Chapter 71: Sixteenth Floor, The Battle of Fort Pogoren (4)

Erendil arched her back and slid toward the front of the broomstick. Leaping lightly, I landed gracefully behind her and wrapped my hands around her waist. Now that I had situated myself, she pivoted the broom and pointed it toward the dragon.

“Erendil, wait. Before we face the dragon, let’s head to the left wall.”

“Huh? The left wall? Why there?”

“There’s something I need to take care of first.”

“Hmm. Alright, fine.”

She nodded, then adjusted the broom’s direction once more. I wanted to head to the left wall to hand the commander’s microphone to Ha Hee-Jeong. This was a specific countermeasure we had mutually agreed upon in the waiting room.

Regardless of the circumstances, our allies would benefit more if I took on the role of a frontline combatant rather than staying as the commander.

I won’t be able to grasp the battlefield’s overall situation when I am caught up in the heat of battle.

Moreover, it made more sense for someone like Ha Hee-Jeong, who had ascended to the ninety-first floor, to assume command.

“Wyverns to the right! You’ll handle them, right?”

The broom surged in a direct line with such speed that it was clear we wouldn’t be able to dodge at a moment’s notice, an irresistible lure for the wyverns prowling above. Their eyes fixed on us, staring at us hungrily as if they had spotted easy prey.

Fierce skirmishes between the Subrens and wyverns filled the sky around us, the crowdedness only worsened by the pack of wyverns that had peeled off to intercept us.

“Of course! Just stay on course and don’t worry about them!”

Given the urgency of the situation, dealing with them directly instead of spending time on evasive maneuvers would be far more efficient. I tapped the mimic strapped to my side and it swiftly responded, launching out a javelin that suspended in mid-air to my side.

“Mung-chi, keep the supply coming as I throw them!”

Gripping the javelin, I channeled lightning into it before launching it forward. The electrified weapon crackled as it tore through the air, burying itself deep into the neck of a lunging wyvern to my right.

“Keeek…!”

The wyvern’s shriek echoed as it spiraled downward. Propelled by gravity and its uncontrolled momentum, it collided headfirst into the wall. I turned back and caught another javelin as the mimic shot it out.

“Great! Let’s do it again!” Erendil shouted enthusiastically, clearly impressed by my skill.

Even amidst the chaos, she skillfully aimed the broom to subtly align it in the wyverns’ direction, making it easier for me to launch another javelin. It was evident that each Night Witch had to meet a rigorous standard before becoming a part of the bombing squadron.

Having skewered six wyverns along the way, I finally reached within calling distance of the left wall.

“Hee-Jeong!”

Ha Hee-Jeong, who had been in the middle of casting a spell, turned her head in the direction of my shout. I peeled off the microphone adhered to my cheek and tossed it down to her.

“Mic!”

She caught it deftly and gave me a small nod of acknowledgment. Not a second later, she instantly vanished from sight.

“Huh? What the…? Did she just teleport?”

Erendil’s eyes widened in disbelief, her voice tinged with astonishment.

“Probably, yeah?”

“Wow. I’ve never seen a mage cast a teleportation spell in real life before. That’s some seriously advanced magic.”

Is teleportation really that extraordinary of a spell?

A doubtful thought crossed my mind, but I dismissed it almost immediately. I didn’t have the time or energy to ponder such things right now.

“Erendil! Let’s get to the dragon.”

“Roger that. Hang on tight!”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the broom’s tail surged with a sudden burst of force, violently jolting us. I tightened my grip around her waist and held on for dear life, needing approximately three seconds to adjust to the rapid acceleration. After stabilizing myself, I removed my right hand from her waist and tapped the mimic again.

“Once we’re fully engaged in combat, it’ll be impossible to fend off every single wyvern!”

“I know! I’ll maneuver us as best I can!”

The broom, now at full speed, began a series of complex evasive maneuvers. It darted left and right, then up and down in a dizzying sequence. Amidst the chaotic movement, I adjusted my aim and continued throwing spears on the fly.

The sky was a battlefield teeming with Subrens and wyverns dodging in every direction, making it difficult to land every strike perfectly.

On top of this, I had to avoid accidentally hitting my allies.

“Kyieeek!”

Our erratic maneuvers continued.

Suddenly, a wyvern burst out from one of our blind spots. It didn’t appear to have targeted us deliberately—our paths had simply intersected in this chaotic airspace.

With how close it was, using a spear was out of the question, so I instead unleashed a bolt of lightning. The wyvern, now scorched and charred, fell from the sky. A Subren below us yelped in surprise and swerved desperately to avoid the falling corpse.

Phew, that was a close call.

Despite my best efforts to remain vigilant, the aerial battlefield was far more tumultuous than any fight on the ground. I silently apologized to the Subren before redirecting my gaze toward the dragon.

“Graaaah!”

The dragon roared and perched near the right wall, unleashing its breath attack and spewing a massive torrent of fire. It immediately followed its breath attack up by unleashing a relentless barrage of spells at our airborne allies. Fireballs and magical arrows tore through the air, homing in on our forces.

Our mages hastily erected barriers to counter the onslaught, but inevitably, some of the projectiles found their marks.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Subrens and Night Witches were struck down, their bodies plummeting from the sky. Massive eruptions erupted as their brooms crashed into the ground below. Plumes of thick, black smoke spiraled upward from the impact sites like dark storm clouds, spreading across the sky.

An idea sparked through my mind like a flash of lightning.

The smoke from the explosions! I need to use it to our advantage.

“Erendil! Head straight into the smoke! We can use it as cover!”

“Into the smoke?” Erendil repeated, her voice filled with disbelief.

Her reaction didn’t surprise me, it was only natural after all. Our vision would be drastically impaired in the dense, swirling darkness of the smoke. A single misstep could lead to a head-on collision with a wyvern, resulting in a catastrophic mid-air explosion.

Well, that was if I wasn’t there. With my Awareness skill, we would have no issue maneuvering through the smoke.

“The closer we get to the dragon, the more wyverns we’ll face. Our best shot is to pierce through the smoke!”

“But we won’t be able to see anything!”

“Trust me! Just follow my directions!”

Her face contorted, obviously hesitant as she bit down hard on her lip. I could almost see Erendil’s inner turmoil, yet, perhaps recalling what I had done earlier, she finally nodded firmly.

“Fine! Damn it all—I’ll trust you!”

With those words, we plunged straight into the thick plume of black smoke.

I clutched a javelin in my right hand, using my other to firmly hold onto Erendil’s waist. Concentrating intensely, I put all of my focus toward Awareness, and the chaotic battlefield revealed itself as if the smoke wasn’t even there.

On our left was a pack of Subrens, and above us were wyverns. Straight ahead was...

“Turn right! Then drop down, immediately!”

No sooner had I spoken than Erendil jerked the broom to the right. As soon as we shifted, a wyvern burst forth from the left, its jaws snapping violently at the spot we had just vacated. Sweeping past its flailing claws, we narrowly avoided its fangs and plummeted downward.

An injured wyvern with its wings tattered tumbled over our heads before plummeting helplessly below.

“Go up! Down! Veer left!”

Erendil executed each of my commands quickly and precisely. Whenever an enemy surged unexpectedly from the smoke, I speared them in the chest.

Just under thirty seconds later, we emerged from the swirling, opaque shroud.

Although we had been in the smoke for only a brief duration, it must have felt far longer for Erendil. Her breaths came in heavy, labored gasps as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Huff… huff….”

“You did well. Look. We’re much closer to the dragon now.”

I wasn’t merely comforting her. Now that we had broken through the smoke, we were less than four hundred meters away from the dragon. The wyverns that circled it protectively were now alert, their gazes snapping toward us as they assessed the intruders.

“This is when the real battle begins.”

“Hold on tight,” Erendil murmured with steely resolve.

She tightened her lips into a thin line, fiercely determined to see this through.

However, before she could push the broom to full speed, the dragon’s gaze locked onto us. Our earlier concerns about slipping past the wyverns seemed laughable now. As the dragon’s attention settled on us, I could tell my insignia caught its interest.

Suddenly, the dragon roared out an order.

“Kiiiiieeeek—!”

“Keek—!”

Heeding its command, the wyverns stayed put, not rushing at us as expected. Instead, the dragon spread its wings and began to close the distance, its eyes gleaming with malicious curiosity.

“Erendil, change the broom’s direction.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it. Now.”

If anything went wrong, we needed to be able to escape at a moment’s notice, and not be in the direct path of its breath or spells.

Though she looked doubtful, Erendil followed my command and adjusted our trajectory.

I started to notice she seemed hesitant. Her pupils were quivering and the muscles along her neck had become taut. Upon closer inspection, she wasn’t hesitating—she was terrified. It seemed she had discerned the gravity of our situation.

“Erendil, if things take a turn for the worse, I need you to flee. Immediately. Understand?”

“Hey! You!”

“Be quiet. The dragon’s listening.”

She shot me a look full of shock and betrayal, her mouth half-open in protest. But what could she say? We had already committed too much to the plan to retreat now. Erendil clamped her mouth shut, looking borderline mutinous.

We had almost reached the Red Dragon Aizerion. Its enormous eyes focused on me, abyss-like pupils threatening to swallow me whole.

“That insignia… Are you the human who freed Herkest from his bindings?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Hmmm…”

It had a thoughtful expression, giving me a bit of hope. It seemed the insignia’s influence even extended to Aizerion.

“I wondered why Sarkeiz vanished all of a sudden. I had painstakingly recruited him, but everything went to waste. So, it was you, you filthy rat.”

That was not the reaction I had hoped for.

“Erendil!”

Fortunately, she needed no further prompting. Before I could even utter another word, she accelerated the broom to its maximum speed. She must have sensed the shift in Aizerion’s demeanor.

I tightened my grip around her waist as a thunderous roar erupted behind us.

“GRAAARRR!”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Aizerion’s breath scorching through the space we had hovered a split second ago. It twisted its neck, continuing to send a wave of blistering heat that followed us relentlessly.

“Faster!”

“I’m doing my best!”

After Aizerion’s bellow, dozens of wyverns swooped toward us. Subrens and Night Witches, who had been watching the unfolding scene from afar, quickly joined the fray to aid us.

Left, down, left again, then a hard right—

Erendil guided the broom in a frantic, desperate dance, hardly taking the time to breathe.

Damn it, if I use Master of Shadows I could get us out of here.

Unfortunately, using it now would be a grave mistake. If Aizerion learned that I could disappear at will, it would compromise our plans to ambush it in the future.

Master of Shadows had to be reserved solely for a direct assassination attempt on the dragon.

Then, a thought occurred to me.

Can I extend Flash Strike’s time-slowing ability to other people?

I wasn’t certain. The skill allowed not only me but also any weapon I held to move at an accelerated rate. If I held onto Erendil and the broom, perhaps I could accelerate them as well.

However, I wasn’t sure if Erendil would remain unharmed during the process. Although Flash Strike didn’t quite reach the speed of light, it was unimaginably fast.

I wasn’t well-versed in physics, but I knew the human body couldn’t endure such tremendous acceleration without severe consequences. While Lightning Essence allowed me to endure the stress…

No, wait. If that were the case, my weapons would have worn out long ago.

Despite having used Flash Strike countless times, none of my equipment had ever shown signs of damage. A protective mechanism or system designed by a divine being, perhaps?

It was unlikely that Erendil would perish if I used Flash Strike with her.

As these thoughts ran through my mind, wyverns surged from all sides, their talons and fangs glinting menacingly in the dim light. Even though I had dispatched several of them with bolts of lightning, they had completed their encirclement.

There was no other option—I had to use Flash Strike now.

“Erendil! Stay focused!”

I wasn’t sure if Erendil’s mind would be affected by the altered flow of time, but I had to take the risk. I activated Flash Strike and encompassed her and the broom in its sphere of influence.

Time slowed to a crawl.

The wyverns surrounding us froze mid-air, their wings suspended mid-motion. Thankfully, Erendil seemed to perceive the world at the same rate I did.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

We were the only ones that moved normally in this suspended reality. Yet, despite my earlier warning, the experience overwhelmed Erendil, causing her to temporarily lose control of the broom.

At this rate, we would crash straight into the wyvern right in front of us.

“Let’s focus on escaping for now!”

My urgent shout brought her back to her senses, and she quickly swerved to the side, narrowly missing the nearest wyvern. Continuing to fly in the surreal world of decelerated time, we slipped through the wyverns’ encirclement and escaped.

After putting considerable distance between ourselves and Aizerion, I deactivated Flash Strike. The dragon’s eyes blazed with seething fury from far behind us, glaring at our rapidly retreating figures.

However, Aizerion was no fool. Rather than waste energy pursuing us, it shifted its attention to the battlefield below and unleashed a torrent of fiery breath. Our allied forces collapsed beneath the relentless onslaught.

The dragon understood the nature of warfare.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood. Now, our only option left was to execute Plan B—I would assassinate the dragon.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s skills have leveled up. Combat Focus is now lvl 15. Awareness is now lvl 6. Flash Strike is now lvl 4.」