IYAMD: Episode 85

A sword, formed from Jaha’s inner energy, shot forward. The blade, extending toward the man, pierced through his side and struck his fluttering clothing.

The man’s body, falling through the air, momentarily paused before his clothes ripped and he continued to drop. The brief slowdown allowed Marsilia to properly adjust his landing posture.

Thud!

A loud sound echoed as the man hit the ground, and dust from the impact scattered around him. Jaha, seeing that he was unharmed, recalled the illusionary sword. Jaha gathered his hands in a prayer-like gesture before drawing circles with them in the air. Twelve illusionary swords rose behind him, forming a half-circle.

With his palms pressed together again, Jaha tilted his hands sideways and twisted them. The twelve illusionary swords spread out in a radial pattern, and with a sweeping motion of his hand, they all shot toward the dragon.

The swords targeted one of the dragon’s wings. Avoiding the spot where bolts had struck, the swords converged around the dragon’s jointed horns.

Jaha channeled his inner energy into the swords, causing them to explode. A gust of wind, raised by his inner energy, blew through the air, lifting his hair that had been tied up high.

“It’s falling!”

“Pull harder!”

With a shout, the chains of the ballistae were pulled tighter, dragging the dragon down like a fish caught on a hook.

Jaha watched the scene as Marsilia landed in position. Despite using a fair amount of inner energy, they had only managed to break a single joint of the dragon’s wing.

Would they be able to withstand a longer battle? Jaha suddenly felt a trace of fear and let out a small laugh at his own state.

So that’s why the dragon’s aura of fear hadn’t affected him earlier. It seemed that because Jaha didn’t fear death, the dragon’s fear-inducing aura had no effect.

From the dragon’s slowly descending maw, black fireballs began to form. Marsilia, seeing this, shouted like the roar of a lion.

“Breath incoming! Everyone, stay alert!”

As the dragon unleashed its breath, a burst of light erupted from Marsilia’s body. A thick, green wind wrapped around the stronghold and surged toward the dragon’s direction.

The man, with his hands raised high, murmured continuously. His prayers were directed toward the goddess.

“O goddess, your servant desires and yearns for your grace.”

While the man’s prayer echoed, the wind he emitted clashed with the dragon’s breath.

At that moment, General Des, observing the situation, shouted loudly.

“Second row, fire!”

Once again, ten large bolts shot through the air with an eerie, violent wind. Most of them were consumed by the dragon’s breath, but two bolts found their mark in the dragon’s chest.

The force of the bolts made the dragon stagger, causing the fire from its breath to cease.

Then, with a crash, the dragon’s body slammed into the ground.

“Third row, fire!”

More bolts were shot, aiming for the dragon’s chest and neck. Although they couldn’t pierce its scales, they were powerful enough to make the dragon falter.

“Report the loading status!”

General Des’ command was met with responses from various directions.

“First row is loaded!”

“Second row will take about two more minutes!”

Marsilia, retracting the divine power used for the shield, shouted.

“Darren, Jaha!”

In response to his call, the two men rushed to either side. In the center, Marsilia surged forward, releasing his aura.

Jaha and Darren also shot their sword energy in the same direction, aimed at the center of the dragon’s chest where the bolts had struck earlier.

Unlike the reckless charging of Darren and Marsilia, Jaha increased his speed using a more calculated movement. The place he aimed for was where the dragon’s wing joint had been broken.

As he approached, Jaha leaped into the air, using his fingers to channel his inner energy into his sword before swinging it toward the target.

…

A young priestess, Eilin, was participating in a monster subjugation operation for the first time in her life. After joining Darren Brims recently, she had been swept up in the relaxed atmosphere of the knights and had been letting her guard down.

She had never seen a monster up close, and only had a vague understanding of what a dragon was, so she wasn’t particularly scared.

However, now, with the massive monster before her eyes, her legs began to tremble with fear.

Eilin’s specialty was amplifying divine power. She was more adept at handling divine power than most others her age, which was why she had been selected for this subjugation.

Her task was to stay near the emperor and boost his divine power.

But the emperor was standing in the most dangerous spot, and as the dragon drew closer, all Eilin wanted to do was run away.

Frozen with fear and lacking the strength to escape, Eilin heard the roar of battle, and her head jerked up in surprise.

The emperor’s body seemed to burst with radiant divine power, standing firm against the dragon’s breath. The large man, unmoved by fear, extended his hand and endured the attack, and in the end, the dragon’s breath vanished without touching him.

“O goddess.”

Eilin sank to the ground, her hands clasped in prayer. It was only then, overwhelmed with fear, that she began to hear the sounds around her.

“First row, fire!”

A middle-aged general, standing close to the emperor, shouted at the top of his lungs. As the knights responded with their own cries, Eilin closed her eyes and recited a prayer.

“O omnipotent goddess, my glorious light who watches over the world, your servant prays. Please lend me your strength.”

As she murmured the prayer, the goddess’s power began to seep into Eilin’s body. She cast an amplification spell on herself and transmitted that power to all the priests in the stronghold.

This was the first time she had ever cast such a large-scale spell. She couldn’t stop praying or move while managing the immense divine energy, but she simply kept her eyes closed.

In the darkness behind her closed eyelids, Eilin envisioned the emperor, whom the goddess most loved. As she recalled his radiant back, her racing heart gradually calmed.

Joshua Thornton, along with other knights, was handling a ballista. They hauled bolts as thick as his thigh and pulled back the bowstring together.

The earth trembled every time the dragon struggled, and its roars echoed loudly in their ears.

But Joshua, without even a moment to think of anything else, moved without rest since the battle had begun.

His hands, calloused from sword training, had blisters now. Sweat poured down his face in the hot weather, but he had no time to wipe it away.

It was a situation where the dragon’s magic or breath could strike at any moment. He and the knights around him kept their eyes wide open, focused on the dragon.

The emperor, Darren, and Jaha rushed toward the dragon, which had been brought down to the ground.

The dragon shot black orbs and swung its tail to threaten them. Amidst the green and red auras, saber-like sword energy flew toward the dragon.

The emperor leaped off the ground and drove his sword into the dragon’s chest, followed closely by Darren, who aimed for the same spot, though a little behind the emperor.

While the saber-like sword energy emanating from the emperor’s body disoriented the dragon’s eyes, General Des signaled that the ballista was ready.

“Move back, Your Majesty!”

As the emperor and Darren withdrew, the general’s firing command was given.

“First row, fire!”

Joshua and another knight pulled back the bowstring attached to the iron with all their might. Thwack! The thick string made from Minotaur tendons twanged loudly, and the surrounding air vibrated as the arrows sped off.

“First row reloading, chain up the arrows!”

The bolts that had torn through the dragon’s wing were now falling out. The iron stakes used to bind the chains into the ground had nearly lost their function.

Joshua and the knights, following the general’s command, loosened the chains from the stakes.

It was to prevent a situation where the stakes would come loose and cause the people to be swept away.

As the chains that had been pulling the dragon’s wings slackened, the dragon flapped its wings and attempted to fly again.

Although the emperor and Darren had retreated, Jaha remained suspended in the air, swinging his arms with graceful movements.

In sync with his gestures, a white sword flew and embedded itself into the scales on the back of the dragon’s neck, digging into the flesh as soon as the scales parted.

“Keeyyyyck!”

As the dragon screamed, a massive roar erupted from the thin man hovering in the sky.

The voice, so loud it was hard to believe it came from such a thin body, reverberated through the air, echoing powerfully. At the same time, the his inner energy exploded between the scales of its neck.

Enraged, the dragon swung its neck and struck Jaha. The unexpected attack sent him plummeting rapidly to the ground.

“Jaha!”

Marsilia rushed toward him, but halted when he saw the man rise and extend his hand.

Kneeling on one knee and gripping the ground with his sword, Jaha coughed up blood.

Marsilia blocked his way and extended his aura like a shield. He then layered a defensive barrier made of divine power on top of it and stopped the dragon’s maw from reaching Jaha.

Thud. The dragon’s massive head collided with his shield, and the shock transferred through his body. Marsilia was pushed back from the impact, sliding toward Jaha as he shouted at him.

“Jaha, retreat!”

“You retreat.”

As the dragon’s breath flowed, the defensive barrier began to melt in spots. The breath surged toward them, but before it could reach, Jaha grabbed the his neck and pulled him back.

“Retreat, fool.”

Marsilia felt his feet lift off the ground and muttered in frustration.

“Jaha, I’m not a dog.”

A small chuckle escaped from the man who had pulled him like a dog.

“At least dogs are light.”

Marsilia, unaccustomed to being treated like this, couldn’t even respond to his sharp words and simply closed his mouth.

Why? He felt like he was losing in a verbal battle.