NBAA Vol. 8 Chapter 6 Part 3
“Th-This presence… something’s coming, that it is!!”
“What is it, what’s that!!”
“I don’t know that much, but I can’t stop having a bad feeling, that it is!!”
Hanzo’s skill in detecting presences had a wide range, and Ullr seemed to have noticed the approaching presence in advance, and he bared his fangs as he looked around on guard. Gonzo, who was in the cart behind, also got down to the ground with his club in hand, and the other humans followed in a panic.
“An enemy has appeared! Where are they!?”
“Puru-puru…!!”
“First of all, calm down!! That’s not your spear, that’s Suramin!!”
Mina, half asleep, mistook Suramin for her own spear and stretched it until it was cylindrical, and Shizune handed it to her in amazement.
The spear Mina was currently using was a keepsake from her father, and the spear she originally used was never found.
“…I’m sleepy, hurry up and finish it.”
“Well, at night I can show the true value of my shadow magic… I’ll restrain whoever the opponent is!!”
“You’re reliable. But there are only a limited number of monsters living in this wilderness…”
Shizune broke out into a cold sweat as she remembered the name of the approaching monster, and Reito also remembered what she had heard from her when he first visited the Rudri Wilderness, and had a bad feeling.
A few seconds later, his premonition became reality, and the face of a giant creature emerged from the ground with a rumbling sound.
“AAAAAHHHH…!!”
The first thing to appear was the head of a giant dragon, and a giant creature split the ground and appeared.
Its appearance was a combination of a dragon and a turtle, its entire body covered in a rock shell like a rock doll. On its back, there was a rocky protrusion reminiscent of a turtle’s shell. The monster stood before Reito and the others, with short limbs and a distinctive large jaw.
“I-It-it, it’s an Earth Dragon!”
“This guy…!”
“Keep your voice down! Earth Dragons are more sensitive to hearing than sight!”
Dain’s screams echoed through the wilderness, and while the other humans were drawn to the creature, which was about seven or eight meters long, Shizune warned.
It was Reito’s first time seeing an Earth Dragon, and although it was small compared to the Rotten Dragon and White Dragon, its intimidating presence was no match for an average monster, and he decided that it was an opponent he couldn’t let his guard down against, so he pulled out his Extermination Blade and Reflection Sword.
“GAAAH!”
“OAAAH!”
When Ullr, who had transformed into a giant wolf, roared threateningly, the Earth Dragon roared just as loud.
Though the sight made Reito feel like he was watching a monster movie, he used Limit Boost to increase his physical abilities, and the other humans were about to get into fighting stances, but Shizune said something unexpected.
“This is a baby Earth Dragon! The parents must be nearby!”
“A baby? At this size?!”
“The parent is even bigger! If the parent shows up, we’ll all be killed!”
“Well, then we have no choice but to run away?”
“That’s impossible! Even as a child, once an Earth Dragon decides its target, it will never give up and will chase after them! So we have no choice but to kill it as quickly as possible!”
“That’s impossible…?”
If they didn’t kill the child before the Earth Dragon’s parent appeared, there’s no way to survive. So Reito, while holding his sword, turns his eyes to the Earth Dragon, wondering how to deal with an opponent that was nearly twice as long as Ullr’s current body, even as a child. He communicated with Airis to learn the detailed ecology and weaknesses of Earth Dragons.
『Airis.』
『Ah… What is it at this time of night? Lack of sleep is bad for your skin.』
『You said you could live without sleep!』
『Hasn’t your tone taken on a bit of that merchant’s? Anyway, you’re facing an incredible opponent.』
When Airis realized that Reito was facing an Earth Dragon, she changed to a serious tone. She decided that this was no time to joke around, and told him the information he wanted.
『Earth Dragons are a species of dragon that specialize in strength and hardness. They can’t use ‘Dragon Breath’ like the White Dragon, but their entire body is made of a special rock shell like a rock doll, so they are difficult to destroy with physical attacks. However, this shell is weak against water and ice. So you can either pour a lot of water on them, or destroy the shell with water-type magic and attack the inside.』
『Water, huh…』
『Why not just freeze it with Shizune’s Four Seasons? If she use the true power of that magic sword, the Earth Dragon will be no match for you.』
『Would my ‘Iceclad Sword’ work?』
『That would be difficult. If you use the ‘Enchantment Boost’ magic to increase its power, you might be able to do something, but it’ll take too long.』
Reito listened to Airis’ advice and cut off the communication. When he turned to tell Shizune to release the power of Four Seasons, she had already pulled out her magic sword and was heading towards the Earth Dragon.
“I have no choice… It’s time to release your power.”
“Shizune-sama?”
“Stand back, if you don’t want to get caught up in this.”
Shizune clutched her Four Seasons, and Reito and the others, sensing her words and spirit, immediately left the scene. The Earth Dragon also seemed to sense something was wrong, and approached Shizune, intending to crush her.
“AAAAHHHH!!”
“It’s no use… Iceclad…”
Shizune held Four Seasons against the approaching Earth Dragon, and cold air surged from the blade. The moment she placed her palm on the blade, it froze, transforming into an ice blade just like Reito’s Iceclad Sword. Gripping the ice blade, Shizune swung the sword down at the Earth Dragon.
“Extreme Cold’!”
“AAAHHHH…?!”
The moment the blade pierced the ground, the ground around Shizune’s feet froze. The Earth Dragon, which was about to crush her, slipped on the icy ground and fell. Furthermore, as she pulled out the blade and raised the sword from below, ice reminiscent of an iceberg appeared from the Earth Dragon’s foothold.
“Take that!”
“AHHHH!”
“It lifted up!”
The Earth Dragon’s body was pushed up by a thorn-like iceberg that emerged from the earth, flipping it over and causing it to collapse.
The Earth Dragon tried to pull itself up by using its limbs like a turtle, but the shell-shaped rock on its back was its nemesis, piercing the frozen ground and preventing it from moving.
“It’s ridiculous… ‘Ice Fang Slash!’”
“Gugah!”
The moment Shizune thrust Four Seasons at the immobile Earth Dragon, a deformed icicle like a beast’s fang was born and slammed into the Earth Dragon’s body.
The Earth Dragon screamed after being hit by the water-element magic attack, and cracks appeared in its shell where the icicle had pierced it, and the sturdy rock shell gradually crumbled away like mud.
After seeing this, Reito also moved to support her, positioning his palm on his Extermination Blade and activating his magic sword.
“’Enchantment Boost’… and ‘IcecladSword’!!”
Reito sent water-element magic power into the magic marks engraved on the Extermination Blade, and created a large ice sword on his other arm. He dived towards the Earth Dragon’s bare abdomen and slashed at it from above.
“’Acceleration Strike’… ‘Helmet Splitter’!!”
“Gugaaah!?”
He activated his ‘Gravity Strike Blade’ in the palm of his hand, gripping the Extermination Blade, and slammed it into the Earth Dragon’s abdomen from the air. Perhaps due to the effect of the water-element magic power, the parts that were slashed change color, turn to mud, and crumble, revealing the grey skin of the Earth Dragon’s body that was covered in a rocky shell. Not missing an opportunity, Reito struck with his ‘Iceclad Sword’.
“’Thrust’!”
“Ugaahh…?!”
The ice greatsword pierced the chest, and the ice blade, which had previously been causing hyper vibrations, dug into the Earth Dragon’s flesh, sending blood splattering everywhere.
No matter how similar its appearance was to a rock doll, there was no doubt that the inside was still a living creature, and if the shell was destroyed, it was possible to damage the main body inside.
“Get away! If you don’t dodge, you’ll be crushed too!”
“Whaaa?”
Shizune’s voice rang out from above, and Reito quickly moved away from the Earth Dragon. From the sky, she readied her Four Seasons and swung it down, her blade shining.
“’Moonlight Slice’!”
The moment the blade was swung down, the shape of the slash resembled a crescent moon, cutting through Reito’s “Iceclad Sword” that was stuck in the Earth Dragon’s chest. The power of the blow caused the Earth Dragon’s shell, which had cracked, to crumble, sending blood flying into the air.
“OGAAAAAAAAHHHH…!?”
The Earth Dragon’s death scream echoed around the room, blood spurting from its chest, and it eventually stopped moving. It seemed to have died completely, its eyes wide open and still. Shizune, sweating from her forehead, returned Four Seasons to its sheath and sighed.
“Phew… that somehow worked out.”
“Amazing…”
“So this is… the Blue Swordmaster.”
“Cool…”
Though she had some help from Reito, her companions were horrified at how she had almost single handedly defeated the Dragon, but only Reito was interested in her final attack.
It was true that it had incredible destructive power, but the refined movements were splendid, and Reito could never imitate them. It was truly a blow from a true Swordmaster.
However, Shizune’s face had turned pale, and it seemed that she had lost a lot of her physical and magic power, probably due to the effects of unleashing the power of Four Seasons. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she turned to the others.
“Come on, let’s get away now. We don’t have time to leisurely collect the remains of the Earth Dragon.”
“Eh?! But…”
“We don’t have time to argue! If its parents come, we’ll be killed!””
Everyone was silent at Shizune’s uncompromising words, and they immediately got into the wolf cart.
Even though it was a child, it would be a shame to leave the Earth Dragon’s corpse there, but if the parents noticed the sudden change in the child, it would be a bad situation and they might all be killed just as Shizune had said.
After all, what they defeated this time was a child Earth Dragon, and there was no guarantee that they could defeat a fully mature Earth Dragon.
Following Shizune’s instructions, everyone got into the wolf cart, and Ullr sprinted through at full speed.
They needed to get out of the wilderness as quickly as possible. Before encountering the real Lord of the Wilderness.