Chapter 7: Nildea Invasion (before)

[5]

The “dragon” is an illusionary monster, and it is doubtful whether it actually exists.

At least — He certainly thought so until yesterday.

“… What is this …”

Isaac Delbruch, a knight who holds the status of “Baron” in the Kingdom of Eldard and is in charge of the East Gate guard of the important city of Nildea, mourns while looking up at the heavens.

There is a legendary monster that you can only hear the name of in the fairy tale. ――― “tenma (Pegasus)”, “phoenix”, “cockatrice”, and above all, “Dragon” is in front of Isaac’s line of sight. Surely existed.

It is not one or two. Tenma, phoenix, cockatrice, and even dragon. It’s surprising that all of them are gliding from the sky in groups of more than 20 to descend in front of the eastern gate of the city protected by Isaac.

(―――― What a nightmare this is)

Isaac’s mourning didn’t become a word, it only overflows in his heart. At this time, Tenma is still good. It must have been an “S rank” monster, so if the same “S rank” sweepers form a party, they will be able to subdue it. However, other phoenixes, cockatrice, and dragons are monsters called “disaster class”, and according to folklore, they are “monsters that people should not fight in any case”.

Needless to say, the reason is impossible to win.

No matter how many high-ranked sweepers were prepared, the “disaster class” is not an enemy, and it is said that there is no choice but to try not to stimulate as much as possible and wait for them to leave.

However, it seems that the nightmare army that is just descending from the air to the ground is being used by human hands, contrary to its tradition.

This is because a human race (earthling) can be seen riding on the back of each monster even from a distance. However, it seems that only the phoenix is used in the form of hanging on the legs of the flying phoenix, probably because it is not a monster whose body is large enough for humans to ride on.

“No way, a dragon puts an earthling on his back…”

Someone muttered right next to Isaac.

Isaac was impressed by the words. In this situation where the irresistible “disaster” is lined up in front of them and there is a man who has the courage to speak.

“… Oh, Gordon-dono? This is reliable.”

Isaac was able to calm down a little when he saw him. Gordon is a former A-rank sweeper who excels in handling bows and has a [sniper] vocation. The level was very high at “62”, and by the time he was active, he had reached the level of being called a “quasi-hero”. However, he was forced to retire as a result of having a deep wound in his leg when he captured a certain dungeon in the past. Currently, he belongs to the Nildea City Guard and is an adjutant to Isaac.

Although he reports directly to Isaac, Isaac knows he is a better person than himself. So Isaac always tried to treat Gordon with respect. That is why Isaac, despite being an aristocrat, calls Gordon, a commoner, with “dono”. Gordon always hates it and always says “I want you to stop” with a bitter smile, but it was natural for Isaac to call someone who he has sincere respect for.

“It seems that the time has come for me who has always been a commoner to reward Baron Delbruch”

“…! Can Gordon defeat those “disasters”!?”

When Isaac asked with a little hope, Gordon immediately shook his head.

“No, that’s impossible. With my arrow, the limit is to inflict a small wound on this monster, and subjugation is just a dream.”

“That’s right … It’s unreasonable to deal with ‘disaster’.”

“Even so, I don’t think my arrow can reach the rider but…”

“… What?”

“It’s the woman in black on the back of that biggest dragon.”

While saying so, Gordon took out an arrow from the quiver on his back and showed him the arrowhead on the string of his longbow.

As Gordon says, in the army of “disaster” in front of you, there is clearly only one dragon that is bigger than the other individuals. Perhaps the human race on the back of that dragon is the commander of this army.

“Isn’t the rider stronger because he can control such a strong dragon?”

“Aren’t you too early to decide? Humans cannot reach dragons and phoenixes with their own power. What are they? — I presume that it is an army that has gained strength by finding a “way to control demons” that we do not know.”

“Well, I see …”

There is no way that people can use “disaster”. It was, absolutely, a matter of course.

“In other words, if you defeat the rider, you may not have to fight the monsters …?”

“Rather, they might get angry with the fact that they was dominated and temporarily become our ally. — Is that wishful thinking too much?”

Gordon says so with a slightly bitter smile on his face.

Certainly, it seems to be a very convenient interpretation for them now. Still, in the current situation where they are witnessing despair it was also true that there was nothing else to squeeze.

“Can you do it, Gordon?”

“When I was active as a sweeper, my title was ” Gordon of One Arrow One Kill”I got sick and retired from active duty, but I don’t mean to weaken my bow arm.

―――― Could you give me your order, Baron Delbruch? ”

“I want you to kill the rider of this ‘disaster’ and show us hope.”

“Yes sir!”

A flash released from a strongly squeezed longbow raises a burst of roar and cuts through the sky. The arrow shot by Gordon rides on the back of a giant dragon, in the center of the “disaster” army that has just landed on the ground, without swaying in the wind it was supposed to reach  exactly on the commander’s (Yuri) forehead.

*

“—Yuri”

“Thank you for your concern, Ladra Gruff. It’s okay because I was aware. Hera, please collect it.”

“Okay”

One of the rings that the Yuri wears has the skill of <danger detection>, and tells the wearer that there’s attack from within a radius of 2 km. So, of course, Yuri is also aware that there is a man who shoots an arrow at her from the wall of the east gate. It seemed like an attack that wouldn’t hurt if it was hit, but you don’t have to bother to feel pain.

When Hera descended from her knight, the war dragon, she jumped from the ground to the moment when an arrow flying at high speed reached the forehead of Yuri, and grabbed the arrow with one hand.

“Here you go, princess”

“Thank you, Hera”

Yuri receives the recovered arrow from the spatula she presented. It was just an ordinary arrow with a wooden arrow handle attached to it. The iron tip is made of iron, not even Mithril, and is not poisoned. Did they think they could kill with such an arrow?

“It looks like we’re being licked a lot.”

“I wonder if stupidity doesn’t know the difference in ability is a sin already. Would you like to crush them for the time being?”

“… I was thinking of talking peacefully.”

While responding to Hera’s words, Yuri smiled unintentionally. Although it was known that the merit of occupying the city was great, in the end it was decided internally that “let’s try the solution through discussion first”. If something like this happened — there’s no need with that policy anymore.

“Well, Yuri, the other party has launched an attack, what would do? 』

“Yeah. I can forgive them, but …”

―――― If you point your sword at my wife even once, it is definitely an “enemy”.

There is no particular change in the policy from when she answered that to Ladra Gruff earlier. However, in this case, the sniper was not the beloved wife but “Yuri herself”, so it’s okay for her to overlook it?

“But whether or not the Yuri Empire (everyone) will forgive it is another matter.”

“…The murder of the surroundings is so great that I’m likely to leak a bit…”

Yuri loves everyone in the “Yuri Empire”. She would not be able to suppress her anger if even one of her beloved “wife” was attacked. It’s the same — Yuri is loved by everyone in the “Yuri Empire”. The anger of 359 people, excluding Yuri herself, was about to reach the limit due to the apparent attack aimed at Yuri.

……It is not difficult to guess how angry they are when a suggestion “Would you like to crush it for the time being?” Comes out from the mouth of Hera, whose propensity is “excellent” in the first place.

“Sera”

“Yes, Yuri-sama”

“What do you think Sera should do?”

“I can’t stop giving a pure death to a foolish person who bows to a merciful lily.”

“… Yeah, I understand.”

Sera is a child who is the captain of “Suiren”, and the occupation (class) is <Saint (Adela)>.

Of course, her propensity is “excellent”, and she is a child who can make the most gentle judgment in “Yuri Empire”. ――― As long as the warlike words come out even from the mouth of the saint, it can be said that it is the whole will.

“I like a smart child (dog) who can properly “wait (stay)”. Everyone, please remember that?”

“…! I understand. ”

“OK, wait for a while.”

After suppressing everyone in the “Yuri Empire” that was about to go out of control with words, Yuri started a magical casting.