Published: January 12, 2026
I had expected this.
After all, he had been heavily relied upon by the Count at a young age, and his power and military achievements had earned him promotions from knight marquis to baron, and finally to viscount.
He was undoubtedly a top-class four element magician, and his aptitude was obvious.
"Fire Javelin."
At Panamera's command, a huge ball of flame appeared from his outstretched hand, taking the shape of a spear and flying forward.
The blazing fire spear, larger than Panamera himself, surged powerfully toward the dragon.
Even the forest dragon, faced with such force, folded its wings to evade, dropped to the ground, and leapt sideways, pushing off the earth with its four limbs.
Having skillfully dodged the fire spear, the dragon began to run in a posture resembling that of a quadrupedal beast. It was completely like a komodo dragon in movement, but due to its huge size, it was extremely terrifying.
Its speed dropped slightly, but it still seemed to be running about as fast as I could sprint at full speed.
Just then, it seemed the ballista was finally ready, as arrows began to be rapidly fired one after another.
The dragon, presumably with excellent eyesight, tried to avoid them, but it couldn't dodge all the dozen or so ballista arrows.
The arrows pierced its body, wings, and legs. I think about five hit their mark?
Maybe because the ballista was enlarged, it felt like it took much longer to fire. We used the lever principle to draw the bowstring, extending the length of the shaft and increasing the number of gears, but perhaps it required more force than before.
While pondering this, I peeked through the half-open gate to observe the dragon.
The dragon lost its balance, let out a roar, and rolled violently on the ground, coming to a stop just beside the highway.
I was worried the arrows might bounce off the dragon's scales, but it seemed they had penetrated safely.
"Hurry, second volley! Fire as soon as you're ready!"
As soon as I gave the order, arrows were fired all at once. Apparently, everyone had loaded two shots, which accounted for the delay.
There were fifty ballista units set up in total, but only fifteen were positioned on the front side of the castle walls. That meant a maximum of fifteen arrows could be shot simultaneously.
Despite bleeding, the dragon leapt widely to the side again, evading every one of the arrows.
The arrows embedded deeply in the highway, but the dragon took no damage from the second volley.
However, the damage from the arrow that pierced its torso in the first volley seemed tremendous, as the dragon lowered its posture with a growl.
"T-That was a close one!"
"S-Somehow, we survived..."
Ort and the others returned to the castle walls, breathing a sigh of relief. But the threat was far from over.
"I won't forget how you treated me..."
Then, Kusala, looking near death and breathing heavily, arrived at the castle wall.
Behind him, the dragon, having regained its stance, could be seen pushing off the ground.
At that moment, the second fire javelin was launched.
"Fire Javelin."
Following Panamera's voice, a ball of fire appeared and took spear form.
"This will hold it back temporarily! Everyone, evacuate to the village! We don't have enough manpower here!"
Panamera gave the order and released the fire javelin.
The dragon assumed an evasive posture, but the fire javelin slightly altered its trajectory in front of the target, moving as if tracking it.
Then, it exploded just before impact.
A fierce pillar of flames blazed, scorching the dragon's face and part of its body.
The dragon let out a scream and recoiled, stepping back twice. Oh, so this is the true power of flame magic. If the opponent weren't a dragon, this would be a terrifyingly powerful and versatile attack. Its flashy nature would also have a good effect on the battlefield.
While I was surprised, Panamera was already ahead. Experience on the battlefield really makes a difference.
"Alright! Everyone! Run to the village!"
Repeating Panamera's command, I gave the same instructions a step behind him. We all started running toward the village.