How do you do that....?
Searing flames flooded out in every direction, consuming everything in sight. Everything was a raging inferno. Ektosh's clothes melted into puddles, his skin was scorching and burning from the intense heat. He looked down at his body and was surprised to see his skin was starting to turn white from the heat. The flames were so hot that they instantly vaporized everything in sight as they passed through and left nothing but ash behind.
"And..... He wants me to swallow them....?"
Ektosh couldn't help but ponder on it as he watched his body temperature continue to rise. He was starting to feel like he was on fire, as well as melting away. But he knew that he had no choice but to obey his master. He crouched down and opened his mouth wide as he tried swallowing as much fire as he could, but his throat was too dry and his body too weak for him to swallow it all at once.
Wrapping Ethernano around his mouth and body, he started to slowly devour the flames like a flame-swallowing monster. He could feel his insides being burned and charred from the heat, but he continued anyway. Soon after swallowing several flames, the heat subsided and became bearable again.
"Ahhh..."
He let out a relieved sigh as his body cooled down.
It seems like the heat was just a small part of what makes the flames powerful.
'What are these things called? Flame Elementals?'
Spirits circled around him—small, fairy-like creatures clung to Ektosh's arms and legs, and some even flew toward him and entered his mouth. They seemed to be having fun, jumping around and dancing happily as they danced along with him.
As the flames disappeared completely, the fairy spirits also vanished.
Ektosh felt something different inside of him—something strange yet familiar, as if it belonged to him. It took him a moment to realize it, but this feeling was similar to the one he experienced during his time training in the mountains. His body was getting stronger, faster, and tougher than before.The same went for his senses. His smell, hearing, and vision were all heightened. He could sense the slightest movements, hear the smallest sounds, and see farther distances than ever.
"Hmm, so you've met the bare minimum to be called a dragon slayer, I guess.....?"
"It looks like it will take a while before you can even touch upon my kind with the amount of fire you have within you.....!!"
Kamish couldn't help but voice out his thoughts, even though the system promised 10x the progress speed. Wasn't this slower than any other dragon slayer? The amount of fire inside of him—inside his belly—was so minuscule that the fire he consumed would look like the entire sky compared to what he currently had. The fire that was so large it covered the grasslands and scorched the land was now as small as a single dot!
But Kamish's words did not go unnoticed by Ektosh. He began to wonder how strong he really was.If I was classified as under Dragon King, he would be a dragon newt. Even when I was little, it was bigger than the amount of fire he had... Is this the difference between races...?!
"Since you don't understand and are new to dragon slaying, I will say this: You are a fire dragon slayer. One that has the advantage while fighting fire dragons. All magic that uses fire, you can consume—other than Fire God Slaying Magic. I won't explain that; just understand this one rule you should follow: always keep a fire in your belly."
"Also, I have no idea how that other magic will work, as I am assuming that it's not traditional magic like the lightning you use. I'm guessing it comes from your dragon blood.""I've never heard of anything like this happening or seen anything like this, so I have no idea how this would work with my fire—especially since it's so corrosive..."
"Wait, shouldn't you have said that before...?"
"I, um, forgot..... It's not like it will hurt you, so don't worry about it.... or I think it won't!!"
"...."
***
"Ah, help, anyone?"
Crackle!!!
Lightning rained down upon the Village of Water it was as if the heavens had descended and constantly shot lightning down like a waterfall cascading down a river, but instead of water Lightning shot out.
"Booooom!"
The giant beast fell from on high into the village. Nearby villagers scrambled for shelter and safety as the giant beast's shadow fell upon them.
"Ugghh!!!"
A small girl fell to her knees to avoid getting struck by a lightning bolt, but she got hit by another bolt anyway. The lightning fell on her back and tore through her body, shredding her into pieces. The villagers were dumbfounded by this atrocity as they watched her small body collapse on the ground in pieces while smoke rose from her remains.
A large shadow loomed over them as it descended from the sky. The giant beast had landed right in front of them with its giant claws outstretched, ready to rip them apart. The villagers were all screaming in horror and running for their lives by now. The beast coughed up a massive cloud of smoke as it roared out in pain from its back.
The villagers were then attacked by even more monsters that fell from the sky upon their heads without mercy. The monsters were all different sizes—from tiny to giant ones that looked like titans from another world. Some of them even had hard shells and sharp claws. All these different kinds of monster attacks left many dead bodies littered across the field.
"Help, anyone!!!"
"Soldiers, get up!"
A man adorned in knight's armor started to shout, as if his voice was the voice of a god—to be praised by all.
"And we shall fight for our lord!"
"To defend those who cannot defend themselves!"
"For honor and glory!"
The soldiers stood at attention as the knight commander gave an order. They immediately followed the command and marched forward toward the enemy. The knights were armed with swords, shields, spears, bows, and arrows. Their armor was made from iron plates, leather, chainmail, and steel helmets. Each soldier carried a shield and sword on either side of their waist.
These warriors were trained well enough to handle the situation. Even though most of them were young men, they still held a level of discipline that only veterans possessed. This was due to the fact that each one of them was handpicked by the king himself. Every last detail of their appearance was meticulously maintained by the royal tailor. Not to mention, there wasn't a single speck of dirt on any part of their clothing. There weren't even stains anywhere.
This army of elite soldiers was led by two officers. One was the commander, who served as the general of the entire kingdom. He also happened to be the king's son. On top of being the commander of this force, he was also the leader of the king's personal guard.
The mages protected the rear while the knights attacked from the front. This was the general idea behind the battle strategy. If the mages were able to hold off the enemies long enough, the knights could concentrate solely on taking care of the enemy's front lines. Of course, the mages would also be defending against any counterattacks coming from the enemy's rear. In addition to the mages, archers and infantrymen would be providing support for the knights.
The enemy army came charging forth at full speed from the north and south. It seemed to have been waiting for this moment for quite some time. There were hundreds of thousands of monsters marching together as one.
Led by one singular dragon—it looked to be one of their strongest fighters in addition to being their leader. It had eyes like blazing fire that pierced through its enemies with ease as it trampled them with its heavy feet, and its massive tail swung out, aiming right for the knights' heads. The many thousands of monsters looked like a dark wave heading straight for a castle wall that had been fortified with soldiers at every angle and a powerful mage protecting its back door.
There was no way that such an army could be stopped in its tracks without some sort of sacrifice on both sides. The knights were already beginning to advance rapidly in order to meet this seemingly overwhelming foe head-on!
"Crackle!!!"
Lightning shot out from the dragon's mouth, striking the knights down one after another. Lightning bolts continued to come flying toward the knights from all directions as they desperately tried to protect themselves. The dragon's breath attack was extremely effective because the knights were unable to see where the next strike might land.
As the knights began to fall, the dragons advanced further into the battlefield. The knights couldn't stand their ground anymore since they knew that they wouldn't be able to take on the dragons alone. They were forced to retreat and regroup before resuming their charge. However, it soon became apparent that the dragons would not relent until their objective was met. The dragons continued to attack relentlessly.
In response, the knights used everything they had in their arsenal—including magic and weapons—to try and stop the dragons from advancing any further. Unfortunately, this wasn't going so well for them either. It seemed like these dragons were just too strong.
The knights were now forced to change tactics. They had to use everything they had to slow down and then eventually kill the dragons. The dragons, however, didn't seem to mind and kept attacking mercilessly, as if they knew exactly what they needed to do to win the battle. The knights had to keep retreating until they found a place they thought the dragons would be less likely to go to.
"Charge! Go forward!!"
The commander made a frontal attack by opening up the rear of the dragon. Monsters sprung out of nowhere, and the knights charged at them. At first glance, they appeared to be nothing more than normal troops but...
They had wings!! —A new type of monster that flew using their wings.
These creatures had four legs instead of two. They had large, batlike wings and sharp fangs. Their bodies were covered in scales and resembled a snake. The beasts had eight arms, which they used to grab onto things or people. They had the ability to fly and attack simultaneously, making them difficult to defeat. This was the kind of thing you'd find in fairy tales. But it did exist. And it was here.
These winged beasts were known as wyverns. Wyverns weren't particularly weak. Even though they were smaller compared to other dragons, they were still formidable foes. Their main advantage lay in their ability to fly. That said, even when they couldn't get airborne, they could move quickly thanks to their four legs. So far, there hadn't been much information about how to deal with them. All we really knew was that they were fast and hard to hit.
What should I do? Should I run away?! Or fight?!
No matter what decision Jinho took, he couldn't escape the situation. He had to make sure his men survived.
He decided to give chase. When he got closer, he saw something strange: his soldiers were fighting fiercely with the wyverns. They were holding their own surprisingly well.
"What are those guys doing?! How can they handle these monsters?!"
Jinho felt like he finally understood why they were winning. The reason was simple: those wyverns weren't actually trying to kill anyone. They only wanted to capture humans. The wyverns grabbed human prisoners and dragged them off into the forest. Once they were gone, the monsters left the scene immediately. In fact, they never stayed in one spot for very long. The soldiers who were captured by the wyverns were probably taken somewhere safe. It was possible the soldiers were being treated well. Maybe they were fed and given shelter.
Crackle!!!
Lightning sprung out as if the sky itself were crying. The wyverns had released thunderbolts that shot at the soldiers, as if trying to hit them in their hearts and heads while they were in midair...—They wanted to create fear by making lightning strike down on their enemies from above!
The soldiers quickly deployed magic barriers around themselves and finally managed to make it out of danger with some injuries but no casualties. They were able to keep this up thanks to their training and discipline, but everyone was shocked at what happened next.
"W-Wait, don't go there!!!"
The commander's voice was heard by all in the surrounding area since the commander used the surrounding Ethernano to enhance his voice as if he was a speaker and they were the receivers.
But instead of listening to the orders, the soldiers began running toward the direction the commander was pointing at.
—This isn't right!! We need to retreat and regroup!!
It turned out that the wyverns didn't want to kill humans. They simply wanted to take them prisoner. However, because the soldiers ignored the order, the wyverns attacked them without hesitation. After several failed attempts, the soldiers finally realized their mistake and tried to flee.
Rip.... RIP...
Sounds of tearing flesh echoed through the air. The sound of blood gushing out accompanied the screams. Some of the soldiers had already lost half their bodies before they died.We're done for...! There aren't enough of us left anymore!!
The remaining soldiers fell back, desperately looking for a way to survive. As soon as they escaped from the wyverns, the soldiers started shouting out loud, asking for help.
"W-We need help! Where is the rear?"
"Help! Help!"
"Please save us!! Please come to our rescue!!"
However, nobody came to their aid. The soldiers continued to shout until they collapsed from exhaustion.
"Why won't anybody come to save us? Where are all the other soldiers?"
Wherever they went, they met the same fate. They were surrounded by wyverns waiting to catch any stragglers. At last, the soldiers reached the end.There was nowhere else to go.
One single thought scoured through all of the soldiers' minds:
I-I'm going to die.