Even leveling mountains has its tiers.
Just like how destroying planets can vary in scale—blowing up the sun versus blowing up Earth is as different as wiping out a country versus demolishing a city block.
They're not even in the same league.
In this world, there are indeed characters that Theresa's role card can't handle.
Against those kinds of powerhouses who can scour the planet's surface, Theresa's stats do fall short. But… when it comes to mechanics? Theresa isn't afraid of anyone.
Once the Elysion Pedion barrier is up, I might not die, but you're definitely finished.
Besides, this flying lizard clearly isn't an opponent Theresa can't handle.
Sure, her mechanics are broken, but Theresa herself is also a stat monster—it's just that compared to the full-powered Durandal, anyone's stats seem lacking.
"An amusing ant."
The dragon offered its commentary on Theresa's defensive move.
It truly was amusing. He'd never seen a human wield magic before. But… judging by his assessment, the cause of this phenomenon was likely that cross in the human's hands.
At that thought, the dragon's collector's instinct was instantly ignited.
Weapons that could grant humans such formidable magic were rare—practically unheard of. After all, what god would bother crafting weapons specifically for humans? What's the point?
But judging by the cross's design, it was probably related to the God of the Bible.
The dragon wasn't afraid of the God of the Bible.
Being part of the Chaos Faction himself, he lived for the thrill of battle, and he even wondered if this move might drag the neutral God of the Bible into the war.
If the God of the Bible were overthrown, wouldn't the demons bound by the non-interference pact with the surface also have to step down and fight?
Everyone knew the demons longed to return to the surface, but now they could only relieve their boredom through summoning by these lowly humans.
"Dragon, return to your territory! This town isn't welcome to you!"
Theresa drew a golden spear from the Oath of Judah and pointed it straight at the dragon.
"Merely obtaining an interesting toy—do you really think that level of power grants you the right to negotiate with me?"
The dragon let out a laugh—not out of amusement, but out of anger.
Being provoked by an ant was a blow to his pride, and murderous intent overflowed from his eyes.
To avoid accidentally damaging his future collectible, the dragon forewent his breath attack. Instead, he circled once in the sky before diving sharply toward Theresa.
A sonic boom echoed behind him. Surpassing the speed of sound, he closed the distance to Theresa in an instant, his sharp foreclaws descending directly upon the girl.
Theresa didn't understand why he'd give up his dual advantages of flight and magic.
This dragon wasn't the type with powerful forelimbs—stronger and longer than the hind legs—but the classic design: slender, short forelimbs and thick, long hind legs.
Still, that didn't stop her from teaching this overconfident dragon a lesson.
The white-haired girl swiftly pulled the Oath of Judah in front of her, hiding her entire body behind the golden cross, leaving only a golden spear exposed.
The colossal creature, moving faster than sound, crashed toward the ground.
Its immense mass stirred up a terrifying pressure wave capable of blowing away the surrounding brick houses.
Large sections of the ground cracked and fissured. But… more striking than the scene was the fresh red blood now flowing from the dragon's foreclaw pressed against the earth.
The clash between flesh and spearpoint was decided in an instant. Dragon scales capable of withstanding high-tier magic were pierced straight through.
Impossible!? My claw… it won't press down!?
The dragon was stunned by the situation. No matter how much strength he exerted, his forelimb remained firmly stuck about six feet off the ground.
The golden cross stood like an insurmountable wall, preventing his attack from advancing even an inch further.
Is this the power a human can wield?
The pain, coupled with the miscalculation that angered him more than the sting itself, nearly drove him to frenzy.
But before he could roar in fury, Theresa, having fully absorbed the impact, took control of the golden cross once more.
Click.
His already immobilized forelimb was pushed upward slightly further.
The dragon's attention was drawn by the strange movement and the sound of mechanisms, and then he saw golden chains shoot out from both sides of the cross beneath his claw, tightly binding his entire forelimb.
Some chains even snaked toward his head, trying to bind it together with his foreleg.
Without further thought, the dragon opened his maw wide and unleashed a fiery breath attack into the gap beneath his claw.
Seeing this, Theresa abandoned any thought of holding back.
She forcibly shifted the cross's orientation. The compartments that had fired the chains expanded further, and eight golden spears shot out like streaks of light, shattering half of the dragon's forepaw.
This pain was on a completely different level from the earlier pinprick.
The agony of losing half his claw made even the dragon gasp sharply, instinctively retracting the forelimb pinning Theresa down.
In that moment of pained outcry, the outer chains clamped his jaws tightly shut.
But Theresa's actions didn't end there. Drawing two more spears, she pinned the dragon's other foreclaw to the ground.
Unable to even open its mouth to howl, the dragon ignored the pain, immediately trying to take flight and regain its posture.
No matter how powerful your weapon is, you surely can't fly, can you?
True, she couldn't. But now that you've come down, how could I possibly let you take off again? Is there some 'Skyhawk' in your team?
Several more chains shot from the compartments, securely binding the dragon's wings. Without hesitation, Theresa drove another spear through the wing bone, pinning half of the dragon's wing to the earth.
With that, the threat was completely neutralized.
"Impossible!? I, defeated by a lowly creature!?"
A voice thick with disbelief came from the side. Theresa looked at the dragon.
"Speaking without opening your mouth… Is that also magic?"
"Damn it…! Damn it!"
The dragon's emerald-green eyes fixed fiercely on Theresa, as if wanting to devour her whole. "You lowly creature!"
"Why attack this place? Even for a Chaos-aligned dragon, there's no reason to assault humans so frequently, is there?"
Theresa paid no mind to his impotent rage.
Hearing this, the dragon's anger subsided somewhat, replaced by a mocking glee for what was to come.
"Why? What could you possibly do even if you knew? A mere lowly creature—even with that weapon, you're powerless."
This stream of nonsense made Theresa frown. A vague sense of foreboding made her lose patience for further questions. She drew another spear from the Oath of Judah, intending to finish him.
But just as she raised her hand, she heard the sound of something cutting through the air from a great distance.
Instinctively looking up, she saw another red dragon appear in the sky—slightly smaller than the one before her, but clearly bearing a strong resemblance.
Wait… could it be…!?
"Hahaha, seems you might have mistaken your target. That one over there is your acquaintance, isn't it?"
Watching the next dragon fly straight toward her, Theresa felt annoyed but not overly concerned.
It was just another one to deal with. The one before her was already combat-ineffective, and her own stamina was barely drained. After finishing this, she could easily handle consecutive battles.
"Don't mind me! Ilulu! Go kill the fleeing humans!"
Just as Theresa thought this, the dragon in front of her suddenly shouted.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.