The instant the red dragon head was severed, the remaining green and blue heads jerked upward instinctively, releasing shrill, agonized wails.
Immediately after, their expressions twisted into vicious snarls. Writhing their necks, they snapped savagely at Alger and his giant eagle, even cutting off their escape routes in advance.
"Now! Make your move!"
Alger bellowed at the top of his lungs, dodging several vicious bites in quick succession.
"Roar—!"
A draconic roar rang out through midair. Hundreds of Redscale Conquerors surged forth like two green torrents, racing toward the blue and green heads respectively. Their sharp lances carried monstrous momentum and terrifying power as they thrust straight into the chromatic dragonbeast's body.
In an instant, dense clusters of bloody punctures broke out across the beast's two remaining heads, spraying scalding, crimson blood and sending mangled flesh scattering through the sky.
The remaining Redscale Conquerors pressed the attack with even greater ferocity. Circling the massive bulk of the chromatic dragonbeast, they slashed and thrust relentlessly. The wounds riddling the monster multiplied, and blood gushed in torrents.
Mists of blood hung thick in the air. The wyverns beneath the Redscale Conquerors beat their wings, stirring up fierce gusts of wind until a tempest of blood seemed to envelop the chromatic dragonbeast, subjecting it to death by a thousand cuts.
Trapped in this crimson execution, the chromatic dragonbeast wailed piteously, flailing its colossal, lethal limbs in an attempt to swat the circling "flies" from the air.
Yet no matter how the behemoth struggled, the Redscale Conquerors relied on their superior maneuverability to evade its attacks, carving fresh gashes across its flesh with every pass.
Before long, the chromatic dragonbeast was covered in wounds. Its mountainous, monstrously twisted frame was riddled with gashes from swords and punctures from bullets. Blood welled and cascaded like miniature waterfalls, pooling on the ground into sticky, crimson rivulets that eventually drained into a shell crater, forming a lake of blood.
"Awoo..."
The chromatic dragonbeast's breathing grew heavy, and its wails turned feeble. Its body shuddered continuously from agonizing pain and blood loss until it crashed down with a deafening thud. The impact shook the earth, sending plumes of dust into the air and fracturing the ground with massive fissures.
The nightmarish behemoth—seemingly invincible, responsible for tens of thousands of coalition casualties—had fallen just like that, slain under the coordinated assault of the Redscale Conquerors.
It was a blood scion of Tiamat, born of the sacrifice of over a million Seleucian mortals, an amalgamation of hundreds upon thousands of dragonblood monsters. Yet beneath the tempestuous assault of the Redscale Conquerors, it had perished all the same.
"Amaunator above! It... it's dead! It was killed by those wyvern knights!"
"Victory to the coalition! Victory to justice!"
"Hooray—!"
Staring at the mountain-like monster collapsing to the ground, the coalition soldiers were stunned at first, unable to believe their eyes. Then, an ecstatic shout rang out, and cheers rippled through the ranks as the coalition soldiers celebrated the monumental victory.
Right after that, the tide of battle shifted even more dramatically. Behind the Seleucian line, which had been the coalition's weakest point, massive teleportation portals opened in midair.
"Charge!"
"For the Empire!"
"For His Majesty Cassius!"
Amid clamorous shouts and the roar of engines, countless players flooded out of the portals like a deluge, swarming over the hills and plains. As far as the eye could see, players clad in bizarre, colorful outfits blanketed the terrain.
Nearly every war quest drew close to a million players, and for a special world war quest that marked the final chapter of the Dragon Calamity, the number of players arriving was beyond count.
Amid clamorous shouts and the roar of engines, countless players flooded out of the portals like a deluge, swarming over the hills and plains.
Nearly every war quest drew close to a million players, and for a special world war quest, the number of players arriving was beyond count.
Caught completely off guard by the players' abrupt entry into the fray, the cultists of the Cult of the Dragon were thrown into disarray. What had been the weakest sector of the defensive line had suddenly become the coalition's most formidable stronghold.
And so, the counterattack began.
"Charge!"
"For Faction Contribution!"
"Pour on the DPS! A colossal boss like this is a sitting duck!"
"This thing drops legendary materials! We're gonna be rich!"
The dozen-plus chromatic dragonbeasts that had breached the coalition lines were encircled by ecstatic players. Like ships tossed in a stormy sea, they weathered wave upon wave of the players' ferocious attacks.
In the eyes of the Seleucian soldiers, the chromatic dragonbeasts were hideous, invincible nightmares. Yet to the players, they were prize targets to fight over.
Like piranhas catching the scent of blood, they swarmed forward, greedily hacking away at the behemoths' flesh as if the monsters were helpless prey.
"Roar—!"
One of the chromatic dragonbeasts charged into the crowd with a bellow, crushing hundreds of players under its immense bulk. Immediately after, hundreds of grappling hooks were launched from all directions, sinking deep into its flesh and pinning it firmly in place.
The beast struggled violently, sending tremors through the ground, yet it could not break free. Meanwhile, players swarmed up the grappling lines like ants, climbing onto its back and slicing through scales and hide with greatswords, methodically tearing it apart.
Amid the player tide, one chromatic dragonbeast after another crashed to the earth. Vastly outnumbered, the Cultists of the Dragon were swallowed by the frenzy before they could even mount a defense.
High above, the aerial battle underwent a similar reversal. The cultists and dragonblood monsters pouring out from the breach in the wind wall were blocked and even pushed back by the swarms of airborne players.
Some players rode pegasi, wyverns, and other flying mounts, while others sustained Flight or Levitation spells. They lunged at the cultists, unleashing a relentless barrage of bullets, artillery shells, fireballs, and lightning bolts that practically drowned the enemy.
"It's those Soulless Ones..."
Watching the players blanket both sky and earth, Felipe gritted his teeth, his expression turning ghastly as veins bulged across his scale-covered forehead.
The Soulless Ones.
The name of these immortal, mad beings now echoed across the continent, inextricably tied to the Empire. Tales of their antics had spread even to the Hells and the Heavens.
Wherever the Soulless Ones appeared, chaos followed, defying all logic and common sense.
Before long, Felipe watched his army from the Cult of the Dragon being overwhelmed by the motley tide of players. Countless cultists and dragonblood monsters shrieked in agony, falling from the sky like rain.
Furious at the sight, Felipe tapped the tip of the Scepter of Calamity against the back of his giant wyvern, reawakening its power. An eerie, dreadful light flared in the colossal wyvern's eyes, and its hideous face twisted in fury.
It opened its gaping maw, releasing a foul, pungent stench as a beam of light brimming with divine power—death, chaos, and evil—erupted from the depths of its throat, piercing the sky.
"Boom—!"
In an instant, the black light swept across the heavens like the scythe of the Grim Reaper. Countless players were engulfed, reduced to dust, and sky battleships were sliced clean through, exploding in midair.
Yet the players showed no fear. Instead, they turned their eyes toward the colossal wyvern in the distance, fixating greedily on Felipe atop its back.
"That crown looks worth a fortune..."
"A five-headed dragon emblem! That guy has to be high-ranking in the Cult of the Dragon. We found a major boss!"
"Hurry, secure the kill!"
Braving the destructive black radiance, the players charged forward. Spells, shells, and bullets rained down like a howling storm, converging on Felipe atop the wyvern's back.
Felipe stood his ground with a dark, contorted face, his hand trembling slightly as he gripped the Scepter of Calamity. "They dare treat me as prey!"
"Insolent... unforgivable!"
A profound, abyssal glow flashed in Felipe's eyes. He swept the Scepter of Calamity, conjuring the phantom of a five-headed dragon that coiled above his head. Flames, lightning, and frost blanketed the surrounding thousands of meters, annihilating over a thousand eager players in an instant.
"Anti-magic barrier!"
"Where are the wizards? Back us up!"
"Get a high magic-resist tank up front! This guy's casting power is insane!"
The players' chaotic shouts filled the sky. Soon, several abjuration wizards gathered, combining their power into an enormous barrier that barely deflected Felipe's divine spells. Several heavily armored, winged paladins formed a vanguard, shielding over a hundred players charging close behind them.
Felipe merely tapped the giant wyvern's head casually, remarking in a cold voice, "Pathetic ants—no matter how many of you come, it is meaningless!"
The colossal wyvern opened its maw once more, unleashing a torrent of searing flames that swallowed the paladins' position. The blistering heat distorted the air.
"We can't hold much longer!"
"Clerics, cast Sanctuary!"
"His damage output is through the roof! It's elemental damage! Quick, cast Protection from Energy!"
The players shouted in panic, but the dragon breath quickly melted the paladins' shields and armor, charring their bodies to ash.
With a deafening roar, the chromatic dragonbeast flapped its sky-blotting wings, whipping up a violent gale that scattered hundreds of clustered players before spewing a breath of thunder.
"Crack!"
Accompanied by a booming clap of thunder, pale lightning slashed across the sky, forming a dreadful web of electricity that blasted scores of scattered players from the air, leaving plumes of smoke behind.
Felipe raised the Scepter of Calamity overhead, brandishing it as dark clouds churned and converged, making him appear like a god descending upon the mortal realm.
"Begone—mortals!"
"Boom!"
Lightning crashed down and flames spread. The silhouette of the giant wyvern loomed imposing amid the storm clouds, radiating an eerie dread as over a thousand players perished beneath Tiamat's might.
"Tremble before the might of dragons! Ignorant mortals!"
Felipe's voice brimmed with fervor. With every sweep of the Scepter of Calamity, thousands of players fell.
Even so, the players rushed toward the Pontiff of the Cult of the Dragon, the former king of Seleucia, like moths to a flame.
As more and more players converged, wounds large and small appeared across the giant wyvern's hide. Its sky-blotting wings grew ragged and torn, whistling as the wind rushed through the tears.
Farther off, aboard the sky battleships, several anti-magic sniper rifles were already trained on the cult pontiff atop the wyvern's back.
"Bang!"
With crisp cracks of gunfire, bullets tore through the air, piercing multiple magical barriers to converge on Felipe's vital points from different angles.
Yet just before they struck, Felipe snapped his head up and clenched his fist. Pitch-black divine power swirled around him, catching the incoming bullets.
The next instant, the bullets were deflected back at even greater speed. In the blink of an eye, they re-entered the very barrels they had left, rupturing the chambers and shattering the snipers' skulls.
"Are you kidding me..."
"This boss is impossible to fight!"
"I don't buy it! Worst that happens is we die!"
Even as the players groaned and complained, they continued their relentless charges, trying to get close to Felipe.
After all, defeating a boss of this caliber promised rewards that could define their gameplay careers. Risking their lives for a shot at glory was well worth it.
Soon, the number of players gathered in the sky reached well over a hundred thousand.
They advanced on the Cult of the Dragon's forces like a surging flood. Even the mountain-sized wyvern seemed diminished within the vast crowd, like a reef in an ocean about to be swallowed by towering waves.
Then Misha struck once more. A pillar of incandescent white fire spanned thousands of meters, piercing the sky to blast toward Felipe.
This time, hard-pressed by the endless swarm of players, Felipe failed to raise adequate defenses in time. His divine barrier was pierced by Misha's breath weapon, and the blast struck him square in the chest, hurling him back over a hundred meters.
With a cold, resolute gaze, Misha let her slender finger glide downward. The fiery pillar swept down with it, slicing like a white-hot blade that cleaved the massive wyvern clean in two.
The sizzle of burning flesh and a muffled death rattle echoed through the heavens. Foul blood poured like a waterfall as the mountainous bulk split in half and plummeted toward the ground, kicking up towering clouds of dust upon impact.
Hurled through the air, Felipe was spared by the protective power of Tiamat. Glaring toward Misha in the distance, his expression darkened, his slit pupils burning with venomous hatred.
"Damned traitor..."
Before he could recover, countless fireballs and artillery shells streaked toward him. Felipe's expression hardened. He brandished the Scepter of Calamity midair, and dark radiance wrapped around his form, tearing open space to transport him hundreds of meters away, straight onto the altar of Tiamat inside Sunset City.
Chapter 848