From Goblin to God

Chapter 13: Dragon Invasion

“Roar!”

A loud, primal roar suddenly pierced the skies, reverberating like thunder. The sound sent waves of fear through every human in its path. Most of Lighttowne’s residents trembled, their legs trembling, some barely managing to stay on their feet. Women and children dashed for shelter while even Lowell and his companions wiped the cold sweat from their brows.

The sheer presence of the dragon was overwhelming.

Yet an unshaken figure stood on the town’s wall—a lone silhouette, cloaked in platinum, the wind whipping her cloak around her. The Sword Saintess’s presence sent a ripple of confidence through the people, quelling their rising terror.

“Tell the townspeople to move the elderly, women, and children to the shelters. Leave the dragons to us,” the Sword Saintess commanded, her voice icy with disdain.

Lowell’s party readied themselves while other adventurer groups hurried to evacuate the townspeople.

Without warning, a fierce gust tore through the sky, splitting the clouds apart. The dragons had arrived. Their dark brown, scaleless bodies shimmered under the sun. Sharp fangs and claws gleamed, and their massive wings cast an ominous shadow over the land.

Each dragon was about 50 feet long, with a wingspan nearing 200 feet—like beasts plucked straight from ancient myth.

“They’ve come,” the Sword Saintess muttered, unfazed.

Calmly, she loaded a dragon-hunting ballista. Alone, she aimed at a target nearly 3,000 feet away in the sky and fired with one swift motion.

Whoosh!

The bolt cut through the air with a piercing shriek. Her single hand had effortlessly handled a weapon that typically required ten men to load. Seconds later, a dragon’s tortured roar echoed from above as it dropped like a stone, its wings folding in on itself as it plummeted.

The sight ignited a wave of cheers and gratitude from Lighttowne’s residents.

“Unbelievable! The Sword Saintess’s power is unmatched!”

“All we have to do is stay in the shelters; by the time we come out, the dragons will be gone!”

“Praise the gods! We must build a grand statue in her honor when this is over!”

While the townspeople celebrated and hurried to safety, two or three dozen men stayed behind to help, bringing the defense team to about fifty people. That seemed like enough—until the dragons retaliated.

The death cry of the first dragon enraged the rest. Seven or eight more dragons tore through the clouds, their fury palpable as they dove toward Lighttowne. Far away on Dragon Island, a massive figure stirred, its eyes snapping open.

“I’ve shown you how to use the ballistae. Don’t mess it up,” the Sword Saintess warned, her voice still steady but firm.

With a quick spin, she launched a piece of wood from the construction site straight into the air. In the distance, one of the dragons saw it too late—its pupils contracted in fear just as the wood slammed into its eye, sending blood spraying everywhere. The beast screamed and spiraled out of control, crashing to the ground.

Nearby dragons, still confused, were hit with more flying debris. While not lethal, the attacks inflicted severe damage, leaving the onlookers in shock.

“She’s wounding dragons with wood scraps—with a veil blindfolded! Imagine if she could see!” one observer whispered in awe.

The Sword Saintess’s face grew serious. “The real dragon is coming. Man the ballistae,” she ordered.

At her warning, the defenders scrambled to their positions, panic driving them as they hurried to prepare.

Suddenly, a more powerful roar erupted from the heavens, shaking the earth like a thunderclap.

This was no ordinary roar. Its magnitude was on an entirely different scale.

“Look! What in the world is that?” a townspeople cried out, trembling with fear.

In the distance, a massive dragon emerged, dwarfing the others. Its head alone was more significant than a standard dragon’s entire body. Its dark purple scales shimmered with jagged, violet-gold bone spurs jutting out like deadly armor. The creature was colossal—like a moving mountain. It stretched over 300 feet long, its wingspan spanning nearly 1,500 feet. The smaller dragons flying around it looked like mere tadpoles in comparison.

Lowell’s voice shook. “The Amethyst Dragon Queen... A level 79 super beast.”

“That’s the Dragon King? Fire!” someone shouted.

In unison, the ballistae launched their bolts. Ten massive projectiles tore through the air, their shrill whistles so sharp it felt like the sky would be ripped apart.

The Amethyst Dragon Queen spread her massive jaws wide, releasing a torrent of violet-gold flames that tore through the sky. The fiery blast roared forward, incinerating the incoming ballista bolts in mere moments. But the devastation didn’t stop there. The flames surged onward, turning everything in their path into a charred wasteland as they advanced relentlessly toward the outskirts of Lighttowne. The ballistae, once a beacon of hope, were now useless against the dragon’s relentless inferno.

The heatwave paralyzed the townspeople, their legs trembling under them. Terror gripped their hearts as they realized that a single touch from those flames would reduce them to ash.

“Sword Mana! Advanced Sword Skill!”

At last, the Sword Saintess unsheathed her blade. A flash of cold light cut through the chaos, a magic circle forming around her sword as she unleashed a towering wave of sword energy, like a tsunami crashing forward.

Whoosh!

The energy collided with the dragon’s flames, snuffing them out instantly.

Lowell kept his composure, but the other adventurers gasped in disbelief.

“An advanced sword skill! Unbelievable!”

“Witnessing the Sword Saintess wielding such power is worth dying for!”

“She extinguished dragon flames with ease!”

In this world, combat skills were categorized by tiers: low, mid, high, super, transcendent, and legend. Seeing a high-tier skill in action was rare; witnessing anything higher bordered on the impossible.

With the flames neutralized, Lowell and his party fired another volley from the ballistae, downing three more flying dragons. However, the remaining bolts barely scratched the Amethyst Dragon Queen. They were only pinpricks to her, registering only as a slight irritation.

“Roar!”

Despite their losses, the remaining dragons surged forward, breaching the town’s defenses. They unleashed streams of fire, razing entire buildings in seconds. Each fiery breath turned homes to rubble, leaving a path of utter destruction.

The townspeople huddled in fear inside the shelters, listening to the chaos outside. A mother whispered to her sobbing child, “Don’t be scared. We’ll be fine. We need to stay here—it’s safe.”

“Yes, even if the town is destroyed, we’ll be safe here. Nothing will reach us,” another resident reassured the group. With that, the tension eased, though the unease lingered.

But were they truly safe?

Oliver observed the raging inferno from a distant hill, a twisted grin spreading across his face.

“What a stunning fireworks show,” he murmured, his lips curling into a sinister smile as he watched the destruction unfold.