The legendary Moonlight Sculptor

V57C5P1 - Red Dragon Landony

Whilst all attention was focused on Kaybern in Morata, shocking news was delivered.

Mapan: We are in trouble. Landony is flying this way.

Mapan's words froze Weed who was comfortably watching the battle.

The Red Dragon? Here?

We're not 100% certain. But, it is heading north of the continent and there's a high possibility that it is headed to this location.

The news was delivered by the orcs and the adventurers at the Flames of the Champion.

Many players were gathered in Morata, but others in many other locations around the continent witnessed the Red Dragon in flight.

Currently, the Red Dragon is travelling through the central area of Litton. Then, it will traverse the Neria Sea and enter the Northern Continent.

The Hermes Guild members in battle could be seen hesitating for a moment.

Weed who was filled with desire for the last hit was also thrown off.

It's unlikely that it would come all this way to kill some orcs in the north. There are only a few cities worth destroying…

There will be a motive for the dragon's movement. We did not uncover all there is to it… You must also take into consideration that Landony and Kaybern grew up together.

Of course.

Weed could do nothing but agree with adventurer Chase.

As it stood, it seemed that Kaybern, in the midst of battle, likely called for Landony that was much like a sibling,

Swift Coldwind: Given the Red Dragon's current speed, it will take about 15 to 20 minutes for the dragon to cross the Neria Sea and make its arrival.

Arkhim: If Kaybern and Landony join forces, that will be disastrous.

Calcus: Two dragons instead of one is catastrophic. The Red Dragon is considerably more powerful than the rest.

Lamifter: Landony is on its way! What do we do?

Crevolta: Bard Ray-nim! Your orders!

Even in this moment, Bard Ray was fighting valiantly by leading his forces against Kaybern.

He had no attention to spare on chat messages and his actions were already representing his will. He bet everything on the battle.

Regardless of Landony's arrival, he did not plan on stopping the fight.

"If so…"

Weed realized that it wasn't the time to be idly observing the Hermes Guild.

He had to be decisive before any more time was wasted, and only he could combine the forces of the Hermes Guild, the assault squad and all the players in Morata.

It wasn't just the warriors and knights of the Hermes Guild in the engagement.

Archers, mages, bards, priests, shamans, architects, and more.

Players of various job classes were involved in the battle against Kaybern.

It was of utmost importance that he directed their minds in the right way.

"I have to make the most optimal decision."

Weed announced the message as the emperor of the Arpen Empire.

It was not just players in Morata, but all players on Arpen Empire territory across Versailles were able to hear the message.

- First of all, I give my thanks to the Hermes Guild for their great sacrifice in battle.

To start, he honored their efforts with his priceless words.

As you all may already know, it seems that the Red Dragon Landony is about to arrive in Morata. I do not know how much worse the situation will become once that happens.

He spoke honestly about the added difficulty to the battle.

A lone dragon and a pair of dragons were completely different concepts.

Moreover, the Red Dragon was incapable of using dark magic, but in terms of pure strength it overpowered all other dragons.

The thought of the Black Dragon and the Red Dragon casting spells simultaneously and ravaging the ground was horrendous.

Hence, if the Hermes Guild understands the situation, it is now necessary that all players in Morata join forces in the Kaybern hunt.

Weed had no choice but to forfeit his chance on the last hit.

Morata was already half ruined and there would not be a second opportunity to have the Hermes Guild fight for him.

The guild too was unable to back down. They were on the brink of succeeding the first dragon hunt, and stopping the battle because of Landony was nonsense.

Our objective is to hunt Kaybern down before Landony's arrival. Then we will proceed to slaying the Red Dragon as well.

Weed's offer caused a stir within the Hermes Guild.

Heroid: Backing away now would be the worst. Weed's offer sounds quite reasonable.

Crebulta: If we accept Weed's proposal, we will be able to succeed in the hunt. The timing is cutting it quite close and it will only get more difficult once the Red Dragon gets here. We might be wiped out.

Heiller: We made it all happen until this point but now you want other players to get a free ride? You're telling us we should give them a share of the dragon?

Gaushu: Then do you have another suggestion? Fight or retreat. The choice is one or the other.

Calcus: How about we end this hunt just on our own? We are not far.

Heroid: It might still be possible. The timing is a little tight…

Boemong: We have to decide now. The Red Dragon is flying as we speak.

Chaos waged among the Hermes Guild members.

Even the commanders could not come to a collective agreement and the guild members hesitated as well.

"If Landony gets here, aren't we all done for?"

"Yeah. Even if we slay Kaybern, we are all dead meat once Landony arrives."

A considerable number of guild members who had not used the brazier wanted to flee the scene. On the other hand, many saw that it was all possible if they killed Kaybern and Landony in order, though it would be too big of a bite off the apple for just the Hermes Guild to handle alone.

"Bard Ray-nim! What are you going to do?"

In such a crisis, only Bard Ray was capable of choosing the direction for the Hermes Guild.

After losing to Weed, his influence decreased but the God Warrior Bard Ray's shadow still spread thick over the entire guild.

"We fight. We slay the dragon."

Bard Ray always led the Hermes Guild to victory. For him, running was not an option unless he was defeated.

The hesitation and contemplation of the Hermes Guild disappeared.

The commanders and guild members decided to follow his choice.

Understood. We agree to Weed-nim's terms.

***

Weed watched the battle for a moment.

Bard Ray and the guild were fighting even more crazily than before. If they fought with some composure before, now they stood at the edge of a cliff.

"They became strong."

Bard Ray's combat videos on the hall of fame had a clean style to it that was similar in all them. However, his fighting on the back of the dragon felt like a torrent of his emotions.

He was smashed by Kaybern's wings; struck by magic that left his armor half exposed, but his concentration was manifest in swinging the Glacial Sword.

The dragon's back was frozen.

This sight raised the hopes of the Hermes Guild.

Bard Ray clinging to the dragon despite the dragon's violent shaking made the people watch with sweaty palms.

"They were criticized for so many things… But I suppose there isn't any combat force as good as they are. I better start too."

Weed arrived at Yellowy Square and got the dwarves to use the Brazier of Sacrifice.

"K-uhh. Just what I was waiting for."

"Brethren. Cheers. The time has come to hunt Kaybern."

The dwarves drank a glass of dark beer that could be their last, and they activated the brazier. The short limbed dwarves were lit up and turned into even more of a dense, muscular form as they lifted their weapons.

Weed too, stood in front of the brazier.

"Now I have to use the brazier…"

In that moment, the bulb lit in his head!

'But I wonder if I have to use the brazier to its full extent?'

He had a flashback of his life like when he fell in grave danger.

His days of youth when he lived in sorrow, the past when he lived like a house centipede.

There were so many events in his life, and he always kept his senses sharp so that he wasn't exploited by anyone.

'But what if I tweak around? Just a little. Like burning only 20 or 30 levels.'

Just until a little while back, he thought that it was unquestionable to use the brazier in order to stop the dragon. His level would decrease greatly, but it was a loss necessary to hunt the dragon. He dragged even the Hermes Guild into the plan, ensnaring the fate of the dwarven race and the future of Versailles.

'That is why if I hold back a bit on the brazier, no one will know.'

If he shows a weak side while fighting Kaybern, everyone would be suspicious. However, would anyone detect a small discrepancy among the thousands upon thousands of players in a huge mess? If he were to somehow get caught in one of the dragon's attacks, it would be dangerous but wasn't a problem as long as he avoided it in time.

'The broadcasts will focus on me. It will be hard not to notice anything wrong.'

Weed thought there was no way of getting away without using the brazier. Unfortunately, he had to equip himself with the legendary items left by the dwarves.

***

While Weed was plotting his dark scheme, the battle between Kaybern and the guild waged on.

Ranged units began providing support. The assault squad prepared for aerial tactics.

The assault squad led by Pale finally mobilized.

The mages and archers of the squad commenced the attack and players began taking flight.

The warriors had worked jointly with the avian in the main battle against the dragon.

During that battle, the avian were overwhelmed by fear and could not approach the dragon, so the warriors arrived using flight spells.

"Descend!"

"Commence operation."

The assault squad members were weaker than those in the Hermes Guild, but they had prepared for the dragon hunt for a long time.

They wore high magic resistance equipment and chose weapons that complimented their skills.

A deathblow!

They were willing to exhaust all their health points and stamina with their weapon swings.

The attack from the Hermes Guild was intense and the addition of the assault squad heated up the battlefield.

Barbarian Knatul, fairy knight Malin, Half elf Vishur. The heroes of each race also entered in battle.

"Everyone, keep it up! Our bodies know no limitations!"

Knatul shouted and encouraged the warriors with courage and strength.

Malin used magic to augment the abilities of his comrades as Vishur charged towards the dragon, grasping a dagger in both hands.

The assault squad was relentless just like the Hermes Guild and never stopped their advance even when they were blown away by magic attacks.

"Lift your swords! A second later and that beast may die before we get there."

Geomchi, the instructors and the 500 apprentices jumped in as well.

The sturdy, muscular, sword-wielding men gathered to hunt the dragon.

It was miraculous that they had just observed the Hermes Guild fight until now without rushing out there!

For these men, an incredible amount of food and liquor was required.

"We are on the move! We won't even get a grain of bean if we are late."

"Hahahaha! Let's go, let's go!"

"Isn't this the real showdown with the dragon?!"

"This is a fiesta!"

They activated the Brazier of Sacrifice unconditionally and immediately.

Even if their levels were to suffer, it was well worth it for a wild battle against the dragon.

Some of the players that followed Geomchi and the apprentices closely also used the brazier.

"Oh darn. I think I'm going to regret this later…"

"Let's do it anyway. We might take a chunk off the dragon."

"Yeah… I guess that's true."

Around 1300 players participated in the use of the brazier.

It was not an easy decision to make since it dropped their levels by 40 or 50.

They led the charge and clung onto the dragon, intensifying the heat of battle.

"Chop it into pieces!"

"Plow through the magic and don't st…. K-agh!"

"Just push through with your body!"

The Hermes Guild however wasn't about to let the assault squad take the lead and they fought with a renewed vigour as players from all across Morata flew over to join the fight.

(To be continued…)