A beastly roar shook the air as a dark shadow appeared in the sky, accompanied by the deep thrum of war drums.
Before Nightshade could process what was happening, Orson had already leaped onto the back of a Crimson Lizard King, perched like a king of the battlefield.
Nightshade muttered in awe, "This is too cool… even comes with its own BGM. His account must have cost him tens of thousands."
"I'm the air force; you're the ground troops. Together, we're unstoppable," Orson quipped with a smirk, turning what should have been an RPG game into something more reminiscent of a war movie.
Using the Crimson Lizard King's aerial mobility, Orson unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks. Chaos Magic Balls rained down, while the Lizard King's fire breath scorched the Corrupted Earth Dragon.
-1100
-4200
As expected, the armor-penetrating effects of the Magitek Tank's shots significantly boosted their damage output.
However, the elite mobs weren't dumb—they quickly adjusted their strategy.
The Earth Dragon charged like a mad bull, slamming the tank so hard it skidded across the ground. Meanwhile, the Dragonblood Guards on its back rotated the siege ballista, aiming it squarely at Orson.
The air cracked with a terrifying sound as the bolt shot toward him. Orson, having anticipated the attack, maneuvered the Crimson Lizard King into a sharp turn mid-air. Despite his efforts, the bolt struck the Lizard King's tail.
-15000!
"That's a scary amount of damage. Nearly got me one-shot," Orson muttered, frowning.
The Crimson Lizard King roared in fury, its blood-red eyes glowing with rage. Without waiting for Orson's command, it dove down, claws outstretched, grabbing two Dragonblood Guards and tossing them skyward.
Fall Damage: -30000
"Good work, Number One," Orson praised. The Lizard King's gaze locked onto the Earth Dragon, roaring fiercely as though defending its pride as a king among beasts.
The guards atop the Earth Dragon scrambled to reload and aim the ballista. Orson's eyes narrowed—while the Earth Dragon's freeze ability had limited range, its ballista was their real threat. If he could eliminate the guards, the Earth Dragon would be powerless against him.
"Accelerate!" Orson commanded.
The Crimson Lizard King activated its speed boost, streaking downward like an arrow. It spat a glob of fiery saliva at the guards, dousing them in flammable liquid.
Orson followed up with a Chaos Fireball, igniting the oil-covered guards. The combined burning effects left them writhing in agony.
The Lizard King grabbed another guard, flinging him skyward before turning its attention to the rest. Orson and his mount worked in perfect sync, swiftly clearing the Earth Dragon's back.
"When we're done, I'll reward you with a lady lizard," Orson remarked.
The Crimson Lizard King snorted disdainfully, continuing to torch the guards below.
"Fire!"
"Come on, flip me over if you can! I'll blow you to pieces!" Nightshade taunted as he pounded the Earth Dragon with the tank's cannon. The repeated hits steadily stacked debuffs, reducing the Earth Dragon's resistances further.
Thanks to the tank's superior mobility, Nightshade performed a dizzying series of evasive maneuvers, disorienting the lumbering Earth Dragon.
Orson chuckled at the sight. For someone who seemed bookish, Nightshade had a surprising knack for chaos, reminiscent of a battlefield general.
"Thunderstrike!"
Orson activated his fire-element crit mode, unleashing rapid Chaos Magic Balls.
Crit: -2500!
Crit: -8000!
The Corrupted Earth Dragon's HP dropped below half. Enraged, it activated Savage Nature, its eyes glowing red as it charged recklessly. Its speed and strength increased significantly, but it began indiscriminately attacking anything in its path—be it guards, rocks, or ruins.
Orson smirked. He had a plan. Using the team chat, he said, "Lead it to the densely packed monster settlement. Let it clear them out for us—I'll finish off the leftovers."
Nightshade cackled. "You're such a rat, bro!"
With a sharp turn, Nightshade steered the tank toward the settlement.
The Earth Dragon roared, spewing an icy cascade that exploded into razor-sharp shards, pelting the tank. Nightshade dodged wildly, his hands flying across the controls.
Though the tank had 500,000 HP, it had a critical flaw: if it flipped, it would be immobilized, leaving him a sitting duck.
"This is ridiculous. His driving is insane," Orson muttered, impressed. Nightshade's flashy moves were leagues beyond what he could manage with his limited driving skills.
The Earth Dragon plowed into the settlement, sending mobs flying and reducing buildings to rubble. Dozens of elite mobs hit the ground, left battered and barely alive.
Orson raised his staff, summoning a Chaotic Hexagram. "Wind God's Lament!"
A tornado swept through the settlement, lifting the mobs into the air before smashing them back down.
-30000!
-20000!
Within moments, dozens of elites were wiped out.
"Holy crap, that's a lot of mobs. This looks like a whole army camped here," Nightshade exclaimed, glancing at the swarm of 500-600 mobs, each with 70-80k HP.
The mobs retaliated, pelting the tank with spears, arrows, and other weapons, quickly reducing its HP by half.
Nightshade paled as he reached a cliff edge. Forced to brake, he found himself cornered by monsters closing in from all sides.
Suddenly, the ground ahead cracked open, two stone vines rising to form a barricade between the mobs and Nightshade.
"The Flame Dragon!" Orson intoned coldly.
A chaotic demon descended, scattering the mobs with a fiery blast. The Earth Dragon arrived moments later, blindly charging into its own allies.
Orson smirked. "So, you're tough, huh?"
He unleashed a Bloodlust Surge, triggering multiple spell effects. Three massive tidal waves crashed into the mobs.
Disoriented, the surviving mobs turned their attacks on the Earth Dragon.
-500
-450
Within seconds, the Earth Dragon howled in agony, its armor shredded by its frenzied allies.
Orson gave no quarter, pelting it with Chaos Magic Balls.
True Damage Crit: -3000!
True Damage Crit: -10000!
"You have slain the Corrupted Earth Dragon. EXP +60,000!"
"Your level has increased to 27."
The Earth Dragon collapsed, dropping two pieces of level-30 hero gear for knights. Orson stashed them, planning to check their market value later.
"Legendary!" Nightshade exclaimed, his admiration for Orson growing. With the high EXP boost, he had reached level 15.
"I'll fly over the chasm to scout ahead. Wait here," Orson said, mounting the Crimson Lizard King.
As he soared across the gap, Nightshade shouted, "Look out!!!"
A shadow streaked toward them, whipping up a violent gale. The Crimson Lizard King wobbled like a small boat in a storm, struggling to maintain its balance.
Orson's face darkened as a sense of dread washed over him.
A colossal abyssal maw clamped down on the Lizard King, its bones snapping audibly.
Fatal Bite!
-50000
-60000
Bleeding Out!
-10000
-15000
Red text flashed across Orson's screen: Dragon Knight in Hunt! Spatial abilities disabled…