Dragon Poor

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Shortly after the Indomitable Grand Duke left, the horrific rumors that had been floating around the Empire disappeared as if they had never happened. Even the requests from the minor border lords that flew into the Imperial Capital daily asking for support abruptly stopped and there wasn't any more news about attacked villages.

“Each of the lords dispatched soldiers to search the vicinity, but they all said they couldn’t find a single monster.”

The ancient monsters that had been disturbing the Empire disappeared as if they had never existed in the first place. 

Of course, the monsters hadn’t soared into the sky or disappeared into the ground. 

“After talking to the people and chasing any traces of the monsters, we found out that all the monsters within the Empire have migrated outside the borders of the Empire.”

As if they had all been kicked out by something, the monsters had all fled from the Empire. Because of that, the Imperial Capital heard that the kingdoms that shared borders with the Empire were quite troubled. 

“There’s news that bigger and more powerful monsters are appearing as time goes on.”

It was already difficult for the kingdoms to deal with the headaches that were the existing monsters, but when new, larger monsters appeared and rampaged through the lands, the Imperial Capital heard that there wasn’t a day when the countries outside the Empire didn’t mobilize their armies. 

Among those countries, the situation in Nocetain was more serious since most of the monsters that escaped the Empire had headed toward Noctein’s territories. 

“All knights and mages, do your best to annihilate the monsters that approach the royal capital!”

Even Noctein couldn’t continue to hoard their superhumans when they realized that the foundation of their country would be at risk if they remained watching the monsters rampaging through their lands.

The situation wasn’t so different in the other countries, it was just a matter of degree. 

Among those other countries, the situation in Griffindor was worse, not better, than the situation in Noctein. 

“The Behemoth that devastated the South is heading north, sir! At this rate, the royal capital will also be in the Behemoth’s path!”

Even a thousand years ago, the terrible Behemoth had been called a disaster. Now, that monster was approaching the royal capital after having devastated the southern region of Griffindor. 

“Stop it! Stop it at any cost! The Behemoth cannot be allowed to approach the royal capital!”

In the end, the ruler of Griffindor declared it a state of emergency and decided to mobilize all available troops and superhumans to stop the Behemoth from moving north. 

“We alone won’t be enough to stop it…”

Around this time, the Griffindor mages searched for past records on the great beast, and through it, they found out that the monster had once devoured a thousand knights and mages. 

They came to the realization that even if all the superhumans in their country gathered in one location, they wouldn’t be able to stop this terrible beast. 

Some of the nobles decided to abandon the royal capital, promising to return after the Behemoth had passed. But the Griffindor’s ruler couldn’t accept that.

“I cannot leave such a stain in my era as the ruler.”

The vain monarch didn’t want his name to become a stain on Griffindor’s history and insisted on a decisive battle against the Behemoth to the bitter end. 

In the end, all they could do was somehow change the direction of the monster’s path and lead it out of the kingdom before it could reach the royal capital.

But even that wasn’t easy. However, since their supreme leader was being stubborn, there was nothing else they could do.

‘If you pay a reasonable price, I will take care of the monster that appeared in your country.’

Under such circumstances, the message delivered through mage communication from the Adenburg Empire was like a ray of light in the darkness. 

“If you can deal with that nightmare of an ancient monster, then I am willing to pay any price!”

The ruler of Griffindor grasped the lifeline that appeared in their desperate situation.

‘We will discuss the price later, but you must never betray our trust ever again.’

Griffindor already had a history of breaking alliances during the war against Noctein and committing atrocities by having the Knights of the Sky attacking the Grand Duke. Griffindor was more than capable of thinking up petty tricks to get out of paying the price once their crisis was over. 

“As long as you deal with that monster, it wouldn’t be a waste even if the royal family’s vaults are emptied!”

‘If your attitude changes after the monsters have been dealt with, your country will face a terrible calamity that is beyond the monsters’ appearance.’

The Griffindor’s ruler snorted inwardly at the repeated warnings. 

There was a barrier called Noctein between the Empire and Griffindor. He believed that even in the worst case, the Imperial Army wouldn’t be able to cross Griffindor’s borders en masse. 

But the Empire wasn’t talking about a powerful army when they talked about a calamity that went beyond the monsters.

The Griffindor’s ruler only realized that fact after the first line of defense, that had been formed to stop the Behemoth, started fighting the monster. 

“Knights, aim for the legs. Mages, slow down its movements! Be serious!”

Having taken command of the defense line, the Knights of the Sky attempted to slow down the monster’s speed instead of attempting to defeat the mighty monster. 

However, the monster’s hide around its legs was too thick for them to cut it with a sword’s blade. Even the mages’ powerful concentrated attacks couldn’t stop the monster’s steps for a single second. 

Whether it was a powerful superhuman or a massive wall, the monster trampled and smashed everything that stood in its way.

“It’s no use! It doesn’t work!”

“M, move! You’ll get trampled!”

The knights and soldiers’ screams could be heard in all directions.

“How could there be a monster like that…”

The Griffindor’s ruler and the Knights of the Sky turned pale as they looked at the hellish pandemonium from up high in the air.

Due to the monster being so massive, the troops on the ground couldn’t see what the monster truly looked like. But it was different for the knights and the king who were riding on the Griffins. 

They stared at the monster’s true appearance from the sky, and they couldn’t dare think about fighting against it. 

Although the monster was receiving an onslaught of attacks from numerous knights and mages, it only seemed annoyed and bothered. Even when powerful magic spells fell in succession onto its head, it didn’t react the slightest bit. 

The king came to a realization as he watched this.

They were no different than ants to that terrible beast. And no matter how many ants gathered, in the end, they were merely ants. From the start, it was impossible to stop that terrible beast. 

“Ack! Save me!”

“Have the mages escape! That bastard is charging!”

As he watched the superhumans losing their morale and will to fight, the king could see the destruction of Griffindor in his mind. 

“Whether it’s the Empire or anything else, it’s impossible for humans to stop that thing…”

Just as the king said, human power would not stop the Behemoth. But there weren’t just humans in this world. The reinforcements sent by the Empire weren’t just mere humans.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Even in the midst of a battlefield full of screams, a clear sound penetrated into their ears.

Flinch.

At that moment, the monster that hadn’t stopped even once despite the hundreds of magical spells fired at it and tens of thousands sword attacks suddenly stopped for the first time.

Guuuuu.

The monster let out a strange sound they had never heard before, then it started looking around with his short neck swiveling around. It looked like he was looking out for something.

Whoosh.

Not long after, they could hear a sharp piercing sound, and then a platinum spear pierced through the clouds and fell from the sky.

Guuuuuu!

Directly struck by something that looked like lightning, the monster screamed before tangling up with a whitish object. 

“Are you the king of Griffindor?”

Before he could figure out what was going on, a soft voice spoke from behind him. 

“Hup.”

Startled, the king turned around and saw a man, who knew when he had come, riding a strangely massive Wyvern. 

“You’re!”

No wonder he thought the appearance and the flying dragon looked familiar. The king narrowed his eyes and glared angrily when he finally figured out the man’s identity. 

“The Red Devil of the Sky!”

Surprisingly, the man was the strongest knight that Adenburg was so proud of; he was Drachen. 

“That’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.”

Drachen spoke to the king with a slight frown on his face.

“Well, whatever the title, withdraw your troops.”

He had a dignity that was completely different from a monarch’s and the king couldn’t respond. 

“If you don’t want to see your precious knights and mages dying, hurry up. From here on out, it’ll be a fight they won’t be able to handle.”

Drachen didn’t wait for the king’s answer. With that short sentence, he flew the flying dragon up towards the monster.

“Ah…”

It was only then that the king properly realized what was attacking the monster. He was too stunned for words.

As if it wasn’t a being of this world, the flying dragon with beautiful platinum scales was ferociously pressing down on the huge monster. He saw the monster struggling with all its might from underneath the dragon. Its massive body which had remained strong against the knights’ swords and the mages’ magics was now covered in blood, and one of its thick legs was bent at an unsightly angle.

‘If your attitude changes after the monsters have been dealt with, your country will face a terrible calamity that is beyond the monsters’ appearance.’

Only after seeing the creature who was showing such overwhelming majesty against the mighty monster did the king realize what disaster the Empire had been warning him of. 

And at that moment, he was unable to refuse the Imperial demands.

If he did refuse, then a winged calamity would most likely come upon the royal capital of Griffindor.

“Withdraw the troops!”

When the troops retreated completely, the platinum-scaled creature that had been trampling the monster underfoot flew into the sky, leaving the monster behind.

What replaced the platinum creature was a bizarre creature that rose from the ground with a golden flash.

“It’s the Indomitable Grand Duke’s Drake!”

It wasn’t difficult to recognize the deformed Drake of the Indomitable Grand Duke that had appeared in battle several times. But separate from that, they couldn’t help but be surprised at the grandeur and size of the drake that didn’t lose out to the monster’s size. 

Kaaaaaaaa!

The deformed Drake roared and charged towards the monster. Without losing, the Behemoth also roared as it rushed towards the Drake. 

And so, a battle between monsters that could only happen in legends began.

Although it was the Behemoth that consistently overpowered the Drake, ultimately, it was the Behemoth who lost.

Bang.

With a roar, the monster laid on the ground and didn’t move anymore.

Kaaaaaaaaaa!

The Drake trampled on the lifeless body and let out a long triumphant roar. Soon after, a golden flash of light surrounded the Drake that was covered in blood, and then that massive body disappeared as if he was sucked into the ground. The Behemoth’s body followed him. 

The only thing left was the torn-up earth and a massive pit that was filled with blood.

“You can discuss the payment with the Empress of the Empire later.”

Shortly after the Drake disappeared, the Indomitable Grand Duke flew up and disappeared into the sky with the Wyvern after saying that short sentence. The platinum-scaled being who had been looking down on the battle from the sky also disappeared without a trace. 

“What on earth…”

As if he had been dreaming, the king rubbed his eyes several times with a dumbfounded look on his face. 

The pit was so full of blood that it looked like a lake, and the earth that was cracked and jagged looking like an earthquake had occurred told him that the battle he had seen a while ago was not a dream. However, he had witnessed such an unrealistic sight that his sense of reality didn’t return. 

“Your Majesty! Please allow us to collect our wounded and retreat, sir!”

If one of the Knights of the Sky hadn’t advised him to take control of the battlefield, the king would have continued to stare at it in a daze forever. 

“Tend to the wounded knights and mages."

The surviving superhumans and soldiers began moving busily at the king’s order.

‘The Indomitable Grand Duke displaced the Cyclops that appeared in the southern part of the continent.’

‘The Kraken off the coast of Iberia, destroyed after a battle against the Indomitable Grand Duke.’

‘The body of the Thunderbird that destroyed the Asrael Kingdom, found.’

Before he could even shake off the shock, news came from all over that the Indomitable Grand Duke had repelled the terrible monsters. 

The slight resentment towards the Empire that remained in the ruler of Griffindor’s heart completely disappeared. The only thing that took the vacant position was fear and obedience towards the being that he didn’t dare defy. 

‘Indomitable Grand Duke arrived at the southern base of the defense line!’

Not long after, a report flew in saying that the Indomitable Grand Duke, who had passed through Griffindor, had arrived in the Holy Kingdom.