The lightning beam saber clashed with black dragon claws, sparks flying as both were thrown back in shock. Ham felt the heat biting into her scales, her claws numb. Vera saw the saber's power drop sharply, the lightning barely holding its shape.
After several more clashes, the saber exceeded its limits and shattered. Ham sneered, about to mock her, when a burst from the head-mounted cannon forced her back.
"What are you so proud of? I still have plenty of toys!" Vera retreated rapidly as the dragon recovered and gave chase. When the claws were about to reach her, she suddenly turned.
"Chest blast!" The stored heat and energy erupted forward, knocking Ham back briefly. Using the recoil, Vera landed on a disguised lawn and pulled out a long, thick weapon from the ground.
"What is that?" Before Ham could understand, a blazing beam fired from its dark barrel.
"It is my beam rifle. If melee does not work, I will kite you at range." As they fought, the Ascendant Hall-level guard maintaining the sky Barrier sighed helplessly.
"Forget it. Let the princess have her fun."
His expression suddenly changed as spatial ripples appeared within the Barrier. A black Rift tore open, and a massive axe cleaved out from within.
From the rift emerged a nearly five-meter-tall giant with horns and purple skin, muscles bulging unnaturally. The aura of Magic around him marked him clearly as Demonkind. The guard recognized him at once.
"A troll. Parak."
Trolls were massive Demonkind known for terrifying regeneration and strength, almost immortal berserk Warrior. The guard remained calm, confident in his Laws, but the princess was nearby, and he needed to stall.
Parak grinned, showing sharp teeth. "I know what you are thinking. You just want to delay me." "Our plan is simple. Kill the girl, ruin this childish diplomacy, and let you humans tear each other apart."
His next words made Vera freeze. "You have heard of the magic fusion bomb, right?"
"That was my project," she muttered in disbelief. She knew exactly what it was, a weapon compressing enormous amounts of Magic and engraving destructive spells, capable of annihilating everything within hundreds of kilometers.
"Yes. That weapon," Parak said with a cruel smile. "It is already in this city, and it needs a Ascendant Hall-level to activate it." He stared at the guard intently. "You only have one choice. Defeat me here."
If that huge thing detonated inside the city, what would the result be? Leaving aside the Gold and Silver elites drawn from various legions, the mass death of nobles, high society figures, and diplomats alone would be enough to cause chaos. Even if Vedoras could protect the princess, the entire city would be wiped out, not to mention that this place was a bridgehead defense line wedged between Faris Empire and Demonkind.
Once that line fell, the consequences would be unthinkable, and it might end with those two being forced into the same battlefield together. Paraten Empire was exactly the side meant to be sacrificed, so Vedoras truly became serious and fell silent. What came next would not change much in nature, only in detail.
Before, the goal had been to stall the enemy at all costs, without seeking victory, because protecting the princess was what mattered most. But now it was different. He absolutely could not lose.
"Where is the bomb!"
Vast waves of water rippled through space, forming layers that physically folded and crushed matter. Yet the laughing Troll swung his fists and great axe, his bones breaking and tendons snapping only to recover at a visible speed.
"You can guess all you like. It might be in the hall, or it might even be on me!"
Vedoras gritted his teeth as their figures clashed hundreds, even thousands of times in an instant, the shockwaves covering half the sky. Was the enemy telling the truth or lying? With so many powerful defenders personally overseeing the city defenses, how could something like that have been smuggled in?
It might be a bluff, yet it felt unnecessary to bluff at this point. Vedoras did not dare gamble on whether the words were true, but one thing was certain. Defeating the enemy in front of him was the correct move.
Still, another thought lingered in his mind. Could there be a second Ascendant Hall-level presence hidden somewhere? That idea was quickly dismissed, since that level of combat power was not something one casually used as a bomb fuse.
The device required close-range manual detonation, and the one who triggered it would be the first to be hit. That was exactly why the project had been shelved in the first place. The enemy's claim had credibility because he was a Troll, and with full self-protection and regeneration, he might actually survive within the blast radius.
"What are you worrying about? I can be very clear with you. On the Demonkind side, I am the only Ascendant Hall-level one here. You can relax and fight me with everything you have!"
Parak laughed wildly, confidence overflowing as Battle Aura surged across his body. In truth, he was being cautious as well, since his words mixed truth with lies, and there was no reason to reveal everything.
First of all, the ignition of that kind of bomb was not instant. The violent Magic fluctuations released during the process would definitely be detected by Ascendant Hall-level experts. As for placing it inside the city, that was also false, because a weapon of that tier did not need such trouble, only a guaranteed coverage radius.
If one thought carefully, there were many holes in his words. Vedoras simply missed them due to his urgency. As for there being only one Demonkind, that part was absolutely correct. There was only one.
Vera was the first to come back to her senses and looked at Ham beside her. The stupid dragon was so scared that her legs were about to give out. What had she just heard, a super weapon that could destroy hundreds or even thousands of kilometers?
"Is this what humans are like? That's terrifying. No, I need to activate Spatial Magic and run. The range is too big, I cannot escape at all!"
"Waaah… Sylvia, you have to bake me little cakes!"
"Shut up. We are not dead yet. Why are you crying already!"
Watching Ham revert to human form and roll around on the ground crying without any dignity, Vera frowned and clenched her teeth. "Desperate times then. Ham, tell me where that bomb is."
"Waa… How would I know? This is human business."
"Forget it. I will pat your head, stop crying. I do not need the exact location. Just use your instincts and point in any direction."
"Huh?"
"I am not joking. We are going to call for backup. Once we find people, we will hit that place together."
Vera was not joking at all. If this dragon had the same absurd luck as in the novel, then the bomb issue would naturally be resolved. All she had to do was have their main fighter stall the enemy while she took a group to deal with the bomb.
For a magic fusion bomb, safety was the first concern. In theory, without a proper release method, it would not casually leak Magic.
"Relay my order. In the name of the Third Princess of the Empire, leave the minimum security force to protect everyone present. All high-level combatants, everyone above Silver, follow me!"
"Why are there so many people? What kind of order is this? Is it a diplomatic incident?"
"Sorry, we cannot disclose internal details."
After receiving the highest-level order, everyone showed solemn expressions. Issuing such a command under these circumstances meant something serious had happened.
"Your Highness, everyone we can gather has arrived. What are your instructions?"
Nearly ten Gold led the group, along with dozens of Silver, and even reinforcements from Faris Empire were present. Seeing this, Vera let out a sigh of relief and pointed at Ham, who had hurriedly put on a maid outfit.
Ham was nervous as all those giants suddenly focused on her. She absolutely could not expose that she was a dragon, or she would definitely be beaten. "Let me be clear, I am just pointing randomly. She is responsible if anything goes wrong."
"Yes, I will take responsibility. She may look like a maid, but she actually has prophetic abilities."
Left with no choice, she gambled on it. After hearing the princess say so, everyone looked at the maid who seemed a bit slow in the head.
Under everyone's gaze, Ham took a deep breath, picked up a twig from the ground, used the thinner end to indicate direction, and tossed it casually. "Alright, everyone, follow me that way!"
The crowd looked at each other. Even if you were pretending, this was too careless. Some faces could not hold it together.
Then it became even harder to hold together. "Is this real? Did we find it?"
In a small grove dozens of kilometers outside the city, they actually dug up a pitch-black metal sphere about a person's height, carved with dense and intricate patterns. "This is it!"
"They really found it."
"Great, this crisis can finally…"
Once the enemy's leverage was found, there was nothing more to say. All that remained was to hope Vedoras could hold on until reinforcements arrived.
"Phew…"