Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't

Chapter 58: Fourteenth Floor, Drina River Defense Operation (3)

The Black Dragon Sarkeiz soared through the sky, seemingly flying from the moon. It grew from a black speck on the horizon, gradually eclipsing the brilliant, radiant moon. Eventually, half of the moon’s face was obscured.

With Sarkeiz’s appearance, the atmosphere on the battlefield shifted dramatically once more.

“Rooooar!"

The dragon’s roar thundered across the river again, crashing down upon the battlefield like a storm.

Several climbers dropped their weapons in fear, overwhelmed by the apex predator’s presence. As the roar faded, a cacophony of screeches erupted from the thousands of wyverns.

“Screeeech!"

“Skreeee!"

It was as if they were answering the dragon’s call.

Moments later, a palpable wave of magic rippled from the dragon flying high in the air. Simultaneously, the wyverns went into a frenzy. Their speed increased as though they had been injected with a stimulant.

The Night Witches were caught off guard by the sudden escalation. They frantically adjusted their brooms, weaving through the air in desperate attempts to evade the now faster and more aggressive wyverns.

But this time, they couldn’t dodge with the same ease as before.

“Screech!"

“Aaaargh!"

Several witches were unable to avoid the onslaught and were ripped apart by the wyverns. They dangled from the jaws of the beasts, their bodies limp, before plummeting to the ground.

I moved, intent on saving them, but before I could meaningfully react, the mangled neck of a witch greeted my eyes. It was already too late.

Boom! Boom!

The delayed explosions followed.

"Ahhh!"

"Aaaagh!"

The ground shook violently, almost as if an earthquake had struck. The broom the witch had been riding crashed into our forces, triggering a massive explosion.

The blast was so devastating that it obliterated over two thousand Imperial soldiers, leaving no trace behind.

Damn it.

The wyverns had become unnaturally fast and reacted with incredible speed.

The cause was obviously Sarkeiz, the black dragon. The dragon’s roar and the wave of magic that followed had changed everything.

Dragon-spawned bastards...

That was what the Night Witches called the wyverns earlier. There was no denying the wyverns bore a striking resemblance to dragons. Perhaps the dragon’s blood running through their veins allowed them to receive some kind of powerful buff when under Sarkeiz’s control? RἁNΟbÈS

It was hard to say for certain.

Unleashing its own roar, albeit smaller, one of the wyverns released a burst of fire.

"Roar!"

They can even breathe flames now...

While the burst was nothing compared to what the dragon could produce, it was unmistakably a breath attack.

This is bad...

The battlefield had been completely upended by the dragon’s arrival. The number of Night Witches falling to the now-frenzied wyverns was increasing steadily.

As they struggled to control the skies, the pressure on our forces defending the river intensified.

I have to save the Night Witches.

Even though the dragon had returned, the river had not yet resumed its flow, and the enormous U-shaped canyon remained dry. It seemed that Sarkeiz had spent the past hour completely sealing off the river.

I had managed to hold this area for about an hour on my own, but it had come at the cost of nearly all my mana. I couldn’t continue at this rate any longer.

For our forces to keep holding the high ground without the river’s natural defense, we needed the Night Witches.

Fuck, I can’t engage in an aerial battle...

Kashatum’s Sky Shoes only allowed me to leap twice in midair, nothing more. I couldn’t fly freely through the skies like the witches. And launching lightning into the air would drain what little mana I had left. It would be more effective to continue fighting on the ground, as I had been.

Damn... what now?

I couldn’t count on Ha Hee-Jeong either.

During the hour I had held the bank, she had unleashed three massive waves of fire, likely using up a great deal of her mana as well. Besides, she was preoccupied with commanding the battlefield.

Thinking about it for another second, I didn’t need to join the airborne fighting.

The core of the problem is the dragon.

Sarkeiz was responsible for the majority of the chaos, whether it was the frenzied wyverns or the dried-up river. Using the chaos to its advantage, Sarkeiz wreaked havoc both in the sky and on the ground.

Dozens of magical projectiles shot from the dragon, homing in on the Night Witches like guided missiles.

They were magic missiles. Unlike the climbers’ version, these were far larger and moved impossibly fast.

The broom’s tail’s flickering blue flames flared brighter, propelling us forward at breakneck speed. The wind screamed in my ears, and I smelled the thick, metallic odor of burnt gunpowder, smoke, and blood mixing together.

Erendil dodged the wyverns, weaving through the air with nimble, expert maneuvers. After a few sharp turns, she shot a bewildered glance back at me.

“Who... who the hell are you? How did you even get up here? What was that thing you did in mid-air? And how the hell do you know my name?"

“We need to get to the dragon!"

“W-what? The dragon?"

Beneath my arms, her entire body stiffened as she processed what I had said. I could feel her muscles tense, rippling with shock. Her reaction was only natural since my command sounded like complete lunacy.

But there was no other choice. If we were going to turn the tide of this battle, we had to act now.

“If we want to win, we have to deal with that dragon! And I know how!"

“You do?"

“Yes, I’m certain!"

Though uncertainty lingered in my mind, I couldn’t let it show. If I wavered even slightly, there was no way she would agree to help me. Any hesitation now would be disastrous.

“Take me to the dragon! Now! I can stop it!"

“Are you out of your mind?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

Her sharp voice was laced with frustration, but before I could ease her tension, three wyverns closed in from the left. I hurled lightning at them, sending their charred bodies crashing to the ground. Then, I turned back to Erendil.

“If we don’t get to that dragon, this battle is lost! You have to trust me. We need to do this!"

“...”

Erendil let out a long, resigned sigh.

“... You're right. Now that the dragon’s here, the battle’s already slipped away from us. The Drina River defense line is going to collapse."

Her voice was drained of energy, hollowed by the weight of the situation. Regardless, she dropped a bomb over the lizardmen below as she spoke.

Boom! Boom!

The explosions’ shockwaves were so powerful that I could even feel them riding the broomstick. Erendil dodged another wyvern with a swift, precise maneuver. I quickly followed the dodge with a lightning strike.

“Damn it! Fine! I knew this battle was a long shot, but if there’s even the slimmest chance, we’ve got to take it!"

“... Thank you."

Not speaking another word, she swung the broom around, directing it straight toward the black dragon. Hundreds of wyverns circled Sarkeiz like a living fortress, intent on protecting their master.

But we didn’t need to get too close, only within speaking range.

I could feel Erendil swallow hard. She steeled herself, her tension palpable. Determinedly, we shot toward the dragon, cutting through the air like an arrow aimed at its heart.

“Screeeech!"

The wyverns let out a cacophony of shrieks as we barreled toward Sarkeiz. They knew what we were trying to do. Dozens of them broke formation and started racing toward us, desperate to block our path. A solid wall of wyverns stood between us and the dragon.

“Hold on tight!"

Erendil abruptly nosedived, sending the broom plunging toward the ground at a terrifying speed.

The wyverns screeched in fury as they pursued us. I hurled more lightning at them, managing to bring a few down, but their sheer numbers almost overwhelmed us.

“Hold on! Tighter!"

Just as we were about to crash into the ground, Erendil yanked the broom upward. We skimmed the earth, narrowly avoiding disaster.

The broom’s blue flames scorched the heads of the lizardmen below as we rocketed back into the sky.

“Screeeech!"

“Kiieeek!"

“What the hell!"

"Gah!"

The wyverns that had been chasing us couldn’t pull up in time. They crashed one after another into the lizardmen, sending bodies flying in every direction.

Erendil’s maneuver was nothing short of brilliance.

“Erendil! Do you even realize what you just pulled off? That was insane!"

“I-I know!"

Her voice trembled, still shaky from the intense pressure. That aerial stunt had clearly taken a toll on her as well.

With most of the wyverns left in our dust, only a few remained near the dragon. I dispatched them quickly with a final burst of lightning.

At last, we were close enough to Sarkeiz. Close enough for it to hear me.

I gathered every ounce of my remaining mana and infused it into my voice.

“Sarkeiz! Look at me!"

Instantly, the dragon’s massive, glowing eyes locked onto mine.