Chapter 689: Destroyed Rock Towers (1)

"Holy shit, what the hell is this?!"

Dragon Rasheel twisted his body left and right as he looked around.
Numerous rocks were floating up and covering the sky above Puzzle City.

"Why are there so many rocks, no, that's not the issue!"

These large and small rocks… They were just rocks in the end.
No matter how large the rocks were, they would still break if they crashed into Rasheel's large body. Rasheel would usually not pay any attention to these simple rocks.

'But there's still too many of them!'

Too many might even be too generous of a term for them.
There was an endless number of rocks floating that it made Rasheel question where they could even be coming from.

The rocks that didn't look fancy or anything were sparkling because they reflected the light from the ball of light Alberu shot up earlier.

"…Dangerous area determined. Goal is annihilation."

The Lion Dragon's black eyes sparkled, and it started to move.

Stage three. It was time to indiscriminately attack.

"Please retreat!"

Rasheel chose to retreat quickly as soon as he heard crown prince Alberu's voice.

"Ah, whatever! I don't care anymore!"

He would not benefit from his attribute, 'Indomitability,' since there was no magic to be used. His power was strongest in a 1 on 1 setting; it was not very useful in this current situation.

"Ahhh!"

Rasheel frowned at that moment.

"Hey, hey! You damn pink hair! You…let go!"

Dodori was tightly clenching Rasheel's horns as if he was going to pull them out.
He was young but still a Dragon, so Rasheel was screaming at Dodori's strength with concern that his horns would be ripped off. Dodori seemed to be blanking out.

"Hey, I said let go! Hey, you damn little, ahh!"

Boooooooong-

Rasheel saw a large shield fly past right in front of his face.
The grey Dragon's eyes looked toward the Lion Dragon.

"Is that son of a bitch crazy?!"

The monster holding the large shield suddenly started actively moving. It was as if it was not going to pay any attention to the few wings it had lost.

Boom. Boom!

The monster descended to the ground and stomped forward as it swung its shield and sharp claws in all directions.

Baaaang— bang!

The buildings and everything in the city started to break from this devastating attack.
Alberu Crossman quietly mumbled to himself as he watched.

"The third stage. It uses its physical strength and its two abilities."

According to Earth 3's Ahn Roh Man…

'Once it reaches the third stage, the Lion Dragon will use its physical strength, its shield, and its two special abilities.'

'The Lion Dragon only defended against attacks and showed simple movements during the first two stages. That may make it seem easy to take down, however, it changes completely in the third stage.'

Ahn Roh Man had said that they had a large number of casualties at this time.

'The Lion Dragon that aimed only for the strong individuals it considered a threat tries to kill anything that is alive once it reaches the third stage.'

The Lion Dragon was showing extremely smooth and natural movements that were completely different from what it had been doing until now.
However, the thing that the monster expressed the most was its monstrous attacking strength.

"Don't let it get close to people!"

"Sounds good."

"Shit!"

Mila and Rasheel, who had not gotten too far away from the monster, started to distract the monster after hearing Eruhaben's shout.
The barrier where the humans were gathered… They had to stop this monster from getting near it.
Alberu calmly watched them as he recalled Ahn Roh Man's words.

'One it passes the third stage…that is when you become important, Alberu Crossman.'

'Taerang. That is the time when you can properly use that weapon.'

'You also need a partner who can help you.'

The corners of Alberu's lips went up.

Stage four. There were plenty of individuals to help Alberu at that stage.
However, it was currently on the third stage. The only person who could safely defeat this monster right now with the disturbed mana was Cale Henituse.

"…I will only get Cale Henituse's help until here."

He had said that he didn't need Cale's help but had no choice but to rely on Cale until here because magic could not be used.

"Although the extent of his assistance is no joke."

Alberu raised his voice.

"The monster can only maintain this state for about thirty minutes! We just need to get past that!"

Guardian.
This monster was like a machine, it was not a living being like them.
That was what Ahn Roh Man had told him.

"Thirty minutes?"

Rasheel, who managed to hear Alberu's voice despite the chaos, quickly looked down. He then shouted as loudly as possible because magic was unavailable.

"Hey, you puny humans! Do whatever you can to survive for thirty minutes! You got that?! Don't die! You'll just create even more work for us!"

"Ho."
Eruhaben scoffed in amusement, but Rasheel was serious. He did not want to have bad dreams.
He felt Dodori pulling his horns again at that time.

"Hey, you little punk- you dare,"

"Watch out!"

Boooooooong-

The moment Rasheel heard something cutting through the air… Rasheel quickly rose diagonally.

Baaaaaaaaaang-!

The monster's fist brushed past where Rasheel had just been and slammed into a part of the plaza.

"Shit!"

Rasheel felt his heart sink as soon as he saw that.
The opening that was created because he dodged diagonally…
The monster immediately started running toward that opening. The Lion Dragon's now black eyes were focused on the barrier. It was the location with the most living beings.

"Shit, why is it so freaking fast?! How the hell did it get so fast all of a sudden?!"

Rasheel shouted with frustration while chasing after it.
The monster was as swift as if it was using magic in this third stage. Mila and Rasheel chased after the monster.

"Ah… ah..."

Its appearance brought fear to the people within the barrier.
Although the barrier was high… The monster approaching them from past it was even taller.

Boom. Boom.

They could experience its large body that made the ground roar the closer it came toward them.
It was different from watching it fight against the Dragons from a distance.
They were scared of the monster approaching them under the holy light Alberu cast in the night sky.

It was an extremely tall monster.
It looked extremely sturdy.
It looked extremely strong.
This monster with black eyes was destroying everything in its path as it got toward them.
They saw all these things.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Calm down! The Dragons are protecting us! Slowly, slowly retreat!"

Boom. Boom.

However, the monster approached them too quickly.

"T, that is too fast!"

"It's a monster, it is a monster!"

Its physical abilities were so great that it allowed them to understand why it was a monster and why it was considered a disaster for the entire Western continent.
The people in charge raised their voices.

"Those of you close to the barrier move closer to the barrier instead! It's too late to retreat!"

"Retreat! And then scatter!"

"Your majesty!"

Litana heard someone calling out for her.

"This…does not seem to be a place for us to battle!"

The eyes of a warrior who had told her that they should help the Roan Kingdom and the crown prince were shaking.
Although he was one of the ones who shouted fervently earlier that they should attack the monster to save the crown prince… He had fallen into fear after facing the monster's attack actually headed toward him.

Boom!

The monster stomped its foot.

"Your majesty! You must retreat!"

The warrior shouted with desperation while the monster, which had approached instantly as if it had used magic, jumped up into the air with that stomp.
The monster holding its shield with both hands tried to use its shield to attack the barrier and the humans inside the barrier.

"Your majesty!"

Litana opened her mouth at that moment.

"There's no need to do that."

"Excuse me?"

"Look over there."

There were individuals who were neither running away nor feeling impacted by the chaos.
They were just protecting their designated spots.
Their hands holding their weapons were shaking in fear but they were not releasing their grips.
They were the reason the battlefield was still maintaining its order.

These individuals were the soldiers of the Roan Kingdom.
They numbered more than the remaining reinforcements. They were biting down on their lips and looking toward their superiors or the Roan Kingdom's knights. Their superiors and the knights were all looking at the Knight Captain.
The Knight Captain was looking at Alberu. The Captain started speaking as if nothing was wrong.

"Maintain your calm."

That sentence was enough to make them stand in place.
The reason they could do so soon appeared in front of their eyes.

Baaaaaaaaaang-!

The monster slammed its shield down at the barrier.
Darkness suddenly arrived for the people.
The people quickly realized it. They noticed what had caused this darkness.

"…Rocks!"

The thousands or the hundreds of thousands of rocks that had been covering the night sky… Each of those rocks that were nothing much on their own gathered together to create a kind of shield above their heads.

Craaaaaack-!

They heard something break before the darkness disappeared once again.
They could see rock powder that was falling like snow in between the scattering rocks.
Quite a lot of rocks were destroyed because of the monster's shield. It was to the point that the rocks could not maintain their shape anymore. However, there were still a ton of rocks in the sky and around Puzzle City.

The monster retreated two steps with its shield in its hands.
The people under the barrier looked toward the Roan Kingdom's citizens after finally realizing that this rock shield and stopped the monster's shield.
Once they saw the faint smiles or looks of relief on the faces of the Roan Kingdom's people…
It reminded them of a statement that went around after the Roan Kingdom defeated the Northern Alliance when nobody believed that they had a chance. 'The shield will not break.' They could finally understand the meaning of those words.

Tang—!

A sharp noise cut through the sky and snapped them out of their thoughts.
The crown prince of the Roan Kingdom was attacking the monster again as it showed some openings retreating from its clash with the rock shield.

Baaaaang!

A shining black Yong was aiming for the monster's back at the same time. The black-haired swordsman holding that sword had a sharp gaze in his eyes as if he was aiming for a different opening.
The Dragons were using their strong physical bodies, which were pretty strong despite not being as strong as the monster's body, instead of using magic.

But the monster quickly stopped giving them many openings.

Ahhhh-

The monster opened its mouth to reveal a dark red light.
It was the same power that was used when Alberu feigned his death. The power that had destroyed Alberu's shields, the power that Alberu was only able to survive because he uses dead mana, was about to strike again.
But it was faster and stronger than the last time.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!

There was another loud noise but nobody was running away anymore.
They were just standing around looking at rocks, most that were even smaller than their fists, quickly gathering together to create another large shield.
The rocks were shining because light was reflecting off of them.
It looked as if the stars were gathering together.

Baaaaaang—!

There was another loud explosion and numerous rocks burnt black from the monster's dark red light before they disappeared.
But they managed to stop the attack.
They heard someone's euphoric voice in the darkness just before the rock shield scattered again.

"There is a monster, but we have a hero, a hero who is pretty much a god."

They all turned toward the sound of the voice. As light filtered through between the scattering rocks… That light allowed them to see who had made that comment.
That person was Clopeh Sekka.

Boom-.

The monster ignored the Dragons and heroes again and aimed for the people inside the barrier.
Someone looked to the side and let out a quiet gasp.

"Ah...!"

A rock right next to his foot was floating up.
There were still plenty of rocks to protect them in Puzzle City.

The people there all subconsciously turned to look somewhere.
They were looking at the open window of the many windows on the City Hall building. The red-haired man standing there…
The rocks moving following his hands…
The man was smiling.

"Thirty minutes is doable."

Cale was standing firm.
The rocks breaking from blocking the Lion Dragon's attack did not burden Cale that much. His body did not receive any impact from them breaking. All Cale was doing was moving the rocks.
It did take a lot to handle so many rocks but there were no dangers to his body.
This was the reason Cale chose the Scary Giant Cobblestone over the Indestructible Shield.

Knock knock knock.

Cale heard someone cautiously knocking on the door.

"Raon."

"I got it human!"

Raon moved over and opened the door.

Click.

"Young master-nim."

Wolf boy Lock was standing there. He looked at Cale's back which was small as usual but seemed even bigger than mountains as he calmly continued to speak.

"We blocked all exit routes above and underground. It took a bit longer to confirm all underground routes as well."

The Wolf tribe members had not been on the battlefield. They were blocking all physical exit routes out of Puzzle City.
Cale was still looking at the Lion Dragon without turning around to address Lock.
Something black approached Cale from outside the window.

Caw. Caw.

It was a crow.
It was a mysterious power that was similar to magic but one that could be used even without mana.

Incantations.
The crow was being moved with incantations as it arrived in front of Cale.
It opened its black wings wide and delivered its master, Tiger Gashan's words.

"Young master-nim, we have discovered the rest of the Bear tribe. They were in a forest near Puzzle City."

The corners of Cale's lips curled up.

"Young master-nim."

Someone silently appeared behind Lock.

"We found it."

It was chef Beacrox, son of Ron, the Molan patriarch. He stabbed his greatsword into the ground and nonchalantly added on.

"We believe that we located the place where the Duke-nim is likely to be imprisoned."

Duke. He was talking about Cale's father, Deruth Henituse.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]