippled outward.
Rumble!
The barrier devoured mana as it withstood the breath attack. Even distant mages began fainting one by one.
Although the dragon's breath attack weakened, the barrier weakened as well. Too much mana had been used to dispel Artherion's spells.
On top of that, simultaneously maintaining two defenses wore down Jerome and Vanessa's focus.
Paaak!
Eventually, the barrier shattered under the impact. Jerome and Vanessa hurriedly gathered their remaining mana to form a new shield.
Kwaaang!
The fortress wall, fortified with powerful magic, collapsed under the breath attack.
However, the wall's sacrifice slightly reduced the breath's power.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
The breath attack smashed through the shields that Jerome and Vanessa desperately maintained. However, it failed to completely penetrate them and eventually dissipated.
Artherion had already spent too much energy and couldn't sustain the breath attack any longer.
Glittering ice crystals fell from the sky. Frost coated the ground around the fortress.
It was the lingering effect of the breath attack.
Thud.
Jerome, having depleted even his core mana, collapsed unconscious.
"Cough!"
Vanessa fell to her knees, coughing up blood.
Mages throughout the fortress lay sprawled, drained of their mana.
Artherion had also expended massive amounts of energy. However, he still had enough mana to overwhelm them.
There were still mages remaining, but none capable of leading the charge and confronting Artherion directly.
Now, they would have to fight using their own individual spells.
"This is just the beginning."
Artherion spread his wings arrogantly and stepped back slightly.
For anyone else, it might have been impossible, but Artherion was no ordinary dragon. With no leaders left, he was confident he could break through the mages' defenses and cast his spells.
"Urgh..."
Vanessa gripped her staff, breathing heavily. She, too, had exhausted her mana completely.
Cold air swept in. Despite having blocked the breath attack, her body felt frozen.
With her mana depleted, she couldn't control the others' mana. She needed time to recover or someone to take over.
"No, no... I have to hold out..."
So far, the battle had gone in their favor. The dragon had spent tremendous energy and was clearly fatigued.
They just needed to seal his magic a little longer.
The fortress housed elite mages prepared for such emergencies.
If Vanessa could entrust someone with control temporarily or request a transfer of magic, they might survive.
But as she turned her head...
"Ah..."
Everyone lay unconscious, drained of their magic.
Dealing with the breath attack and the 9th-circle spell simultaneously had required overwhelming mana.
And yet, one person was still standing. Someone who had no reason to still be on their feet.
"Ah... Lord Alpoi?"
Alpoi stood trembling in the distance.