Episode 12/Chapter 1: Roar of the Dragon (1)

Instead of arrows having a paralyzing effect, arrows with thunder covering them were fired from Thunderbolt. The arrow, which flew with a sparking sound, was enough to catch the attention of the attacking side as well as the gnolls that were being attacked. In addition, it wasn't only one bolt. Because of Thunderbolt's particular firing ability, it seemed like three streaks of lightning flew at once.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gnolls that got hit with the thunder fell as if they were hit by a giant's hammer. As Siri and the warriors of Ullr's legion started to fire their crossbows together, it seemed like a shower of warriors was pouring down on their heads.

"We are moving!"

Siri yelled loudly and started to lead the troop forward. She was planning for them to act as a light cavalry that poured down rains of arrows.

Tae Ho stuck next to Siri and looked at his Thunderbolt. It seemed as if a trigger had been added to the hilt of the sword, so the grip was rather bad compared to a normal crossbow, but the crossbow was worthy enough for him to ignore this discomfort.

"Fire!"

The moment Siri gave the order, the warriors started to fire arrows and the gnolls that were gathered started to fall helplessly. They had already defeated three groups in this way.

"Captain Siri! We are reaching a limit!" Rolph yelled at her. It was a reasonable thing. In the first place, this wasn't a wide plain. They weren't running around outside, so there could only be a restriction to their movements when running around the enemy.

"We will be grouping up with Odin's legion!"

Siri made a fast decision and determined their direction. Tae Ho cleared the front by firing thunderbolts and the warriors of Ullr's legion raised their swords instead of crossbows. They increased their speed once more.

"Val! Ha! Lla!" The warriors of Ullr's legion yelled. They could all see Odin's legion and Rasgrid, who were being attacked by the gnolls. Some of them, which was more than a hundred, turned to look at their group.

"Shield Wall!"

The warriors on top of the horses raised their shields. The gnolls fired arrows, and most of them hit the shields, but some of them hit the horses. Two of the horses fell.

However, Siri didn't lower her speed at all. The warriors that were on top of the horses that fell jumped down from them safely and then started to charge on their own feet.

Bang!

The charge of the cavalry hit their rear. Siri led the troop in a diagonal direction to get the troop out of the gnolls' reach and then jumped down from her horse. Although the mobility of the horse was precious, most of the warriors of Valhalla were more accustomed to fighting on the ground.

Almost all of the warriors followed Siri and got down from their horses. However, Tae Ho decided to look at another place instead of following them. He could see a specifically clear green letter in the middle of Odin's troop.

[Odin's legion: Rasgrid]

"Kyaaak!"

Harpies let out cries from the sky and attacked the heads of the warriors of Odin's legion. Ullr's legion, which was led by Siri, joined the wings of Odin's legion and they faced the enemies that were at the front and above them and endured as best as they could. Although the gnolls were on the offensive, their morale was lowered, as a wave that had gotten broken by a breakwater.

Tae Ho looked at the entire battlefield. This big place, which was described as the remains of the Great War, had the shape of a valley.

'Why is it?'

Doubt arose in Tae Ho. It wasn't only because of the valley-shaped region. It was because of the deployment of the gnolls. The gnolls were scattered in all directions as groups. Thanks to that, they were able to charge them, but it was weird. Just how had they charged in, that they were scattered that far away?

Tae Ho opened his eyes abruptly. It was because he already knew the answer. He looked at the sky reflexively, because he had heard the cries of the harpies.

Rain of Steel.

It wasn't exactly the same as Valhalla's. But it was similar. And it was also obvious. Because they had fought against Valhalla for a long time. The resemblance to each other was obvious.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Huge rocks covered in red light fell to the ground consecutively. As soon as they landed on the floor, they swelled up and exploded, and monsters started to pour out from inside. Giant gnolls and orc-like creatures that had ash-colored skin started to come out. Maybe they had realized that normal Gnolls wouldn't do.

Coming from the sky meant that there was someone sending them. He did look up at the sky but it seemed like that existence was beyond the clouds or had sent them from such a far place that he couldn't see anything in particular that seemed like the enemy.

"Oh, Odin."

The warriors of Odin called the name of their god in the brutal battlefield. Instead of despairing at the number that doubled in an instant, they started to fight more roughly.

Valkyrie Rasgrid didn't lose her composure. The lowest-ranked warriors weren't the only ones that had been deployed in this expedition. A majority of the inferior-ranked warriors of Odin's legion, who were quite experienced, took part in it as well. Now that they were facing giant gnolls, they would be able to overcome this situation easily.

Would it just end after pouring down troops like this?

Rasgrid raised her head and looked at the sky, then let out a groan. Her yell was like a scream.

"Scatter! Leave the middle empty!"

The warriors also looked up at the sky. A shadow covered the heads of those warriors. A huge red boulder which was covered in flames was falling down towards the center of Odin's legion.

&

The Giant of Strength, Harad, was different to the Giant of Darkness, Avalt.

They both served the magic king Utgard Loki, but their tendencies were close to being opposites.

Avalt's failure made Harad feel joyful. It was obvious, as it liked to plan things from behind the curtains like a rat.

So Harad was planning to overturn Avalt's failure, and with a more certain and powerful method.

Why bother with seducing the dark fairies and making them work for you? You could just break them all down.

Was Valhalla fearful? What would you do if you feared an opponent you had to face?

You would retrieve a seed when you discovered it. And if you couldn't discover one, you would everything on fire and destroy it all.

It wasn't a bad thing, because he was even more tired of the adhering phase. If everywhere was set on fire, in the end, the balance would break and the era that even the cowards of Valhalla described as the Great War would come.

"Break it all down. Set everything on fire." Harad glared from beyond the sky of Jotunheim, the planet of the giants, and ordered. It wasn't an order sent to the weak and numerous gnolls.

Giants.

The race that would break and set Valhalla on fire even before they could act.

Harad raised its cup of wine that was made of bronze. It looked at the first giant descending through the eyes of the harpies.

&

The flames set the surface on fire. The warriors of Odin that had hurriedly emptied the middle were still fighting against the gnolls outside, and the ones that were inside glared at the blazing pillars which were ten meters tall.

The pillars broke down after becoming dust. And inside that, a giant that was about 7 meters showed up.

The giant roared. It wasn't a simple yell. The warriors of Valhalla yielded and the gnolls fell into madness.

Evil deeds.

The growth system of the giants had been replaced by the rune system of the warriors of Valhalla. The more enemies killed, so the more evil deeds done, the stronger the giants became. It was the same as strengthening through the blood and soul of the deceased ones.

Although it was smaller than the giant that appeared in the Black Fortress, their strengths couldn't even be compared. It was an existence that had committed several evil deeds.

The giant continued to roar. The warriors of Valhalla couldn't lift their eyes off the giant. And then Rasgrid moved.

She looked at something else rather than the giant.

The second pillar of fire was descending from far away. It wasn't on the battlefield, but somewhere else. Rasgrid knew even without drawing a map in her head. That place was where the village of the dark fairies was.

Although the branches covering the skies were thick they were still branches. They couldn't stop the descent of a flaming giant.

Rasgrid opened her eyes sharply. She quickly determined the strength of the giants and judged on which battlefield she had to stand.

Rasgrid would remain here and send another person towards the village of the dark fairies.

And in this moment, there was only one person who she could believe in.

"Warrior Tae Ho." Rasgrid said,  as if whispering. She had been tracking Tae Ho's location ever since Ullr's legion appeared and she was now next to him. Tae Ho, who was focused on the giant, turned his head at Rasgrid's voice and then noticed the second giant descending towards the village of the dark fairies.

Rasgrid grabbed Tae Ho's hand.

As she didn't have time to explain, she simply took out the Dragon Wing coat from the air and then gave it to Tae Ho instead of wearing it herself.

"I will lend it to you. Give it to someone you trust in. I will entrust to you the giant in the village."

Rasgrid looked at the giant and Tae Ho at the same time. The giant, that had finished roaring, took out a flaming sword.

"I believe in you. Let Odin's blessing be with you."

Rasgrid spoke quickly and then pulled on Tae Ho's arm and kissed him on his forehead. She passed by Tae Ho instead of smiling and then went towards the giant.

Her opponent wasn't a lowest-ranked giant. And in addition, she couldn't even ask for permission for her battle power to be unsealed. Rasgrid took out a shining sword and revealed her strength at the same time.

"Reinforcements will soon come from Valhalla! Pulverize the enemy!"

"Odin!

"For Asgard and the nine planets!"

The warriors of Odin shook off the oppression of the giant with battle cries. The blazing giant glared at Rasgrid, who was covered with a white aura.

Tae Ho took his eyes off Rasgrid's back. The second giant had finished descending on the village. It broke the branch ceiling and revealed its presence. It was so huge its shape could be clearly seen, even though it was hundreds of meters away.

Followed by the giant, blazing rocks were falling. He had to move to save the dark fairies' village.

Some of the warriors started to get onto their horses. But Tae Ho looked at his surroundings instead of doing the same.

"Tae Ho?!"

He could see Rolph right next to him. Tae Ho hesitated. It wasn't because of a childish reason, like he didn't want to ride on Rolph.

The performance changed based on who wore the wing coat. The amount of runes Rolph had, that had just become an inferior-ranked warrior, were low. It would rather be better to make another inferior-ranked warrior of Ullr's legion wear it.

But would he be able to believe in someone else? Would he be able to entrust his body to them?

It happened at that moment..

"Rolph! Tae Ho! Hurry up!"

"Captain Siri!"

Siri appeared next to Rolph and Tae Ho while riding a horse. She was also looking at the village. It seemed as if she wanted to go riding over there.

Tae Ho pulled on Siri's arm. Thanks to that, she looked at him with perplexed eyes and Tae Ho gave her the Dragon Wing coat, as if pushing it towards her.

"Wear it!"

Siri blinked. But then she understood what Tae Ho was asking of her. And Rolph also realized why Tae Ho had hesitated while looking at him.

There was no time. SIri opened her mouth in perplexion but she chose to wear it instead of saying something.

"The activation word?"

"Drako!"

The moment Rasgrid had transformed into a dragon was still fresh in his head. As Tae Ho yelled, Siri quickly donned the wing coat and then she transformed into a dragon.

She was different to Rasgrid, who was a white dragon with blue eyes. As if there was no specific shape, Siri had transformed into a big golden furred wolf with a pair of wings.

Siri lowered her stance and then Tae Ho got on top of her and yelled towards Rolph.

"To the village!"

Rolph nodded and then rode on the horse Siri had been riding. Tae Ho lowered her stance and then activated 'The One That Can Handle Dragons'.

Siri trembled. 'The One That Can Handle' was meant to handle dragons, just like its name implied. It was obvious for the connection to be stronger now that she had transformed into a race of a dragon rather than when she was a wolf.

Tae Ho placed his hands on Siri's back instead of ordering and tightened his legs. Siri kicked the ground while spreading her wings and rose to the sky in an instant.

Rasgrid and a blazing giant clashed in front of them. Light and fire clashed and the warriors of Ullr's legion started to charge towards the village.

Tae Ho looked at the giant in the village. He took in a deep breath and gripped on the air.

[Saga: The Warrior's Sword]

He didn't use the Unknown sword piece. What he needed now was to grab its attention. While he flew towards it he would take its attention on him.

Tae Ho gripped the Heavy Lance in one hand and then requested Siri through the connection of 'The One That Can Handle Dragons'. Siri also acted loyally this time.

[Saga: The Arrow of the Witch Never Miss Their Target]

Their bodies were already touching. Siri's saga was added to Tae Ho's arm and Tae Ho looked at the giant while quickly ascending. Instead of concentrating on aiming he threw the Heavy Lance with all his strength.

Although it wasn't correct to call it an arrow - the power of the saga decreased, thanks to that. However, the target was just too huge!

Bang!

An explosion occurred from far away. The moment the giant got hit in the shoulder it turned back. Tae Ho faced against the giant and gripped the Unknown sword piece.

The Heavy Lance, that was covered with a golden aura, extended from Tae Ho's hands.

The weapon that was used to destroy the Ogre Lord Gandoll, was emitting a great strength, as if telling him to add a new story to his body.

And Tae Ho listened to its request.

Tae Ho and Siri charged towards the giant.

< Episode 12 - Roar of the dragon (1) > End