We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Earth Dragons and Wyverns.
A sudden swarm of Earth Dragons charged forward. I rode on the back of the exceptionally large Earth Dragon leading the pack.
Not only Ruiseine and Laira, but even formidable warriors like Zan were stunned and looked up at me.
“Now, now, everyone, don’t let your guard down. The Wyverns are attacking!”
My warning snapped the warriors back to reality, and they quickly re-established a barrier around the injured.
However, the warriors’ barrier was no longer of any use.
The Earth Dragons that arrived at the scene of the attack let out a war cry. They stomped the ground with their feet and tails, unleashing Dragon Arts with immense Dragon Energy.
The ground shook like an earthquake.
Innumerable sharp, pointed rock needles shot up from the earth, targeting the Wyverns that were diving down. The Wyverns that couldn’t evade were impaled.
Furthermore, Wyverns that narrowly dodged were attacked by a sandstorm.
Swallowed by the raging sand, the Wyverns were ground into pieces by the large and small rocks kicked up from the ground, perishing in a shower of flesh.
It was an overwhelming display of power. This is the strength of the Dragon Race.
The Earth Dragons, having annihilated the Wyverns in the blink of an eye, let out a triumphant roar.
A low, earth-rumbling sound spread throughout the treacherous forest.
“Um, it’s good that you’re celebrating your victory, but if you could also extinguish the forest fire, I’d be grateful?”
“Hmph, what a tedious fellow. Rejoice when it’s time to rejoice.”
Even as they said this, the Earth Dragons struck the ground with their incredibly thick tails, causing it to undulate like they were creating a path, and the burning trees of the forest sank into the earth.
The escorting warriors, who had been closely observing me and the Earth Dragons, seemed to judge that the forest fire was now manageable. The presence of Zan and other skilled warriors disappeared.
However, they hadn’t resumed their trial. They had gone to deal with another matter that had been present since the Wyvern attack.
The burning forest extinguished, leaving a wide space in the treacherous forest devoid of even a single blade of grass.
The Earth Dragons, confirming the fire was out, roared in triumph once more.
“Thank you.”
As I expressed my gratitude, the Earth Dragons showed expressions that were not entirely displeased.
“Wyverns are our sworn enemies. Though they were cursed and controlled, it’s delightful to have slain so many Wyverns at once.”
The Earth Dragons laughed heartily. But to others who lacked Dragon Hearts, the Earth Dragons’ rumbling sounds seemed frightening.
The Dragon Race people, who had gathered for treatment and defense, visibly grimaced.
“As expected of Elnea-sama!”
Laira, on the ground, looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
I thanked them again and dismounted from the Earth Dragon’s back.
“Amazing, amazing!”
“So cool!”
Now, now, you young girls over there. It’s not okay to jump onto the Earth Dragon’s back to dance around just because I’ve gotten off.
Priscilla-chan, who had leaped onto the Earth Dragon’s back via Spatial Jump, and Ares-chan, who had reappeared, were playfully dancing.
However, perhaps the Earth Dragons were inherently gentle, or perhaps Priscilla-chan’s fearsome power was exerted. Even with two children on their backs, the Earth Dragons showed no signs of concern.
After the emergency treatment for the severely injured was complete, I offered words of encouragement to Ruiseine, who was slumped on the ground.
Although her complexion was poor, Ruiseine managed a smile through her sweat, which streamed down her face like large beads.
“Is this the power of a Dragon King?”
“Not just one Earth Dragon, but an entire swarm obeyed you.”
“Compared to this, how pathetic we are.”
The Dragon Race warrior candidates, who had been injured and were just a burden, hung their heads.
“That’s not true. I just happened to be able to use my Dragon Heart, and the Earth Dragons were kind.”
“Having a Dragon Heart is amazing in itself.”
“Just having a Dragon Heart isn’t enough to make Earth Dragons obey.”
I tried to explain, but it seemed I had dug myself into a deeper hole. The warrior candidates grew even more dejected by their own perceived inadequacy.
“That was a magnificent battle. I don’t believe there’s another swordsman as skilled as you among the Dragon Race.”
“Perhaps you’re even more amazing than Wol-sama.”
I blushed at the praise from the skilled warriors who remained.
Personally, I felt I was far from perfect in my battles against the black-armored magic swordsman. However, perhaps I looked more accomplished than I felt from an outsider’s perspective.
“More than just accomplished, nya.”
Nimia, who had been on Priscilla-chan’s head, moved to hover over mine.
The Earth Dragon glanced at Nimia with interest for a moment.
“Elnea Older Brother surpassed the defense that Mist, Laira, and I couldn’t break, all by himself, nya.”
“No, no. That magic swordsman was different. Besides, back then I was trying to capture him alive, so Mistral was going easy on him.”
As I clarified Nimia’s misunderstanding, I scanned the surroundings, wondering what had happened to the corpse of the magic swordsman I had defeated earlier. The trees of the burning forest had sunk into the ground, but the corpses of the black-armored magic swordsman and the Wyverns remained on the surface.
“It would be wise to ascertain what manner of being this corpse belongs to.”
The Earth Dragon, noticing my gaze, spoke.
That’s right. By examining the corpse, we might learn something. At the very least, the Dragon Race should be able to determine the black-armored man’s race through an autopsy.
I was grateful for the Earth Dragon’s thoughtfulness.
Priscilla-chan and Ares-chan played on the Earth Dragon’s back. Ruiseine, utterly exhausted, was being diligently assisted by Laira by her side. The Dragon Race people, though slightly unnerved by the swarm of Earth Dragons, were relieved that the Wyvern attack was over.
Just as everyone except the Earth Dragons, myself, and the remaining skilled warriors breathed a sigh of relief.
A sporadic burst of combat sound echoed from a distance.
The warriors who had let their guard down tensed up.
“It seems there was some trouble.”
“That confirms it.”
“Hmph, they picked the wrong opponent.”
The remaining skilled warriors seemed to understand what was happening. I did too.
In fact, ever since the Wyvern attack, there had been an unsettling presence.
Someone, who had skillfully concealed their presence, was watching us. And the Wyverns had not attacked this observer.
The observer was not as adept at concealing their presence as Zan and the others. Therefore, they should have been detected by the Wyverns in the sky. Yet, they were not attacked.
It’s suspicious, isn’t it?
And Zan and the others had noticed this observer and were on guard against them simultaneously with the Wyverns.
Perhaps if they had focused solely on the sky, they might have been able to drive away, if not defeat, the Wyverns, who were moving sluggishly due to being controlled.
However, if they were focused on the Wyverns in the sky and the observer interfered somehow, they could have been caught off guard.
That’s why Zan and his group focused on defense, and I was assigned to the mobile unit.
Does this mean I’m trusted?
“That’s right, nya. You’re a splendid warrior, nya.”
Nimia’s praise made me a little happy.
While I was feeling shy, the sporadic combat quickly subsided. We waited, and then Zan and the others returned from the depths of the still-smoldering forest.
They were carrying people on both shoulders.
“Souvenirs.”
With those words, Zan carelessly tossed the people they were carrying onto the ground.
However, the carried individuals seemed to have completely lost consciousness, as they only moaned and did not get up.
“Zan, who are these people?”
The people who were dropped on the ground, unconscious, totaled six. As I looked at their faces, I gasped.
There were familiar faces.
The question I had asked myself sounded foolish.
Just by looking, even I, a human, could tell who they were.
“These are the Dragon Race people who caused trouble for us on our way down the mountain.”
Laira, who had approached me, gasped in the same way I did.
“What!?”
“What do you mean!?”
Those who were relatively lightly injured and could move began to gather around us.
“Why are these guys here?”
“Didn’t we part ways with these people at the foothills?”
“Yeah. They’re from the northwestern tribe. Their direction is different from ours.”
“Then, why on earth…?”
The warrior candidates’ doubts were shared by everyone.
“We don’t know, so we captured them alive.”
Saying this, Zan kicked the abdomen of a man of average build lying at his feet.
The man groaned in pain.
“Get up.”
Zan delivered two more kicks. That’s a rather rough way to wake someone up.
Perhaps feeling the kicks to his abdomen, the man’s eyelids fluttered, and he regained consciousness.
At that moment, Zan stepped on the man’s neck, immobilizing him.
Slowly, the man opened his eyes, recognized his surroundings, and turned deathly pale. He tried to struggle, but Zan’s foot on his neck prevented him from moving.
The man looked up fearfully at Zan, who was stepping on him.
“You understand the situation.”
The man nodded with his eyes at Zan’s cold gaze.
“We want to know your purpose.”
“Wha- what are you talking about?”
The man seemed to have difficulty speaking with his neck being stepped on, but Zan showed no sign of removing his foot.
“Why were you monitoring us?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about… GUAHH!”
As the man tried to feign ignorance, Zan applied pressure to his foot. The man screamed in pain as his foot dug into his neck.
“I’ll ask again. Why were you monitoring us?”
“I-it must have been your imagination. We were merely watching over the warrior candidates.”
“Lies. Your tribe isn’t from this direction.”
“Th-that’s right. But the candidates got lost.”
“Oh? If they got lost, do you go around secretly monitoring and chasing other tribes’ candidates?”
“I don’t know. Ask the candidates about that. I was just watching over them.”
The man Zan was stepping on was a guardian warrior. He stubbornly insisted he was just watching, making it impossible to get a straight answer.
Zan sighed, realizing he had chosen the wrong person to question.
He delivered a powerful kick, knocking the man unconscious again.
This time, instead of the guardian, he kicked up a warrior candidate in a similar manner as before.
This is not something for children to see, I thought, and looked for Priscilla-chan. The Earth Dragon, sensing my intention, kindly positioned itself as a barrier to block Priscilla-chan’s view.
Priscilla-chan was still playing with Ares-chan. Ares-chan also understood my intention and kept Priscilla-chan occupied so she wouldn’t notice what was happening.
“Hey, why were you sticking to us while hiding your presence?”
The next man Zan woke up was the one who had first provoked us. He was a sturdy young man, but he grew pale under Zan’s intimidating aura.
“Tell us the truth, or I’ll kill you.”
“H-hi!”
Zan placed his foot on the young man’s neck, quietly threatening him as he had done with the other man.
“W-we got lost…”
It seemed they had coordinated their story to “got lost.”
Zan let out a truly disappointed sigh and made sparks fly from his foot.
“I told you. If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll kill you.”
Saying this, Zan enveloped his foot in flames and crushed the young man’s neck.
“W-wait!!”
However, at the last moment. The movement of Zan’s foot stopped due to the young man’s scream. Simultaneously, the flames surrounding Zan’s foot extinguished.
But a part of the young man’s neck had already blackened and been scorched.
“I-I’ll talk. So please don’t kill me!”
The young man, with tears in his eyes and a desperate expression, looked up at Zan.
“You get one more chance. If you lie again, I won’t show any mercy.”
Zan’s gaze was so cold it sent shivers down the spines of those watching.
“W-we were ordered by our village warriors to monitor other tribes.”
“Why?”
“I-I don’t know… It’s true!”
The young man panicked as Zan’s foot applied slightly more pressure.
“B-but. The warriors seemed to be planning something. However, others in the village are not privy to it. So, as I’m not yet a warrior, I don’t know.”
There was no lie in the words of the young man, who explained desperately with wide eyes. Zan seemed to sense this too and appeared to be deep in thought, wondering what to do.
“Hey, do you recognize this man?”
At that moment, another warrior removed the helmet of the black-armored man I had defeated and held it up for the young man to see.
“Hii!”
The young man’s face contorted with a grimace as he saw the corpse of the black-armored man.
“Oh, you seem to know him.”
The warrior smirked and rolled the corpse in front of the young man.
Um, warriors, even if the other party is a bad guy, aren’t you treating him too roughly?
While I was simply taken aback, Ruiseine and Laira were completely averting their eyes, choosing not to get involved.
“Tell us everything you know. Otherwise, Zan really won’t show any mercy.”
The warrior who brought the black-armored man’s corpse crouched beside the young man and threatened him, saying that Zan’s ruthlessness was well-known among the warriors.
“Th-this person is…”
The young man, his face contorted, managed to utter a few words.
“This is a warrior from a village in the west, about whom there was talk of a Demon Race attack recently.”
“What!?”
To my unexpected answer, I was surprised and looked at Zan. Zan and the other warrior were also surprised and exchanged glances.
“I-it’s not a lie, and I’m not mistaken. I know this person. He often came to our village. This is Biger, the axe wielder!”
The young man’s words, full of conviction, sent a shockwave through us.
