The cavalrymen hesitated for a second at the unexpected order. However, soon, they too saw the huge shadow hanging over their heads. The cavalrymen were slightly disorganized due to being perplexed at the sudden situation, but they quickly reorganized themselves and ran away from the beachâthe Northern Army boasted the best military discipline in the entire empire, and they were pretty quick.
The survivors were perplexed to see the cavalry retreating so suddenly, but hurriedly crawled toward the beach as they looked up at the sky in fear.
A huge creature that seemed to be at least hundreds of meters long was flying high in the air. The creatureâs wings were so huge that they covered the sun and tore the clouds into pieces. The fact that such a huge creature was flying in the sky itself seemed like a joke. The appearance of this phenomenal being that had been rarely seen for decades caused everyoneâs mouth to drop open and mutter only one name.
âA dragon.â
Juan burst out laughing at the magnificent scene he was seeing for the first time in quite a while. The creature was clearly a ârealâ dragon that was over a thousand years old. It was unknown as to how it had been able to survive, but the extinction of the dragons was led by the Order of Lindwurm and Gerard. Juan guessed that it wouldnât have been too difficult for Gerard to keep one of the dragons alive.
Even the soldiers of the Fourth Division who were already familiar with Horhellâs dragon looked frightened by the aura and dignity of the fully grown dragon.
â...His Majesty and the Order of Lindwurm made monsters like that extinct?â Someone murmured.
Everyone had the same thoughtâexcept Nienna Nelben, who had different ideas.
âGerard.â
The moment Nienna said Gerardâs name out loud, the dragon turned its huge neck and looked down at the ground. There was clearly a long distance between the dragon and the humans, but everyone could clearly see the dragonâs eyes. Just one glance into the dragonâs eyes alone made ordinary people feel like they couldnât move.
Then the dragonâs chest started to swell up. Upon realizing what was about to happen, NIenna ordered everyone to retreat in a voice so loud that her vocal cords could be ripped apart.
âEveryone, fall back! Right now!â
A huge wall of flames split the beach for a moment. Due to scorching light and heat, the soldiers covered their faces and quickly scrambled back. Flames that looked like they came from hell covered the entire beach in just an instant. The soldiers trembled with fear as they imagined all the survivors beyond the wall of flames to have already been burned to death.
Nienna hastily looked around to confirm that none of her people had suffered any losses.
On the other hand, the dragonâs flames melted even the sand, but the survivors beyond the wall of flames were still alive with frightened expressions.
Nienna clicked her tongue upon realizing that the dragon had breathed out a straight line of flames, almost as if he was cutting sand with a knife.
âHe created a wall,â Nienna muttered.
Juanâs eyes shone at Niennaâs words.
âSo that we canât approach the survivors?â
âYes. But it doesnât matter since heâs here anyway.â
Nienna dispersed the cavalry with a signal. The appearance of the dragon was unexpected, and there was no way for the heavily armed cavalry to deal with it.
While it seemed like the dragon didnât want to directly attack the cavalry for some reason, the damage would be enormous if it changed its mind.
The dragon was just hovering in the sky and still watching the situation. Both Juan and Nienna intuitively felt that there was someone standing on top of the dragonâs head.
âIâll take care of the situation here, so stay back, dad.â
âYour opponent is Gerard and he also has a dragon with him.â
As far as Juan could remember, Gerard and Nienna were of similar strengthâGerard was just the slightest bit stronger than Nienna was. But Nienna replied with a smirk.
âItâs true that Gerad and I used to have similar strength when you were alive in the past, dad. But now heâs got a dragon, the power of the Crack, and Elkiehl. He also has the ability to beat the Priests of the Crack,â Nienna said as she drew her sword.
Juan could feel the air freezing around him.
âThose same things are also why Gerard will be defeated. After all, it is my specialty to destroy the Crack.â
Nienna raised her sword high up in the sky and began to shout something. Juan noticed that she was casting a massive summoning spellâNienna was summoning a Holy Beast that she had made a pact with.
According to Juanâs memory, there was only one Holy Beast that had made a pact with Nienna, the ruler of the winter and a daughter of the winter duke.
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The clouds started pouring snow even more furiously. One snow crystal froze and started spreading in all directions. As the crystal continued to spread as if it were swelling, it formed the shape of a large frozen wolf.
It was the beast that granted its name to Niennaâs knight order.
âFenrir, answer the call of your master!â
A huge wolf came down from the sky, ready to devour the world.
***
The dragon wasnât able to spot Fenrir, who was falling from the sky in time. The moment Fenrir bit on the dragonâs neck, it was agitated and its gigantic figure shook greatly. But the dragon was not an easy opponentâit would not fall to just one of Fenrirâs attacks.
The dragon struggled to avoid falling and immediately twisted its neck and spat flames toward Fenrirâs leg. Fenrirâs leg, which was made of ice, melted in an instant, but was reformed immediately. Then, Fenrirâs claws scratched the dragonâs stomach and tore it open. On the other hand, instead of spitting the flames again, the dragon folded its wings and curled upâit was a posture used to prepare for an incoming shock.
The dragon and Fenrir intertwined in the air and then crashed toward the sea. However, the dragon spread its wings and quickly escaped just before the crash. Only Fenrir slipped and fell without being able to bite onto the dragon.
This caused huge waves to surge toward the survivors, but they werenât powerful enough to drag them back into the sea.
Meanwhile, people couldnât take their eyes off of the bloody battle between the dragon and the Holy Beast atop the sea.
It was hard for one to even get to see monsters in the current empire, let alone Holy Beasts. This just proved that the emperor had created a safe world for humans.
But, there was certainly something fascinating about mythological beings.
The dragon flapped its wings to fly up into the sky again, but it was clear that it had been injured. Furthermore, Pnelilâs ability to freeze the opponentâs wound was burdensome for even a dragon, beings who had such strong vitality. At the same time, Fenrir no longer had any other ways to attack the dragon which was flying in the sky either.
Then people found a figure running across the sea. The surface of the sea froze everywhere Niennaâs horse passed through, and a white cape that resembled a winter storm fluttered behind her back. Nienna jumped off her horse and climbed on Fenrir as soon as she got close to it.
Fenrir rose above the frozen sea. The next thing people saw was Nienna reaching her hand out toward the sky from a distance. Oberon, the spear of ice, was clasped in Niennaâs hand. But the Oberon currently in her hand didnât seem like the one she used when dueling against Juan.
Thousands of ice spears rose above the sea, and countless spear blades that colored the sea white were aimed toward the dragon at once. The energy contained in the ice spears was a lot stronger than the energy contained in the steel spears.
At the same time, the dragon flapped its wings in a hurry to try and accelerate, but wasnât able to do so due to the injury.
Nienna finally threw the ice spear in her hand at the dragon. At the same time, the thousands of ice spears flew toward the dragon as well. The dragon belatedly breathed out flames to vaporize nearly half of the ice spears, but the remaining half struck exactly one of the dragonâs wings.
This attack caused the dragon to lose its balance and begin to crash into the sea.
***
Nienna felt her insides reeling for the first time in a while. The Crack had been very quiet in recent years. The Crack had always been a threat, but Nienna hadnât really faced such a strong opponent that forced her to use all her might. The rapid consumption of mana made Nienna feel dizzy. But Nienna was laughing while breathing out a white breath.
The giant figure of the dragon appeared over the sea. Its size was slightly smaller than that of Fenrir, but with the addition of its wings, neck, and tail, it was three times bigger than Fenrir. The dragon was still majestic even with one of its wings damaged.
However, it wasnât the dragon that Nienna was interested in.
âShow yourself, Gerard⊠I know that you havenât even revealed your full strength yet.â
People might think that Nienna had been suppressing the dragon, but this was only due to the fact that Gerard hadnât even bothered to attack her so far.
The children of the emperor were capable of easily catching a dragon.
Nienna was beginning to feel impatient due to her urge to fight against Gerard.
âCome out, Gerard!â
Niennaâs roar resonated over the sea. At the same time, the surrounding sea froze with a cracking sound all the way to the coast. Niennaâs eyes were burning with blue light.
The dragon flapped its wings, slowly breaking the ice of the frozen sea. Soon, someone appeared between the two horns of the dragonâit was a man covered entirely in bandages and wearing a ragged robe. No one knew for sure who he was, but Nienna was certain that he was Gerard. His posture, gaze, and the way he walked were all screaming his identity.
Nienna grinned.
âYou and I have similar achievements, but people somehow always think that youâre stronger than I am. Letâs set the record straight today.â
Fenrir charged toward the dragon as soon as Nienna finished speaking. At the same time Fenrirâs sharp teeth bit the dragon, the dragon also bit Fenrirâs neck.
Nienna immediately jumped at Gerald while the Fenrir and the dragon were intertwined with each other. Then, Nienna launched the most powerful attack she could use, while Gerard also quickly read the energy being emanated from her sword.
The moment their two swords clashed in the air, the frozen sea was split in half. The shocking gusts of wind from the clash swept all the soldiers off the coast, and even the dragon and Fenrir were pushed back due to the shock. Niennaâs sword was pressing against Gerardâs sword as if she was pressuring him.
Niennaâs eyes became sharp upon seeing the bandages that were wrapped around Gerardâs sword getting ripped to shreds to reveal Elkiehlâs dark body.
âIs this all youâve got? This is the power you gained from selling your empire, betraying your knights and stabbing your own father? Huh?â
Nienna roughly swung her sword and pushed Gerard. She wasnât using the Baltic Sword, but was basically only pushing Gerard with brute force.
Gerard did not attack Nienna but just focused on defending himself. Nienna was getting angrier and angrier upon seeing Gerardâs actions.
âDo you expect me to go easy on you if you look pitiful like that?â Nienna derided.
Gerard remained silent. Gerardâs silence as well as his heavy eyes were wearing away at Niennaâs patience, and then her patience snapped. Nienna swung her sword with the intent to kill.
The moment Gerard raised his sword in his attempt to block Niennaâs overly simple attack, the space and time around them became distorted.
Niennaâs heart stopped as the air slapped against her flesh and started burning violentlyâit was the heat from the friction of air rubbing against her body. Nienna had wrapped herself in cold air as she knew that this would happen, but she still felt as if she had turned into a fireball.
Everything happened in just an extremely short moment, so short that even her shadow couldnât keep up with her.
Gerard was unable to block Niennaâs attack that was even able to freeze time. It was the fifth stage of the Baltic Sword: Fleeting Moment.
Crack!
The moment a short cracking sound was heard, Niennaâs sword had already penetrated deep into Gerard. Gerard opened his eyes wide and looked at Nienna, while she glared at Gerard as she suppressed the burns all over her body caused by the heat.
âKeep your mouth shutâI have no intention to listen to your last will.â
Nienna tightened the sword in her hand with the intent to finish Gerard off.
Then, at that moment, someone quickly appeared and pushed her to the side, causing Niennaâs face to become distorted.
It was Juan.
âDad.â
Juan sighed as he stood between Gerard and Nienna. It was the right thing to stop his children from fighting, but it wasnât easy for Juan to intervene when they were fighting so fiercely. Fortunately, Gerard was severely injured and Nienna was exhausted.
Juan looked at Gerardâs condition. Gerard looked surprised due to Niennaâs attack, but he seemed to know what had happened.
âGerard must have reached the fifth stage of the Baltic Sword as well.â
It was natural that the side who used Fleeting Moment first was at an advantage when both sides had reached the fifth stage of the Baltic Sword. One might be able to notice and prepare a counterattack against it after they got used to performing the fifth stage, but neither Gerard nor Nienna had reached that level yet.
âNienna, I know you had a hard time. But stop for a moment; I need to talk to Gerard. I promised Hela to hear him out before I punish him,â Juan said.
âTalk? Shouldnât you check whether his lips inside those bandages are sewn together, since he hasnât beenâŠâ
Niennaâs derisive remarks suddenly turned into a scream.