“You’re pathetic. You can’t even keep the rhythm.”
When a girl calls you pathetic, it hits a boy in many ways. There are times when I wish they understood men a little better, but I can’t get used to it.
“The enemy’s second wave is finished. Shall we go reinforce the Second Army?”
I dislike Yuma Bashar, but I worry about my brigade members. It would be a shame if Christine went on a suicide charge and got wiped out.
“Let’s go. Are you ready? We’re going at Godspeed.”
Rufina, still with Rossa out, we ran. The Demon Army, attacking in a clinging manner towards the Second Army, was reduced in number by the brigade’s flanking attack.
“Let’s finish this before the second wave arrives.”
With three people and one reinforcement, they joined the Second Army, and the Demon Army began to crumble. The sight of limbs being sliced off and the entire bodies disintegrating was still within the realm of splatter, not gore.
“Woooah, we did it!”
I wasn’t dismissive of the Second Army, who erupted in joy. My gaze was fixed northward. I had a very bad feeling. Perhaps the Demon Lord himself was coming. If so, I’d annihilate him and end this with a happy ending.
“Something’s coming…”
Priscilla and Alana were also looking north. The ground was too covered in rubble to look down. Looking up at the sky, in the clear blue, something enormous…
“Red Dragon!”
Yes! Fantasy isn’t complete without dragons. Sand Dragons are okay, but they don’t fly, and flinging stones is just dull.
In contrast, a Red Dragon means fire! Flames filled with overflowing rage would burn everything. The dragon of dragons. I could think such thoughts until the knights defending the castle walls were engulfed in flames.
This is bad. How do you shoot down a flying B-52 with a sword?! If you’re fighting a dragon that flies at an altitude and speed magic can’t reach, you need surface-to-air missiles. Where can I buy those?
A common strategy is to buy time by holding out in the castle and waiting for reinforcements. The Ashtal Empire and Keibeck Kingdom would likely send reinforcements, but would they still send them if the city to be protected was gone? One Red Dragon could bring down a city.
“Brigade! Retreat! Run to the camp!”
This is beyond playing with fire or barbecues. It’s like a napalm bomb or a super-giant flamethrower. This is not something humans can handle. How am I supposed to defeat it?
“Damn it! What are we going to do about that?!”
I wish I had anti-air missiles. I want Stingers or Javelins… Ah, I remember something like that!
“Orietta! Do you remember how, a long time ago, a knife flew out of the bed and chased me?!”
Once upon a time, there was a Captain and Rufina. The Captain pushed Rufina onto the bed, and a knife sprang out, following the contours of his body, chasing the fleeing Captain. The end.
“I remember~. I was disappointed I couldn’t skewer the Captain~.”
“What happened to that now?”
“I’ve made improvements~, but it hasn’t yielded good results~.”
She’s such a hard worker, as always. I pray that I’m not the target of her efforts. But, I’ve seen a way! It’s a small light, but it’s all I can rely on now.
I explained my plan and had Sophia, Orietta, Rufina, and Richarda go up to the castle walls. If this doesn’t work, I’ll want to run.
When we returned to camp, I asked Christine to deliver a message to Lady Annelyse and discussed countermeasures against the Red Dragon with Priscilla and Alana.
“Are you sure that will really work?”
“I don’t know. If that doesn’t work, we’ll just have to ambush them while they’re sleeping.”
“That’s your specialty, isn’t it…”
I do not ambush people in their sleep! I don’t think I do, but did I? I’ll do it next time.
Orietta’s self-homing knives, which she used on me before, will be imbued with explosion magic to intercept the Red Dragon.
Of course, that alone won’t defeat the Red Dragon. But it can draw its attention. Even small attacks, if numerous, can be annoying. The Red Dragon should attack Orietta.
There, awaiting it, is “Sophia of Platinum.” With ferocity equal to the Dragon, I’ll have her unleash her Platinum Laser at full power. The target: the Red Dragon’s wings.
Richarda will create a protective wall for the two of them, and Rufina will be given a simple but crucial role. If this fails, we’ll need to call in the US military to win.
“Firing!”
Orietta’s Otherworldly homing projectiles, fired by her, are no match for Sidewinders. Dozens of them were fired in several salvos, with Orietta’s missiles attacking the Red Dragon.
The Red Dragon probably just thought, “What’s this? Is it tasty?” But we’re desperate. Fire it relentlessly until it’s annoying.
The Red Dragon, circling in the sky, appeared to be evading, but it had definitely located the launch point. No matter how small the power, the sound of a mosquito’s wings when you’re trying to sleep is annoying.
“It’s coming straight at us!”
The Red Dragon flew in from the north of the North Gate, heading towards the castle wall where Orietta was. It opened its mouth, preparing to unleash a great flame capable of turning insignificant humans into ash at any moment.
Stupid fool! The strongest mage is there. No one can penetrate Sophia’s full-power laser. The platinum light sparkling atop the castle walls vibrated the air and explosively struck the Red Dragon’s wings, repelling it.
“It’s no good…”
The repelled Platinum Laser sliced through the blue sky. The Red Dragon’s outer hide was too much even for the Platinum Laser. Its mouth twitched into a grin as it entered the phase of firing flames.
Sophia can do it! She’s the only one in this world who can wield such a monstrous weapon as a laser. If she goes all out, she should be able to defeat even a Red Dragon. …So, let’s draw out that all-out effort, at the risk of our lives.
I moved behind Priscilla, slipped my hand into a gap in her armor, and used super-vibration to… squeeze. Priscilla let out a faint, sweet moan.
It absolutely shouldn’t have been audible. It’s too far away, visible or not. But Sophia, shining on the castle wall, emitted an even more brilliant light.
The Platinum Laser, which had been repeatedly deflected, now tore through the dragon’s wings as if being sucked in, and the laser’s path turned towards us.
Godspeed! Mode Three!
The Platinum Laser, creating an explosion of flames, passed over the spot where I had fled carrying Priscilla. It felt like Sophia was saying, “No public displays of affection!”…
The Red Dragon, now wingless, spun uncontrollably and crashed into the ground, gouging the earth. The flames it had begun to spew erupted in a death cry.
“Honestly, such a demanding Captain. ■■■■, Thousand-Year Curse Wood.”
Responding to Rufina’s incantation, writhing large trees appeared. They entwined with the Red Dragon like living creatures, pinning it to the ground.
“It’s stopped moving! Priscilla, Alana, aim for the neck and sever the carotid artery! Godspeed! Mode Three!”
Without waiting for a reply, I ran. Severing carotid arteries is my specialty… or was it being on the receiving end? If the Platinum Laser could pass through, the Sword of Light should also work. I’ll finish off the Red Dragon with a drawn sword imbued with Godspeed and super-vibration. I’ll show off and appease Sophia here!
“Light!”
With a single shout and amplified voice, I slashed at the Red Dragon’s neck, which was pinned to the ground.
It went through! The outer skin tore, revealing pink flesh. The carotid artery was still deep within the flesh, but I’ll cut it again and again until it spurts blood.
Whether it was the pain of its wings being cut or the pain of its neck being cut, the Red Dragon thrashed so violently that it felt like an earthquake as it tried to tear apart Rufina’s Thousand-Year Curse Wood.
Now’s our chance. Trust Rufina’s magic and charge in. My right hand also hurts from the super-vibration. The pink flesh is a bit gruesome. Godspeed! Mode Three!
I swung my sword more than I could possibly comprehend. It couldn’t have been more than three seconds. Just as anxiety threatened to creep in during that condensed time, a thick, bluish-black pipe-like object appeared before my eyes.
The light had vanished, and the Magic Sword Zebra had become the Orietta Sword. Who cares! I channeled all my weight into Mode Two and thrust it in.
Like puncturing a balloon with a needle, the hole in the carotid artery widened further with the blood pressure, and blood gushed out. I fled before I was covered in it.
The blood spray from the Red Dragon dyed the surroundings like a flash flood. This much blood could put out a building fire.
“Hey, you did pretty good, didn’t you?”
Of course. Who do you think I am? The strongest, most terrifying Captain of the White Lily Corps! Bear your respects, heads down! I gave a small V-sign and turned back.
“What about this blood splatter?! And you groped my chest too!”
Please avoid the blood. Thank you for the breasts, I had a good time groping. Priscilla, angry and grabbing my collar while covered in blood, was twice as scary as usual. But I’m okay with splatter.
“Huh? Where’s Alana?”
Wanting to change the subject, I said it, but Alana, who I thought was with us, was gone. Alana, who had twice the concentration and was also twice as easily bored, wasn’t here…
“Let go!”
I wrenched her arm away and ran. Alana lay face-down in a sea of blood.
“Alana!”
Even when I picked her up, she was covered in the blood splatter, and I couldn’t tell where she was injured. Touching her all over, she didn’t seem wounded. Yet, Alana, lacking strength, leaned back and gasped for air.
“Crap, it’s poison. Apparently, dragon’s blood contains poison.”
Priscilla, the Lycanthrope, is immune to poison and food poisoning. My blood is demonic. Alana, an demi-human, is weak to poison.
