“Wow… the damage really isn’t going through at all.”
“Hurry up! Dump everything you’ve got!”
“I’m telling you, there’s that strange sense, you know? Haven’t you watched the broadcast?”
“I haven’t.”
There are 17 minutes left.
Now, there aren’t many people in front of me, and most are focused on challenging.
The ones showing the best results are none other than Leo and Black.
[The Frozen Cold, Sugarado’s remaining health is at 2.1%.]
Leo has taken down 0.6% and Black 0.2%, while the other rankers shared a measly 0.1% pie.
You might wonder why it’s so hard to get damage in, but that 0.9% isn’t what it seems.
‘Basically, it’s like we’ve taken about 80-90% of their health away.’
Most rankers didn’t pierce the damage reduction; it’s more like Leo shoved it in with pure damage, just like when he first faced the golem.
Usually, they wouldn’t be able to deal proper damage with the cold and breath, but right now, it’s like they’re standing there like scarecrows.
Now that they can unleash nearly 100% of their power, they can definitely deal damage.
‘They are rankers after all.’
It’s not just that the single-digit rankers like Leo and Black are too strong; the rankers here are no slouches either.
They stand up well against the past excellent humans or the so-called upper races.
‘If anything, they might even be better.’
“Seven Split!!”
Swoosh!
Seven. No, it’s dozens of green trajectories slicing through the frozen monster.
Ska-chunk. The sound resonates as shards of ice scatter.
The Green Hermit’s ‘Cutting’ effect is properly at work.
[The Frozen Cold, Sugarado’s remaining health is at 2%.]
Finally, Yena also took a share of 0.1%.
“Phew! This is freaking tough.”
Seemingly exhausted, she just flops down into the snow.
I cautiously approach her.
“…Lady Lily?”
“You’re doing well. But it’s worth it, right?”
“Eh? Well… I guess so.”
Ha-ha-ha! Yena, completely covered in snow, hurriedly sits up.
The culprit is Sre, who had followed me to play in the snow.
Yena glares at Sre with indignation.
“Hey!”
“Don’t you like snow?”
“I used to like it, but now I hate it.”
Yena turns her head sharply, but Sre shamelessly edges closer to her, tossing more snow around.
Leo doesn’t seem to like it much, but Yena weirdly seems to enjoy it.
“It looks like Sre likes Miss Yena.”
“…Ugh.”
Forced into a snowball fight, Yena clears her eyes and looks back at me.
“Do you think we can manage with 15 minutes left?”
“Everyone’s working hard, you know. We’ve already chipped away 1%, right?”
“Um… That’s true, but many people are already tired.”
Everyone is silent, but even the most outstanding Rankers have limits to their stamina and strength.
Everyone is exhausted from using techniques and ultimate skills.
No matter how many healers and priest Rankers there are, it’s impossible to take everything down in the remaining time.
“It’s not about stamina. What’s important is the understanding of mana that I mentioned.”
“Hmm… No matter how I think about it, it seems impossible—”
“Who knows? If Miss Yena can use it properly, it might be possible.”
The roar of the spear.
It consumes a lot of concentration and stamina, but if she casts it, cutting down 2% should be enough.
Yena shook her head with a tired expression.
“I really thought I was going to die. I took painkillers, but they didn’t work as well as what Lady Lily gave me…”
“Mine is a bit special.”
“… It’s not some kind of real drug, is it?”
“Of course not.”
It’s not a drug.
‘Hallucination’ magic, indeed.
“If you land the final blow, you might get Mythical Equipment. Well, maybe something like a Dragon Heart could drop…”
Gulp.
“Speaking of which, I heard Dragon Hearts sell for insane prices, right? I haven’t seen much, but I heard a typical Dragon Heart sells at the auction house for thousands to millions of gold…”
But if it’s not just a regular one and it’s that strong a dragon…
Whether it’s equipment or elixirs, the upgrade potential is enormous…
It might narrow the gap with single-digit Rankers…
“…I’ll give it a try.”
“Good idea.”
Yena gritted her teeth and charged in.
And of course, she failed.
[The Frozen Arctic, Sugarado’s remaining health is 1.7%.]
■
[The Frozen Arctic, Sugarado’s remaining health is 1.4%.]
[5:00]
Five minutes.
Remaining health is 1.4%.
Even though Yena failed, she surprisingly managed to cut down an additional 0.3%.
Honestly, I expected a dramatic turnaround, but as always, it seems reality hits harder.
If things could be resolved just with effort and will, then the Celestial Race and Demon Race wouldn’t be reigning as the unfathomably strong races that can’t be challenged.
‘Some things are just out of our hands…’
But impossibility isn’t the end.
Yena positioned herself and casted; if only strength and a bit of ‘door’ were opened further, it could have been enough.
She had reached that level of talent, but in the end, if you lack power, nothing works.
After that, the Rankers tried and cut down another 0.3%, but the end time was already looming.
“Whew…”
“Hah… Hah… What the hell…”
“This is insane.”
[Impossible]
[WTF]
[How the hell do you even break it, LOL]
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Just catch Lily.]
[Can’t catch it?]
[???: It’s definitely possible.]
[But seriously, if we had time, we could have caught it.]
[We’re short on time.]
[Ah.]
[For real, lol.]
[Looks like Lady Lily has to catch this one.]
[Lily, let’s just use our strength and faint.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Everyone felt the failure coming.
Only one thing remained.
“Lady Lily.”
“Yes?”
“You can finish this, right?”
Black approached in a tired state.
Like Yena, he had only managed to cut down 0.3%, but it was still insufficient.
Leo was also exhausted, receiving assistance from the spirit, and I was the only one who could resolve this situation.
But I shook my head.
“As I said before, I have no strength left.”
“Then…”
“Actually, just standing here is a miracle. I’m forcing myself to do this, and I’ll probably be bedridden for about three days.”
As it had been in the past and recently, excessive power puts a strain on both the body and soul.
The body would recover with Deoen’s special body system and holiness, but the soul wouldn’t recover.
The reason I’m standing here normally is that I’m forcibly in an awakening state using the holy power.
If I use my strength in this situation, naturally, my awakening would break, and I would collapse.
“So… there’s no way?”
[That’s a pity.]
[For real, can’t catch it?]
[Wow.]
[Was it not just pretending to be in pain but actually in pain?]
[Oh my gosh.]
[Looks like it’s true.]
[This is bad.]
[Really bad.]
[The difficulty is going off the charts.]
[So we are done for?]
[What now?]
“…….”
I silently turned my head.
My gaze settled on the pure white hatchling.
Sre.
I locked eyes with Sre, who was kneeling on one knee and leaning over.
The pale lavender-colored white eyes stared at me intently.
I cautiously placed my hand on my forehead.
“Am I sleeping?”
“Just for a moment. A moment will do.”
“Yes.”
Sre’s eyes slowly closed.
I also closed my eyes and felt my magical power.
My magical power brushed against Sre’s other side through my fingertips.
─…Lily.
Even with my eyes closed, I could see it.
A form that was indescribably more massive than what it is now.
If Sre was a small hill, Sugarado was a towering mountain.
Like this snowy mountain.
‘I need your help.’
─Of course. If you’re my savior.
The heightened emotions from beyond were vividly felt through my fingertips.
The emotions seemed like they could awaken at any moment but hesitated.
─…But is it okay? The power I feel is very weak. What on earth happened…
There was an incident…
‘You don’t have to ask about that.’
Just.
‘Do you think everything has gotten better? The nightmare is over.’
─……
‘Me too. You too.’
─Is that so.
Flap.
The giant takes off into the sky.
─If you want.
In both the realm of imagination and reality.
─I will always be your wing.
The Ice Dragon King soared into the air.
She passed by Black, who was awkwardly standing next to me, and took in everyone with her gaze before looking at her own shell.
Now, only the remnants of the vile Demon King remain in the monster.
─Truly, it’s disgusting. The Demon Race.
The longstanding nemesis and nightmare of the dragons, the Demon Race.
The Demon Race used countless dragons as material under the pretext of experimentation, and many dragons were exterminated by them.
─Though this small body…
I had to watch.
Because if I intervened, I would die anyway.
Revenge would just be dismissed as a miserable death.
─This much is enough.
But now is not the time for that.
A level of mana greatly beyond Sre is gathered. Every stream of mana converges into one place.
And finally.
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1YkU5K2Zzb2pjcGdEU3o1ZEJZRy94YnRpWTNWNFgwOFdia2VOZDdJNkRkQg
Sugarado’s long-standing resentment pierced through the Demon.
.
.
.
.
[The frozen harsh cold, Sugarado has been defeated!]
[Final Striker – Lily Elbrite (Sre)]
[The harsh cold covering the snowy mountains disappears.]
[Peace has arrived on the continent!]
[User group buff – ‘Blessing of Victory!! (100 days)’ has been granted.]
[Additional rewards are distributed based on your contribution to the campaign.]
[Your contribution stake is “86%”.]
[You have obtained the title, ‘Challenger of the Ice Dragon Sugarado (Normal)’.]
[You have obtained the title, ‘Challenger of the Ice Dragon Sugarado (Heroic)’.]
[You have obtained the title, ‘Challenger of the Ice Dragon Sugarado (Mythical)’.]
[You have obtained the title, ‘Liberator of the Harsh Cold’.]
[You are the Savior of the continent.]
[Thank you.]
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