My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 312: Almost

Chapter 312: Almost

It wasn’t the first time Desmond had been hung out to dry in a battle situation. The former King ensured that the men at the front lines were as good as worms on a hook. Count Mikael was only following in the footsteps of his brave leader.

As the Duke stared at the sky where a dragon was overhead, the fear that had been eating away at him from the moment he heard it for the second time in his life was going away. The thrill of battle was replacing anything else.

He was beginning to remember just how he faced a dragon the last time.

Since the dragon’s movements covered quite a bit of ground but they were still slow, the Duke had a chance to glance at the others.

That’s right. He wasn’t alone that time. It was the end of the day but still daytime. Under the ground, there were mages preparing to shoot off a mana blast whenever the dragon got close enough. Next to him were two courageous fighters who wouldn’t have to make a sacrifice if he had anything to say about it.

"Ready yourselves!" the Duke shouted. "Any moment now!"

It wasn’t as if the dragon would be scared if he shouted. It wasn’t paying attention to him.

What was very clear as it approached was that its eyes were on the hole in the ground with the mana stone. The attraction dragons had towards mana didn’t make sense to him but he wasn’t going to question fact when it appeared in front of him.

Typical of what he knew about dragons, they had an unnecessary urge to destroy.

As the dragon lowered towards the mage’s camp, it unnecessarily began spitting fire, lighting the tents until all that was left was ash. Luckily, all of the mages had gone underground with Quinn.

Even with the mage’s shield up, Desmond still felt a moment of worry.

The shield blocks the dragon but he can still attack, he reminded himself.

Cian and Desmond both realized simultaneously that the dragon was going too quickly and the mana stone would be too slow if it didn’t slow down. Quinn had warned them beforehand that it took a moment to conjure up a spell or release mana from something of that size, after all.

As if led by the same mind, Cian and Desmond both sprinted forward and raised their blades. Desmond used a similar tactic he used before to handle the juvenile dragon while Cian followed his lead, knowing he had more experience in that regard.

The soft underbelly of the dragon was sliced but all that did was make the monster behave more aggressively as it thrashed, knocking Desmond on his back with its tail. Cian received a more significant blow as he was swept to the side with the dragon’s sharp claws.

With each scream the dragon let loose, a burst of flame came with it. Fortunately, the old mage was protected by her shield and because of the men’s efforts to ensure she wasn’t in the line of fire, she made it out unscathed.

Desmond’s ruby eye drifted towards the hole that the dragon was seeking, undoubtedly seeking out the mana that lay underneath the surface.

He wanted to know why the beasts sought mana so much. Would they eat the stone? Did simply being near it recharge what was magic within them to lift them up to the sky and breathe fire?

Since the dragon was on the ground, its iridescent scales could be seen by the men. They were as amazed as they were horrified at getting hurt worse than they already were. Desmond learned to avoid its tail once he was on his feet. Cian was slower to get up since he was dealt a sharp cut along his chest and shoulder.

All they did was stand in guarded stances with their swords drawn, but they didn’t dare attack further and rile up the beast once more.

Luckily, before they had to result to their swords once more, a pinkish glow conjured from below and enveloped the dragon.

Even though its face was emotionless, it certainly seemed to be in a panic as it fought against the mana that singed its tough skin. Every bit of its foiled scales turned dull and black wherever it was touched by the pinkish mana.

To their horror, it pushed off of the ground. One wing managed to escape and then the other.

While it was clearly badly injured by both the sword slashes and the mana stone, it was able to float into the sky. The path it took was erratic as it went high then low and one of its wings seemed to hardly be hanging on at all.

Before it could get far, the Eirenguardian men attempted to slash at it again but Desmond only managed another blow to its tail before it was off.

To his horror, the dragon was headed north. He hoped that it stopped before it reached Coeurvalle or even Castille as a whole. If it was set on returning to Letum to heal on its own, there was no doubt it had to go over the capital first.

Before more could be said, Quinn came up from down below, having to unbury himself from the rubble of one of the burnt tents before he breached the surface.

"It’s gone away?" the mage asked. "I thought for sure it would have been grounded. The stone is dull because of how much mana was used."

"It’s heading north," Desmond responded in horror. "I must go. I won’t sleep if I have to."

Cian and Quinn exchanged looks.

The duke had already been fighting for practically a day, not to mention his strength was diminished from being chained to a bed like some sort of petty criminal.

Regardless of their opinions, Desmond sought his horse which had run off in the chaos but didn’t go too far away. They wouldn’t stop the man from seeking out his wife. That was undoubtedly why he was in such a rush to go to Castille.

War was at the back of anyone’s thoughts. A dragon had caused a path of chaos leading all the way from Letum to Central Eirenguard.