Side: Prim
It has been three days since we arrived in Vagenbach.
So far, we haven’t encountered any Anomalous Species or Catastrophe Species, including along the border.
Although soldiers have been mobilized in Sirio, a border town with Retisencia, they’ve only encountered and defeated C-rank and B-rank monsters during patrols.
Meanwhile, Yamato and Mako have been using Traveling to gather information in Float and Polar, and I’ve also been checking on Feel, Memoria, and Deseo.
I heard that Flare Crane, an M-C rank monster, appeared in Polar, but Rex and Saya defeated it.
Rex, taking the fact that Flare Crane had approached Polar very seriously, went to Kobaldia with Rosemary, Muse, and Saya on Saya’s contracted Wyvern. However, they had not returned by the time Yamato and Mana visited.
Miranda, who received this report in Float, predicted that Kobaldia had likely fallen, and I agree.
Although Blue Fenrir wasn’t there, I believe a few demons could have taken it down if they worked together, so it’s possible they’ve already been defeated.
However, I’m concerned about the other Anomalous Species, Catastrophe Species, and Leo Species that might be out there.
Retisencia has a lot of rain, lakes, and wetlands, so even terrestrial species tend to lean towards water attribute.
The Leo Species are no exception, with Blue Leo, which has a blue body color indicating water attribute, inhabiting the area.
They are of the same species as the White Leo we hunted in the Krater Labyrinth, and they are G-N rank monsters.
There are no higher-ranked Leo Species, the next step up being Aqua Leon (P-R rank), followed by Abyss Fall (M-I rank), and then an unidentified rank for A-C rank.
With the possibility of an unidentified Leo-type Catastrophe Species, even if demons were present in Kobaldia, it’s highly likely it has fallen, or at least suffered significant damage if it survived.
“I thought so, but I never expected them to come here.”
“Indeed. And Leo Species aren’t supposed to form packs, but there are so many of them.”
We are currently near Recion, a border town on the Retisencia side.
It’s raining quite a bit and it’s annoying, but reconnaissance is important, so we do it every day. Today, we were observing from the sky in Athena’s multi-functional beast carriage.
However, we were dispatched to defend Vagenbach and Sirio, so we cannot go further than Recion.
That’s why we were slow to notice that the A-C rank monster Ocean Howl Grand, a Leo Species, had come this way.
It seems Ocean Howl Grand was trampling Recion with Leo Species in tow.
Blue Leo and Aqua Leon were naturally present, and even Abyss Fall.
Recion is a town protected by a barrier, yet they all entered as if it didn’t matter.
“The barrier isn’t working? I thought it could prevent even Anomalous Species from entering.”
“It’s because of the Catastrophe Species, I believe. Besides, not even Anomalous Species can be absolutely prevented. In fact, many towns and villages have been destroyed by Anomalous Species.”
Mana answers Mako’s question.
Barrier Protect Fielding does have the effect of hindering monster infiltration, but it cannot block Catastrophe Species.
It can prevent Anomalous Species, but it’s not absolute, and many towns and villages have indeed been destroyed by Anomalous Species.
Several reasons are being considered, but the most prominent is that the barrier maintenance has been neglected, weakening its effectiveness.
Barrier maintenance requires replenishing magic power at least once a year, and it’s even more desirable if done by High Class individuals.
Generally, the replenishment of magic power is the responsibility of kings, lords, or governors, but even Normal Class individuals can compensate by increasing the frequency.
As if to prove this theory, I heard that the town of Solemne neglected barrier maintenance, so even the imperial capital Deseo had no effect in preventing the intrusion of not only Anomalous Species but even rare, high-ranked species.
Now that Sister Hilde has been appointed as governor and replenished the magic, it has recovered, but if it had continued, the barrier would have disappeared in the not-too-distant future.
I don’t know the state of the barriers in Retisencia’s towns, but according to nobles who defected to Vagenbach, many lords neglect to replenish their magic power, so it’s likely that Recion’s barrier was also weakened.
Moreover, since Retisencia has converted to the Abyssal Orthodox Church, it’s possible that the barrier itself has vanished.
“I see, that’s certainly a possibility.”
“We will need to investigate this in detail later, but for now, we must defeat the monsters.”
“That’s right. Recion has already been devastated, and if we leave this unchecked, not only Sirio but also Vagenbach will be in danger. While defeating all of them might be difficult, we must at least eliminate the Anomalous Species and Catastrophe Species.”
As Mina and Lydia say, we cannot leave the monsters unchecked.
Recion has already been devastated, and all its residents seem to have been slaughtered. It is precisely because of this that we cannot afford to leave them unchecked.
If they advance west, Sirio will be right there, and Vagenbach beyond that.
Although it has only recently become independent, it is a nation that forms the Amister-Philias Federation Celestial Empire, so if we don’t defeat as many monsters as possible, the damage will be immense.
We have to prevent that.
“In any case, let’s defeat the monsters first. At their current speed, they should reach Sirio in a few hours.”
“They should arrive in about one or two hours. We can check if there are any survivors in Recion after we defeat them.”
“Agreed.”
If there are survivors in Recion, we will have to take them to Sirio.
However, I’m not particularly inclined to do so.
The people of Retisencia, even commoners, are self-centered. If there are survivors, they will undoubtedly start with insults.
At that point, I lose the desire to help them, and they will also expect to be rescued as a matter of course. Moreover, they will definitely complain, using the delay in rescue as an excuse, which makes me question if they truly need to be saved.
This is not just my opinion; Mana and Mina agree. Only Yamato and Mako, our guests, are genuinely thinking about rescuing them.
In their world, there were such countries in the past, but apparently, there are none like that now, so they don’t quite grasp the reality.
“Athena, can you fight in that form, please?”
“Yeah, I got it!”
However, Yamato quickly changed his mindset.
In the guests’ world, engraved tools are common, and there are even creators like Yamato and Mako, so if necessary, they are not held accountable for taking lives.
Especially since creators can generate engraved tools, even if weapons or engraved tools are taken away, the threat level doesn’t change.
That’s why I’ve heard that both Yamato and Mako have taken lives on occasion.
Mako, in particular, seems to have gone on a major battle, though not a war, with Yamato’s parents.
“I’ve never seen you in dragonoid form before.”
“I’ve done it a few times, but it’s true that this is the first time in front of Mako. It’s quite impressive.”
Come to think of it, I don’t think Athena or Eos have fought in dragonoid form in front of Mako.
Well, although Dragonians can transform into dragonoids, they are basically human, so fighting in dragonoid form is extremely rare.
With dragonoid transformation, even Normal Class individuals can defeat P-rank monsters alone, but there’s also a significant risk of losing their lives.
For High Class and Ancient Class individuals, the risk is significantly reduced, but if they sustain severe injuries while in dragonoid form, they can be carried over to their human form. Nowadays, with alloy weapons, they can fight without worrying about magic fatigue, so there’s not much benefit to transforming into a dragonoid.
Therefore, the last time Athena and Eos fought in dragonoid form, as far as I know, was in the Instant Labyrinth.
“After evolving into Ancient Dragonian, Eos and I transformed into dragonoids in Mylight.”
“Even though there are few benefits, we must understand the magic gained from evolution, or at worst, we could involve everyone.”
Athena and Eos explained, and I understood.
Indeed, when evolving into Ancient Class, magic power increases several times compared to High Class, and the intensity of magic jumps exponentially.
However, control becomes more difficult, so we are also testing to understand our maximum magic capacity.
Because of that, I’ve ruined many sets of underwear, and it’s also the reason I shortened the lifespan of Yamato’s and my Crest Armor Coat.
So, until the Crest Defender Coat is completed, we were very careful with our armor, let alone weapons.
Of course, we went all out against the Disaster Dragoon and Gold Dragoon in the Solpreza Labyrinth, and the Mythril Colossus in the Instant Labyrinth.
“Alright, here I go!”
Flying above the Leo Species heading west, Athena opened her mouth wide and unleashed her unique magic, Magma Light Breath.
The Divine Breath, Ether Breath, used by Dragonians and Dragonewts, is a breath attack from the mouth that matches the user’s element.
Magma Light Breath is a unique magic developed by Athena, and it incorporates Ether Breath. However, I didn’t expect her to use it so suddenly, as it’s her trump card.
Given the presence of Ocean Howl Grand and Abyss Fall, it’s understandable.
Athena’s Magma Light Breath, after evolving into Ancient Dragonian, has far greater power than before.
Originally, Magma Light Breath was a magic that shot molten earth and rock heated by light and wind like light. However, now it also incorporates the lightning attribute magic acquired by Athena’s evolution into Ancient Dragonian.
Moreover, it incorporates telekinetic magic, giving it the added bonus of being able to pursue opponents indefinitely at Athena’s will.
As proof, the Blue Leo was blown away without a trace after being directly hit by Magma Light Breath, Aqua Leon was left near death, and even Abyss Fall suffered significant damage.
Ocean Howl Grand doesn’t appear to be slowed down, but it’s not unscathed either.
“Alright, let’s go!”
“Yes!”
At Yamato’s command, we all leaped from the beast carriage.
At that moment, I invoked Scorching Wings, while the others donned Wing Burst.
Athena, still in dragonoid form, stored the Tenju Manufacturing Beast Carriage into her Inventory and then charged at Ocean Howl Grand, coating her claws with her unique magic, Blaze Light Blade.
Athena is also motivated, so let’s leave Ocean Howl Grand to her.
“Hah, here!”
“Take that!”
Yamato used Mist Solution to create Usugre, Mana used Sterling Divider to defeat Abyss Fall, and the others defeated the Aqua Leon weakened by Athena’s Magma Light Breath.
The power of Magma Light Breath has really increased.
“GRAAAAAAARGH!!”
Only Ocean Howl Grand remains, but Athena has the upper hand here as well.
However, Ocean Howl Grand, being a Catastrophe Species, is still dodging and parrying Athena’s claw attacks imbued with Blaze Light Blade.
Still, its wounds are gradually increasing, so defeating it is only a matter of time.
Perhaps Athena was getting a little impatient, as she also coated her fangs with Blaze Light Blade.
Unlike Dragoons, dragonoid Dragonians rarely use their fangs for attack.
Using their fangs means biting, and Dragonians find it unpleasant to bite monsters.
However, their fangs are sharp and possess greater attack power than their claws, so they reportedly bite without hesitation when necessary.
Bitten by those fangs, Ocean Howl Grand was scorched internally by the lightning and light attribute magic incorporated into Blaze Light Blade, and eventually stopped moving.
Coating her fangs with Blaze Light Blade was a bold move.
If she had miscalculated even slightly, her mouth would have been in serious trouble.
However, this is the first time Ocean Howl Grand has been defeated, and its rank is beneficial to us.
Unfortunately, the Ocean Howl Grand that Athena defeated was female, so it has no mane.
Well, it’s unavoidable since males don’t always evolve into Anomalous or Catastrophe Species.
Ah, and there were two male Abyss Falls and one female.
By the way, the manes of Leo Species are often twisted together to be used as strong thread.
Flamn, who aspires to be a seamstress, happily told me this.
It’s a shame Ocean Howl Grand was female, but that’s how it is.
