The dragon was slow but unstoppable.
Steamsli lacked wings or hind legs, and so he had to drag his enormous shell across the city. But what he lacked in speed, he more than made up for in strength. The sli dragon bulldozed his way through houses, tossed cars aside, and crushed the pavent underfoot. He was making a beeline for the citys stadium and woe to anyone crossing his path.
Basil considered fleeing to another battlefield, but chose to stand his ground. The stadiums wide, open space would favor his party against a giant target, and the nearby municipal swimming pool could make for a good fallback site if the fight turned against them.
Basil Bohen wouldnt cower before a giant snail.
Partner? Shellgirl asked, her cannons pointed at the oncoming juggernaut. Whats your plan?
First we deal with his escort, Basil said. The swarm of Unity watchers surrounded their master like a noxious cloud. Shellgirl, bombard them from afar. Bugsy, Rosemarine, use the sa technique we used with the gearsman. Plato, wind slashem. Zachariel, you coordinate with Officer Elissalde on the radio and help refuel the team.
Yes, Boss. Bugsy nodded with determination. He looked eager to make up for his previous, lackluster displays against the gearsn. I wont let you down again, I swear.
What about you, sir? the angel asked. He sounded relieved not to be sent to the front line.
Basil glanced at the stadium. A mound of dirt and grass stood proudly on its northern side, its shadow looming over the sports complexs barriers. His eyes then turned to the rcedes Benz stuffed to the brim with fertilizer.
Im gonna add yet another car cri to my list, Basil replied.
The sound of cannon fire echoed all around him as he switched on the rcedes. Bugsy helped Shellgirl climb on the Renault Kangoos roof to take up a better artillery position, and the rchant imdiately unloaded her napalm projectiles. The bombs exploded on the Unity drones in a deluge of flas and smoke. Massive explosions sent shockwaves spreading through the air, blasting apart Unity watchers by the dozens. Fireclouds swallowed the horizon.
Rosemarine duplicated herself and Bugsy hastily threw her clone at Steamsli. A Unity watcher flew in the projectiles way and self-detonated. The duplicates payload ignited in a shower of searing hot flas. The white phosphorus seeped into the watchers tal shell and set their crystal eyes alight.
Basil froze in awe at the burning display. Flas covered the world under a crimson sky. The horizon bled fire.
There was sothing fascinating in the sheer destructive power of modern weapons, a primal urge to revel in the utter annihilation of ones enemy. Platos blades of sharp winds looked so feeble and forgettable in comparison. If Officer Elissaldes group wasnt aware of the partys position, they only had to follow the flas.
And yet, the bombardnt barely slowed Steamsli down.
The monstrous dragon erged from the smoke nearly unscathed. The exhaust ports of his steel shell poured torrents of pressured water in all directions. They werent enough to save the watchers from the napalm and the white phosphorus, but they coated the dragons body in a layer of water. The liquid exhausted the flas touching his slimy body.
Can this beast truly be level 20? Basil wondered. I would have given it twice more.
The System enlightened him.
Elite creatures possess exceptional stats and unique abilities similar to a dungeons [Boss], making them far more powerful than their level would suggest. They also offer greater rewards than common monsters.
Basil guessed he should have expected sothing like that from a dragon. He took solace in the idea that once his team defeated Steamsli and expelled the Unity from the region, they would finally find peace.
Basil positioned the rcedes at the base of the mound, oriented it in Steamslis direction, and smashed the accelerator.
The engine roared. The wheels climbed heaps of dirt and grass. When the car reached the top of the mound, Basil jumped away from the drivers seat. The rcedes Benz flew into the air at full speed right as Steamsli reached the sports complex.
The dragon raised his head at the improvised projectile. A light shone within his thorax, bright and lethal.
Steamsli opened his mouth and death poured out of his throat.
The dragon spat a stream of sick, greenish ooze. Its surface ignited into a stream of yellow fus. The smog swallowed the flying rcedes before it could reach its target. The bodywork rusted, the windshield lted, and the fertilizer rotted years in the space of seconds. The car had been vaporized before it could get anywhere close, let alone explode.
Shit, shit, shit! Basil muttered as he ran down the mound for his life. Whatever grass the dragons breath touched withered and died. Basil avoided a direct hit by outrunning the poison. The mound collapsed behind him with a terrible racket.
Basil, look up! Plato shouted a warning. The watchers that survived the bombardnt flung themselves at the stadium by the dozen.
[SELF-DESTRUCT] PROTOCOL ACTIVATED! The watchers surfaces heated up until they turned red. THIS WORLD WILL KNOW PEACE!
Basil barely had the ti to cover his face with his arms to protect himself. Plato slew the closest watchers with his Windslash technique, Shellgirl hit a few with ice pearls, and Bugsy breathed fire at them. It destroyed most of the robots before they could hit the ground, but didnt prevent the bombardnt.
Watchers rained down from the sky like a teor shower. One of them exploded close to Basil, throwing him onto his back. When he rose back up, the stadium looked closer to the Moons surface than a football field.
Guys! he called out to his allies. A dense cloud of dust obscured his vision. Guys?!
Bugsy answered his call, although he couldnt see the centimagma. Run for cover, Boss! Im coming to the rescue!
Basil heard the sound of trampled barriers, the rumbling noise of a colossal beasts steps, and a dragons roar. Steam pushed the dust away and a titanic monster followed in its wake.
Only then did Basil realize just how big Steamsli was.
It was one thing to observe a ten-ter tall behemoth from afar, and another to see it up close. The beasts black claws were almost as long as Basil himself. Steamslis reptilian head and torso overshadowed him the sa way a castles tower would; his tal shell was a roaring factory, a bursting mass of steams, gears, chimneys, and exhaust ports. The monster embodied prival savagery and industrial brutality packaged in a single force of destruction.
Basil didnt fear anything, but when he looked up to et Steamslis golden eyes
He blinked.
The dragons jaws snapped at Basil to devour him whole, the sa way a chicken would try to eat a worm. Basil rolled to the ground to dodge. He tried to strike the monster with his halberd the mont he recovered, but instead ran to avoid being crushed under Steamslis palm.
Run, run, little manling! Steamsli let out a roar that shook the very earth. Run and hide!
Basil gritted his teeth and ran across the football field with the rampaging dragon hot on his tail. He caught sight of Bugsy and Plato on his left, both casting buffs on themselves.
A bug and a cat? Steamsli glared down on the two with contempt. Bugsy and Plato looked no bigger than mice compared to the mighty dragon. What can you do? Needle to death?
I know you are strong, Bugsy said without a hint of fear, embers coming out of his mandibles. Plato sneakily leaped on Steamslis shell without a word. But I refuse to be weak! I wont cower again!
The centimagma fearlessly breathed fire at the much larger dragon, and Basil couldnt be prouder of his friend.
When Bugsy burned Steamsli on the flank and the dragon roared in response, Basil rembered Vasis words: that a strong affinity in an elent usually resulted in a weak one in its opposite. Steamsli wielded the power of steam and water, but feared fire in return. The dragon needed to shower himself with liquid to extinguish the flas he feared. Bugsys breath burned a patch of slimy skin until it turned the color of coal.
A lightning ray to the back stopped the centimagma in his tracks.
Bugsy rolled on the burning grass, stunned. Basil looked over at the source of the attack: two gearsn rushing towards the football field from the parking lot. Shellgirl exchanged volleys of projectiles with them, assisted by Rosemarine.
A pincer attack? Basil cursed under his breath. The gearsn had sneaked upon the Party from behind while they were focused on fighting their master.
Steamsli raised a claw to squash Bugsy. Zachariel interfered by throwing his chlorine bomb at the dragons face. The device exploded in a burst of gas that briefly distracted the beast. Bugsy exploited the brief distraction to crawl away and Steamslis palm hit dirt.
The chlorine did nothing more than briefly inconvenience the dragon. One of his steam pipes pointed at Bugsy and blasted him with a stream of pressurized water. The centimagma was propelled backward into a crater left by the watchers.
Steamsli then turned his furious gaze at Zachariel, the Renault Kangoo, and Shellgirl.
Uh oh, the angel muttered, wings extended.
Steamsli backhanded the group with a wide swing. Zachariel dodged by flying away, but Basils Kangoo wasnt so lucky. Steamslis fist ramd it with a trucks strength. Half the vehicle shattered and the other tumbled to the side. Shellgirl, too distracted by the gearsn to see the hit coming, went flying with it.
Basils eyes widened in rage. My car!
Poison? On ? ?! Steamsli hissed in outrage. The chlorine gas dissipated with the wind. I am poison! I am the smog! I am
A heap of shit slipping out of an oversized toilet! Basil snarled back. He swung his halberd at the dragons left arm. The blade ignited from the movent and cut through the slimy flesh like a knife through butter.
Steamsli hissed, yellowish ooze seeping from his wound. He turned his eyes in Basils direction, his iris glowing. Lightning Bolt!
An arc of electricity surged from the dragons gaze and hit Basil in the chest. It burned through his clothes and incinerated the ogre pendant he gained from Ogremoche. The lightning coursed through his flesh and nerves. His heart skipped a beat.
Supereffective damage!
Basil gritted his teeth through the pain. He had gone through far worse over the last month. A scar of burned skin ford on his chest, yet Basil Bohen did not back down.
Plato, who had finished climbing Steamslis shell, rushed across his back and neck. The cat leaped on his head and stabbed his right eye with his fencing sword. Steamslis shriek was music to Basils ears, and he hacked at the dragons side with a smile.
However, the gearsn were free to act without anyone to provide suppression fire. The first of them leaped over the Kangoos wrecks and an unconscious Shellgirl. Rosemarine stopped the second by standing in its path.
Here I go dying again! said Rosemarines clone as it showered the gearsman with white phosphorus. The substance burned through the machines tal shielding, but didnt destroy it. The original Rosemarine raised all of her guns and opened fire. She matched each lightning ray with bullets.
The other gearsman opened fire on Basil with a lightning beam, forcing him to abandon his assault on Steamsli. As the dragon attempted to swipe Plato off his back, Basil zigzagged along the field to avoid the gearsmans attacks. He charged to close the gap, but the machine wisely kept its distance.
The robot could think tactically. It knew Basil lacked an effective long-range weapon and thus stuck to ranged attacks.
Where was Zachariel? The Major and his group? Where were his reinforcents?!
Warning: Cait Sith Plato has been [Poisoned]!
Basils eyes turned at his cat in panic. Plato had fallen off Steamslis back and crashed on the ground, his fur green, his sword slipping between his fingers. The poor cat vomited and writhed in agony. His legs and paws were covered in putrid goo.
Steamslis skin was toxic.
Plato! Basil rushed at his pets help. Plato!
Dragons adapt to all, Steamsli boasted and raised a hand. The poisoned waters of Electon course through my veins!
He squashed Plato underfoot and left a bloody sar on the ground.
Basils vision turned red with rage. The strength of his rage carried his halberd forward. His blade hit the dragons chest and left a gaping gash in its wake. Wounds and burns covered Steamslis body, yet he remained the very picture of arrogant strength.
Lightning Bolt! Steamslis last eye blasted Basil with electricity. Sohow this bolt hit even harder than the last. A tree-shaped scar spread over Basils torso as the electricity burned its way through his flesh. His vision went white for a few seconds and the sll of cooked flesh reached his nose. His shirt turned to ashes and his knees collapsed under him.
Basil barely managed to stand against his halberds shaft, his fingers trembling. The lightning had numbed all sensations in his limbs.
All except for pain.
Critical health! Critical health!
Basil struggled to breathe as the dragons shadow lood over him.
When I hatched, the Grandmaster took away from my nest and told : you are a scion of dragonkind. Follow , and you shall unite the universe. Steamsli opened his mouth wide, his chest bright with light. This is the order of things. The rule of nature.
Warp Basil whispered through his teeth. He refused to die here. Spa
A rifles shot echoed and Steamslis right eye burst into a shower of golden blood. The dragons breath died with a screech in his mouth, his hands covering his face. Basil didnt finish his sentence, astonished by this turn of events.
Steamsli has been [Blinded]. Steamslis [Shelter] activated! His Vitality has been buffed and his Agility debuffed!
The gearsman attempted to finish off Basil by crushing his head under its tal feet.
A VAB ramd it at full speed first to the tune of a machine gun. The military vehicle tore through the gearsman in half, and the Major atop its roof finished off the machine with a hail of bullets.
Basil heard dogs howl in the distance and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Zachariel land behind him; Maya Elissalde jumped off the angels back, whip in hand. A green glow banished away the pain from Basils bones and newfound strength coursed through his veins.
Your wounds are healed.[Brave Howl] buffed your Strength and Magic for five minutes!
My eyes! Steamsli snarled. I cant see anything!
More bullets hit his throat. Basil glanced at their source, a humanoid figure standing atop a distant buildings ruins. Officer Elissalde was sniping Steamsli from afar with a rifle almost as long as Basils halberd.
You asked for it, sir, Zachariel said. He carried the military radio in his free hand. I coordinated with our allies.
It was about ti.
A snail? The Major asked as his VAB turned around. He opened fire on Steamsli with his machine gun. I'll eat it for dinner!
How much more damage can he shrug off? Basil wondered. Steamsli had taken napalm bombs, white phosphorus, a hail of bullets, and the stings of weapons without flinching. Scars marked his body from his blinded eyes to his torso. Yet the dragon continued to fight. What will it take to kill him, a nuke?
Basil surveyed the area to check on his allies. Mayas doberman howled from a safe distance as her Basque Shepherd dragged Shellgirl off the Renault Kangoos wreck. Plato had revived from his lethal wound to Basils relief, although it cost him another of his lives.
And Bugsy had crawled out of the hole Steamsli sent him into, still carrying the thermite with four of his many legs. The water stream had exhausted the flas coursing through his veins, and yet his eyes remained full of resolve.
Bugsy, retreat! Basil shouted. Retreat!
I refuse, Boss. Bugsy stood up with pride. Not until weve slain this creep and cooked him! With roasted chicken, soda, and potatoes!
I got one too, Mister! Rosemarine stood triumphant atop the burning husk of the last gearsman. Fus rose from her handguns barrels. I got one all by myself!
They grew up too soon.
Thank you, Zach, Basil told the angel. Go heal Shellgirl. We need artillery support.
When Zachariel executed his order, Basil turned to Maya Elissalde. What can you do?
I can buff you, Maya Elissalde proposed.
Then what are you waiting for?
Maya Elissalde struck his face with her whip in response.
Argh! Basil winced in outrage. You stupid b
Attack! The houndmaster spoke to Basil as if he were one of her dogs. Attack!
Your chances of inflicting critical hits have increased!
Basil gritted his teeth, suppressed the urge to murder his own ally, and instead unloaded his rage on Steamsli.
Fuck this dispshit System! Basil snarled as he hacked into the dragons chest. Fuck Dismaker Labs, fuck dragons, fuck you all!
Dont complain, Basil! Plato leaped back to his feet and helped his owner with wind slashes. I lost a life to a snail! A snail!
Bugsy joined in with flas and Rosemarine with suicide clones. Bullets and flas and sharp winds rained on Steamsli from above while Basil hacked at him from below. The dragon covered his face with his arms in a desperate attempt to protect himself. His situation was only about to worsen: Zachariel healed Shellgirl, Maya Elissalde buffed Rosemarine, and her hounds did the sa with Bugsy.
Enough! Steamsli roared. His shells gears ground louder and louder. You will die! You will all die!
Pressurized streams of water erupted from the dragons pipes and chimneys. One hit Rosemarine and pushed her away. The others forced the group to disperse and retreat, Basil included. This gave Steamsli enough ti to gather his breath.
Take this! The Major unloaded his machine gun at the dragons throat. Steamsli leaked yellow blood from a dozen areas. For France!
Steamsli unleashed a torrent of poison from his maw straight at the VAB. Perhaps the dragon had a tremorsense of his own, or he simply figured out the vehicles location from the noise. Whatever the case, he hit the VAB head-on.
The military vehicle proved no better at resisting Steamslis breath than Basils rcedes. The shielding lted alongside its driver. The Majors body armor and flesh were stripped from his bones. Soon those turned to dust as well, and nothing remained of the soldier nor his vehicle.
Chief! Maya Elissaldes voice broke in utter despair. Chief!
Get down! Zachariel shoved her head first onto the ground, narrowingly avoiding Steamslis breath. The dragon fired in all directions, blinded by rage and his lack of eyesight. Basil dropped to the ground to avoid being vaporized too. Steamsli roared and spat and thrashed around with mindless anger.
In spite of the chaos and her superiors death, Officer Elissalde kept sniping the dragon from afar.
Once he ran out of breath, Steamsli retreated inside his shell. His slimy torso and head vanished safely inside the tal device. The exhaust ports and chimneys started to unload noxious green fus rather than steam.
The dragon was trying to gas the stadium and everyone nearby.
Partner! Shellgirl shouted over the lee. Zachariels treatnt must have worked. Hes using Shelter!
What about it?! Basil coughed through the noxious fus.
I have the Perk too! It activates when Im below half-health!
Then Steamsli was on his last leg. He wasnt trying to kill the group, but to force them to retreat while he licked his wounds. Golden lightning coursed through the star circuits and the crimson skies. The Incursion wasnt over yet, and Steamsli might very well escape back ho.
Basil couldnt let him live to fight another day.
He glanced at the dragons shell, then at Bugsy and his thermite canister. An idea crossed his mind.
Bugsy, the exhaust ports! Basil started climbing Steamslis shell. Throw the thermite into the exhaust ports!
Yes, Boss! The centipede fearlessly charged into the toxic fus. Agility Up!
Basil, get away! Plato shouted. The gas
Ill manage! Basil held his breath as he continued his ascent of the steel slope. Everyone else retreat!
He couldnt run when a Frenchman stood his ground! That would be beyond shaful! Neither could Basil dishonor the soldiers mory by coming ho defeated. He powered through the fus even as they burned his skin and made his nose itch.
[Corrosion] damage resisted. [Poison] ailnt resisted.
Basil positioned himself right above the hole in which Steamsli retreated, halberd raised. His allies retreated from the toxic cloud with the exception of Bugsy. The centimagma climbed the shells exhaust port and tossed the thermite into it. The device lted into the steel and ignited the noxious fus. Flas ca out of the shells chimneys and Steamslis screech echoed out from the pipes.
The dragon was cooking inside his own fortress. Basil waited for him to erge from his hole with his weapon raised. The mont ca swiftly. Steamslis head snapped out of the shell in a desperate attempt to avoid burning alive.
A guillotine would have been more appropriate, Basil thought as he brought his halberd down. But itll do.
Saint George, he shouted, witness !
Basils blade sliced Steamslis neck to the sound of a supereffective hit.
And the dragon fell.
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