Days of Dungeon: From Simple Quest to Strange Adventure-Chapter 133: From Arrival To Departure - Part 5
—ROOAAARRRR!!!—
The explosion of flame that burst from the dark, ominous clouds above the skies of the Beastkin Nation, followed by a thunderous roar that reverberated through the air, confirmed Arezu’s remark—that the Beast Lord was indeed fighting a Fire Dragon.
Fire Dragon—one of the strongest among all high-level monsters. It not only rivaled the ferocity and savagery of a Lycan, but its aerial ability alone increased its destructive capability to double that of a king of monsters leading a marching horde against a walled town.
—"How could a Dragon be here in the Beastkin Nation?!"—
Kurea, Beatrix, and Liz shouted in unison, refusing to believe Arezu’s remark despite the clear evidence their eyes could see and their ears could hear, as another explosion of flame followed by a thunderous roar came from the dark, ominous clouds.
Monsters such as Dragons, Lycans, Werewolves, and Chimeras—said to be the original bearers of the Curse of Greed—all originated from the southern region of the continent, which was considered monster territory.
Mid-level monsters such as werewolves tended to migrate, build nests, and then give birth or evolve into higher variations such as Lycans.
But Dragons were different. They usually spawned as Dungeon Masters and did not leave their Dungeons unless there was already a Monster Stampede.
Hearing Lynn’s proud explanation in response to Kurea, Beatrix, and Liz’s questions, Arezu could only come to one grim conclusion.
"Are you saying..." he said, his voice trembling, unable to continue what he refused to accept.
If a Fire Dragon had already reached the Beastkin Nation, leading a horde of wyverns in its wake from the southern region of the continent, then it also meant that the fortress town of Aiden at the southern border of the Eileen Kingdom had failed to stop the Monster Stampede.
"If that’s true, then we should have heard news about Aiden Town’s destruction when we arrived here yesterday," Lynn said, trying to ease Arezu’s worries, assuming it was his hometown.
"Thank you, Lynn."
"Hmph!"
"Stop flirting, damn it!"
"We’ll ask Lady Cyra for details later," Brandon said, cutting into their squabbling while still carrying Liz over his shoulder. "For now, we should help protect the citizens of the Beastkin Nation."
Or so Brandon assumed they needed to do—until they reached the town and saw the situation unfolding in the fight against the horde of wyverns.
---
—ROAARRR!!!—
"Incoming!"
—BOOMMM!!!—
Hundreds of wyverns dove from the sky, gathering enough speed and force to obliterate anything in their wake as they flew just above the ground. Some landed, creating bursts of wind and shockwaves upon impact that destroyed everything around them.
But despite the destruction inflicted upon the town’s structures, the citizens held their ground firmly.
"Archers! Mages!"
—BOOMMM!!!—
A barrage of arrows rained down on the wyverns flying low, clipping their wings before they could escape back into the sky. Meanwhile, offensive fire magic bombarded those that had landed, burning their wings.
"Take them down!"
—"WARGHHH!"—
At the commander’s signal, adventurers and soldiers—both beast-kin and human—charged at the grounded wyverns to finish them off.
"They’re doing better than I expected," Brandon said, watching the battle unfold in the town’s main square.
"Although only a third of the citizens of the Beastkin Nation are beast-kin, almost all of them are fighters by nature," Lynn said with a proud, smug grin, answering not only Brandon but everyone’s surprised reactions.
"They won’t go down easily, even against a Monster Stampede," she added, further reassuring Arezu that Aiden Town was indeed safe.
"And you were about to wage war on them just earlier," Liz said in response to Lynn’s boasting, the instant Brandon let her down.
"The Eileen Kingdom still holds the advantage in numbers against the Beastkin Nation."
"Don’t talk like it’s for you to decide whether our kingdom goes to war or not!"
Brandon interrupted once more, before ordering their group to split up and help in the fight.
"What are you all doing over there?" Arezu said, looking in disbelief at Kurea, Beatrix, and Liz grouping up with Brandon, leaving him and Lynn on their own.
"Just do your job as her caretaker," Kurea said before syncing into combat mode as she wore her metal gauntlets.
"Make sure to stop Lynn from doing anything that would put us in more trouble, Arezu," Beatrix added before turning her back.
"The two of us alone will be enough, Mr. Arezu!" Lynn said, brimming with audacity and vanity.
Liz didn’t say anything else, knowing they wouldn’t listen to her even if she told them to stop flirting in a serious situation.
"You three go back to your inns and stay with your members until the attack settles," Brandon said, commanding the representatives of the Mage Academy, Merchant Guild, and the Church, who had finally caught up to them.
---
With their group divided in two, Brandon’s group headed toward the residential area, leaving Arezu and Lynn in the town square.
"We’ll score the most points and win, Mr. Arezu," Lynn said excitedly, raising her right hand toward the dim sky as she gathered mana to cast her mystic spell.
"Wait—what do you mean—"
"Flame Arrow"
Before Arezu could demand an explanation, Lynn cast her mystic spell, shooting a barrage of improvised flame arrows high above them.
—BOOM!!!—
Those flame arrows weren’t meant to attack. They exploded in the dim sky like fireworks, illuminating the area and drawing the attention of all the wyverns flying above and near the town square.
"Lynn!" Arezu shouted in panic as dozens of wyverns turned and flew toward them.
Lynn, however, remained proud and confident as she prepared her next mystic spell.
"A hundred small fry are still nothing but small fry—Glacier"
With the activation of her advanced-level mystic spell, Lynn unleashed a wide-area magical attack, creating a hailstorm that covered the entire town square.
Ice lances as large as swords rained down from the sky, impaling every wyvern that dared accept her challenge, bringing them crashing down and drenching the ice-covered ground with blood.
It was yet another overwhelming demonstration of Lynn’s strength and her infamous title, Lady Impaler.
But even though Lynn carefully avoided collateral damage, adventurers and soldiers—not only from the Beastkin Nation but also from the Annual Caravan fighting in the town square—were utterly terrified at being caught within the range of her attack.
—"Are you trying to kill us all?!"—
They shouted in unison, having felt like they narrowly escaped death as ice lances fell right in front of them.
"Who the heck is that girl?"
"It’s the Lady Impaler—no, it’s Blood Winter!"
"It’s not like they got hurt, so what’s their problem?" Lynn grumbled, annoyed by the complaints.
Arezu, meanwhile, wondered if Blood Winter was yet another of Lynn’s infamous titles.
—BAMMM!!!—
Cutting off everyone’s bickering wasn’t another spell from Lynn, but a massive object falling from the sky and crashing into the center of the town square.
A white cloud of mist—caused by Lynn’s shattered ice—blocked their vision. When it finally cleared, what they saw froze everyone in fear.
"Just what does this mean..." Arezu said, his voice trembling as much as the hands gripping his halberd-axe, his legs barely keeping him standing as he faced the Fire Dragon.
