Chapter 209
TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/week mon-fri
Illustrations: none
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Screams assaulted Ian's ears.
In the middle of the burning battlefield, Ian looked around.
'Total chaos.'
There wasn't a single place without a skirmish.
The noble army had a very high proportion of knights.
Thinking they were just dealing the final blow to a wounded dragon, they had drastically reduced the number of hunters and mercenaries.And more than half of the knights had disappeared, following the Margrave of Haltramm into battle.
Currently, the remaining knights were falling one by one to the orcs.
'We're outnumbered.'
Ian didn't know what had happened to the margrave's army.
But he could tell without investigating the scene.
The margrave's army must have suffered near-annihilation, even in the best-case scenario.
All because of that massive dragon's flames...!
"Damn it! You're just orcs!"
"Wuoooooh!"
The young knights struggled desperately against the orcs.
But they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
When the orcs launched a reckless charge, even well-armed knights had no choice but to be pushed back.
"R-Run away!"
The hunters and low-ranking mercenaries were the first to desert the battlefield.
"Don't panic! They're waiting for us to scatter!"
Sir Salvador shouted until his throat was raw.
But the tide of battle had already turned in favor of the dragon & orc alliance.
[How dare you...! You worthless pebble! Laying hands on me!]
Predius, having been struck by the golem, was undoubtedly furious.
Predius used its massive body to crush the golem, pushing it back.
Such powerful strength that even the golem made of clay and rock was helplessly pushed back!
'Where's Bunchi?'
Ian looked for the earth wizard but couldn't see him.
He must have fled early on.
"Protect the lords!"
Thinking this was their chance while the breath attack wasn't coming...
The nobles each attempted to escape the battlefield.
Duke Araz and Count Edward turned their backs, escorted by knights.
Ian gritted his teeth.
The situation was rapidly deteriorating to the worst possible outcome.
"[Spear of Flame!]"
Ian used a skill magic once again.
Maybe he could damage Predius now!
Whoosh!
But the flame spear scattered harmlessly over the dragon's scales.
It did even less damage than the lightning spear.
[Run away! wizard!]
The golem shouted while being pummeled by the black dragon.
However, Ian found it hard to turn his back.
If he ran away now, what about the fallen knights?
The missing margrave?
"[Darkness!]"
Ian summoned darkness once more.
He thought it might help the battle somehow.
But Predius easily thwarted Ian's attempt.
[You like struggling like the insect you are!]
Predius breathed fire towards Ian.
Whoosh!
A blinding, intense light flashed.
The darkness Ian had summoned vanished without a trace before the dragon's breath.
As the flames rushed towards him.
Ian barely avoided the flames with the help of the mystery of fire.
'... It's strong.'
He didn't want to admit it, but it was true.
The dragon's - Predius's power was beyond imagination.
Even Ian's strongest magic couldn't penetrate the dragon's scales and hide.
If he had ample time to properly communicate with the mysteries in a calm situation, he might be able to cast magic to subdue the dragon.
But how could he create such a situation?
The knights couldn't even drive away the orcs and were in disarray.
And everything was burning in the face of the dragon's breath!
'Do you understand, Ian?'
He remembered what Eredith had told him when he was young.
'Never, ever rashly charge at a dragon!'
Not just Eredith, but all the empire's wizards shuddered at the word 'dragon'.
Since ancient times, dragons were called beings of evil that shouldn't even be associated with.
Ian now understood why such an infamous reputation had spread.
'It really is a monster.'
Dragons were truly the final boss-level beasts of this medieval fantasy world filled with all sorts of monsters.
"Ian!"
Belenka urgently called out to Ian.
The situation had already deteriorated beyond control.
With the commanders retreating, there was nothing Belenka and Ian could do alone.
BOOM!
Predius slammed the golem into the ground.
The golem shattered and fled into the earth.
"... Let's retreat."
Ian gathered Salvador and the Knights of Santiago.
They had remained on the battlefield until the end, focusing on cutting down the orc pursuers.
Usually, there's no easier prey than a retreating army.
Without the Knights of Santiago, the casualties would have increased exponentially.
"Lucy escaped with Duke Araz."
"So we just need to get ourselves out."
As Ian withdrew from the battlefield, he cast dark magic once more.
"[Darkness!]"
Unlike before, this darkness was to confuse the pursuers.
Predius, seemingly satisfied with victory, had settled in place.
Thanks to that, the pursuers consisting only of orcs couldn't properly track the humans.
Ian safely escaped the battlefield.
---
---
"Hmm."
Cutting down a lost orc pursuer, Sir Salvador muttered.
"The situation has worsened."
"..."
The Knights of Santiago fell silent almost simultaneously.
At least everyone had managed to escape safely.
If they had been caught by the orcs, they would have been eaten and turned into orc dung.
It was very encouraging that they had saved their lives from that hellish scene.
But they couldn't be entirely happy either.
The duke and margrave had set out with knights to hunt a dragon...
But instead, they got their asses handed to them and lost troops?
This was a problem like no other.
The two most powerful nobles in the Duchy of Araz had gone down together.
... So who was going to catch the dragon now?!
Those two nobles were out of the question for now.
Their direct territories were well-defended, so protecting them wouldn't be a problem.
But to form another expedition force, it would take at least a few months. Then other righteous nobles would have to voluntarily provide troops...
It would take several months for a proper expedition to be organized again.
How were they supposed to stop the dragon if it rampaged during that time?
"... We found out."
Ian and Belenka walked over together.
Belenka's gauntlet was stained with dirty blood.
"Those orc bastards. They're under the command of a warrior called 'Claw-mark'."
"Hmm. But how did they manage to coordinate an attack with the dragon?"
Ian answered, suppressing the curses rising in his throat.
"The orcs and the dragon. They both made contracts with a black wizard."
"A black wizard?"
It was frustrating to the point of being sickening now.
They had kept getting in the way during the southern journey.
And now they had to hear about 'black wizards' even after coming up north!
Could it be... another black wizard from the [Golden Rule Society] this time too?
"It must be a summoner type."
Typically, wizards and mysteries of the same kind flocked together.
Ian wondered just how evil one had to be to control both a dragon and orcs simultaneously, feeling disgusted.
Orcs were classic man-eating monsters.
Just like being served traditional(?) dishes when visiting an unfamiliar tribe.
The summoner who went to make a contract with the orcs very likely ate human flesh dishes.
But the black wizard probably didn't mind at all.
Thinking, "Isn't it a total win if I can control orcs by eating some human flesh?"
"So, Ian my boy. What are you going to do now?"
Though he asked that, Salvador was just as confused.
Originally, he had planned to form a proper expedition with Duke Araz's help.
But the Margrave of Haltramm had beaten them to it, hastily putting together a shoddy expedition that got wiped out...
Even if they were the Knights of Santiago, they couldn't hunt a dragon on their own.
"We need to prepare our defenses."
This was the result of Ian's deep contemplation.
Duke Araz's expedition had failed to hunt the dragon.
So where would the dragon head next?
The answer was obvious.
It would start raiding territories again.
And the Barony of Talian was one of the territories that hadn't been hit by the dragon yet.
Ian was certain.
Predius... would soon fly to Talian.
'Still, we can put up a defensive battle.'
Talian had Ian's companions and troops, as well as the anti-dragon weapons the blacksmith was crafting.
If Ian drew magic circles and prepared, they might be able to repel the dragon.
... If they were lucky, that is.
"Talian is the only land the dragon is likely to target."
"Hmm... Indeed."
After discussion, Salvador and the Knights of Santiago decided to return to Talian.
"Then let's hurry back to..."
"No."
"...?"
Salvador, who had naturally assumed Ian would return with them, turned his head in slight confusion.
Why wasn't he going back to Talian? Had he gotten scared?
Belenka also looked at Ian in surprise.
"You're not going back?"
"That's right. I have somewhere to stop by."
Salvador asked worriedly.
"Ian, my boy. If you don't want to fight the dragon..."
"That's not it."
To be honest, he didn't want to fight.
Dragons were monsters without question.
It's not like killing one would unlock some hidden quest (though it would progress the Anor-lsil quest).
Who in their right mind would risk their life hunting a monster that could deflect flames and lightning with its bare body?
But Ian wasn't running away.
Talian had Ian's companions and Lucy's domain residents.
It might sound a bit grand, but they were beings Ian had to protect.
Even though he had been reincarnated.
At some point, Ian had grown attached to this crappy medieval fantasy world.
He liked the medieval people.
He liked the peaceful land of Talian.
Ian absolutely did not want to see Talian burning and his companions and people being slaughtered.
'I'm lacking.'
He had felt it deep in his bones during this battle.
Ian was a genius wizard, but he wasn't invincible.
The level of single-handedly defeating a dragon was almost godlike.
A realm only possible after mastering level 8~9 magic at least!
At Ian's current level of handling 4~5 level magic, it was impossible to face a dragon alone.
However, Ian could fill his lack of proficiency with the power of connections.
From the battle between the dragon and golem, Ian had gained some inspiration.
"Belenka. I'll need you to escort me."
"Understood."
In the end, Ian parted ways with the Knights of Santiago.
It was to find a way to surely deal with Predius.
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