It would have been midday under normal circumstances.
However, due to the darkness spread by Night Bringer, the area was pitch dark, as if it were night.
Only the sun that rose beyond the curtain of darkness managed to scatter light like a blurry full moon of the night, barely allowing one to discern the objects around.
Whoosh!
As the darkness emitted from Night Bringer enveloped the area, even that became impossible.
Into the fog-like darkness, Night Bringer's main body sank. The only visible ones were those of the command center, burning and dying.
But the troops of the World Guardian Front were also well-trained elites.
The command center perished under the first attack of the Black Dragon, but the fragmented command structure was still operational—
"Prepare the flare!"
There were means to counteract the darkness.
"Fire the flare!"
"Launch the flare!"
Voices jumbled from all directions, followed by successive firing sounds.
Boom! Baaang!
The magic-infused red flare cut through the pitch-black night and flew across the sky.
The flare that shot up into the sky brightened the area with its explosion but failed to dispel the darkness cast over the valley below.
Then, the soldiers poured more flares down into the valley floor.
The flares rained around the massive body of the Black Dragon. The red light bouncing off the ground briefly illuminated its endless contours, revealing the monster's presence.
That was enough.
Enough to aim at it.
"Fire team, open fire!"
"Begin firing!"
Boom! Baboom!
The cannons aligned above the valley spat fire, and the archers pulled their bowstrings.
The monster was enormous. Despite the dark and blurry sight, the elite troops' aim could not miss such a massive target.
Hundreds of cannons spat out cannonballs one after another, and the archers fired arrows relentlessly.
The cannonballs and arrows hit the Black Dragon's body, sounding like a hailstorm as they fell, and the continuous explosions scattered dense smoke and debris.
In no time, the valley below was devastated. The red light of the flares, the flash of explosions, and the sparks from arrows colliding with scales intermixed in the thick darkness.
Amid the relentless onslaught in the valley below—
"This is my last amusement."
A weary voice of Night Bringer drifted quietly.
"Not even a yawn comes out."
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a whirlwind swept up.
All the arrows and cannonballs, explosions, and smoke that had been pouring around the Black Dragon's body cleared away— and the Black Dragon remained unscathed.
Its form was hard to discern in the flickering darkness, but one thing was clear.
It had hardly been damaged.
"I'll take it down."
The next moment.
From the high, dark sky, the Black Dragon's other six heads spiraled down like meteors.
It was right above the heads of the fire team soldiers firing cannons and arrows.
Each of the six heads harbored flames in their mouths. Spotting this, the human soldiers shouted.
"Six secondary heads of the Black Dragon spotted from above!"
"Don't let them breathe fire! Intercept them!"
Then, the mage unit of the allied forces, organized as the interception team, raised their staves simultaneously.
Though they had lost the command center to the heads' surprise attack, they were not about to be fooled again.
The mages proficient in offensive magic had their spells ready and fired them to intercept the heads, while those skilled in defensive magic resonated with each other to form magical barriers.
Baboom!
The barrage of various elemental magic spells pummeled the Black Dragon's secondary heads,
Chirring!
The mages united their strength to erect a barrier.
The fire team's prepared magical defense artifacts and barrier artifacts also activated. The soldiers surveyed the layered barriers with relief.
"We've blocked it this time..."
However,
Craaaack!
In the dazzling convergence of magical light, the Black Dragon's heads burst forth unaffected. The interception had failed.
The heads opened their huge jaws wide and fell right onto the barrier—
Crunch! Crunch!
Literally devouring the human-prepared barriers.
With sharp, protruding teeth, the massive jaws tore through and devoured the barriers.
The gunners and archers stood frozen, watching as the barrier right above their heads was completely swallowed.
Soon after, the last layer of the barrier was torn apart—
"Shoot, shoot them down...!"
As he shouted, the field commander lifting his bow was chewed between the jaws of one of the heads that flew in as if it had been waiting.
Pop!
Bodies torn apart and blood splattered everywhere.
Soldiers screamed and ran, or with trembling hands, tried to lodge more arrows into the head of the evil dragon but—
Roar!
In front of the flames spewed by the other heads, neither effort meant anything.
Gunners and archers engulfed in flames died with agonizing screams.
Then, the fire caught the gunpowder, causing cannons and cannonballs to be engulfed in horrific pillars of fire.
Casually escaping the inferno, the six heads flew gracefully, their golden dragon eyes shimmering as they searched for their next prey.
Soon, the six heads spotted them.
The mage unit of the allied forces, looking up with pale, terrified faces.
Licking their lips with long tongues, the six heads soared high into the air. The mages, mixed with anger and fear, screamed out as they prepared new spells.
Meanwhile.
"Charge!"
"Charge!"
Waaaah!
As the fire team's barrage lightened, the infantry and cavalry began their charge towards the main body of the Black Dragon.
Armies from the coalition and the empire poured down from both sides of the valley.
Especially the empire's vanguard was not lightly armed.
The knights leading the charge were all clad in armor made from scales harvested from the Black Dragon Legion, and armed with weapons—Dragon Slayers—crafted from the bones and claws of the Black Dragon Legion.
The knight brigade symbolizing the military might of the Everblack Empire. The heavy cavalry brigade.
Riding giant horses, they were truly like tanks that the empire boasted of.
On the ground, in a head-on battle, there was no one who could stop them, not in human wars.
Moreover, they had scraped together materials to the last to arm these men before the battle with the Black Dragon.
They would surely land a critical blow on that detestable monster...!
At the same time,
Eeeeeeeeng!
The approaching airship fleet made a synchronized descent.
Of the sixteen airships, six changed course to deal with the Black Dragon's secondary heads, and the remaining ten came down straight towards the main body of the Black Dragon.
Humanity's ultimate weapons, with their barriers fully raised, would support the subjugation of the Black Dragon from above.
With airships firmly supporting from above and behind, the hearts of the assault team grew steadfast.
"Let's go!"
Dududududu!
With the heavy thumping of hooves, the knights shouted in unison.
"For Everblack!"
"For His Imperial Majesty, for the glory and honor of the Empire!"
"For humanity!"
The next moment.
Goooooo...
The atmosphere trembled, and the Black Dragon crouching below in the valley... leisurely lifted its middle head.
Then, gathering a light breath, it swelled its chest and—
The next moment, it exhaled its breath.
Whoosh!
The breath cut through the sky,
Kwaaang!
And exploded in the sky.
The leading airship, struck by the breath, burst into pieces in mid-air.
The barrier melted in seconds, and the exposed magic core exploded in a chain reaction.
Unlike the battle with the King of Flies, where airships were shot down to the ground, it was unprecedented for them to shatter into pieces in mid-air so instantly.
The Black Dragon had blown up humanity's final weapon too easily.
Pbang, dududuk...
Debris from the destroyed airships rained down like rain over the heads of the cavalry and infantry charging towards the Black Dragon. The soldiers gritted their teeth as they were hit by the fragments.
"Not yet...!"
"Run, keep running!"
"The monster is within reach! Just a little more!"
Eeeeeeeeng!
The other airships also did not slow down.
With the Black Dragon's secondary heads now detached from the main body, there was no better time to strike.
Flash!
This time, the Black Dragon's eyes shone, and a barrage of magic poured down on the airship fleet.
Ancient magic, too old to be identified, pummeled the hulls, and two airships with broken barriers burst into pieces in the sky.
But that allowed the remaining airships to get closer.
The airships now completely lowered their barriers and deployed their armaments.
Since the situation was sinking regardless of the barriers being up, they decided to attack with full force instead.
Tatatatatata!
Boom! Boom! Baboom!
The seven surviving airships circled above the Black Dragon, pouring down a barrage of magic bullets.
Simultaneously, the cavalry and infantry who had raced across the ground also reached the Black Dragon.
As they charged, a clear determination flashed in the eyes of the humans. The commander of the imperial heavy cavalry brigade roared at the forefront.
"For the world..."
The next moment.
Crack!
Before he could finish his command, the brigade commander's body was crushed.
Struck by something huge that flew in from the side, his horse, armor, and weapons were mashed together with his body.
The leading knights swept up with him were reduced to crushed pieces of flesh, blood splattering as they tumbled across the ground.
The knights in the immediate rear were momentarily silent, unable to comprehend what had happened.
It didn't take long for them to realize that it was the Black Dragon's tail that had struck down their lead.
Immediately after, that massive tail swept over again.
Crack! Crunch!
It was merely a tail swipe.
But if the thickness and length of that tail were greater than any tower in the Imperial Capital, then its power and range were no longer a simple matter.
Crash!
The Black Dragon merely flicked its tail as if brushing off dirt from the ground, but with that attack, the forefront of the heavy cavalry brigade was annihilated.
Knights up to the third row, including the brigade commander, were turned into meat pieces, not a single one left intact.
Subsequently, the Black Dragon leisurely moved its massive body, striking the approaching coalition forces soldiers with its gigantic front paw.
Thwack!
Like swatting away flies, the gesture was one of annoyance, but.
Just being swept up in its range was enough to tear the soldiers to shreds.
All the soldiers caught in the range were killed instantly. Helmets and fragments of armor, swords, and spears of those now ownerless soared into the sky.
Intestines and limbs that had belonged to living persons just moments before also tumbled haphazardly on the ground.
A sudden terror struck the minds of the assault troops.
It was like being crushed to death like ants.
Despite not using Dragon Roar or Dragon Fear, the mere realization that they were nothing but insignificant creatures before this overwhelmingly massive and powerful monster filled them with fear.
However, these were the assault troops.
Cavalry and infantry charging forward.
Their fellow comrades were right behind them in the rear. Driven by momentum, they had no choice but to keep charging forward.
"Forward..."
Tears of fear streaming down their faces, the soldiers shouted.
"Forward!"
"Aaaaaah!"
Even amid the spreading terror like a plague, the soldiers finally reached the Black Dragon.
In the flickering darkness, Night Bringer's golden eyes narrowed.
And—
Rumble...
Slowly, it began to rise its massive body.