Facing the Red Dragon

With a terrifying rumble, the enormous creature flew head-on towards them. Nathanos could see it more clearly, especially its ivory horns and the sharp teeth protruding from its mouth.

"A dragon!" Nathanos exclaimed. He thought such a creature only existed in those ridiculous myths, and even Uther had told him the same thing, but now the real thing overturned his understanding.

The deafening roar made every blade of grass and tree tremble, and the powerful flapping of its wings tore through the farm's stakes and fences like a tornado. Nathanos rolled forward to avoid the Red Dragon's fatal impact, but the Red Dragon's wings destroyed the farm's apple trees, and a sheep was snatched away for a meal.

"Is there an Orcs sitting on top?" Nathanos suddenly noticed something amiss; a green figure on the massive red body was easily spotted.

Orcs Deathstrike, Grot orc, was one of the first Dragon Knight of the Dragonmaw Clan. He was also the most talented Dragon Knight, Zuluhed greatly admired his abilities. He learned how to ride a dragon in just one week. However, he had a major flaw: excessive arrogance. Today, his original task was to scout the area around Grim Batol, but he couldn't wait to demonstrate his power, so he rode his Red Dragon there and encountered Nathanos, a human whom he considered insignificant. He decided to toy with this little bug before eliminating him.

"Come on, little bug, let's play!" he shouted. Nathanos, running at breakneck speed below, couldn't understand what he was saying, but he knew perfectly well that the other was teasing him, mocking him. Although he didn't know why Orcs would suddenly appear here riding Red Dragon, Nathanos knew he had to lure the guy away, or his farm would be finished. He ran southwest towards Marius Farm, where there were forests and hardly anyone around.

"Run, run!" Grot, then kicked the Red Dragon in the neck. The big guy immediately understood his meaning, gathered his strength in his mouth, and released a scorching fireball that flew towards Nathanos.

"What a joke." Nathanos jumped with all his might, and the fireball exploded behind him, sending him flying several meters. He struggled to his feet, still hearing the Orcs' laughter.

"This problem must be solved," he muttered, but how exactly? Nathanos watched the Red Dragon trace an arc in the sky before flying back. He thought for only a second before figuring out how to defeat its opponent.

"I understand." He smiled, then dodged the opponent's dive with another forward roll. Grot was piloting the Red Dragon when he suddenly heard someone calling from behind. He turned around and saw Nathanos waving at him with a mocking expression, which infuriated him.

"You damned bug." He kicked the Red Dragon's head hard, manipulating it to attack. Nathanos ducked to avoid a fireball, then picked up a stone and threw it, hitting Grot squarely in the nose. The sudden injury enraged the Orcs. "Useless trash, eat him!" The Red Dragon swung its head, aimed at Nathanos, and raised its forepaws to grab the human below, but the other was more agile than it had expected. After several attempts, it couldn't even touch Nathanos's clothes.

"Enough!" Grot shouted, pulling hard on the rope attached to the Red Dragon's head, preparing to ascend. But he hadn't yet realized a serious mistake he'd overlooked. "Burn him alive!" Grot commanded, but the Red Dragon didn't respond immediately, only letting out two reluctant cries.

"What are you waiting for!" The Orcs slammed his fist into the Red Dragon's head, the hard scales making his hand ache slightly. "Obey orders! Don't forget your queen is in our hands."

Nathanos, watching from below, couldn't help but sneer; his opponent still hadn't grasped the problem. Finally, after hearing Grot's last words, the Red Dragon immediately began charging a fireball, but this time his speed was much slower than before.

"I was right," Nathanos said. Then, when the Red Dragon unleashed its fireball, he hid behind a boulder. The massive fireball destroyed Nathanos's natural barrier, but it also saved him from the terrible attack.

"You cunning insect!" Grot roared. "Keep attacking! Don't stop!" The Orcs swore he would kill the human today, but suddenly something unexpected happened. The Red Dragon beneath him began to slowly descend to the ground and stopped attacking as he commanded. "What are you doing? How dare you disobey me?"

His threat didn't stop the Red Dragon's next move. When the Red Dragon landed, Grot finally understood what had happened. His mount was exhausted, and the Red Dragon in front of him lay on the ground, panting heavily. The Orcs's expression, which had been filled with gritted teeth, suddenly turned to fear. He had been tricked by this human; Nathanos had been draining the Red Dragon's strength.

Hearing the commotion, the humans emerged from behind the dark rocks, holding a stone in their hands, and walked menacingly toward Grot.

Grot wasn't worried at this point. He looked Nathanos up and down; the man didn't look like Warrior at all, and he didn't believe he couldn't handle this human.

"Die, you reptile!" He charged forward...

The Hinterlands

"Now!" Lothar shouted, then charged ahead across an open area towards the Orcs. The orcs were stunned by the sudden attack; their attention had been focused on the sky. One of the Orcs reacted and threw a spear at Lothar, but Lothar was too close and easily dodged it. He then swung his Greatsword, severing the Orcs's arm from which he had thrown the spear, before turning and beheading him.

Turalyon was to Lothar's right, his warhammer striking an Orcs and shattering his chest. His second blow struck another charging figure, enough to knock the green-skinned monster off his feet; the man fell without a sound.

But the next second, Turalyon suddenly heard some unfamiliar sounds that were somewhere between coughing and laughter. He looked up and saw a creature taller than Orcs but much thinner leaping down from the tree, an axe gripped tightly in its three-fingered hand. Sharp eyes were fixed on the Paladin, ready to attack, revealing a row of sharp teeth—it was a Troll!

Turalyon raised his shield to parry the axe's blow, but the force of the strike made him wary. He responded with a fierce swipe of his warhammer, and the Troll, though shaken, did not cease his attack. He lunged forward again, axe already drawn, Turalyon, ahead of him, swung his shield, smashing it into the Troll's face and chest. Caught off guard, the Troll was struck squarely, staggering back a step, shaking his head as if trying to recover from the shock. Turalyon, of course, gave him no chance to retaliate; his warhammer struck the Troll's chin, and the latter collapsed to the ground.

The dangerous sneak attack was averted, Turalyon gasped for breath. But as he looked up, he suddenly saw another Troll emerge from the shadows of a tree, poised to throw a spear. Turalyon quickly realized the weapon was aimed at him; he didn't have the strength to block the attack, nor the time to dodge. He prepared for the worst, closed his eyes, and waited for the spear to strike him.

But he heard a strange, shrill cry, mixed with a low growl and a loud rumble of thunder, followed by a painful scream. Opening his eyes again, Turalyon saw a bizarre sight. The Troll had fallen from where he had stood, his hand still clutching his face. The exposed part of his fingers was shattered. Circling above was a magnificent creature, something Turalyon had heard of but never seen before. It had the size of a lion, with the same tawny fur, but a ferocious bird's face replaced the head of a feline, and the shrieks emanating from its beak were piercing. Its forelegs had deadly claws, but its hind legs were strong and powerful, and a long tail lashed behind it. Huge wings spread evenly to the sides, white feathers obscuring its head. A small figure sat atop it as if riding a horse.

Dwarf? Turalyon saw them. Although he knew about them before, having heard stories of the Wildhammer Dwarf, this was the first time he'd seen them in person. Taller than the Bronzebeard Dwarves, but more slender. However, compared to humans, the Wildhammer were still short and strong, with thick chests and powerful arms, wielding Storm Hammer. The Dwarf rescued Turalyon retrieved that massive weapon; it was he who had dealt with the Troll.

The Dwarf noticed Turalyon watching him, smiled, and raised his warhammer in greeting. Turalyon returned the gesture, raising his weapon before smiling and charging towards another Orcs. With the Dwarf overhead, he no longer worried about attacks from the Troll, allowing him to focus more on the Orcs on the ground. Conversely, the Orcs, constantly fearing attacks from above, gradually became overwhelmed and unable to defend themselves. Defeat was only a matter of time.

On the other side

Grot was punched in the chin, and before Nathanos could even feel the pain, he gripped a stone and smashed it down on Grot's head. Grot felt dizzy and stumbled to the ground, then covered his head with his hands and pleaded, "Stop! Stop! Let me go!"

Nathanos couldn't understand what he was saying, but he knew what the Orcs meant from his actions. "As you wish." He struck Groth hard on the back of Grot head, and the Orcs fell to the ground, unconscious.

Having finally dealt with one of them, Nathanos turned her gaze to the resting Red Dragon, whose snake-like amber eyes were also fixed on her. The distance from Grim Batol to here was simply too far. "That idiot Grot, "the Red Dragon cursed inwardly; she had already been exhausted by the time she arrived. She felt a surge of joy that Nathanos had defeated the Orcs who controlled her, but a second later, fear gripped her. She was struggling to even stand; how would this human treat her? The Red Dragon silently chanted a spell, and then a dazzling light emanated from her body.

"What is this?" Nathanos shielded his eyes with his hands, and opened them after everything calmed down. He found a high Female Elf kneeling in the spot where the Red Dragon had been.

"Elf?" Nathanos was somewhat surprised, then said, "No! Elf don't have red scales in their eyes."

Upon hearing his words, the other person immediately touched the area around their eyes and indeed felt a rhythmic sliding sensation.

"You can understand me?" Nathanos noticed her movement and asked. She was startled, then said, "I believe that your mortal form can calm you down."

"Hmph." He sneered, looking at the fiery red-haired Female Elf: "I remember you just swallowed one of my sheep and tried to roast me."

"This was his order." The Red Dragon, now Female Elf, pointed at Grot lying on the ground.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Nathanos turned to look at the Orcs and said, "He's still alive only because he's still of use to me, and so are you, who can do magic tricks."