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CHAPTER 7 CHALLENGE TO THE LABYRINTH – Episode 6 The Dragonoid (Part 3)

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And on January 1st, Parzam deployed the elite of the royal army within the castle gates and waited. Two hundred knights, two hundred spearmen, and six hundred archers. A hundred soldiers also stood on the castle walls, holding improved crossbows.

Bard was in a small room next to the balcony overlooking the square, along with King Julelan and his retainers. Karz, Taranka, Quinta, and Carla were also there. The adjoining room was filled with high-ranking officials.

Beside Julelan was the captain of the royal guard, Kijek Rhaegar, whom Julelan had chosen from among several candidates to succeed Chantillion. He is the son of an earl who is a branch of the Duke of Doubarryol’s family, and his swordsmanship was said to rival Chantillion’s. Julelan was undecided whether to make this man a general of the royal army or keep him as a high-ranking retainer to train.

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The Dragonoids had indeed come. Black specks appeared in the distance, forming a flock-like shadow that drew ever closer. Two hundred, or perhaps more. The knights of Parzam were quietly unsettled, not expecting such a large force. The Gerkaasts, stationed in one corner of the square, buzzed excitedly at the arrival of the formidable enemy. While the knights were mounted, the Gerkaasts had descended from the Fjords.

“It’s easier to fight them with our feet on the ground,” said Engdahl.

A single wyvern approached and hovered over the square, its wings creating a powerful wind that threatened to blow the soldiers away. Bard could not suppress the unpleasant feeling welling up in his abdomen at the immense pressure emanating from the wyvern. Its wingspan was said to be over twenty paces, but it might be as much as thirty. This was different. Unlike previous enemies, this was not an opponent they could fight head-on.

“Humans. Is Bard Rowen and the spirit sword ready?” the Dragonoid asked in a grating voice. ====

“Dragonoid. Why do you and your kind desire Lord Rowen and the magic sword? Explain your reasons!”

The one who questioned the Dragonoid was Cedermont Expenglar. Clad in the pristine silver armor befitting a high-ranking military commander, he sat astride a magnificent steed adorned with lavish trappings, his bearing radiating an awe-inspiring presence. The Dragonoid did not answer, but the third eye on its forehead glowed brightly. It then posed a question to Cedermont.

“Is Bard Rowen here?”

Then, an unbelievable thing happened. Cedermont replied in a hollow, emotionless voice.

“Bard Rowen is here. Over there.”

As Cedermont raised his hand to indicate Bard’s location, Chantillion, who stood at Cedermont’s left, made a lightning-fast move. Urging his warhorse Baykuri a step to the right, he drew his sword and struck Cedermont on his temple, with the blow penetrating through the helmet. Cedermont, unable to withstand the impact, lost consciousness and tumbled from his horse. Without a glance at the fallen Cedermont, Chantillion spurred Baykuri into a gallop. After a short run-up, Baykuri executed a magnificent leap. Chantillion then unleashed the magic sword “Iele Sichel” towards the airborne dragon. The magic sword struck the dragon’s gigantic foot with the sound of metal clashing ringing out sharply. After landing, Chantillion wheeled Baykuri around to observe the results of his attack. The dragon and the Dragonoid remained airborne, seemingly unharmed. Or perhaps they had sustained some damage, but it was so negligible that they could easily shrug it off.

“I shall confront you. It’s a nuisance, but I cannot forgive you. I will slaughter you all and draw out those inside the castle to inquire about the whereabouts of the spirit sword.”

The Dragonoid spoke these words, then soared upwards to rejoin the flock. The flock of wyverns began their descent. From a distance, their speed did not seem extraordinary, but as they neared the ground, it became clear that they were moving at a velocity unlike anything ever seen. The commanders of the crossbow and archer units almost simultaneously issued their orders.

“Shoot!”
“Shoot!”

In an instant, the two hundred wyvern riders swept in from an oblique angle, crossing the castle walls and then quickly ascending back into the sky, knocking down and tearing apart many knights and soldiers in the process. Two wyverns had their wings shot through by crossbows or bows, rendered unable to fly.

One crashed into the upper part of a watchtower, causing it to collapse. The wyvern and dragonoid both fell to the ground, and the Dragonoid was quickly stabbed to death by the approaching spearmen. Surprisingly, the wyvern revived, shrugging off the surrounding soldiers and taking flight once more.

The other one charged onto the balcony and destroyed the railing in front, colliding with the wall beyond. The impact was strong enough to be felt by Bard and the others in the adjacent room. The wyvern seemed to have struck its head against the wall, flipping over and convulsing its limbs. The dragonoid who had been riding it rose unsteadily, then spotted the human in the adjacent space and attacked. On the order of Guard Captain Kijek, four guard knights moved to intercept the dragonoid. Two of the guard knights were badly wounded by the dragonoid’s claws and tail, but the remaining two managed to injure the dragonoid’s abdomen and legs, and Kijek thrust his sword into the dragonoid’s throat, killing him. The dragonoid’s body was as hard and resilient as if clad in metal armor, but by striking precisely with their blades, they were able to cut and pierce him. As for the wyvern that had charged onto the balcony, it thrashed about and then fell from the balcony.

“Aim for the wings! The wings!” someone shouted, and the mounted knights tried to strike the flailing wyvern’s wings, as Engdahl had advised that was the weak point. But with the wyverns’ incredible speed, hitting their wings in mid-flight was nearly impossible without divine skill.

Bard was unaware at the time, but the improved crossbows were actually quite effective, inflicting significant damage on the wyverns and Dragonoids with the initial volleys. If they had been able to maintain a sustained barrage, they likely could have shot down many wyverns. But the enemy did not give them that opportunity.

Meanwhile, the Gerkaasts had succeeded in shooting down four flying wyverns. They had managed to evade the enemy’s attacks and slash at their wings. Gerkaast’s towering height, unusually long arms, and the long curved swords called Quizgars enabled these attacks. The downed wyverns and Dragonoids were promptly finished off. Some had suffered grievous injuries from the wyverns’ claws, but thankfully no Gerkaasts had been killed.

However, looking at the overall battle situation, the Dragonoids had an overwhelming advantage. The number of flying wyverns they had shot down was a mere six. In contrast, the casualties among the knights and spearmen were close to a hundred.

The knights were surrounding and attacking the flying wyvern that had crashed onto the balcony, but they had not yet delivered the final blow. Bard noticed that the knights and soldiers in the square were gazing up at the palace above. It was not just the soldiers in the square. The improved crossbowmen lined up on the castle walls were also looking up at the palace. In fact, at that moment, about ten flying wyverns were descending not towards the castle gate, but towards the palace, hovering above it. The archers, unable to aim their bows at the king’s location, remained silent and observed the situation.

The next instant, a startling event occurred. The line of improved crossbowmen on the castle walls suddenly collapsed. The archers in the square in front of the palace also fell one after another. However, there were hardly any casualties among the spearmen and knights.

Bard felt the blood drain from his face. This was an attack using the Dragonoids’ special abilities. Their means of attacking from the sky had been neutralized. The improved crossbows and bows were no longer usable to counter the next Dragonoid assault. The spearmen and knights would be ruthlessly crushed.

The Dragonoids began gathering in the airspace outside the castle walls. This time, they intended to charge in from the front. The disorganized spearmen and knights would be unable to withstand this attack. They would be slaughtered. The wyverns’ claws possessed the power to kill even heavily armored knights with a single strike.

After wiping out the forces in the square, the Dragonoids would proceed to break down the castle. Those flying wyverns had the strength to do so.

It was coming. The second attack was coming. But the knights who should have been ready to counter it were completely disorganized. Chantillion was desperately issuing commands, but only a few were able to follow them.

Without any time to spare, the second attack arrived. This time, around fifty of the flying wyverns attacked the improved crossbowmen stationed on the gatehouse walls. Or rather, they assaulted the archers along with the gatehouse walls. Crushed by the wyverns’ vicious claws and massive bodies, the upper part of the gatehouse walls was blown away in various places. The soldiers were crushed and fell.

Another hundred or so wyverns deliberately crashed into the palace. At the moment of impact, they spread their wings to slow the momentum, then kicked the palace’s stone walls with their thick legs. The shock caused the stone walls to crumble in various places. The room where Bard and the others were shook violently, furniture fell over, and a portion of the wall collapsed. King Julelan was guided by the captain of the royal guard, Kijek Rhaegar, to a more secluded room within the palace for refuge.

The square was in a state of devastation. The disorganized knights were unable to mount a counterattack, and were assaulted by the wyverns. Some were crushed, some slammed against the walls, and some were torn apart. Only the Gerkaasts were achieving results, but they too had suffered considerable damage. The wyverns then soared back up into the sky, preparing to attack once more.

It’s no good. It’s useless. If they are attacked again, the knight order will be devastated. Somehow, somehow, they must be dragged down from the sky.

At that moment, a scene came to Bard’s mind. When he had set sail from Linz, the ancient sword had fired a beam of light that had struck down the assassin, rendering him unconscious. This ancient sword possessed such power. Now was the time to unleash that power against the enemy descending from the sky. Yes, he could do it.

Convincing himself, Bard drew the ancient sword. He then leapt out onto the crumbling balcony and, pointing the sword at the squadron of Dragonoids about to begin their descent, shouted with all his might.

“Stavros!!!”

The sword erupted in light. Countless light projectiles shot forth, striking the approaching flying wyverns. The light projectiles pierced through the wyverns one after another. The wyverns, rapidly descending, suddenly lost their vigor. Bereft of the power to keep their wings aloft, they began to plummet.

Bard’s consciousness faded as he watched the flock of wyverns tumbling and spinning as they fell.

t/n: if you spot any error just put it in the comment