Earth Dungeon 91.2

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Chapter 91.2. Clown

"A C-ranked monster, Dragoon. It's a dragon-type, even stronger than its stats suggest. They act in groups and have tough scales and strong muscles. Their dragon's breath is like a siege cannon, and they use combat skills. The fortunate part is that they don't have a leader. However, they make up for it with their strength."

"You sure know your stuff!"

[Clown's Knife Throw]

A Dragoon emerged unscathed from the smoke. Three of them approached Konoha, swinging their arms, but when she threw her short swords, the power of the clown skill turned them into multiple knives, which hit Dragoons.

However, Dragoons deflected the weak Clown's Knives with a clinking sound. They closed in, swinging their claws, and she backed away, but they quickly followed up with consecutive strikes. The maid raised her shield and stepped in to protect her.

[Universal Shield]

The maid's skill. It could create shields of all shapes and strengths, equivalent to the original shields. She had powerful magical shields and high stats to protect Konoha. 

The shield transformed into a tower shield and expertly intercepted Dragoon's attacks. However, Dragoons surrounded the maid and attacked her, and the maid, who had an agonized expression, gradually gave in.

"Get back, get back!"

Finally, when Dragoons began to close in on the maid, and more Dragoons appeared in the vicinity, the voices of soldiers became audible. Several armored vehicles with 6 wheels each arrived. Soldiers opened the hatches and leaped out, holding automatic rifles, from the garage.

There were 5 armored vehicles and nearly 50 soldiers. They pulled the triggers on their rifles.

They immediately opened fire on the nearby Dragoons, inflicting wounds on their bodies.

"Switch to AP rounds. Start machine gun strafing!"

The squad leader issued orders, and the soldiers switched their ammunition. They resumed firing, and the machine guns on the armored vehicles mowed down the Dragoons. The Dragoons fell one by one. As their comrades fell, the Dragoons' expressions turned fierce.

"Rrrawr!"

They roared, kicked the tower shield, pushed the maid aside, and turned towards the soldiers.

[Dragon's Breath]

Dragoons simultaneously opened their mouths and fired at the soldiers, targeting the machine gun positions on the armored vehicles. Fireballs flew toward the soldiers, exploding like artillery shells, causing them to be thrown into the air like dolls.

"Ugh!"

"Argh!"

"Guuuh!"

The soldiers groaned as they were thrown through the air. Even the soldiers in the machine gun seats were engulfed in flames from the fireball attacks.

"Fire! Fire!"

The remaining soldiers continued to fire, finally bringing down Dragoons.

[Hard Skin]

[Accelerator]

The remaining Dragoons used their combat skills to deflect the AP rounds. With their acceleration, the bullets had a hard time hitting them, and when they did, they only left minor wounds on their reinforced dragon scales, incapable of delivering fatal blows. The soldiers fought valiantly, but the Dragoons eventually closed in and began tearing them apart.

"Get the launcher ready!"

One of the squad leaders issued instructions over the intercom, planning to use the launcher on the armored vehicle. However, the accelerating Dragoons glided closer to the armored vehicle.

They passed by the armored vehicle's side, and Dragoon shot a fireball into the open hatch, causing it to explode.

The armored vehicle shook and emitted smoke as it absorbed the fireballs, coming to a halt.

"They're unbelievably strong!"

Konoha watched in amazement as the soldiers were quickly annihilated.

"They seem to attack with hover-like soldiers. In Trinton, it was the generation ahead that got wiped out."

"Miss, let's run from here!"

Ignoring the girl's incomprehensible words, Konoha nodded in agreement. They couldn't defeat them without tanks or fighter jets. Even skill holders would need to be at the highest level.

"You there! Run, and come with us!"

"Understood. I'll come with you."

There were no ordinary people left in the area. Some surviving soldiers were sporadically firing, but it wasn't enough.

Her fallen classmates seemed to still be alive, and Konoha hesitated about what to do.

"Miss, should we go help them?"

"Very well, let's go help them. Wait here for a moment. Gaaah!"

Agreeing with the maid's words and about to go help, a fireball flew in and exploded, sending Konoha, the maid, and the girl crashing into the building's wall, knocking the air out of their chests.

"Is everyone okay?"

Konoha quickly got up and looked around, but the maid was unconscious.

"Let's take shelter in the building. Um, Miss, are you important?"

Dragging the maid along, we sought refuge in a building. There, the girl looked at Konoha with a puzzled expression and asked.

"Are you someone important? You're quite something, aren't you?"

Konoha nodded with confusion. 

"Well, I suppose I'm somewhat important. I'm from the Taira family. But as you can see from my bizarre clown appearance, I don't have any real power or anything."

"I see... I see..."

The girl seemed to understand something and nodded. There was something odd about her. Why was she so composed in this situation? It felt eerie, and Konoha couldn't help but stare at her.

"What do you think? Do you want power? What if someone offered to help you?"

"What are you talking about?"

Raising an eyebrow and sounding a bit annoyed, Konoha questioned the girl. The girl responded with a smile.

"Make a contract with me. Don't worry; I won't ask you to become a magical girl."

She tells me with a dainty smile. There was a beautiful smile, not that of a girl with an ordinary face.

"I'll become the magical girl. It'll be interesting, I promise."