The legendary Moonlight Sculptor

V55C4P1 - Dragon Lair Defense

Oberon smiled faintly and spoke to Weed beside him.

"I will take care of the defense line. I will stall them until I die, so you have to carry on with the objective. Find the Brazier of Sacrifice and transport the treasure."

He was only asking for them to take care of the dirty work. He was a great leader worthy of praise.

People like him are the ones who miss promotions because they die at the scene.

Weed did not miss this chance to turn around heart-free.

"I got it. I trust you with this situation. I will personally carve your name on your gravestone."

He only showed his true colors in the midst of a crisis!

"Hoorah!"

Oberon pinned his shield down on the ground and drew the attention of the draconic warriors.

"All of you come at me at once!"

Weed slipped to the back while the draconic warriors were preoccupied with Oberon and assessed the surroundings.

A tremendous amount of treasure was still stacked inside the lair!

It dwindled down slightly as the dwarves carried some out, but there was still so much treasure left as only ten percent of what was in the lair was moved out.

But it was good that the categorization and organization were being done simultaneously which hastened the speed of transport.

Weed asked the dwarves.

"Did you grab the Brazier of Sacrifice."

"We don't have it."

"We haven't found it either."

At first, he felt stuffed just looking at the treasures, but now it was a war against time.

At the lair entrance, dozens of dwarves were desperately pushing back Bademix and the other monsters from penetrating through the defense.

< Bademix surrounded itself with a cloak of special power. All physical damage is converted into mana for 30 seconds. >

The assault squad concentrated their attacks on Bademix, but it was having little effect.

Weed observed the situation and turned his head.

"That overpowered… Nide!"

"Yes, hyung."

"I don't know what might happen to us, so we have to find the Brazier of Sacrifice first."

"Okay. I will help out."

Weed and Nide began searching through the treasure for the large brazier.

Some treasures formed a peaking tower, and the inside was not clearly visible because they were covered in gold and silvers.

"Brazier… It should be in the form of a brazier. It should be big too."

"Should we search the places where all the artwork and antiques are?"

"That's an idea."

He heard stories that the dragon used it as a heating stove, but even among the artwork and furniture, it didn't stand out.

Kaybern was indeed on the opposite end of tidiness and organization.

It was like the residence of an independent student that hadn't cleaned for three years!

Antiques, treasures and jewels were all jumbled.

"Damn, he's thrown it everywhere like it's a pile of garbage."

Weed was troubled that he couldn't properly examine the piles of treasures which had formed massive mountains.

The hands of adventurer Haruna dispelling the magic traps weren't too quick either.

"Please hurry!"

"I am doing my best, but we don't know what kind of dangerous magic traps may await us. I have to confirm each trap one at a time, so going any faster won't work."

Haruna had problems of her own to address.

The Cleansing Torch took time to dispel the magic traps, so she could not pick up speed.

"At this rate, we don't know when we'll find the Brazier of Sacrifice. We might need quite a long time."

Weed looked back to the lair entrance, and the attack of the draconic warriors and monsters was brutal.

"Kill the intruders!"

"Eat them alive before Kaybern-nim gets upset!"

"Charge onwards!"

The swarm of draconic warriors and monsters rushed in roaring from the lair entrance.

*Crumble!*

This time, the earth shook.

"This is gravitational magic."

"Jesus, this is six times stronger than normal!"

From somewhere, a magic spell that applied extreme gravity to the dwarves was activated.

"Fools that entered Kaybern-nim's haven with no fear. I'm going to extract your hearts and see how big they are. Ku-ku."

< Lich Smalling controlled the gravity in the area.

All living creatures…

You weaklings will be crushed flat!

Movement is slowed.

Stamina drains more quickly. >

The undead mage lich that defends the lair!

Following Bademix, even the lich Smalling arrived.

The scary thing about gravitational magic was that it was applied over the entire area and therefore could not be avoided.

With low strength, one would instantly fall into a state of incapacitation.

"Hold!"

"Keep your positions. Don't step out!"

The dwarves were barely maintaining a close formation for defense.

The dwarves were usually like tanks given their exceptional armor and endurance in battles, but the penetration attacks they were facing were too formidable.

If the lair entrance wasn't narrow, they would have taken gruesome damage by Bademix or the draconic warriors.

They were barely standing, fending off the attacks.

"Weed-nim! My name is Blowhand."

One of the dwarves ran hurriedly towards him with a chest.

"I was about to move this… There is a magical scroll in it."

It was a magic scroll crafted by the dragon!

It could be activated without a mage by ripping it apart and could cost a fortune depending on its power.

*Flap!*

Weed was calculating the cost of the scrolls piled up inside the chest.

"It would be a great help to deliver these to the ones in combat."

His brain which was running at high speed stopped after hearing Blowhand.

"Use rare scrolls…?"

"Yes. The situation calls for it… Would it be unwise?"

Weed heard Blowhand and closed his eyes.

At this very moment, nearby dwarves were watching and listening to him.

Undoubtedly the millions of viewers were watching the live broadcast too.

'If I turn down his advice now, they will think of me as a cheapskate and a coward.'

In all honesty, he considered himself a cheapskate and a coward.

But, there was a difference between himself being aware and everyone else knowing about it.

It was a small sense of pride that was still left inside him!

Weed swallowed his saliva to prevent his voice from cracking.

"Use it. It is a grave situation, so we have to."

"Alright."

The support of magic scrolls began to take effect, leading to a bombardment of magic spells at the lair entrance.

Dozens of monsters and draconic warriors were put away, giving the dwarves some grace time! But, the enemy began rushing in a few moments after.

"I don't think we can hold any longer."

Weed couldn't help but think the same.

They could use the magic scroll at every dangerous moment and bought some time , but this was the dragon's lair.

All kinds of monsters were pouncing at them.

***

"All houses which shelter humans must be destroyed."

Kaybern stood on top of the earth and roared.

Castle Bawell was destroyed miserably and only its ashes remained, and the buildings in the city were also razed to the ground.

Bridges were disconnected, and the trees were on fire.

Total destruction! Kaybern inhaled deeply and as he breathed out , he blew down the buildings poorly constructed by the architects to the ground.

The Black Dragon let out a piercing cry as it laid waste to the city.

"Kuuuuuaaah!"

Kaybern roared and flew up into the sky.

Users observing from afar were waiting for Castle Bawell to be destroyed completely.

The dragon's behavior up until now was a complete and thorough destruction of the target city. Not one building was left standing, typical for dragons.

"Humans… How dare you enter my territory. You have lost your minds."

The alert magic around the dragon's lair was activated, and Kaybern became aware of the intruders.

"Oh no."

"He found out!"

The face of the architects that built Castle Bawell turned pale.

The plan was discovered!

If the dragon were to fly back to its nest this instant, the robbery would be in vain.

"Pathetic. My lair will become your grave."

Kaybern did not cease to destroy the city.

***

- "Bajo: Weed-nim! We've been discovered by Kaybern."

Architect Bajo at Castle Bawell whispered to Weed and explained the situation.

"This is great… It's still going to be a while until we get all the treasure out."

"You low lives, gather this instant and protect the lair of Kaybern-nim, the master of your body and soul!"

The commander of the draconic warriors, Bademix, blew a horn carved from bones.

<The horn's bellow resounded.>

High and mighty echoes spread to the furthest parts of Ulta mountain pass.

"He's gathering more of them!"

"It's already tough as it is!"

Screams came out from the mouths of dwarves.

The group was made up of soldiers and warriors and could hold the entrance barely, but Bademix's attack threatened the lives of these dwarves with one good hit.

"Push through at all costs."

"Kill those pest-like dwarves! Flash Rupture!"

The charge of draconic warriors already posed a problem, and on top of that, the lich Smalling added his magic attacks to the dwarves.

Lights flashed, and the air blew up, damaging the dwarves each time.

The users of the assault squad were retaliating as well with ranged attacks.

"The enemy is powerful. But if we hold the narrow entrance, we can endure. Do not step back!"

Oberon let out his War Cry that reinvigorated the dwarves.

At that moment!

A priest in the rear who was preparing to cast a healing spell died and turned grey.

"What? Why did he die?"

The other priests alongside were confused, but a moment later two more lives disappeared.

"It's an assassin!"

From the defense forces of the dragon lair, another commander-level being appeared.

"Hurry and protect the rear!"

"Everyone stay alert and light up the surroundings to keep away the darkness."

Some of the assault soldiers sprinted to defend the priests and the mages. Then, they spotted a translucent figure in the darkness that blended into the ceiling and escaped.

"Just how many of these Bademix-like guys are there?"

"Just defend. Protect them!"

More casualties occurred from the dwarves and the assault squad.

Swift Coldwind: "Nearby monsters are all directed to the lair."

Weed observed the situation anxiously.

"I know."

- Swift Coldwind: "Ah, yes. I thought you would have noticed that already but what I mean to say is that all monsters within a 10 km radius are headed that way!"

"…"

Additional reinforcements.

From the dungeons and demon lairs, fearsome high-level monsters were spawning.

Shockingly, they were all headed for the dragon lair.

(To be continued…)