This subtle movement brought a noticeable change.
The heavy pressure weighing on everyone's knees and chests instantly vanished, and their breathing finally became smooth and easy.
The surrounding villagers gradually recovered from the suffocating pressure.
The air seemed to resume its normal flow. A gentle breeze brushed past the haystacks at the village entrance, kicking up fine bits of straw with soft rustles. The village finally returned to a quiet calm.
Just as the villagers were wondering what Lola planned to do next, three figures were running desperately along the path outside, heading straight for the village.
Chas, running at the very front, was deathly pale and panicking. One of his hands pressed down on the dagger at his waist while the other pushed aside the tangled shrubs along the path, the tough branches tearing at his trouser legs.
The two behind him were in equally bad shape.
One hadn't even had time to unstring his bow, gripping it tightly as he ran with his head down, the arrows in his quiver clattering noisily with every stride.
The other had lost half of his shoulder guard during their flight, its broken leather straps swinging wildly at his side.
Chas grit his teeth and surged ahead, the wooden fence and watchtower at the village entrance finally coming into view.
He was just about to yell for the guards to open the gate when his feet suddenly froze in place, refusing to take another step forward.
Inside the fence, a blinding flash of crimson scales caught his eye and held his gaze.
A red dragon, far larger than any house in the village, stood quietly in the open space at the village center.
Chas's pupils dilated, the breath in his chest catching in his throat.
The two scouts behind him couldn't slow down in time and collided heavily. The soldier with the bow was so startled he nearly dropped his weapon. The three of them froze at the village entrance, their mouths agape, too shocked to utter a single word.
Carson quickly stepped out from behind the fence and asked in a low, hushed voice, “What's the situation? What happened?”
Chas swallowed hard, his panicked gaze darting between the massive red dragon and Carson. His lips trembled, too tense to make a sound.
The red dragon Lola tilted her massive head slightly, her slitted eyes locking onto the panicked Chas.
She didn't make a sound, only giving an extremely subtle nod of her chin to indicate he could speak freely without worrying about her presence.
The gesture was meant to be reassuring, but to the shaken Chas, it only made his legs go weak and his heart race even faster.
Taking several deep breaths to force himself to calm down, he finally stammered out the report.
“M—Monster tide is coming,” he said, his voice laced with uncontrollable panic. “Those refugees who fled to our village weren't lying. A massive horde of monsters has actually appeared. They've already crossed the river valley and are heading straight for us.”
Carson's heart sank instantly. He stole a glance at the red dragon beside him, his mind filled with apprehension.
He had no idea where this giant dragon stood. She could spread her wings and fly away at any moment, leaving herself unscathed, but the hundreds of ordinary villagers had nowhere to run.
The village's makeshift defenses would never hold against the onslaught of a massive monster tide.
Sensing Carson's worry, Chas calmed his breathing slightly and added some crucial details.
“But there's some good news. Our outpost happens to be on the edge of the monster tide's path. The monsters heading our way are limited in number, not the main force.”
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his tone stabilizing. “We have plenty of guards at our outpost, and our weapons and armor are in decent shape. If we hold our ground, we can definitely survive. But... there will inevitably be casualties.”
Carson's clenched fists relaxed slightly, though the sense of crisis in his heart did not fade.
He turned to look at the guards gathering behind him, then glanced at the terrified villagers peeking out from behind the fence, his mind racing to formulate a defense plan.
Right then, a deep, resonant voice in the dragon tongue boomed from high above, shaking everyone to their core.
“You did not deceive me.”
Carson looked up abruptly. Lola lowered her massive head, her narrow, sharp vertical pupils locking onto him. The intricate golden patterns around the edges of her irises gleamed clearly in the sunlight.
“In that case, as a return gesture...”
Before her voice could fade, Lola suddenly unfurled her massive, sky-blocking wings.
The enormous wings whipped up a violent gale, instantly flattening the haystacks around the open area and sending dust and wood chips swirling wildly through the air.
Carson instinctively raised his arm to shield his face from the oncoming dust storm. By the time he lowered it, the red dragon on the ground was gone.
Lola hovered in the sky just outside the village, her wingtips beating gently to maintain her balance.
Her long, powerful neck stretched forward as she peered over the forest canopy toward the dust billowing across the northern horizon. That was where the monster tide was coming from.
A faint reddish glow slowly emanated from her scales.
This time, her invisible Dragon Fear didn't crash down indiscriminately like before.
The mental pressure unique to higher-order creatures was precisely controlled. It burst from her body and swept past the outer fence, rolling directly toward the oncoming monster tide.
The Shadow Forest Wolves rushing at the very front were the first to feel the suppression.
The limbs of the leading beasts suddenly lost all strength, as if their spines had been shattered by an invisible warhammer. They stumbled and crashed heavily into the dirt, their sharp claws gouging deep furrows into the ground.
The monsters charging at high speed behind them couldn't brake in time, colliding into the fallen beasts ahead and throwing the entire pack into chaotic disarray.
As the endless stream of monsters continued to push forward, the entire torrent was forcibly halted, churning and roiling in place like floodwaters slamming into a solid dam.
Multi-headed venomous snakes tangled within the horde struggled to lift their heads, only to be pinned flat to the earth by the high-order Dragon Fear. Their triangular heads pressed tightly against the dirt, they could do nothing but flick their tongues, not daring to move an inch.
The wandering skeleton undead fared even worse. Their skeletal joints cracked and shattered instantly, their frames disintegrating on the spot.
With just a single wave of high-order Dragon Fear, the entire vanguard of the monster tide was completely pinned in place.
In the face of a dragon's innate racial hierarchy suppression, the monsters' overwhelming numbers were utterly meaningless, reduced to a mere illusion.
But Lola was not done yet.
Her broad chest slowly swelled as a bright, dark-red, lava-like light seeped from the gaps between her flank scales, searing energy surging restlessly beneath her armor.
She parted her massive jaws slightly, stray sparks of flame escaping from the corners of her mouth and dissolving into the air.
The surrounding air heated up and expanded rapidly, the violent thermal energy warping the very air around her.
Every villager on the ground could clearly feel the scorching draft washing over them. The burning sensation was like suddenly flinging open the door of a forge furnace in the dead of summer.
Then, she unleashed the flame breath exclusive to red dragons.
Rate on N.U.
