Boom!
The earth shattered, and the skies roared.
Critical Hit: -820,000!
Smash Damage: -2,000,000!
The Flame Dragon Nest Master let out another agonized roar as it struggled to rise. Orson's gaze turned icy.
"Earthquake!"
The magic transformed into a Dragon Curse spell, and a massive stone shackle rose from the ground, temporarily trapping the Flame Dragon Nest Master.
However, even a Dragon Curse-tier spell couldn't hold the Flame Dragon for more than three seconds.
Crack!
The stone shackle splintered as the Flame Dragon's roar filled the battlefield. It attempted to take flight, hoping to avoid the concentrated fire of the Godslayer players.
"What are you thinking? Stay down!"
Orson snorted coldly. The Crimson Lizard King hovered for a brief moment before activating its speed skill and diving downward.
Its terrifying claws slammed the Flame Dragon Nest Master into the ground, creating a dragon-shaped crater hundreds of meters wide.
With savage eyes, the Crimson Lizard King opened its mouth and unleashed its Apocalypse Dragon Breath at point-blank range, triggering an exaggerated percentage-based true damage effect.
"Let's go, everyone! Dragon-slaying time—jackpot incoming!"
"Yeah, aim for its head! Nightshade, have your goblin boss carve out its dragon heart—I want to see what it looks like!"
"Who would've thought! Here I am in Infinite Dimensions, a life player, wielding a gun to slay a dragon..."
The life players of Godslayer revealed their true nature, eagerly joining the concentrated assault on the Flame Dragon Nest Master.
Even the seemingly harmless female players of the guild became more aggressive than the frontline fighters.
The most ridiculous part was that they were taking selfies while shooting, further humiliating the once-dominant Flame Dragon Nest Master Furnace Greed.
"Eating dragons... Two Earth Dragons down just like that? The Flame Dragon boss losing is only a matter of time. Annly, are you sure we want to keep fighting this thing?"
"What else can we do? Run for our lives!"
"I'm heading to Infinite Dimensions HQ to file a formal complaint—this game is a scam! Orson is a 100% rigged NPC!"
The SSR coalition stood frozen in fear, their legs trembling.
Many guild members began retreating, unwilling to face certain defeat and the ensuing losses.
As the Crimson Lizard King's Apocalypse Dragon Breath gathered strength to finish off the wounded Flame Dragon, a guttural Dragon Tongue curse rang out from Furnace Greed's mouth:
"Enluka! Guardian Enluka! You are a disgrace to dragonkind! I curse your master to eternal damnation in the abyss!"
"Absolute Kid: That Earth Dragon is trying to flee! Who's got a flying mount? Follow me, let's take it down!"
"Madman: What's up with that Guardian? Why's it retreating mid-fight?"
The crowd was stunned as Enluka, who had remained inactive until now, suddenly flew deeper into the Celestial Fortress.
Enluka remained unmoved by Furnace Greed's curse and replied coldly:
"The God-Emperor's bloodline will remember your fall forever. I shall pray to the immortal dragon god for your soul."
Orson tilted his head slightly to glance at Enluka, a faint smirk appearing on his lips.
"Don't worry. None of you are getting out of here alive."
Meanwhile, the truth behind the God-Emperor heir Cain's bid to claim the Celestial Fortress and ascend as the ultimate ruler of Infinite Dimensions began to emerge.
From the fragmented hints left by the old war sage Darkbo, Orson could vaguely sense that even if Cain could crush the players, it was unlikely that he would earn the so-called "God-Emperor's recognition."
The combined assault of six giant dragons, countless NPCs, and a massive army of magical creatures against the Celestial Fortress occupiers was beyond any reasonable difficulty.
Even a year after the game's release in Orson's previous life, when the Dragon's Kiss Guild was at its peak, such a task would have been nearly impossible.
Something seemed off.
In Infinite Dimensions, both players and NPCs could grow stronger as the game progressed. According to the usual rules of the game's quest design, players would never be given an outright impossible task.
It was highly likely that after Dragon's Kiss was defeated in the previous timeline, a chain quest emerged to give the defenders a chance to turn the tide.
In that timeline, Usher seized this opportunity to claim the Celestial Fortress, a weapon of mass destruction, for his guild.
Thinking of this, Orson's eyes lit up.
"Wait, if I forcibly clear this and win the siege, could there be an extra reward?"
On the Ground Battlefield:
"DonutWizard: Don't run! Hold the line—we can win this!"
"SSR-ICEMAN: These are just a bunch of pushovers. They scatter at the first sign of resistance—what a joke!"
While some SSR leaders tried to rally their forces, most players prioritized self-preservation, disregarding the orders.
"Run? Where do you think you're going?"
Bradley sneered, activating his jetpack. With a dull thud, he launched himself into the middle of the fleeing players and exploded like a human bomb.
"Anyone who dares to come here should be ready to have their heads kicked around like soccer balls!" Madman's eyes turned cold as his assassin squad vanished into stealth mode.
Like phantoms, the assassins flickered through the battlefield.
"Charge!"
Drunken Dream raised his dragon lance, and the Supreme Guild players launched an assault, forming a semi-circle to encircle the retreating players and slaughter them mercilessly.
Thousands of fleeing players were forced to turn back, desperately seeking another escape route.
These veteran players knew they were doomed but resolved not to fight back, taking the hits in silence and hoping to escape in the chaos and log out safely in Peace Mode.
"Crap! I'm lost!"
At that moment, a battle group of a thousand players unexpectedly appeared, blocking the fleeing players' path.
"Sweetheart Supreme: Why are so many people running toward us? Wait, something feels off—they look panicked."
"Empress of the Moon: I swear I'll never let an idiot lead again. We ended up fighting half a Heaven Demon army for nothing."
"ShatteredCrown: Is it my fault? It's normal to get lost in a mansion as big as Super Plus!"
After circling the area and fighting several skirmishes with NPC troops, The King Family and Moonlight Guild finally arrived at the scene.
"Dragons... Two Flame Dragons?! What the hell! Are their giant battle beasts on sale?"
"Holy crap! Two Flame Dragons? Don't tell me these people aren't insider players supported by the developers!"
The players froze in shock. Empress of the Moon riding her Flame Dragon was one thing, but now The King Family's leader was also astride a nearly identical Flame Dragon.
"How do you even fight against that?!"
It was hard not to suspect that their giant battle beasts were gifts from the system.
ShatteredCrown: "Ahem, since you're already here, stay for tea, won't you?"
He raised his Scepter of Authority, his expression darkening. "Leave no one alive. Kill them all!"
Buzz—
ShatteredCrown, atop his Flame Dragon, unleashed the brilliance of a six-pointed star magic aura. Holy ice and fire magic rained down, annihilating waves of players.
Empress of the Moon charged into the fray, her dragon lance blazing with fire, cutting through enemies like a scythe through grass.
"Slaughter surges forth."
Drunken Dream's lips curled into a smirk as he joined the fray. His silver dragon Denoka unleashed a rain of light, reducing the armor and health of all enemies it touched.
With a thrust of his dragon lance, silvery energy shot forth like a raging bull, obliterating the knights' defensive line.
Madman's eyes glimmered with approval as he muttered, "Looks like we won't even need to use our trump cards to win this."
"...I've doomed us all..."
DonutWizard's heart sank as he watched the tide turn against them. What he thought was a golden opportunity to defeat Orson had instead dragged his guild into a pit of despair.
"Annly, don't panic—I'm almost ready."
In his moment of despair, a heavenly voice whispered in DonutWizard's ear.
It was Wedge, the woman he was destined to marry!
"Snow Dream is about to give me the Saintess election votes. In just a few minutes, the coronation ceremony will be complete. The Holy Light Church's forces will be at my command. Hold on a bit longer."
Wedge's calm confidence reassured DonutWizard as she finally revealed her trump card amidst the SSR coalition's crisis.
"Great! That's amazing! Finally, Snow Dream did something right!" DonutWizard exclaimed in relief.
But minutes passed...
"Wedge, we can't hold on any longer—the frontline is about to collapse!"
DonutWizard tried contacting Wedge again, but it was as if his messages were swallowed into the void.
"Regional Announcement: Player Snow Dream has received the most votes from the bishops and has been crowned the Saintess of Holy Light!"
"She has gained a class advancement opportunity! The Saintess now holds ducal rights within the empire and wields partial command over the Holy Light Church's NPC forces!"