Chapter 23: Arc 2 – Chapter 9: A Clash of Kings

Ellen’s party soon arrived at the exit of the Woodland Region. As soon as they entered the safe zone, they stopped for a breather as they pieced the events that just happened altogether.

 

“*pant*… *pant*… Ellen… is it really ok… to leave Camus back there?”<Dustin>

 

“… I don’t really know, Dustin… When I saw his back, he gave me a sense of security, a feeling that he wouldn’t lose. I know there’s no reason for it but… that’s what my gut was telling me at the time. But... now I'm not so sure...”

 

“I can’t believe we were saved by newbies… and we left one of them to save ourselves. I won’t stand for this shame!”<Angela>

 

“Dammit! It’s freakin’ backwards of wha’ happen’d last time! It’s one thin’ for newbs to run out on us, but us doin’ the same on newbs… there’s just no way I’m gonna let ma’self live with that, ever! We gotta go save that guy!” <Lawrence>

 

“Gregor agrees. It’s not often Gregor finds a friend to sympathize scary looks with. And friend Camus also makes great drink!”

 

“Hehe. Everyone wants to go save him, huh? I’ll go with whatever everyone decides.” <Silvi>

 

“*nods*…same.” <Alma>

 

“I’m of the same mind to save our friend as well, but… what do we do about him?”<Dustin>

 

As Dustin pointed out towards a corner on the safe zone, there laid Glenn, slumped down like a marionette whose strings were cut. The moment they arrived at the exit, Glenn eerily muttered to himself “HeHeHe… Master, I’ve finished the training, so I get to rest now, riiight~?” and immediately fell unconscious.

 

“…”<Everyone>

 

“…W-Well, in any case, he’s Camus’ friend so it goes without saying that we’ll have to bring him with us.”<Ellen>

 

“That’s true. In any case, while he was amazing, he’s still a newbie, so we’ll have to take care of him. Monkey, hurry up and carry him.” <Angela>

 

“O-Oi! Why’re ya askin me to do tha’ stuff? Dusty an’ Greg are tougher’n me!”<Lawrence>

 

“Because, snot-for-brains, Dustin and Gregor injured their arms when they blocked that thing’s attack. Silvi is out of mana so she can’t heal them, so that leaves you for carrying him. You’re not very well going to ask Ellen, Alma, Silvi, or me to carry him, are you? Unless of course you aren’t a man.”

 

“Oh fer god’s… fine… fine! Alright, ya good fer nothin’ witch. I’ll do it… *mumble*…*grumble*…”

 

Angela then looked towards Ellen and Alma with a “Teehee” and winked as she stuck her tongue out. They both shook their heads and smiled wryly as they quickly readied themselves to move towards the Labyrinth Market and prepare for the second confrontation in order to save their new friend.

 

…

 

I’ve been unleashing all of my bloodthirst for a while, but the beast hardly flinched and only looked at me with extreme caution.

Looks like I can’t afford to underestimate this one, so I decided to use [Status].

 

Description

 

*Regarded as legendary creatures in the western savage lands, Wyrmwolf Kings are few in number but possess both the power and intelligence of Dragons. They are often solitary hunters, but few are known to rule entire Nests and command monster armies. Though individually not on the level of a World Boss, their threat towards nations is almost the same.

 

Ash Wyrmwolf King – first of its kind, possesses increased mastery of racial traits and abilities

 

Dragon – All Dragon and High-Dragon species are immune to direct magic damage

 

Blessing: Earth God's Favor – Passive: when in contact with the earth, all parameters are increased by one grade

 

Monster King – Monster skill forcing lesser species to submit and be commanded by the monster possessing this skill. Stats are increased the more monsters under command. Highest tier of Monster command skills. (Monster Leader –> Monster Lord –> Monster King)

 

(Unique – deviates from the norm of their race and possesses unique traits and increased stats – All stats Grade +2)

 

Since I’ve been practicing my concentration, [Status] is showing even more information about monsters than last time. And with this new information, some things are cleared up now.

 

When Ellen said Angela’s magic didn’t work because of it having dragon’s blood, she meant this. If I recall what my dad said, he did say the strongest Dragon God created magic, so I guess he must’ve designed it to not be able to affect their dragon descendants. Talk about OP in a fantasy setting… *cough* not that I’m complaining of course…

Also, Ellen’s party thought it was just a Monster Lord, but it’s actually on the level of a King. That’s the only reason it got to control all the monster species here.

I’m also surprised to know this thing has a Blessing from the Earth God like Ellen. Is the Earth Dragon God frivolous with granting blessings to anyone or anything it likes or something?

Lastly, its stats are even higher than my dad’s. Since my status only shows the base stats without the buffs from the skills that means its stats are even higher by at least 3 grades thanks to the passive buffs.

This is possibly the strongest creature I’m going to fight since the Fallen King, but the only reason I was able to beat that thing was because the Lake of Light weakened it after I took it by surprise. This time, I’ll truly be fighting something at full strength close to that level with all my ability. In other words, this is my first actual fight with something really strong, and with another dragon no less.

 

As our massive pressures collide, the very space in front of us seemed to warp as volatile energies struck out, ripping apart some unfortunate monsters caught by the streams. With their death wails as the signal, we both unleashed our restrained power into draconic roars.

 

“GAWROOOOOOOOO!”

 

“GRAOOOOOOOOOON!”

 

With a roar as if crossed with a howl, it clashed with my own roar and the earth shook as our opposing energies surged like an unstoppable wave in all directions. The monsters within the vicinity fled so as not to get caught by the energy we unleashed once again, but it was for naught as the closest ones exploded into bloody mists.

 

At the end of our display of strength, we clashed. It brought its massive claw down towards me while I stepped forward and struck with a mighty uppercut.

 

*BOOM*

 

As its claw met with my fist, a great shockwave blasted outward knocking up dirt, blowing rocks, and shaking trees. The bones in my arm creaked while my muscles bulged their outline on my scales with the force it had to bear. Although my arm felt numb… it wasn’t I who lost this clash…

 

The beast took a step back from the force of my blow, and it saw a huge crack running across its claw like a lightning bolt.

It narrowed its eyes as it realized its scales were meaningless. That’s right… I chose Roaring Calamity since I know with its power; it can shatter even dragon scales.

I smiled triumphantly knowing I have the upper hand, but suddenly it took an action I’d never expect.

 

Simply put… it ran…

 

Huh? The heck? Wasn’t it supposed to be a dragon? Even I have trouble reigning in my pride…

 

But my thoughts were short lived; as it charged from the woods attacking my blind spot with the opening I created from my confusion.

 

!! Guh!

 

I got slammed into the air with the momentum of its charge. It felt like an American football player’s tackle with the force of a steamroller going over 80.

 

I flailed in the air like a ragdoll and smashed onto the ground. As I tried to get up, I was half-admiring and half-cursing when I realized the Wyrmwolf decided to use hit and run tactics when it knew it couldn’t fight me in a direct confrontation. I still don’t have speedy and precise control over my shapeshifting, so I couldn’t bring out my wings to float down when I got knocked into the air.

 

As I got up in a daze, it obviously didn’t miss this opportunity and tackled me again. It actually managed to hit me several more times, but as I got used to it, on its next charge I braced myself and jumped to its head.

It slammed me upwards with its horns tossing me over it, but I was waiting for this and used my tail to grab onto its back. It realized this and tried to fling me off, but I stuck on with my claws and tail acting as a pseudo seatbelt keeping me in place. Payback time you bastard!

 

As I held on with my tail, I proceeded to give the back of its head a shower of blows. As it kept receiving blow per blow, it got desperate and rolled on the ground several times to try and get me off and even started ramming into trees and the Labyrinth wall. Of course, being as tough as this thing, I simply shrugged all of this off.

It probably started getting dizzy as it slowed down, so I took this opportunity to finish it. I jumped off its back and grabbed a large tree branch while my tail still held onto it. Using the momentum, I did a backflip and using my tail I performed a pseudo German suplex, planting its head into the ground.

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As I landed on the ground, I turned to admire my work, but what greeted me instead was a huge smack from its tail sending me flying. In the brief moment, I managed to catch sight of it spinning its lower body using the momentum to pick itself up with one arm and once again used it like an axle to spin in place and smack me with its tail. In other words, it got me with the same move it used on Ellen. Only this time, the wall was there to catch me instead.

 

Crashing into the wall and leaving a crater, I coughed out the air in my lungs from the force of the blow. My scales may be tough, but there’s no way the inside of my body is in the same league. After all, I did try shooting my hand once with my gun, and although it didn’t pierce through, it still felt like it got struck by a hammer. Why did I do something crazy you ask? Because of the insurance called Healing Potions of course. Sure, my dad grilled me for it, but that’s a story for another time…

 

As I was slowly freeing myself from the depression on the wall due to the daze, I didn’t notice the beast was already upon me and chomped down hard on the lower half of my waist.

 

“Gaaaaaaaah!!”

 

Fucking shit! It hurts like hell! It’s like being crushed by a vice with teeth!

It swung me around while I was in its mouth trying to chew me up like a dog with a bone. But it made a serious mistake by forgetting about my free arms. I bent my waist and with all my strength raised my two fists together and unleashed a Double Axe Hammer onto its head while I endured the pain.

The first blow loosened its grip, and as I unleashed a second one, it finally let go.

 

It became dazed from the two heavy blows, which forced it to lower its head, so using this opportunity I positioned myself in a boxing stance and wound up for a Dempsey Roll. Closing in, I released blow after blow onto its face countless times and when I was satisfied enough to see its face in a bloody beaten pulp, I finally ended it with a mighty Haymaker uppercut. The force knocked it into a backflip as it landed with a loud thud and a small quake onto the ground.

 

I was ready for another comeback, but… it didn’t move… even after several seconds, it didn’t get back up.

 

“GRAAAOOOOOOOOOON!”

 

It seems that I won, so I raised my fists into the air as I let out a powerful roar of victory as I triumphed over my first hard fight.

I was about to relax until I noticed the thing still stirred and very slowly got up. Gotta hand it to us dragons… we’re definitely made of tougher stuff…

 

I was ready to unload another can of whoopass, but the next moment really gave me quite the surprise…

 

…

 

Back at the Labyrinth Market, a large platoon of Adventurers and Guards was gathered at the market square by Ellen’s team as quickly as they could. Knowing that a Monster Lord is within the Nest is a serious case for concern for the entire Labyrinth Market and Nest Hamlet, so those willing to fight gathered as soon as they heard about the issue from the famous Titan’s Hammers.

50-man strong and composed of mostly Iron and Steel rankers, it was a sufficient force for clearing out the monsters controlled by the Monster Lord. However, the lack of additional Silvers was a cause for concern especially since 3 Silvers were already incapable of injuring the Lord, let alone fighting it.

Left with little choice, Ellen’s team had to make due with numbers and strategies to deal with the Wyrmwolf King when the time comes.

 

“Is this everyone?”<Ellen>

 

“Yes, Ellen. These are all the available Adventurers and Guards that are willing to help suppress the threat. Any more and it would compromise security in other areas of the Labyrinth. A messenger to request for reinforcements was sent out to Orgo by the Guild Shack, but unfortunately we can’t expect them to be here by at least another 3 to 5 days…”<Dustin>

 

“…it’s not enough.” <Alma>

 

“… I know, Alma. But this is the best that we can do. We can only hope that Camus lasts long enough for us to get to him in time.”<Ellen>

 

“Oi guys! Tha’ kid’s awake!”<Lawrence>

 

Freed from their brooding, the team raised faint smiles when they heard Lawrence call out that Glenn had awoken. Although a newbie, he displayed amazing skill that would put any Steel ranker to shame so they were really counting on his assistance to help save his friend.

 

“Hey everyone… um… what’s with the long faces? And where’s sir Camus?”<Glenn>

 

Walking towards them in a seemingly tired state, Glenn noticed that everyone looked worried and Camus was missing.

 

“Glenn… I’m sorry to say but… our friend Camus stayed behind in order to buy us time to leave. I can tell that you weren’t in a normal state when you helped us escape, but we’re hoping you could lend us that strength you showed in hopes of saving him.” <Ellen>

 

In truth, Ellen strangely felt that Camus would be ok, but the unknown still made her worried. In the end, she believed her feelings were just baseless confidence, and that she would only be relieved when they saw him again.

 

“Ah… then that’s good… if it’s sir Camus, then everything should be ok.”

 

But Glenn’s words were even beyond that as he showed absolutely no doubt that Camus would be fine even though he confronted a creature that’s supposedly on the level of a dragon.

 

“Oi, oi, kid. Tha’ ell is up with that? He’s your friend righ’? Aren’t ya’ even worried he might be monster feed by now?”

 

“Sir Camus? That’s impossible… He even beat the Storm Roc of the Plains easily and single handedly, so there’s no way he’d lose.”

 

Ellen’s team was shocked. Glenn’s confidence was absolute and apparently Camus has already performed incredible feats of ability that even they couldn’t accomplish. But this wasn’t enough for Ellen to be so confident.

 

“Glenn. I understand you’ve been traveling with Camus and that you’ve seen his strength that’s given you your confidence of him, but what we were facing earlier was a creature that’s considered to be a Dragon.

I admit we aren’t capable of facing the Storm Roc, but that’s only because we lack the means to face it in the sky. Camus may indeed have wings, but I don’t know how well it would serve him against something on the level of a Wyrmwolf King that’s in a completely different league.”

 

“Huh? If you’re worried he’ll lose because it’s a Dragon, then it’s fine. After all, sir Camus is also a Dragon. He told me himself and I believe him.”

 

After Glenn dropped that bomb, everyone became silent as they heard something unbelievable. Everyone knows how the Dragon and High-Dragon races are like in regards to their nature, pride, and elusiveness, so Glenn claiming that Camus is a Dragon is the height of idiocy itself. However, Glenn forgot this fact in the face of Camus’ power that he witnessed himself during their training and travels, so it couldn’t be helped that his common sense got slightly skewed.

 

“Looks like there’s no point in talking to him Ellen. Just bring him along and let him see the state of his friend. Maybe then he’ll start getting back to reality and stop daydreaming.”<Angela>

 

Upon Angela’s harsh words, Ellen became depressed as she herself was made to realize that her feelings of confidence in Camus were indeed truly baseless.

 

Once their preparations have been completed, the entire platoon moved out towards the direction of the Woodland Region.

 

…

 

“Hold! We’ve arrived. Everyone, take your positions behind the vanguard and me!”<Ellen>

 

It was a short trek as the party made haste. However, as they carefully moved into the Woodland Region, they were shocked to see that vast areas of trees have been decimated and a large section of earth in several areas have been gouged.

 

To describe the scene, it was as if a battle between titanic monsters occurred here and they were left to see the aftermath.

 

It was an unbelievable scene, but the next one was even enough to stun them into silence.

 

A Scalekin with his arms over his head and a lion-sized ordinary Wyrmwolf with a strange coloration of silver and ash sitting by his side were resting at the base of the body of a giant Savage Oak the size of a 4-storey building.

 

The Scalekin stirred from his nap and as he saw the group stand there with a stupid expression; he stood up and scratched the side of his head as if in contemplation as to how to explain the situation.

 

“Um… right… hello everyone. I uh… finished the Job we were supposed to do.”<Camus>

 

Everyone was silent since they have no idea what’s going on as everything seemed completely different from what they were told, but apparently one of them couldn’t read the mood.

 

“Ha! See! I told you everything would be fine!”

 

With a triumphant look on his face, Glenn stood there proudly with a stupid smile completely oblivious that he just made the strange atmosphere even more awkward.

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