Episode 143 [ Suwon, Black Dragon Hunting – 2 ]
———————————
Five gates will be opened in downtown Suwon. An army of monsters began to pour out.
Thump—thump—thump—thump—
The sound of the drum on the back of a huge elephant spreads far through the empty city center.
An army of darkness bearing the name of ‘Angra Mainyu’, the greatest evil god of Zoroastrianism… And the boss monster that would appear in the final act of the ranks was a black dragon called ‘Azi Dahaka’.
Dozens of drone cameras floating in the sky were filming the scene and transporting it around the world.
Meanwhile, [Kill the Monster] was the site that attracted the most viewers after the official Slayers channel.
– News that the Dragon Gate has finally opened—and it’s a five-layer gate!
– Until now, there has never been a quintuple gate. As expected, the dragon is huge.
– And the first monster to appear in the first eruption was the Twin Head Ogre!
– Yeah this is not good. I expect it will be a very difficult fight.
At that time, a magic drone camera that illuminated the area in the distance caught something unusual.
The camera director on site sensed something strange and ordered the camera to focus on that point.
Wing—
When I zoomed in, it was…
– Oh, look over there! There’s someone in the sky!
A man was floating in the air, looking down at Angra Mainyu’s army.
– Steele Rain—! He has appeared!
– It must have appeared very quickly.
– How did you react so immediately?
It was Steele Lane’s first move in a match that caught the world’s attention.
– Now, the first issue is who will first detect and respond to the Dragon Gate outbreak?
As the MC started the rhyme, today’s guest commentator Tyrone Thompson shook his head.
– well. Everyone thinks that way, but surprisingly, I don’t think it’s that important.
He was ranked 5th in the US player rankings and was the head of strategy for the strongest guild in North America, the [Alpha Line] guild. In other words, his every word was evaluated as the best opinion in the player world.
– Oh really? This is an unusual opinion, different from other experts. What is the reason?
– The dragon will not come out from the first ‘eruption’, so preemptive attack will be a waste of stamina.
– ah! So, even if you hit it first, it has nothing to do with the real goal of killing the dragon?
– Yes, the one who strikes first may suffer losses before the dragon appears. No matter how much steel rain you have, you won’t be able to kill that many troops quickly, and you’ll end up wasting your money.
But…
– Oh, what is that again?
The moment Laputa appeared through the dark clouds in the sky, all predictions and opinions became meaningless.
– ….
All the broadcasters who are highlighting this moment just looked dumbfounded…
– What else is happening in the three worlds… Thompson, do you have any idea what the situation is? ?
In response to the MC’s question, Tyrone Thompson opened his mouth and then closed it again. And he shook his head.
– Huh… I was foolish. As expected, Stillein brings out a method that goes beyond imagination.
His still serious voice was trembling slightly.
There was a strange feeling of excitement inside.
It was a scene that even the highest level players could not help but shudder at.
– So, do you expect that the appearance of Laputa will cause a huge surprise?
– If we can use that huge floating city, it will unleash firepower beyond what we know.
There are three factors that determine Lee Hyun-wook’s firepower.
The first is the number of metals that can be moved at once, or ‘quantity’.
Second is the level of functionality of the metal itself, or ‘quality’.
Thirdly, there is a method of storing and supplying metals, namely ‘supply’.
And of these, the third supply was by far the one that could bring about the most dramatic change.
In that respect, the wide-area magic Link—Steel Rain using a portal or an airdrop device was useful. If you use ‘gravity’, which is the force of spontaneous falling, the amount of metal that can be used at once increases significantly.
Therefore, he spared no expense in measuring airdrop devices and producing war boxes.
‘And Laputa is the best airdrop device that cannot be reproduced no matter how much money is spent.’
Hyunwook Lee began to sense the metals within Laputa as it tore through the dark clouds and descended.
Woowoowoo——
The steel fleet unfolded around it, completely surrounding Laputa.
At that time, Talos’ voice came into my ears.
“Master, all weapons are on standby!”
“Okay, stand by.”
Until now, Laputa itself had been protected and did not move above Seoul Station.
However, if the enemy is not targeting Laputa and a battle occurs in the streets adjacent to Seoul…
‘…Laputa becomes the best weapon.’
In fact, it has the same explosive load as an aircraft carrier flyer floating in the sky, or even more.
Soooo——!
As Laputa’s huge shadow appeared overhead, Angra Mainyu’s army began to be on alert.
They scattered in all directions and began preparing siege weapons. It’s a pretty systematic movement.
“Well, if you don’t know anything about how my attack unfolds…”
The monsters who first set foot in this world had no way of knowing about the existence of Steel Rain.
“…You will have to learn by getting hit a lot.”
Piiii——!
It all started with three flashes of Mowglai starting at low altitude and crossing the sky vertically.
The mass drop weapon, commonly known as the ‘Staff of God’, is actually only as powerful as the same weight of TNT. In other words, it can cause a large impact to a single point, but it is difficult to devastate a huge area.
And even if you smash the ground and create a crater, the monsters within that range will not die.
This is because a simple shock wave alone cannot break the ‘barrier’ of a high-ranking monster.
However, if the target was only Twin Head Ogre, it would perform well.
– Evil God’s Fanatic Twin Head Ogre (LV: 109)
The huge boss monster looked at the flash of light piercing the dark clouds with a blank face.
Since I had never seen anything like that before, I couldn’t think of any response and was slow to act. Even though I felt a sense of crisis even belatedly, I moved my body, but I could not go faster than Moglei’s fall speed.
bang–! bang–! bang–!
The entire earth shook as the three Mowglai pierced the three Twin Head Ogres.
Kwa—ga—ga—ga——!
The asphalt road rose up like a carpet, turned into gravel and scattered, and the buildings on both sides collapsed. The impact caused even an elephant monster as big as a five-story building to fall to its knees.
In the first offensive, the formation of Angra Mainyu’s legion was completely destroyed.
But that was just the beginning.
“From now on, we will deploy all our firepower.”
– Chik—Sends a thunderbolt of fire to the entire fleet of invaders.
The moment I heard someone’s voice in my ear, the magic circuit on the outside of Laputa lit up.
Hung——
Immediately after, the lower part of Laputa opened.
And black dots appeared from within. It started pouring down.
The same thing was done throughout the steel fleet.
It was an elongated cylindrical lump of metal.
Hundreds and thousands
… From a distance, it looked like the descent of a flock of crows. It was!
When they got close to the ground, Lee Hyun-wook raised his hand.
He
scattered the metal cylinders that were falling randomly over a wide area. To be
precise, the Angra Mainyu Corps’ They were laid out evenly above the head.
And when it fell a little further, it was ‘
shattered
‘ !
A loud sound was heard and the cylinder was crushed. Their ‘wrapping paper’ had been removed.
One cylinder . Dozens of red iron beads burst out from within and scattered in all directions.
‘That’s real.’
It was a ‘fire trap’ that was planted on Ganghwa Island and exploded under the feet of the Black Orc army.
[Item Information]
– Name: Fire Trap (Advanced)
– Effect: Caution! When a large impact is applied to the center, a ‘flame explosion’ is caused. Even if it is the same item, it becomes a completely different weapon depending on how it is used. ‘This time
,
it was modified into a high explosive bomb for bombing.’
In other words, even if it was not planted on the ground, it could provide surprising power by surprise. To
put it simply, it was a ‘carpet bombing.’
Bur—bur—bur—bur—bur—bur——!
It was like a welcoming fanfare welcoming guests from another world. It rang loudly and the whole world turned red.
***
The Slayers’ executives, including Edward Woods, were moving on a transport plane.
‘…I was a step late, but that’s all. I will eventually catch up.’
Yes, he was only one step late. This situation has nothing to do with the outcome.
Edward Woods remained calm, and as a result, those around him regained their composure.
As a leader who has overcome numerous adversities, the atmosphere was often determined by his attitude. .
“In my opinion, the dragon strategy is a triathlon, not a sprint.”
He looked at the camera and said something like that, and the producer nodded repeatedly.
“Ah! In a triathlon, it doesn’t really matter who starts faster, right?”
“That’s right. All three disciplines must be fully understood and performed strategically.”
Winning a triathlon was not something that could be achieved simply by having good physical strength.
And Dragon Raid wasn’t something that could be done just because it had firepower.
I had to understand every moment, devise an appropriate strategy, and execute it accurately.
“He… may have the firepower, but I’m actually a little worried about whether he’s ready for what’s next. Steelein said in an interview a few days ago that he knew how to attack, but I don’t know…” He still firmly believes that he will win in the end
. there was.
“Now, let me introduce you at this point. I am Nisha Cape, an Indian celebrity you all know well.”
As he gestured, someone came in front of the camera and said hello:
“Hello. “It was confidential until now, but I also participated in the Slayers Alliance.”
She was the world’s best buffer, Nisha Cape, an S-rank support player.
Her appearance became quite an issue and spread all over the internet.
And the embargo on the press release that the Slase Alliance had already distributed to media outlets was lifted.
Roughly speaking, the Dragon Slayer’s ‘secret strategy’ was beginning to be revealed one by one.
“Nisha will do a really great job in this attack operation.”
“Yes, I will work hard.”
“Raid is never done alone… “It’s not something you can do recklessly.”
Edward Woods planned to quell ‘Dragon Fear’ with the ‘mental barrier’ she provided.
In other words, her ability was the key to this attack that could not be replaced by anything else.
‘As long as there is no mental barrier like this, Steele Lane will collapse from the moment the dragon appears.’
He remembered the London Dragon incident.
‘The moment I faced that, I felt like a rabbit…’
That was a fundamental fear that couldn’t be endured with mental strength alone.
However, an adult black dragon would emit a much more powerful dragon fear, so
Steelein was destined to lose its shine and exit immediately after the dragon appeared.
‘…When Steele begins to push back and is in danger of dying, I save him.’
It would have been a pretty good directing where the main character appeared to save his rival, who was running wild without control, when he was in danger.
When I thought about that, the corners of my mouth went up without me realizing it.
“We’ll be there soon!”
Soon, transport planes landed one after another on the empty eight-lane road.
At that time, one guild member came running and shouted,
“—Boss, we can’t get any closer than this!”
I knew that without even having to say it.
Ku—gu—gu—gu—gu…
This was because the area around the five-layer gate was completely a sea of fire.
As Lee Hyun-wook warned earlier, it was a situation where he could not dare to approach.
And…
boom! bang! bang! bang! bang! bang!
Cannons protruding from all over Laputa were firing indiscriminately at the ground.
It was a scene as if a huge battleship was firing its guns with the intention of destroying an uninhabited island.
A huge aerial fortress that moves with infinite power, and an aerial fortress that can be operated aggressively… Didn’t they even say that it contains the source of cutting-edge magical engineering technologies?
Gulp—
who wouldn’t want that?
To be honest, it was a moment when I felt envious of Steele Rain.
And the Slayer Alliance could only stare blankly at the scene for a while. As Lee Hyun-wook warned, he could not enter that battlefield, so he raised his head like a dog chasing a chicken.
“Damn, isn’t that on purpose to keep us from coming?”
“So the arrogant attitude of wanting to eat it all by yourself has been activated again?”
As such complaints erupted from everywhere, Edward Woods winked at his adjutant.
A deputy then ran over to stop them and get them away from the camera microphone.
This was because there was a risk that the quality would be lowered if such a voice were included in a live broadcast.
And about ten minutes later, the battlefield changed again.
“That boss… According to observations, almost all monsters have already been subdued.”
Stillane had completely wiped out the enormous army that appeared in the first eruption.
“…….”
That was right then.
“Huh?”
“Pfft!”
Suddenly, multiple players groaned and frowned at the same time.
“Can you feel this too?”
“Suddenly, I feel tight in my chest…”
Edward Woods, who noticed something strange, hurriedly found the deputy.
“Deputy, please show me the real-time video from the gate right now!”
Sure enough, the open gate at the right end of the five gates was expanding…
Qua—ah—ah—ah—ah——!
There, tremendous wind pressure erupted and the buildings in the area were swept away like sand castles.
At the same time, a huge amount of mana exploded, and the mana concentration in the area increased significantly.
“What is it… breathing has suddenly become more difficult?”
I felt a pressure pressing down on my heart, as if I had entered deep water.
Edward Woods waded into the midst of such confusion and opened his mouth.
“…What you are feeling is the power of the dragon.”
Dragon The name finally appeared.
“Huh… How on earth am I supposed to fight in this condition?”
“That’s right! I can’t use my power like this!”
Questions were flying in from all over the place. That was a planned line, or production.
And Edward Woods grinned and answered as expected.
“I prepared that all…”
But his words were cut off once again.
Bang!
Nearby . A high-rise building was shattered as if it had been hit by something.
The fragments rained down like hail towards the players.
“What the fuck is happening all of a sudden!”
“Watch out for the overhead!”
Beyond the building whose upper floor had been blown away, I caught a glimpse of a huge black shape.
Those were the wings of the film.
Hung—— Hung——
With each flap of its wings, the half-crushed building was lowered little by little, as if
it was being torn apart. Soon, it rose into the sky and covered the sky. Two red eye lights appeared.
With the black clouds and hazy dust in the background, it looked like two supernovae floating in space.
“Wow—”
On the other hand, at first glance, I could feel the brilliance of a huge ruby gem. However, if you look closely… you will feel the indescribable power contained within and fall into instinctive fear.
In the end, when I unconsciously lower my gaze, only then do I see the elegant body of that being.
Yes, it has a body of smooth and hard scales that is well suited to the word beautiful…. It measures 70 meters from head to tail, and when it spreads its wings, it would be three times larger than that.
A gigantic being whose every part was sculpted from a material known as intimidation and fear…
Go—oh—oh—oh——
Finally, the black dragon Aji Dahaka appeared.
It looked down at the ground and slowly opened its mouth.
“You nasty people… I am determined to reduce you to ashes.”
That voice was not a voice. I couldn’t say it sounded like that.
But it was ‘recognized’ in my head.
And….
ah—ah—ah——!
The moment that being roared—
“Ugh— gasp—”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu her she her her she her her she her she she she she or or or or it or or or it or
it or
it or it or it or it or it or it it it it or It it it or it it?
A warning system message appeared in their eyes.
– caution! Exposed to Dragon Fear.
* You feel fear that you cannot handle.
* All abilities are greatly reduced. (-40%)
He fell into fear after being exposed to the dragon fear that appeared with a roar.
That’s when Edward Woods’ ready card—Nisha Cape—made a move.
Thump—
she struck the floor with her staff and chanted a spell.
Go—oh—oh—oh—oh——
Then a golden shield symbol appeared above the players’ heads.
It was a ‘mental barrier’ spell that could withstand dragon fear.
“Huh…”
Soon, the players who had overcome Peer sighed and came to their senses.
They looked at Edward Woods with dumbfounded expressions.
“…….”
He was still standing there with a nonchalant expression.
Dragon Slayer It was an upright posture that he was able to maintain thanks to that title.
With everyone’s eyes focused on him, he grabbed his spear and walked forward.
“Now… Steelein can’t do anything. That means it’s our turn!”
Then, at the moment when he was about to raise the red spear towards the sky and order the most dramatic advance –
“I… the DS situation is a bit…”
This time, at a dramatic moment, a NG occurred that cut off the pulse.
Edward Woods’ eyebrows raised sharply. He wriggled a lot.
But this time, it was none other than the PD who made the NG.
“Well… look at this.”
He held out the tablet PC to Edward Woods with a half-fazed expression.
“…….”
After checking the screen, Edward Woods turned his head and looked somewhere.
Across the sky, Aji Dahaka, there was still a dot floating in the sky.
“Steelrain…”
If Edwards Woods said it, he should have been trembling in fear, limping from the dragon pier.
But he was still floating solidly in the sky, facing the black dragon.
And a mogley slowly approached him.
His left hand stretched forward and the sword slowly laid horizontally, aiming at the black dragon.
Even when facing the absolute being, the Black Dragon, I felt the spirit of trying to fight back without any hesitation.
That means he also predicted and responded to the Dragon Fear.
And that too perfectly.
“…Why is Steele Rain so fine? Do they really know all the ways to attack it?”
the PD asked without realizing it, as if he had forgotten about the broadcast.
“…….”
It didn’t take long before I realized that was the wrong question. “ Oh
, that’s it…”
“Producer, let’s just stop broadcasting.”
Edward Woods still had a calm face, but his voice was somehow sharp.
And his gaze was not directed at the Black Dragon, but toward Steele Lane.
“…Yes?”
“Let’s end the broadcast here.”
“That…”
“Let’s turn off the broadcast.”
“I really have to do it right from now on.”
In the end, Sleaze’s official broadcast channel was shut down.
Immediately after that, Edwards Wood called his team together.
“I don’t know what happened to Steelane’s strategy, but it is effective.”
His voice became even colder.
“…Stillane does not have a decisive weapon.”
No matter how much he prepared for the attack, there was one thing he could never prepare for.
He pulled out his red spear.
It was the same spear that had killed the adult red dragon in London.
“…I. As long as you have the Dragon Slayer title and weapon, the result will not change.”
