"Phoenix?" When the group heard her voice, they immediately thought of the legendary creature in a fictional story and to their disbelief, there was no apparent difference between the one from myth and the one they were staring at. It's almost like the real thing had come to life.
"How is that possible?" One mutter what everyone thought in their head. Just the existence of Earth Dragon is enough to make them question whether the world they once knew is actually a hoax but to think another mystical creature would appear before them.
As a priest of the Church, it's given they are privileged to the information that common people aren't freely distributed to. And to their knowledge, most beings that came out of a portal from the Unknown were usually weak, at least enough for them to send it back to the dimension where they belonged. Though rare, powerful beings do appear from time to time. Even so, they are nothing in comparison to the beings they are witnessing at this moment.
As if their pride as someone special hadn't been shattered by the wrath of the dragon enough, another one appeared to completely reap it all apart until there was nothing left of what was once their pride. They couldn't help but thought that the peaceful world they once knew will face something unimaginably terrible anytime soon to the point they won't be able to hide this side of the world from the public any longer.
Well, it's already too late to think of that. If they hadn't made a mistake, the common people could still live ignorant in their world, not knowing the world is slowly changing for the worse. With so many witnesses having seen the dragon with their eyes, not even the power of government could censor it all. That doesn't even include the courageous people who couldn't care less about their life, and instead of running away from the danger like anyone else, they went closer to the dragon with smartphones in their hands.
After all, it isn't an everyday thing to see a legendary creature such as a dragon in a realistic world. Some of them even think it was an event, which makes one question whether they have anything like a brain inside their skull, or it might just be as empty as their life.
"Look, a burning bird! Is that a real Phoenix?!"
"Don't forget to like and subscr—Woops, a flying debris almost hit me, hahaha!"
"Come on, guys! If we reach 10k views, I will risk my life and get even closer!"
Seeing a small crowd of people foolishly holding up their smartphones without a fear on their faces, Sheila feels the corner of her mouth twitching. Being courageous is one thing, but this...this is another breed of people, an idiotic one. Look, one of them almost gets crush into meat paste if he hadn't dodged the incoming debris timely.
'Master, I'm done with evacuating the people to safety. Though, it wouldn't have gone this smoothly if I didn't have to utilize the sleeping gas, unfortunately. So by the time they wake up, everything will be over.' Sheila nodded her head upon hearing the news inside her head. She wasn't surprised at the voice since it was within her expectation; she didn't come here on her own. She also brings Sylvia along to handle the other matters, this included people's safety.
Even though she had arrived at the location with an amazing speed, it was still not fast enough to save everyone as some people had long departed to the afterlife. If she wasn't in the Trial Tower grinding experience at the time, she would've been notified by the barrier she previously set up and possibly minimize the damage, unfortunately, she isn't that almighty.
She couldn't possibly foresee someone would think they could tame the dragon of all things, and not expecting the latter to retaliate in kind. But the world once again didn't disappoint her and prove that there exist people who are more reckless and foolish than herself. She feels quite good upon reaching that conclusion.
Though, she couldn't help but clicked her tongue while thinking she wasn't the only one considering taming the dragon. Perhaps, there may be others out there having the same thought, Mage Association is such an example. Maybe they were also in midst of preparation like her, but everything was ruined because someone couldn't rein their greed.
Anyway, the only one near the scene at the moment is the member of the Church, and a few other people seeking death by video capturing the dragon from afar, also possibly planning to get closer. Sheila also entertains the thought of punishing them but decides to take care of the latent danger first while also keeping their presence in mind.
'Alright. Leave the dragon to me. You girls remain on high alert and watch the surroundings, make sure no one comes closer.' After hearing confirmation from the other side, she then turned her attention to the situation ahead of her.
Though Phoenix's entrance seems magnificent, its combat strength is below level 40. So, there isn't any chance that it could fight the dragon on its own, but it did its job by making the latter even angrier so she considered it a job well done.
There's certainly a way to strengthen the formation, however, she had no way to achieve it without spending all of her resources, and even then, it takes time. The formation isn't for offense in the first place, but who's to say it can't resist against level 50 and above? With a small smile surfacing behind the mark, she wordlessly summoned White Tiger to her side before getting on top of it and command it to fly toward the dragon.
If one isn't enough, she shall bring another. With her strength combined with the two, she now has an 80% chance of beating the dragon. She still has few trump cards under her sleeves just in case things take a strange turn. After all, survival is at stake here, no more holding back.
"Is that...a flying tiger?! And someone is riding it!"
With the manipulation of wind, it was easy for White Tiger to soar in the sky without wings. While in midair, White Tiger suddenly roared and the few incoming debris was then sent flying by a strong gale before it could reach Sheila. Though they still look small in comparison to the dragon, the latter couldn't simply ignore her after discovering her strong presence by instinct. The moment it saw her, it immediately launched an attack without restraint.
While the White Tiger easily dodge or deflect the attacks from the dragon with its own comeback, Sheila didn't just sit there and watch. She slowly raises her hand, and a couple of fireballs quickly materialize at her call. She grinned, "take this!"