Shadar got to his feet with the support of two of his troll warriors, ignoring Tarom's words and fixing his glare on the two Savage Shields. Those two were formidable indeed. Despite the element of surprise on their side, Shadar had been fully prepared to defend himself.

"Use Frenzy!" Shadar commanded without hesitation.

The female trolls behind began to chant a special incantation. Frenzy was a magic unique to the forest trolls, a kind of berserking spell that dulled their pain and significantly boosted their speed and strength, making them incredibly aggressive and combative. But the cost of Frenzy was severe. As time passed, both the magic-wielding females and the fighting males would burn through their own magical and life energy at an accelerated rate, leading to certain death.

This was a desperate move, and Shadar knew that with this battle, the elite of the Eviltooth tribe would perish, effectively dooming his tribe. His only hope was that Lord Salron would protect the old, weak, and the children left in the camp in recognition of the sacrifice they made so that the Eviltooth tribe might one day prosper again.

...

"What is that?"

Suddenly, an oppressive sensation enveloped everyone on the battlefield. Tarom looked up, and before he could comprehend what was happening, a terrifying roar filled the air. A fearsome black dragon soared through the sky, raining down acid that corroded the armor and flesh of the soldiers, prompting screams of agony.

Tarom realized then that they were under attack by a black dragon!!!

Without the time to ponder why a black dragon would appear here, he grasped the severity of the situation. Although he had never seen a true dragon, he knew the oppressive aura he had just felt was the dragon's fearsome dragon might. Moreover, the dragon looked nearly mature, though there were some discrepancies from the black dragons he was knowledgeable about.

Most crucially, his army had no experience dealing with real dragons.

"Savage Shields, forward! Block the dragon's assault!"

Six Savage Shields unsheathed their greatswords and took up positions at the front of the formation, unshaken by the terror, for they did not even comprehend fear.

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As the black dragon made another pass from a distance, Tarom pulled out a massive crossbow from his magic device, the Scorpion God Crossbow. The three-meter-long bolts were dark red with mysterious runes signaling enchantments. This crossbow, far superior to ordinary ones, was designed for large beasts like dragons, with various enchanted properties.

It was an item Tarom had purchased at an auction, intending to keep it as a collector's piece. Unfortunately, he only had one enchanted bolt with him. Being an eighth-level warrior himself, his strength was immense, bolstered by his family's battle qi.

Propping up the Scorpion God Crossbow, Tarom knew he had the strength to wield it. His concern, however, was that his casters were too low-level to quickly deploy powerful anti-flight magic. If only they could strip the black dragon of its flight, dragging it into the quagmire of his army's might, even the dragon would fall before the strength of the Savage Shields and the collective assault. But first, he needed to land a hit.

"Cast your spells for cover, and all you archers, ready your bows! When the moment comes, let loose every arrow you've got!"

Up in the skies, Salron glared down at the organized army below. Normally, a mere dragon attack would scatter a regular army, throw their formations into disarray. Like the time the Black Dragon Mother struck at Karleni City, the majority of soldiers lacked the courage to face a dragon, trembling in the presence of its might. But this army had quickly organized itself, even preparing a counterattack—a rare sight indeed.

Salron's gaze was icy as he looked on. Their goal was clear: to seize the mithril. And that mithril was crucial for his Feast...

If they prevented him from stacking his Feasts, they were essentially condemning him to death—and he had no intention of dying. So, these people had to die instead.

Diving once again, Salron aimed to open a breach for Shadar and his trolls with his breath. Suddenly, a volley of massive fireballs and projectile spells like ice arrows and spears cast toward him. He deftly avoided the ice arrows and spears, while he took the fireballs head-on.

"We got him!" exclaimed some casters from a distance. As level six casters, a combined fireball spell was no ordinary attack. To be hit directly should have been devastating.

When the smoke cleared, Salron emerged unscathed—not a single scale was damaged.

"How is that possible?!" The dragon seemed untouched, its scales intact.

"Fire!" shouted Tarom as the archers released their volley. But Salron was too high, and the ordinary arrows could not breach his defenses.

Whoosh... A single, hidden bolt pierced the air and thunked into the base of Salron's right wing.

Salron's gaze shot toward the source—a middle-aged man in golden armor stood coldly staring at him, next to a massive crossbow. Clearly, he was the one who had fired it. The shot to his wing inevitably affected Salron's flight, but not enough to prevent it altogether.

"So you wish for close combat? Then you shall have it," Salron thought as he folded his wings and dove straight down.

"Hold the line!" Tarom shouted as the dragon charged. It seemed like a glimpse of victory as the dragon dared to engage in close combat. The soldiers, bolstered by their shields, fought against their fear, ready to meet the dragon head-on. Without the six towering Savage Shields at the front, the soldiers might not have held their ground at all.

Boom! Salron crashed down like a meteor, right into the heart of the army. The impact of a ten-ton dragon from high above can be imagined.

Screams of agony, the clash of steel and flesh—it all resounded through the battlefield. In an instant, the shields were shattered as if they were made of paper, the line was broken, and blood and metal became indistinguishable.

One of the Savage Shields was hit squarely by Salron, bursting open like a tomato can under the force, his blood and entrails mixing with shattered metal. Incredibly, he still had a breath left in him, hand raising his massive sword slowly, but with one swipe of Salron's claw, he was utterly torn apart.

The other five Savage Shields showed no fear, their swords ready to strike at Salron. The dragon's crimson eyes looked upon them indifferently, having already noted their unusual stature and fearlessness. The golden threads on his scales began to gleam, and the atomic furnace within him roared to life.

In an instant, Salron unleashed a thick beam of white-hot energy from his maw.