214 - - Heat Battle Digest No. 2

"Hey, we're in trouble!"

You've got a lot of work to do. Where the hell have you been?

"Just come here!"

Dragged by Mussan, Horak leaves the sub-branch and heads for the river.

What he sees is almost the same as yesterday.

The familiar rafts made of redwood trees were heading toward the lake, making waves on the surface of the river.

However, the crew members looked a little different from yesterday.

They were all carrying swords, axes, and other armaments, which is quite normal for adventurers.

Strangely enough, they were also carrying several logs.

These might be spare logs to hold on to in case the boat capsizes.

"...... No way!

They look like they're going to do something!

"Idiot!　We have to stop."

The raft may be a magnificent one, but it is no match for a monster several times its size.

We seem to be able to make more speed than yesterday, but it is too reckless to think that will help us.

A group of lake dragons, called the lords of the lake, swim around a small island near the center of the lake, occasionally showing their backs on the surface of the water.

This makes it seem as if they are circling at regular intervals, but Horak suspects that this may be a trap.

This could be a trap, because the number of times the dragons appeared at the front side of the islet was clearly different from that at the back side of the islet.

Perhaps there is a pattern in which the dragon pretends to go to the other side, but in reality, it is hiding at the bottom of the water and watching the situation.

Horak has always warned first-time adventurers to this hunting ground about this point.

Especially the young men of the Purple-Eyed Tribe who had helped him with the logging, he had told them many times about the details.

And yet...

As the adventurers on the shore shouted for us to turn back and stop, the raft the men were paddling winds its way closer and closer to the lake.

Hollack is about to shout as well, but then realizes that the crew is not the same as yesterday and lets out a groan of despair.

"Oh, shit!　Oh my god ......"

The girl in the center of the raft was not a Soukei girl, but a girl with black hair and a blue ribbon.

Clinging to her waist was a golden-haired young child, not much older than her.

She seemed excited to play in the water, pointing to various places.

From a distance, it looked as if the child was acting as a boatman for the raft, deciding the course of the boat.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?

"I can't believe they're even taking that kid. ....... Please, god of fire. Please don't call the fight today. ......"

Praying hard, Moussin waved his hands in the air, trying to stop the raftsmen.

But all he gets in return is a smiling dark-haired girl raising her hand in the air.

The sight of the excited child and the happy girl is so far removed from the terrible things that will happen next that Horak stops moving as if frozen, remembering the tragic day in Bossaria.

Despite their feelings, the raft slid smoothly into the lake, thanks to yesterday's training.

Horak clenches his fists tightly as he realizes that he failed to warn them in time.

As the rest of the group watches with bated breath, the heroic group moves on toward the small island.

The hearts of the spectators beat like fast bells at the thought of the tragedy that awaits them.

Seconds, tens of seconds, then five minutes.

The raft easily reached the islet without any particular incident, except for a child of the Purple-Eyed Tribe waving his arms around energetically throughout the raft.

Horak and Mussan exhaled heavily from the bottom of their lungs and fell into a heap together.

"............ You're so lucky!"

"Well, heroes have something different after all. Well, I'm glad you're all right."

"Don't get too comfortable just yet, Mussan."

Well, there's always the return trip. They're back!

Mussan's loud voice again caused Horak to look hurriedly back at the islet.

He let out a loud groan again at the scene unfolding there.

The men began to swing their two-handed axes and double swords one after another at the aquatic horses on the island.

"...... No! I don't know what those guys are thinking. No, but they are right in their purpose."

"Spill blood in that place, the dragons will be sniffing it out soon!"

In a flash, several monsters lay on the ground, bleeding blue blood.

With their blue skins and algae-like manes, these carnivorous horses are quite strong, especially in group fights.

The men on the raft, however, seemingly manage to destroy the monsters.

A red-haired boy stands low and runs two swords across the ground.

A boy with a shield closes the distance and clubs a hook into the skull when a paw is struck hard.

The last one fell down with a whinny and a cry of exhaustion.

As Horak and the others watch on, the men now begin to tie the horses' carcasses to logs that they have brought with them.

Apparently, they had brought them here for this purpose.

The group hurriedly gets on the raft, and then they change their weapons to oars and start rowing at once.

As the raft moves forward, the log to which the monster is tied begins to move as if being dragged along.

Upon closer inspection, it seems that the logs and the raft are connected to each other by what looks like a rope.

One after another, the logs are pulled and fall into the lake, and the reddish-black water turns blue with the blood overflowing from the monster's wounds.

Horak and the others groaned for the first time at this shallow act.

"It might make the prey lighter and easier to carry. ......"

"Do you really not understand the danger?　d*mn, here they come at last!"

Mussan pointed to a large rolling wave.

The part of a thick body covered with bright red scales was visible between the waves.

The master of the lake approached the raft at a tremendous speed, shaking the surface of the water with a flamboyant motion.

From the length of the white foam that stretches out, it seems that the size of the raft and the dragon are several times larger than each other.

A light stroke with its dorsal fin would surely tip the raft over or, in the worst case, shatter it.

The moment of impending doom is drawing closer and closer, and the eyes of Horak and the others are filled with a deep despair.

Finally, the surface of the lake rises to the surface.

Somehow, in the next instant, it stops dead in its tracks.

"What?

"Huh!"

With its head halfway up out of the water, the lake dragon for some reason refuses to move.

No, the waves are bubbling violently, so the part hidden under the water seems to be less so.

However, the head of the huge monster is motionless as if it were driven by an invisible stake.

The raft passes in front of the dragon's head peeking out from the surface of the lake, bypassing it with ease.

After a few tens of seconds, the master of the lake finally starts to move again, as if he has broken his bonds.

With an exasperated snort and a splash, he disappears into the depths of the lake.

Horak and the others breathe a deep sigh of relief, but it is only a short-lived relief.

There is no way that the monster will give up so easily on its prey, which has wandered into the lake for the first time in a long time.

"Oh my God!"　

"Oh, Lord of Fire!"

The cunning dragon seems to have changed his attack firmly this time.

Suddenly, the raft is lifted up, and a huge monster head appears from under it, pushing the water out from under it.

The raft is pushed up from directly below, and floats in the air.

Somehow, the next moment, it moves forward on the surface of the water as if nothing had happened.

"Whoa!

"Aha!"

With their eyes wide open, Horak and Mussan stopped moving.

The raft must have been about to capsize, falling apart.

They looked at each other in silence as the event vanished like a phantom.

"Did you just see that wrong ......?"

"No, I saw it clearly. I'm sure it was overturned,......, but I'm not finished yet!"

The dragon changed its ways again, this time slamming into the raft with a sideways swipe of its long tail.

As before, the raft should have easily overturned if it had been hit properly.

Somehow, in the next instant, the tail returned to where it came from with a terrifying force.

A high wave is created, and the dragon, unbalanced, disappears under the water again.

"......I'm not going to say anything else."

"...... I ain't gonna say anything right."

After fighting off three attacks, the group finally exits the lake and enters the river.

But the owner of the lake, who has been mocked, will not leave so easily.

The blood of the aquatic horses tethered to the logs was also a factor.

The excited and furious lake dragon, with its dorsal fin sticking out of the water, chased the raft into the river.

The adventurers on the shore, who had been watching the situation in stunned silence, immediately screamed and ran for cover.

Men rowing their oars with all their might.

A girl cheering loudly and a child jumping up and down with a cage of insects.

A huge monster chased after them with its fangs bared.

The sight is so impossible that Horak stops to think.

But a mere raft is no match for a dragon that can move freely through the water.

As the distance between the two gradually closed and it seemed as if they were about to catch up, the man from the purple-eyed tribe suddenly swung his one-handed axe.

Without a moment's pause, the logs and the horses are left behind.

They head for the monster that is right behind them.

The lake dragon opens its mouth and swallows the first one whole.

The raft, not missing a chance to stop moving and detach its even heavier cargo, accelerates at once.

The raft deftly turns along the river and disappears downstream.

The dragon, which had stopped moving for a little while, let out a deafening roar, and then followed the raft.

He seems to be completely consumed with blood.

Horak and Mussan, who had been stunned, instantly come to their senses with their yells.

What the hell is going on?

"I don't know!　Let's just go after it!"

Following the raft and dragon in a hurry, Horak and the others run along the riverbank.

They are soon confronted with a sight they will never forget.