Draco's words stunned everyone, as it sounded extremely far-fetched to them. This Supreme-Rank Dragon was a clone..? If so, then who was the original?
Riveting Night flashed to his side and touched him gently as if scared he would break. "Are you okay?"
Draco chuckled and hugged her softly. "I'm fine, especially with the Angel's Kiss potions. Those are our true trump cards for this battle, as it restores everything."
He added emphasis to the last line with a meaningful expression, which was not lost on Riveting Night. Her heart pumped with excitement as she understood exactly what Draco meant by his words.
They would be able to restore everything, including health, stamina, mana, focus, limbs and most importantly… Bloodline Energy!
Draco and Riveting Night had exemplary recovery speed for their Bloodline Energy, but in this situation, it felt like a snail's pace. Just one strike from Draco got him so suppressed that he only did superficial damage to the Metal Dragon, and that was considering that his bloodline techniques were boosted by 5x.
With the Angel's Kiss potions though, they could use their Bloodline abilities crazily without fear or worry. Since they had just about 300 bottles or slightly less, it meant that they could go wild for this battle alone.
"Still, there's no need to have such a reaction on my behalf. Even though this game's pain tolerance is set to mimic the real world completely, I cannot truly die." Draco chuckled while staring at the four women who rushed to his side despite everything.
He wasn't surprised by Roma or Eva because these girls placed his life above everything else, and even knowing that he suffered no penalty from death or couldn't truly die still made them lose their minds because of their obsession with him.
Loving Aunt… or better yet, Aunt Fyre, was a slight surprise because he didn't think he placed so highly in her heart. He guessed that it might be because he had become too outstanding that his Aunt has determined to protect him till death.
It was Rina who shocked him, because he knew her character, or precisely, the character she had shown in their last life. She had been petty, shrewd and very materialistic, which were traits that didn't bother Draco as long as his spouse or significant other didn't have it.
It was unavoidable that he had considered her to be a bit shallow at the back of his mind, which was only changed after the horrifying event she went through in their previous life.
But to see her so concerned for him made him wonder just what the hell had changed this time around. Even when he had first met her, she had flirted with him because he seemed like a walking money bag.
The four women shared a look and seemed a bit embarrassed, but they still held onto their anger towards the Metal Dragon.
Draco turned to his army, putting his back to the Metal Dragon, which was an act that made both sides freeze from shock.
Despite that, the fellow spoke clearly to them. "For the duration of this battle, Eva and I will be the main damage dealers, as well as the holders of aggro. We can deal enough damage to keep the Dragon's attention on us while you are all to provide support."
"Do not try to overstep your bounds in any situation, the most crucial part of the battle is you. Eva and I can bring its health down to the red with little support, but you are the ones who have to finish it, as we would be spent by then. The more of you who survive, the higher our chances of winning."
Draco leaned forward, his eyes narrowing and his lips curling into a smug smile. "And that means one of you can get the last hit."
The players, who had been feeling fear till now, suddenly felt their motivation and battle intent rise like a rocket. Their minds almost reverted into caveman speak as they wanted to begin the battle quickly.
How could they not understand what Draco was trying to say?
The total damage for individual and guild rankings was set, but the last hit was up for grabs. The longer they survived, the higher their chances of acquiring it.
The rewards for the last hit might not be as good as the individual rankings, but the experience and loot gain would be enough to skyrocket their prowess.
Seeing that his temptation succeeded, Draco smiled and faced Riveting Night.
"No holding back."
With that one line, Riveting Night understood just how intense this battle would be if even Draco would have to finally show every single card he had gathered up to this point.
Dragon's Force!
War Monger!
Absolute Void!
Title set: Richmond's Herald!
[Dragon's Force: Activating this skill gives the user a boost of power by a factor of 700% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 12 hours.]
[War Monger: Activating this skill allows the user to merge with the Fire of War, boosting damage by 100% for as long as there is stamina to burn. No cooldown.]
[Absolute Void: Create spatial anomaly in an area of 100*50 yards around the user which boosts attack and movement speed by 10% for each enemy within. No cap on percentile increase. Duration: 1-minute Cooldown: 10 minutes]
｢Richmond's Herald – Special Rank
Mana capacity 100%; Mana recovery 100%; Skill cooldowns lowered by 50%｣
Nature's Call was on cooldown with just about 16 days of 21 remaining, but Camelot's Might had 2 days remaining out of 7. Since Draco equipped the Richmond's Herald title, that cooldown was reset, as the title dealt with the total value and not the current value.
Camelot's Might!
｢Active 1 – Camelot's Might: Summon the full army of Camelot right before the catastrophic Battle of Camlann. Duration 1 hour. Cooldown: 7 days.｣
Draco directly summoned the Army of Camelot and watched as a crack in the sky was once again torn open. This time, the hole was infinitely larger and the scenery on the other side wasn't as jovial as when Draco first summoned the Knights.
Almost 100,000 soldiers came out of the skies, dropping like rocks into the sea. Unlike the last time, there were no dragons to catch their fall, but they didn't need any.
With King Arthur's exemplary control of the wind thanks to Excalibur's power, he was able to break their fall.
For that matter, Arthur looked very different from before. He was no longer jolly and amiable, his eyes were extremely cold as if they dared anyone to fool around.
His 12 knights had been reduced to 6, with only Sir Bedivere, Sir Gawain, Sir Percival, Sir Tristan, Sir Kay and… Sir Galahad.
All of them had solemn expressions, but Draco's eyes fell on Galahad. The fellow who had been around the age of 11 in terms of looks was now a young teen around age 14.
His arrogance and childish competitiveness were long gone, and he seemed like a mindless drone that functioned on autopilot.
Draco could only sigh.
Upon discovering Lancelot and Guinevere together, Arthur was like a rabid dog, according to the novelizations. It had eventually caused a rift in the Round Table as differing opinions about the matter clashed.
As the son of Lancelot and Elaine, Galahad was forced to choose between his duty as well as loyalty to Britain and his filial piety to his father.
Seeing the fellow standing behind Arthur with almost dead eyes told of his decision.
Draco walked up to Arthur and greeted him. "Welcome, Arthur. I need your help to cull this Dragon that threatens the safety of my people."
Draco decided that it would be better not to mention anything about Lancelot and Guinevere, as he of all people understood King Arthur's mindset currently. He had been like that himself for 8 years within Boundless himself in the previous timeline.
"We will help you, Swordsman Draco. Knight's, to arms!" Arthur nodded to Draco before taking out Excalibur and pointing it to the sky.
His army roared with discipline and also unsheathed their blades, their eyes red from battle l.u.s.t and hatred. They had been poisoned by Arthur's emotions after campaigning with him for so long, turning them from noble heroes to merciless warriors.
Arthur lowered his sword and pointed right at the Metal Dragon which had used this time to charge up and a large ball of Blackfire in its mouth.
"Charge!"
The Army of Camelot rushed forth with almost inhuman speed and dexterity, stunning all those watching. It wasn't like watching medieval flicks in the early '20s where everything moved at normal speed.
"Druids and H-O-T classes, focus on the NPC army. Clerics and insta-heal classes, focus on our tanks!" Draco shouted out.
"Spread out in an open phalanx formation! Tanks will stick to the edges while healers use their bodies for direct protection!"
"Melee players will follow the NPC army and use them to battle! Use their bodies as a shield when attacks rush in, then attack when they create openings for you! Preserve your life at all costs!"
"Tanks will remain at a distance of 1km from the Metal Dragon until either its health reaches 50% or more than 75% of the NPC army is wiped out. At that point, you will rush into the range of your taunt skills and cast them!"
"Clerics will provide buffs for the tanks in order to withstand only one attack from the boss. After that, we will take back aggro! Every 5% health lost, we will repeat this tactic!"
"Ranged damage dealers, you will continue spamming attacks with all your might! Send out timed volleys of your best spells or skills with a 1-minute interval, in order to maintain your mana and lower aggro!"
"Support classes, focus on buffs and forget about debuffs! They will more than likely not work and rather waste your precious mana or stamina!"
"Am I understood?!"
Draco fired out a bevy of commands that left the player's heads spinning, but they still carved them into their minds as they all responded with a resounding 'yes!' to his query.
This plan was formulated by his Personal Command Center, which he had accessed during the time he had been blown back by the Metal Dragon.
Why did Draco foolishly jump into battle and get his ass handed to him?
It was because he needed a direct gauge of its power to come up with the best possible plan. After tasting the dirt, Draco had sobered up and realized that this was going to be incredibly hard to win.
In the five or so seconds Riveting Night and co had rushed to him, he had been within his mindscape, analyzing all the data to formulate a working plan involving the forces he had here currently.
According to the Personal Command Center, this current plan had a 95% success rate assuming that no new variables occurred.
Calculating all that took barely two seconds, so why had Draco been in a daze for so - relative to his mind's time-dilation - long?
The Personal Command Center hadn't only calculated his battle chances, but also the facts and circ.u.mstances surrounding the enemy based on what Draco knew, and could reasonably assume.
Know your enemy in order to win. This was a part of the military command, which had the pleasant side effect of using his knowledge to compile a detailed profile of his enemies.
Once Draco found out who or what the Metal Dragon was, he found this event to be extremely interesting and well-timed.
Putting that aside, Draco blinked with Riveting Night to the spot right in front of the Metal Dragon. The beast had finished charging up a large ball of Blackfire while Draco had been farting about, its size reaching almost the volume of a poly tank.
The moment the Evil Duo appeared before it, the Blackfire was shot out at them, with the intention to raze them from the earth and destroy their Immortal Spirit.
Riveting Night stepped forward and folded her arms behind her body as her eyes began to form a vortex in mid-air.
"Izanami!"
The repulsion vortex of darkness that was Izanami appeared between the Evil Duo and the Metal Dragon, which acted like a barrier that prevented the Blackfire from consuming them.
Izanami was not just a shield type vortex though. Its repulsion vortex stopped mass but would absorb the repulsed matter into its form, allowing one to cast the special combo skill which was Izanami then Susanoo.
"Susanoo!"
The Blackfire that had been absorbed into Izanami was circulated and transformed into a spear of darkness. It looked like it was made of black paint which was only able to maintain its form due to sorcery.
Drop by drop, some of the liquid-like black mass that formed its body fell into the atmosphere but never hit the ground. Instead, it disappeared into the air, yet the spear never seemed to lose mass.
It was an eerie and blood-curdling sight, but things became fiery as Riveting Night twitched strongly. "Go!"
The Spear shot out with unparalleled force, tearing apart the sound barrier as it rushed towards the Metal Dragon much more powerfully than the projectile it sent towards them earlier.
Draco too hadn't been idling about. He gave a low roar as he cast his most powerful aggregate skill.
"Black Dragon's Roar!"
A wave of sound energy blasted out from him and followed the Black Lance as closely as possible.
The Metal Dragon cried out as it grabbed Susanoo with one of its claws, coating it in destruction energy in order to offset the destruction energy already contained within the Black Lance.
It struggled to prevent Susanoo from ripping through its body, and seemed like it would eventually be able to dispel the technique as long as it had a bit more time.
However, Draco's roar arrived and assaulted the Metal Dragon at such a crucial moment, disrupting its focus and unbalancing it. As such, Susanoo broke its defense and dove into the Metal Dragon, tearing through it and appearing on the other side with a much slower momentum.
Both attacks combined to deal over 300,000 damage!
This was an extremely impressive amount considering the kind of enemy they were up against. When Draco had formerly used Black Dragon's Roar during the Final Battle of the Flora and Fauna quest, he had dealt 900,000 damage to the Rank 1 monsters there due to their extremely low State of Being compared to him, as well as the fact that he had allowed himself to reach the cap of Rank 1.
Here, he was level 25 and was facing an enemy that had a State of Being equal to his or slightly higher, so naturally, his damage wouldn't be as ridiculous.
What was even worse was that the monster was a higher level than him, creating a level suppression.
Still, for these two to deal so much damage with their strongest offensive attacks was extremely good and a great way to start the battle. The various players and soldiers of Camelot felt their blood boil as they got into position and began attacking.
-100! -490! -1140!
The melee players of the Four Guilds dealt barely 100 damage or more with their attacks, their Rare or Uncommon weapons sliding off the Metal Dragon's scales easily.
The ranged players sent out their first volley of attacks, bombarding the Metal Dragon with arrows, spells, and projectiles which did very little damage apiece, the best doing nearly 500 damage.
Following Draco's command, both the melee players and ranged players withdrew. The melee players fell behind the Army of Camelot and bid their time as they looked for openings to dish out a hit or two.
The ranged players took out various mana potions and downed them, waiting for the one-minute interval to elapse before sending another volley.
The soldiers of Camelot though, dealt an impressive amount of damage as more than 25% of them achieved almost 1200 worth of damage. With their numbers, just a few hits would be enough to send this Dragon to nirvana.
However, if it was so easy to kill a Dragon, why would they be so wildly feared and respected?
The Metal Dragon roared as it pushed back everyone except the Evil Duo and the Knights of Camelot, who were yet to dish out their own hits.
｢Name: Metal Dragon (Dark Knight) – Major Rank Adventurer
Level: 23
HP: 6,984,212/8,000,000｣
It had lost more than 1,000,000 HP in this first volley, but now it was time for the retaliation.
"Melee players, get behind a solider of Camelot! Tanks, dig in and protect the ranged players at all costs! Healers, split healing between the tanks and the soldiers of Camelot!"
Draco gave out orders to the others as he and Riveting Night activated their Control to the maximum, as well as stimulate their bloodlines to the very limit.
The Metal Dragon roared and stood on its hind legs, making it look like a Dragonoid. In its two front claws, one could see two swirling black masses forming, each about 1/10th the size Riveting Night had reflected earlier.
The Metal Dragon charged another one within its mouth, which was 3/10ths the size of the first ball of Blackfire, which also held the promise of limitless suffering.
Draco and Riveting Night's faces froze as they saw these two balls while panic invaded their minds. As a Black Dragon in human form and a Celestial Maiden who was intricately tied to the Black Dragon, these two could tell that should these three balls of Blackfire hit, it would be over for them.
This was because the Metal Dragon had chosen to make them smaller but much more condensed, all in order to make the projectiles faster and harder to reflect.
Before the Evil Duo could scream out for the players to evacuate, the three orbs of destruction were fired out!
However, none of them were aimed at Draco and Riveting Night. One was headed to the 6 Knights of Camelot, one was headed to the Army of Camelot and the last one was headed towards the Four Guilds!