Frontline -3

While hearing the dragon's roar, a colossal phantom, no smaller than the dragon itself, materializes as planned.

A phantom of a person clad in armor appears before the dragon's eyes.

The dragon's gaze is successfully guided as intended.

In the meantime, the hidden ground troops move to positions advantageous for launching attacks with their weapons.

The dragon raises its head and begins to fly around the phantom.

I enter the phantom and activate lightning magic in sync with its swinging motions.

The attack, seeming almost solid, draws the dragon's attention, forcing it to focus solely on evasion.

In return, the dragon unleashes a searing flame breath aimed directly at the phantom's head.

It lands perfectly, shattering the head apart.

But that was just a phantom—no harm done, even when struck.

Numerous ballistas, aimed precisely to restrain the dragon's body from the ground, were launched.

Each arrow was tied with thick ropes.

Ballistas enhanced using magic stones.

They pierced through the dragon's tough scales.

Despite being violently pulled toward the ground, the dragon flared its wings fiercely and resisted.

"Wings are thinner than other parts! Attack simultaneously!"

At Clara's command, the mercenaries skilled in long-range attacks unleashed their assaults.

Clara also fired the gun attached to her magical quadracycle, targeting the dragon's wings.

Multiple attacks pierced through the wings, throwing the dragon off balance and slamming it into the ground.

The dragon quickly regained its footing and unleashed electric bolts from both horns.

From the illusions, identical electric bolts were fired to cancel out the attack before it reached Clara and the others.

We have to activate the magic circle while the dragon is still restrained!

The spot where we brought down the dragon was already marked with a magic circle beforehand.

Emerging from the illusions, position yourself around the outer edge of the magic circle at the designated spots, alongside several other mages.

The magic circle designed for the dragon wasn't fully developed and required multiple skilled mages proficient in manipulating magical energy to activate it simultaneously.

We made it in time!

While the dragon was deflecting the bolt from the ballista, the magic circle activated.

A blue geometric pattern rose up beneath us, illuminating the surroundings.

The surrounding magical particles were rapidly sucked into the magic circle. Naturally, the dragon's magical energy was being drawn in as well...

As planned, massive magical stones began forming around the magic circle.

At the same time, it became clear that the dragon's magical energy was decreasing.

A roar, like a scream, echoed through the air.

The dragon dug into the ground around it, flinging mud and dirt into the air.

Damn it! The magic circle broke!

A large stone buried in the ground shot through the air with immense force.

I struck it down with a lightning blast, then immediately directed the attack at the dragon.

To draw the dragon's attention.

The other mages weren't far enough away from the dragon.

The lightning struck the dragon directly.

It should have either been deflected or avoided—something that would have happened before!

The impact shattered the dragon's scales, allowing the attack to penetrate deep inside.

Indeed, most of them are creatures dependent on mana.

With mana gone, we can expect them to weaken.

Many people were witnessing this scene.

Alek rushed forward without hesitation.

He pierced through scales and flesh.

Using a special arrow, he shot out the wing—now it shouldn't be able to fly properly.

Alek's battle axe clashed with the dragon's descending arm.

It cuts through the dragon's tough scales, but stops there—still accumulating damage with each strike.

The dragon's horn begins to glow, crackling with electricity.

Katon activates a shockwave from his blade, severing the horn clean off.

The dragon's buildup of magical energy fizzles out midway, causing a violent electrical explosion above its head.

Clara follows up with a barrage of cannonfire aimed at its head.

Lurching forward with momentum, she collapses into the next magic circle.

Now!

Activating the magic circle once more, she begins absorbing magical particles.

The more she absorbs, the more magical stones form around the circle.

For some reason, the dragon seemed slightly smaller. Yet, the dense magical aura remained strong.

This was a dragon.

Not some simple creature that could be defeated so easily.

The body size and magical essence that had seemed to shrink were suddenly pulled inward with great force, concentrating into a single point.

It felt as though there was a large magical stone there.

For a fleeting moment, there was a lapse in focus. In that instant, the dragon underwent a massive transformation.

An overwhelming surge of magical energy spilled from the center of its chest, enveloping its wounded body.

It was as if it had just used a healing stone.

Scales stood on end, and from within, whether skin or magical energy, it was impossible to tell, red light spilled out.

Those eyes were definitely locked onto me.

"Second round, huh!?"

"No time for awe. What are you going to do?"

"There's nothing to change now. I'll force it to release more magical energy."

"Understood."

At the moment Alex tensed up, an anomaly occurred.

My body felt heavy.

Looking around, everyone was on their knees, breathing heavily through their shoulders.

This sensation... mastery over mana?

Exactly what I did... no way

The dragon before me remained calm. There was no doubt about what that creature had just done.

Suddenly, the dragon's mouth bulged outward dramatically.

Bad news— I'm about to be swept aside!