Chapter 30: Battle for survival

The dragon's nest loomed before them, its massive, scaled form curled in a seemingly peaceful slumber. But everyone present knew better, people are still going to die here.

The 11 survivors of Nouflex's group stood silently, tension thick in the air. Surrounding them, the B-rank adventurers and the military fought valiantly to hold back the hordes of mana beasts, but it was clear that their main target was far beyond anything they had faced so far.

The prince, Hadrian Daloria, barked orders to his royal guards and the A-rank adventurers, but the arrogance he displayed earlier was gone, replaced by a cold, calculated expression.

He knew the stakes. Every breath felt heavy as if the weight of the kingdom rested on their shoulders, and in a way, it did.

Nouflex glanced at the others, veterans of countless battles, each one skilled in their own right. There was a grim understanding between them now, this fight could very well be their last.

Suddenly, a loud crack echoed across the battlefield. The dragon's eyes snapped open, its slit pupils dilating as its massive body began to rise destroying the building/castle that was made for it.

Its obsidian scales gleamed in the light, and the ground trembled with each movement. It let out a roar that shook the whole forest, sending a shockwave across the area, and knocking a few soldiers off their feet.

And this was a sign that, the battle had begun.

The first assault came from the A-rank adventurer standing next to Nouflex, a mage who specialized in fire magic. He cast a series of massive fireballs that spiraled toward the dragon, exploding on contact.

The dragon roared in defiance, its tail lashing out and smashing into the mage before he could react. The impact crushed him against the rocky terrain, leaving his organs gushing out of his sprawled lifeless body.

"Push forward!" the general shouted, rallying the group. He wielded a sword infused with mana, charging the dragon head-on.

The prince and his guards flanked him, moving with haste. The remaining adventurers spread out, unleashing their various powers.

One adventurer manipulated the earth itself, raising jagged stone pillars to block the dragon's massive claws. Another, a wind-user, dashed between the dragon's legs, slashing at its tendons in an attempt to slow it down. A royal guard called forth a torrent of water, lashing out in waves to keep the dragon's fire breath at bay.

But the dragon was relentless.

It swatted the earth manipulator aside with a single sweep of its tail, crushing him into the ground like an insect. Blood splattered across the rocks as his body was torn apart. The wind user tried to maneuver but was caught by a blast of mana-infused flame, incinerating him in an instant. The prince himself barely avoided the same fate, rolling out of the way just in time.

Nouflex, observing the chaos, knew he had to act. He sprinted forward, using his teleportation ability to blink between the dragon's massive attacks.

One moment, he was dodging its sweeping tail, and the next, he was beside it, unleashing a barrage of dismantles, targeting the dragon's thick, impenetrable scales.

The dragon seemed to not be bothered at all by his techniques, this level of durability was unlike anything Nouflex had encountered. Every wound he inflicted seemed to be mere tickles for the dragon.

'This thing... it's like an unkillable beast.' Nouflex thought, gritting his teeth. He was even starting to doubt if they could defeat it.

At that moment, a royal guard let out a scream as the dragon's massive claws pierced his chest, lifting him into the air before tossing him aside like a broken doll.

The prince gritted his teeth but continued his relentless attack, his sword glowing with mana as he struck the dragon's side and retreated quickly to avoid possible attacks.

The remaining adventurers and the general coordinated their strikes, each of them using their powers to create openings for the others.

The team-work was pretty well coordinated and precise, one adventurer would use their magic to slow the dragon's movements, while another would strike with all their might, aiming for its vulnerable joints and underbelly.

But the dragon fought with fury and madness as if it could not believe that mere humans dared to stand against it, its massive tail swung in wide arcs, its claws raking across the ground with earth-shattering force and every breath it exhaled was a torrent of flame, turning the landscape into a hellish inferno.

As the battle raged on, Ayanokoji who was on the other side of the clearing, fighting the monsters left, observed silently at the same time what was going on with the dragon from a distance.

His cold and calculating gaze followed every movement, every misstep of those around him. He wasn't here to fight the dragon, but his mission involved that.

Nouflex's plan demanded precise timing, and Ayanokoji was an expert at reading situations. His eyes darted from the dragon to the prince. The general, a man known for his prowess, was exerting himself to the maximum. But then Ayanokoji saw the opening he needed.

One of the surviving adventurers, a man with the ability to manipulate ice, sent spears of frost toward the dragon's exposed side, freezing parts of its body and limiting its movement.

The prince, seeing an opportunity, dashed forward but he did not expect the dragon to quickly break free from the ice. It immediately retaliated, swatting the ice user with its claws and sending him crashing into a tree, cutting him into multiple slices.

'Now!' Ayanokoji thought.

Then it turned to face the general who was already in the dragon's range, in his effort to regain balance, momentarily dropped his guard. That was all Ayanokoji needed.

He extended his fingers subtly, using his ice magic. Within moments, the ice crept up the general's boots, freezing the ground beneath his feet. It was nearly invisible amidst the dust and debris from the ongoing fight, and the general, focused on avoiding the dragon's next attack, didn't even notice.

As the general tried to move, he suddenly slipped. His legs gave out from under him, his balance destroyed by the thin layer of ice. His sword flew from his hand, skidding a few meters away as he crashed to the ground, utterly vulnerable.

This did not go unnoticed by Nouflex as he nodded his head to Ayanokoji.

With this, Koji's mission was done, and now he could focus once again on killing the monsters.

The general's heart pounded in his chest as panic set in. His mind raced. This couldn't be the end, not like this.

'No… not now, not here.' The dragon got closer to him. 'There's too much left to do. I haven't finished what I started. The country, it's mine to lead...'

But his thoughts were interrupted as a guttural growl echoed across the battlefield. He looked up in horror to see the dragon's maw open wide, its jaws crackling with gathering energy. It wasn't just fire, it was lightning, deadly, and raw, condensed into a blinding orb of mana swirling within the beast's mouth.

The air grew hot, and everyone could feel the power building yet no one was willing to risk their lives, and the prince took note of that. The energy surging, the inevitability of his doom bearing down on him.

The general struggled to move, but his body wouldn't respond.

Desperation clawed at him. The ground beneath him quaked as the dragon aimed, its massive, glowing eyes locked onto his prone form.

'Is this really how it ends? No… please… not like this.'

The dragon's attack condensed for several agonizing seconds, growing brighter, hotter, and more lethal by the moment. The air itself seemed to tremble. Just as the dragon's maw opened wider to unleash the devastating blast, Nouflex appeared in a flash of movement, teleporting directly in front of the general.

"Time to play the hero I guess." He mumbled to himself.

Time slowed.

Nouflex grabbed the general by the collar, his grip firm, and with a swift movement, teleported again, vanishing just as the dragon's thunderous breath exploded forth. The bolt of condensed lightning struck the earth where the general had lain only a fraction of a second before.

The impact was cataclysmic.

A shockwave erupted as the bolt collided with the ground, vaporizing the very air and sending ripples of raw power out in every direction. The ground beneath them exploded, rocks and dirt blasted high into the air.

The sheer force of the attack carved deep into the earth, creating a massive crater, a hole 1.5 kilometers deep and 5 kilometers wide, an enormous wound in the landscape.

The ground trembled violently as if the very earth was trying to escape the wrath of the dragon.

Nouflex, standing a safe distance away with the general in tow, watched in stunned silence. He had seen powerful attacks before, but this... this was on another level. The sheer devastation before him was overwhelming. His heart pounded a sense of dread creeping up his spine, sending chills down his body.

For the first time in this battle, Nouflex felt the true weight of what they were up against.

The blast was so immense that it sucked in the surrounding air, causing a windstorm that nearly knocked him off his feet.

When the dust and debris finally began to settle, what remained was a massive, smoldering pit where the battlefield had once been. The dragon roared triumphantly, its thunderous voice shaking the ground beneath their feet.

Nouflex's eyes narrowed as he turned to the general, who lay in shock, gasping for breath. His body trembled, not from the exhaustion of battle but from the sheer terror of having come so close to death.

The general looked up at Nouflex, still struggling to catch his breath, and saw the man who had just saved him. For a moment, the general's hardened expression faltered, and he gave a short nod of respect.

"Th-thank you," the general muttered, remembering the times when he glanced at Nouflex and saw him easily deal with groups of A-rank monsters, his voice shaking with the weight of his near-death experience.

Nouflex didn't respond. His eyes were fixed on the dragon, calculating, his mind racing. He managed to complete the first phase of the mission saving the general, but it had been a close call... Too close.

The dragon's power was more than he had expected, and now, seeing the devastation it could cause firsthand, he knew they were running out of time.

He couldn't afford to hold back anymore.

'This thing… it's more dangerous than I thought,' Nouflex mused clenching his fists. The fight against the dragon had been dragging on for 15 minutes so far yet it was far from over.

And over the last 15 minutes of this one-sided beat down, 5 people died, only on the side of Nouflex's group leaving them at a 6v1. And the damage done to the dragon is close to zero so far...

TO BE CONTINUED --->