Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Chapter 140: Moving Shadows

The walls creak and fires burn nearby. Not many can take a direct hit from a focused explosion spell carried by a lightning arc. Neith managed to dive in front of the first spell to protect the Grand Duchess, but the concussive blast still managed to put him on his knees and knock the four knights and the matriarch herself to the ground.

The grey dragon in humanoid form breathed tainted fire in a wide arc, creating a smoke screen until he could deploy Daniel's smoke grenades, which create thick, obscuring white smoke much longer than the venom-choked flames of his ignityal.

One of the sources of magic that he's sensing flees, but he can tell they are far from safe.

Neith quickly kicks one of the knight's swords up to his own hand, wasting no time in gripping the blade as a knife-thrower would a perfectly weighted instrument. He launches it forward with supersonic force, and he can feel the blade wobble and strain in resistance to the might of his true strength. The blade cuts through the air in a wheel-like spin, and a moment later, there is a terrible crash, followed by the mana of the attacker fading.

Unfortunately, the same kind of attack can work against him, and Neith scoops Aramellianna up and leaps clear of another incoming magical attack.

A barrage of explosions rip apart the buildings and the cobblestones of the street.

This isn't going to work, thinks the dragon to himself.

He doesn't want to leave the knights or their captured quarry behind, but he knows there will be serious consequences if he does what he's thinking.

He can flee with Aramellianna, and the losses will be minimal. However, he is a knight of the Fievegal. He may not be as honorable as Daniel tends to be, but he is not so honorless as to leave allies behind.

Neith makes the decision quickly, and he keeps the unconscious Grand Duchess close as he chants. He is lightly wounded, which only makes things easier.

Transforming into his true form is easy for a powerful dragon.

Transforming into an unstoppable killing machine requires a different kind of magic.

Neith's droplets of blood suspend in the air as he chants, and power passes through them and supercharges his spell.

Black smoke-like auras swirl in around Neith and the Grand Duchess, and he is mindful of her presence through every bit of the transformation as he erupts from the smoke almost fifteen times larger than he was in the form of a metallic grey beast with leathery wings, armor plates for scales, and a crown of broken horns. Neith bellows a terrifying roar, and he can feel some of the structures rattle and crumble under foot.

I'll confess to my Liege later and try to sort it out peacefully. I don't know if I can pay for all of this, but...

The humongous dragon encloses the Grand Duchess in his massive claw, protecting her from incoming harm. He then tries something new that he hasn't experimented much with.

He takes a deep breath and exhales, as if to breathe fire. In place of ignityal, however, he summons a magic smoke vapor that quickly fills the air. Neith continues a long projection of this magic fog, ensuring to sweep across the entire area. When he spots a spell circle form to cast a summoned element, he uses his hand to cast a barrage of icicle-spears, and the enemy spell quickly switches to interception.

The caster fails, however, and is caught up in the hailstorm of attacks.

There aren't many mages who can take on a greater dragon. The few who can rely almost entirely on the element of surprise, including the Harbinger of Calamity. He could probably defeat a dragon without surprise now, but he wouldn't survive a direct attack.