"This bad news bears," Derik thought.

The dragon had made its way towards them as scores of crossbowmen were swept away attempt to stop it. The men started to encircle the beast and fired at it from range in an effort to avoid the length of its flame. Their weapons seemed to be little more than an inconvenience; their bolts flowed down the scales of the dragon like raindrops. The dragon continued to advance towards them.

Inquisitor Utrecht had finished loading his weapon and unleashed it on the dragon. With a loud boom and swell of smoke, the weapon discharged. A shower of sparks cascaded from its hide, but it was no more effective than any of the other weapons. Lina loaded another arrow and fired, but it was stopped by the eyelid of the monster. It turned and began to head towards her; it heaved, drawing in a huge breath. Montag ushered the inquisitor back as the dragon faced Lina and unleashed a gout of fire in her direction. The flames spread and licked at her flowing scarf as Lina dove behind the hill to escape the blast. She tumbled down head over heels.

Montag saw Lina at the bottom of the hill and hesitated. Ultimately, he decided to wait in his post protecting the inquisitor. Derik was strafing around the monster, trying to stay opposite to his flame-spewing mouth. The Palatine soldiers hurled their spears, but the hardened scales of the dragon deflected the weapons with ease. The dragon prepared another blast.

Gonzalez seized the moment to stand up from his position and throw a net over the snout of the dragon. The net reached out and latched onto the dragon like glue. The net wrapped around its mouth. It tried to stretch free, but it could not break the vice-like grip of the mesh. He threw his axe as well, getting it stuck in one of the horns of the dragon.

Titus took the opportunity that Gonzalez and rushed towards the beast. The dragon looked to the side and saw Titus lashing out at him with its claws. Titus anticipated as much and deftly rolled out the way. He was blindsided by its tail! He tried to dodge, but the dragon adjusted its direction. The tip of the tail struck him across his breastplate, letting out a crack as a loose leather strap fell through the air; Titus followed the shattered armor as he tumbled through the air laying facedown in the sand.

Iris continued to flip through her book until she reached a stopping point. She ran her fingers over the page but evidently didn't find anything useful. She ran over to Titus and flipped him over to check for any damage. Derik continued to circle the monster, struggling to think of a method of dealing with it.

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As the warrior continued their struggle. The ballistae fired again, this time with round stone projectiles. Now that the dragon was grounded, the majority of the stones found their mark. The missiles battered its sides and head. It recoiled from the blows and tried to shield itself with its tattered wings, but a stone struck directly on its skull. It fell flat onto the ground with a crash.

Everyone cautiously started to surround the dragon, careful not to get too close. It was a tense several seconds as they waited for the ballistae to fire again. The dragon moved faintly, and the soldiers jumped back, readying their weapons. It gave a soft whimper as the second volley of boulders slammed against it. Tigris ran forward to inspect the body, telling the rest of his squad to stay back. He ran his weapon through the beast, jamming it through its undamaged eye. He rose from the body, fist raised high towards the sky. Some of the soldiers let out cries of triumph while others stood relieved.

Iris supported Titus onto his feet.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

Titus gave a faint nod as Montag finally left his position by the inquisitor and went to help Iris lift Titus. Lina had crested the hill and was making her way back towards them. Gonzalez examined the body and then ran over to hug Tessier.

"I'm glad you're ok!" he said.

She hesitated and gave him a few pats on the back.

"You too."

Derik looked around. He had not seen where she had come from, and she definitely didn't help fight. What was she doing? His thoughts were interrupted by the pointing finger of Marcus.

"We won!" he yelled.

Derik gazed across the plains and saw that the enemy forces had been driven back and retreated. The Palatine soldiers pursued but were dissuaded by the attacks from the winged serpent that accompanied the dragon. The remaining dragon hovered just out of range of the advancing troops; Gonzalez took a closer look at the spyglass and found it peering directly at them. It then flew off into the distance.

They walked down to where the majority of the battle took place. Derik's eye widened as he saw the dead bodies strewn about, covering the blood-soaked sands. Marcus stood in silence while the others in the group went about dragging off bodies. Even Gonzalez stood in silence.

It took a while for the army to bury all the dead. Iris was busy helping who she could. The inquisitor slogged along the sands, performing rites for some of the foreign soldiers. Montag was digging into the sand. Lina came back, having taken a survey of the battlefield.

"He isn't here," she said.

"What do you mean?" Derik asked.

"The demon king isn't here. I saw him earlier, but it looks like he managed to escape with his forces." She looked over the graves constructed for the fallen. "I swear it. When I find him, and I will find him. I will make him pay for what he has done."