Lettarongan saw the wave and then the dragon, which flew first to the edge of the plateau, destroying a part of the mountain, and then rolled down the slope together with the remains of the ruined fortress. It fell into a deep ditch with sharp spikes at its foot, drowning in the muddy, blackened water, and when it stretched its head to keep from drowning, a rockfall hit it. The monster’s raging cries were loud and pitiful. Ghoton heard the enemy’s last phrase in his head. They never spoke again.

Tough, thought Lettarongan.

The army of the western fortress, which was about three kilometers away, for the first time saw the dragon.

“It seems huge,” said one player. “Look at the surviving towers, the size of them. It’s about three times their size.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means his foot is probably like a third of our unit.”

About fifty players ran away at once, not daring to test their fate, and hid two miles away and continued to watch from afar. Others tried to stop them, and they retaliated by using magic. In order to nip the conflict in the bud, Ramzai ordered the deserters to be released.

“If they win,” said one, “we’ll come back. I’m level 14 and not ready to lose experience, one step away from 15.”

The dragon, wounded and weakened, tried to crawl out and take off, but Lettarongan, who teleported onto its head with a magical spear of the lightning element and an extended robot-like tip in his hands, caught it. He delivered a stabbing blow, hoping to pierce its brain through, but the 3-meter thick scales stopped the blade one-third of the way through. The military commander did not stop there and used the «Piercing Lightning» to finish the dragon with a powerful spell. It did not work. A magic parameter of four was too little. Lettarongan left a wound, but not a deep one, with no brain damage. The dragon, not expecting the attack, roared and yelped and fell to the ground while the military commander continued to deliver blow after blow. Then the creature rolled over and threw off the pesky flea.

“Calling it tough is an understatement,” admonished Lettarongan, and with the next manoeuvre put himself at the creature’s hind paw. He was barely half the height of its claws, but the military commander was not the least bit embarrassed. The ball of lightning crackled and spiraled around the tip and shaft of the spear. Mana overwhelmed his body. His heart overflowed with adrenaline. He delivered one stab after another to throw the creature out of balance. The blows pierced the skin, and «Piercing Lightning» shattered the top layer of muscle tissue. The dragon fidgeted and twisted and spewed flames, but there was no way it could reach the swift military commander. Then the monster flapped its wings and jumped back and tried to take off again, but Lettarongan used «Furious Rhythm» and sprinted to stab his opponent in the knee. Moreover, he would have succeeded if the monster had not twisted at the last moment and swept the military commander away with its tail.

Don’t let it take off! Lettarongan shouted into the voice chat.

Ramzai, Dora, Jack, and Bellona looked up to see the thick, mountainous clouds glowing with a bright, dark blue fire. A heavy downpour fell, covering the ground with the noise of water currents and the roar of thunder. They coordinated their actions and gave the order.

The dragon staggered, front and hind legs trembling, but it could rise and, without taking its eyes off the military commander, released a lava jet that burned through a deep ditch in the ground and then collided with a light shield. About fifty healers appeared on the slope of the plateau, ready to join the battle. They used magical chains and restrained the mighty enemy and connected mana to the raging elements, which unleashed a hundred sights of lightning. The deafening blasts shook the ground, shattered the trees, pierced the dragon’s scales, and inflicted multiple stab wounds. There was a terrifying roar. No one could hear themselves, only the monster’s heart-breaking screams.

Once again, the dragon’s magical scales saved its life. It stretched its neck and opened its jaws and released a jet of fire into the sky, which pierced through the thick clouds and then rained liquid drops of lava down on the players. The wet grass erupted like straw, the trees turned into torches, their trunks groaning and bursting. Terrible fires broke out on the plain. The yellow smoke rose in large puffs. Then the dragon broke the magical chains with a wave of its wings and surrounded itself with a wall of flame.

“Smart bastard,” Lettarongan said coldly and saw the “minor teleportation” skill was ready to use. He moved to the creature’s eye and raised his spear for another attack and froze for a second as he heard the dragon’s voice in his head, then lost his balance and fell.

Jack, Dora, Ramsay, and Bellona watched through their binoculars, and they gasped in fright and reached forward as if that would help them get a better look at what was going on. The fire, meanwhile, was expanding. A couple more hours and the first flames would reach the forest. Bernavi combined the magic of light and the element of lightning to create an electric forest around Lettarongan, saving his life. Then the three deputies of the officer of the support squad grew angel wings and three spheres lit up above their heads. Like falcons, they launched themselves down a cliff. Their eyes glowed, a thin layer of magical protection covered their long white robes.

The dragon flapped its wings, and the wind magic transformed the wall of fire into a tornado that rose from the ground and flew straight into the enemies. They released the spheres forward, and these small, light and harmless orbs swallowed up the fire attack like multi-ton cores and collapsed into a meteor storm on the ground.

The teleportation cooldown ended, and Lettarongan evaded the healers’ attack and return to his army. They greeted him like a hero, with cheers and shouts, but the result did not satisfy the military commander. The dragon was still alive. Though weakened, still strong enough to withstand the most skilled healers in the eastern fortress.

We’ll join the battle in five minutes. Hold on, Ghoton wrote to the military commander.

Bernavi and the rest of his subordinates jumped down and created an arena of light.

What the fuck is he doing? Lettarongan asked in the voice chat.

He’s trying to take all the credit, Jack replied.

Doesn’t want us to take part, added Dora.

Greedy bastard, Bellona snapped, and turned to Camerc and Onzaa.

Greed is the beginning of all sorrows, they answered.

Let them fight, said Ramsay, if they win, so be it. At least we won’t lose anyone.

***

When Ghoton and the Top Secret mages stood on the edge of the ruined plateau, they saw the light arena crack and then heat and collapse. A dragon burst from there and soared into the sky, and disappeared behind the clouds. The ground in that place turned black, and red-hot lava bubbled in the cracks. No one was left alive.

“Damn,” grinned Ramzai.

Lettarongan, at the last moment, saw the dragon descend on them. The soldiers of the western fortress saw the enemy up close, enormous and monstrous. In fright, many of them froze, others became dizzy and fell, losing their balance. The infernal flames reduced Bellona’s fourth squad to ashes. No one escaped alive.

“What the hell!” shouted Lettarongan. “Where is the protective dome?”

Dora looked at the black soil and ash and said:

“In reality, they’re not soldiers, they’re ordinary people; they can’t set their emotions aside.”

“Dammit.”

The formation of the other units was disrupted immediately. The players screamed and ran for their lives.

Stop! Ramzai wrote in the army chat room. You’re all going to die! You can’t run away!

Yet they did not listen to him and left the alliance. Not a couple of minutes later, a new dragon attack left the deserters in ashes.

“Everyone! Regroup! As long as you act according to plan, nothing will happen to you! All trouble comes from fear.” Lettarongan shouted as hard as he could.

Dora, your squad is in charge of defense. Don’t let me down. Jack and Ramsay, you’re with me on the attack.

The dragon in the sky flapped its wings, and the clouds parted. It reappeared, completely covering the blinding sun with its carcass, spewed flames, and disappeared. The army of the western fortress repulsed the attack. The players rejoiced, nearly all realizing that the dragon was weakened, not strong enough to withstand their combined strength. However, the longer they adhered to the defense strategy, the clearer it became that they were not dealing any significant damage to the dragon, and mana was not made of rubber. The battle dragged on. During the tenth raid, the magical power of the players was not enough. The dragon defeated the defensive unit. Dora was the only one who escaped, and that was thanks to the timely teleportation of the military commander.

With these attacks, it recovers his strength, said Ramzai, and exhausts us.

The seeds of fear, like annoying weeds, sprouted again in the hearts of most. The dragon terrorized Lettarongan’s army with endless stealthy attacks. There were fewer and fewer players. It was necessary to devise a new strategy and keep the monster from taking off.

***

“What do we do, officer?” The magician asked.

Ghoton, like the others, felt confusion, fear, and the weight of responsibility for his decisions. All of this clouded his judgment and planted in his mind the single thought of survival.

“Let’s destroy it,” he answered without hesitation. “There are no more options. Not anymore...”

“So, how do we deal with it?”

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***

Beyond the thunderclouds came the roar of the dragon. It flew over Ramzai’s squad, releasing a stream of lava. The players had not expected a spell of such power, and another squad fell. Two hundred and fifty men remained, of whom forty fled, saying they did not stand a chance. Lettarongan sank. The ground was slipping from under his feet. His head was spinning. The fire was everywhere; there was no way to put it out. As if plunged into the underworld for the sins of the past. The military commander sadly said it was time to retreat, but Dora and Jack stopped him and urged action, either glory or death.

Lettarongan’s memories flashed through pictures from his past, the proceedings, the distrust, the spoiled attitude of people, and the depression. He stared at one point.

“Listen, brother,” Jack began, “let the past stay where it belongs, start forging the future. Whatever happens, we’re with you to the end.”

“They hate me,” Lettarongan said.

“Turn around,” Dora answered.

The military commander saw his last troop, young men and women. They all looked at him with hope in their eyes. No one said a word to him.

“They need you,” Jack said. “We need you.”

***

“What is stronger than fire?” Ghoton asked.

“Perhaps... earth, sir?” The mages asked in an uncertain voice.

The officer turned around and said:

“In certain circumstances, it is. But the worst enemy is air. Fire without air is nothing.”

The others looked at each other and agreed.

“Why didn’t we think of it before?”

“Because we didn’t have time.”

***

Lettarongan gathered his thoughts and said to himself, it’s time to stop being afraid. He shook with anger at himself. He scrolled through his mind to where the dragon was attacking from. Flying cross to cross, how predictable. During another attack, he managed to anticipate the dragon’s actions and merged with his spear and lightning shot forward and hit the monster in the wing.

“He’s got it all the way through!” shouted the warriors of the western fortress. “He’s got it! Did you see?”

Many embraced their friends with joy, took one shot each into the sky, and yelled.

The monster collapsed like a stone. Ground shook and sagged under its multi-ton weight. The dragon whimpered and tried to rise, but could not. A voice sounded in Lettarongan’s head, to which he paid no attention and recoiled, dreading to go all the way. The most dangerous opponent is the one on death’s doorstep.

Ghoton wrote to the military commander in PM and told him he had a plan to defeat the enemy.

After reading it, Lettarongan replied:

You are a genius! This is our chance!

The officer of the attack squads headed toward the military commander’s army. The dragon, exhausted and broken, shot small fireballs and weak jets of flame in different directions, just to keep the men away from it. It tossed and turned from side to side, trying to rise, but was not strong enough. The thunderclaps muffled the sound of the downpour. Lightning struck the fiery ground. The last players surrounded the monster, standing at a distance of three hundred yards around it. Ghoton used a magical dome over everyone, including the dragon. Top Secret mages supported him by amplifying the spell. The sounds of the raging nature were muffled.

The dragon spoke out loud. The players froze in surprise. Ghoton was confused. Lettarongan smelled victory and ordered his men to assemble. The players held their breath. The warriors of the western fortress all cast the “Vacuum” spell together. It put out the fire. The officer of attack squads prepared to finish the enemy, but something in his heart screamed at him not to. He hesitated, then saw a message from Mercyaa.

***

A minute before something hit Hebanyac in the eye, he fidgeted, pulled out a gnat, and casually glanced to the western horizon and in that greyness and darkness he noticed a white spot of gigantic size, around which balls of lightning bolts were circling. He adjusted the magnification on his binoculars and saw a new dragon, about three times the size of the first. White fur streaked its neck, back, tail, and chin, and chest, inside of the wings, and jaws were glowing bright blue. The flaps of its wings left the forest in splinters and ruin. To his right and left flew three wyverns each.

“Wow, look, there are guests flying in,” Hebanyac said with a smile on his face.

Mercyaa took the eyepiece of his binoculars away from the battle and looked west.

“Fucking devils. There’s another one! They can’t see it. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

The manager wrote five messages to Lettarongan, hoping that he would pay attention to the warning. The military commander did, but ignored it. Mercyaa, bewildered and gritting his teeth, wrote to the officer of attack squads.

***

The vacuum ended five seconds later. Air appeared inside again.

“Officer, what are you waiting for?” Lettarongan asked. “Our mana is enough for one more time.”

“There’s a pack of wyverns flying toward us from the west, and a dragon several times that size.”

The trapped monster whimpered and moved. The Top Secret wizards shackled it with a spell of the earth element. Lettarongan squeezed the shaft of his spear with all his might and looked menacingly at Ghoton, ordering him to act.

“No. We will not kill it.”

“We got it, officer! What the fuck?”

“The emergence of the new dragons finally brought clarity to my mind.”

Lettarongan prepared to attack, but Jack and Dora stopped him and said, “Look, we’ve got time, and we’re going to die, anyway.” The trapped dragon bowed its head in anticipation of its own fate. It no longer had the strength to resist. The burgundy blood gushed from its wounds, its legs were unresponsive, and the mana that supported the fire once raging in its chest was barely enough to mount another attack.

Ghoton turned to the Top Secret magicians and said:

“If you run now, you will save your life.”

“Do you realize who you are letting go!” shouted Lettarongan, and turned to his comrades and continued. “He’s mad!”

The mages stood their ground and looked at the officer of attack squads.

“We’re with you to the end,” they said. “Say what’s on your mind.”

Not a single person ran away.

“From the beginning, it seemed to me that the dragon came to us not to fight, but to negotiate. But we were afraid, we started a war, and now we handle what is happening. Latludious played on our greed. He wanted us to attack and made all the high officers think the enemy was coming to them. Nevertheless, what if that’s not true, and the dragon isn’t evil? Maybe it’s a member of a common race that inhabits Thalack? They saw us - the aliens on the plane and decided to talk. Think about it, the dragon didn’t attack first, all this time he was defending itself. It spoke to me through telepathy and when I responded, it stopped attacking.”

The magicians nodded, for they remembered the moment well.

“So those bastards from the western fortress ruined everything!” someone shouted.

The others snarled and got angry.

“Calm down. They didn’t know that, and neither do we. There’s a flock of its kind flying toward us now. If we kill the dragon in front of them, they’ll think we’re an army of rabid assassins who can’t be reasonably expected to negotiate. The dragon wanted to give me the staff-it was its gift. When two civilizations don’t understand each other, they speak the language of gifts.”

“If we don’t kill it, can you guarantee it won’t recover and fly in for revenge?”

“We wounded it, but we didn’t kill it. From a purely human point of view, I can understand its anger. However, it’s wise. Look at how it fought. Not only has it adapted to our strategies, but it countered them. It doesn’t want this battle. Only it can’t tell us because we speak different languages.”

“But what can we offer the dragon?”

“Our apology and our life.”

The dragon struggled to move its neck and stared at Ghoton with one eye and murmured. Lettarongan paid attention.

“But why did the arrival of the dragons change anything?” Jack asked.

“I believe it is a small individual, an impulsive child who flew ahead of the locomotive. If the race is intelligent and had been attacked previously, it would have been foolish to fly in alone to negotiate. Had they all come at once, would we have attacked? I don’t think so. Then the story might have turned differently. Everyone made one huge mistake here.”

Lettarongan watched the dragon’s movements, heard its piteous voice, clenched its teeth, and turned to the west. The reinforcements were closer and scarier than he had expected. The military commander looked at the officer of attack squads, a young lad who had listened to his heart, his inner voice.

“He’s right,” Lettarongan said through gritted teeth and bowed his head. “It’s hard to say, but I can see the meaning in his words. This is a genuine leader. A man who has just realized the power of pity and compassion. All this time, the thought of winning, of killing, has been swirling in my head. I thought that was the only right outcome of today’s war. But maybe I’m wrong, and there’s more to it than that. Something that is hidden from our eyes... We are a living organism, a dragon is no exception, it feels pain just like us, feels emotions. I wasn’t paying attention to it, though I should have.”

Lettarongan was silent for a few seconds, and then he looked at Ghoton and continued:

“It is not good to kill those who want peace. We act like mad animals, attacking everything we don’t understand. I believe you, young officer. War is always a defeat for both sides. Give the order.”

“Everyone but me and the military commander must leave the magic dome and escape. I don’t know what awaits us next, but you will play your part.”

All the players did so and ran to the western fortress. The shackles restraining the dragon were gone. Ghoton and Lettarongan stood in front of the dragon’s head. So tiny in comparison, and so powerful. They bent down on one knee.

***

“Did they decide not to kill it? Have they gone completely mad?” Hebanyac asked in horror and got up. “I’m going to put some sense into their stupid heads.”

“Halt, you moron! We have our mission!”

“Ugh! I’m sick of it. So much experience wasted! And from the skin later make armor... Give me five minutes, I’ll raise your level by a factor of five.”

“No.”

“I’ll not look at it,” said Hebanyac, and resentfully sat back down and saw the fire in the fortress of Varnasosto dying out under the torrential downpour. There he also saw a man dressed as a healer, who walked over to the concrete core next to the cannon and shoved it into the barrel.

“What is he doing?”

“Who?”

Hebanyac pointed toward the fortress. Mercyaa and Rdrag pointed their binoculars in that direction.

“Does he want to shoot?”

“Well, at least somebody’s got their head on straight.”

“I don’t recognize that healer,” Rdrag said.

“You mean you know them all by face?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”

***

The dragon rose and said something to Ghoton and Lettarongan in an exhale. They did not move. A pack of kin would arrive at the battle site in a minute.

“What do you think will happen to us?” The military commander asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe we will be killed.”

“Are you afraid of death?”

“I would like to say that not anymore, but imagining how much I would miss in the next two days... So, the answer is yes, I’m afraid.”

Ghoton’s chest tightened, his breath caught. He stared at the scorched Gras beneath his feet, felt drops of sweat roll down his cheek. The rain continued to pour down like a bucket.

Unexpectedly, Ghoton heard a growing screech and knew immediately what was about to happen. He got up and prepared to rescue the dragon, but not in time. The fire-breathing creature rose and kicked the concrete projectile with its tail with the last of its strength and howled in anger and collapsed without strength.

Both superior officers widened their eyes in consternation and swore.

***

“Gee!” Hebanyac laughed and turned the eyepiece of his binoculars with Rdrag to the fortress. The healer was gone.

“Did anyone look at his nickname?”

“You’re the first one who should have!”

“I looked, but I forgot...” replied Rdrag. “What kind of fucked up day is this?”

“You’ve been working for three hours and then you slept for a day and now you’re acting all pouty. What the fuck?”

“Fuck you, kid.”

“Who are you calling a kid?”

“Stop!” Mercyaa yelled, almost tearing up his throat. “Stop... You don’t get it?”

“Get what?”

“The cannonball! It’s coming right at...”

No sooner had the manager finished his sentence than the projectile flew two yards above the entrance of the dungeon and buried the tunnel’s entrance under a pile of rocks. The force of the impact made all three of them stagger, and then they saw a couple of small pebbles roll past them.

“Bad sign,” said Mercyaa.

There was a terrible rumbling sound. They turned apprehensively to look at the mountainside and saw the rockfall brought on them by the shock wave. Rdrag erected a protective dome at the last moment, and they were all trapped under the debris of the rocks and boulders.

***

Ghoton and Lettarongan staggered back, unsure of what to do now. Six wyverns, relatively small, with red skin and fiery golden eyes, rounded the High Officers and hissed. The white dragon landed last. It was as tall as half of Orodrim Eoul’s mountains. It flapped its enormous wings at the wounded congenator, and it hissed and bit at its neck as if scolding them for their imprudence.

Ghoton smiled and laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“That I was right.”

The mages from Top Secret, along with Jack and Dora and a few other players, reached the western fortress and climbed the walls. From there, they saw the white dragon incinerating the two high officers with lightning, then turn toward them and roar so loudly that the mountains shuddered and the fortress walls vibrated. Glass shattered in the houses.

“What power!” Jack shouted, trying not to fall off the wall with the strong wind.

Dora heard a voice in his head and replied, “Forgive us, O Great Dragon. We were wrong and ready to pay for our insolence and bloodthirst. He never knew if the dragon understood him or not. Yet the pack soared into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds and never appeared in those places again.