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Chapter 278 part 1

Dragons took flight. Countless dragons soared through the skies.

The Fire dragons, their scales reflecting the dual nature of destruction and rebirth, shimmering in hues of flame.

The Wind dragons, swift as the world-traversing breeze, glided effortlessly through the air.

Alongside the cleaving thunder that tears through the black clouds, there exists the Lightning dragons.

The Water dragons, familiar with the water that nourishes and quenches thirst between heaven and earth, journeyed.

And Earth dragons, enduring through the ages, ever-changing yet constant, as steadfast as the ground beneath.

These were not the only dragon species that flew in the seemingly endless sky. There were also individuals with multiple attributes born from the mingling of blood, as well as dragons classified as derivative or superior species.

Worms without limbs, Wyverns with front limbs as wings, as well as other Demi-dragons and Lesser Dragons, gathered in numbers that were unimaginable by human standards.

The setting was inside the Caravis Tower, a place manifested on earth by the Great Goddess Caravis, the most despised and loathed deity among all gods. The Barony of Berne of the Arkrest Kingdom oversaw this tower.

One might wonder how much devastation these dragons could bring if unleashed freely to wreak havoc. The reason this terrifying thought became a reality, in fact, was the opposite of what one might imagine.

Dragonkins from various parts of the Mores Mountains had assembled, forming ranks like a well-trained army. They were training in real combat against a large number of faux dragons, mass-produced by a device found inside the Caravis Tower.

Few had the capability and insight to command the dragons of the More Mountains, who differed in attributes, skill, personality, and experience in team battles. Nevertheless, through repeated battles with the faux dragons, both day and night, the makeshift commanders became accustomed to giving orders, and the dragons also grew used to receiving them.

The faux dragons of the Demon King’s army, their most formidable hypothetical enemy, were more accustomed to fighting as an army than they were and also operated under a solid chain of command.

Unfortunately, it was undeniable that the Demon King’s army held the upper hand over the Mores Mountains’ forces in terms of military proficiency. The Mores Mountains’ advantage lay in the individual powers of beings like Liu Yuu, who had reached the level of a Quasi-Water Dragon Emperor, and Vaje, who stood out among the ancient dragons under Dran’s command.

Depending on the situation, there was the possibility that a wild White dragon or a beautiful Water dragon, claiming to be Ryu Kitsu, might join the battle nonchalantly on the actual day of combat.

Regardless of which one joined the battle, the Demon King’s Army would be justified in clutching their heads in agony, fainting, and rolling around on the ground, as they would be confronted with an existence that far exceeded their expectations. It was even possible that a comical scene might unfold on the battlefield.

As the Dragonkins, under Dran – or Dreissen’s guidance, were intensively training against the dragons of the Demon King’s army in advance, several humans, excluding Dran, were observing.

Among them were Baran, the commander of the Berne Knights, and other key figures of the Berne army, as well as a few exceptionally skilled soldiers.

Above them, countless dragons exchanged breath attacks, sang choruses of dragon magic, engaged in combat, and their huge bodies were moving at speeds too fast for the eyes to follow.

On the ground, dragons and faux dragons, either lacking flight capabilities or specialized in ground combat, shook the earth with the roars that one would wish to block their ears, biting into each other’s throats and embedding their claws and fangs into each other’s flesh and scales.

This battle was more intense than a clash between armies of a hundred thousand or a million soldiers. The various reactions of Baran and other former mercenaries and knights, known as fierce warriors elsewhere, ranged from pale faces and tensed expressions to speechlessness, all due to the sheer unorthodox of this non-human combat.

Fortunately, they knew that one of the dragonkin rampaging across the land and sky was clearly on their side. In front of the dizzying spectacle of flames rising, thunderbolts raining down, poisonous mist, and a riot of colors, Baran managed to squeeze out a very tired voice.

「This is certainly the best place for training without the Demon King’s army knowing the details, but I never thought I’d have to witness something so unreal. It’s already quite a challenge to join hands with such freaks, and the fact that the faux dragons on the other side are similar is a headache.」

Baran and his team were there to gain an understanding of the actual combat capabilities of the dragonkin they would be fighting alongside so that they would not waste valuable time panicking or being confused when the time came for the actual battle. This was also a measure to deepen their understanding of their allies.

At the moment, only those involved in on-site command and overall strategy planning were present, but eventually, all soldiers slated to participate in the battle would be included in this program. Of course, that was only if they could make it in time before the Demon King’s Army invaded.

In general, there were knight corps that rode lesser dragons like wyverns and worms or those rode demi-dragons, but corps fighting alongside such powerful and intelligent dragonkin were probably only found among those who coexisted with other races in the territories of the Three Dragon Emperors.

In the Barony of Bern, where the phrase “unprecedented” came up all the time, the ones who had to deal with those unprecedented situations, apart from Dran and the other leaders, were quite exhausted and strained, mentally, physically, and morally, as they fulfilled their duties day after day. It was truly a difficult situation for them.

「Dran and the Baron, who worked hard to secure this alliance, are not here, but we can’t keep relying on them forever. We don’t have much time, but at the very least, we need to train our soldiers enough so that they can run around without getting caught up in the dragonkin’s attacks and learn how the dragonkin fight, or else we will be ashamed to call ourselves knight commanders.」

Baran encouraged himself in this way and shouted at the others who were making faces around him.

However, the determination he had just fortified was immediately shattered when he saw a cataclysmic blow from an elder Earth dragon with the power of a Dragon Duke. Well, let’s just call that an endearing quirk of his.

*
At the same time, as Baran and the upper echelons of the Berne’s military were gazing into the distance inside Caravis Tower, Christina and Dran were at the Galois Magic Academy.

They had accepted the invitation to the preliminary round to decide the academy’s representative for this year’s Magic Tournament due to their significant role in last year’s victory.

They attended not only to check how Lenia, Nelneshia, Fatima, and other friends were doing but also to see firsthand how Galois was preparing for the war against the Demon King’s army.

Olivier, who had been serving as the academy’s dean for the second year in a row, sat in the same VIP seats as Dran and Christina. They temporarily put aside thoughts of the impending war with the Demon King’s army, choosing instead to watch their juniors’ earnest efforts with calm hearts.

Many nobles, relatives of students, and wealthy merchants were also in the audience, just like last year. Lenia and Nelneshia, already confirmed as representative students, were also waiting in the student seats for the moment when their fellow competitors for the main Magical Tournament would be decided.

The students participating in the preliminaries, in terms of average skill, were not much different from last year. However, three who underwent excessively intense training in Bern displayed exceptional abilities.」

「Looks like it’s going to be Manos, Kushli, and Aznar. They didn’t slack off on their training even after returning to Galois, it seems.」

Christina recalled the outrageous training they had experienced in Bern and muttered to herself. Being under Lenia’s watchful eye – or rather, being under her scrutiny – they couldn’t afford to slack off even after returning to Galois, and must have been subjected to harsh training.

While Nelneshia, and Manos, who didn’t mind hard work to verify his research results, were one thing, it must have been quite an ordeal, especially for Kushli and Aznar, who were more of ordinary people. And this ordeal could continue until the main Magical Tournament was over.

「Lenia wouldn’t allow them to relax. With such intense training, they have significant potential for growth before the Magic Tournament. I’m expecting them to perform well again this year. But this year, it seems we only have the top two instead of four.」

「That’s because the dean decided to increase the number of selected slots for the preliminary competition to three for this year only. Because there was not much difference in the grades and abilities of the other competitors except for Lenia and Nelneshia.」

「It seems likely that Manos and the other will make it in. Now, the question is whether the main Magical Tournament will be held without any problems..」