Overgeared

Chapter 1769

A dragon radar—it was an artifact developed by Radwolf. It detected the signs of an adult dragon in real time. The higher the hierarchy, the more intensively it monitored them. In other words, the tower members basically tracked targets based on the signs caught by the dragon radar. The reaction was bound to be delayed if the target was out of range of the radar surveillance.

In that sense, they were complacent. The Tower of Wisdom had already missed Trauka's traces of months.

'It is too harsh an assessment to say we were complacent.'

Radwolf clicked his tongue as he investigated the surroundings with an energy meter. The remnants of the energy identified by the measuring instrument was clearly below the standard value. It was to the extent that it was doubtful that the Fire Dragon really appeared in this area. It was evidence that Trauka's condition wasn't as good as the tower members had assumed.

Trauka was extremely weak in the aftermath of Ifrit's attempt at mutual destruction. This meant he was in a natural position to hide his traces. In other words, the reason why the tower missed Trauka's presence wasn't because of complacency. It was due to Trauka's defense mechanism.

The tower member had no choice but to discover Trauka's emergence in Reidan one step late. However, Marie Rose immediately grasped it. Did it mean that her knack for reading a dragon's energy was superior to a dragon radar?

'There is no way.'

Radwolf was aware that the cause of the incident was extremely simple. The tower members had been monitoring 'dragons,' while Marie Rose was only watching 'Grid.' The difference made Marie Rose move one step faster.

"Can you track it?"

Grid also seemed to have noticed that he was very favored by Marie Rose. His murderous expression proved it. He was ready to chase and fight Trauka right away.

Fronzaltz exchanged glances with Radwolf and replied cautiously, "It isn't easy."

He analyzed in real-time the coordinates contained in the remnants of Trauka's warp gate while pretending not to know anything. He hoped that Grid's anger would subside. Right now, Grid felt like a ticking time bomb. It felt like he was going to explode the moment he encountered Trauka. Fronzaltz knew it was going to be dangerous and couldn't tell Grid where Trauka was.

Hayate seemed to think differently. "Be sure to find it."

"But..."

The giant brothers, Radwolf and Fronzaltz, were flustered by Hayate's unexpected order and tried to express their disagreement.

"We can't afford to miss the opportunity that Marie Rose provided for us."

Hayate cut off the words of the brothers. Of course, the stubbornness of the giant brothers, Radwolf and Fronzaltz, was enormous. They were intellectuals and scientists. They were nothing if not stubborn.

-What chance did she provide? Did she leave the coordinates so we could chase through the warp gate? What chance is this? I have to wonder if she is driving us to the brink of a cliff.

Radwolf's words poured out in a rapid fire manner.

-It is reasonable to confront the Fire Dragon just because his condition isn't perfect?

In the first place, half of the old dragons weren't in a perfect condition. Bunhelier was cursed by Baal, and Nevartan was cursed by Bunhelier and Baal. However, no one dared to harm an old dragon. It was the same even for the heavenly gods who suffered humiliation from them in the past.

They would rather treat the dragons like beings that didn't exist. It was proof that the strength of the old dragons was greater than the tower members thought. By trying to fight them when they were weakened, it was highly likely to encounter unexpected variables and be hit in reverse.

-How long are we going to run away?

Hayate, who had been listening to Radwolf in silence, finally asked back. He recalled the courage he had regained thanks to Grid, as well as the pledge he made on the day he regained his courage, and continued speaking.

-I, no, we can't run away any longer.

It was impossible to measure the power of dragons with the current power of humanity. But someone had to measure it. It was only then that they could find hope and a future.

This role. It was naturally right for the Tower of Wisdom to take charge of it.

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-Let's not forget our role.

"Cough..."

Radwolf could no longer refute it and nodded. He vowed to make sure that Grid wouldn't be endangered, no matter what happened. In the first place, the tower members were heroes. They didn't forget their duty. The reason why the giant brothers, Radwolf and Fronzaltz, gave a negative opinion about pursuing Trauka was purely out of concern for Grid. They wouldn't be able to handle it if Grid was forced to fight against Trauka and had an accident.

Hayate knew this as well, but he was still urging a pursuit. Perhaps it was because he was confident that he could protect Grid or because he didn't have the confidence to stop Grid. The giant brothers, Radwolf and Fronzaltz, could only hope that it was the former of the two options.

Hayate read the thoughts of his colleagues and couldn't help laughing. 'They aren't considering Marie Rose at all.'

Hayate had cooperated with Marie Rose. He had experienced the fact that she was incredibly powerful. In other words, he sincerely evaluated this situation as an 'opportunity created by Marie Rose.'

However, the members didn't seem to realize it. It was natural. They hadn't seen Marie Rose's skills in person.

'Of course, there is no room to relax.'

Marie Rose's power was temporary. She was unable to do anything against her eyelids that quickly became heavy. The opportunity she created would probably easily turn into a crisis. Thus, they had to hurry.

"Don't worry."

The energy of a Dragon Slayer released from Hayate diffused into the light and made a clear sound. It gradually stabilized Grid's nervous mind. In fact, this sound was made to provoke the dragons. It contained the desire to reach Trauka. The killing intent that extended all over the continent started to head in this direction.

"Even if we all die, we will protect your lover."

"......?"

There were more than one or two facts to tackle, so Grid just kept his mouth shut.

***

"You, are you crazy?" Trauka couldn't hide his agitation after allowing Marie Rose to pursue him. He didn't think it was disgraceful behavior. Even if Trauka was in a perfect state, he would've been shaken when experiencing the current situation.

A vampire duke, Marie Rose—she was Beriache's ideal. The one with the highest 'potential' among Yatan's three children sacrificed everything to give birth to Marie Rose, who was right in front of him. She was the only being on the surface who was comparable with the old dragons.

Of course, there was a premise of 'when the conditions are met.'

Trauka was currently seriously injured. It was to the extent where he moved his lair because he was wary of the pursuit of other old dragons. In other words, the arrogant dragon abandoned his pride. The wounds inflicted by his unfilial child were greater than what was publicly known. He had just recovered slightly, but it was nothing compared to when he was in a good state.

"You dare to invade my lair?"

Trauka nervously moved his right arm to take off Polymorph and regain the body of a dragon. The huge dragon's front paw weighed down on Marie Rose's barrier and broke it. It crushed her whole.

Red blood gushed from between Trauka's toes. It quickly came together again and took the form of a beautiful woman. It was Marie Rose, who was intact without a scratch.

"You invaded my dear husband's land first."

One of Trauka's claws was torn off. Trauka had torn it off on his own. He removed it the moment he detected that some of Marie Rose's blood had penetrated through the scaly gap.

"Invaded? I just went to get a gift?"

"Don't call it a gift. That will hurt my dear husband."

"You have been saying crazy and annoying things since earlier. Do you really believe that you, a vampire, can become a god's bride?"

Trauka's right arm contracted. It changed into a human arm again and pressed down on Marie Rose's throat, crushing her to the ground.

"One who bears Beriache's grudge. Go to hell and fight with Baal. Why lose your place and offend me?"

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Marie Rose's thin neck, which was pinned to the ground and crushed by Trauka's arm, finally broke. It rattled as it turned at a strange angle.

Trauka frowned. He was surprised by the physical endurance of Marie Rose's body, which was able to handle his own strength which was too much even for most giant dragons to handle. Then the blood flowing from Marie Rose's red, thick lips took the form of a magic circle. It was blood magic that promoted the caster's recovery while penetrating into any body it made contact with.

Trauka saw through the magic properties the moment it was triggered and backed off in a panic. It was an attitude of treating her like the plague.

Marie Rose stood up quietly, straightened her broken neck bone and said, "My dear husband kissed me. You are a coward compared to my dear husband. How did you reign with only this much courage?"

[...It is unpleasant just to be in the same space as you. Get out of here.]

In the end, Trauka completely removed Polymorph. At best, he was willing to risk the collapse of his newly created lair. He was ready to go on a rampage with his real body and drive Marie Rose away. He had no thoughts of killing her.

The tricky thing about 'real vampires' was their near-infinite vitality. Moreover, Marie Rose's durability was at the level of an old dragon. Killing someone like that? It would be a loss from the moment he decided to kill her. He would inevitably have to waste a lot of time.

Then flames spread throughout the huge lair. They were flames created by Trauka's will. It was a strong self-defense that symbolized the Fire Dragon.

Thanks to the flames, Marie Rose's blood no longer attempted to penetrate Trauka's body. To be precise, there was no point. From this moment on, Marie Rose's blood would immediately evaporate and become useless.

From now on, it would be a battle of pure magic versus magic, power versus power. And in this world—

There was no species that used magic better than the ancient dragons. There was no existence that was more powerful than an old dragon. It was a law that applied even if Trauka was seriously injured.

As an old dragon, his species itself was superior to all other species. Additionally, Trauka had the strongest power and magic power among the old dragons. Therefore, Trauka's victory was inevitable.

Trauka's wings flapped and flipped Marie Rose's vision dozens of times. It was the aftermath of the storm caused by the flapping of the wings. Marie Rose's large eyes, which had been half-open under the influence of the Curse of Sloth, opened wide.

'I can wake up through this way.'

She felt rare admiration. She was pushed all the way to the doorway of the lair and stretched out her slender arms. Her black-blue dress fluttered randomly while her slender hands fumbled for the treasured sword stuck into a gap of the treasures piled up like a mountain.

[A sword? Are you going to use this miscellaneous thing?]

Trauka laughed. Marie Rose was a being who relied purely on inherited power. She might be superior to Beriache in every way, but she couldn't use techniques that Beriache couldn't use. Of course, it was possible for her to copy the skills of the target whose blood she sucked. However, she was currently in a pure state. She wasn't in a state where she had sucked another being's blood. Despite this, she was holding a sword.

Trauka almost suspected that she had hit her head incorrectly on a stalactite while she was swept away by the storm earlier.

"I told you."

Step.

Marie Rose used magic to suppress the influence of the storm and planted her feet on the ground. Her gestures as she slowly approached Trauka, who was thousands of times bigger than herself, were graceful without being bewitching. It felt like her grace itself had changed. Her gentle steps gradually resembled a dance.

"I kissed my dear husband."

Grid's Sword Dance—Grid's blood, which Marie Rose cherished deep in her body, was now reproducing Grid's skills. It was a very elegant sword dance that combined six types of dances into one.

"Drop Dragon…"

[......!]

—Pinnacle Link Kill Wave.

A dragon fell.

Marie Rose threw away the treasured sword that had shattered in the aftermath of digging into the dragon's scales and spoke with her back to the flickering flames, "Dragon who reigned in the world before my dear husband was born…"

[......]

"You had better apologize to my dear husband."