Chapter 86: Operation to Annihilate the Sea Dragon

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Translator: Soafp

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He was intelligent.

Even an ordinary wyvern possessed the intelligence of about a five-year-old human child, but among them he was an especially clever dragon.

Obeying the Demon King's orders, he attacked Klaus Port in the Kingdom of Kishirika.

After that, in order to eliminate the knights hiding in the nearby forest, he periodically dropped rocks from the sky.

But one morning—

At daybreak, just as he took off from the back of the sea dragon to lead the other wyverns in dropping rocks on the forest as usual—

(…A group of humans… is fighting wyverns…?)

On the plain between the forest and Klaus Port were several wyverns, surrounded and attacked by a group of armed humans.

Strange.

Since he kept track of every wyvern, the presence of wyverns he did not recognize made him suspicious.

However, the others did not question it.

(Our kin are being attacked!! We must save them!!)

(—Wait—)

Wyverns could communicate by placing their thoughts into their magic.

That ability was precisely why, even in flocks numbering in the hundreds, they could maintain such precise coordination—and why they were so troublesome.

His comrades dropped rocks onto the human group to rescue their brethren on the ground.

(…Something's wrong.)

The human group was crushed by the rocks and died.

And yet, he felt an indescribable sense of discomfort and tilted his long neck.

Something was off.

(…We land.)

(Boss, what's wrong?)

(That group of humans… something about them was strange… I want to confirm it… Half of you stay in the air, the rest follow me.)

(…Understood… We follow the boss.)

Several of his companions descended to the ground with their leader.

Abandoning the advantage of the sky did not please them, but he acted without hesitation.

(!!)

In conclusion, his judgment had been correct.

Despite the attack, the human group was unnaturally silent. As he approached, he doubted his own eyes.

They were not even people.

No— even the “wyverns” that had been attacked by the humans were not their kin.

They were all scarecrows carved from wood, merely wearing armor and helmets made of stone.

(…All scarecrows… why?)

His mind raced at full speed.

It was his misfortune that, being so intelligent, he realized the enemy's intent.

(—This is a decoy!!)

(…What is a decoy?)

(A decoy to avoid our rock attacks!!)

At that moment—

“Magic unit!! Target: wyverns!! Let out all the frustration you've built up until yesterday!! Fire!!”

“Burst Lightning!!”

Countless explosive bolts of lightning flew from the forest.

His comrades were struck head-on, wounded, and the stench of scorched flesh filled the air.

Having already dropped all their rocks, the wyverns' only means of attack were biting with their fangs or slashing with their claws.

(Boss!! It's dangerous!!)

(—No!! Don't come down from the sky!!)

The comrades waiting above ignored him and descended.

Then they charged straight into the forest.

Their aim was to bite apart the human mages hiding there—

But they were unexpectedly obstructed.

“Knight unit, forward!! Hold the wyverns back with sheer spirit!! Don't let them get near the mages!!”

The knights blocked the wyverns.

The front line raised their shields, while the rear thrust long spears through the gaps into the wyverns.

Writhing in pain, the wyverns rampaged.

“Eek!! Scary!! Wyverns are terrifying!!”

“It's fine! Even if you're injured, Gina-sama will heal you!!”

“No way, this is too much!! This won't end with just injuries!!”

“If you die, Gina-sama might watch over your final moments!! Lucky you!!”

“Damn it!! I should've become a mage instead of a knight!!”

Wyverns did not understand human language.

But from their expressions and gestures he could grasp their general emotions.

The humans were not in despair before the overwhelmingly powerful wyverns— they seemed to hold some kind of hope.

(Strange… from this group of humans… I don't feel the will to annihilate us… This isn't a strategy to strike us down here…?)

He realized it a moment too late.

About an hour into the battle, when the situation had reached a stalemate—

A thunderous explosion roared from the direction of the sea.

(What was that sound…?!)

Leaving the knights and mages to his comrades, he ran across the plain and took to the sky to confirm it.

What he saw there—

(The sea dragons!!)

At a glance, a sea dragon looked like a turtle-type monster.

But its body length easily exceeded one hundred meters, and the largest reached two hundred.

They looked like floating islands— living fortresses upon the sea.

But those living fortresses were pierced through their shells by violet lightning falling from the sky, and in the blink of an eye they died one after another.

He understood instantly.

(The humans' goal was the annihilation of the sea dragons— to steal our runway!!)

The sea dragons were dead.

There was no longer any place at sea to rest their wings, and if they landed on the plain they would be perfect targets for the mages.

The word “annihilation” floated in his mind.

(…Should we surrender…? No. We don't understand human language. Humans don't understand ours.)

For a brief moment he considered begging for his life, but it was unrealistic.

Then there was only one thing left for him to do.

(Kill the human who killed the sea dragons!!)

He memorized the magic of the human who had annihilated the sea dragons, spread his own magic over a wide area like a radar, and searched for the target.

Then he found it.

He beat his wings, reinforced his entire body with magic, and closed in on the target at subsonic speed.

“Eh? Kya!?”

He raised his claws toward the girl—who had sunk all the sea dragons yet let out a scream appropriate for her age.

Certain of his kill.

(Got her!!)

“Such bad manners for a dragon. Take a lesson from my Kutama—here, sit.”

(Eh?)

In the next instant, a fist slammed into the top of his head.

His scales shattered in a single blow, and a concussion made his vision spin.

(A fist…? With just a fist… my scales…? What power…)

His consciousness fell into darkness.

As he burned into his eyes the image of the boy who had shattered scales even the Demon King could not break.

Holding feelings of admiration and respect in his heart…

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“Th-thank you very much, Ask-sama.”

“Not at all. More importantly, can you eat wyvern?”

“Eh? I-I wonder…”

Christina was flustered.

A black wyvern had approached while she was off guard after annihilating the sea dragons.

Just as she was about to be struck, Ask cut in and saved her.

(Wh-what is this pounding in my chest…? No, I have No-Face-sama!! Besides, Ask-sama is Victoria's fiancé!!)

Christina did not know.

That the boy was the very man she longed for—

she still did not know.