Act Two: Claymill Absolute Defense Line
Days since Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria’s Emergence Event: Four.
The Lunnings Duchy had been destroyed, and the head of the Lightning Dragon Mountain — Lightning Dragon King, Drag-Volt — was dead.
News of these events were both sudden and devastating to the kingdom as a whole. Those with far-sight magic confirmed that the one responsible for all of this was a creature known only as “Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria.”
However, the name wasn’t the only thing they’d found out about it.
First, they’d confirmed that it was the first SUBM — a rank of UBM above even Mythical — that had ever appeared in the Kingdom of Altar.
Second, they’d found out that all living beings that entered a radius of one kilometel around it instantly died.
The approach of a creature with such an ability promised a swift, inescapable death to all in its path.
The revelation of its approach struck fear into the hearts of the people, and those who lived in its predicted path had immediately begun to evacuate.
However, there were some who welcomed its appearance.
Most of them were Masters... particularly, the rankers. Their feelings could be summed up by one word — “finally.”
To them, UBMs were nothing more than special monsters that dropped unique items upon defeat.
The stronger they were, the more reason the Masters had to battle them. And with SUBMs being the pinnacle of UBMs, one could only imagine what incredible loot it would drop. Many of the craftier individuals were already scheming to become MVPs, no matter the cost.
This wouldn’t be the first time an SUBM was defeated. The one that’d appeared before Gloria, “Biframe White Whale, Twin Moby Dick,” had been conquered by the entire Granvaloan navy, along with the Great Admiral Antimicrobic Soy Sauce, the “Human Bomb”, and King of Thieves Zeta, the “Fatal Seal of the Four Seas.”
The two Superiors had been picked as the MVPs and received items that were above Mythical tier.
That knowledge was one of the reasons why many were enthusiastic about facing Gloria, but there was something besides the special reward that greatly attracted them — glory.
Many ludo Masters thought of SUBM fights as a major facet of Infinite Dendrogram’s late-game content. The name of an MVP in an SUBM fight would become well-known across the whole game. The glory earned from this was particularly attractive to the stronger kill rankers. They and the high-ranking clans instantly mobilized to defeat Gloria. The first to act focused more on speed than preparation.
There were a few reasons for this.
One was that if they wasted too much time, the kingdom might hatch a countermeasure of their own; if not that, the Skydragon King might leave The Skycrown to avenge his third child.
The kingdom’s Masters couldn’t have been the only ones attracted by Gloria’s promises, either. There might’ve been Dryfean or Legendarian Masters traveling there right that very moment for the sole purpose of slaying the dragon.
But perhaps the greatest threat to them were the four Superiors of their own country — King of Destruction, Over Gladiator, High Priestess, and King of Crime. If any of them were to act first, the high-ranking Masters would have no hope of becoming MVPs.
With that in mind, many rankers and clans quickly gathered to face Gloria... only for most of them to suffer the death penalty on the fourth day of Gloria’s appearance.
The famed rankers and clans were crushed like pebbles on the road, like something out of a bad slapstick routine.
More than half of them died the moment they approached the dragon, while those that somehow made it to Gloria itself were instantly pulverized by its immense stats that surpassed even Mythical tier.
The only valuable result of their hasty actions was two pieces of vague information picked up by DIN agents watching from a distance: “some didn’t die instantly” and “it’s likely that Gloria has some sort of defensive ability.”
Perhaps the rankers that had survived the encounter long enough to actually fight Gloria itself had more information, but they all kept that to themselves. As Masters, they could challenge the dragon again after their death penalty timer expired, so it was only natural to guard and treasure whatever valuable information they had. Though, it was questionable if a rematch would’ve been enough for any of them to best a creature this powerful.
While Masters experienced defeat after defeat, the Kingdom’s tians crafted an anti-Gloria plan of their own.
Specifically, they would shower it with an obscene amount of long-range attacks.
Its insta-death field was fatal, but nothing prevented you from attacking it from outside its range.
They would simultaneously attack it with a coordinated magic attack from Arch Sage’s apprentices and a rite of divine punishment from Cardinal Fau Verdin — the current head of the national church — and his many adherents.
They also borrowed some special support from a particular ally.
The kingdom finished its preparations, established a defensive formation at the fortress city of Claymill, and prepared to greet the dragon.
And, as though in perfect sync with the kingdom, a certain group of more cautious Masters also prepared to act.
Kingdom of Altar, Claymill the Fortress City
The fortress city of Claymill was located right between the capital and the Altar-Dryfe border in the country’s northwest. It had started out as a fortress for war between neighboring countries —though, in this case, that referred to neither Dryfe nor Legendaria.
The foundations for this city had been laid several centuries ago, back when the land that would become Altar was split into many smaller, warring countries. The city sported a defensive barrier that entirely covered it and even extended to some land outside of it; at the time, it was perhaps the strongest fortress in the middle-west.
However, Azurite, first of his name — Sacred King who would go on to found the Kingdom of Altar — charged the fortress all by himself, shattered the barrier, and quickly defeated the city’s leader. In the world of Infinite Dendrogram, it wasn’t exactly unusual for a single person of immense ability to bring down a powerful fortress all on their own... and that was exactly what Claymill was.
Since it was far from Altar’s current borders, it had little value as a strategic point. Now, it was more of a tourist destination, due to its involvement in the legend of the Sacred King and the founding of Altar. However, the city’s defensive functions were still active. Even now, it could create a defensive barrier around it that provided absolute protection from even high-rank ultimate job skills. And despite it being such a strong defense, the barrier didn’t hinder attacks from inside it whatsoever.
It may be obvious why Claymill was chosen as the location for the kingdom’s plans to defeat Gloria.
Currently, in the outskirts of the city, there were four different groups preparing to fight Gloria.
The first of them was the smallest in number. Clad in deep blue robes, they were the Arch Sage’s apprentices. There were fewer than thirty of them, but not a single one was below level 400, and every one of their number was one of the most distinguished tian Sages.
They were led by the eldest among them — Sage, Frigelt.
“A monster that requires us to all join forces... It speaks volumes to the gravity of the situation.”
“If only our Arch Sage was here, too.”
“Our teacher stands at the last line of defense, along with Sir Grandria and his Royal Guard. He stands near the capital to stop the creature from entering, in case it takes an alternate route and doesn’t pass through here.”
The Arch Sage was their teacher and the pride of their country, and he was powerful enough to cast spells as strong as their unison magic all on his own. It would have been encouraging to have him here, but many of the apprentices thought that this was an excellent chance to go all-out with the magic they’d learned from him.
“Like Mr. Frigelt suggested, we will use unison binding magic, aspected to the element of earth.”
“Not offensive magic?”
“With Magic Range Extension using so much of our MP, offensive magic would be less effective. There’s also the rite of divine punishment from the church, as well as our other weapon. We are to focus on trapping it in place.”
“I see. So we will be the ‘unsung heroes.’”
“...The what?”
“It’s a term I heard from a Master. It describes someone who is vital to success, but does not stand out.”
“‘Unsung heroes,’ huh? Well, let’s just keep in mind that what we do is important and give it our all.”
“Of course!” Thus, the apprentices prepared, determined to use their magic to carve a path to victory.
The second group was made up of people clad in white. Unlike the Arch Sage’s apprentices, they were numerous — over six hundred strong. They were diverse in jobs, with Priests, Temple Knights, Monks, and others among them, but they had one factor in common — they were all people of the cloth. Their great number served a purpose, too, for the rite of divine punishment’s power increased the more people who performed it.
This was a mobilization of all the volunteers still undergoing their training as holy acolytes. They were willing participants here, but as the hour of battle drew close, some became afraid.
“...We’ll die if it gets too close, right?”
“Yeah. They say that it’s a dragon embodying a curse of death. That sure is scary...”
As the still-young priests talked among themselves... “And that is why it’s our turn to act.” ...A man in the prime of his life called out to them.
“Cardinal Verdin?!”
“Why are you here?!”
Indeed, it was Cardinal Fau Verdin.
With Tsukuyo Fuso taking the High Priestess job, the male version of it — Hierophant — was unavailable, and without a proper Hierophant, he had become the functional leader of Altar’s church. His status was equivalent to that of a cardinal, but his job was actually Bishop, because a “Cardinal” job didn’t exist.
“I can understand why you would be worried. However, those who have no means of fighting the approaching death curse are far more worried than you could ever be,” he said, giving a strong yet peaceful smile and placing his hands on their shoulders. “We have the power to repel this death curse. Thus, you must believe that the powers granted to us by the heavens and the crystals will banish this approaching evil.”
“W-We will!”
“We’ll do our best!” The two regained their morale. Cardinal Verdin smiled and nodded in satisfaction before moving on to other priests who were still nervous.
The third group was stationed some distance away from the other two, and they were clad in dark green army uniforms.
They spread silver sheets over the plain and did something to make them — the Garages — open up, revealing many heavily armored, tracked Magingears known as “Geists.”
They were the imperium’s second armored battalion... reinforcements from Dryfe Imperium to the north.
When Gloria had appeared, they happened to be here for joint military exercises.
Of course, they could’ve just returned to their country, but by the will of First Prince Gustav — the one rumored to be chosen as the next imperator — they would help the kingdom defeat Gloria.
Like unison magic and the rite of divine punishment, Geists excelled at dealing damage at long range, so they were certainly capable of lending aid to this defense.
And tanks weren’t the only things they had up their sleeve. While coming to Altar for joint exercises, they’d brought over a powerful secret weapon as a bargaining chip. This weapon was now being assembled by Mechanics using parts from Garages and their own inventories, and it looked like a cannon with a barrel as large as a smokestack.
However, the strangest group of all was the fourth one.
Unlike the other three, they all wore different clothing. They all dressed as they pleased, but their gear was, on average, far more rare and powerful than the robes or uniforms of the other three groups.
Some of them even had MVP special rewards — a rarity among tians — that they seemed to wear and wield like it was no big deal.
They were Masters, but not just any Masters. They were the Babylonian Battlegroup — the second in the kingdom’s clan rankings.
They stood ready on the plain outside of Claymill’s defense barrier.
“Leader, 256 of the 287 members were able to log in today,” the clan’s sub-leader, Over Enchanter, Shulka, reported to the leader. They both stood in a tent erected on the plains.
“I see,” the leader said. “It’s great that so many could make it.”
“It’s a very important quest, after all. You have a lot of people calling in sick and skipping work or school just for this, especially here in our clan.”
“Heh. You’ve got a point.” The leader’s name was King of Swords, Foltesla. He was third in the kingdom’s duel rankings, and many saw him as the current champion’s — Over Gladiator, Figaro’s — friendly rival.
While Figaro was often compared to a lion or a tiger, Foltesla had the air of a snow leopard about him.
“Also, this is not just an ordinary fight,” Shulka added. “Our hometown is in danger. There’s no better time to go all-out than right now.”
“...Yeah.” Babylonian Battlegroup was based in Claymill. The city was a major part of their lives, and they’d made many memories here. Thus, they had to protect it at all costs.
“Leader... What about your wife?” Shulka asked worriedly.
“I asked her to evacuate three times now. She said ‘I work with medicine. I have to stay for the sake of those who can’t leave.’”
Foltesla was one of the few Masters who’d married in Infinite Dendrogram. His wife was a tian working in a hospital in Claymill. Thus, he wanted to protect this city more than anyone else. It was the reason his expression was even more serious than that of the other Masters.
“...We can’t lose this,” he said. A moment later, the crest on his left hand shone and...
“We’ll win for sure, captain!” ...and a girl appeared. She had red hair and seemed to be in her late teens, but she moved around with so much energy that it made her look younger.
Her name was Næ?ling. She was Foltesla’s Embryo of the Type Maiden/Elder-Arms.
“We’ll win no matter what, take its special reward as a souvenir, and return to Erica! I won’t accept anything else!”
“Yeah... Of course... Næ,” said Foltesla, patting her head with a smile.
“Leader, I just got some info via comms magic,” said Shulka. “There are other clans and parties besides us in the surroundings.”
“They probably think they can become MVPs by finishing Gloria off after we and the kingdom weaken it,” said Foltesla. “Reaping the benefits of our hard work.” He also assumed that some of them were those who’d fought Gloria earlier and had just returned from their death penalty.
“...Should we remove them beforehand?”
“Leave them. We won’t be cooperating, but they will add to our overall power. Honestly, I have no idea how much of it we need.”
The strongest UBM that Foltesla had beaten so far was Ancient Legendary. Gloria was two tiers above that, and he couldn’t even imagine how dangerous it was.
“Power, eh...? If only we had The Lunar Society or the likes of Figaro and Tom Cat with us.” Shulka named the country’s top clan and the two duel rankers who were above Foltesla.
“It is what it is. The cult is negotiating with the kingdom, while Tom Cat is probably a dev plant, so he won’t do anything about this. As for Figaro...”
“Leader?”
“Oh, it’s nothing...” As his longtime rival, Foltesla knew Figaro’s weakness.
Specifically, he knew that Figaro could only really fight alone. Participating in a large-scale cooperative battle such as this one would’ve been quite the challenge for him.
Despite that, Foltesla clearly recalled him saying “Foltesla... Should I participate, too?”
Figaro’d offered this because he knew that Gloria was approaching Claymill, which Foltesla held dear as his and his wife’s home.
Foltesla had replied by saying, “No need, Figaro. You just sit tight on your throne. I’ll be coming to take it after I beat Gloria.”
He’d rejected Figaro’s offer, because he didn’t want to expose his weakness to the many others gathered there and didn’t want Figaro to be aware of his own weakness either — and, as his rival, he wanted Figaro to be the best he could be.
“Do you think I did the wrong thing, Næ?” he asked Næ telepathically.
“No. I’m sure this is good! I want the lion to stay strong, too! It’s one of the reasons why I wanna beat him!”
“...I know what you mean.” A moment later, a Babylonian Battlegroup member opened the entrance to the tent and said, “Leader! I have a message from the scouts observing Gloria! We have only two hours left until the target arrives!”
“I see,” said Foltesla. “Then we’ll follow our plan and attack it outside the barrier.”
“Understood!” said the member before running out and informing the start of the operation.
“It’ll go well, yes?” Shulka asked, clearly worried.
“We have to make sure that it does. Right?” Foltesla responded.
Unlike the clans and rankers who’d rushed in, the Babylonian Battlegroup was cooperating with the kingdom, and was integral to their plan.
This was how it would go...
First, the Babylonian Battlegroup’s ranged squad would attack Gloria from a distance. While Gloria was distracted by them, the Arch Sage’s apprentices and the holy acolytes of the Altarian church would launch the large-scale magic known as the rite of divine punishment. And while the consecutive attacks kept it distracted, the imperium would use that ultimate weapon they’d brought.
If all went well, that would be the end of it.
“If Dryfe’s weapon isn’t enough...” Shulka mused.
“Then we will have to charge in ourselves.” Their info was vague, but according to DIN, there were cases when merely drawing close to Gloria didn’t result in instant death.
In the worst case scenario, the King of Swords, Foltesla, and the finest of his Babylonian Battlegroup would have to face Gloria by themselves.
Foltesla thought that that would be all they had left... and had a feeling — a certainty — that it would indeed come to that.
The fifty-eight Geists of the imperium’s second armored battalion were stationed outside the barrier, away from the Arch Sage’s apprentices and the followers of the church.
Unlike unison magic and the rite of divine punishment, artillery was limited by firing location and trajectory, so the distance was necessary to make sure none of the other groups were caught in the bombardment. Even if none of the shells did any direct damage to their allies, anyone too close to a tank would be risking their eardrums. These Geists were loaded with powerful long-range ordnance, so they posed an even greater danger.
After Gloria’s approach was announced, the commander of the battalion and his soldiers assumed their positions and waited, but the dragon was nowhere in sight even after nearly two hours had passed.
“...Is it really on its way here?” a Geist driver asked.
“If it doesn’t change course, yeah,” said the commander, seated in the vehicle cockpit. “But we’re dealing with a living being here. There’s no telling what kind of urges it’ll get... In the worst-case scenario, it might come at us from behind.”
By that, he meant the city of Claymill.
“What would we do then?”
“We’ll do what we can to ensure the people are safe, then attack. We got permission to use the strong stuff inside the kingdom, but I’d prefer not to harm Claymill or its people.”
Though, by the time that thing was there, the death field would’ve killed every single inhabitant already, the commander added mentally, but not out loud.
“I must say... I really didn’t expect to see a real battle here in the kingdom. And against a so-called ‘SUBM,’ at that... Why must we fight a monster above even Mythical for the sake of...?”
The young driver was frightened and slightly upset by the fact that he would be risking his life outside of the imperium, but the commander offered another perspective.
“Don’t think of it like that,” he said. “In the long run, defending this country is defending Dryfe, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s little more than a rumor, but... there’re plans to unite our next crown prince and the kingdom’s first princess in marriage.”
This was a rumor that sometimes spread among the imperium’s elite. The idea had been considered for decades now, but due to clashes in circumstance, it had been postponed until the next generation.
But now, Prince Gustav, the prime candidate for imperator (merely “candidate” because the previous one hadn’t officially named a successor) had a firstborn named Hallon, who would presumably become crown prince the moment Gustav took the throne. There was also the possibility of Gustav being passed over and Hallon becoming imperator, but that didn’t matter much in this context — a crown prince and an imperator were both worthy of a first princess’ hand in marriage.
“So you are saying that this land would be Dryfe, too, sir?” asked the driver.
“Or Dryfe would become Altar,” nodded the commander. “I don’t mind either way. The kingdom is rich in farmland. If we merge, Dryfe’s food shortages would be a thing of the past.”
“Well, I do hear that there have been more and more people dying of hunger in the colder regions...” Due to poor harvests with unknown causes, the imperium’s self-sufficiency was dropping dramatically. They could still survive with imports from foreign lands, but Dryfe’s future was looking quite bleak.
“Yeah. That’s why we have to protect this country. For the sake of our future.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” Keeping their morale high, they continued to wait.
Fifteen more minutes had passed when...
“WE SEE GLORIA ON THE HORIZON! IT’S APPROACHING!”
...The comms blared a message from the scouts.
“And there it is... all vehicles, prepare to fire.”
“All vehicles, prepare to fire!”
“Understood! All vehicles, prepare to fire!” The commander’s order spread through his battalion, and the fifty-eight Geists moved and fine-tuned the angle of their turrets...
“Begin charging the Supergravity Shell.” ...And prepared to use the ultimate weapon they’d brought all this way.
Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria, appeared on the distant horizon. It walked upon the surface, its three heads swaying with every step.
The one-horned head on the right had three eyes which moved separately and with no clear pattern, as though it were scanning its surroundings randomly.
The single eye of two-horned head on the left shone brightly as it glared down towards the surface below.
However, the three-horned head in the middle had its two eyes closed, as though it was fast asleep.
Its body, completely covered in golden scales, moved its four limbs along the ground, leaving behind clawprints as it approached Claymill.
The flourishing plants around it withered and died the moment its aura touched them.
If it drew too close to a lake, the aquatic monsters there perished instantly and floated up to the surface, becoming particles of light once the resurrection period expired and leaving behind only the meat they dropped. The aquatic plants died, as well, and in such numbers that the lake changed color.
“SHuEwOoOAAagHh!” The light of the single eye on the two-horned head grew in intensity, as if this creature could not tolerate the existence of any life around it.
Gloria strode through the withered, dead land as though surveying its conquered kingdom.
“...?” Suddenly, the three disorderly eyes of the one-horned head all focused upon a single point.
A moment later, countless arrows and blades of ice rained down on Gloria.
These were the result of skills used by Masters from the Babylonian Battlegroup. These long-ranged attacks were even mixed with ultimate Embryo skills, and they all barraged the dragon.
“Aim for the eyes! Don’t think you can take it down like this! Focus on distracting it!” Listening to their leader, Foltesla, the clan continued their onslaught.
This was such an intense assault that it would make short work of the average Master’s — maybe even a standard UBM’s — HP.
However, the max-level Reveal skill possessed by one of the high-rank jobs present told a different story.
“Leader!” he cried, in a panic. “Gloria’s HP isn’t going down at all!” It was the truth — Gloria hadn’t lost even a fraction of its HP. In fact, direct hits to its eyes — presumed weak spots — didn’t even make it flinch.
“So it really does have some sort of defense skill,” said Foltesla. “But it can’t be all powerful.”
He was certain that no creature could be invincible to all attacks. There had to be something, such as a specific level of power or a certain element, which could break through it.
And if the problem was indeed that their attacks lacked power...
“Leader! The kingdom has contacted us! They’re commencing their attack!”
“All right! Back away, but don’t stop attacking! And make sure you aren’t caught up in the crossfire!”
...The joint attacks from Altar and Dryfe would surely make up the difference.
“Mr. Frigelt! The twenty-six apprentices are ready to cast the spell!”
“Excellent! I will take the lead! Match my chant and casting!” the aged, long-bearded Sage, Frigelt, called to the younger of the Arch Sage’s apprentices.
They were preparing to use unison magic. This was a technique that increased the potency of spells by combining the magic power of casters who possessed the unison magic skill and simultaneously cast a spell using a specific chant. The need for extremely strict timing and precise control of magic power made it poorly suited for Masters, and most believed that only highly trained tians were capable of it.
And when it came to unison magic, the Arch Sage’s apprentices were thought to be among the best.
“Let us join our wills as one,” said Frigelt.
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