Chapter 1006
As Leeha thought about the dragon who seemed most deeply regretful, he began to speak.
“Shouldn’t we give a gift to Zelreja-nim later?”
“I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I didn’t expect Zelreja-nim to react that way either.”
It was quite clear that her anger stemmed entirely from disappointment. In times when genuine voices were vanishing from concern for others, Leeha found her response genuinely endearing.
“You know what I mean. Could it be that Zelreja-nim actually likes Blaugrunn-ssi?”
He wanted to tease him a little.
“Wha— What are you talking about? Zelreja-nim was already much older than me back when I was still at the juvenile class.”
“Blaugrunn-ssi, you are unexpectedly conservative, aren’t you? There are so many older woman-younger man couples these days!”
“Uh, well— I don’t think that’s the case—
When Leeha pretended to be surprised and exaggeratedly reacted, Blaugrunn was flustered. Leeha burst into laughter as he watched him.
“Puhaha! Ah… Now, this is the Blaugrunn I remember. Right.”
“Yes?”
Blaugrunn had not only gained a calm demeanor and way of speaking but also transformed into a mature individual.
Even his unexpected appearance was shocking, not to mention the overwhelming strength he demonstrated, which created a sense of distance for Leeha.
“Well, the sudden maturity made things a bit uncomfortable. Haha, your flustered demeanor hasn’t changed. It’s just like back when you were in the juvenile class.”
Yet, the smile and the redness of his ears when he was embarrassed remained the same. Reconnecting with those past traits gave Leeha a bizarre sense of reassurance.
Blaugrunn saw Leeha smirking at him and mumbled for a moment but didn’t say anything. Leeha could understand perfectly what he wanted to say just from his shy smile.
After a brief awkward silence, Blaugrunn revisited the serious topic at hand.
“Do you have a plan? Fulfilling all three conditions promised to the red dragons while eliminating the Black Dragons will not be easy.”
There was no time to waste with laughter. They had to eliminate the top three currently identified on the side of the Chromatic Dragons under challenging conditions.
Furthermore, taking the journey to Laputa into account meant they had a deadline, making the task far from simple.
Leeha was considering this issue as well. A bit of luck came in the form of helpful information from the Red Dragons, given the unfortunate circumstances.
“Hmm… That’s correct. Still, since we’ve learned a few things, we have no choice but to make it work in our favor. Blaugrunn-ssi, are you managing your mana well?”
Leeha asked while scratching his head. Blaugrunn tilted his head curiously.
“What kind of… mana are you referring to?”
“That is— like this feeling—
Leeha laid out the plans he had formulated in his mind. Blaugrunn was left with his mouth agape from hearing them.
“It seems… possible, but…”
“Then let’s proceed without delay. As Blaugrunn-ssi mentioned, we’re strapped for time.”
Leeha unfurled a map. After confirming the coordinates, Blaugrunn soon teleported with Leeha.
* * *
“Alright, let’s maintain the formation. We’re about to enter his realm soon… Let’s all be thoroughly prepared.”
“Phew… But isn’t this madness? Is it even possible, I wonder.”
“Shh, I won’t entertain such complaints. Above all, according to the plan, we should be arriving soon…”
A group of people walked through a forest densely populated with coniferous trees. Though their weapons varied, they all wore a unified attire.
A Black cloak complemented by a Black mask that concealed half the face.
Anyone could tell that this was a group assembled with a singular purpose.
“The Guardians are emerging.”
Woooorrrr!
As soon as the leading man’s words concluded, a thunderous roar echoed. They were in a high-altitude area and knew exactly where they were, allowing them to promptly prepare for what was to come.
“Everyone, get ready! Pattern 1, we will engage the Sham Bigfoot and the Armored Ogre group first!”
“Kyaaaah―!”
“One o’clock direction! On the trees, siam Bigfoot!”
A massive shadow loomed from the tall trees. The grotesque monster, with two bodies awkwardly attached to one head, was reminiscent of a chimera, yet it was a lifeform of a different caliber compared to the artificial chimera.
“Shoot!”
The Sham Bigfoot attempted to attack the humans by swiftly moving through the trees, utilizing its multiple limbs to grip branches, but the users were quicker in their response.
The ranged attackers unleashed a barrage of attacks at the Sham Bigfoot indiscriminately.
Thud― thud― thud― thud―!
Amid the distraction of the Sham Bigfoot moving through the trees, a tremor arose close to them.
“The Armored Ogre group is also approaching! Detecting the stump!”
It was a horde of heavily armored ogres that reduced the target’s defense with their stomping skill!
“Eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock directions! At least ten of them!”
“We can fight them! Mages, start casting immediately! Fire right away!”
“Whoooarrrr―!”
“Fight onnnnnn!”
As the Armored Ogre horde charged forward, the fast-moving Sham Bigfoot also began targeting the healers, mages, and other support units in the rear.
The battle was intense. The users were relatively well-coordinated, but the monsters were continuously reinforced from all sides.
For each one they managed to take down, three or four more emerged, making it exceedingly difficult to break through their ranks.
“We need to go, just a bit more! A little further!”
“There are stragglers! If we keep going―”
“We can’t! If we try to save them, we’ll all be annihilated. We have to leave them behind if necessary!”
It was not merely about confronting monsters but breaking through the encirclement they created to reach somewhere else, which exacerbated their losses.
Emerging from the coniferous forest, they reached a hilly area. The once-dense trees had considerably thinned out, yet it still resembled the heart of a mountainous region.
Their numbers, which had been over thirty, had now dwindled to less than half.
“We are at the starting point of Pattern 2! From now on, the Mountain Basilisk will appear! If it joins with the Pattern 1 Guardians, we can’t take them down! Especially with our current numbers―”
“Hoo, we must accomplish this!”
“On the verge of death, saying that is―”
“―It’s astonishing. What exactly are you all?”
Whoooosh!
At the moment when the users were shouting out of desperation, a violet-hued burst of light flashed beside them.
There stood an elderly woman with tightly tied Black hair. The users turned to her with astonished eyes. Yet, she looked at the users with an equally perplexed expression.
“You, you are―”
“It’s quite curious. Why? Why have you come here?”
“What do you mean!”
The man leading the users shouted, but the old woman didn’t answer. With a single snap of her fingers, a vast spatial barrier materialized around her.
“No, you can ask that slowly. You cannot escape. It doesn’t even seem like you intended to run from the start.”
“That’s right. We won’t run away!”
“…… That’s exactly what makes it interesting. You don’t have the skills to even break through the first line of defense set by my guardians. Yet, why have you come here, ready to face death?”
The old woman stared, her eyes wide. The users hesitated momentarily, unable to respond.
At that moment, the appearance of the old woman changed.
─────────────…….
After a blinding light exploded, only a fierce dragon with four wings remained, flapping vigorously in the space.
『You knew this was part of my lair, halveti’s domain……. and yet you came to throw away your lives without even the strength to penetrate it! What are your true identities!』
Harveti, the top-ranked Black Dragon, roared fiercely.
Some users, directly hit by the dragon’s roar skill, collapsed, no longer having the strength to stand.
“We, we came to kill you, ha, halveti.”
Only the male user standing at the front managed to shout at the dragon, though the strength in his voice was lacking.
Harveti looked at him briefly, then turned her gaze around. Her eyes were sharp as if inspecting or confirming something.
『So, this place……. You plan to target me with a long-range attack. But no, such tricks won’t work before me, who can even detect the mana of ants……. What were you thinking? Are you truly just a gathering of humans who want to commit suicide?』
Harveti murmured softly. The bizarre situation piqued her curiosity, but as the top-ranked Black Dragon, she wasn’t foolish.
『But it’s a foolish deed. 〈Absolute Barrier〉, 〈Magic Mirror Cloud〉, 〈Black Dragon Scale〉.』
She immediately covered her body with a barrier, strengthened her scales, and spread Black clouds around.
The users felt a greater fear from Harveti, who seemed to merge with the clouds.
『Fine, now I’ll make you reveal the truth. I’ll show you how weak your resolve is to protect whatever it is you came for.』
Harveti, having set up sufficient defenses, descended gradually toward the users. Just before the airborne dragon approached the leading user,
A loud roar echoed in the distance.
『Hmm?』
The roar was heard. Harveti turned her head towards the sound. The cloud’s form allowed those inside to see out, even though nothing could be seen from the outside, so Harveti and the users understood what was happening.
Approaching from outside the cloud towards them was clearly a dragon.
Harveti’s eyes widened.
『…… A dragon— no, no, that is!?』
Flying towards Harveti was another Black Dragon, Seoryu, the grandson of Onyx.
* * *
Harveti’s eyes widened not just from surprise.
『Seoryu! How dare you enter my lair! Don’t you know how disrespectful it is to enter without prior notice—』
『ROOAAARRR—!』
『—You dare! Even though Onyx and I are of the same rank, you behave so arrogantly!』
It was anger. The indignation she felt at the audacious, blood-red dragon roaring and flying towards her made her expression contort with fury.
Harveti was about to fly out of the barrier she had created but then stopped abruptly.
『…… I see. You lot are bait created by Seoryu to lure me out here—no, you risked death to come here with Seoryu to attack me.』
A Black Dragon as suspicious as Harveti would not act recklessly. It made sense to assume there was a connection between the humans who came here at the risk of death and the sudden appearance of the bold family member.
『Seoryu alone cannot handle me. Adding a few bug-like entities to their side won’t change a thing. So, there must be something more…… but whatever trick you’ve concocted, all I need to do is not move from here. Did you think I’d fall into your trap?』