Ashen Dragon

Duke Franz turned his head toward the source of the sound, only to see hundreds of humans and dwarves, wielding various weapons, charging toward Green Valley Town.

At the forefront was a paladin clad in armor, wielding a Silver Sword, emitting a faint golden radiance, conspicuous in the dark, rainy night.

"Is that... Adrian?"

Duke Franz had some impression of Adrian. In his eyes, the child of his comrade was a paladin with decent talent, but never exuded such a presence as now.

Even from several hundred meters away, the reinforcements raised their rifles.

With a "bang!" gunfire screamed, piercing the sky, as a row of muzzles erupted with fire, emanating the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke.

Bullets sliced through the rain screen, piercing the scales and the flesh of the Dragon Vein Monsters, making them wail miserably as they fell from the sky.

In the distance, mortars were pulled up by knights on horseback. Accompanied by deafening sounds, shells fell among the servant monks, bursting into flames, instantly turning hundreds of cultists into charred remains.

"Follow me! Let's fight to the death against these damned cultists!"

Adrian shouted fiercely, galloping at the forefront of the ranks, crashing into the enemy's flank. The longsword swung through the air, unleashing a flame as bright as the sun, instantly consigning dozens of servant monks to a fiery death.

It was his first use of the Sun God Power, and being unskilled, the surging flames nearly scorched their own allies.

The human knights followed behind him, using spears to pierce the airborne dragon beasts and cutting down nearby cultist servants with their swords and horse sabers.

The Dragon Tooth Dwarves, seeing these cultists, were filled with wrath, lifting their warhammers and axes as they plunged into the crowd, recklessly fighting the servant monks.

The addition of Adrian and his entourage disrupted the battlefield, allowing Franz's trusted soldiers to withstand the onslaught of the Dragon Worship Church, even showing hints of a counteroffensive.

But Franz knew that this hundred-strong reinforcement couldn't change the tide of the war. Under the relentless assault of the Green Dragon Legion, as time dragged on—they were doomed to fail.

"Humans! This is your grave! I will slaughter your soldiers and purge this town clean!"

"Roar—"

The Ancient Green Dragon let out a ferocious roar, charging at him with its massive body like a green mountain crashing down.

Duke Franz stared fiercely at the green dragon, gasping for breath, gripping the great sword tightly with both hands, bending slowly, gathering strength within, with the sword's body seemingly cloaked in a hazy red glow.

"You seek death—"

With an earth-shattering roar, the heavy great sword swung ferociously at the Ancient Green Dragon, causing air currents to billow, sparking an earth-shattering storm, even inducing slight tremors in the surroundings, leaving only the sound of the sword cleaving through the air.

"Clang—"

The initial clash of metals rang out, followed by a dull thud. The Ancient Green Dragon was swept away by this sword, wailing in agony, with blood and shattered scales flung into the air. The authentic version is on MVLEMPY_R.

But Franz's actions were not finished; two mature green dragons roared, closing in from the left and right, their razor-sharp claws and dense, keen teeth eager to tear him apart.

Duke Franz hurriedly twisted his body, positioning the great sword to his left as a shield, blocking the gaping maw of one green dragon, but leaving his back vulnerable, about to be pierced by the pursuing claws.

"Your Grace, watch out!"

In the distance, Mandrian leapt high from his horse, raising the Silver Sword engulfed in Sun Fire, slashing with a fierce yell.

The next moment, the sound of flesh tearing rang out, but Duke Franz was unharmed.

"Howl—"

The mature green dragon lifted its ferocious head, releasing a painful, keening howl. Its right claw had been forcefully chopped off, bleeding profusely, emitting black smoke and a searing scent.

The severed claw fell to the ground, rolling several times, with blood gushing forth.

Seeing this, Duke Franz pushed the dragon's head back with all his might, spinning his body, the great sword carving an arc in the air, smashing heavily toward the enemy.

"Boom!"

The mature green dragon was sent flying, half of its horn shaved off, and its upper jaw knocked askew.

"Damn human!"

"I will tear you apart! Your flesh will dissolve in the green dragon's acid, melting into a thick liquid!"

"Lowly creatures! Your souls will wail inside my gut!"

The green dragons appeared shocked but continued to issue threatening low growls, while Franz and Adrian, relying on each other, stood back to back in a standoff with the green dragons.

"Adrian."

Duke Franz glanced at the burning longsword in the paladin's hand, and said in a low voice: "I never expected you to gain a power similar to a Divine Descendant in this era..."

"I just found out myself." Adrian gripped his longsword tightly.

Surprise flickered in Duke Franz's eyes, then his expression turned solemn as he spoke: "Leave here. There's no way we can defeat this horde of green dragons on our own, I will sacrifice myself to clear a path for you."

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and with a bitter smile said: "Adrian, you have an extraordinary talent, you might be the hope to revive Fadlan. Your life...is far more precious than an old man like me who should have died on the battlefield long ago."