novelraw Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter 85 : Chapter 85
Chapter 85
-Demon, I have a request.
‘This lizard bastard, what now?’
I scrunched up my face, forgetting all about my plan to foster hostility towards the Orcs.
I went through all that trouble to save him, and he calls me a demon?
“…What?”
When I glared at him with a face full of annoyance, he subtly avoided my gaze.
- Er… Lord Demon?
Miss?
Sir?
Seeing him change his title while watching my expression, I let out a small sigh.
“Hah… the title isn't the problem.
I am not a demon.”
- Impossible!
You are a demon!
Crack.
I clenched my fist without realizing it and fell into thought for a moment.
“It’s not too late, maybe I should just loot him instead……”
- N-no!
If you’re not a demon, then…….
“I’m a human.
I’m clearly a human, aren’t I?”
- Impossible!
Grit.
- Ah!
I see!
Since you’re hiding among humans, you can’t reveal your true form…….
I spoke sternly in response to the dragon’s nonsense.
“No, I am a human.
A perfectly normal human.
If you call me a demon one more time, to hell with the oath, I’ll peel off your scales to make armor and grind your bones to make a sword.”
- To say such wicked words in this world……!
Indeed, you are a human!
Grind!
“Yes, I am a human.”
Perhaps, dragons were more useless than I thought.
* * *
“…So, you’re a hatchling on your first amusement, and you’re low on mana, so you want to sleep for a bit?”
- Yes!
That’s right!
“And it’s dangerous if you don’t recover your mana?”
- Exactly!
Furthermore, a Black Dragon like me has a lower mana recovery rate than other dragons.
It will be difficult to recover unless I sleep a lot.
Don’t worry!
Once I wake up, I will repay your grace according to the oath of my great race!
“I see.
Then how long will it take to fully recover?”
Calua subtly avoided my gaze.
- Hmm… that’s…….
“A day?”
- It will take a little longer.
“A week?”
- A tiny bit longer than that.
“A month?”
- Hmm, similar.
About a hundred years?
Does this lizard bastard have no conscience?
“I’ll be dead and gone in a hundred years.”
- Do not worry!
The oath of a great dragon will be passed down through its bloodline!
Was it a lizard of the canid family?
Its bullshit was top-notch.
In any case, having no mana was a serious problem.
No matter how precious an oath was, it likely wasn't as precious as one's own life.
“Is there any other way besides sleeping?”
- Hmm… let’s see.
The old dragons of my clan might know, but I don’t know of any other way.
“Then go back and ask them.”
- …I cannot.
I cannot return until I have finished my first amusement.
The rules of the dragons were more complex and irrational than I thought.
Considering they had to forcibly experience human society while avoiding humans with all their might.
“Hmm……”
Forcing him to fight in his current state would likely just breed resentment, which would be worse… should I just let it slide for now and aim for later?
Just as I was thinking, Calua spoke.
- Ah, if I eat an Orc, I get a little bit of strength!
“Huh?”
- The wise old dragons said it’s because I’m a Black Dragon!
So, as a racial trait, he has low recovery but can restore mana by eating?
- But the recovery is very little, so it will be difficult unless I can find a tribe.
“A tribe……”
- Hmm.
It won’t be easy to find an Orc tribe in a dark forest like this.
Remembering the Orcs that were currently heading this way, Ian grinned.
“Don’t worry, just in case you were hungry, there’s some food being delivered right now.”
- Is that true, human?
Orcs really are a kind race!
I lamented the severely twisted draconic education and spoke.
“It seems difficult for us to move you like this.
Can you perhaps shrink your body?”
- Of course, I can!
There is nothing impossible for a great dragon!
As he said that, Calua’s body seemed to glow, and in an instant, he had transformed into a cute size that didn't even reach my knees.
As if proud of his successful transformation, the dragon, whose tail seemed shorter than a puppy’s, flicked it back and forth and spoke vigorously.
- Now, let’s go!
Time to eat!
Chuckling, Ian picked up the dragon and walked towards Vergil and Hoodwock.
* * *
“Quiver.”
“…Yes.”
As if pleased by Hoodwock’s crumpled face, Calua flicked his tail.
“Don’t you trust me too much?
Sir Vergil here believed me.”
“No, a dragon in this world!
Where is there such a small dragon!
Grrrk!”
After laughing at Hoodwock’s face, which had turned bright red as if it would explode at any moment, I turned my gaze to Vergil.
“Did you really believe it was a dragon?”
“Yes.”
“What made you believe it?”
“Because my lord said it was a dragon.”
“That, that helmet rack!
Do you think that makes any sense!”
“Be quiet, quiver.”
“Eeeeek!”
Vergil smiled with satisfaction as he watched the thoroughly enraged Hoodwock stomp forward as if he would bolt.
“Um, Young Lord?”
At the sound of Reina’s voice from the side, Calua quickly burrowed into my body.
- Human!
Human!
No!
“Here, you go.”
My shoulders were getting heavy from holding Calua anyway, so I gladly handed him over.
Reina smiled brightly and hugged Calua tightly.
- You traitor!
Ugh!
Female!
Human, listen, I am the great!
For some reason, I was the only one in the group who could converse with Calua.
And the only one who could hear his screams from Reina’s suffocating embrace.
“Good boy……”
- I’ve told you many times, I am not a dog!
Ugh!
Stop, stop hugging me!
After watching the two play happily, I turned my head towards Vergil.
“What’s the movement situation?”
“Nothing definite in sight yet.”
“Let’s move as safely and slowly as possible.
Tell the scouting party to move only through the treetops as much as possible.”
“Yes.”
Vergil, who was about to return to the knightly order after finishing his report, spoke cautiously.
“Um, my lord.”
“Yes?”
“That… wouldn’t it be a bit dangerous?”
I looked at him with surprised eyes at his question.
If it had been any other knight, maybe, but for Vergil, who had offered his blind faith, it was not an easy thing to offer such counsel.
“I apologize.
That was out of line.”
The current situation was enough to worry even the loyal Vergil.
Torches, essential for traversing the forest, and food were generally in short supply, not to mention a significant amount of equipment had been damaged in the previous battle, and there wasn't a single intact shield.
Since they had moved to find the legion at a point when most of the scouting party was expected to return, a considerable amount of anxiety must have begun to spread among the scouting party as well.
“I was planning to go back too, but……”
To make use of Calua, I had to find and feed him Orcs before the battle started.
And the battle had to be as advantageous as possible.
“Hlyundeyrr was moving in a hurry, so he wasn't with his legion.
Then where would Hlyundeyrr’s legion be?”
“…They would probably be moving to find their Legion Commander.”
“Right.
And they’ll be moving as fast as possible to join their Legion Commander even a day sooner.”
Considering the relationship between a legion and its Legion Commander, there was a high probability that they were moving hastily without even managing their stamina.
“A legion is strong solely because of its Legion Commander.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course.
A legion that can’t form a military formation is just a herd of pigs holding fancy equipment.”
A herd of pigs that had been running to the point of collapse, at that.
“We need to deal with them before they hear the news of their Legion Commander’s death and get absorbed by another legion.”
“What if we can’t find them……”
There was no need to worry about that.
Our opponent wasn't a legion, but a herd of angry pigs.
“Wild boars only know how to charge straight ahead.”
Just then, rangers who had seen the scouting party’s mark ran up and reported.
“A report has come in that Orcs are charging, a day’s distance ahead!”
* * *
The preparations were not difficult.
Knowing that the Orcs were coming, I had the soldiers dig several deep pits and then covered them with leaves to create simple traps.
“Check carefully to make sure no branches got in!
If branches are mixed in, it won’t collapse!”
“Dig deeper, deeper!
Didn’t you see those guys last time?!”
“All crossbows over here!
Secure them well on the trees!”
If it had been only the soldiers, preparing the traps would have been difficult.
- Human!
Is this much enough?
“A little more.”
Ggudeuk!
- How about this much?
“Perfect.
Now cover the top with leaves.”
Chwareureuk!
- How is it?
How is it?
“You did really well.”
Calua, flicking his tail as if proud of the trap he had made, raised his head in satisfaction.
“Huh?
You can move your head now?”
- Of course!
I am a great dragon!
I slept for one night and woke up able to move my head!
A dragon was a dragon after all.
Calua, who had recovered a bit of mana in just one day, excitedly began to dig traps.
“Section A is all done!”
“Section B is all done!”
- This side is done too!
I hope they come quickly!
I’m hungry!
“The stones are ready too!”
“Good, everyone climb the trees and wait!”
* * *
Drede gripped his crossbow with a tense expression.
‘Will that be enough?’
Since becoming a soldier, he had never once questioned a superior’s order, but the Young Lord was a little different.
The kind of person you wanted to believe but found hard to believe.
‘The last battle was like that too, and no one got hurt, so…….’
“Drede, Drede.”
“Yeah?”
“This, am I the only one who thinks this is weird?”
He had heard this several times already.
No matter how stupid Orcs were, they had enough intelligence to turn back if they discovered a pit.
“Just hold your bow properly, you idiot.
Stop thinking useless thoughts.”
“No, it’s not that, it’s the Young Lord.”
Drede frowned deeply at his friend’s voice.
Had he lost his mind with a battle looming?
“Shut up, I’d rather not die for blasphemy.”
It was an open secret that the leader of the scouting party was the Young Lord.
News in the fortress spread faster than a Pegasus.
“Ah, really.
Just listen to me.
I received a letter before I came……”
Most of the soldiers in the fortress had families in Central Hold.
While it wasn't unheard of for families to move to the fortress, the soldiers wanted their families to be even a little safer.
Having a family in a castle where a soldier had died from a stone thrown by an angry goblin was an uneasy thought, even for a ranger.
“Did your wife praise him too?”
“Yeah!
Everyone who came here got a similar letter!”
Drede hadn't, but most of the soldiers here had heard similar news.
Absurdly fantastical stories about him catching a demon king or killing all the corrupt officials.
“So?”
“Strangely… I find it hard to believe.”
This was truly a strange thing.
Even if the Young Lord had been the scoundrel or demon of the rumors, the soldiers of the fortress would have followed him without question.
Trusting that the Count would handle it if anything went wrong.
“Stop talking nonsense and check your fletching.”
After a moment of thought, Drede said that and turned his head away.
‘Hmm… come to think of it, Sir Vergil and Senior Hoodwock were the ones who commanded the last battle too…….’
As he was looking at the forest with a worried expression, the soldier monitoring the vanguard shouted loudly.
“The enemy is coming!”
‘Well, even if the traps don’t work, we can at least get the element of surprise.’
-The soldiers who thought that were forced to change their minds.
Because even after confirming that the Orcs in the front had fallen into the traps, the Orcs in the rear ranks did not stop.
“What are you doing!
Nock your arrows!”
Startled by Hoodwock’s sharp shout, Drede nocked an arrow and wondered.
How on earth did the Young Lord……?
They said the blood of a noble was different, and it seemed that saying wasn't wrong after all.