The figure blocking Aila's path was a burly warrior clad in dazzling silver armor inlaid with brilliant gold trim. In his left hand, he gripped a massive tower shield engraved with the sacred emblem of the Holy Church of Light, and in his right, he held an incomparably sharp spear.
On the other side, the tall, mysterious figure whose face was hidden behind an exquisite mask was Syndra-Lo, whom she had briefly met the previous night.
“Oracle Shield!”
The burly man roared, suddenly raising the tower shield over his head.
In an instant, a brilliant golden shield shadow descended from the sky, covering everyone and blocking the surging swarm of dragons, demonstrating unparalleled defensive power.
At the same time, Syndra-Lo's hands danced lightly. Countless shadows seemed to surge in the air as spectral figures reached out silently from behind the dragons, binding them tightly in the air like chains.
“What are you doing?! Why did you lure them all down here?” Seeing that the dragon attack was temporarily blocked, the man turned and questioned Aila sharply, his brow furrowed with anxiety and dissatisfaction.
“Heh~ Lord Karl, why so impatient?” Syndra-Lo replied in his magnetic and slightly playful voice, his words tinged with a hint of provocation.
“Didn't you set up the Radiant Barrier specifically to lure them into a ground battle? Although the current situation is slightly different from your estimates, the result isn't unacceptable. Besides, as a Saint Rank expert, would you really fear these challenges? Or have you already reached your limit?”
“Hmph! Syndra-Lo... you mysterious fellow who hides your head and shows only your tail. I thought you'd play the coward forever. I didn't expect you to know about the Radiant Barrier. Once the Saint Lord finishes his seclusion, I'll make sure he investigates you thoroughly!” Paladin Karl snorted coldly, but given the delicacy of the situation, he said no more.
“Perhaps I know more than you imagine... Now, Miss Aila, how much longer does Mr. Midir need? In this situation, even two Saint Rank experts won't be able to hold out for long~” Seeing Karl turn away, Syndra-Lo ignored his coldness and turned to ask Aila.
“This... I don't know either!” Aila replied helplessly. Just as she turned around to see what was happening, Midir, who had been charging his power for a long time, finally made his next move.
“Creation Domain: Wide-range Stripping!”
Midir whispered. The massive magic array beneath his feet seemed to be injected with endless vitality, its range expanding violently like a tidal wave. It quickly swept through, instantly covering more than half of Emerald City. The entire city was shrouded in a magnificent rose-red light.
“What kind of spell is this?!” Karl exclaimed in surprise as he watched the rose-red light emerge across the city. Even with his experience, he couldn't recognize the nature of the spell before him.
In contrast, Syndra-Lo just stood silently to the side, his gaze deep as he stared at Midir. It was impossible to tell what expression he wore beneath his mask.
The expansion of the array was like a fleeting bloom. In just a few seconds, an area of several kilometers centered on Midir was dyed in a soft yet deep pale red glow, constructing an unprecedentedly strange domain.
Within this domain, whether human or dragon, all abilities related to the elements were stripped away by an invisible force at this moment. Even a Saint Rank expert like Karl could only watch helplessly as his Oracle Shield dissipated like morning dew.
Even more shocking was that the Radiant Barrier, which was usually invincible against magic, also vanished silently into the air. Just as the human experts were beginning to panic, they discovered that the dragon race was facing an even more terrifying impact.
The dragon race's proud, powerful physical bodies were rooted in their lifelong exposure to high concentrations of elemental energy. These elements had long since seeped into their marrow, becoming their source of vitality and a part of their existence.
However, under the shroud of this red world, an unprecedented catastrophe descended. Not only were the elements in the air stripped away, but even the deepest elements within the dragons' bodies began to be ruthlessly peeled away. Their bodies seemed to lose their support, and their strength and vitality vanished instantly, turning them from the former overlords of the sky into weaklings.
In comparison, the effect of this feeling on humans was somewhat negligible. Even if they couldn't successfully cast spells or use battle qi, they still retained seventy to eighty percent of their strength.
After only a few seconds, even without additional control, the sub-dragons fell one after another like dominoes. Only the dozens of pureblood dragons were still struggling to endure, but within this domain, they didn't even have the strength to spread their wings and escape, falling to the ground one by one.
The only one unaffected was that particularly massive Blue Dragon. The moment it sensed something was wrong, it flew high into the sky, narrowly escaping the domain's coverage. After witnessing this terrifying power, it was now circling hesitantly in the heights.
“This feeling... why does it seem like I've seen it somewhere before?” Paladin Karl looked at the dragons collapsed all around him, feeling a sudden chill down his spine as he spoke with uncertainty.
Syndra-Lo appeared much calmer, attempting to use his shadow magic on his own. He found that even with extreme control, his mana would be worn away by the domain the moment it left his body by more than a centimeter or two.
Although Aila knew nothing about magic, she keenly sensed the source of the familiarity Karl mentioned and blurted out.
“It's like the Radiant Meteor! The feeling of this domain is very similar to how it felt then, only the range of that meteor was much larger than this!”
At these words, the eyes of the two Saint Rank experts focused on Midir simultaneously. Karl's gaze gradually turned from surprise to wariness, while Aila noticed a flash of hard-to-detect joy in the eyes behind Syndra-Lo's clown mask, as if all of this was within his expectations.
Before the three could say more, Midir finished his casting and fell forward unsteadily, looking as though he had exhausted a great deal of stamina.
The red domain that had covered several kilometers also vanished into the air as his strength gave out.
Seeing this, Aila hurriedly reached out to support him, asking with concern, “Hey! Are you okay?”
Midir finally recovered slightly after a few seconds and sighed.
“I didn't expect this thing to be so taxing. I shouldn't make it so large next time. Fortunately, I managed to stop in time before it went out of control, just enough to suppress all those dragons.”
“What?! You mean you were still holding back?” Hearing Midir's quiet complaint and then looking at the miserable state of the dragons around them, Aila's face twitched several times, her shock beyond measure.
“That's right. After some thought, this was the best way for now. It won't kill them, and it avoids casualties on the human side. However, I'm powerless to do anything about the city that has already been destroyed.” Supported by her, Midir looked at the devastated surroundings and shook his head helplessly.
“Hmm... very good. This has saved us a lot of trouble. I never imagined when these fellows would become like fish on a chopping block.”
Syndra-Lo walked slowly toward the struggling pureblood dragons, his steps carrying an indescribable composure. With a gentle wave of his hand, countless shadows reached out from the ground, entangling the dragons' bodies and pinning them firmly to the earth.
“Wait, what are you doing! You can't kill these dragons!” Karl roared as he saw his actions.
Rate on N.U.
