316 - - Those who take risks, the second.

Ladies and gentlemen, here we come! From the tree of liberation, come and burn!

At the call of the mustachioed magician, the fire wizards in a line lifted their staffs in unison.

One after another, scorching fireballs appeared above their heads, generating a tremendous amount of heat.

"Taste a glimpse of the power of the great flame with your own body.

The unleashed blazing masses of flames fall one after another in an arc to the slope in front of them.

The earth-piercing roar echoed loudly through the mountains.

The fireballs, which had gouged the ground, now erupted into pillars of fire.

New fireballs scattered from there, colliding with other fireballs in midair and spreading more flames.

In no time at all, the surface of the earth was licked clean by the flames.

A sea of fire burned relentlessly all around.

However, the ground shaken by the shimmering flames is nothing more than a myriad of craggy rocks.　

It should have been so, but suddenly, the rocks are blown away.

What emerged from beneath the ground was a monster with a long, writhing body.

At first glance, it looks like a huge snake, but all it has on its head is a ring-shaped mouth with fangs all the way around.

Its eyes are degenerated and buried in the thick scales that cover its body.

The name of this monster, whose length and girth are as long as a large tree, is "jiryu.

As its name suggests, it is a subspecies of dragon, so its regenerative power and sturdiness cannot be underestimated.

Furthermore, it usually lurks in the ground, making it impossible to attack it preemptively.

However, since they do not regulate their body temperature very well, they have a weakness that they can be easily scorched out by heating the ground with high temperature.

The earth dragons came out to the surface one after another, but they were already covered with scorching heat and oxygen was already gone.

The monsters stormed across the ground, emitting eerie cries.

The ground rumbles on the mountainside as dozens of huge monsters shake their entire bodies at once.

The sight of the large number of long insects dancing around was both horrifying and magnificent.

No matter how strong their bodies may be, they cannot work as long as they cannot continue to breathe.

The flailing earth dragons gradually quieted down in the flames.

However, this steep mountain is not so sweet as to end there.

A dozen or more of them let out more cries, and as if they had climbed over the corpses of their comrades, they come rushing down the mountainside, which has turned into a forest firestorm.

They pounced on the group of flame wielders that had just finished unleashing their magic.

"I'm going to match you! --

A group of men with shields at the ready stood in the way of the approaching behemoths.

They stooped down and stepped on both feet, breathing in unison and releasing their fighting spirit.

Immediately, the earth beneath their feet rose one after another.

The neatly lined earthen pillars, with no gaps between them, quickly became a sturdy earthen wall.

The sound of violent collisions rang through the sky one after another.

But the wall did not shake.

The men who pressed their shields against the earthen walls successfully withstood the weight of monsters several times their own size.

"...... will take care of the rest."

The next voice that echoed was that of a grave man.

At the same time, a figure with a long two-handed axe leaps onto the earthen wall.

A step later, a woman with a spear in her hand, her golden hair fluttering in the air, leaps into the air.

Next to her is a red-haired man with a two-handed sword on his shoulder.

"-Let's go!"

At the same time as he spoke, flames coiled up from the long blade of his sword and shot into the sky.

--

The blade of the man's axe is already covered in purple lightning.

--

The woman's spear, drawn swiftly, was also covered with lightning like thorns.

--

Warriors and swordsmen fire their weapons as hard as they can at the earth dragons, who have been stopped in their last dash and have become easy targets.

The monsters, their thick scales broken by fire and lightning, died quickly, spraying their bodily fluids.

"Looks like it ended nicely. Well, you've done a wonderful job, gentlemen.

No, not yet. They're coming from up there.

"Oops, I guess I got carried away. I guess I was a little too quick to let my guard down. Now, please, archers...

"Oh, I've been waiting for you!"

A young man of the Suiba tribe answered suddenly and loudly.

In his right arm, which was much thicker than usual, was a conspicuous vermilion arrow.

The archers who were behind the flame wielder, all at once, grabbed their arrows and drew their bowstrings.

They aimed their arrows at a swarm of flying centipedes with dragonfly-like wings that were gathering in the sky above.

They glided in from the mountain tops, smelling the burning flesh of the dead earth dragons.

Each centipede was as long as an outstretched adult's arm, and it was certain that not a bone would remain after being surrounded by several of them.

Sharp shouts were made to the dozens of monsters that were closing in on us, cutting through the wind.

"Let go!"

More than a hundred arrows whizzed through the air like a sideways rainstorm.

A bunch of arrows, enough to create a huge shadow on the ground, flew relentlessly into the monster hordes.

The flying centipedes, their wings pierced, fall easily to the slope.

Then they were burned by the still smoldering flames, and their limbs shrunk down and died.

A few, however, seem to have escaped the hail of arrows.

They clench their protruding jaws together as they attack the humans who have fired the arrows.

"Shut your mouth, you worm!"

The man with shaking wings on his head pulls two arrows out of the quiver and quickly spins them around his bow.

The next moment, the arrows are released in two red streaks.

--

The arrows pierced the sky, and each one accurately pierced the base of the wing of the flying centipede.

But it does not end there.

The man's arm moves fluidly, and two more arrows are shot out.

Another shot.

The man lets out a satisfied breath as he fires three times in quick succession, shooting down the flying centipedes.

Seeing that the battle was over this time, Barconia raised his staff and signaled for a rest.

The water wizards, who had been in the rear of the group, rushed forward to tend to the wounded.

The musicians also switched from to and began to replenish the lost magic power.

Balconia looks ahead again and pulls his mustache lightly at the wonderful results of the battle.

"Well, well, well."

Since the number of participants had swelled to the point where it could be called an expeditionary force rather than an expeditionary party, the first obstacle, the Jiryu Mountains, was currently undergoing a sweep operation that relied on sheer numbers.

One by one, it is not so much, but if a hundred people unleash the fire all at once, the flames will become tremendously powerful.

The bombardment by the magic users burned the surface of the land cleanly.

A wall of strong shieldmen defending it with all their might.

Warriors and swordsmen clearing away the monsters they failed to kill, and archers intercepting every attack from the sky.

Water wizards to replenish their strength and heal their wounds, and the support of the musicians who replenish their magic and fighting spirit.

In short, what they have always done was simply applied to a larger group.

But as a result, the expeditionary force was a perfect army, complete with offensive, defensive, and auxiliary forces.

After a short rest until the flames that had consumed the mountainside had subsided, Barcognaia steps up to his men with a canteen.

"Thank you for your efforts, Mr. Raszel. Now, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Let's take our time and conserve our strength.

The red-haired warrior nods, takes the canteen, and slowly quenches his thirst.

Then a strong man with a double-axe on his back approaches with a blonde woman.

"Your voice still sounds so good, my friend", he says.

"You, too, have not changed at all. No, you look younger and more handsome than ever.

It's been a while. How have you been?

Balconia gracefully returns a bow in greeting to the two warriors of the Purple-Eyed Tribe, Sorrugum and his second-in-command.

Then another young man with a bow on his back also spoke.

"Well, a talker has to talk, doesn't he?"

I know, I know. But your sarcasm has not changed. Your skill with the bow has improved. That last shot you just made was a masterful one.

The Suiba archer who was praised nodded his head with an eagle smile on his face.

Sorrugum's mouth lifted at the sight of them.　

"Oh, Commander, is something interesting?"

"Well, what?"

"No, you were smiling."

Asked by his deputy, Sorrugam looked around once more at the assembled faces before continuing.

"It's been a long time since we've had a gathering of the members of the Silver Alliance like this," he said.

"If you ask me, you're right!　I had given up hope that it would ever be possible, but I'm being taught once again that fate is a completely unexpected thing.

"I never thought I'd be back here again either. It's good to see you again, boys.

At the young archer's words, which he does not try to hide too much, Balkonia and Sorrugam look at each other and their mouths relax.

The man who had led the thunder roar group let out a murmur of sincerity.

"Back in the days when we were dragging each other's feet, I used to sometimes think: 'I'll never be able to do this again. It would be fun to fight side by side with you guys.

Sorrugum frowned a little and spun his words.

"We conquered the witches together and it came true, but it seems that he still has some regrets and regrets. I'm a little bit crazy for being so flippant about it.

"I agree with you very much. You two are really dependable.

"Flattery again. You haven't changed, you talkative son of a b*tc*. No, he's changed when he grew a beard that doesn't suit him.

Then the archer notices Rasel's questioning look.

"What's bothering you?"

"No, I was wondering what happened to your sister."

"That guy. ....... He's a little busy right now."

The young man of the Midoriwa tribe looked up at the sky meaningfully.

Then he turned his gaze back to the mountainside and muttered to himself.

"But Thor always brings us to interesting places. I never thought I'd be a part of such a big hole in the ground.

"Yeah, you really are an unpredictable guy, aren't you?"

"Indeed, sir. Just when I thought the underground prison was finally over... here we are. I'm giddy.

The three men grinned at each other.

Then a young woman's voice echoed.

"It's a shame, really. If only Mr. Chiru were here, we would have reunited the Silver Alliance. ......"

Only one person, the vice captain, was completely oblivious.