Chapter 112: The Sky Strike and the Dragon-Catching Bird

“Coordinate analysis of the light pillar’s location, immediately upon receiving the Director’s message! Lord Aturu, please prepare on your end as well!”

“Mhm.”

Perched at the edge of the Holy Light Church’s secret weapon, the Sky Strike, miles above the ground, Aturu responded to the communication orb.

Above him, the vast, luminous moon shone brightly, while below stretched an immense, empty expanse.

He turned and entered the Sky Strike’s launch mechanism, a space typically reserved for a magic crystal.

The Sky Strike’s simple principle involved launching this magic crystal over an ultra-long distance, causing it to disintegrate into a beam of energy mid-air.

Albert’s voice crackled through the communication crystal.

“I never thought your foolish suggestion would actually see the light of day.”

Aturu replied calmly, “I’ve always said, this is how the Sky Strike unleashes its maximum power.”

Albert retorted, speechless, “Hey, hey, hey, with this kind of delivery range, use your brain! Besides you, who else in the entire church could survive the landing? Do you have any idea how high your training costs are?”

“Alright, enough talk. Preparing for launch now.”

Albert ended the conversation, and in its place, a countdown began to echo through the comms.

“Three, two, one, launch!”

The container carrying Aturu was thus propelled into the sky by the Church’s new weapon, the Sky Strike.

****

Meanwhile, with Theresia.

Having dared to venture into such a perilous den, Theodore had naturally made extensive preparations beforehand.

First and foremost, for survival.

This was thanks to the gift Lola had acquired from the Holy Light Church: an emergency teleportation device.

When the wearer sustained damage beyond a certain threshold, the device would trigger an emergency teleport, whisking them away to a pre-set location.

Such a magical artifact was exceedingly rare and valuable, even within the Holy Light Church. Compared to the exorbitant research and development funds Lola and the researchers had squandered—enough to keep the Pope awake at night—the device’s cost seemed negligible.

After all, the true expense wasn’t the materials, but the labor.

Theodore had never imagined its effectiveness would be so profound.

Lola, too, showed no hesitation, readily producing such a valuable item without a second thought.

Secondly, their plan involved attempting a decisive, one-time strike against the enemy.

If the townspeople and those operating the teleportation array were indeed in league, then upon Theodore’s group appearing in town, the enemy would undoubtedly rally their forces to encircle or capture them again.

For Theodore and his companions, this presented an excellent opportunity to wipe out their adversaries in one fell swoop.

The obvious choice for executing this strike was, without a doubt, Theresia.

The immense altitude itself provided the perfect cover, and Theresia, as a black dragon, could effortlessly maintain this height for extended periods. This also conveniently allowed them to set the teleportation destination directly onto Theresia’s claws.

Furthermore, in terms of sheer destructive power, none of their group could compare to Theresia. The resulting devastation proved to be far beyond imagination.

However, if Theresia remained high in the sky instead of accompanying Theodore’s group to the ground, it would surely arouse the enemy’s suspicion.

So, Lola produced an alchemical body—Samuel’s spare—which was incredibly lifelike and could even automatically alter its appearance based on the user’s mental energy.

Theresia’s stiff movements and stammering speech were a direct result of controlling two bodies simultaneously.

Theodore clung to Theresia’s dragon claw, and it was no exaggeration to say he had truly shed a layer of skin.

This was because the Clown, in a moment of mental instability, had tried to forcibly restrain Theodore with magic. This prevented Theodore from teleporting away immediately after the emergency device activated.

Consequently, Theodore had to endure several seconds of a Roar Bomb head-on until the chains were destroyed by the blast, at which point he was finally teleported away.

Fortunately, he was now of the giant race; had he been in a human body, he would have been utterly annihilated by then.

Yet, an attack that had wounded him so severely might not even be effective against the Clown.

Having personally witnessed the terrifying nature of Caleb’s ethereal abilities, Theodore was no longer so confident in pure numerical strength.

Several teammates produced medicines and began treatment. Thankfully, they had “borrowed” a considerable amount of local specialties from the Holy Light Church, which excelled in treating physical injuries.

Even a severed arm could be restored, provided not too much time had passed.

Aesop carefully applied salve to Alicia’s wound.

“This might sting a little.”

“Mm, it does sting a bit,” Alicia acknowledged, then leaned into Aesop’s embrace, closing her eyes contentedly. “This feels a little better, Aesop. Please continue.”

“I don’t think comfort alleviates pain,” Aesop remarked, yet he diligently continued to tend to the wound on Alicia’s arm.

Observing this, Theodore felt immense envy, though he could only lean against Theresia’s dragon claw and speak.

He bitterly gulped down healing potions, as if trying to get himself drunk, then looked towards Lola, who was casting healing magic on him.

He relayed Promen’s earlier analysis to her: “Lola, can you pinpoint where that guy’s magic was unleashed from?”

Lola shook her head. “Hmm? No, it’s too high up here, and Theresia’s attack has saturated this entire area with chaotic magical energy. It’s impossible to detect such things under these conditions.”

Olido sighed with a hint of regret. “Hmph, nothing we can do. We’ve gathered enough intelligence. Let’s withdraw. Since Theresia is the ruler of the Deathly Wilderness, if you can maintain this altitude and fly at full speed, even crossing the entire Deathly Wilderness would only take a few hours.”

“Previously, we dared not fly recklessly because we were unsure of the enemy’s methods and location; it was hard to say whether flying aimlessly would lead us into a trap. Now that we’ve shown ourselves in town, our actions have disrupted the enemy’s plans to some extent. Leaving now at least reduces the chance of falling into their net.”

“Understood. Let’s go.”

Theresia was never one to be stubborn, especially when facing enemies who clearly knew her identity and yet attacked her so decisively. She knew without a doubt that they had prepared a feast of dragon-cooking tools for her.

The black dragon instantly soared towards the heavens, and at this moment, the lingering aftershocks of Theresia’s attack gradually faded.

A massive void now occupied the former site of the town. However, the Mayor’s villa, precisely at the epicenter of the bombardment, had been stripped of all its superfluous decorations, leaving only a bare floor suspended eerily in the mid-air of the void.

The Clown watched Theresia’s departure with an indifferent gaze. Clearly, his opponent was far more intelligent than his subordinates.

While Theresia’s Super Charged Black Dragon Roar Wave had no effect on him in his black dragon form, sheer power had its limits. The excessively high magical impact had forcibly severed his connection to external magical sources. Even after leaving the range of the magical shockwave, he would still need some time to re-establish that link. During this interim, he naturally couldn’t stop Theresia and her companions from escaping miles into the sky. Given the circumstances, it was better to extend a favor to the fools still inside the house.

Bloodline Fusion Killer: “Is this what you called foolproof? It’s rather comical.”

Orc: “Hey, Clown, your black dragon ran off. Why are you just standing there like a bewildered monkey? Waiting for that female dragon to feed you her eggs?”

Dark Elf: “That’s why I said it would have been better to let the Bishop stay and plan all of this.”

The Clown: “…”

Excellent. He truly was the King of Clowns for thinking these scumbags would be grateful.

“Don’t worry, they won’t escape.”

Although he hadn’t anticipated Theodore possessing such a trick, his usual caution had led him to mark Theodore and his companions after identifying them.

Such marks were difficult to detect and would quickly fade over time, but they were more than sufficient for the Clown’s purposes!

Theresia, flying at full speed, noticed a figure ahead returning towards them, moving so rapidly that she couldn’t shake it off.

“Be careful, something is flying towards us!”

“What is that?”

Theresia’s warning was unnecessary; Theodore and the others had already spotted the colossal phantom hurtling directly towards Theresia.

It was an enormous bird, its wingspan vast enough to eclipse the moonlight. Its feathers displayed a dazzling array of iridescent colors, each one seeming to be embedded with tiny gems that shimmered with golden light under the moon. The feather colors transitioned from deep violet to fiery orange-red, then to cool silver-white, layered like a flowing rainbow painting.

The bird’s head was covered in fine scales that reflected a chilling silver light under the moonlight, starkly contrasting with the vibrant feathers. Its beak was curved and sharp, a deep bronze hue, with a tip that gleamed menacingly, as if it could easily tear any prey apart. Its fierce eyes were deep and cold, with pupils that seemed to burn with an eternal flame, revealing an endless thirst for blood.

Most striking were the four golden talons beneath its body. Each talon was like an exquisitely sculpted golden work of art, with razor-sharp tips and curiously curved nails that seemed capable of effortlessly piercing the hardest armor. These talons gleamed with a cold golden light under the moonlight, creating a powerful visual impact against the bird’s feathers, giving an impression of both beauty and danger.

No one present had ever seen such a creature, yet Theresia sensed the scent of a formidable foe.

The bird’s fierce eyes gleamed with bloodlust, regarding the black dragon as if it were a long-desired meal.

Just as it was about to collide with Theresia, the giant bird suddenly altered its flight path, avoiding Theresia’s frontal impact with an incredibly unnatural maneuver. Instead, it plunged its four massive talons fiercely into Theresia’s back.

The talons parted her dragon scales, piercing deeply into Theresia’s flesh and drawing forth copious amounts of fresh blood.

Theresia couldn’t help but let out a low cry of anguish, her eyes bloodshot as she gazed at the distant giant bird. In that moment, she finally recognized its identity.

“A Dragon-Catching Bird?”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

The Imperial Evening

AngstFantasy RomanceImperial Palace

Read Now →
Not interested