The Scarlet Grand Canyon, Improbable Black Fortress
“GURAAAHHH—!”
“Calm down, Boga! It’s just a scratch!”
The rider’s voice reached no one as the frenzied Rock Dragon charged forward. Its destination was the gate of the Black Fortress, guarded by Gerard and Sabato. With a agility unimaginable for its massive size, it rapidly closed the distance.
“Hmm, it seems the attacks from Rion and the others have enraged it. It’s lost its composure. No, perhaps Alex’s sword took some of its five senses…”
“Lord Gerard, it’s good you’re composed, but the enemy is right there!”
“It seems that strange light wasn’t effective either, so it’s up to us, right? Sorry, but we don’t have any fancy long-range attacks beyond that!”
“Indeed…”
Golems unleashed a concentrated barrage of Gatling Gun fire upon the Rock Dragon, but there was no sign that the enraged dragon would stop. Its rider, too, seemed to have given up on controlling it and resolved to charge forward, using the dragon’s armor as a shield. As Sabato and Aggas moved into an interception formation, Gerard stepped forward, his greatsword slung over his shoulder.
“Cease fire, defensive formation!”
At Gerard’s command, the Golems moved in unison. The anti-air bombardment unit attacking the dragon from above continued firing their Gatling Guns as they retreated, while the Golems who had ceased ground bombardment lined up horizontally in front of them, storing their Gatling Guns on their backs, and raised their spears with both hands. The transition was terrifyingly mechanical, and not a single one of them messed up the formation.
“Are… are we going to intercept with this?”
“No, this is more to prevent other dragons from getting through. As long as that big one is here, artillery fire is pointless. Well, Efil and Rion have mostly dealt with the ground forces, so it’s probably an unnecessary worry.”
“Wait a minute! Rather than worrying about others, let’s focus on the Rock Dragon! It’s almost here!?”
“Don’t rush on the battlefield. I will stop it. While you have an opening, you will take down the rider.”
Gerard, having finished his walk, thrust his battleship-like Black Shield into the ground and sank deeply into a crouch. He stood alone in front of the Golem formation, preparing to intercept.
“That’s reckless…”
“Hey, as Lord Gerard instructed, we’ll aim for the dragon rider.”
“Yeah… Are… are you sure about this?”
“Seeing the fighting spirit emanating from Lord Gerard, I understand. He too is a power far beyond ours. There’s no point in us, who are inferior in skill, worrying about him.”
“Un-understood.”
“Enough idle chatter, it’s coming.”
Guin resolved himself and faced forward. Ten meters ahead of Gerard, who stood at the front, was the aggressive form of the Rock Dragon. Close enough, its expression was clearly visible. It was charging towards them in a forward-leaning posture, so its exact length couldn’t be measured, but it was large enough to easily clear ordinary castle walls. Its entire body was covered in rugged rock armor, and the patterns of overlapping grays were so distorted that he hadn’t noticed it until now, but upon closer inspection, he could see wing-like appendages on its forelegs. The unpleasant thought that it might be able to fly crossed his mind, but he tried not to dwell on it for now. Its powerful legs supported its massive body, and he could feel that its agility stemmed from this leg strength. Even a simple head-on collision could be fatal from the Rock Dragon.
In summary, it was large, heavy, and fast.
(No way, this is impossible!)
Guin’s spirit broke sooner than expected. Just as he turned his back to flee, a tremor and shockwave struck everyone. Gerard and the Rock Dragon Boga had collided.
“Guh…!”
“Even though we’re this far away…!”
“Abeshi!”
Sabato, who felt the impact, endured the shock and tried to burn the terrifying sight into his memory. Guin, who had fallen face-first, likely couldn’t comprehend what had happened. Goma and two companion adventurers supported each other, while Aggas thrust his sword into the ground, offering heartfelt praise from his heart.
“Grrraaaal…!”
“Im-impossible… It stopped Boga’s suicidal attack!?”
Gerard’s battleship Black Shield groaned, and the Rock Dragon, headfirst into the impact, moaned. The feet of both combatants tore fissures in the dried-out ground, threatening to collapse at any moment. This standoff continued for a few seconds, but the Rock Dragon began to retreat, step by step. Gerard was pushing back.
“Hmph!”
“Wha!?”
Seeing this opening, Gerard launched an uppercut towards the Rock Dragon’s chin. The blow, delivered through the shield, struck its chin precisely, lifting its massive body slightly into the air. Boga had never imagined being matched, let alone easily surpassed, in strength. The same was true for its rider, the Battalion Commander, as ripples of unease and agitation spread through him.
“You’re far too exposed… Overestimating your physical body is also a problem.”
Gerard, unfazed, grabbed Boga’s raised head. He had removed his battleship Black Shield and, without anyone noticing, freed his left hand. Boga’s head, firmly gripped, was slammed into the ground. The path of the already strained Scarlet Grand Canyon collapsed, taking Boga’s massive body with it. Fortunately, it seemed the canyon walls on either side were unaffected, but a large hole was created at the edge of the path.
“Here you go, Lord Sabato.”
“Ah… ah…”
Called by Gerard, who was holding down the Rock Dragon’s head, Sabato and his companions snapped back to reality. That’s right, they weren’t just spectators. Sabato had his own role to play.
“Sabato! Here I come!”
“Tch! I always tell you not to go ahead of me!”
Followed by Goma, who moved the fastest, Sabato, Aggas, and the others also invaded the hole. Their target was the enemy commander hiding in the shadows of the Rock Dragon’s prominent scales.
“That’s Goma and Sabato from Gaun! This is bad, Boga, can you break free!?”
“Grrurrrrrraaaa—!”
Boga, whose head was being pressed down with a creaking sound, ignored the pain and mustered all its strength to try and rise. However, its upper body, pinned by Gerard, remained completely still, showing no sign of breaking free. In contrast to the frustrated Battalion Commander and the Rock Dragon, Gerard showed no sign of sweating, which only intensified their impatience.
“Graaagah—!”
“Oh…”
Suddenly, the Rock Dragon began to dig into the ground with its claws. For some reason, its head, which should have been held down, was sinking into the surface of the hole.
“It’s the ‘Earth Dive’ skill. Quite versatile for its appearance.”
“That’s right, Boga! Drag him in with you! This is your territory!”
“I won’t let you escape.”
The male and female voices could be heard by the Battalion Commander’s ears.
“Wh—… You should still be out of range—”
Sabato’s sword pierced, and Goma’s fist caved in his left chest.
“Don’t misjudge. That distance is already within combat range.”
“Still, we got something out of it. Excluding the dragon, the commander-class has the strength of a B-Rank adventurer— We can contribute if it’s just against soldiers.”
For Sabato and the others, who possessed top-level strength as Beastmen, agility, especially explosive power, was their greatest weapon. When they fought seriously, they possessed a strength befitting an A-Rank. However, recently, their comparison targets had been somewhat… peculiar.
“Uoooh!”
The Battalion Commander was eliminated, but the Rock Dragon was still alive. Boga was shaking its massive body, trying to dive underground, so Sabato and the others were on the verge of being thrown off.
“So, what now? Honestly, I don’t think we can damage this thing.”
Sabato repeatedly stabbed with his sword, but the rock armor was unyielding. The layers of armor seemed quite thick, and the gaps in its joints were the same.
(Hmm, the King said to avoid killing ancient dragons as much as possible…)
“Hey, stop it.”
“Grrrauaaah—!”
He applied more force into his hands, trying to hold back the Rock Dragon, but there was no change. Meanwhile, one-third of Boga’s body was already buried underground.
“Are you listening? If you don’t stop, I’ll have to kill you—”
The Rock Dragon’s lower body was completely submerged. If it escaped underground, it might head towards Pars. Gerard issued a final warning.
“—Stop it.”
“!? ”
It was a clear killing intent. He pressed his jet-black greatsword against the dragon’s neck and dug his fingers into its head armor with enough force to sink them in. If it resisted any further, he would kill it here. The danger signal was irrepressibly poured into Boga’s rage-clouded reason. What followed was nothing but awe. A palpable tremble ran through its armor, and the Rock Dragon felt fear for the first time in its life.
“D-Did it stop?”
“I felt something cold down my spine…”
“You’d best remember that feeling. It’s necessary for survival.”
As they closely watched Gerard slowly pull the now-powerless Rock Dragon from the ground, Sabato and his companions tried to process their indescribable feelings.
