Chapter 130

In the center of the camp of the living was a tent much larger than the one allocated to Overseer Garm. After all, it wasn't meant for a small group of men, but for a large council.

As such, it was about the size of a large circus tent and had an enormous round table. Fancy chairs with soft cushioning were placed around it.

Attached to them were the names of various families and powers to mark their allocated seats in this council. They were the ones who possessed the right to decide the fate of the entire camp.

Right now, the council was in full attendance and all 123 seats were accounted for. At the head of the table, presiding over them as chairman, was someone from the Royal Faction.

It was not Kubrick, but the Royal Seneschal himself, Elijah McNickles!

He was a well-built fellow with sharp, knife-like brows and a thin mustache. His expression radiated seriousness and formality, as well as nobility.

He wore a clean set of mage robes that were golden colored, making him easily stand out among the crowd. Despite everyone at the table being the head of their various factions, these fellows did not dare slight such a powerful man of the Royal Faction.

The currently appointed speaker belonged to the Mercenary Faction, who were the issuers of this mission.

The one to stand up and cough lightly was quite a stocky man, with a toned body that was hidden by his clean, medium-armor that had greenish cloth beneath the metal plates for his chest, shoulders, arms, and feet.

His hair was like Carlton's, cropped short in a military-style, and his face was clean-shaven, showing his rigid jawline and buttchin that could certainly smash a brick open.

"The agenda of today's meeting is to discuss possible solutions to the already identified problem from our last meeting, the Adept-stage Bone Dragon who reinforces the undead forces of the Necropolis. I'm opening the floor to you gentlemen and ladies of esteemed bearing."

The room was quiet for a bit before a slightly obese man with plentiful rings on his fingers spoke first. "Can you furnish us with the details of this enemy once more? Powers, skills, abilities, possible strengths and possible weaknesses?"

The speaker nodded. "Certainly. Allow me to repeat what we highlighted in the last meeting. The Bone Dragon possesses the ability of Elemental Manipulation, namely of the Death, Frost, Fire, and Wind elements. Any skills or spells belonging to these categories have proven to be almost useless against the foe through trial and error."

"So far, we have only discovered our foe to be weak against the elements of Lightning, Light, and Gravity. The former two restrain its undead nature greatly while the final one restrains its flight maneuverability."

"Its speed in the air is faster than the velocity of most spells and projectiles cast its way, making our ranged attacks almost useless. Unfortunately, it is clever enough to take advantage of its aerial superiority to rain down a combination of its frost and fire-related abilities upon all targets within a large range."

"This particular attack simultaneously freezes all those caught within its range into ice while searing the lifeforce from their bodies upon contact. For anyone below the Adept stage, there is no chance for survival."

The atmosphere in the room became heavy once this fact was reiterated, but the speaker was not done.

"So far, it has demonstrated to be able to use its Death element only to constantly heal its undead allies almost infinitely, convincing our assessor that the Bone Dragon must have a large mana pool, estimated to be about as large as a weak Master-stage expert. This has prevented us from killing the last remnant undead Adepts on its side despite possessing the far superior firepower."

"Its Wind Element ability comes from the flapping of its boney wings. It's able to autonomously spawn wind blades and spears with each flap, raining these projectiles down on our forces incessantly. Although blockable and largely manageable, nonetheless it drains our stamina and mana wastefully."

"So far, our lightning-based attacks have had the effect of stifling its frost-related attacks to a larger extent and its fire-related attacks to a lesser extent."

"Our light-based attacks have proven to be most effective in stifling its death abilities and even harming the monster slightly. Our gravity-based attacks have the effect of stiflings its wind-based abilities to a larger extent."

"The consensus we've reached at the end of the last meeting has been to prioritize a lighting-based assault as well as mix in light-based attacks. Using gravity-based skills or spells will be optional and depend on the situation. All other elements report a lack of utility against the Bone Dragon."

Done with the recount, the speaker placed the minutes of the previous meeting down and looked to the crowd for any opinions. However, the room had become deathly silent as many of these leaders were left speechless once more by the power of the enemy.

Eventually, one woman who wore a swordswoman's noble attire spoke. "Is it possible for us to test the enemy's weakness to potent physical attacks? While it might have significant magical resistance as a pseudo-Dragonkin, its physical resistance could have been weakened with the loss of its powerful flesh and scales."

A few others nodded in agreement, gazing towards the chairman. Elijah spoke slowly, his deep voice ringing around the large table.

"To co-ordinate a physical attack test, we first need a gravity-aligned fighter or mage to render its flight useless, bringing it down to the earth, then have a lighting-based fighter or mage restrain its frost and fire abilities, and finally a light-based fighter or mage to restrain its death abilities, rendering it open for physical attacks."

"This will require trust, perfect co-ordination, and careful planning beforehand to see any useful results. It's very possible that we might have to try this multiple times over the next week, and each failure will result in losses on our side."

"However, the suggestion is not without merit, as we do need to ascertain its physical weaknesses. I hereby open the floor for volunteers for this effort. Any Adept-stage volunteer who fits the requirement I ask you to raise your hand."