The legendary Moonlight Sculptor

V57C3P3 - Kaybern's Rage

- How pesky and foolish you are! Mere humans thinking they could defeat me!

The buildings of Morata were kicked around by Kaybern's feet. Buildings quite a distance away also fell apart from the shock and effects of the magic spells.

"K-ugh. The buildings that I built with my sweat and blood…"

Weed felt his money dissipating into thin air and despaired.

Spectating a fight was the most enjoyable experience, but the playing field had to be Morata of all places!

- You are all truly insignificant! All of you, die!

Kaybern roared under the burden of their concentrated attacks and sent out a wave of Dragon Fear.

< Your physical abilities are restrained under the Dragon Fear.

You feel an inevitable presence and fear.

Health points are reduced by 36%.

Paralysis spreads throughout the body.

Movement hindered!

You are immobilized for 9 seconds.

Lack of Wisdom hinders use of skills by 87%.

Skills consume more mana and have a higher chance of failure. >

The Hermes Guild members that were fighting formidably fell under paralysis and fear all at once. The roads were pulled apart like rugs and the buildings crumbled to the ground once again.

"D-Dragon Fear…"

"Wow… This is incredible!"

The spectators in Morata felt their breath tightening even from afar, soon collapsing to their death. All the novice players within a 1km radius that did not evacuate in time were massacred.

The Hermes Guild members also suffered great damage. Still, their experience meant that they were well prepared.

They had already fully equipped themselves with equipment that enhanced Fighting Spirit and moved quickly due to blessing spells from the priests.

"Keep attacking! Don't give room for the dragon to recover its mana!"

Under the orders of the commanders, the Hermes Guild members fought onwards.

They were putting everything they had against the greatest enemy that was the dragon.

The hextech cannons placed on top of the defense towers also began activating.

"Fire!"

Cannon shots of light flew and pierced into the dragon's body.

"Archers. Fire!"

The combination of melee fighters and the flurry of arrows from the archers stationed on every rooftop. The mages too chanted their spells and fired hundreds each second. Fierce firepower was concentrated on the dragon.

"It's truly bitter that Morata had to be the battleground for a war of this scale."

Weed was in pain as he watched the destruction of the buildings.

The shantytowns in various locations within the city were emitting black smoke.

The buildings around the dragon were completely destroyed, and magic spells were exploding one after another; no building in sight was intact.

"If we overcome the dragon, I'm sure we will be able to rebuild the city by selling every bone we take from it."

The dragon's bones were the most dense material for weapon crafting. From the negotiation with the Hermes Guild, the materials from the dragon's corpse was to be used to fund repairs to the city.

"Naive folks… I hope they won't get ripped off."

It was only natural that most of the materials would be misappropriated due to things like overestimating the construction costs!

Even the Hermes Guild that reigned over the Central Continent would have never experienced such embezzlement.

- Pale: The assault squad is awaiting combat. The Hermes Guild sure fights well even without using the Brazier of Sacrifice.

Pale, equipped with legendary level archer armor and the high-elf bow crafted from the World Tree, led the ranged unit of the assault squad. He had obtained the World Tree Bow after rescuing the elves.

Weed spoke while his eyes were fixated on Kaybern.

"Mmm. We trained the assault squad diligently but it seems that the Hermes Guild still exceeds us in terms of combat power. There is no group better at killing boss monsters than they do."

He felt refreshed each time a Hermes Guild member died but he also yearned for the quick defeat of Kaybern.

Pale: Shouldn't we move onto stage 2 right about now and use the Brazier?

"That call is for Bard Ray or Arkhim to make."

The Hermes Guild still opted not to use the Brazier of Sacrifice. It was a matter that needed to be determined firsthand in battle.

"I guess it would be wise to use up its mana. It's quite the scale though, this battle."

- Pale: Will Kaybern continue to fight us on the ground?

"Judging by the progress, I believe so. It will have great faith in its dark magic."

Although the attack of the Hermes Guild was fierce, the dragon was a mighty creature.

The magic spells were almost powerless despite their dazzling effect.

There was a definite reason as to why Kaybern kept the fight on the ground.

- Hail of Darkness!

Kaybern activated the ultimate dark magic spell.

It was a spell that sacrificed the lost health points and the dead during the battle.

The darkness spread like a pulse in water and sucked out the health points of the Hermes Guild members.

"Divine Barrier!"

"Sacred Affection!"

"Magic Reflect"

The Hermes Guild was prepared for the Hail of Darkness. The blessings and protection spells from the priests withstood against it, but thousands of players died regardless.

The brutal dark magic reduced their forces greatly.

"Do not fall back! Push!"

"Climb on top of it."

The warriors of the Hermes Guild were bold as ever, even after witnessing the magic at work.

Taking advantage of the period of calm after the massive AOE magic spell had been cast, they climbed onto the dragon's legs and wings.

"I am Slater! Shocking Smash!"

"Have a taste of the Piercing Flash from I, Ultar!"

Out of my sight!

Kaybern flipped its body and flapped its wings but the clinging warriors did not stop attacking. They stuck to the dragon like leeches and whenever it was inattentive, more Hermes Guild members climbed to attack.

- I am sick of this. Absolute Explosion!

Kaybern activated an ultimate fire magic spell this time.

Small red dots formed near the dragon and spread rapidly into a huge explosion.

Several hundred of the Hermes Guild members were scorched to ashes along with Slater and Ultar but even more of them charged at the dragon.

"Wind Walk!"

"Guardian of the Sword!"

"Star Wish!"

The players with the priests' blessings projected their spears and swung their swords.

Each attack from Kaybern inflicted damage to several hundred players both on the ground and in the sky.

***

"K-hmm. Incredible."

"As expected of the Hermes Guild."

Mibullo, Drago, Miretas were observing the fight from the tower in the faraway Yellowy Square.

These three individuals were at the pinnacle of architecture, sewing and farming respectively.

They were a good 3, 4 km away but the dragon was sizable despite the distance.

"Something is coming this way."

"Avoid it!"

At times, a magic spell landed somewhere nearby. Dozens of buildings crumbled and turned into a huge fire, but were dealt with immediately by players.

Miretas asked out of curiosity.

"There are so many people. How many are still left inside Morata?"

"I'm not certain but… Most of my acquaintances stayed inside."

For Drago, Morata was his usual stage.

He knew many players and most of them could not resist observing close up.

"They could die…"

"This kind of scene doesn't come twice in one lifetime. No one can tell if there will be another fight against the dragon."

Mibullo had a frown all along.

"They failed to lure Kaybern into the target location. The traps we laid in Bingryeong Square will not be utilized."

The architects made great preparations for this battle.

They reinforced the buildings and constructed defense facilities in case of a street battle, but at Bingryeong Square they installed a special trap.

After Kaybern's arrival, the entire square would collapse.

Underneath were sharp spears stuck upside down. They were made from the extreme high-grade metal alloy crafted by the union of Morata's blacksmiths!

Cursed artifacts were scavenged from all across the continents and used by shamans to cast debuff rituals for giant monsters.

It was a collaborative project of architects and blacksmiths, but it seemed to have been for nothing.

"Oh. It's firing again!"

"It's fired."

The players watching in Morata were able to see them; the hextech cannons installed at various locations in the city!

The mana charging cannons at once shot blinding light towards Kaybern.

***

- Kwaaaaargh! Humans. You brought some pesky devices.

< Hextech Cannon

It charges through the mana of mages and fires a ranged projectile with no elemental attribute.

Physical damage is weak, but it possesses an extremely powerful level of penetration. >

Every time the light from the hextech cannon landed, the enormous dragon stumbled and was knocked back. The dragon's scales, that looked like a wave of jewels, fractured.

The cannons were discovered in a dungeon with an ancient artifact by the Hermes Guild.

There was no particular reason for not using it. There had simply been no need to do so until now.

In a war, mages and their magic spells were much more effective and were used for a much wider application.

Hextech cannons on the other hand had to be installed in a fixed station, were too heavy for transport and consumed a substantial amount of mana upon use.

Its only advantage was in penetrating the defense of a powerful enemy, which would not be necessary when fighting common monsters.

"4th artillery, 5th artillery. Fire!"

With Arkhim's orders, the mages fired the fully charged cannons.

- I will slaughter you all!

Kaybern mobilized towards the location of the hextech cannon.

The Hermes Guild members on the ground kept up their attack and climbed on top of its legs and back.

War!

The perfect strategy was unfolding against the dragon.

"The dragon's act is something. I would have fallen for it if this was the first battle against the lizard."

Bard Ray objectively observed his guild members fight.

What was the reason for Kaybern sticking to the ground?

For the overly hostile Black Dragon, the best strategy was always to sacrifice its own wounds and quickly plenish its dark magic.

"When the time comes, it will activate either the Mirror of Fate that reflects all damage or cast a lifestealing spell."

The Hermes Guild had made detailed analysis of the dragon and dark magic.

Life siphoning the casualties; the dark magic that drained health points from corpses.

It was the ultimate dark magic spell that could instantly replenish the dragon's huge health pool.

It was a whole other level from how the necromancers recovered their health points in small quantities from the undead, but there were downsides.

They searched through all historical references and confirmed the prerequisites for activation which was that there be a huge number of corpses and that a large quantity of mana be consumed.

"Life that sprouts. Unveil the mysteries of life itself! View Life Force!"

Necromancer Grovidun was first to sacrifice his own level and health points into the Brazier of Sacrifice. He adjusted his level to 1000, offered a dark magic ritual and forcefully took a look at the dragon's health points.

Black Dragon Kaybern

Born from the abyss…

… ….. Death… King… At the castle…..

"….. …"

"Human….. …"

"….. …"

… Destruction…, … Blood is….., ….. …….

Kaybern….. ……

Health points: 86%/100%

Mana: 71%/100%

Grovidun confirmed the dragon's status and relayed it on the guild channel.

"Health points at 86%, mana is at 71%!"

After several ultimate magic spells, it still possessed two thirds of its mana!

Even though the warriors and mages of the Hermes Guild had poured out their attacks relentlessly, they only reduced a small portion of its health points.

The dragon was wreaking havoc around the battlefield and its high physical and magic resistances were the reason. Bard Ray and the Hermes Guild also expected it.

They already realized back in Garnav Plains that even players over level 500 were incapable of defeating the dragon.

(To be continued…)