Chapter 37

The two of them were brought back to the battle. They returned just as Neila was thrown by the dragon's attack. Syorin moved quickly, catching her and supporting her.

“Grr…” Neila glared sharply at the dragon. She had taken quite a beating. It was obvious she couldn't last much longer.

With the rock destroyed, the dragon became more dangerous, more ferocious. At the same time, Astill, Four, and Five could come close and fight.

“Astill, Four, Five, change of plans! I need your help!” Kakashi shouted as loud as he could. He pressed the button, letting the dragon attack. Syorin stepped forward to stop the attack, taking damage in the process. Neila’s picture flickered, and she was added as an ally. Kakashi then let the battle freeze, giving time for the other three to descend.

Once they arrived at the garden, Kakashi let them in. They received their turns after Neila and Syorin.

“We've been trying to hit it from afar. Our attacks aren't giving it much damage,” Astill said.

Kakashi checked Syorin's updated abilities.

“Let's try a new strategy. I'll stack as much support on Syorin as possible. This will take a while, though, so some of you will suffer damage.”

“Me!?”

“I am fine with that,” Four said. “I shall trust your judgement.”

“I don’t like the idea, but we don’t have much choice,” Astill said.

“HELL YEAH! WE WILL GIVE HIM HELL, KAKASHI!” Neila screamed, despite everyone being able to hear her just fine if she didn’t shout. “THEN WE’LL CELEBRATE WITH A DRI-”

“NO!” Everyone shouted at the same time. Five looked around, very confused.

“Alright then. We'll give him a punch so powerful that he won't ever sleep a night without nightmares ever again!”

“That's evil!” Everyone shouted again. It's truly a fate worse than death.

“Neila, Imperial Crest!”

Neila wielded her sword and stabbed it into the ground. A black circle appeared underneath, increasing everyone's strength.

“Syorin, Defense Boost Group, Neila and Five.”

Syorin began her chant. Neila and Five’s defenses were strengthened. Baronnt used his turn, but he couldn’t control the dragon. The dragon ended up using his turn instead and used firebreath on them while Baronnt held on. Astill and Four worked together to form a defensive barrier while the others jumped away to dodge the attack. Astill and Four suffered damage, but the others escaped unharmed.

“Four, go in front of Five and use Gerlap on Syorin!”

Four sprinted in front of Five and stabbed her scythe’s bottom end to the ground. Another buff appeared on Syorin's name.

“Astill, go in front of Neila and use Ice Hold!”

The dragon tried flapping its wings, but it didn't escape in time. Sharp ice held its legs.

“Five, use Nyebel!”

Five began singing. He had a beautiful voice, but the song acted as a taunt, forcing the dragon to attack him.

And the dragon did. Using a firebreath, it burned the area. Astill and Four went on the defensive, using their abilities to form a shield. It didn't stop all the damage. Their HPs went to half.

Kakashi checked the updated stats. It wasn't enough. She needed more.

“Neila, keep up Imperial Crest. Syorin, put defense on Astill and Four. Four, add Prowess to Syorin, Astill, strengthen Ice Hold. Five, add Lorenei.”

Some spells couldn't be stacked, so Kakashi used weaker spells to further boost the damage. Both Prowess and Lorenei added extra damage to Syorin's attack.

Baronnt moved next, but since he no longer controlled the dragon, all he did was reposition himself above the dragon. The dragon made moves. A fire breath attack with Baronnt’s turn, then an attack with its tail using its own turn. Astill's and Four's HP were in the red, and things weren't looking good for the rest of the group, either.

Just a bit more…

Neila was wobbling. It's unlikely she survived another turn. This is her last turn, and he needed to make it count.

“Neila, Imperial-”

No, Imperial Crest wasn't the solution. Imperial Crest couldn't stack. He used it the turn before to keep it active, but using it would be a waste of a turn, as it would last until the next turn. Something else should be more useful.

“Neila, Funny Dance!”

Neila pulled her sword out of the ground, brought her hands to her side, her elbow facing downward. She moved her shoulders, her hands going up and down.

“Pok pok pok!”

The move confused everyone, but it's the perfect move. A major debuff to the dragon's defenses.

“Syorin, Deep Punch!”

Syorin shot forward. Like a bullet, she closed in on her enemy, leaving shockwaves in her wake. She pulled her right arm backward, fist clenched.

“Hiyaaaah!” With a war cry, she pushed that fist straight at the dragon's head, smashing straight at its head. The sheer power of that fist, combined with all the buffs she received, caused the dragon to be thrown straight into the barrier. It literally broke the barrier, sending it and its rider tumbling back.

“Everyone, go!” Kakashi turned off his ability.

Astill, Four, and Neila rushed forward, pounding on the dragon. Without the barrier to protect it, it now suffered real harm. Neila mustered up the remaining of her strength to stab its head. Four cut it apart, and Astill used Ice Hold to hold Baronnt in place.

He was knocked out, blood dripping from his head. Syorin healed Neila, knowing well what came next. She held her head, the severe hangover kicking in.

Neila gave Kakashi a rope, then let Syorin continue healing her. Kakashi and Five tied up Baronnt.

Baronnt's eyes fluttered close and open.

“Pfft. Hahaha… Hahaha!” He let out a laugh. It wasn't long before Kakashi and the rest understood why. From the south, a group of white dragons flew in the sky.

Everyone looked up. They were too tired to talk, to even discuss their plans. Thus, everyone readied their stance, preparing to fight this new threat on their own, each in their own way.

But they didn't need to.

Arrows and magic flew from all over the city, heading straight toward the dragons. From the north, an intense amount of firepower appeared, flying across the city and hitting the dragons, slapping them out of the sky. A large noise appeared behind them.

Soldiers, but not in the Imperial uniform. They were rebels.

“Everyone, attack!”

Led by Meberiado, the rebel soldiers struck the dragons. The intense show of magic was more than he had ever seen, even more so compared to the adventurers. The frightening strength of the white dragons was turned into nothing.

Behind him weren't just rebel soldiers. Some imperial soldiers and Baronnt's own soldiers were mixed in.

The light show ended quickly, as not a single dragon reached the city.

“Go, we'll handle him.”

Kakashi nodded, and everyone went to the rear, looking for a medic to heal everyone up.