Capítulo 732: Battle at the Sun Stone
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The Dare Troopers dug trenches around what seemed to be the consolidated resistance of the last cultists. Jon's actions of retaking the All-Maker's Stones from Miraak all in one day, save for the Tree Stone, seemed to have caused Miraak to finally retaliate, and it was there that he sent out the last of his cultists to defend the Sun Stone while dispatching two dragons from Apocrypha to hold out the Dragonborn, These dragons were known as Sahrotaar (The Mighty Servant) and Relonikiv (The Wise Tyrant).
Facing these incredible odds was none other than Jullanar and her company of 50 Troopers, who used their battle equipment to dig trenches in the ashlands of Solstheim and avoid the barrage of spells and dragon shouts directed at them while maintaining a rapid stream of ranged attacks.
"Commander! The ammunition is running low." A lieutenant shouted for Jullanar.
"Start using the Bound Bow spells. Those who can't use the spell should use the emergency scrolls." She shouted back, "The rest must dig a path for retreat and keep the attackers at bay."
Trench warfare was a unique strategy that the Dare Trooper adopted after Jon and Alina managed to mix some ancient and modern combat tactics together. This tactic may sound useless against exploding spells and swarming warriors, but it has worked wonders at hitting and baiting the enemy. Most of the trenches dug through some enchanted digging tools were nothing but traps, and the warriors who were clad in metal would fear stepping into them.
Aside from providing cover for shooting the lever-action crossbows, the close-quarter combat troopers would use their polearms to create kill zones for the enemies and choke points where the enemy wouldn't dare to pass. In other words, the new tactic was working in long-range combat and anti-magic warfare mostly because of how unusual it is.
As for Jullanar, who was leading the troopers in that area, she started to push against the cultists' spell fire despite the existence of the dragons, along with an elite squad of troopers.
"Signal the snipers!"
Her order meant that a trooper under her command would fire a signal arrow for the support squad hidden way behind the frontlines to provide cover fire.
Once the signal was given, she counted to five before sprinting out of cover. As she ran into the ranks of the cultists who were fortifying the new structure built by the enthralled citizens, the snipers in the back started dropping down the enemies who would spot her as she approached the flanks.
This whole complicated tactic was actually a rescue operation since the cultists were trying to use the enthralled citizens of Solstheim as hostages against the troopers. While the Troopers were seemingly successful, the Dragons haven't joined the fight yet.
As Jullanar entered the premises of the Sun Stone, however, the Dragons roared in the sky, and one of them took a nose dive towards the troopers' defense line in the trenches while opening its maw to breathe down hell.
"Incoming Dragon!"
With a warning issued, the Troopers immediately pulled back into the tunnels and behind the shielded areas that were protected by magical runes. One of the new techniques that were developed to face dragons by non-magic casters was for the casters to initially cast Runes on the ground that don't function like destruction magic. Once these runes were stepped on, a magical shield would activate to imbue the surrounding area with a protective aura. Of course, that wasn't enough against a dragon, but it was a temporary solution to minimize the damage and keep the casualties low.
Once the Dragon fired his destructive breath on the trench, most of the Troopers were already safe, but three were pinned by the flames and suffered dangerous wounds that required them to be pulled out of the fight. Seeing that his attack wasn't as effective as he hoped, the Dragon roared in anger and switched his target to Jullanar.
The Dragon fixed its course by twisting its huge body in the air and doing a fast 90° turn towards the Sun Stone before taking a landing position and aiming his legs at Jullanar.
"Fuck!"
On the other hand, Jullanar jumped out of the Dragon's way and avoided his left leg but his right moved towards her with the intention of grabbing or attacking her with his foot.
Immediately, she pressed on her belt, and an aura of energy shrouded her body as she turned into a beeline of purple smoke and zoomed away at an insane speed from the Dragon's position.
"Lum lir, ganog filok!" (Lowly worm, enough running) The Dragon said as it canceled his landing and turned to Jullanar.
"What's that, Mr. Lizard Face?" Jullanar landed at a fair distance from the dragon. "I don't speak Dragonish, but I know an insult when I hear one, Mister! So… Fuck you too, I assume!"
The Dragon didn't take kindly to her provocations, but it seemed that Jullanar wasn't all talk, as she aimed her now at him and kept smiting him with powerful arrows.
Jullanar's weapon of choice was Ruin's Edge, the mad bow from the Shivering Isles, which was created by the Dark Seducers. Jullanar won it from its previous owner in a contest of archery and cheese eating, and it has been her strongest weapon ever since.
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[Ruin's Edge]
- Random Effects (Frost, Demoralize, Frenzy, Drain Magicka, Paralyze)
- Homing Arrows
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But even without looking at its incredible powers, the Jullanar wasn't planning on taking on a freaking Dragon with just a bow.
No, such a beast can only be met with another beast. She aimed her bow up with a special arrow, and she fired it at the Dragon's head, which seemed to have completely missed the target.
The arrogant Dragon grinned, and as it was about to fire his flame breath at her, the arrow that just bypassed him exploded in red, dazzling light. On the other hand, Jullanar was running for dear life.
Far away from that fight, Ongeim Scar-Mouth, captain of the Dare Fleet, was notified about the red signal by his sailors.
"Red Signal! A Dragon!"
He ran off his seat and ran to the rear deck's highest point to investigate the island through his spyglass.
"Sweet baby Talos! Man the Sting!" As he commanded, all the sailors stationed on the deck ran around a certain magical cannon at the center of the ship and rotated it towards the signal.
As they made sure the coordinates were right, they shouted up.
"Sting, ready!"
"Fire when you get a clean shot!" Ongeim shouted back.
"Firing in 3… 2… 1… Fi…"
The cannon man couldn't even finish the word "Fire" before a booming, thunderous explosion shook the entire vicinity of the ship, and a sonic shock wave formed circular ripples on the calm seawater. The cannon that is called the "Sting" was the developed version of the prototype used against the dragons in the Battle against the Wise Dragons (Chapter 554).
The power of the cannon, which was powered by steam and magic based on Dwemer technology, was once used to obliterate a dragon, and since it was too heavy to move and remove, it was fixed on one of the ships and provided with the final upgrades for it to be called the "Sting". Various models were made for it but the "Sting" was the best one so far, and it was used for high-mobility flying targets.
The projectile, which was a cannonball, traveled over 4 miles at great speed from where the ship was near the shoreline towards the Dragon that was flying above the Sun Stone. It took almost 6 seconds for the projectile to reach and hit the Dragon midair, resulting in…
*ROAR*
The Dragon, which was stationary midair watching on standby, roared his last roar as half of its body exploded and it motionlessly fell dead.
As for the other Dragon that was chasing after Jullanar, it couldn't help but pause and see what had just befallen his compatriot, which bewildered and made him unable to understand.
"Rakroved!" The Dragon cursed before looking at the corpse of his fellow Dragon and then at Jullanar.
No matter how much knowledge and power these dragons possessed, there was no beating this destructive marriage of modern and arcane firepower.
It is the Age when Dragons shall fear Men and not the other way around.
"Wow!" Jullanar, who was the closest witness to the Dragon's demise, couldn't help but exclaim her wonder at this insane power.
Still, the Sting was great from that distance since the Dragon was stationary. Against the mobile Dragon she's up against, the cannon would be helplessly inaccurate. But Jullanar wasn't aiming to get her foe hit with the cannon; she was just making an opening for herself to distract him.
"Push forward!"
She immediately gave the order to her lieutenants, leading the group of Troopers following her and starting to swarm the Sun Stone structure. Using this open opportunity, the Troopers switched to their axes and shields, then took the route opposite from the Dragon to the Sun Stone.
In an instant, a slaughter happened, and all the Cultists were wiped out to the last before the order came to forcefully pull out the enthralled hostages that resisted in all sorts of ways being taken from the vicinity of the Sun Stone.
As for the Dragon…
"Curses! Dur hi, joor lir!" (Curse you, mortal worms!)
It took him a while to realize where the attack that killed his compatriot came from and as he could no longer tolerate what happened to his kin, he immediately chose the safer option of flying low and landing above the corpse of the other Dragon.
"Suleyk fen kos kuz!" (Power shall be taken)
The Dragon's intentions weren't pure, and the malice in his words and eyes displayed what he was about to do.
As Dragons were immortal beings like the Spirits of the World, they had the power to devour each other and grow based on that. This Dragon intended to take the soul of the dead dragon for himself, and so he did.
Just like how it happens with Jon, the Dragon Soul rose from the defeated Dragon and enveloped the Dragon that took it.
"Well…" Jullanar watched as she evacuated the last of the troopers, and she noticed something about the Dragon, "… Killing a Dragon without Jon around was a bad idea."
The Dragon seemed to be evolving, growing in size, having better scales filled with more substance and luster, and its wings and fangs becoming even sharper and longer than they were before.
The Dragon then roared to the sky, and its roar was a shout.
"MUL NAH GAAR" (Strong Fury Unleash)
The Dragon Rage shout was almost as destructive as the explosive shell that hit the dragon a while ago. His rage almost caused a shockwave and echoed thunderously through the island.
Destruction was imminent.
"It wasn't a bad idea, though." Jon replied as he was watching how this whole thing unfolded.
His voice was calm, but it was as powerful and as far-reaching as the Dragon's shout, and it alerted all those who were in his presence. He was here all along, and he was just watching how it all unfolded as if he were analyzing something.
Not too far higher than the Dragon's position, Jon descended while sitting casually on his Dark Throne, and he watched the Dragon from up there and looked down on him.
"Time to clean up after Miraak."
And a storm was brewed from beneath his throne that enveloped him and the Dragon together.
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