Windwing Dragon

"A Windwing Dragon?"

Lorenzo clearly didn't know where the dragon came from, so he spoke with some confusion.

"It's a very rare dragon from the Northern Plateau. It can manipulate the wind element with ease, and once it takes flight, it rarely lands. It has a violent temperament and often clashes with Heavenly Vein Dragons in groups."

Zanze looked up at the enormous creature as it slowly descended. The gale blew through her long hair, and the strands that had been blocking the street began to surge like a tide.

If he remembered correctly, a Heavenly Vein Dragon was about as big as an island, and its temperament was relatively mild, making it an "honest dragon" among dragons. No wonder a dragon that often fought with one was said to have a violent temperament.

"But I remember its range being limited to the Northern Plateau. Why would it have come so far south?"

"Maybe the sun in the north was too dazzling."

Lorenzo made something up on the spot.

"The mana on it is very similar to what was on those Demon Wolves. It looks like it's being controlled too."

Frieren ignored what Lorenzo said. After all, he was always saying strange things.

Hearing that, Lorenzo took another look at the Windwing Dragon in the sky.

Moonlight shone on its blue-gray scales. Between its neck and chest, he could just make out several purplish-black markings, almost identical to the traces left on the "lead wolf's" corpse.

"What exactly are you trying to do? If you just wanted to satisfy your desire to kill, there shouldn't have been any need to go all the way to the Northern Plateau to control a Windwing Dragon, should there?"

Frieren asked the Demon.

"Who knows? Maybe I just like doing it."

The Demon before them was clearly not telling the truth.

But on second thought,

given the Demons' reputation in human society, even if it suddenly became completely honest and laid out its entire plan from beginning to end, probably not many people would believe it right away.

The purplish-black mark on the Demon's palm lit up again, and its figure vanished. The Windwing Dragon circling above the village immediately raised its head and let out a deafening roar.

It then spread its wings and flew higher. In just a few breaths, its enormous form had shrunk to a black dot in the night sky.

Zanze's expression grew grave.

"The Windwing Dragon's main hunting method is to dive from several thousand meters up. It uses wind magic to reduce air resistance, approaches its target at an astonishing speed, and then tears its prey apart with its beak or claws."

Lorenzo watched the black dot, which had almost vanished into the night.

"That doesn't sound like an attack we can take head-on."

"You can't."

"Then how does it move on the ground?"

Lorenzo asked.

"Very clumsily. Its wings are too large, and its body is better suited to flight, so it turns slowly on the ground and has trouble chasing agile targets."

"Then let's drag it down to the ground."

"It's not that simple."

Zanze shook her head.

"A Windwing Dragon's limbs are extremely strong. Once it lands, it only needs a single leap to take to the sky again in an instant."

Frieren looked up, observing the Windwing Dragon's position.

"Let it dive first. I'll do my best to restrain it when it gets close to the ground."

"Its magic resistance is very high. Ordinary attack magic won't do much damage to it."

Zanze warned.

"I know."

Frieren turned to Lorenzo.

"So I'll leave it to you when the time comes, Lorenzo. Breaking through its defenses with that bow of yours should be easy, right?"

Hearing Frieren's words, Zanze looked at Lorenzo, unable to help feeling a little doubtful.

Can this mage called Lorenzo really break through the Windwing Dragon's defenses? His mana doesn't look that strong. He's even relatively weak for a mage. Why does Lady Frieren trust him so much?

Though she had some doubts, she didn't show them. After all, Lady Frieren had said so, and she must have had her reasons!

"My hair can help bind its wings and limbs too. That should keep it down a little longer."

Just then, the clouds were torn apart, and a shrill whistle came from high above, as though the entire night sky were wailing.

Lorenzo looked up, but in the gale, he couldn't make out the Windwing Dragon's path with the naked eye. He could only judge from the growing wind pressure that it was probably approaching fast.

The roof tiles began to shake violently, and loose stones on the street were swept up by the air currents.

The Windwing Dragon spread its claws. At its current speed, a single strike would be enough to tear a person apart along with the street behind them.

But just as its claws were about to strike, Frieren raised her staff.

"Bind."

Countless silver-white magic rings appeared out of thin air, wrapping layer upon layer around the Windwing Dragon's neck, wings, and limbs.

But as soon as the rings closed, they began to shake violently under the dragon's powerful magic resistance.

Crack.

The outermost binding ring shattered instantly, and cracks appeared in the remaining rings.

Although Frieren's binding magic failed to stop the Windwing Dragon completely, it did send its dive slightly off course. Its enormous body also lost its balance and slammed into the middle of the street.

Boom—

The ground shook violently as paving stones and dust flew in all directions. The Windwing Dragon skidded for dozens of meters before finally managing to stop.

But it was still able to move. It immediately braced its limbs against the ground and spread its wings, preparing to leap.

"Now!"

Zanze raised her hand.

Long hair hidden beneath the ground burst through the earth.

Brown strands wrapped around the Windwing Dragon's body like countless thick chains, while more hair slipped past its scales and into the gaps between its joints.

The strands tightened sharply, forcibly pulling the Windwing Dragon back to the ground just as it leaped.

Being prevented from taking flight clearly made it even angrier. A gale erupted from between its scales, and a great deal of hair was severed by wind blades. The broken strands filled the air, making one wonder whether Zanze would go bald after this battle.

Her body was also dragged forward by the force, the soles of her shoes leaving two clear marks on the paving stones.

"It's too strong."

Frieren cast her binding magic again.

New silver-white rings covered Zanze's long hair, pressing the Windwing Dragon's body firmly against the ground.

But the rings continued to shatter, and the strands of hair snapped one after another. Clearly, neither Frieren's bindings nor Zanze's hair could truly hold it.

"Lorenzo!"

Zanze shouted.

Lorenzo had already drawn his bowstring.

Artemis blazed with a brilliant silver-white light, but this time, the arrow taking shape on the string wasn't as slender as the ones he had used to hunt the Demon Wolves.

A great amount of mana compressed continuously, and the shaft gradually became solid.

Although he had never seen this kind of dragon before, since it was a "dragon," the scales on its head were presumably extremely tough as well. Even if an ordinary attack struck it head-on, it might not penetrate its skull.

So, as expected, the eyes were these monsters' weak points.

He aimed the arrowhead at the Windwing Dragon's eye.

The Windwing Dragon seemed to sense the danger. It jerked its head, trying to dodge the arrowhead, and the silver-white rings binding its neck burst one after another.

Zanze immediately sent dozens of strands of long hair to wrap around its upper and lower jaws and its horns. The tremendous force pulled the strands taut, and they even made a sound like metal about to snap.

"I can only hold it for one more instant."

Zanze shouted with effort.

"That's enough."

Lorenzo released his fingers. The silver-white arrow vanished from the string and pierced the Windwing Dragon's left eye with almost no visible flight.

The mana, compressed to its limit, erupted inside its skull. A muffled cracking sound came from the dragon's head.

The Windwing Dragon's roar stopped abruptly, and its enormous body went rigid. Then its head fell limply onto the shattered street. Its wings twitched twice and never rose again.

The purplish-black markings running across its body faded as well.

So rather than spending every day thinking about how to improve their defenses, these dragons would be better off considering how to evolve nine heads and become a "many-headed monster." That way, at least they wouldn't die immediately after one head was destroyed.