Ball of Nothing

Chapter 568 - Dragon Attack (1)

Truen and Donkey Sharo got into position. It has been three hours since Bob left to inform Monoman and Jermine about the plan. Dinner was unusually lavish for a party of people about to launch a country-wide scale scam. Zero was all dressed up, looking every inch like a messiah to save the poor folks of Lycantopia. The doctor was nowhere to be found, and Truen traced Zero’s location using the mini-map.

"Don’t worry," Mii assured Truen. "Even if both of you aren’t around, I’m still keeping a close eye on him with Wii and Lily. Did you forget about us?"

Truthfully, Truen forgot about the mindscape assistants because they haven’t been too active in the party call. It was hard to remember just how many people are living in Zero’s mindscape. Every time Zero used powerful magic or did something ridiculous, Truen and Bob simply categorised them as normal Zero things. Common sense started becoming a little less common. They embraced changes to cope with the level of chaos revolving around a particular doctor.

"Right," he inhaled and looked at the donkey with wings. It took the archer a while to pry that stubborn mule’s mouth open and dump the contents of Zero’s transformation potion, but the hard part was finally over. With the saddle of absolute obedience and a silencing spell or good measure, they were ready to take advantage of the chaos when it happened.

Unlike other dragons used to carnage and destruction, Bob was a peaceful dragon who preferred solitude. He hardly communicated with anybody and spent many years alone in Sleepy Cave fighting with the dungeon monsters. Leaving the cave one day to ruin someone else’s kingdom like a proper dragon was a dream come true. Zero’s script was a little old-fashioned and Bob blushed as he read the lines once more. Must he really act so dramatic? He wasn’t a young dragon anymore. Things like fury and pride aren’t important to him. He also didn’t want any dumb princesses or gold. All he wanted was some well-roasted racks of meat.

The picking up of wind speed with hailstone was a signal, and Bob made his way over to the western coast. When the whirlpool and tornado were created, that would be the time Bob transformed and made his fury known.

Zero worked hard from behind the scenes, weaving the spells using the Origin Grimoire. Merlin’s high-level catastrophe spells were usually not very practical. Zero didn’t think copying them into his grimoire would be any good. They didn’t serve any practical purposes, and Zero was a doctor, not a warmonger.

The tornado and whirlpool looked terrifying, but Zero made sure to only add lots of smoke into a small fire to make it appear threatening enough. He minimised the tornado’s speed but added many strong gust spells to blow things away to create the d.e.s.i.r.ed effect. At the same time, the whirlpool was used to chase away the lurking sea bandits. If Zero wanted to gain the werebeasts’ trust, he needed some time to lay the foundation and prove that he was the messiah. Bob’s attack was only a catalyst.

The hailstones pelleting down on Bob didn’t really hurt. Zero was controlling the magic really well. These hailstones won’t be enough to kill or destroy anything much. The most it would do is give someone a nasty bruise or make a dent in wooden tables. The lightning storm and deafening peals of thunderclaps blinded the panicked citizens of Lycantopia. Bob jumped into the tornado and transformed into his grandest dragon vessel, taking a deep breath before he roared with all his might, enough to rattle the souls of the dead.

Zero could see the elite carnivore fighters lining up to battle the dragon emerging from the sea. King Gaon stood at the front line and ordered for the omnivores to help the herbivores evacuate. The capital was in disarray, and King Gaon’s heart was as tumultuous as the towering waves. Yet, he never once faltered in the face of imminent death.

"Soldiers, it has been my greatest honour to fight alongside you. If we live, let’s rebuild Lycantopia together. If we fail, we must hold on for long enough so that Lycantopia may still exist, even if scattered across the continent."

The speech was short, but it gave these carnivores a boost in courage to know that the king they served was willing to see them all the way until death. As the warriors raised their weapons against the enraged dragon, Zero revised his speech one last time. He’d never been this nervous before. Why was he getting so worked up about pretending to be the messiah? He did this back at Magnus Hilda. Was he out of practice?

On the other side of Lycantopia, Truen listened to the sounds of yelling and chaos. Didn’t Bob say that the patrol guards would be called back and they could have a chance to break into the city? Why were the gates now open? Everyone seemed to be evacuating.

"What now?" Truen asked in the party call, but nobody responded. Instead, he checked the mini-map where Monoman and Jermine are hiding. They were already on the move, and Truen decided to throw caution to the wind. He jerked Donkey Sharo’s reins and turned around to meet up with the mole folks. Monoman had also successfully climbed the wall and was on his way to the meeting point.

Monoman and Jermine’s family were not the only people at the meeting point, and Truen didn’t know what to do. If Shcaf sent the carriages over, these refugees would try to hitch a ride without a doubt. They weren’t able to help so many people at New Moon Village!

"What’s with that ugly donkey?" Monoman asked and poked King Sharo, who tried to bite his finger off immediately at the rude gesture. The warrior merely laughed, and Jermine ran over with her short legs to greet Truen.

"What happened? Why are there so many people? The gates were open, and some parts of the walls have crumbled from what the refugees are talking about. Everyone is ready to abandon Lycantopia because there is no way the carnivores can win against a dragon."

Truen looked at the disheartened faces and thought quickly. Zero and Bob were still busy with their play, and it would be a few days before the transport from Schaf arrived. The most important thing to do now was to find a way to resolve the immediate concerns of food, shelter and water for the escapees. The meeting point also had to be relocated to avoid complications

"Hold onto these," he shoved a stack of magic communication scrolls to Jermine. "Tear one up if you need to talk to me. Each scroll lasts for five minutes. I will look for Zero to inform him about what’s happening."

Monoman didn’t have time to say anything when Truen was already turning away from them and spurring Donkey Sharo to go faster. Jermine could only hold onto the communication scrolls tightly to her c.h.e.s.t as she listened to the sound of hooves get further away.