"Quite a close call! You all get further away, don't get caught up in the fight!"
Frieren cautioned the border defense troops, who immediately obeyed and retreated in an orderly fashion, quickly creating distance.
At this moment, the corrupted flying dragon Ekzykes still attempted to pursue, but the ice from the Storm Stomp rapidly climbed its scales, surprisingly affecting its mobility. Its wings grew sluggish, and in its alarm, it hastily ascended to a higher altitude.
This one comes with ill intent.
Such a simple Ash of War, yet applied to this extent – it was clear the user was exceptionally skilled.
It wasn't blind; the clearly visible mana reaction was no fake. This was a tough nut to crack.
However, Ekzykes still roared defiantly, a surge of madness and brutality rushing to its head, as if the will of corruption was repelling her, insisting this enemy must be killed.
The silver-haired girl rubbed her temples.
"...The aura of a deity? No wonder. To you, I'm probably the most detestable, since I can eliminate you."
"Frieren, be careful! Don't take a direct hit, whatever you do!"
Melina's heart had been in her throat when the Tarnished had proactively shielded the others. Although her stunning ice storm had swept away the corrupting energy, there wouldn't be a next time; the opponent would be on guard.
She judged that the new wave of contamination would be even stronger; perhaps even a touch would cause bodily mutation.
"Understood."
Frieren was indeed cautious when facing abilities that could cause bodily mutations, not for fear of herself, but for fear of losing control and unleashing something else.
High in the sky and on the ground, their gazes met, firmly locked on the enemy.
Ekzykes intended to maintain its distance to the very end, constantly circling at high speed, easily dodging a few probing blasts of Rotting Breath. Of course, it also hadn't anticipated the Molten Stone spell to transform mid-flight into a scatter of crystals, blasting numerous fragments from its body, making even its soul ache faintly.
A round of probing attacks indicated that both sides were proceeding cautiously.
Frieren couldn't help but sigh internally. Finally, a flying dragon that knows how to utilize its aerial advantage. Otherwise, always running around on the ground, makes one think you're a four-legged lizard.
Therefore, she guessed the opponent would adopt different tactics, because its corrupting breath also couldn't easily hit its mark.
"ROAR!"
After a provocative roar, it flapped its wings and dived, aiming for the retreating soldiers.
But magic was a step faster. A Comet of Aeonia (or Aeonian Comet) thundered across its abdomen. By a hair's breadth, Ekzykes narrowly dodged, only to immediately realize a terrifying fact:
It wasn't a burst-type single spell; it was sustained.
The cerulean torrent hadn't vanished; instead, it stretched across the sky like a defensive line, daring any to break through.
It immediately changed its approach, preparing to move, but unexpectedly, the magic moved with it, pursuing relentlessly. This thing could actually adjust its angle at any time!
This is just outrageous!
Apart from needing to be fired in a straight line, there were probably no other limitations. Now, to Ekzykes's astonishment, it was as if Frieren were holding a giant paintbrush, sketching deadly mana in the air.
During this, the comet's stream almost grazed the soldiers' heads as it flew past.
It was too thrilling! On one side was the flying dragon, brewing its corrupting breath to turn them into monsters; on the other was the Soul-Kindling King, unleashing an even stronger attack to stop it. Fortunately, they had ample space to flee.
The group spurred their horses and entered the fortress.
Miscalculated.
Ekzykes had intended to use the army's losses to disrupt its opponent's rhythm, but it hadn't expected such a powerful attack. Moreover, the silver-haired girl had enough mana; with a sip from her flask, she continued to fuel the comet, showing a clear intention to engage in a battle of attrition.
Unorthodox methods wouldn't work; only a head-on confrontation remained. The opponent left no room for maneuver.
The corrupted flying dragon, enraged, circled around and, facing Frieren's position, lowered its head, exhaling a stream of corrupting air.
It was practically plowing the land.
Facing the terrifying airflow, Frieren summoned Torrent and mounted.
Agile footwork easily avoided the corrupting breath. At this moment, the spirit steed galloped at full speed, leaping over the Wall of Fire, running freely across the vast plain.
Melina said, "Torrent is very happy now, but aren't you unskilled in mounted combat?"
"Correct," Frieren replied unwaveringly. Seeing her thoughtful expression, her old partner was slightly taken aback. Surely not? It looks like she definitely has an astoundingly bold idea!
As she galloped, Ekzykes dived again from behind, breathing its vile corrupting breath, the distance constantly shrinking, forming a long, connecting arc in the air.
Suddenly, the silver-haired girl stood up on the saddle and threw something as she turned.
The Flower of Aeonia hair ornament shone brilliantly. Upon contact, it swelled, each petal growing to twenty meters long!
The corrupted flying dragon stopped abruptly, watching in disbelief as its corrupting breath was absorbed. The flower actually wrapped around its mouth, forming a bridge from the ground.
"Torrent, charge!"
The reins tightened. With a neigh from the spirit steed, its first hoof landed on the edge of a solid petal, the next already ten meters away. In two steps, they reached the target. At this moment, they were both flying; this fleeting instant of being airborne had to be seized.
Torrent charged with unwavering faith. Frieren on its back, her staff horizontal, unleashed a devastating gust of wind, a sharp edge of power.
The dragon's pupils reflected the silver-haired girl's impassive, cold demeanor. With a wave of her fair hand, she delivered the killing blow.
Moonlight Greatsword!
A white brilliance streaked across the crimson sky. Even the soldiers far away in the fortress witnessed the scene of the leap on horseback, an epic narrative poem unfolding before their eyes. The sound of the blade cutting through the air was like thunder piercing their ears.
Half of Ekzykes's wing was severed, and a large part of its body froze along with it. Blood didn't even have time to splatter out; it all turned into rotting gas.
The soaring dragon fell from the sky; the Soul-Kindling King stood tall.
With a thunderous crash, it slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater.
Simultaneously, Frieren grabbed Torrent's reins, charging back, while her other hand retrieved the Flower of Aeonia. It seemed as if a fine, untainted wisp was stirred up in the air.
Elegant and domineering.
No one on site saw that throughout the entire process, Melina, who had almost fallen off from the lack of footholds, was clinging to her waist.
"Your battle strategies are truly bizarre."
Even the well-traveled Melina was shocked. There were many tales of slaying flying dragons in the Lands Between, mostly involving just bows and crossbows. Who charged on horseback like this, felling a dragon mid-air? In this world, only one person could handle Scarlet Rot with such effortless grace.
Frieren casually put the Flower of Aeonia back on, as if it were a commonplace trifle.
"It's not over yet."
Before her voice faded, a giant claw gripped the edge of the crater, dragging Ekzykes's body up. It was noticeably larger.
To be precise, the mutated flesh had grown larger, causing the change in volume.
The tear in its wing caused the Scarlet Rot miasma it had barely maintained to dissipate, further mutating its body. At this moment, it had lost its biological instincts, the color of thought gone from its eyes.
Intense pain wracked its body; it had to vent.
Ekzykes stared at the tiny enemy before it and roared, its body covered in torn wounds, each spewing corrupting breath – a veritable living contamination point.
Trouble.
Ekzykes, the dragon steeped in corruption, offered its final, desperate battle.
It clawed the ground with all fours, arched its body, its snorts like crackling thunder, its entire being radiating the power of Scarlet Rot. It even affected the material plane; the ground was decaying, collapsing, showing a tendency to cross the Wall of Fire and erode further.
The contamination must not be allowed to reach Limgrave.
Frieren slowly levitated backward. Now that her opponent had lost its ability to fly, she could maneuver without relying on Torrent.
"Roar."
"Catching up so easily? You're already a mindless lunatic."
Despite saying so, she didn't underestimate it. A direct hit from the corruption, without the Flower of Aeonia as a medium to weaken its ferocity, would be devastating. The energy Ekzykes now carried was even more terrifying, difficult to defend against.
She hadn't even taken out her usual shield during the fight so far, because it was meaningless; the enemy's breath would negate it.
And she couldn't let it get close.
As she pondered, the dragon had already lunged, claws swiping, flinging off chunks of corrupted flesh that turned into a sky full of blood rain.
Truly disgusting.
The silver-haired girl nimbly dodged, still observing.
Ekzykes, experiencing no interactive feedback, grew even more enraged, its eyes bloodshot, completely devoid of any spark of intelligence, only a barbaric, reckless charge remained.
Suddenly, it stopped. Unbeknownst to it, the sky above, which it hadn't noticed, was filled with filthy souls, staring intently at the dragon on the ground, even showing a hint of contempt, as if mocking a flightless dragon.
Ekzykes, infuriated by the sight, immediately spat a stream of corrupting breath. It had no effect.
Frieren beckoned with her hand. Hundreds of ancient death vengeful spirits, drawn by her call, chattered and laughed as they rushed towards the target. Explosions followed one after another.
Annihilation!
The already ravaged dragon's body was continuously torn apart, flesh and blood flying. Moreover, the vengeful spirits possessed impact force; a large target was an excellent bullseye. Thus, it was bathed in them, yet the onslaught was relentless.
The sustained, suppressive nature of this magic was demonstrated to its fullest.
Suddenly, Ekzykes began to roll on the ground to evade, a desperate but effective maneuver, barely dodging the bombardment of spirits.
However, in the next moment, it discovered their tracking ability was extremely strong; they pursued it, continuing the bombardment. How much spiritual power had it wasted?
Only a desperate, final struggle remained.
Then, the corrupted flying dragon planted its four limbs, arched its body, and lowered its head, like a trebuchet.
Whoosh! A sweeping breath of Scarlet Rot, carried by the wind, slammed towards her. Along its path, even the ground decayed and crumbled. Any magical medium could become a conduit for its spread; contact meant death.
Frieren wasn't yet at the point of a direct confrontation and levitated to dodge.
Not good!
"The spread of corruption is greater than estimated."
Her right hand showed signs of Scarlet Rot mutation, but it recovered in the next moment. This level of corruption couldn't yet break through her physical defenses.
"This fellow has become berserk, and I hear corrupted creatures have unique incantations," Melina reminded her.
She glanced at the silver-haired girl's instantly healed corrupted flesh and only then breathed a sigh of relief. If the Tarnished were infected by Scarlet Rot, it would be a complete disaster. Caelid was indeed dangerous.
Ekzykes, having finally regained the initiative, would not give up. It threw its head back and unleashed its breath.
This time, it spread out in tendrils.
Like fireworks exploding in the air, wisps and strands of corrupting breath diffused, covering a radius of a hundred meters.
From the previous experience, Frieren could confirm: one couldn't judge the infectivity by the superficial form of the corrupting breath; it was constantly spreading. She had to change tactics.
Storm Stomp!
The Ash of War, blooming once more, easily blew away the corrupting breath.
For an ordinary person, this definitely wouldn't work, but such brute force creating a miracle made even Ekzykes's face darken. If the power isn't enough, just forcefully pour in mana to strengthen it, right? You're impressive, but I, protected by corrupted flesh, won't be easily defeated either.
Sure enough, the ensuing Comet Azur-like effects were minimal, their energy dissipated by the corrupted flesh and scales.
Besides, most of it could be dodged.
The two had clearly entered a stalemate, intermittently skirmishing with ranged attacks, every move rampling the earth.
The already crimson soil was now further disintegrating, dissipating, even collapsing, without a trace of life, only an aura of decay remaining. Shockwaves did not spare them, blasting out one deep crater after another.
Even the soldiers in the distant border fortress felt the strong tremors and weren't idle.
"Reinforcements from the reserve team are about to arrive! They've brought long-range crossbows!"
"Go and meet them!"
"Everyone, prepare to engage the corrupted creatures—"
Such a commotion attracted the attention of corrupted crows and dogs, and even the Hollows. They developed a keen interest in the other side of the Wall of Fire, eyeing it covetously.
The Southern Army would absolutely not allow their homeland to be trampled by these creatures. For a moment, their blood boiled, poised and ready.
Fortunately, from the beginning, a comprehensive support system had been established in the border region under Haight's planning. Contact was maintained between various posts and fortresses. Once a signal fire was lit, reinforcements would immediately rush over. Thus, the main force was currently en route from the rear.
If they waited a bit longer, they might even encounter the advance scouts of the expeditionary force.
But leaving these scattered enemies for them would make their comrades laugh. Therefore, they would cooperate with Her Majesty here to eliminate the invaders.
Awooo!
A volley of arrows had already struck the enemy first. The previously arrogant and domineering corrupted creatures were now in a sorry state.
Ekzykes, watching from afar, couldn't help but feel annoyed. So useless. I was counting on this lot to cause some trouble for that strong enemy, but they fell into disarray themselves. Unreliable. I still have to do it myself...
Suddenly, its foot slipped, and it fell back into the crater it had just clawed out.
A coincidence? No!
In Frieren's eyes, this momentary lag was more than enough.
The silver-haired girl curled her body, creating a dark moon, which whizzed through the air. The magic, imbued with damaging power, struck it squarely on the forehead with a crack. Then, it rolled down its body, leaving a trail of ice, forcibly freezing the target and making it difficult to move.
The corrupted flying dragon tried to struggle, but the dark moon exploded with a boom, and another wing was shattered.
More seriously, it felt its mana flow being obstructed. The scales and the superficial layer of corrupting breath maintained by it were constantly peeling off and disappearing; it was being disarmed.
Ranni's Dark Moon, it really works.
Frieren, using it in actual combat for the first time, was very satisfied with its power and immediately decided to discard the Full Moon Queen's moon magic.
But what was important now was to deal with the troublesome target before her.
Ekzykes struggled unwillingly, desperately clawing at the edge of the large crater. Unfortunately, its body, suffering from freezing and magic-breaking damage, became increasingly sluggish. It couldn't manage any more maneuvers. Its prided corrupting breath couldn't reach the distant enemy. It was in imminent danger.
It watched helplessly as the silver-haired girl stood in the distance, gripping her staff, holding it vertically, its tip pointed directly at it.
Comet Azur!
The cerulean torrent annihilated the flying dragon's head, then, like an eraser, wiped away its body.
_____
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