Chapter 55: Wrath of the Bone Dragon and the Forbidden Pact

The crimson tide clashed against the gray wave in an instant.

The gray-skinned orcs were at a numerical disadvantage, but the knight orc at the forefront displayed overwhelming power, carving a path through the red orcs.

For a moment, it seemed like the red orcs would crumble under his might.

However, from a distance, the red-skinned shaman orc, who had been observing the battle, opened a thick book.

Malevolent mana began to surge forth from it—undoubtedly a grimoire.

“[Tsoga!]”

As the shaman orc chanted, the ominous mana blanketing the battlefield moved.

Like a crashing wave, the mana spread over the blood-soaked ground where the orcs had fallen.

Then, white skeletons began to rise, numbering in the hundreds, summoned with a single spell.

The sudden appearance of this new enemy left the gray orcs visibly shaken.

Although the knight orc wielded his lightning-clad sword and cut through the foes with ferocity, the sheer number of skeletons was beyond his ability to handle alone.

With the skeleton army’s support, the red orcs pushed the gray orcs back with renewed vigor.

The battlefield was soon enveloped in a crimson mist, with screams and war cries echoing through the chaos.

Just when it seemed the gray orcs were being pushed back entirely, reinforcements emerged from within the city of Greenfall.

Among them, I spotted a familiar face.

“Uwaaah!”

It was Agul, roaring fiercely as he charged forward with a massive axe in hand.

But he wasn’t alone. A few human adventurers were among the orcs, joining the fray.

Their eyes held a singular determination—to survive.

Watching them, I could no longer stand idly by.

Mounting Nightmare, I charged out of the city.

If I didn’t act, everyone would be annihilated.

Contributing even my meager strength was the only way to turn the tide of this war and ensure my survival.

Kiieeeeng!

Riding atop the speeding Nightmare, I activated my mana circle.

My body had recovered after sufficient rest, and my depleted mana was replenished.

As starlight mana enveloped the sword in my right hand, I unleashed a cascade of blue lightning with my left.

Crack! Boom!

The lightning streaked toward the red orcs, branching out and causing a chain reaction that struck several at once.

Close combat was too dangerous in this situation.

I focused on circling the battlefield’s edges, scattering lightning and dealing with the occasional orc that charged at me.

The stench of blood was so overpowering it numbed my senses, while the dust mixed with orc blood clouded my vision.

“Haah!”

Kill or be killed. With that single thought driving me, I mechanically swung my sword.

Even as blood splattered across my face, I felt nothing—my emotions were gradually numbing.

As time passed, fatigue weighed on my body.

The starlight forming the blade of my attacks began to fade, losing its sharpness.

Snort!

Nightmare, too, was showing signs of exhaustion.

Its sleek body was now marred with wounds, and its once-lustrous mane was matted with dried blood.

Panting heavily, I surveyed the battlefield.

At first, the war seemed endless, but now, the tide was turning.

The once-relentless skeleton army had disappeared, and the gray orcs were steadily pushing back the red orcs.

Just as I let out a sigh of relief, a booming laugh echoed from afar.

Ke ha ha ha ha!

The laughter belonged to the red-skinned shaman orc.

He stood atop Greenfall’s front gate, arms raised high.

His tattered robe flapped violently in the stormy winds, and the staff in his right hand emanated a sinister glow.

Floating slightly above his left hand, the grimoire flipped its pages on its own.

“Ts-oga!!! Drako-ne!!!”

As I stared in stunned silence at the shaman orc, he slammed his staff toward the massive skull decorating the city’s gate.

Boom!

A resounding tremor swept through the battlefield as the ominous mana surged once more.

It was as if all the mana in the area was converging toward the shaman’s staff.

Goo-goo-goo-goo!

The gathered mana vibrated the air, and then, the skull’s hollow eyes ignited with an ominous flame.

The flames burned with malevolent intent, radiating pure malice.

As the dragon’s skull lit up, white bones from all directions began to converge.

Unlike the intact bones of the dragon, the ones forming its lower body were haphazardly assembled from nearby monster remains and even the skeletons of orcs slain in the war.

Crunch! Crack!

Dozens of bones twisted together, forming the massive neck of the dragon.

Its spine and tail followed soon after.

In no time, the skeletal dragon was complete.

Its long neck connected to a spine, then a tail, and finally, bony wings unfurled from its back.

The moment the dragon’s enormous legs stomped the ground, Greenfall began to collapse.

Its tail swept through buildings like a tidal wave of destruction.

[Kieeeek!]

Unleashing a monstrous roar, the dragon exuded an aura of primal fear.

Though its resurrection seemed unstable, the terror it inspired was unmistakable.

I couldn’t think of anything.

Both allies and enemies fell to their knees, paralyzed with fear.

Even Nightmare, who had always stood firm, lowered its head and let out ragged breaths as if it were overwhelmed.

Yet, amidst this suffocating fear, one figure remained standing.

It was the orc knight clad in full plate armor.

Holding his lightning-infused sword, he gazed upon his city with unwavering determination.

Heat radiated from his gray skin as if he were burning with resolve.

Slowly, his now-bulging muscles moved as he raised his sword to point at the skeletal dragon.

And then he roared.

“Whoa!”

The guttural roar reverberated through my entire being, breaking me free from the dragon’s oppressive fear.

I wasn’t the only one.

Those within a certain range of the orc knight began to rise to their feet as well.

At that moment, the skeletal dragon and the orc knight charged toward one another.

The dragon’s bony wings flapped, but it couldn’t take flight—its unstable resurrection left it grounded, with pieces of bone falling off as it moved.

[Kha!!!]

The shaman orc roared fiercely from atop the dragon’s head.

The reason he wasn’t using any other skills was likely because controlling that colossal Bone Dragon consumed all his energy.

I mounted the Nightmare and began to ride.

Though the Bone Dragon’s overwhelming size was daunting, I deemed it manageable given its unstable state.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one with such thoughts, as hundreds of orcs charged toward the Bone Dragon.

Among them was Agul, wielding a massive axe.

The first to collide with the Bone Dragon was an orc knight.

Swinging his sword surrounded by a tempest, he leaped toward the Bone Dragon’s head.

His bulging leg muscles launched him high into the air, but even they couldn’t bring his blade to the dragon’s head, which stood far above.

Crash!

The orc knight’s strike instead shattered one of the Bone Dragon’s ribs.

The moment his sword connected, the storm erupted, scattering white bones in all directions.

Unfazed by the destruction of its ribs, the Bone Dragon swung its front paw.

Already devoid of life, it seemed the creature could not feel pain.

Boom!

Its sweeping strike tore through the ground, crushing dozens of orcs in its path.

Yet the orcs did not falter.

Following their leader at the forefront, they threw themselves forward.

Enormous swords, axes, and hammers struck relentlessly at the Bone Dragon’s frame.

If it had been resurrected with the intact bones of a dragon, it might have been a different story.

But given that its body was composed of ordinary bones easily found nearby, cracks began to form.

Thud! Crack!

However, the orcs’ attacks were pitifully insufficient.

Only the orc knight’s strikes could truly damage the Bone Dragon.

As the Bone Dragon moved its legs again, dozens of orcs were swept away.

I pulled back, maintaining distance atop my Nightmare.

Chain Lightning or Magic Missiles wouldn’t be enough to destroy such colossal bones.

My swordsmanship was no exception.

What was needed was a powerful, exceptionally powerful strike.

The moment I realized this, my mana circle began to spin rapidly.

Cold starlight gathered in my left hand, while searing flames swirled in my right.

As the two opposing forces materialized, I brought them together.

Crack!

When my hands met, the opposing energies clashed, creating a fierce storm.

Sensing the surge of mana, an orc shaman turned its gaze toward me.

The Bone Dragon’s massive tail lashed out like a whip as if responding to its master’s intent.

Boom!

The attack, capable of obliterating anything in its path, was narrowly evaded by my Nightmare’s swift movements.

The Nightmare kept running, guiding me to an optimal position.

When I had drawn upon every last bit of mana I could muster, I extended both hands toward the orc shaman.

Boom!

The two streams of mana erupted from my hands, merging into a violent storm.

“Ugh…!”

Weakened, my body couldn’t withstand the storm’s recoil.

I crashed into the ground alongside my Nightmare.

Yet my gaze remained fixed on the Bone Dragon.

The storm tore through everything in its path, pulverizing the Bone Dragon’s right wing and front leg.

As massive bones shattered and scattered into the sky, the storm finally dissipated.

I bit my lip, frowning.

I had poured all my mana into that attack, managing to rip off one of the Bone Dragon’s arms and wings.

Yet, I had failed to hit the orc shaman, my original target.

The shaman’s cold, unwavering eyes locked onto me.

Muttering incomprehensible words, he began to restore the crumbling Bone Dragon’s body.

As despair began to creep in, the orc knight silently leaped into the air, swinging his sword.

The calm before the storm—the moment his lightning-clad sword grazed the shaman’s body, a deafening thunderclap echoed.

Crash!

The shaman, believed to be the source of all this chaos, was split in two and collapsed to the ground.

The mana enveloping his body began to dissipate, signifying his definite death.

Yet, there were no cheers of victory.

“Ha…”

A hollow sigh escaped my lips.

The orc shaman’s lifeless body, severed in half, was rising into the air.

Only the left half—holding the grimoire—hovered ominously.

I furrowed my brows and looked at the orc knight. He was kneeling on the ground, panting heavily.

The light surrounding his lightning-clad sword had faded, indicating that he had exhausted all his strength in that one strike.

Expecting any further attacks from him was futile.

At that moment, my eyes fell on the scattered items on the ground.

Beyond a pouch filled with dried meat, my gaze landed on various books.

When the bag had toppled over, its contents spilled everywhere.

Reaching out, I grabbed an object wedged among the pile of books.

Clink!

As the cold chain coiled around my hand, a grimoire emanating ominous mana floated to the surface of the pile.

The grimoire shot toward me, flipping its pages rapidly.

Flap-flap-flap!

The words it revealed were familiar.

Do you need power?

A faint smile crept onto my face as I recalled those words from the past.

Now was precisely when I needed power the most.

Though I feared the price of handing over my soul to the grimoire’s master, no price could be worse than death.

“Skasha.”

The moment I uttered the name, a peculiar figure emerged above the grimoire.

It was a bizarre entity, neither human nor beast.

[Do you desire power?]

“What if I do…?”

[I will grant as much as you wish.]

“And the price?”

The beast’s glowing eyes flickered as it opened its mouth.

[Come to the ends of the North.]

It was instructing me to journey to the Grimshade Kingdom, the land of the dead, at the northernmost edge.

As I gave a slight nod, ominous mana began to flow into my body through the grimoire.

The murky, violet mana was cold and repulsive.

But for now, it would suffice.

Harnessing the ominous mana coursing through me, I began to envision a spell.

The mana was abundant.

What I needed now was overwhelming destructive power coupled with wide-ranging coverage.

In my inner world, a small star emerged. It absorbed the sinister mana, emitting a dim light.

A spell borrowing power from the Demon King—it couldn’t be more fitting for this situation.

“O being darker than twilight, redder than flowing blood…”

Muttering softly, I rose to my feet.

The violet mana spread throughout my body, invigorating my weary frame.

“I swear to the darkness here and now…”

As the incantation took shape, a new magical system, one that did not previously exist in this world, began to manifest.

Holding the grimoire, the orc shaman tried to move the Bone Dragon.

But my incantation was nearing its conclusion.

“Together, we shall bring forth the great destruction…”

Completing the final verse of the spell, I extended my hand.

At that moment, the magic created solely to annihilate the dragon revealed itself.

The mana unleashed from my hand engulfed the entire area.

Boom!


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anon
anon
8 days ago

author throwing in a nod to Slayers. nice.

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