Torrent of Swords

No sooner had Heiterge finished speaking than a low rumble of thunder echoed across the canyon.

The originally dark sky was now flashing with streaks of white light.

The long, drizzling rain fell, but it was all blocked by the Magic Array Pattern above the canyon.

Within the canyon.

Rienta held his sword, silently watching Heiterge, who was staring intently at him.

He didn't understand.

In their two previous encounters, whether it was the First-Class Mage exam or the secret hot spring, Heiterge always appeared to be a nice guy.

Why are you so angry this time?

He didn't do anything.

"Heiterge..."

"Enough!"

Heiterge coldly interrupted Rienta's words, and with a wave of his dragon claw, a red stripe appeared above the Bone Dragon Horde in the canyon.

There was also a string of numbers inside that red bar.

10000/10000.

Health Bar.

Rienta looked around, then looked up at Heiterge, whose head also had Health Bar.

Unlike the Bone Dragon Horde, there is a White Bar below their Health Bar.

The numbers there have several more zeros than those of the Bone Dragon Horde.

1000000/1000000.

1000000/1000000.

One million health points.

The White Bar below, if all goes as expected, is probably something like a 'shield' or 'stamina'.

This bizarre scene left Frieren, Fern, Stark stunned, Qiqi staring at the silent Rienta in front of them.

Dungeon.

BOOS.

Health Bar.

Cutscene.

These words kept flashing through Rienta's mind.

Not far away, Heiterge and the Bone Dragon Horde engulfed in black flames stood silently, seemingly waiting for something.

Is this... waiting for us to engage the monster?

An absurd yet perfectly reasonable guess came to mind.

Rienta turned around, pondered for a moment, and looked at Frieren:

"Lady Frieren, can you analyze that Barrier above the canyon?"

"Sure, but it will probably take about an hour."

For Frieren, the First-Class Mage Exam was a recent event.

When capturing 'Stille', she analyzed the Barrier that enveloped the entire testing site, which was personally set up by Serie.

The current situation is remarkably similar to that of the past.

Both are [Barrier Magic], and both are rainy days.

The difference is that back then it was for Kanne, but now it's for this team.

So the moment this [Barrier Magic] appeared, she subconsciously began to analyze it.

Frieren's lips curled slightly, but she didn't mention the black flames that had suddenly appeared throughout the canyon at the same time.

After all, this is magic that can bring dragons back to life in their skeletal form.

Even with her extensive experience, she had never seen such magic before.

'This Magical Beast is not bad, not bad.'

A bold idea popped into Frieren's mind.

Should we slack off a bit when the game starts later...?

It wouldn't be good if we acted too quickly and didn't finish analyzing this interesting magic.

Okay, let's do it that way.

"Hmph~"

Feeling satisfied with her plan, Frieren chuckled softly to herself.

"Lord Frieren!"

Fern frowned, and said with some helplessness, "You remembered everything Rienta said just now, right?"

Did you say that?

What were you saying?

Frieren paused for a moment, then coughed lightly before immediately adopting a confident demeanor.

"Ahem, don't worry, I've memorized almost everything!"

Rienta: "..."

That's clearly not listening at all!

Rienta sighed. What he had just said was actually very simple; he had only explained the function of the Health Bar.

Under no circumstances should the Bone Dragon Horde be treated the same way as the previous giant dragons.

Never let your guard down until your Health Bar drops to 0.

Even if it drops to 0, we still need to be careful.

After all, these Bone Dragons were originally the dragon horde they had previously slain.

Rienta was unaware that Heiterge had merely given the Bone Dragon Horde Health Bars; their bodies remained the same as before.

Even though it has now turned into bones, it can still be killed by severing its body and head.

Or has it already become data-driven?

The difference between the two is quite significant.

"Lady Frieren, the numbers above the monsters' heads represent their lifespans."

After seeing Frieren nod to indicate that she understood, Rienta looked at everyone and continued:

"I'll be in charge of the first wave of attacks, and then I'll hold Heiterge at bay."

"Stark, if my attack fails to annihilate the Bone Dragon Horde, you will be responsible for either killing or drawing away the remaining Bone Dragons."

"Lady Frieren, Fern, please help Stark deal with the Bone Dragon Horde first, then come and help me."

After saying that, Rienta looked at Stark and added with a serious expression:

"Stark, if you get hurt, be sure to keep your distance immediately. I'll come and treat you."

Frieren and Fern are mages and can use [Flight Magic].

Even if they are not as fast or agile as the dragons, with their combined strength, they are absolutely capable of eliminating any approaching Bone Dragons and then creating distance.

Only Stark, as a warrior, has an absurdly high Health Bar and explosive damage, but he is also very clumsy.

Previously, when facing the dragons, I was accidentally thrown into the air and had nowhere to grab my weight.

Today, every single one of the Bone Dragon Horde dragons is enveloped in black flames.

Being injured by a swarm of dragons in this state could cause considerable trouble.

"Okay, I understand."

Upon hearing this, Stark nodded in reply with a solemn and serious expression.

The idea of dead dragons resurrecting as Bone Dragon Horde engulfed in black flames sounds terrifying.

Rienta turned to look at Heiterge, who was glaring at him from a short distance away.

"Alright, let's begin."

Having said that, the countless swords and blades transformed into a torrent, sweeping across most of the canyon.

It's important to know that Rienta has never stopped using [Projection Magic] and [Shadow-Driving Magic] since she started.

The canyon is now mostly filled with swords and blades.

With each sword that slashed through the Bone Dragon Horde, a number '-996' would appear above their heads.

As the illusory longsword swept past, only the number '-99' appeared.

'That's really a twisted sense of humor...'

Rienta suppressed her urge to complain and looked at the dragon head made of black flames in the distance.

Without a doubt, this is Heiterge's Defensive Magic.

A torrent of swords and blades rained down on the dragon's head, the continuous clanging echoing throughout the canyon.

The roars of the Bone Dragon Horde were completely drowned out.

Seeing this, Stark's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He leaned closer to Fern and whispered:

"Fern, are all you mages... this exaggerated?"

He had sparred with Rienta many times, and they had fought together quite a few times during their journey.

But I've rarely seen such a scene.

Fern rolled his eyes at Stark and didn't answer the question.

Beside her, Frieren inwardly praised Rienta, then said calmly:

"Such an exaggerated scene requires quite a few specific factors."

"First, Rienta needs a significant amount of time to accumulate [Projection Magic] and [Shadow-Driving Magic]."

"Secondly, Rienta needs to have a sufficiently large amount of Mana and mental strength to release and control these swords."

"Finally, the enemy needs to stay put and not interrupt Rienta's charge-up."

Fern glanced at the calm-looking Frieren and asked softly:

"Lady Frieren should be able to do something similar, right?"

Although it was a question, Fern's tone was very confident.

Frieren chuckled softly, offering no reply, but simply watching the Bone Dragon Horde engulfed by the torrent of swords and blades from Rienta in the distance.