Chapter 35

He knew he didn’t have a lot of time, so he ran as fast as possible, forcing his body to move. His untrained muscles screamed in pain, begging him to stop, but he ignored them. He ignored the pain spreading throughout his entire body as he attempted to go as fast as he could. He wished he had trained more, and he regretted not being as fit as he could, but there was nothing he could do to change that now.

Kakashi focused his mind on his goal. He entered the palace, following the route he had just traveled, while running into several soldiers on the way. The soldiers assumed he was as powerful as the girls, and they stayed out of his way. He even saw a group of mixed imperial soldiers and Baronnt’s army who stayed together. They weren’t fighting; they stayed together so they could survive. Kakashi couldn’t help but feel slightly bad for the trauma Neila had given them.

Kakashi eventually ran into Astill, Four, and Five, who were in the middle of heading outside.

“Kakashi!? What’s going on?” Astill asked.

“Neila’s fighting the dragon. I need your help.”

“Lead the way, we will be under your command,” Four said, her scythe on the ready, but this time, they had a separate task.

“Come with me.”

Kakashi ran away from the rear garden. He looked for a soldier, managing to find one who pretended not to see him.

“Where’s the nearest tower?”

The soldier had no choice but to answer. “Th- That way.”

“Thank you.”

Kakashi ran that way, the others following after him.

“Kakashi, where are you leading us?” Four asked.

“We’ll get to a tower and snipe the dragon from up there.”

“We’re not fighting it on the ground?” Astill asked.

“I don’t think that will help.”

The problem of fighting on the ground originated from the dragon’s wide fire attack. The fact that it extended beyond twenty meters meant that it was a large AoE spell that could easily spell disaster for them. That wasn’t the only issue. The dragon also extended beyond thirty meters, which meant a part of its body would be outside the barrier; hence, it did not need to protect them from attacks originating from within the barrier. Also, he must consider the fact that Baronnt had a rock with him that could be used to control Astill, Four, and Five.

“If you can snipe it from a distance, you’ll be safe while providing us with support.”

It’s the kind of support Kakashi needed right now. Long-range artillery support.

“But my attacks are all close-range?” Four asked.

“That’s…” Kakashi momentarily activated the barrier and checked hers and Five’s ability. The ability he saw earlier was still there, albeit he wasn’t sure what it did when reading its effects, and Five had some abilities as well, albeit some of them weren’t combat-related.

“Five- Can I call you that?”

Five nodded his head. “I… Yes, you can.”

Five’s role was a bard. Most of his spells came in the form of songs with varying effects. He had more powerful defensive spells compared to Syorin, accompanied by good healing and support spells.

“Five, you can use Aneheter to increase the range of Four’s attacks.”

“Aneheter…? What is that?” Four asked.

“It’s a spell, or rather, a song that allows magic spells to travel beyond their usual distance.”

“Aneheter…? That’s a spell…? I’ve only learnt about that song in a library before I was captured…”

“You remember the song, right?”

Five meekly nodded. Kakashi found the staircase heading up to the tower. Unfortunately, once he reached the top, he realized from this angle, they couldn't attack the dragon's tail. The barrier would have blocked it. They didn't have time to move to a different tower.

“You’ll set up a position up there. I’ll be activating and deactivating the barrier so only Neila and the dragon get the chance to fight. When I deactivate it, make sure to strike, then recharge when I activate it. Try to destroy that rock.”

Doing so would allow them to continuously strike the dragon without worrying about the counterattack. Every time the dragon had its attention pulled toward them, Kakashi could just reactivate the barrier, and then they would drink a mana potion or two.

“Alright!”

After explaining the plan, Kakashi headed back to the rear garden. Back in the rear garden, the fight continued. Neila and the dragon were still locked in battle, Syorin doing her best to keep Neila’s HP up. But there was an issue. Neila’s movements had become slower and sluggish compared to before. Her stance wasn’t as stable.

They didn’t have a lot of time left. From above, dark arrows and dark slashes smashed at the dragon’s head. They tried targeting the person standing atop the dragon, but the dragon absorbed the attacks with its own body. It opened its mouth, aiming straight above. Kakashi activated the barrier just in time, and the barrier blocked the attack from going out.

Are those… cracks?

It was a more powerful firebreath attack compared to before. So powerful that there were cracks on the barrier’s surface, something that didn’t happen when the dragon unleashed its attack prior.

Neila didn’t wait for an order and smashed the dragon on the neck. She followed up by throwing an explosive into its mouth, then retreating. The following explosion took a small portion of the dragon’s HP. Unfortunately, if the pace continued like this, she would get tired before they defeated the dragon.

Kakashi glanced at Syorin. Her eyes told him that he shouldn't even think about giving her more alcohol. That idea shouldn't have existed. It was a mistake. Neila and alcohol were a couple that never meant to be. The fact that said idea even appeared in his mind meant something was wrong with him.

“KAKASHI!!!” Neila screamed from the bottom of her heart. She's a truly different person when she's drunk. Again, Kakashi was reminded that he needed to think quickly, or else she might attack him next.

Kakashi disabled the barrier. Magic rained from above, accompanied by Neila's attacks. It didn't damage the dragon's HP much. Kakashi was about to celebrate when one of Astill's shots smashed through the rock. But that didn't mean anything. The dragon was still hostile, even with the rock no longer controlling it. That wasn't all, as yet another issue had been thrown into the party's path.

Kakashi pressed the button. Neila and the dragon had another brawl before the ability stopped them in place. Kakashi looked at Neila's HP. It had also been chipped by the combined attack, and not just by the dragon.

“IDIOTS! ALL OF YOU!”

The idea of swearing was unfathomable for regular Neila, but for drunk Neila, it's part of her vocabulary. She did have a good reason for shouting. Some of the magic attacks hit her. It wasn't Astill and Four's fault; Neila's movements became wilder, more uncontrolled. Like a wild dog. Barking, running, and jumping all over the place.

With the way she fought, Kakashi's plan from before would end up taking her out before the dragon.

“What should we do?” Kakashi groaned. After receiving no answer, he tried it again. The results got worse. More of the dragon's attacks landed on Neila. Neila lost more of her HP, and she became wilder. She turned berserk, her attacks desperate.

She's tired, exhausted. Even if she's drunk, she knew that. She couldn't run from it. The alcohol's effect began fading. And who knows what the effects of such a high concentration of alcohol could do to her.

Takashi racked his brain. There was no solution. This game was rigged from the start. This White Dragon was simply too powerful.

“... I guess it's my turn…” Syorin whispered. She turned her eyes to Neila. With a calm voice, she said, “Neila, my box. Do you still have it?”

“Box?” Kakashi asked. He never saw Syorin wield anything before.

Kakashi pressed the button. Neila jumped backward, took out a small box from her jacket, and threw it at Syorin without even looking at her. It ended up landing a whole five meters behind Syorin.

“Fire breath there, stupid dragon!” Baronnt shouted, but the dragon didn't listen. Instead, it had a fistfight with Neila. Syorin had her back facing him. Taking her out would mean taking Kakashi out. That would remove the biggest interference in this battle.

The dragon aimed, but Neila's punch in its gut reminded it of the threat right underneath it, causing it to miss its target.

Syorin, meanwhile, picked up the box and opened it, revealing a small tree branch inside. The length was barely the size of her arm. It looked thin and withered. Kakashi cocked his head, unsure how such an insignificant-looking weapon could deal any damage.

Syorin put the box on the ground and turned toward Neila and the dragon.

“Syorin?”

Her expression was serious. There was no smile, none of the cheerful laugh she usually had. Her eyes were tearful, her lips shaking.

“I'm sorry.”