Chapter 42: Volume 1: Chapter 42: To Slay a Dragon, First Sever its Tail
The sky twisted, and the wind churned. A magical tempest tore through the clouds, roaring across thousands of miles, arriving before the trio. Artoria and Gawain's expressions instinctively shifted. They were about to leap from the fortress's high platform to evade this cataclysmic strike. However, before the girl could grasp the boy's hand, Aozaki Rin instead charged directly into the attack.
The intense air currents and strong winds made his white cloak flap violently. The boy gripped Durandal with both hands, swinging his blade without reservation towards the Storm Lance!
"En!!!" Artoria cried out, watching as the boy was about to be swallowed by the storm. However, the next moment, the storm's impact, which should have been unstoppable and overwhelming, was split in two by Aozaki Rin's blade. Wild air currents continuously slammed against the boy's blade in waves until, a few seconds later, all the stormy winds suddenly paused, as if restrained by an even more powerful force. They then reflected directly back in the direction from which they came, with several times the original momentum!
—Boom!
The ground, scraped by the deflected storm, bore a deep gash. The White Dragon, perched on the distant hill, also seemed not to have anticipated such a situation. Before it could wield the Holy Lance in its hand again, the reflected magical storm directly struck its front, instantly piercing one of its cloud-like wings.
However, the White Dragon did not let out a pained shriek or an enraged roar. It merely staggered back a few steps before raising the Holy Lance in its hand once more.
"My King, Gawain! Close the distance now! At this range, our attacks won't even be able to reach it!" A corner of the magic mask on Aozaki Rin's face was shattered, scattering fragments. Even his cloak was riddled with holes. After all, that [Full Counter] just now barely managed to reflect the Storm Lance's attack by using all of his current power without reservation. The next time, Aozaki Rin could feel, it would certainly not be so easy.
Artoria reacted in time. Looking at the White Dragon, which was slowly concentrating the Holy Lance's magic in the distance, as if gathering power, she immediately ceased her hesitation and ordered Gawain beside her, "Sir Gawain, find horses immediately! We must get closer to defeat that White Dragon!"
"At your command, My King!" Without any delay, Gawain immediately searched within the fortress. Fortunately, although the White Dragon's flames had almost swept through the fortress, a few good horses had luckily survived the attack.
Artoria, Aozaki Rin, and Gawain dared not waste a single second. They mounted the horses and galloped furiously towards the distant hill. As for gathering the surviving soldiers from the battlefield for a combined assault... that method was completely impractical. Such a gigantic enemy could no longer be dealt with by sheer numbers alone. On the entire battlefield, currently only the three of them combined might still have a hope of victory. Of course, besides that, they might also need someone's help...
"Merlin! If you can hear me, answer immediately! Tell me the White Dragon... Vortigern's weakness!" Artoria gripped the reins, galloping madly. Her resolute voice echoed in the air, with Aozaki Rin and Gawain riding closely behind her.
—[This really puts me in a difficult spot. That form, it could already be said to be the symbol of Britain's "White Dragon," and it even has the added power of the island. Plus the Holy Lance in its hand... If there's a weakness to speak of, it's probably only the wound En's attack caused on its body just now.]
Merlin's voice suddenly resonated in the trio's minds. Unlike his usual irreverence, this time his voice was truly filled with a sense of headache, as if he hadn't anticipated Vortigern would be so utterly mad. However, in the end, Merlin sighed lightly, casting several reinforcement spells on the trio from a distance, and said gravely, —[The only way to deal with that White Dragon now is the Holy Sword in your hand, Artoria. In essence, the Holy Lance in Vortigern's hand and the Holy Sword in yours are existences of the same caliber. If you can gain the Holy Sword's recognition and unleash its power, then there's still a sliver of hope for victory in this battle.] —[So, try to master the power of the Holy Sword, Artoria!]
As if being forced forward, Artoria frowned, subconsciously glancing at the Holy Sword in her hand. Aozaki Rin, meanwhile, rode anxiously beside the girl.
"My King..."
However, before his words could fully escape, the White Dragon, which had allowed them to gallop unimpeded until now, suddenly arched its massive body, its pair of wings powerfully stretching backward. Then, it fiercely swung them forward! Even with one wing already damaged, even if its power was inferior to the Holy Lance in its hand, the storm that swept forth was still like a raging tornado, instantly tearing across the battlefield, picking up countless weapons and armor, and heading towards the trio!
Aozaki Rin and Artoria, feeling the air currents begin to swirl wildly, had already controlled their horses to prepare for evasion. Gawain, with a pull on his reins, instantly turned his horse around, avoiding the storm. However, this furious tornado was not merely an attack; it was more of a cover. The moment their vision was obscured by the storm, a sky-obscuring shadow suddenly descended from above. Ferocious dragon claws instantly pierced through the storm, and with a single swing, kicking up countless amounts of earth and sand, directly slapped the boy and the steed beneath him flying.
"En—!"
Artoria instinctively moved to turn her horse, but at that moment, the White Dragon's flames had already erupted from its mouth. Seeing this, Gawain, without hesitation, stomped on the horse beneath him, leaping to Artoria's side and knocking the girl and her horse away. He, meanwhile, relying on the power boost of the setting sun, bravely resisted the White Dragon's breath with the Holy Sword in his hand.
—[Lily, don't worry, En is fine! What's most important right now is the enemy in front of you!] Merlin's scolding voice rang out, instantly snapping Artoria back to reality. She no longer looked in the direction the boy had been blown away. She climbed up from the ground, rolled to the side, dodging the White Dragon's tail whip, and then aimed the Holy Sword at its tail, striking directly!
—Screech!
Blood immediately splattered across her beautiful face, but the tail beneath her sword was not severed; it remained connected by bone and flesh. But before the White Dragon could swing a second time, its nightmarish figure leaped into the air again, performing an aerial backflip, then continually rotating its body sideways. The air was stirred by its enormous body, and a violent vortex formed with its dragon body at the center. The next second, scorching dragon flames erupted from the center of the vortex, spreading directly across the entire battlefield from its point of origin! Like hellfire, scorching the human plains. The entire land instantly turned red.
—Screeeech.
Durandal was plunged deeply into the ground, cutting an unknown length of gash. Aozaki Rin, after being knocked away and falling from the sky, had been using Durandal to halt his retreating momentum until this moment when he finally came to a stop. But at the same time, he also felt a scorching magical energy erupting across the land.
"Mr. En! Are you alright!"
"Gareth...?" Aozaki Rin was stunned. Unable to see the outside world, he hadn't realized that he had been directly knocked by the White Dragon to the location where the logistics unit was stationed. It was already too late to rush back to the front lines from this distance. After a few seconds of hesitation, Aozaki Rin faced Gareth, who was standing beside him, and urgently asked, "Gareth, is there a bow nearby?!"
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