Stealthâs Return
The end was coming. Soldiers fighting on top of the walls were in total despair. Their commander was killed in battle, and a dragon was flying overhead.
A typical soldier would be trained to do their best to accomplish their mission even after the commanding officer died. Even with the odds stacked against them, they would do everything they could do serve their country.
But Dream Maker operated in a small world surrounded by walls for more than five centuries. Not once had the city been in danger, and the only danger that the soldiers faced was when they hunted monsters for a living.
With no other nations around, they had absolutely no experience in large-scale wars. The soldiers themselves seemed to lack training as well.
As a result, the soldiers on top of the wall had no idea what to do. They believed they were dead. Some thought about their families, some shook their head frantically, and some hung their head low, petrified.
ãTsk. I knew it. Our troops are weak.ãGorja muttered as he pulled on the rope wrapped around the dragonâs neck to keep his balance.ãHe was right. Even if we didnât get involved, the country wouldâve fallen one day...ã
Scaling the monsters stacked on top of each other, the first oneâa giant lizard-like monsterâfinally made it to the castle wall. The soldiers couldnât even get up and run away. Weakly, they wielded their weapons, but the giant lizard didnât so much as flinch, and instead charged and swallowed the soldiers whole.
Men screamed. One after another, monsters scaled the wall.
ãWeak! Youâre all too weak! This nation should just perish right now!ã
Gorja pulled on the rope to make the dragon roar.
ãHuh?ã
He felt an impact from his side. Dragons did not come equipped with seatbelts. His body lurched, and he was thrown into the air.
ãOh, shit! What the hellâã
Gorja managed to grab the rope and stop himself from falling. Dangling in the air, he caught a glimpse of a huge triangular-shaped figure flying across.
ãWh-What the...ã
The next thing he knew, someone was standing on the dragonâs back.
ãI didnât know you could ride a dragon.ã
The sun rose, casting a ray of light on the strangerâs silver mask, reflecting a sparkling scarlet glow.
ãSilver Face!ã
Gorja clicked his tongue. He used his free right hand to draw the dagger from his waist and immediately threw it at Silver Face. But as he was dangling in the air, he couldnât put much strength into the throw, allowing the masked boy to easily dodge the dagger.
ãItâs not really me whoâll decide whether to kill you or not...ãSilver Face muttered as he crouched down and unsheathed a blade from his waist.
The blade was so overwhelming that even Gorja, who didnât have Mana Detection, couldnât keep his eyes off of it.
Silver Face casually swung the weapon, cutting off the dragonâs wing. The creature shrieked in pain.
ãWhat?!ã
Gorja was shocked. Even a huge weapon like the blast cannon couldnât make a dent on the dragonâs skin, let alone a normal blade. Thatâs what he was told.
ãLater.ã
Silver Face jumped off the dragonâs back. Wounded and unable to maintain its balance in the air, the dragon fell from the sky, spinning as it plummeted.
ãAaaah!ã
Swung around in circles, Gorgia slammed and slid down the inner side of the wall along with the dragon.
ãGorja fell!ã
ãWait, the dragonâs bleeding. Someoneâs on its back!ã
ãWhat was that triangular thing just now?! You havenât seen that before, have you?ã
ãIt leaped off the dragon and onto the wall!ã
As monsters reached the wall, agitation filled the people around the blast cannons, but cheers erupted the moment the dragon spurted out blood and crashed to the ground. Gorja also fell from a height over about twenty meters; he wouldnât get out of it unscathed.
ãKing Doriachi!ãLuke said.ãAllow us, the Vireocean knights, to join the battle on the wall! We must save those who canât move!ã
After Duinkler translated the knightâs words, Doriachi nodded firmly.ãPlease do. The others will defend the wall as well. If the Yamamaneki rises back up again, weâll fire our blast cannons on it, so please donât block our line of fire.ã
Led by Luke, the guards and rebel soldiers charged straight towards the wall. Doriachi breathed a sigh of relief.
ãYou really made me nervous, Silver Face.ã
Leaping from the falling dragon and descending onto the castle walls, Hikaru activated the Gravity Balancer to break his fall. What greeted him was a hellish sceneâsoldiers being devoured by monsters.
Hikaru inhaled deeply.ãMove!ãhe yelled in their language.
He barely knew any other words. He then drew his revolver, aimed it at the giant lizard, and pulled the trigger.
ãWh-What is that?! Magic?!ã
Burnt to crisp by the ball of fire, several giant lizards fell off the wall outside. A huge pillar of fire rose from the other side too.
ãMove!ãHikaru shouted once more.
Snapping back to their senses, the soldiers acted immediately, striking at the monsters already on the wall and taking down those that were scaling it. Once they moved, they were very capable of fighting monsters.
Good, Hikaru thought, when his field of vision suddenly turned dark.
ãFinally up, eh?ã
The Yamamaneki wobbled as it stood up. Several shots were fired at it, blowing off its upper body. Hikaru turned around to see the blast cannon squad raising their hands and Duinkler waving both his arms wildly.
ãWhoa. Heâs staring daggers at me.ã
Ludend watched him with arms folded. He mustâve realized that Silver Face was one of the reasons that the revolt failed. The guards and the rebels had no choice but to work together, but somewhere within, the chief still wasnât completely convinced.
ãI never really thought Koukimaruâs side was this prepared.ãHikaru muttered.
Running on top of the wall, Hikaru activated his Stealth and cut down monsters coming through spots where there werenât a lot of men. As the sun rose higher up and visibility increased, he saw monsters from deep in the forest coming in droves.
ãIf they lose heart, weâll lose for sure... ã
Hikaru reached for his waist where the fully-charged bullets were.
ãLetâs end this with a bang.ã