For a few seconds, the bombardment performed by the royal army's elite soldiers, the wyvern knights, caused a great tremor that far exceeded what the female rorock did with its magma canon.
The wind from the explosions wasn't a danger, but the men holding the shields couldn't relax for a moment as shards and fist sized rocks got blown in their direction.
A pained roar could be heard, not from the monster that was attacked, but from its companion a long distance away. Finally, the spears stopped raining.
The smoke, filled with a burnt scent, danced through the air until it vanished revealing the collapsed mountain.
The male rorock wasn't moving anymore as all life seemed to leave its stone-hard shell from the hole dug by the spears which reached all the way to its main body.
"They did it…"Finally, a glimmer of hope was resurrected between those witnessing the scene.
"THEY DID IT!"
"OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THEY ACTUALLY DID IT!"
"THEY DEFEATED A DRAGON!"
"IT'S DEAD! DRAGONS CAN BE KILLED AFTER ALL!"
Cheers resounded, praising the fantastical achievement from the wyvern riders and the eternal that raced to their help.
Everyone forgot for the second time the other calamity that started its march toward them.
The second rorock, enraged by the slaughter of its mate, moved in heavy steps. Each time one of its legs touched the ground a circle of flames spread burning the grass and bushes here and there turning the once green fields into a lifeless land.
"Now, where is she?" Sieg turned to the crowd celebrating and asked one of the knights. A second one noticed, and a third one, each of them were from the reinforcement Marquis Lionheart sent.
They froze in place, and cold sweat started to form, but before the bravest among them could calm his shaking voice they heard their savior's call.
"SIIIEEEGGG!" Her long crimson hair dancing behind her as she ran, Anne suppressed the tears that were about to flood from her eyes. Her steps came to a halt as the burned stench reached her nose. "cough…cough…" she was already struggling to breath and now the urge to throw up took over, but her willpower managed to keep her image from getting destroyed.
Siegfried watched as the poor Anne fought against the horrible smell of the pure fire stone powder which made the spears the wyvern knights used.
When she finally was able to open her eyes, he waved at her to come closer. She expected a hug and a pat on the head, instead she got a really painful smack. "OW! Ow, ow, ow, OW!"
"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO GO HOME BEFORE I LEFT?" the cool and composed vibe Sieg always seemed to have was nowhere to be seen as he broke into a rampage yelling at Anne.
"YOU IDIOT! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW? DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD SOMEHOW SURVIVE A DRAGON WHEN NO ONE IS THERE TO TAKE CARE OF IT? DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO GO HOME? I TOLD YOU TO GO HOME, RIGHT? WEREN'T YOU LISTENING? WHY DO YOU NOT LISTEN TO ME WHEN I TALK?"
Noticing that the girl was about to cry he stepped back taking a deep breath with his palm on his eyes. Regaining his usual calmness, he turned around and spoke in a low voice.
"Hey, do you even know what your father would do to me if anything bad happened to you? He would kill me!"
"But… you are immortal…"
"EXACTLY!" Sieg held his head in both hands, it was one of the few times Anne had ever seen him so terrified.
Her sense told her to change the topic before the lecturing resumed, that's when something interesting entered her view.
"I have never seen you wear such armor before, and that hammer…. was the lightning bolt from before your doing?"
"Oh! are you interested?" Sparkles appeared in his eyes and he turned to lift the oversized weapon "I made this baby from the core of a thunderstorm I hunted about twenty years ago. I never got the chance to use it after that. Ah, you probably don't know but a thunderstorm is what a certain type of dragon is named. They nest in the mountain range beyond the northern borders of the Winter kingdom, and guess what? Rather than fire they breathe golden lightning! It was a really tough battle, we had to retreat several times, but once we got the hide and scales from the first one, we were able to make this armor that could withstand its breath, although it does little against normal attacks…"
Anne knew how much Sieg liked to talk about his equipment; and how he always loses himself after he starts.
The way his cheeks turn a little red while clearing his throat as he gets back to his sense is more enjoyable for her than the stories he tells.
Anne smiles at him after the stress and anger he had before vanished.
He scratched his left cheek and turned around covering his face once more. "I'm not done with you yet but go take cover for now," he said.
The land rumbled stronger and stronger; the temperature rose as the enraged female rorock continued its advance.
"ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" the monster's roar informed them that the fighting has yet to be done.
"This one won't go down so easily…"Sieg whistled. Three seconds later one of the wyvern knights came down.
"That thing is too slow, drop me somewhere close"
"Understood!" Picking up his golden war hammer he jumped behind the rider and the wyvern took off.
….