“It is ridiculous...”
The blue dragon looked perplexed as he stared at Herut’s group that left. His blue eyes were still big and clear. Even in unexpected situations, they exuded an upright brilliance without any wavering. Anyone who saw it could tell that they were the eyes of a good man. It seemed that he would always uphold morality and do only good deeds.
Grid cocked his head and looked at the blue dragon. He tried to let go of any prejudice in anticipation of a second Herut. However, he shouldn’t thoughtlessly have any expectations. It was almost a stroke of luck that Grid met Herut today.
“You started out as an ordinary human being and ended up interacting with Old Dragons. Your temperament is eccentric and generally uncontrollable, creating such bizarre variables.”
Blue Dragon Revola started to define Grid.
“You must be an exceptional person in the world ruled by the Foreign God.”
Half of them had left, but there were still 12 dragons that slowly surrounded Grid.
“You are someone who can’t be appeased and can’t be ignored. It is right to continuously kill you and undermine your status.”
The moment Revola came to this conclusion, Grid was perfectly trapped by the weapons flying from 11 directions.
The weapons that resembled miniature dragon tails—some bent, some expanded, some pulled and some exploded. They were all very diverse. It came from all directions so it was possible to deliver a series of follow-up blows to Grid. This meant Grid was sucked into a vortex of blades. 11 weapons imprisoned him.
“There is no point in petty tricks.”
Revola stabbed his weapon at Grid. Thick ice barriers were raised on all sides around him. There was a thick chill that spread through the air. He blocked the use of Shunpo from the point when he decided to kill Grid.
Then flames rose from Grid’s body. The Red Phoenix’s fire and the White Tiger’s Posture made him even stronger. As a result, Revola’s strike couldn’t pierce Grid’s forehead which had two invisible helmets stacked on top of each other.
Revola wasn’t surprised. He knew that humans from the foreign world could hide their helmet due to Morpheus’ protection. He was talking about the ‘turn off helmet’ option in the system settings. Grid enjoyed the privileges of a player, while the dragons had a perfect grasp of players.
Just then, a rain of steel poured down from the ceiling of the cave.
Most of the weapons that Grid made so far indiscriminately invaded the Old Dragon’s lair.
It was quite a surprise but the group of dragons didn’t relax their grip on the weapons binding Grid. There was no way that their Absolute Defense could be breached by weapons falling alone, so they stood firmly like a great mountain.
Some dragons showed consternation on their faces. Not only did their Absolute Defense shake the moment the steel rain bombardment struck, but the weapons forged with magic shattered to pieces again.
In the meantime, Grid had been freed from his restraints. He tried to perform a sword dance but stopped.
Two dragons put their hands on his shoulders to stop his actions. They were particularly confident in their strength and he couldn’t easily shake them off.
Grid was about to use the stats redistribution to increase his strength, but he was cautious. He realized that the situation would become more difficult if his defense dropped further here. He used Power of Not Knowing Defeat without regret and then used Turning the World Upside Down.
A hemispherical pit formed around Grid’s feet. It was the aftermath of two dragons being crushed to the ground by a mighty force.
Grid was able to breathe and used the God Hands.
The sword dances performed by the God Hands were significantly less powerful than the sword dances performed by Grid. However, this wasn’t a very important fact. The number of God Hands was over 300. In the midst of the pouring bombardment, the dragon group chose to dodge.
The experience of being hit by the rain of steel once had heightened their vigilance.
At present, they weren’t in the form of their main bodies. Due to losing their scales, they could only rely on their Absolute Defense. Once their Absolute Defense was breached, the only thing that could be used as self-defense was thin skin and tough muscles.
It wasn’t easy to pierce through even that, but... they perceived the opponent was a threat. Thanks to this, Grid became even freer. He pulled out the Dragon Harpoon and threw it.
The targeted green dragon swatted it away with his hand, but Grid took advantage of the gap he showed for that move. He quickly approached the green dragon and struck the opponent’s chest with a six fusion sword dance.
Defying the Natural Order and Twilight—as always, the combined swords exerted a power that went against nature. The absolute defense of the low-grade dragon was shattered by a single blow. The green dragon was cut to pieces and thrown against the wall, causing him to cough up blood. His complexion was as pale as a sheet as he felt that his Dragon Heart was somewhat damaged by the single blow.
‘Let’s start with the weak ones.’
Grid completely ignored the blue and brown dragons. They always wore ice and soil around their bodies as armor, so they looked very strong at a glance. He wasn’t confident that he could inflict serious wounds on them with just a few sword dances.
Dragons were an Absolute species. They were divided into low, intermediate, and top ranks, but it was basically convenient to regard them as Absolutes.
They might not have honed their skills to the extreme like human-born Absolutes or exercise extraordinary power like a god. They were just purely strong. If they had appeared a few years earlier, one low-grade dragon alone would’ve devastated the entire continent.
There would’ve been no answer if they were all in their main bodies. It would’ve been difficult if they just fired their Breaths wildly. However, they were all sealed.
As the attack magic that flew out secretly was canceled out by a Decoy, Grid opened his mouth as he was surrounded again, “Are you going to live as slaves for the rest of your life?”
“The logic that faithfulness to one’s role is slavery is too big of a leap. Do you consider your people to be slaves too? If you find a man born as the son of a blacksmith, who inherits the smith and stays there for all his life, will you denigrate him as a slave?”
Revola knew Grid’s history. Therefore, he used a blacksmith as an example.
Grid snorted. “It is nonsense. What blacksmith in the world is obliged to control the relatively weak?”
“Then I’ll use the example of a child who was born to parents who raised livestock and became a shepherd. Would you accuse a child who controls the flock of sheep of being a slave? We can’t understand each other. You see us as pathetic, but we see you as crazy.”
“...Ah, really? Are you a shepherd? I never dreamed that a shepherd boy would come from a dragon.”
“You can’t refute it, so you are mocking it with sarcasm? I’m disappointed in you in many ways.”
Grid abandoned the idea of convincing Revola. It was because he equated humanity with livestock. It was only natural from a dragon’s point of view. At this point, he wondered if Herut was the weird one. In the first place, if it was possible to change everyone’s minds with a few words, the world would be completely different from what it was now.
“Okay. Let’s just shut up and fight. I, Grid, respect the will of Blue Dragon Revola and the rest of the group.”
Grid was very concerned about his facial expression management. He tried to make his words more dignified from now on. It was a minor psychological warfare. He hoped that the enemy would shrink back a bit.
Contrary to expectations, the situation was good in many ways. Still, this didn’t change the fact that Grid was at a disadvantage. Dealing with not one or two, but 12 dragons at the same time wasn’t an easy task, even for the Old Dragons, Chiyou, or Dominion and his army.
Grid swung his sword. Every time the dragon group defended or counterattacked, several weapons scattered into fragments.
Ultimate Martial Art, which had a high probability of breaking the target’s equipment, continued to display a scam-like performance to the point where even Grid was flustered. In particular, the occasional stuns sometimes occurred, allowing Grid’s fierce attacks to be linked without hesitation.
“Cough, cough!!” The green dragon, who was hit by the six fusion sword dance earlier, coughed up blood again and finally fell down. His wavering gaze was full of confusion. He didn’t understand why Grid’s attacks were focused on him.
The deeply devout brown dragon clicked his tongue.
The environment that forced them to Polymorph and blocked the use of Breaths and anti-magic—the brown dragon understood that all of this was Grid’s goal. His suspicions inevitably deepened when he saw Nefelina, who was standing on Trauka’s neck with sad, wide eyes. In short, Grid not only coordinated the battlefield to his advantage, but he also held a hostage. He was even relentlessly targeting only one opponent, creating fear.
He wasn’t usually a despicable guy.
“Do you think you are a noble person when there are so many of you working together?” Grid’s words made the brown dragon shut up. Then he unfolded the Sanctuary of Metal.
It was because the air around the dragon group was unusual as they formed weapons again. He felt that they were going to pull out an ultimate move that they hadn’t shown before, so he reflexively prepared for it.
Indeed, the dragons were a great species. The Breath pulled out with one hand was absorbed into the weapon and wrapped around the weapon like a sword. Then it launched an onslaught with an unprecedented power. If he hadn’t unfolded the Sanctuary of Metal and layered Valhalla over himself, his immortality would’ve been consumed.
The low-grade dragons gulped. They slowly became nervous after realizing that Grid was very accustomed to fighting.
Revola calmed their mood, “The opponent is one who has accomplished countless feats. It is natural to fight well. However, you can’t say he is stronger than us. Keep your composure. In any case, time is on our side.”
Time was on their side...
Revola’s words echoed meaningfully in the quiet space.
Grid frowned—he seemed to realize that it wouldn’t be strange if an Old Dragon appeared here at any time. Indeed, the fight became more violent. In every section where he had to choose between defense and attack, Grid chose to go on the offensive. Even though he was hit by four or five dragons, he tenaciously attacked one green dragon.
This was repeated several times along with Grid’s swearing and the green dragon’s groaning. Then Revola rebuilt his ice barrier to protect the green dragon. The cold energy that was enveloping the entire cave gathered at one point and surrounded the green dragon’s body. Grid’s sword couldn’t pierce it.
It was the moment Grid had been waiting for. As the coldness around him faded, Grid succeeded in securing visibility and used Shunpo.
Revola reacted without any delay. The ice barrier was immediately changed so it spread to a wide area. The attention of the dragon group naturally focused on the entrance. They were expecting Grid to break out. It meant they didn’t really know Grid.
The scream of the green dragon rang out in a terrible manner. Grid, who they thought would run away, appeared behind the green dragon and stabbed him in the neck. He aimed at the blind spot in their thinking.
Revola never thought that Grid would once again attack the target he had protected. So the moment Grid disappeared, the protection was released and he blocked the road to the entrance. Grid had obviously predicted this. It was a tactic based on experience.
“A wolf appeared. A wolf appeared...”
Grid had a bloodied face and smirked as he whispered to the shepherds.
Time was on their side? It was nonsense. Time was equal for everyone.
Grid also had colleagues waiting. He didn’t shrink back at all. He had no intention of abandoning this advantageous battlefield and fleeing.