âWhy has a Dragon appeared?â Fithaliaâs expression darkened when she saw the Divine Dragon, which was over a hundred meters long, in the sky.
She had seen a Dragon personally during a quest and was certain that it was a disastrous creature. Neither players nor NPCs, not even NPC cities, could stand before a Dragonâs might.
She had watched a Dark Dragon destroy an empireâs border city and annihilate any reinforcements the empire had sent. Players like her had only been able to watch as the Dark Dragon destroyed the NPC city and the Tier 4 NPC-led army.
If the War Godâs Temple in the empire hadnât sent its forces in time and eventually defeated the Dark Dragon, the creature wouldâve even slaughtered the nearby players.
Other than Fithalia, every Divine Tribe member in the Starlight Fortress panicked.
Most of them had never seen the horror Dragons could wreck, but they could all tell how terrifying the creatures were after seeing Auerbeckâs statistics.
Auerbeckâs level of 111 wasnât anything special, but how did it have 10 billion HP?
With the incredible Defense of Dragons, they would never overcome Auerbeckâs battle recovery, even if Auerbeck stood there and allowed the tens of thousands of players in the fortress to attack.
Compared to Auerbeckâs insane HP, the pressure the Dragon radiated was nearly fatal to Divine Tribeâs members. They were all experts, with hundreds of tough battles under their belts, yet they felt as if they were filled with lead as they bathed in Auerbeckâs Dragon Might. In this state, theyâd be fortunate if they could muster the strength to flee, much less fight.
âWhy is this happening?â MacAffrey despaired as he watched the Divine Dragon soar above the Starlight Fortress.
Like Fithalia, he had witnessed the power Dragons wielded. Current players had practically no hope of defeating such a creature. Even if they still had their Tier 4 Hero, they wouldnât stand a chance against this Dragon.
Still, Divine Tribe had gone to great lengths to secure its temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress, investing tons of manpower and resources to develop it. The loss of abandoning the fortress would be extraordinary.
âWe donât have a choice. MacAffrey, notify all Tier 3 players and tell them to prepare for battle. Iâll try to attract the Dragonâs attention while you get everyone out of the fortress. Once we convene, weâll try to lure it away,â Fithalia said, taking in a deep breath as she prepared herself for a final struggle.
They knew they were no match for the Dragon, but if Auerbeck wasnât here to capture the Starlight Fortress, they only needed to lure the creature away to save it.
âIsnât the price of this plan a little too high, Commander Fithalia?â MacAffrey paled a bit when he heard the command.
Fithalia wanted to lure the Dragon out of the fortress, but even ordinary players would realize that Auerbeck could likely kill Tier 3 players with a single hit. His commander intended to use their playersâ 1W Tier 3 experts, as bait.
The various superpowersâ Tier 3 experts were desperately grinding to level up. If they sacrificed so many of their Guildâs Tier 3 experts now, Divine Tribe would find itself at a disadvantage when it competed with the various superpowers later.
âThis is our only option,â Fithalia said. âIf we donât lure the Dragon out of the fortress, everything weâve invested thus far will go to waste. As long as we can draw the Dragon out, we can recoup our losses with the Starlight Fortressâs conveniences.â
âI understand.â Gritting his teeth, MacAffrey began to contact the Tier 3 players in the fortress.
As Fithalia had said, the levels theyâd have to sacrifice to lure Auerbeck away would be nothing as long as they secured their hold on the Starlight Fortress. The fortress offered massive advantages, after all.
Suddenly, Crimson Witch interrupted, pointing at the Divine Dragon in astonishment, âCommander Fithalia, it looks like thereâs a player on the Dragonâs back.â
âA player? How is that possible?â For a moment, Fithalia assumed Crimson Witch was hallucinating.
They were talking about a Tier 4 Dragon. Even if it were only an Infant Dragon, it still wouldnât degrade itself by serving as a Mount, not even for Tier 4 or 5 NPCs.
In Godâs Domain, there were individuals known as Dragon Knights that could ride Dragons after capturing and nurturing a Tier 3 Newborn Dragon. These Dragon Knights stood at the very apex of Godâs Domain, and they even demanded respect from emperors.
But riding a Dragon was nothing but a dream with playersâ current strength!
And yet, as soon as Fithalia finished her question and turned toward the Divine Dragon, the sight stunned her.
She could actually see someone standing on Auerbeckâs back. Although she couldnât tell who it was due to the bright light emitting from the Divine Dragon, she could spot the green diamond marker, which only players possessed, hovering above the figureâs head when she squinted.
Before she could recover from her daze, however, Auerbeck began to descend.
As the Divine Dragon approached the ground, the green diamond marker became clearer. It wasnât long before many of the other Tier 3 experts in the fortress noticed it, as well.
âHow is that possible?! A player can actually ride a Dragon?!â
âWho is that?â
Surprise and confusion overwhelmed everyone as they stared at the figure on Auerbeckâs back.
âCommander Fithalia, itâs coming toward us,â Crimson Witch exclaimed when she realized that Auerbeck was flying in their direction.
When Auerbeck had first appeared, the Divine Dragon had been too far away for her to notice anything peculiar. Fortunately, unlike Tier 2 players, she could, more or less, resist Auerbeckâs Dragon Might, but as the Divine Dragon approached, the pressure she felt grew stronger. Now, even breathing became a challenge.
âHopefully, the Dragon rider isnât an enemy. Everyone, prepare your Instantaneous Movement Scrolls! If you notice even a hint of aggression, flee! Every life we can save matters!â Fithalia reminded her comrades in a grim tone.
If they had merely faced a wild Dragon, they would, at worst, lose the Starlight Fortress, abandoning it and allowing the creature to destroy it. If the Divine Dragon were under a playerâs control, however, they had a much bigger problem. If that player wanted to, they could command their Dragon to massacre every Divine Tribe member in the area.
All of the Guild members in the fortress were Divine Tribeâs experts, including the Guildâs two trump card legions. If they were annihilated, the consequences would be unimaginably dire.
Everyone around Fithalia did as they were told, pulling Instantaneous Movement Scrolls from their bags. Crimson Witch and the Guildâs other upper echelons all retrieved Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scrolls, trump cards the Guild had prepared for them as a protective measure. These scrolls were incredibly rare, only obtainable by luck.
While Divine Tribeâs members in the temporary Residence prepared to flee, Auerbeck arrived above the building. The Divine Dragonâs speed caught everyone off guard.
Crimson Witch and the others were wracked with hopelessness, realizing that they couldnât actually activate the scrolls in their hands. Worse, the Instantaneous Movement Scrolls werenât the only thing that had abandoned them. They felt as if space itself had left them to die, siding with the Divine Dragon hovering above them.
âSpatial Imprisonment?! How is this happening?!â Astonished, Fithalia could do nothing but stare at the Divine Dragon as it began to land.
Spatial Imprisonment was a move only the strongest Tier 4 NPCs could use. No monster should be capable of mastering the Skill.
Yet, this Dragon had a naturally-occurring Domain that included the Spatial Imprisonmentâs effectsâŠ
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Now, they had no hope of escape. This stranger held their lives in his hands.
As Fithalia and her comradesâ anguish reached its peak, a familiar voice reached their ears. âI was hoping to find you. Iâm glad youâre all here.â
As the Dragonâs rider spoke, he jumped down from Auerbeckâs back.
Seeing the player up close, everyone was stupefied.