Chapter 477: Illusion

A sky-like massive canopy began to unfold overhead, stretching out in every direction with a subtle downward curve. At the edges, it was as if a sheet of paper had been set alight, creating a burning mark that moved downwards within their field of vision.

The sensation was incredibly lifelike, yet there was still a twist in their sight, and they realized what was happening.

No, it was only Gavinrad, the spectator, who was still watching the spectacle.

Along with Vereesa, they all discovered that their view from within the canopy had become a bit dreamlike and hazy.

An illusion?

But one this large?

The breadth of the magical artifice, covering several hundred meters, left them agape.

Two mages and a ranger almost magically rushed out of the illusion's coverage. Gavinrad saw this and immediately mounted his horse to follow and witness the spectacle.

When they looked back after rushing out, their already agape mouths fell open even wider.

What did they see?

The deep trench left by the dragon's crash had disappeared, and all they saw was a mundane path between the swamps, as ordinary as could be.

The dragon's corpse, which had been piled like a small mountain and was terribly in the way, now looked like an actual hillock.

As if the heavens were aiding Duke, a gentle rain began to fall. Soon, the acrid smells of charred earth and dragon's blood would be washed away.

Gavinrad sighed in relief upon seeing this scene. Unexpectedly, the two mages beside him became even more tense.

"Not good," Ronin exclaimed.

The limitations of illusion magic were known only to mages. The larger and more complex the illusion, the more it challenged the caster's skill.

What was that?

The heavy rain poured from the sky, with dense and long rain lines hitting the ground.

There was no instability as in low-level illusions, nor the rigid and unchanging absorption of mid-level ones.

They only saw the rain lines falling into the illusion's realm, still appearing to fall naturally, splashing little droplets on the ground or ripples in puddles.

And these weren't uniform, dead ripples, but waves that affected each other in various sizes.

They all stared in amazement.

Gavinrad, not believing it, stood at the boundary of the illusion, looking left and right. He confirmed that Duke had exaggeratedly simulated almost everything, with the majority inside and outside looking the same, except for the scorched and trenched marks and the enormous dragon corpse.

Just then, a dragon's cry came from the horizon.

It wasn't a threat or show of power, but more like a communication.

"Come in quickly," Duke beckoned, and they all hurried back into the illusion's realm.

To be on the safe side, they hid under the shadow of a hillock.

Above, they saw several black dots rapidly growing larger in the sky. In a few breaths, they could vaguely see the red behemoths breaking through the clouds.

It was the Horde's Dragonmaw clan's dragon riders, riding their dragons, circling in a range of several kilometers above Duke's head.

They seemed to be shouting something, but it was too far to hear.

Vereesa's elongated elf ears twitched, and using the power of the wind, she whispered all that she could hear.

Vereesa was also a language genius. She didn't understand Dragon or Orcish, but she could perfectly repeat the dragons' whispers and the orcs' shouts.

Duke, who knew Orcish, translated:

"Didn't Orlando's dragon say there were strong enemies here? Why can't we see any people or dragons?"

"Could they have run away?" another orcish rider answered.

"It seems so. There's no sign of battle here. These big guys we ride would be visible for miles if they were fighting."

The orcs were discussing thus.

Marian translated the dragons' conversation, which was a different version:

"Be careful; Giz'lah sent a signal that he couldn't handle it. Graz'lah was the strongest among the third generation of dragons. Perhaps, he has been killed."

"Is there really such a terrifying enemy? Don't underestimate humans and high elves. Though most of them are weak, their strongest can threaten our queen."

The dragons circled in the sky for a while, finding nothing, and most of them flew away. Only one, under the orcs' command, reluctantly descended to a height of about a hundred meters and flew over the nearby swamp.

Most dragons are interested in physical combat, but geniuses like Krasus also exist. And this small female dragon, as she brushed past the edge of Duke's illusion, detected something amiss. Her yellow eyes saw through the illusion, and she saw Giz'lah's corpse, along with a human mage smiling at her from the shadow of a tree.

No, not just one mage; she saw at least three mages, a paladin, and a ranger.