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Chapter 115: Stealing Warships

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Siva appeared a beat later, panting, the left half of his faceless mask shattered and his clothes torn from the left side.

He only heard half of the crashing sound as the Dragon's tail smashed the city under it, but it was enough to tell him that the city had just suffered its draconic force once again.

"STOP!!" he yelled in reflex.

Yet just a beat later as he appeared and saw the devastation in the city, Labrador just then looked up at his direction while not even stopping to catch a single breath.

Then, it was followed by a loud cry of Cortana on his mind: [High Mana density output detected! It's releasing a strong attack!]

Siva's hairs rose in horror at the thought-link intel.

His instincts kicked in as Labrador roared. It was a «Dragon Roar» at point blank range!

*****

The battle in the Blue Card Merchant Group was immediately put into a halt when a city-wide order was given, followed by a quake, and then the lurid dragon cry from the distance with a bright pillar of light that parted the clouds and split the sky open like a sword piercing the firmament. It flipped day to night and night to day...

.....it even more so gave the signal for the battle in this location to come to a complete stop.

The Haven Dust President was quick to react and asked his subordinate, immediately being notified of a battle commencing at the center of the city.

"My God... that's another dragon! It's the same one that appeared in Alexandria!"

One should remember that back then, the Haven Dust Company was also one of the few that came to take a part in the spoils of killing the Dragon.

The 4km large monster was too big for a single man to horde by himself and so they felt very ill-filled when, as rumours said, Siva horded the entire thing just by himself.

And this time... he was there again......

—we won't let this dragon escape this time!

He thought so savagely.

Immediately gathering with his managers, he gave command to his subordinates, "Contact the Fifth Elder immediately. Tell him to send his battleships to take down Siva in Mundus! We have to be the one to take down this Dragon to claim ownership to its resources!"

The subordinates didn't even question why the President suddenly became aggressive when he spoke the name of The Union.

"Contact the Predator immediately! It's time for him to do his part of the contract."

He didn't even as much as 'respectfully' lowered his voice when he gave the order as if The Union was his underling and should follow his orders.

"Yes sir!" The subordinate quickly scrammed and the Haven Dust President clicked his tongue as he turned to look and give the battle in the Merchant Group's large territory one last glance.

"Too bad, I can't focus my attention here."

"Sir, we're unable to get in touch with Predator."

"That bastard! Did he run away? No matter. How is the situation of the city?"

"We received an order to evacuate sir. Shouldn't we be preparing for..."

"Imbecile! Our targets are right there and you want us to run with our tails between our legs?!"

"I-I'm sorry sir."

"Hmp. I don't need your opinion. Just shut up and do your job as I commanded you to."

Every [Hunter] in Mundus ignored the city-wide evacuation order by the City Lord, and either joined the fray for the Dragon's corpse, or just went into the scene to check on the rare entertainment in the city.

Of course, although he can't focus all manpower in taking down the Merchant Group and hoarding resources, it's not as if he would also let it go.

There was a lull in the battlefield in the Blue Card region but it was just temporarily.

"How's the battle on the other side?"

"I'm sorry sir. Our spies on the other side have all been barred from approaching. We can't get any news of the situation from the King Candidate."

"Not even a live feed?"

"It just ended sir."

"Hmmmmmm..." The president scowled while he pondered over the eventualities of the situation.

He didn't know how strong the "Alliance Faction" mentioned from that scroll from the Theocracy was, but he expected it to be on the same level as the Theocracy for them to be wary of Siva's finger dipping on whatever business was involved in it.

What more, the reason he felt this annoyed was the fact that it was "Siva" who gathered this force to attack the Blue Card Legion, with intels that only he knows despite the millions of players of RPG: Terroa. Just that alone was enough to make Siva's intelligence network worthy to be wary of.

As a businessman and a Player, Haven Dust knew that these two weapons are crucial at being able to stand at the top.

—I need to get on the same level as him!

Because he knew its importance, he didn't take a step back and gladly accepted the hand lent by the Divine Crown Theocracy. He understood that this was his chance to dip his finger and to eventually steal the [Grand Quest] from Siva.

Whatever the reason was that wasn't mentioned in the scroll, he knew that it was connected to Siva's [Grand Quest] and that was also one reason why he insisted on rushing to deliver this news to The Union so that they could take care of him on his stead.

A chuckle escaped his chest.

He then pulled out his panel window and dialed a call towards his new patron.

"A large Dragon appeared in Mundus! I can't take it down alone, can you send reinforcements?"

Of course, he wasn't directly talking to Romano but just one of the people in charge of conducting liaison purposes for him.

The Haven Dust President was still unclear to the distinction between the Dragon Races; in fact, he wasn't even aware of the existence of the Divine Beast Dragon Race. For the normal players of the game, Dragons are just dragons. Nothing more.

"I'm not sure." He said honestly. "But it's the same one that appeared in Alexandria so it turns out that it hasn't died yet and that Siva didn't hoard all of its resources. But it's too strong for me to take down alone. I would like to offer it to our Great Divine Crown Theocracy. Please send reinforcements."

The man on the other line nodded at him.

Haven Dust didn't know that there was a deeper reason why the Terran Alliance —no, the Divine Crown Theocracy is desperate to get their hands on Dragon Resources.

It was connected to the lack of suitable resources of the Terran Alliance in advancing certain magical arts and technologies.

"Will The Union be a problem? I sent them to hunt Siva to hold him off while we focus our efforts on killing the dragon but... but I haven't told them that there was a Dragon in Mundus yet. With all their strengths, they'll also learn of it any minute so I doubt this intel will be kept in close hold for any longer than a few minutes."

The president smiled in his heart but showed the 'humble' poker face he wears during his business deals.

"I will be waiting then. Thank you for trusting me with the tasks. Sir."

"Yes, Your Grace!"

The call was cut.

The Haven Dust President felt ecstatic in his heart as he thought of the bright future of his company.

The Union? If he could establish a firm affiliation with the Theocracy, he'd definitely get enough of a benefit to garner results and establish his Haven Dust as one of the premiere businesses in Terroa that, in time, would eventually grow into a multi-million company in and out of RPG: Terroa.

He knew his abilities can't make his Haven Dust Company rise to the level of The Union, but at the very least, he could earn assets that could secure his own future with this chance.

A chill run through his body and he smiled.

Those who could see the future ahead of the time and capitalize on it are victorious. He knew that grabbing this fat piece of leg will make him a filthy rich businessman eventually.

"Fufufu..." he felt shivers on his body and stared at the Merchant Group in front of him with disdain that the people around him wore awkward faces.

In the overall picture of things that he saw of the near future, there were no signs of the Blue Card Merchant Group at all. He could already see that the Blue Card Merchant Group has already fallen at this point. Too bad, he couldn't hoard all of their resources by himself so he clicked his tongue in annoyance at the thought that he didn't learn of it earlier than Siva.

Still, the excite he felt in his bright future brought the smile back to his lips, wiping away the scowl as he chuckled.

Now was the time of the Haven Dust.

Now was the era of his name!

"Send my orders. Absolutely do your best to get The Union to send their troops and then use it to kill Siva. Never leave him alone. I don't want any excuses so get this done. Make sure that it will be us and not The Union that will get this prize. Let them handle Siva while we handle the Dragon!"

"""Yes sir!"""

An order was given. The managers dismissed and 60% of the Haven Dust Army retreated to engage their trophy. At the fore was Haven Dust President himself as he didn't want to let this prize go out of his sight.

*****

Siva appeared beneath the dragon and the Killing Zone activated while he delivered a ruthless strike with the Lancet Imperious.

He was ragged before but he was more so now.

His fiery clothes were torn into pieces and the dull red Neo-BMA underneath was exposed with a few visible cracks here and there.

Siva took multiple NanoCubes from is inventory to press it on his body, "REPAIR!" he yelled and they began to dissolve into a liquid, seeping through the gaps and repairing the equipment.

He didn't let up in his movements.

While Labrador was still trying to catch its breath, he struck with full force.

"Hah!"

The True Dragon's weakest area was its abdomen and with the War God Axe in one hand and the Lancet Imperious on the other, he maximized his attacks and delivered the most powerful strikes he could muster to break the True Dragon's skin.

One strike, two attacks, ten strike, twenty attacks.

His movements were sharper for the lessons he learned from Ares were still fresh in his mind.

Although he regretted that he used the Artemis MOD against him in vain, he couldn't do anything about it now since he couldn't predict all of this from happening.

If he knew, he would have dealt with Zelga much secretly to avoid this trouble.

Alas, there is no cure for regret.

Upon his sixteenth strike, the Dragon finally held its bearing back and immediately lowered its body to crush the ant from underneath him.

Siva 'felt' its intent and vanished, reappearing right above the dragon, taunting it with a sneer. "Come and meet your doom, stupid lizard!"

Although he knew that taunting it was stupid, he still did so because there are people watching.

Meanwhile, he gave a thought to Cortana and she converted into a mock-voice that erupted into the ears of Lady Brea.

She didn't need to reply and immediately moved.

The battle in the Merchant Group Region already ended and 90% of their resources were seized. A few escaped and the rest that hasn't been seized holed up to finish their preparations to escape.

Forces from the Inner Continents and the Temple are stationed to keep watch over the territory and so she didn't have to ruminate over the reason why the command was given to her. Even until the end, Siva was doing his end of the deal and she felt that it was too much because who is Siva? He is a celebrity and yet he had to lower his head to be her guardian. But in the end, she bit her lip and didn't dare to tarry to let his expectations crumble.

*****

Siva baited the dragon and it looked up at him, its eyes glaring, the savage and pure ferocity innate to its bloodline erupting into a loud roar.

Wings spanning into kilometers blotted the skies as it spread and flapped, tornados forming with its every movement, gales flipping the debris as the bodies buried under the rubbles flew like stars on the clear sky along with the trails and bits of flesh and blood.

There so many bodies flying that some people felt a little scared and thought that this is the end of their city. The dragon added even more fear to the citizens of Mundus as its large body heralded the coming of a catastrophe.

It jumped and howled at Siva, leaving visible traces of its lift upon the ruined grounds.

One moment and the 1km distance between the two was shortened, Siva was shocked and quickly flew, taking out the Dindymene and aiming all of its cannons at it, firing a barrage in a single run just so he could escape its maw even by just the tiniest of a meter.

—WTF!! That was ultra freaking fast!!!

Siva was shocked to discover that a True Dragon's wings weren't just for a threatening display.

Thunderous sounds rung through the entire city as if the World Government's [Buster Call] had descended, wanting to cause ruin.

Laser lights and bloody-red fires painted the skies with a red-orange warship teleporting every now and then to escape the chase of the creature. The sight of a large monster chasing a tiny object seen from afar looked funny but it wasn't something that Siva could smile about as he found out, much to his horror, that the [Space] around Mundus kept him from jumping further distances each time.

[Boss, it seems that the Dragon Roar disrupted the stability of the Spatial Laws in the skies of Mundus yet the teleportation utilities of the T-Devices are not hindered in the slightest.]

Siva fell silent and looked back at the creature that kept chasing him just 200m away. On his vision, a few people being teleported away using their own T-Devices are being showed.

ROOOOOARRR!!

Perhaps seeing that Siva always gets away at the last moments before he was eaten, the dragon let out a loud angry roar.

Its large mouth crying in rage at him, its presence almost deterred his spirit. But he kept on and held his breath, not in the slightest bit afraid of its aura, only its overall physical strength that could easily destroy him with a single swing. He could lower its defenses but its STR stat is still at True Dragon's level so it was more than enough to end Siva if it ever as much as graze him at the least.

The T-Devices, they're a little special and Janus is the one who designed it so there's more to it than any person in Terroa could ever know about. Even he, with all his resources, wasn't an exception and was kept from its secrets until he become qualified to know about them.

Still, this little information gave him more things to discover about RPG: Terroa's 'build' and how the old man Janus managed to create such a world.

The puzzle that is "The Terran Universe" has just been refilled a single piece with this thought. Even if learning that "everything in the Terran Universe is magical at first but was actually scientific in its entirety" is something important, what still matters to him is that on this path, him knowing this truth is secondary to his goal of saving Baron.

At his overall current strength, without the [Artemis MOD], defeating this dragon was nigh impossible.

.... nigh.... impossible....

Not entirely impossible.

It was difficult, overly so, but not impossible to the point that it didn't have any point of succeeding.

"I just have to get it out of the city so I could go all out with it." he grit his teeth and looked back at the angry dragon whose face was so close he could practically smell its stinking breath.

[The chances of your victory are 27.4% sir.]

"High enough to let me escape successfully in the offed-chance I actually fail to kill it." As he spoke to here, he clicked his tongue and made a sinister smirk and said, "But I have Electra to thank for the plan I have in mind. Heck... this dragon might even prove to be useful to advance my Dragon Revitalization Project..."

[Boss, you're making it a habit as of late.]

"What is?"

[Talking to nobody.]

"...."

Siva's little warship dodged and teleported into the spatial gaps within the chaotic space of Mundus a kilometer at a time. It was already stretching it at this distance that each time he got out of them, the warship creaked and a few parts were peeled off from the violent spatial turbulence.

What more, the Mini Realms he used as gates all shattered after use and so Siva had to exert extra efforts to create more, thereby expending more of his already little attention resources.

If it wasn't made up of Glandanium Alloy, it would have collapsed already.

[NanoField Integrity dropped to 94% sir.]

It only has been 30 seconds or so since the chase but the NanoField imbued with spatial protection is already down by 6% within only six jumps.

[The turbulence in the fragment of space caused deterioration within the NanoField sir.]

Siva clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Because this wasn't any normal NanoField that's being lost each time he made a spatial jump. It was a NanoField created with a Mana Stone. It can't be repaired using normal means. Repairing it needs a Mana Stone and just one Mana Stone was already rare enough, aside from the fact that the Terran Alliance won't part ways with them.

"I'll be getting that bastard Zelga back, I promise."

[Sir, we have followers...]

BOOM~!!

—BOOOOMMMM!!

——BOOOMM!!

After the warning, explosions of the space being trampled by something big —of warships making a Hyper Jump— rung from behind and Siva looked on with the help of the video-feed of the Liberty Drones to see the warships appearing one after another, carrying the flag of The Union.

[Sir, I confirmed that they are indeed the fleet that Haven Dust Company beseeched The Union to send here to hunt you just a while ago.]

His scalp tingled, he felt more annoyed now.

"I should have taken all their resources!"

*****

The warships didn't waste time and followed suit, chasing the True Dragon that was so visible even blind people would see it flying in the skies and chasing after a tiny warship.

Labrador didn't care about the fleet of six warships behind him and just chased after Siva on his red-orange little warship.

He roared and roared out of his anger each time he was almost about to bite Siva who narrowly escapes after a short-distance spatial jump each time he was about to be eaten.