Chapter 55: Eternal Fla and Ice Dragon (2)
Three days had already passed since Kyle began the work of reviving the Eternal Fla.
Up until the second day, it had been fine.
However, on the third day, the Ice Dragon suddenly appeared in the skies above the Dwarf Tribe.
At the sight of the Ice Dragon releasing a breath filled with freezing cold, even Yul, who had been guarding Kyle’s side, had no choice but to leave his position.
“Iron! We have to protect the Temple!”
“Damn it! I know that too!”
Two hours had passed since the Ice Dragon’s attack began.
The Dwarf Tribe’s habitat had turned into chaos and was on the verge of becoming ruins.
Even so, because Yul and Iron were working together to hold back the Ice Dragon, the Temple where Kyle was located had not yet suffered damage.
“I’ll try to buy ti! Iron, protect the Temple no matter what sacrifices it takes!”
The warriors of the Dwarf Tribe were doing their utmost to block the Ice Dragon, but they were gradually being pushed back.
Even so, they could not simply run away.
Abandoning Kyle, who was struggling desperately inside the Temple to revive the Eternal Fla, would have been no different from throwing away the tribe’s honor.
“What do you think you’re doing, Yul! Fall back imdiately!”
“But we can’t just let the Ice Dragon attack the Temple like this.”
If they were pushed back even a little more, the Temple would be next, and from Yul’s standpoint, he could no longer retreat.
Yul asked Iron to handle the Temple’s defense and jumped toward the Ice Dragon flying through the sky.
Saaa—
Imdiately after, an intense Blade imbued itself into Yul’s Greatsword.
As he swung the Greatsword through the air with all his might, the Blade drew a crescent arc and flew toward the Ice Dragon.
However, Yul’s Blade failed to even graze the tip of the Ice Dragon’s wing.
A transparent film that looked like a Barrier blocked the Blade.
‘Hunting the Ice Dragon like this is impossible. Do I have no choice but to wake him…….’
Kyle had told him not to touch his body, but there was no viable way to stop the Ice Dragon.
In the end, Yul steeled his resolve and made his decision.
“Iron, you have to take Kyle and escape from the Temple right now. I’ll buy ti.”
“If I leave, you could be in danger.”
“I told you, didn’t I? Sacrifices are inevitable.”
The Ice Dragon, which had turned its gaze due to the Blade attack, released another breath.
Yul wrapped the Blade around his entire body and tried to block the breath with his own body to create an opening for Iron to move.
‘It’s unfortunate, but at least Kyle has to survive. Only then can our Ork Tribe be safely protected.’
One of the absolute beings that had reigned over the mountain range even before the Lords were defeated by Ragnar, and a subspecies of dragons that had existed since ancient tis.
On top of that, there was no way to stop a creature that had even lost its reason.
At the sight of the blue breath pouring down from the sky to the ground, Yul revealed a bitter expression.
Soon, Yul raised his Greatsword with both hands.
He could block it once.
But he could not block it twice.
“Iron! Go now!”
At Yul’s shout, Iron stopped hesitating and turned his body.
As he said, securing Kyle’s safety ca first.
However, Iron, who had bitten his lips until they bled, turned his steps away from the Temple and ran like the wind toward where Yul was standing.
“Hah!”
With a powerful battle cry, an intense light burst forth from the axe in Iron’s hands.
At the sudden appearance of Iron in front of him, Yul frowned.
“Iron!”
“You go. I’ve lived long enough anyway.”
There was no way sothing like friendship existed among the Lords.
But at the very least, they always carried a sense of responsibility.
Just as Yul bore responsibility and burden as the Ork Tribe’s Lord, Iron felt that as well.
Above all, this place was the habitat of the Dwarf Tribe.
It was not sothing Yul had to take responsibility for, but a place Iron himself had to protect.
He could not pass that responsibility onto Yul, who belonged to another tribe.
Kwaaa—!
Soon, a breath imbued with overwhelming cold engulfed Iron and Yul, and they blocked it with their entire bodies.
After blocking the breath, Yul and Iron looked at each other at the sa ti.
“……Stubborn as expected of a Dwarf.”
“Foolish as expected of an Ork.”
Lords who acted selfishly and had no such thing as bonds.
The Seven Lords had never once moved in harmony with one another.
Perhaps the reason they were defeated by Ragnar during the war was precisely because they lacked bonds and waged war in an extrely selfish manner.
After exchanging words that were criticism yet not quite criticism while looking at each other, Yul and Iron raised their gazes to the sky.
“There’s no backing out now.”
“……If soone has to be sacrificed, it should be . So you take him and leave.”
“That won’t do. Since I promised to help, I have to give it my all. That’s how Orks preserve their honor.”
“You foolish bastard.”
“Says the one who should.”
Although they had blocked the breath, there was no guarantee how long they could hold out.
Escaping was no longer possible either.
After releasing one breath, the Ice Dragon was rapidly descending toward the ground.
At the sight of it coming down along the path leading to the Temple, the two shook their heads.
Then, without looking at Iron, Yul spoke.
“May I ask one thing?”
“Say it.”
“If we survive here, I want the Dwarf Tribe to help Ragnar.”
“……Would Ragnar really accept the help of Dwarves?”
“That much ti has passed. Generations have changed countless tis, and it’s ti for the paradigm to change. At least for humans, it’s not a short span of ti.”
“Hoo…… I promise. The Dwarf Tribe will repay the debt of gratitude we owe Ragnar.”
Iron gripped his axe tightly with both hands and prepared to charge forward.
Yul likewise took his stance, lowering his Greatsword diagonally.
Not long after, the Ice Dragon descended to the path leading to the Temple and opened its mouth wide.
As the flow of mana gathered around its mouth, Iron charged forward.
Kwaaa—!
The breath erupted from the Ice Dragon’s mouth, and Iron spun his body while raising his axe.
“Eat this!”
An axe passed down through generations to the leader of the Dwarf Tribe.
It was a precious weapon, but Iron believed it was not more important than protecting the tribe.
Iron hurled the axe toward the breath with all his strength.
Facing the power of the breath, which was even stronger than when the Ice Dragon was flying, Iron desperately muttered inwardly.
‘Please, even just once…….’
He desperately hoped that the axe he had just thrown would buy even a little ti.
Perhaps Iron’s wish was answered.
A powerful montum burst from the axe as it clashed evenly against the Ice Dragon’s breath.
At that, Yul gripped his Greatsword and leapt high into the sky.
Charging toward the breath with his Greatsword held high, Yul struck down along the axe’s path.
‘We have to endure.’
Contrary to Yul’s resolve, he was being pushed back by the overwhelming force of the breath.
Seeing the Ice Dragon display even greater power despite being opposed by both Iron and Yul, the morale of the Dwarf warriors continued to fall.
If even two Lords with absolute power could not endure, then who could possibly stop the Ice Dragon?
That doubt grew ever stronger.
Then, at that mont, soone suddenly dropped down from the sky.
The figure that fell into the center of the breath raised a sword and cleaved straight through it.
As a result, the breath vanished without a trace, and the pressure bearing down on Yul disappeared as well.
As Yul, who had exhausted all his strength blocking the breath, panted heavily—
“Strong fellow.”
At the familiar voice coming from behind, Yul’s eyes widened.
“Kyle!”
“Did it sense the Eternal Fla reviving?”
Despite Yul’s shout, Kyle muttered while glaring at the Ice Dragon.
The reason the Ice Dragon had begun rampaging was likely because of the Eternal Fla.
Kyle took his stance, swinging his sword strongly in a diagonal arc.
“……Foolish creature.”
Those words were not directed at Yul or Iron, but at Kyle’s cold voice, both of them flinched at the sa ti.
Regardless, Kyle continued to stare fixedly at the Ice Dragon.
If it had sensed the Eternal Fla reviving once more, it should never have invaded this place.
“Perhaps because it was a lowly creature that had lost its reason, even its thinking was simple.”
When he spread his palm, a red gemstone floated up into the air.
Soon, following Kyle’s will, intense heat spread across the entire habitat of the Dwarf Tribe.
Not only did the ground that had been frozen by the breath thaw, but even the cold that had tornted the dwarf warriors vanished.
After retrieving the Eternal Fla, Kyle turned his head and looked at Yul.
“The Ice Dragon’s power should have weakened now.”
“Then… did we succeed in the end?”
“What nonsense is that. The chances of success were far greater than the chances of failure.”
No—strictly speaking, that was not true.
If he had failed to hear its voice while suppressing the power of the Eternal Fla, it would have been a failure.
However, there seed no need to reveal a fact that could dampen morale right now.
Instead, Kyle raised his sword and pointed it at the Ice Dragon.
“I need that bastard’s heart.”
“What’s the reason?”
“…Because while keeping the Eternal Fla alive, the heat beca stronger than the cold.”
At Kyle’s request, Yul nodded, took a deep breath, and raised his greatsword high.
“Fine. I’ll support you.”
As Yul stood to Kyle’s right, Iron, who had been behind them, also picked up the axe that had fallen to the ground and took position on his left.
“I’ll support you as well.”
Human, ork, and dwarf.
Beings that seed as though they could never harmonize as one decided to join forces.
“I’ll make good use of your heart.”
With those words, Kyle leaped toward the Ice Dragon.
And in sync with his movent, Yul and Iron spread out to either side of the Ice Dragon.
At that, Kyle glanced sideways and examined the aura of Yul and Iron.
Two Masters on Seros’s level.
Even getting close to the Ice Dragon, all they could do was barely endure.
It might have been an issue of compatibility, but even taking that into account, it ant the Ice Dragon was powerful.
‘It’s weakened because of the heat the Eternal Fla is emitting, but it’s still not an opponent I can afford to be careless against.’
At that mont, a breath filled with cold flew straight toward Kyle.
Kyle opened the Frostfire, wrapped his sword in Blade, and brought it down with force.
The breath that burst forth was split cleanly in two vertically, without excess.
At that sight, Yul and Iron widened their eyes, but Kyle paid no attention to their gazes at all.
He focused solely on the Ice Dragon before him.
Kyle leaped high into the sky toward the top of the Ice Dragon’s head.
While Kyle was struggling desperately to revive the Eternal Fla, events were also unfolding at the mountain range entrance that the Ork Tribe had claid as their habitat.
“…Seros, what should we do?”
“We block them. Until our lord returns, this place must never be breached.”
In response to the question from the red-skinned Kazar, Seros bared his teeth and growled.
Only two days after Kyle and Yul had departed, monsters began revealing themselves and swarming toward the mountain range entrance from all directions.
There were so many that it was impossible to imagine where they had been hiding.
Gazing at the entrance ahead, Kazar let out a deep sigh.
“…To think they’d co rushing in like that the mont those two disappeared.”
“I’m not worried about the defense of Chaplin Castle, but the problem is this place.”
The red-skinned Kazar. His na was Yahan, and among the Kazar, he was the ork with the greatest martial strength.
At Seros’s words, Yahan shook his head.
“There’s no need to worry about the defense here. They’re not warriors who’d be defeated by such trash.”
Though he spoke confidently, Yahan was deeply worried as well.
Since Yul was absent, he was in a position where he had to command the warriors, and there was pressure to minimize losses as much as possible.
“Seros, you should return to Chaplin Castle.”
“I can’t do that. My subordinates are guarding Chaplin Castle, so there’s no chance it’ll be breached.”
The order Kyle had given Seros was to protect the Ork Tribe.
Only by defending and holding out here could they reduce the burden on Chaplin Castle and Ragnar.
“The mont this place is breached, Ragnar may face another crisis. If a crisis arises while our lord isn’t here, we won’t be able to endure it.”
“…So you’re saying you’ll stay here to protect Ragnar?”
“That’s right. To be honest, exchanges between the Ork Tribe and humans haven’t even begun yet. We don’t know each other, so there’s no reason to risk our lives for the orks.”
At Seros’s words, Yahan nodded as if in agreent.
“I like the honesty.”
“If I weren’t honest, I’d be a corpse.”
Seros and Yahan looked at each other.
Then Yahan extended his hand first.
“I look forward to working with you. It seems this will be the first battle our tribe and Ragnar fight together.”
“So do I.”
Squeeze—
Seros grasped the hand Yahan offered and raised the corner of his mouth.
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