The United Kingdom, a certain city on the eastern section of the new defensive line.
The runes on the city wall lit up one after another in the twilight, like an ignited fuse, spreading all the way west from the top of this city and disappearing behind the distant mountains.
Every few breaths, fresh mana from afar would flow through the network of runes across the entire city wall until it entered the city. That was the reserved mana drawn from the three nearest cities.
Outside the city, a white dragon was wreaking havoc.
Its scales gleamed with a cold, silvery-blue hue under the moonlight, and its wingspan covered half the sky.
Most of the arrows and magic launched from within the city were blocked by its hard scales. A few threatening attacks, such as exploding ballista bolts, were dodged with a flap of its wings.
The giant dragon continuously battered the city wall.
With every impact, a section of the runes on the city wall would instantly dim. The defending soldiers were shaken so violently they stumbled all over the place; some crawled up from the ground covering their ears, blood trickling from their noses.
But every time, those dimmed runes would light up again a few breaths later, as mana from afar continued to surge in endlessly.
Relying on the sturdiness of the new defensive line, this city finally managed to wait until reinforcements arrived.
Riding on galloping steeds, Lorenzo and Inanna had already spotted the white dragon in the sky from a distance.
While hurrying that way, the fat mage didn't forget to complain to his niece, "It truly never ends. After the Demon-kin, the Mist, and the bugs, it's giant dragons? What else is coming next?"
"These dragons, it used to be hard to encounter even one, but now they're showing up in swarms. Something must have happened at the Dragon Cliff Underground City over in the Empire."
"Unfortunately, that old bat Mortis has been keeping the news from over there tightly sealed lately, so we don't know the specific situation."
"Eldest niece, don't worry about your father's side. He has fought dragons before and knows how to deal with them; he'll be fine."
"During the battle later, stand behind me. Your uncle will protect you well."
Inanna, who had brought No. 10 and the Sword Saint Puchi with her, nodded obediently, "Okay, Uncle Lorenzo."
Arriving at the base of the city, the soldiers guarding the gate looked at Lorenzo as if they had seen their savior; they were just short of throwing themselves on the ground and weeping bitterly.
And in fact, it really was so.
If Lorenzo had been even half a day later, even with the mana supply from the other cities, the defensive runes of this city themselves wouldn't have been able to hold up.
Not to mention, fighting a giant dragon while bearing the brunt of its draconic aura brought pressure far exceeding that of an ordinary battle.
It was only because more than half of the city defenders were veterans who had experienced war that they could still maintain their will to resist under the draconic aura.
Some people also noticed Inanna, who held the title of War Hero.
However, it was widely known that during the last war, Inanna had achieved victory in the Battle of Dragon Roar Valley by relying on commanding elemental spirits and the grand army of Puchis.
As for her own individual strength, she didn't seem to have any combat record.
And at this moment, aside from the two Puchis she brought with her, everyone following behind were Lorenzo's personal guards.
Nevertheless, Inanna's arrival still served to boost morale to some extent.
Lorenzo stood atop the magic tower, his staff held high. The lightning gathering at the tip of the staff grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the top of the entire city wall as if it were daylight.
He took a deep breath, and a pillar of lightning blasted from the tip of his staff, as thick as an ancient tree, crashing into the white dragon.
Scales shattered and flesh splattered; the white dragon was finally injured.
The white dragon's roar changed pitch, shifting from anger to pain, its massive body violently tilting in midair.
That pillar of lightning had burned a fist-sized hole through its wing membrane. The edges were scorched black and emitting green smoke. The drafty hole caused its flight posture to suddenly lose balance, and it had to flap several times before it could steady itself.
However, this strike did not make it shrink back; instead, it provoked its ferocity.
The white dragon's pupils contracted into vertical slits, a fierce glint shooting from those cold eyes.
It opened its giant maw, and pale Frost Dragon Breath spewed out.
The protective shield on the city wall lasted for less than two breaths before a rift was torn open. Frost poured in through the gap, instantly swallowing that nearby section of the city wall.
Several soldiers, unable to dodge in time, turned into ice sculptures while maintaining their running postures, the expressions of terror still lingering on their faces.
The frost crossed the city wall, heading straight for Lorenzo atop the magic tower.
The personal guards lunged forward immediately, bringing their shields together and crouching low, using their bodies to build a defense in front of that pale torrent. Lorenzo, meanwhile, held his staff horizontally in front of himself, and a blue mana shield opened up before him, keeping that freezing cold out.
Ripples constantly cascaded across the mana shield. Beads of sweat seeped from Lorenzo's forehead and slid down his round face. His arms were trembling, his staff feeling heavier and heavier. The color of the shield faded from deep blue to light blue, and from light blue to an almost transparent white.
This white dragon's Dragon Breath was unexpectedly exceptionally continuous!
Everyone realized that the mana shield was about to shatter!
The defensive skills on the personal guards activated layer upon layer, as they prepared to use their flesh and blood to block that Dragon Breath.
Lorenzo shifted a step to the left, blocking Inanna behind himself.
Crack—
The shield finally shattered, but the anticipated frost did not arrive.
A brand-new shield had enveloped everyone at some unknown moment.
"Inanna?"
Lorenzo turned his head in shock, only to discover that Inanna's staff had not lit up. The source of the shield's mana was overhead!
No. 10 hovered in midair. Its body was wrapped in countless layers of halos. Mana surged out from its body, flowing along trajectories to weave a dense net around itself, and then extended outward from every node of that net, ultimately condensing into that shield enveloping the entire top of the tower.
As a mage, Lorenzo could clearly sense that the Puchi before him was not using the innate skills of a monster, but was genuinely casting a spell.
Furthermore... it wasn't relying on magic crystals?
The scene before his eyes completely violated Lorenzo's common sense, to the point that he opened his mouth wide but didn't know what to say.
"Uncle Lorenzo, please rest for a moment," Inanna said, actually taking the initiative to walk outside the shield.
Lorenzo subconsciously tried to grab his eldest niece and stop this dangerous behavior, but his hand was swatted away by the Sword Saint Puchi's tentacle.
The moment she stepped out of the shield, a blazing Robe of Flames appeared around Inanna, instantly evaporating a large patch of frost into steam.
Inanna raised her right hand, and the Ring of Confinement upon it lit up: "Little Fire, lend a hand."
"Little one, you have to call me Lord Fire!" Accompanied by a high-pitched, furious roar, the Fire Elemental Lord—whose size was completely not inferior to a giant dragon's—was liberated from the Ring of Confinement. And the instant it came out, it lunged toward the somewhat bewildered white dragon.
"You ice-spewing bugs all deserve to die!"
The two giant creatures clashed in one place. No. 10 also floated toward the white dragon after the Dragon Breath stopped. The Sword Saint Puchi observed the battle situation near the edge of the tower for a while, then moved its tentacle away from its sword hilt.
Looking at Inanna, then looking outside the city wall at No. 10—which was continuously releasing powerful magic using methods he couldn't understand—Lorenzo, standing to the side, suddenly felt a bit unsure. Had he gotten so old that he couldn't keep up with the times anymore?
(End of Chapter)
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