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Vol 02 Chapter 59: Cavalry III

That’s a tyrant dragon… Isn’t that a Tyrannosaurus? Well, maybe it’s smaller than a Tyrannosaurus?

「The tyrant dragon is a bipedal carnivorous dragon. Its scales are as hard as iron. Well, if you aim for the gaps, it’s not impossible to kill it. Think you can handle it?」

「Well, with this, it’ll be like cutting through butter.」

I drew my dragon damascus sword.

Finally, a chance to put it to use has come.

The ones to take the rear guard were Mutzio and I.

Since our only goal is to buy time for escape, we don’t need a large group. Moreover, it tends to head towards smaller groups, so this way it should be safer for Julia.

Protecting Julia is our top priority, so naturally, we’ve allocated most of the guards for her protection. According to that logic, I shouldn’t leave her side, but… It would be unpleasant if the soldiers returning from facing the dragon were missing their upper bodies. With my blessing and the dragon damascus sword, I should be able to avoid death at the very least. My blessing can be passed as a more common physical enhancing blessing, and even if its real benefits become known, it wouldn’t hurt me much.

I’m confident I can handle it, and I’m curious to see this dragon up close. Plus, I’d likely be ridiculed for turning tail against a dragon. By someone I don’t want to remember.

Well, it seems to be slower than a horse, so if we run at full speed, we should manage. It’s already getting dark. This lizard supposedly doesn’t see well at night, so the chances of escaping are high.

According to Mutzio, normally, tyrant dragons don’t roam around at dusk nor attack groups of people. Therefore, it’s unlikely that a disaster like Julia and the others getting ambushed by a new pack of tyrant dragons will come to pass. I’ve told Roswald to protect Julia with all his might, so it should be fine. He can handle it.

By the way, this particular tyrant dragon seems to be just desperately hungry, unable to find food.

「Well, we only need to distract it, but if the opportunity presents itself we will kill it. Let’s go!!」

The two of us charged towards the tyrant dragon on horseback. The tyrant dragon came straight for us.

It seems to have set its sights on us. Convenient.

We fled in a direction different from where Julia and the others had gone.

「Alright, time to rile it.」

Mutzio fired arrows backward. The arrows didn’t penetrate the tyrant dragon’s scales, but the impact seemed painful enough to slow its advance.

This guy is quite skillful.

「Ssraaahhh!!!」

The tyrant dragon opened its mouth wide and let out a roar. It was just noisy, and didn’t affect me directly, but…

「Hey! Stop freaking out!」

My horse started to panic. I couldn’t move forward like this.

The horse bucked violently, throwing me to the ground.

「Sui!!」

It ran away, the damn thing. It trampled on the wish I made when I named it. That worthless horse. Go become tyrant dragon feed you bastard!!

Well, it seems I’m the more likely candidate to become lizard feed now.

「Hey, hey, what do we do now? The dragon will catch us if we burden the horse with two people. Can’t help it. Guess we’ll have to take it down here.」

「Sorry for the trouble…」

「It’s fine. I’ll introduce you to a good horse next time.」

Feels like I’m being comforted after being dumped by my girlfriend.

「Alright, you damned lizard. My mood couldn’t be worse. Prepare to be sliced into three pieces!!」

I rapidly closed the distance to the tyrant dragon. The tyrant dragon opened its mouth, attempting to bite me, but such a sluggish attack wouldn’t hit me.

I tried to dive under the tyrant dragon’s feet. But it wasn’t letting me get under easily.

Time and again, the tyrant dragon opened its mouth, attempting to bite me. It swung its arm, trying to slash me with its claws.

「Whoa!」

I hastily defended with my sword. The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed across the grassland.

I planted my feet firmly and repelled its claws. The tyrant dragon let out a roar of anger. If translated into Adernian, it might say,

「Why is a puny human so strong!?」

「I’ll cover you!!」

Mutzio circled around the tyrant dragon on his horse, shooting arrows. The arrows pierced the tyrant dragon with a ‘thud, thud’ sound.

They didn’t stick before, so why now…

Then I realized. Every time he shot an arrow, the wind blew.

I’ll have to grill him about this later. Now…

Thanks to Mutzio’s support, I managed to sneak under the tyrant dragon. It was so focused on Mutzio that it didn’t notice me.

「Now, fall!!」

I slashed the tyrant dragon’s right leg tendons with my sword. Blood spurted out, staining me completely red. Blood gushed, and the tyrant dragon’s body tilted greatly.

I rolled out from under the tyrant dragon in a hurry. As I escaped, the tyrant dragon collapsed with a thud.

「Now, for the other one.」

While being cautious of its thrashing legs, I slashed the tendon of the other leg. This should prevent it from getting up.

「Impressive, Almus. Tell me later why your physical abilities are so high. So, how do we finish it?」

「It’ll die if left like this. We can collect the corpse later. Could you give me a lift, by the way?」

「Sure thing.」

I joined Julia and the others by getting a ride on Mutzio’s horse.

◇

「Almus! Are you okay… you’re covered in blood! Are you hurt anywhere?」

「This is the tyrant dragon’s blood, so I’m fine.」

Whether she didn’t believe my words or was just worried, Julia patted and prodded my body to check for injuries.

「Here, you’re injured.」

「That’s just a scratch, it doesn’t count as an injury.」

It’s a wound I got when that worthless horse threw me off. Next time I see it, I’ll turn it into horse sashimi.

「By the way Master, what happened to that dragon?」

Vilgar asked, so I answered.

「I slashed its tendons, so it can’t move. We plan to check the corpse tomorrow.」

It’s already dark. Even if dragons don’t come out, wolves do.

Truth be told, a pack of wolves poses more trouble than a lone dragon

「You say that so casually… Normally, it takes at least ten people to take down a tyrant dragon.」

Vilgar muttered something under his breath.

「Then let’s go back to the campsite we set up earlier, Julia-dono.」

Following Mutzio’s suggestion, we returned to our original campsite.

「Now then, Almus. Let’s sleep together tonight.」

「…Fine, but don’t say it in a way that invites misunderstandings.」

I received some strange looks from those around us.

I wish he wouldn’t say it like that with Julia present.

「I’ll prepare the snacks. You handle the drinks.」

「Got it.」

I chose the best liquor I could find among the goods for this trading mission.

It’s a necessary diplomatic expense, after all. There’s no abuse of authority here

◇

「Here’s to our friendship!」

「To friendship!」

I don’t remember becoming friends, but that’s okay. It’s all about the vibe, after all.

「Now… explain that insane physical ability of yours. I heard rumors you could kill a bear, but your strength is beyond that. You’re not human, are you?」

「Well, I might share a bit if you explain that unnatural wind that blew every time you shot your arrows.」

As I said that, Mutzio laughed, realizing I had noticed, and then he began to explain.

「That’s my blessing. I can control the wind at will. It’s called the [Blessing of the Wind Spirit].」

Another blessing, huh? The fairies are meddling with him too…

So, his arrows are empowered by the wind. That seems quite handy.

「And your physical abilities? I’ll tell you this, a normal human would’ve been eaten by the first strike from that tyrant dragon. What kind of reflexes do you have to dodge that? Slicing off its tendons requires skill too. That lizard isn’t just standing there; it’s constantly moving its legs. And the pinnacle was when you blocked its claws. That thing has enough strength to blow away a horse, you know?」

He talks as if I’m some kind of supernatural monster… Well, he’s not exactly wrong.

「I have a blessing too, it’s thanks to it. It’s called [Blessing of the Hunter]. It enhances my physical abilities.」

I lied.

When I talked to Ainz-san about blessings, he told me there was one that enhanced physical abilities called  [Blessing of the Hunter].

I don’t feel guilty about lying.

He’s probably bending the truth a bit too.

「Now, I’d like to form an alliance with the Equus Tribe. Could you help with that?」

「I don’t mind. You’re going to pay us, right? We’re poor. So any increase in income is welcome. There are those among us who are so impoverished that they have to abandon or sell their children if the sheep don’t grow well enough. Besides, grains and cheese last longer than meat. But there are those who hate the idea of shedding blood for another country. You’ll need to convince them, and we’ll be making an enemy of King Domorgal’s Country too. Just grains and salt as compensation for risking our lives is not enough.」

Mutzio spoke while drinking his wine. I shared the plan I had been considering with Mutzio.

「So the problem is only your people shedding blood, right? How about this: if the Equus Tribe is in danger, King Rosais’ Country will help you with soldiers or other things you need. What do you think of this condition?」

Mutzio’s eyes widened at my words.

「Well, that would be great. We’re also threatened by the Lupus Tribe. To us, King Rosais’ Country is a powerful country. It would be a great help. The problem would be if King Domorgal’s Country copies us and decides to form an alliance with the Lupus Tribe… But if you’re willing to fight alongside us, it should be fine. But are you sure about such terms?」

「Yes. I received full authority to negotiate from King Rosais.」

A mutual alliance would be less likely to face objections than a unilateral one, and it also serves as a deterrent.

I’ve already got permission from King Rosais, and as long as the treaty doesn’t have any significant problems, I’m free to conclude it.

「But King Rosais is ill, isn’t he? Will the next King Rosais honor the treaty?」

「There’s no problem there either. I’ve got permission from the next king candidate as well. I can’t say who, though.」

Well, it’s me.

「Hmm, if that’s the case, I might be able to convince Father. Now, we have to decide the rewards, the number of people we are going to send, and the selection of those people. Well, I suppose I can be the commander. I’m the leading proponent of this idea. Oh, right, are you ok with us looting the enemy?」

「Do what you want as long as it doesn’t interfere with the strategy. But don’t worry. I have prepared a place perfectly suited for you to loot.」

For the nomadic tribes, war is synonymous with looting. There’s no such thing as a war without looting. In fact, these tribes wage war for the sake of looting.

They’d do it even if I forbid them to. So, it’s better to allow it under certain conditions and specify where.

「Hmm, so the battlefield will be in King Domorgal’s Country, not King Rosais’. You’re quite confident. And a specific place, you say? I hope it’s profitable.」

「Yes, it will be profitable. It’ll make the idea of looting wheat from villages seem foolish.」

I answered while drinking my wine. We plan to profit from this as well.

「Alright, then it’s up to Julia-dono. It depends on whether Julia-dono can cure Stepmother’s illness.」