At first glance, the Players' strategy against Sakasugi the Dead Red Dragon seemed to be progressing steadily.
Being a dragon, the red dragon actually possessed a certain degree of Rule Resistance.
Even so, the effect of its Rule Resistance had mostly faded with time after its death, and it couldn't even hold on to that last bit when it was resurrected as a zombie. While its basic stats were still maxed out, and any non-tanky Player below Level 40 would basically be slapped to death with a single slap, Sakasugi had also lost the most troublesome permanent Armor buff for Players.
Moreover, the lack of Rule Resistance also meant that even if the Players couldn't break through its defenses, they could still forcefully reduce 1 HP with the support of the Rule of Skill.
That was also the main reason why the Players could hold on until now. Even if each Player's attack dealt pitifully low damage, as long as they had enough numbers and time, the total damage would still be considerable … Otherwise, they would have long since scattered to seek out the Undead Orks, which were even easier to deal with due to the invulnerable dragons.
The Players perked up when they saw that the Dead Red Dragon's HP had dropped by a fifth. They would win if they kept beating it up for four days!
Meanwhile, Sakasugi was getting more and more irritated. Those damned humans were too weird. At first, it could kill two or three with a slap or a dozen with a swipe of its tail, but as the battle dragged on, they seemed to have gotten used to its attack patterns. Not only could they avoid its lethal blows, they could even use the brief moment it froze after its attack to unleash a barrage of attacks.
And now, it couldn't even kill a single one of them as long as their teamwork worked well! Even if it maimed the fully-armored warriors in front of it, they would be quickly healed by the clerics behind them.
And if it tried to attack the clerics and mages in the rear, it would be stabbed in the ass by the warriors.
Although those attacks didn't deal much damage and felt more like a tickle, even a husky would have a temper after being petted for too long, much less an arrogant red dragon like Sakasugi. How could it tolerate being petted? It would definitely kill it with its dragon breath!
One had to say that Sakasugi's intellect was significantly damaged after its brain rotted away even though it retained a certain degree of will after becoming a zombie.
It didn't even recognize that the human warrior who kept stabbing its ass was Marni Wilf, who it had killed twice and filled the battlefield with a cheerful atmosphere.
Indeed, at first glance, the Players seemed to have the upper hand.
Still, it was only Angora Faust, the liege of the town who stayed out of it due to his different System and could only keep receiving battle reports from his subordinate Vela that he realized that things were not going well.
It was true that the Players had spent almost a day familiarizing themselves with the enemy's attack patterns and came up with a strategy, even using their EXP to deal tons of damage to the Dead Red Dragon.
However, all of their attention was focused on the battle, and they had no time to stop and think. They did not realize that the battlefield was constantly advancing.
After all, the Dead Red Dragon was the center of the battlefield, and it could be something that happened by chance in the Players' battle, or it could be something that the Dead Red Dragon unconsciously caused. Either way, the Players kept advancing in the battle.
Right now, the battlefield had made its way past the slope of the mudslide and the foothills of the Kristoff Mountains. It was still slowly advancing, and would soon reach the plains of the North through the Howling Corridor.
And the first place to bear the brunt of the attack was Tunaya, the capital of the Silver Eagle Duchy and the home of the Silver Eagle Castle!
"As expected of the God of Games … he had already predicted this, which is why the quest he gave us wasn't a direct crusade against the Dead Red Dragon, but a citydefense."
With Angora's reminder, Edward naturally realized that as well.
"Shouldn't we notify the other Players and have them try to divert the Dead Dragon's path?" Vela asked him.
Angora was actually very curious and wanted to witness the scene of slaying the dragon, but Vela felt that it was too dangerous here, which was why she had him stay obediently in the Silver Eagle Castle while she relayed orders and information to him.
"I had Joe and the others try after Mister Liege gave me the hint, but it didn't work." Edward shook his head. "The Dead Dragon is moving toward Tunaya on purpose. Even if it doesn't realize it … "
"Do undead creatures have self-awareness?" Vela couldn't help asking in confusion, but then realized that her question was a little vague, and so tried to add, "Hmmm, I mean, the kind that retains its will from when it was alive and can think …"
As a native whose hometown was near the Valley of the Tragic Dead, Vela had seen many undead creatures from the Valley since she was young, and there was no lack of unusual beings among them.
Some of them appeared to have the will of a living creature, but one would realize after some time that it wasn't. Corpses didn't have the ability to think, and the reason they did what they did was actually more instincts of the undead.
"Probably. It did do something similar to thinking in battle, but I'm sure that even if it thinks it has free will, it's actually under someone else's control." Edward said solemnly. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have continued such futile efforts after we saw through its combat routine, nor would it unwittingly advance toward Tunaya … Tunaya might not even have appeared in the North when it died."
"Then what should we do? It would take at least four days to wear that thing down, but it would reach the plains in two days at most given its speed … "Vela couldn't help feeling worried." Wouldn't it abandon the Players once the human cities appear before it and attack the cities directly? "
"Yes, that's possible." Edward nodded without hesitation.
Vela made up her mind that if the Dead Red Dragon really did charge straight into Tunaya, she would drag Angora into the Lifestone and back to the safety of the Unnamed Town even if she had to drag him.
"Still, it's too early to worry. Joe had already noticed that big guy's … It's not exactly a weakness, but a behavior pattern." Edward grinned mischievously as if he was about to pull a prank, befitting a youth of his age. "Since there's no cost of trial and error, I'm going to try a new tactic … If it's done well, it might greatly reduce the time needed to defeat that thing!"
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Chapter 235
The Attacking Corpse Dragon
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