Chapter 424 Summoning a Prehistoric Dragon
"You are a Spectral Dragon, right?"
Nodding, the dragon replied, "You're correct, but what do you mean my kind is extinct? We reigned over the world. Even when I was captured, we still were the supreme beings."
Trying to gauge how long the dragon had been sealed in that amulet, Jack asked, "Do you know about the gods?"
"Of course," replied the dragon. "The unstoppable duo of Skaryn and Halmut finally ascended, becoming the first two beings to ever reach godhood."
Taking in that statement, Jack didn't know what to think, let alone how to reply. "Umm… We'll talk more later about that but… Can I ask for your help at the moment? Once we deal with that army we can talk and I can fill you in on the thousands of years that you've missed."
"Thousands of years?! What do you mean?!" shouted the dragon.
"What's your name?" Jack asked, not shying away from the dragon's anger.
"... You may call me Karronteel," after a pause the dragon answered.
"Well, Karronteel, can we ally at least temporarily while we handle them?" Jack pointed to the incoming invaders.
"So long as you answer all my questions… I'll consider a momentary alliance." Turning away from Jack, the dragon looked to the incoming army while asking, "Should a few slip through, is that a problem?"
"Considering our levels, I think that's only natural," Jack chuckled, spotting the dragon's unhidden strength at lv. 54.
"Very well…"
The dragon's wings shot open wide as he stared down the army, which didn't back down as they too could see that the dragon's level was only 54. But that didn't stop Karronteel from opening his jaws and spewing a breath attack of pure spatial energy.
That attack was unlike anything the invaders could've expected, instantly shredding through all unprepared lv. 50's that failed to evade the attack.
Immediately, the army took the mysterious dragon more seriously. And when the dragon threw itself into the army, they all launched full-power attacks to slay the beast.
But, apart from the mages' magic attacks, all other attacks connected with the dragon but phased through it. Their weapons were still visible while they went through the dragon, as if the beast's physical body had somehow become ethereal. And, on top of that, all magic attacks were either repelled or evaded by the dragon's sudden teleportation to the rear of the army.
Again, the dragon spewed a spatial breath attack that caught the army off guard, killing dozens of lv. 50's and heavily injuring many lv. 60's.
The few syndicate regents managed to defend the blow with their superior levels but they were completely baffled by that dragon's strange abilities. Fighting a dragon, even at lv. 54, wasn't easy. Adding teleportation and that ethereal ability that made it immune to physical attacks just made facing that mysterious dragon far more difficult than any other dragon species they could imagine.
Admiring the abilities of the Spectral Dragon, Jack sighed. He watched as the army reorganized and changed their strategy.
Since all lv. 50's would just be fodder for the dragon, they separated and charged toward Jack on top of the wall. The lv. 60'ss and lv. 70's stayed behind to keep the dragon at bay with a better understanding of the strange dragon's abilities.
Not wanting to seem weak in front of Karronteel, Jack hopped off the city wall. The moment Jack touched the ground, his form altered and flames exploded from his body. That newly formed flame body rivaled the city wall in height and two wings spread out. Not giving the nearby invaders even a second to take in Jack's transformation, Jack rocketed into the center of those couple of dozen lv. 50's.
Before the syndicate members knew it, flaming waves of wind energy had decapitated almost half a dozen of them and Jack was launching his next flurry of attacks.
Mages launched all sorts of spells at Jack, particularly water spells from those that had water type magic. Warriors threw themselves into Jack with their strong armor and near reckless abandon, attempting to slow Jack down.
Sadly, Jack didn't stay in one place at all. Mixing his Minokawa-like speed with the Sudden Death skill made catching Jack nigh impossible in close-combat. Another barrage of flaming wind blades decimated another half dozen syndicate members as they scrambled to contain Jack.
After the second attack, Jack backed off for a moment. He kept his eye on Hadurt's battle. Trying to think of how to get to Hadurt, Jack shouted, "Karronteel, keep these guys busy for a second while I deliver something."
Rather than reply verbally, the Spectral Dragon nodded and vanished from where he stood. Appearing out of thin air behind Jack, Karronteel prepared his spectral breath for the remaining lv. 50's who turned to retreat toward their stronger comrades.
Taking that as the dragon's response, Jack threw himself through the air. With his incredible speed, he neared Hadurt's battlefield in a few seconds.
"Hadurt!"
Hearing Jack's shout, Hadurt jumped back toward the incoming Jack, still on guard against the two men he faced.
Since those two also spotted Jack, they changed tactics. While Vlad rushed toward Hadurt, Ollan charged Jack. Each launched their own attack, one hitting a well-defended target while the other found their target unhittable.
Again, mixing Sudden Death with the Minokawa's speed made Jack extremely difficult to hit. And since it was Ollan's first time experiencing it, the berserker failed to hit his target. However, as soon as Jack appeared beside Hadurt, he turned tail and flew off as quickly as he had arrived. Both Vlad and Ollan were curious as to what just happened, especially when they spotted Hadurt's crazed smile.
Returning to his own battlefield, Jack saw all of his former opponents be shredded apart molecule by molecule from Karronteel's spectral breath. And as soon as they were killed, the dragon rushed back to the other invaders without batting an eye.
"Karronteel, do you ned any--"
"I require no assistance, Jack. Should you be needed elsewhere, then we'll reunite afterward for your questioning," Karronteel stated, declaring his confidence for the entire battlefield to hear.
Not wanting to get on the bad side of a Spectral Dragon, Jack rushed off toward Bowzer's battlefield.
Far-off to the north, the two gods continued their duel.
Tired of that darkness and his inability to see the other battles, Pestro took in a deep breath and roared at the top of his lungs. The darkness surrounding them dispersed, forcibly broken up by Pestro's intense yell.
When the smoke cleared, both Eedaj and Pestro got a good view of the other battlefields. Everything was as they had expected, all except for a single fight that rose up while they were blinded.
"That... " Spotting Karronteel, Pestro was completely shaken. The confident Demon God was at a loss for words as his eyes were glued to the sight of the Spectral Dragon.
Eedaj was also startled by the dragon's appearance. It was something far beyond his calculations.
"Where did you find that?"
Turning away from the distant Spectral Dragon and looking into Pestro's solemn, piercing gaze, Eedaj replied, "I have no idea where or how Jack summoned a Spectral Dragon. It's something that, according to my knowledge, shouldn't still exist."
"Tell me!" shouted Pestro, shaken and unable to accept such a vague answer. "Tell me, Eedaj! How do you have a Spectral Dragon!"
"That one has such a low level, so why are you--"
"Tell me!" Swinging his blades at full-power, Pestro's mixed emotions were turned into attacks. "Tell me!"
Easily evading the wild warning swings, Eedaj chuckled and smiled. "Is your relationship with Moranti that bad?"
"RRRAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Like a mad bull, Pestro rushed Eedaj with no holds barred. His earlier cautious fighting style was abandoned as the Demon God gave into his emotions and unleashed his hellish fury.