“Ude, get up and get to work,” Taiwen said.
He felt an uneasy premonition; his instincts told him they could not afford to drag this out any longer.
By all reasoning, with so many clones, he should have been able to break through Aurelia’s barrage, or at least manage to land a couple of blows.
But for some unknown reason, just as the clones approached El, they were bizarrely killed off. The most terrifying part was that he hadn’t even noticed it before—his perception had been altered.
It was as if there was an invisible fourth person present, silently assisting El by picking off Taiwen’s isolated clones!
“I’ve been ready for a long time!” Ude roared.
The fearsome dragon’s head gaped wide, abyssal jaws opening. An orange-yellow magic circle took shape, and Dragon Breath erupted, a column of fire sweeping across everything before it.
Though both were offensive spells, the “quality” of Dragon Breath could not compare to the fireballs El cast, yet thanks to the immense mana of a dragon, its power was not to be underestimated.
There’s no way to dodge—El realized.
But he didn’t panic, because Aurelia stood in front of him. In this moment, her graceful form gave him a powerful sense of safety.
She yanked off the necklace from her snow-white collar and held it before her.
Aurelia had named it “Shield of the Sky”, modeled after the church’s holy relic.
Legend said that six hundred years ago, that very relic accompanied the Saintess “Lucia” through countless battles, shielding her from harm in the midst of a thousand armies.
Because of that legend, its concept of “protection” was extremely complete. A mere Dragon Breath couldn’t possibly shatter its defense.
“My heavens, when did priceless Concept Armaments become as common as a lady’s jewelry? As expected of Godfield, I suppose…”
Taiwen muttered, his hands never stopping as he burst forward from the side of the Dragon Breath, sword flashing fiercely—far stronger than any of his previous clones could manage.
It’s time, El chanted in his heart.
Suddenly, Taiwen sensed an extremely faint killing intent, but it was not directed at him.
His reaction was quick, and he instantly understood: “Get out of the way, Ude!”
Taiwen shouted.
A jade-green arrow streaked toward the red dragon with lethal intent, the Battle Aura coiled around it more powerful than anything Taiwen had witnessed in his life, like a torrent venting long-held rage.
***
In the next moment, blood sprayed in great arcs from the dragon’s neck.
Scales that even a steel sword couldn’t scratch were pierced as if made of paper, the arrow drilling through, then shattering the dragon’s thick hind leg.
The instant Taiwen spoke, Ude twisted away. If he hadn’t…
His head would likely have been blasted into a cloud of blood.
A long-forgotten terror seized his heart. Ude had always prided himself on his body; even master warriors of the same rank had to go all out to wound him effectively.
Just what sort of monster…
Ivena did not stop attacking. The bow in her hands dissolved into motes of green light, replaced by two short swords. Her killing intent, no longer hidden, surged as she charged at Taiwen.
Taiwen hastily raised his sword to block. Although his reflexes were fast enough, he still failed to form an effective defense.
Or rather… his intent had already been seen through by Ivena.
With just one exchange, Taiwen’s body was sliced into several pieces, melting into a pool of pitch-black sludge upon the ground.
“Though he can’t die… has his strength declined as well?” Ivena murmured. A true master-ranked knight wouldn’t be killed so easily.
She turned, giving El a slight bow. “Forgive me, young master, for wasting such a good opportunity.”
That beast… the moment she saw it breathe fire at her young master, she could no longer restrain her anger.
“There’s no need… Who would’ve thought Ivena was so strong?”
El had never imagined that his own maid could almost kill a dragon in a single blow.
“Only by being strong enough can I truly protect you, young master. I’m glad my abilities were useful.” Ivena’s lips curved in a faint smile.
“El… who is this?”
“She’s Ivena. You’ve met her before.”
Aurelia knew there was an elven maid by El’s side, but she had never seen her in action.
She could hardly believe it. With such strength, why wasn’t she out making a name for herself, but instead hiding away as a maid in the Regis household?
The situation reversed in an instant—Ivena’s appearance shattered the balance of the battle.
“Lucky your real body isn’t here, old man. Or you’d be done for,” Taiwen appeared again behind the red dragon, addressing the hunched figure in black robes.
“The ritual is complete. The mission is half-done. Should we retreat or continue? I can only cast one more spell—perhaps curse the elf,” the hunched black-robed man rasped.
“Continue, I can still fight!” the red dragon roared.
Taiwen saw the fear in his eyes but didn’t call it out. “Forget it, the risk is too high. That young master has already seen through my weakness—I can feel his gaze. Ude isn’t afraid to die, but I am.”
“Taiwen, you really are a coward!” The red dragon’s healing was powerful; the wounds had already closed, but pain still throbbed from the missing hind leg.
“Say whatever you want.” He shrugged.
“Two votes to one, Ude, follow orders.” The hunched black-robed man also saw through Ude’s fierce but hollow bravado.
The red dragon hadn’t acted this emotional before; it seemed that elf had truly frightened him.
Unwillingly, Ude spread his wings, letting them climb onto his back. He summoned a mighty current of air and soared into the night sky.
“Young master, they’ve left. Shall we give chase?” Ivena asked.
“No, let’s return to the castle first. Something’s happened there too,” El replied.
He took a step toward the castle, but after just two steps, his body went limp and he collapsed straight to the ground.
“El!” Aurelia reached out, trying to catch him.
But Ivena was faster. She caught El in her gentle embrace, scooping up his legs.
“Ivena… I feel like I have no strength at all… I think I need to rest,” El said weakly.
Was it due to overexerting his mental power? That explanation was too forced—he still had plenty of—
“It’s all right, young master, I’ll take you home.” Ivena’s voice was gentle. She turned to Aurelia and said, “Lady Godfield, may I trouble you to take care of any remaining threats in the castle?”
“I’m sorry… Lia… I let you down tonight…”
“Get some rest, El. I’m very happy tonight.” She walked gracefully to his side, and pressed a soft kiss to his temple.
At that moment, El had already fallen fast asleep.
Ivena skillfully concealed her emotions, showing no hint of dissatisfaction.
Aurelia gently placed her necklace around El’s neck, silently praying that the Shield of the Sky would protect her beloved.
“All right, Miss Godfield, we’ll be going now.”
Ivena said.
Aurelia disliked that title—what did she mean by “we”? Why was she being left out? When she became the lady of the house, she’d have to instruct this maid in proper address.
“Do as you please.”
Success
The hunched black-robed man sat atop the dragon’s back, chanting ancient incantations. Ominous magic swirled about him.
After a moment, the magic faded and he raised his head slightly.
Taiwen breathed a sigh of relief. “At least the mission wasn’t a complete failure; no one died.”
Unbelievable. Before the operation, he’d thought three masters capturing an Earl would be a breeze. In the end, it turned into: “escaping counts as a win.”
“What’s with that elf? Even with my perception, I couldn’t sense her presence at all…” Taiwen spread his hands helplessly. “There was absolutely no intel about her.”
The hunched black-robed man said, “Actually, there was. The target has an elf maid—that was noted in the reports.”
“The difference is way too big!” Taiwen recalled the elf’s maid uniform, disbelief in his voice. “You call that a maid?!”
At this moment, Ude spoke up, “How did the mission go? I didn’t see El Regis.”
Taiwen quickly answered, “Boss, there was an unexpected twist—we didn’t capture the target. But, the old man has fully awakened the demon, so things will be easier from here.”
“I see… all right, I saw it in the dragon’s memories. I didn’t expect such a powerful being at his side… You’ve all worked hard this time.”
“Pass word to Ude to go to the Draca United Kingdom and find an alchemist to heal. He won’t be needed for the next phase.”
“My honor.” Taiwen bowed slightly, hand on chest.
After a while, Ude asked again, “Did the boss come by just now?”
Taiwen relayed the message to him.
“By the way, what about Jack? According to the original plan, we were supposed to pick him up after grabbing the target. He’s no match for the Sword Saint. If that elf goes after him too, he’s finished…”
Taiwen rubbed his forehead. “That’s why I didn’t go looking for him. The old man can’t cast, and we can’t act, so Jack will have to fend for himself.”
“Even if Jack really dies there, he’s got his Alchemical Chip as a backup—he’ll revive soon enough. The real loss will be all his rare materials…”
“True enough,” Ude said, no longer concerned with his companion’s fate.