Hunting hundreds of thousands of monsters is no easy task, no matter how heroic or how well a trap is prepared. Monsters are powerful beings. They have an insatiable appetite and an endless desire for destruction and even trained soldiers have a hard time fighting them one-on-one. Even Renfangas, one of the continentâs leading defense forces, cannot be combined properly. Itâs all about fighting to keep their numbers intact with a castle and a surprise attack. âŚâŚBut.
âMaia, can you still go?â
âYou donât have to worry about my physical strength. If you want, we can fly from one end of the continent to the otherâ
âI, I see. âŚâŚCan you beat the flock around that mountain?â
âI can, but Iâm worried about Andy-samaâ
ââŚâŚâŚâŚâ
âShall we return?â
ââŚâŚYesâ
The power of a dragon was tremendous. Monsters can do nothing against her breath, much as humans could do little with flying dragons during the Fire Dragon War. In retrospect, most of the monsters are mostly covered in ice. The blizzard breath that Maia released turned all the monsters into statues. And the temperature change due to the freezing of the wide area has no effect on her, but it is quite severe for me who is just a human.
ââŚâŚRe, Return to CatalinaâŚâŚâ
âYupâ
I hold on to the horn on Maiaâs head and tremble with the cold, so I donât think there was any dignity of a Dragon Rider no matter how I looked at it.
Originally, the city of Catalina was visible, so Maia approached the high rooftop and slowed down with her wings, before transforming back to her human form a little before Catalina. Maia caught me in the air, of course I was thrown out in the air. She lands on the rooftop of Catalina and holds me in her arms.
âSoâ
âTh, Thank you Maiaâ
âNnnnâ
I gently descend from Maiaâs arms and stand on the rooftop. Nobody is on the roof. âŚâŚNo.
âAndy!â
Itâs Luna who opened the rooftop door and jumped out. Following her are, Hilda and Apple. Afterwards, members of the squad gathered on the roof one after another.
âI, I, I, I, I´m homeâ
âAndy-san, you look so coldâŚâŚâ
Apple who touches my face is surprised by its coldness.
âIt was a very flashy thingâ
Hilda admire the scenery around the city. Itâs a dark night without a moon, so I donât see the surroundings. Those who can see it are dark elves like Hilda, human beasts like Luna and Keiron and ogres
âI did it fancyâ
Maia sticks out her thumb. Good, Irina is stroking her.
âItâs really coldâ
Lantz shakes himself in the night wind. Thatâs right, the other guys are smiling wryly (Everyone can see the devastation around them).
âWell, itâs been a while since there was no sign of a monster, maybe the blue dragon did it?â
âIs that so? Can you see Al-chan? Itâs magic rightâ
âWell, I´m not good with magic. I´m not so quick with the art of night visionâŚâŚâ
âOur elves are uselessâ
ăGuă
The three Red Arms were allegedly confused and Tetes said what she wants to the other two. âŚâŚWell, I think that it is rare to have an elf who is not good at magic.
âWh, Whatâs more than that, give me something warm.â
I had a hard time. Like the face that was touched by Apple, my whole body is freezing cold. Even though flying in the night sky is just a matter of being exposed to cold winds, the winds around here are similar in winter due to Maia´s breath. It was not cold at all to the extent that I was caught off guard as I wore a vest on top of my shirt.
âOh, my God. Youâre going to catch a cold, take this. Drink it for the time beingâ
Hilda, who was a little surprised when she touched my body, gave me a pill. I drink it.
âNgu. Unpleasantâ
âItâs just a pill thatâs just a pill that can warm the inside. Itâs going to be cold from now on, so I made it just in caseâ
âTh, Thank youâ
The pill that fall down into the stomach through the throat warm my body from the inside. I feel it.
âIf itâs cold. I went rampaged so my body is still hotâŞâ
Aurora sticking to my body.
âTh, Thatâs right, human skin is the best, isnât itâ
Apple is hugging me on the other side.
âMuuâ
ââŚâŚE, Emmâ
After breathing, Maia seems to have a very high body temperature (even in human form) and Anzeros, who does not stick due to the armor, looks a little grumpy.
âWell well. âŚâŚIâm going to sleep well tonightâ
Keiron shrugs his shoulders.
âWhere are 100-man commander Dianne and Lailaâ
âInvestigating the flow of monsters, they will come back in a couple of daysâ
I answer to Neiaâs question. It doesnât mean that everyone else is heartless. Everyone knows thatâs about it.
-
The next day we woke up at dawn when the mayor flew into the room.
âIâm sorry to come so early, bu, butâŚâŚis that the work of the dragonâŚâŚ!?â
âNuu?â
Iâm convinced by his morals that he shouldnât jump into the womenâs room at dawn, but the major is trying to say something as he jumps into is the womenâ room instead.
ââŚâŚAh, Iâm sorryâ
ââŚâŚ?â
The mayor who turned right suddenly looks at me who gently raised his body. At first glance, Apple and Irina were sleeping beside me by hugging. They didnât take off their clothes. âŚâŚ Apple offered to sleep with me as I looked so cold yesterday. Irina is taking the advantage.
âAhâŚâŚemm, what is thatâ
âO, OutsideâŚâŚmonster corpseâ
ââŚâŚAh, yes, most of themâ
I get up slowly so as not to wake up Apple and Irina. Boyd and Lantz wake up and put on their jacket.
âBut we didnât look at it very well eitherâ
âShall we go see it?â
âSsuuâ
We follow the mayor while rubbing our eyes.
The surrounding grassland, lit by the sunrise, was supposed to be amazing. Nearby are a series of monsters corpses (mostly by Dianne and others). In the distance, the monsters look like frozen trees. As if it were a lie that the great invasion had begun, the city was surrounded by silence.
âHaaâ
âBlizzard breath froze them to that extentâŚâŚthis is where monsters canât get closeâ
Lantz and Boyd looked over and whispered as if they were impressed. The mayor remains upset.
âEh, th, this muchâŚâŚin this state, is that all?â
âWell, it was Maia-chan!â
âI understand that the dragon is amazingâ
ââŚâŚâŚâŚHa, Haaâ
The mayor is poisoned by the light-hearted reaction of Lantz and others. Well, isnât it impossible for you to be ready to fight? Anzeros, wearing a tank top and cotton pants, appeared there.
âI think you should send scouts just in caseâ
âO, Oh, thatâs rightâ
The mayor hurries down to the station. Anzeros then hits Boydâs waist (She cant hit his shoulder as she cant reach it) and invites him with her fingers.
âBoyd, letâs train together. âŚâŚI havenât heard from the Gauntlet Knights lately, but I have to train until Iâm a good vanguardâ
âUh, yeah!? Up to such a place!?â
âYou wonât be able to make it in timeâ
âTh, Thatâs rightâŚâŚâ
Lantz and I give our condolences. Thereâs no offense to Anzeros, but the training she gives Boyd is rather intense.
âAnzeros, letâs finish it by the time we have breakfastâ
While listening to the sound of an ogre being blown away with a smile, Lantz and I went down to wash our faces.
-
âGoodâ
Of course, I didnât come to Renfangas empty-handed. Before leaving Polka properly, Dianne suggested that everyone prepare winter clothes.
âIf you wear this, you wonât have any problem with a little coldâ
âItâs not cool, thoughâ
âN, Noisyâ
As pointed out by Keiron, it wasnât cool. What we procured in Polka was a cold clothing for hunters to hunt in the snow. Its guaranteed with cold protection, but to be honest, itâs too much and itâs not a cool picture on a dragon.
âThen Maia, I, white clan head Irina will bless you. Bless all the creatures. With the power and will of the dragon, hopefully we will be in peace hereâ
Irina is blessing Maia. Itâs only in shape, but it seems important that ăIrinaă give permission to rampage to Maia.
âSmithson-dono, I will bless you!â
âYesâ
Irina grants me and Maia permission to smash the disturbing monsters. It doesnât matter if Iâm the dragon owner and it seems that it stands out as an action of the investigation. So, it is the continuation of yesterday´s monster subjugation that was left to do because of the cold. The plan is to wipe out the remaining monsters around here so that Catalina can rest assured even if we leave the monsters alone for a while. No, I just decided to say it was a plan.
âDianne Special Duty Corps membersâ
Then the mayor comes to the place where we are preparing.
âMayorâ
âMay I? Iâd like to talk to you a little bitâ
âI will report the current situation to Rennesto, if you donât mindâŚâŚand I was entrusted with a matter I wanted to askâ
â?â
âThe easternmost fort in our country, about six days east of hereâŚâŚdo you know about Ghibli Fortress?â
âMore or lessâ
It should be the fortress farthest from Rennesto, with the Great Knight Annette.
âIf possible, I want to send support there. Thatâs the most fierce battle ground. I donât wish for direct support from the Blue Dragon, but if we can send Red Arms a little bit, it will be easierâ
It will soon be understood without any commentary from Dianne or Lord Buster. Yes, even if there is no direct dragon attack, the dragon will support themâŚâŚa morale boost that will be tremendously encouraging for frontline soldiers.
âIn other words, once we go to Rennesto, we carry reinforcements to Ghibli FortressâŚâŚ?â
âIf possible. Itâs just a request and Iâm sorry that I canât give you much reward hereâ
ââŚâŚâŚâŚâ
I calculate in my head. Is it a horse or a 6-day walk, and how far is it in Maiaâs wing equivalent? âŚâŚI canât really calculate, but Renfangas is much narrower than Celesta or Trot, so on Maia´s wings itâs not time-consuming. Will Dianne be reluctant? No, Dianne and Laila said, ăShow the power of the dragon and install cooperationă. Now, there is no definite element to cooperate with.
âUnderstoodâ
I will accept the request. âŚâŚI was just interested in that place, called Ghibli Fortress. I wanted to see a ăFortressă that was seriously built in Renfangas, who creates a building like Catalina just as an experimental defense facility.
âHowever, tell Rennesto to prepare a carriage or a box-shaped thing to board, as the reinforcements will be held by the dragonâ
âUnderstood. Hey, tell the communication magician about that quicklyâ
âââââââ
Because it is a schedule change, I try to recruit people who follow me.
âIâd better stay here until Dianne-san returnsâŚâŚâ
âIâm the sameâ
âAh, Boyd cant leave too. We train in the afternoonâ
âHii!?â
Ace Knight group & Boyd remain. Other men also seem to want to rest and decline.
âWhat about Almeida and the others?â
âCan I go?â
âAhaha, well, we donât seem to be very useful hereâ
âNo, Iâm not going to take a break? Iâm not going to go to Ghibli without any special purpose, as itâs not really interesting because Iâm not going to go to Ghibli and do a full throttle battleâ
âNaris, youâre too honestâ
Tetes and Almeida will follow.
âIf itâs about fighting or avoiding, itâs the duty of a hero to fightâ
Naia seems to follow too.
âIâd like to see the fortress, which Renfangas is proud ofâ
âYes Yes, Irina-chan rashness is not goodââ
Of course, Irina and Hilda are also there. Apple, who is afraid of heights, canât fly so often, so sheâs out of question. So.
-
âItâs just 10-man captain Smithson from the special duty corps memberâ
ââŚâŚIf you say thatâ
âOkay, itâs a mission, Iâll keep you safe, so donât worry, Andy Smithsonâ
âAs long as thereâs nothing really going on, Smithson-san will be protected by the dragonâ
âE, Enthusiasm!â
âBecause there is no turn for the spear woman. Andy-sama, I will protect youâ
âDonât quarrel, because we donât plan to fight like that. If the terrain and circumstances seem to fine for Maia to help, she just blows her breath a little and then we come backâ
âTerrainâŚâŚ?â
âYou canât breathe close to your allies, because Maia´s breath spreads a lotâ
We arrived at Rennesto while chatting. When we landed carefully in the courtyard of Rennesto´s castle, Lord Buster made a strange face.
ââŚâŚWhat, where is Irina-dono and Dianne-dono?â
âBoth of them are inconvenient, so Iâm the one whoâs going to be the one to helpâ
âAnd itâs still cool at this timeâ
ââŚâŚJust to be sure, the blue dragon is spitting iceâ
âYe, Yes. Well is that the carriage you want us to sent. Alrightâ
It was a fairly large carriage that had been placed. To pull it you need five or six horses.
âIs everyone on boardâ
âYes. Donât let it fall, because the elite is in itâ
âUnderstoodâ
I let Maia grab the carriage and take off again.
-
Although Catalina was left at about nine oâclock in the morning, Maiaâs wings were indeed fast. By noon, we had reached a location where we could see the Ghibli Fortress.
âIs it okay to be over there, Tetes?â
âPerhaps. I havenât been there so oftenâ
âDo you know when we arrive?â
As expected, there were a lot of monsters on the way. Although it was still daytime, I couldnât hear any stuttering voices, but it was still a reckless number to be able to set up a team with an odd strength.
âIs this Ghibli fortressâŚâŚâ
While swirling in the sky, I gasp from the sight of that majestic appearance. Originally a mountain with complex terrainâŚâŚor rather, it is a complex fortress with a structure consisting of stone walls on a terrain with strangely shaped rocks. It is designed to allow a small number of people to enter the gap between the walls, which look like a small room and make a concentrated attack. And using the terrain, many warriors were actually fighting. Some were surprised to see a blue dragon flying in the sky with some room, but the majority were so busy fighting the monsters in front of them that they couldnât afford to look up.
ââŚâŚAndy Smithson, let me help themâ
âWait, Almeida. Letâs put this carriage down firstâ
âAfter one second, itâs one second too late. âŚâŚIâll hear you later!â
Almeida canât wait for the fight and jumps down from Maia. Though I thought it was still high, Almeida killed her falling speed while turning her iron cane and descended to the battlefield dexterously, while jumping triangularly on the strangely shaped rocks.
âAs usual irresponsible utteranceâŚâŚâ
âOkay. Weâll work too, 10-man captain Smithsonâ
Tetes is not moving at all. What if I could do that up to Tetes?
I measure the area around the inner citadel of Ghibli Fortress and let Maia land there. The soldiers were confused by the dragonâs appearance, but a man who seems to be the fortress commander appeared and calmed the surrounding soldiers. A lizardman. I feel that he is neat in the standing behavior, but I feel that he is a little odour in the attitude whether he shrinks when it is indeed against the dragon.
Itâs better not to travel here. I whisper to Chibi Maia and let Maia speak.
âHearing a friendâs request, I came to lend a handâ
âTh, Thank youâŚâŚâ
âI want you to receive a souvenirâ
Maia lowered the carriage. And the door of the carriage opens.
âIs this Ghibli fortress?â
âIt looks robustâ
âIt looks difficult to attack. Itâs good that Renfangas is not an enemyâ
From inside, men in armor appear one after another. When I think they´re elite Gauntlet Knights, thatâs not the case. However, their appearances were familiar.
ââŚâŚA, AaaâŚâŚ!â
As I raise my voice from above the dragon, a bearded man in deep red armor looks at me and smiles grinningly.
âItâs a coincidenceâ
ââŚâŚ100-man commanderâŚâŚGrants!â
Menâs cape dances in the strong wind. It was a strange picture, though it should have been disturbed by the wind. Looking back at the Sword Saints behind him, 100-man commander Grants says in a good mood.
âNow, letâs start after a long time, everyone. There seems to be a noisy Celesta person here. âŚâŚItâs been a long time since weâve been ăSword Saintsă, so letâs protect this fortressâ
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