The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War - Chapter 484

They could see the figure of the Flygear Carrier the two were riding, and behind it, the form of the mecha dragon flying in pursuit.

“It’s Undead, Mais! Just like the one that destroyed Illuminus!”

“! Who could have…!? Was it already like this from the start, or did somebody turn it…!?”

Mais wore a troubled expression. Like Rafinha, he might be suspecting that this was Maxwell’s doing.

“But we can’t harvest the meat if it’s all bones like this! What do we do!?”

“Right. Our next move is—hm…!?”

As she spoke, Inglis noticed something strange. The mecha dragon flying behind the Flygear Carrier— Its entire body had begun to emit a golden glow, the same as Owlgloria from earlier.

“The mecha dragon is glowing!? What’s happening, Mais?”

“I-, I don’t know! I didn’t do anything…!”

The mecha dragon let out a deep, twisting roar. It might have been the first time they had ever heard its voice.

And then, still wrapped in that radiance, the roaring mecha dragon overtook the Flygear Carrier and moved to the front of Owlgloria’s dragon bones.

“I-, I can’t control it…!”

Mais, flustered, made signs with his hands as if tracing a pattern in the air.

The mecha dragon, just like that, collided into the undead Dragon God from above, grappling onto it.

The bones of Owlgloria were nearly twice its size. It looked like a child leaping onto an adult’s back.

“R-Return! You’re getting in Inglis’ way…!”

Mais hurriedly continued shouting commands at the mecha dragon, but it showed no signs of obeying. Rather, it almost felt like it glanced toward Inglis as if it wanted to say something.

“No, Mais, let it do what it wants!”

Inglis stopped him.

“Huh? But…!”

“I think the mecha dragon is trying to merge with Owlgloria and help restore its body! I’m pretty sure this mecha dragon used to be one of Owlgloria’s kin!”

The mecha dragon, like the Flygears and the Flygear Carriers, was a weapon made with Highlander technology, but its base was once a living dragon. This behavior was likely the will of that living dragon part coming to the surface.

The mecha dragon was trying to save its original master, Owlgloria. Getting close to Owlgloria had likely stirred something deep in the creature’s draconic core.

Right now, the mecha dragon was radiating a strong Dragon Roar, and it felt very similar to the one Owlgloria emitted. It was as though the two Dragon Roars were resonating and merging with each other.

“The mecha dragon is fusing with the Dragon God’s body…!?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what will happen, but can we let it try? I’ll help too!”

Earlier, Inglis had been able to use her own Dragon Roar to outline the shape of Owlgloria’s body, but it wasn’t possible to give it a true physical form from nothing.

However, if there were a tangible vessel to work with, it would be a different story. And if that vessel was also a dragon, it would be a perfect medium to incarnate Owlgloria.

“A-Alright. I’ll leave it to you, Inglis!”

Mais stopped his hand movements and relinquished his control. Inglis turned her gaze to Leone, who was standing on the same Flygear Carrier as him.

“Leone! Can you help too!?”

“Of course! What should I do!?”

“Stretch your sword so that it touches me, Owlgloria’s bones, and the mecha dragon—all of them! That’s all you need to do for now!”

“Got it!”

Leone nodded and pointed the tip of her black greatsword toward Inglis, who was restraining Owlgloria from the ground.

“Stretch!”

With that, she extended the blade using the power of its Gift. It hooked onto the mecha dragon’s arm and Owlgloria’s ribcage, passed near Inglis’ shoulder, and stabbed into the ground. Then, the flat side of the blade gently rested on Inglis’ shoulder.

“Like this!?”

“Yeah! Just hold it like that, and when I give the signal, fire your Phantom Dragon at Owlgloria!”

“Alright, understood!”

While continuing to restrain Owlgloria, Inglis briefly closed her eyes. She carefully focused on the flow of Dragon Roar.

The powers of Dragon Roar belonging to Inglis, the Dragon God Owlgloria, the mecha dragon, and Leone’s Artifact were all connected through the blade of the black greatsword.

Dragon Roar is a flexible, ever-changing power. As each stream blended together, they formed one great, unified current.

“…Now! Leone!”

“Got it! Go—Phantom Draaaaagon!!”

“Me too! Dragon Roar!”

A golden radiance once again took shape, outlining the true form of the Dragon God Owlgloria. Within that light, Leone’s Phantom Dragon and the mecha dragon entangled with it were all swallowed up.

The mecha dragon in particular lost its original form, glowing brilliantly in gold as it began to transform. It expanded with physical form, covering Owlgloria’s exposed bones—

“…! It’s blinding!”

Leone’s voice reached her ears. Indeed, the light was so intense that it was impossible to keep one’s eyes open. For a moment, even Inglis lost sight of Owlgloria in the glare.

**GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHN!!**

A mighty dragon’s roar echoed across the battlefield. A thundering stomp struck the ground, sending a quake through the earth and into their ears and feet.

The weight and presence now were something the skeletal body from before could never have produced. Which meant—

“We did it…!?”

When Inglis opened her eyes, the figure of a massive dragon stood before her. It was no longer the mere skeleton it had been moments ago, but a colossal dragon covered in golden scales.

“This is the Dragon God Owlgloria…!?”

“Inglis, did it work!?”

“Yeah. I think so… But it’s a little different from what I expected!”

Inglis’ eyes sparkled, and a delighted smile played on her lips.

Yes—different. Rather than a simple golden dragon, parts of its body were clearly mechanical. Its wings weren’t flesh, but made of steel. Around its shoulders, arms, and waist, several massive cannons had emerged.

“This isn’t just a Dragon God…! It might be a Mecha Dragon God, like Vufailbane!”

The Mecha Dragon God was a creation forged by Abel, one of the Archlords of the The Founder Church’s Union Army, by taking over the consciousness of the Dragon God Vufailbane. Its power exceeded even that of a Dragon God—at least, as far as Inglis knew, it was the strongest dragon in existence.

Vufailbane had once spoken of a being above Dragon Gods—a Dragon God King—but Inglis had never seen one with her own eyes. And the Mecha Dragon God had left before they could properly clash, so this might just be the perfect opportunity.

“Then, rather than the mecha dragon offering itself to the Dragon God, is it more like it absorbed the Dragon God and grew stronger…!?”

That interpretation did seem to match the current situation, just as Arles suggested.

“But… it still won’t respond to my control!”

Mais was making control gestures with his hands, trying to command the Mecha Dragon God, but there was no response. That said, it also didn’t seem enraged or beyond reason like before.

“It… it’s not moving?”

“Yeah, I wonder what’s going on… Did it break down?”

Just as Leone and Rafinha tilted their heads—

**KISHAAAAAAAAHHH!!**

The Mecha Dragon God let out a feral roar and raised its massive arm toward Inglis.

“Oh…!? Fufu…”

Inglis smiled and readied herself. She couldn’t bring herself to attack something that wasn’t moving, but if it was going to make the first move, that was a different story. Of course, she had no intention of dodging, she would meet it head-on.

She wanted to experience for herself just how powerful the Mecha Dragon God truly was. However, the Mecha Dragon God’s arm never struck Inglis. Its motion froze mid-swing, halted perfectly in place.