Helen and Jayden arrived not long after.
They stopped near the edge of the broken trees, and for a moment, neither of them spoke as the blue flames reflected in their eyes while the massive creature moved in the distance. Helen's fingers tightened around her weapon.
"It's… a dragon," she muttered.
"An undead one," Jayden replied, his expression turning serious.
The bone dragon raised its head again, blue flames pouring from between its teeth. Its body was formed from thick, cracked bones, with old black chains hanging from parts of its ribs. Flames burned inside its chest, and each step it took made the ground tremble.
Helen's breathing slowed, but Jayden grabbed her wrist. "We've seen enough. There's no reason to stay here."
However, she did not respond immediately.
Ahead of them, Cole raised his spear and barked out orders, his voice cutting through the tension. "Shield team, front! Keep it from moving toward the shelter! Ranged team, take the left and right sides! Support, prepare barriers and healing. Nobody fights alone!"
The Player Association members moved at once without hesitation.
There was no panic in their movements. Shield users rushed forward first and slammed their shields into the ground, forming a defensive line. Ranged players spread out quickly behind rocks and broken trees, while support players lifted their hands, forming barriers and glowing circles around the front line.
Cole pointed his spear toward the dragon. "Do not chase damage. Control its movement. If it breaks through us, people die."
"Yes, sir!"
At that moment, the bone dragon stepped forward, and one of the shield users shouted as he braced himself.
A moment later, the dragon opened its jaws.
Blue flames surged outward.
BOOM!
The fire slammed into the barriers and spread across the ground. Several shields trembled violently, and the support players behind them gritted their teeth as their arms shook under the pressure.
"Hold!" Cole shouted.
The flames intensified, pressing harder until one of the barriers cracked. A player coughed blood and dropped to one knee, but another support member grabbed his shoulder and poured mana into the weakening barrier.
The bone dragon did not stop. It swung one claw, smashing into the shield line and forcing three players backward. One was sent flying into a tree, hitting it with a heavy impact before falling with a groan.
Cole dashed forward and drove his spear into the dragon's leg bone.
Clang!
The strike left a crack, but it was shallow.
"For a bone dragon, it's fucking sturdy!" one shield user shouted as he pushed himself back up.
Cole pulled his spear free and shouted as he went for another attack. "It's level 60. This is not a game where you grind for two days and become a hero. In this world, leveling is slow, and a gap like this is real."
The dragon's tail shifted.
"Dodge!"
Players scattered just in time as the tail swept across the ground, shattering rocks and throwing dirt into the air.
From his position, Zich followed every movement.
His plan was simple. He did not need to fight the dragon head on or withstand its attacks. He only needed one thing, the killing strike.
If the Player Association weakened it enough, he would strike at the right moment. It was shameless, but Zich had never claimed to be honorable.
'They do the work. I take the orb. Very fair arrangement.'
Behind him, Jayden tried to pull Helen away, still holding her wrist. "We're done. Now that we know what it is, there's no use staying here."
Helen resisted slightly. "Wait."
Jayden's eyes hardened. "No. That thing is beyond us."
At that moment, his gaze caught movement near the rocks.
Zich.
His expression was calm, but there was something in his eyes, a look that reminded Jayden of someone staring at an open treasure chest.
Jayden's mouth twitched. "You have to be kidding me."
Helen followed his gaze, and the moment she saw Zich, her eyes lit up. "Zich."
She took half a step forward, but he had already begun moving closer to the battlefield.
Jayden watched him for a moment before a smirk appeared. "He's going to get himself killed."
Her expression shifted slightly into concern. "He really is that reckless?"
Jayden snorted. "He's walking toward a level 60 boss like he has a plan. That's usually how idiots die."
Unaware of the two, Zich moved from one rock to another, keeping low as the battle intensified. The dragon roared again and slammed its claw into the shield line, sending two players flying. One crashed near a broken tree.
"Medic!" someone shouted.
A support player rushed forward, but the dragon spat another wave of blue fire. The healer barely managed to jump back as the flames engulfed the area he had just occupied.
Cole spun his spear and struck the dragon's jaw from the side, forcing its head to snap slightly.
"Left side, attack now!"
Ranged players fired immediately.
Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!
Arrows, fireballs, and mana bullets slammed into the dragon's ribs, spreading cracks across the bones. However, blue flames quickly filled the damaged areas.
"It's repairing!"
"Keep pressure on the chest flame!" Cole shouted. "That should be the core!"
Suddenly, the dragon slammed its foot into the ground.
BANG!
The ground split beneath one shield user, causing him to lose balance. Its claw followed instantly, striking him across the chest and sending him flying backward as his armor bent inward.
Helen's face tightened at the sight. The Association members were strong, but the bone dragon was stronger.
Zich climbed onto a large rock at the side of the battlefield, gaining a clear view of everything. Cole's group held the front, ranged players attacked from the sides, and the support team struggled to maintain the barriers.
His eyes focused on the dragon's chest, where blue flames burned between its ribs.
'That should be its weak point…'
Crouching low, he placed one hand near his sword.
The bone dragon suddenly raised its tail.
"Shit!"
Cole reacted a second too late.
"Brace—!"
The tail swept across the battlefield.
BANG!
The strike shattered the side formation, sending multiple Association members flying. Cole crossed his spear in front of him, but he was still pushed back hard, his boots carving lines into the dirt.
The woman maintaining the barrier dropped to one knee, blood spilling from her lips.
For a brief moment, the formation broke.
The bone dragon lowered its head, its empty eye sockets burning with blue fire as its gaze shifted away from Cole and the others and locked into the distance.
The dragon's jaws opened, blue fire leaking out as heat spread across the area.
Cole's eyes widened with confusion. "Why is it looking over there?"
Helen's breath caught, while Jayden's smirk deepened.
Ignoring everyone else, the bone dragon charged forward, its massive body crashing through broken trees as it rushed straight toward a figure standing atop a rock.
"What?"
"It changed targets!"
"Who the hell is that guy?"
Zich stood on the rock, staring at the massive creature rushing toward him, completely caught off guard.
"What the actual fuck?"
***
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