“Hm?” I saw a Wyvern trying to fly with its tattered wings. It got about ten meters before being socked in the face by one of Kougyoku’s fireballs. Heh. Nice.
“HAAAH!!!” Old man Baba roared like an animal as he plunged a spear into a Dragon’s head. He had crushed it in a single blow.
He was old, so I wanted him in the rear as support... but he completely ignored me and charged into the front lines. Yamagata was nearby, swinging his greatsword at a wyvern as he slashed the heels of a Dragon beside him.
“Hey, hey, hey! Get over here, you scaly twerps! Feel the might of a real man!” The fight had been going on for a while, so things were getting pretty tense.
The two old men refused to board Frame Gears whenever we used them. They had said that they didn’t feel like it was a real fight when they piloted them, but they really seemed to enjoy getting up close and putting their lives on the line. I was a person who put safety first, so I didn’t really understand their reckless attitudes.
“Fuh!”
“Hiyaaah!” Nikola shook his halberd, and Norn slashed with her twin blades. I had prevented them from bringing in their mounts, and naturally that extended to Lain as well.
I wanted them to see the battlefield from the ground. If they had ridden a Griffin or a Pegasus, they’d have better vantage but poorer defense. They’d be able to deflect the breath attacks with their shields easily, but their mounts would have taken the full hit.
Before I knew it, most of the Dragons were down for the count.
One of the remaining Dragons seemed to be screaming something, but I had no idea what they were trying to say. I asked Kokuyou, who was coiled around Sango’s legs.
“What’s that one saying?”
“Jussst a tirade of abussse, sssweetheart. It’sss calling you inferior creaturesss, and criticizzing you for attacking them in groupsss. Missserable, if you asssk me.”
Geez... They’re the ones that came to attack us in a group in the first place!
Luli suddenly turned to the wailing Dragon and unleashed a torrent of blue flame that burned it to ashes. Well, there goes my profit.
“Little Luli is posssitively furiousss. But that’sss only natural... I too would be enraged if my kin acted in sssuch a manner.” Kohaku smacked away a Dragon that was about to bite a member of my knight order, then slashed out its eyes with her claws. After that, she left it unable to fight, but still alive. It was almost as if she was calling it unworthy to face her.
“It’ll be over sssoon.”
“Are these guys really stronger than Adult Dragons? They seem too weak.”
“Perhapsss they’re sssimply ssstronger in a cassse of one versssus one, darling. It may be that they aren’t any good againssst groupsss. They aren’t working in tandem, ssso they’re jussst attacking however they like. Great ssstrength hasssn’t tempered their weak mindsss. There isssn’t a cure for idiocy. If there wasss a single Elder Dragon amongssst all of thessse, they might have had a fighting chance.” Dragons weren’t creatures that hunted in groups, so it made sense. They were simply uncoordinatedly attacking like this.
Just as Kokuyou had said, it was pretty much over. The Dragons that remained were being put down one by one.
Eventually, they were all dead. Our side suffered minor injuries at best, as well. It was a complete and utter decisive victory.
“Raise your war cries, victors!”
“HOOORAAAAAAH!!!” A victory cry exploded across the plains.
Well, we won. I can’t help but be a little disappointed at how much of a cakewalk that was, though.
I hadn’t noticed during the fight, but we ended up gathering a crowd of spectators. It wasn’t too surprising, since our battle had generated a lot of noise. They were mostly people from town who had come out to see the commotion. I recognized a lot of adventurers from out of town amongst the crowd, too.
“Y-Your Majesty... Just what happened here...?” Guildmaster Relisha ran over to me from out of the crowd. Several guild staff members followed close behind. She briefly glanced at Sango and Kokuyou, fear painted on her face. After a moment she realized who they were, and calmed down a little.
“I went to the castle because we’d gotten word about a horde of Dragons heading toward Brunhild, but you weren’t there... Neither were the knights, so I had no idea what to do!”
“Ahaha... Sorry about that. Seems we just missed one another. But don’t worry, we took care of it.”
“I... can see that, yes.” Relisha looked over the field of dead Dragons with a look of awe on her face. I decided that I’d have the adventurers play their part in this little story, too. They’d be able to spread stories to other countries about what had happened this day.
“Yep, we did it well. So, will the guild be able to buy these?”
“Wh— You mean all of them?! I... I mean, we can definitely purchase them, yes... But please let me arrange funds before I buy them all... At a glance, I could probably pay for ten of them using our current Brunhild treasury...”
“That’s fine. I’ll store the rest of them. For the time being, at least.” I invoked [Storage] to prevent them from decomposing in the meantime. All that was left was to cut up a few of the dead bodies and cook them. Roasted Dragon meat was supposedly a delicacy, so I wanted to share it with all the people of Brunhild.
I used my smartphone to project an image of myself above all the knights in the field.
“Good work, everyone! You’ve proven yourself as great knights of Brunhild this day. I’ll roast up a bunch of Dragon meat, so eat to your heart’s content! And naturally, I’ll be putting in a little financial bonus for you all, too.”
“Hurray! We did it!”
“Looks like meat’s back on the menu, boys!”
“Man, I’m starving...”
“Thank goodness, now I can pay off my gambling debts.”
“Brunhild Forever!!!” The knights cheered out in joy. I was happy for them, too.
“Also, we’ll all be taking the Frame Gears to Dragoness Island tomorrow. The plan is to exterminate every last Dragon there, so make sure to get a good night’s sleep, and I’ll see you all in the morning.”
“WAIT, WHAT?!” All of the knights looked like deer in headlights. Honestly, it was pretty damn amusing.
◇ ◇ ◇
Dragoness Island.
It was a little bit smaller than Brunhild was. Dragoness Volcano sat at the center of the island, spewing out ash. For the most part, it was an uninhabitable wasteland.
The Dragons mostly lived on the beaches that lined the island. They tended to eat large fish, or aquatic magical beasts. Occasionally they’d leave the island to hunt game in dense forests, away from civilization.
But things were different now. They’d been attacking farms, making off with livestock, raiding fishing boats, and running rampant.
There wasn’t a single Elder Dragon left on Dragoness Island, so there was nobody to keep the young ones in check.
Luli and I arrived on one of the sandy beaches. The moment we arrived, she let out a furious roar that echoed across the entire island. You trying to burst my eardrums?! In response to her cries, several screeching roars came back from the distance. Dragons then began to show up in droves. Wyverns, Sea Dragons, Earth Dragons... All kinds of subspecies were on their way to us.
“We’re surrounded.”
“What’d you say to them just now?”
“I called them lowly beasts that have shed their pride. And then I asked them if they were ready to die.”
Well... I guess that’s fair. I did come here to wipe them out, after all. But still... subtlety is a lost art to you, huh?
“Enough screeching! My ears are gonna give out...!” I had no idea what they were saying, but it was obvious they were protesting her comment. It just sounded like a bunch of crap to me, though.
“Ohoho, goodness gracious! What manner of Dragon tamer is this?” A draconic humanoid walked across the sand, pushing his way past a few
Earth Dragons.
The Dragon Clan had a lot of tall, sturdy people in it, and this man was no exception. He was about two meters tall. His armor was beautiful, too, as was the flowing cape coming down his back. He had red hair and golden eyes. He also bore horns and a tail, easily recognized characteristics of a Dragon demi-human.
“I take it you’re the Dragon King?”
“Ohoho? I see that word of me is spreading already, lovely. And you are?”
“I’m the grand duke of a small nation known as Brunhild.” I saw the man’s brow quirk slightly. Seemed he knew just who I was.
“...Ohoh. Welcome to my humble abode, then. You seem to have done well against my subordinates.”
“Done well? They were hardly even interesting enemies. By the way, that Dominant Resonance Needle of yours is defective. It’s better to throw an artifact like that in the trash.”
“Wh—?!” The man adopted a panicked expression on his face. He probably had no idea I knew about his secret, after all.
“So, just in case I’m wrong... let me ask to be sure. You’re the one manipulating the Dragons, right?”
“Manipulate? How quaint. I’ve liberated them from bondage, that’s all! From the chains of their elders! From the shackles of their laws! A Dragon is mighty, noble, wise. Why must dragonkind distance themselves from humanity, when they are the apex of evolution?”
“Noble? Wise? Every Dragon here’s an ignorant dumbass.”
“I concur,” added Luli. I was glad she agreed. After all, if they were actually clever, they’d have run away long ago.
So in the end, this guy was exactly what I expected. A racial supremacist. A draconic supremacist. From what I understood, the Dragon Clan of demi-humans was a prideful bunch who went off into the world to hone their own bodies and minds. They forged their own paths.
But as we saw, pride easily turns to arrogance. Just like Dragons themselves, draconic men and women were susceptible to the same pitfalls.
“Didn’t those mighty Dragons of yours lose to some puny humans?”
“Silence! It’s impossible for a Dragon to lose in a one-on-one battle with a lesser creature! Measly little humans have only one advantage, they breed faster. Like insects, almost. You have no right to talk of us that way!”
“If you’re arguing like that, then you could say fertility is humanity’s strength, and we should be more than within our rights to fight in numbers. Not that it matters. I could kill all these Dragons by myself.” To be fair, I was technically a Demi-God at this point, so it was arguable if you could call me a human... Still, I was still pretty sure Yae or Elze could defeat Dragons alone too, so I wasn’t totally off base.
“And you’ve come to my island for this reason? Impressive, human. You have a lot of guts. But it’s misplaced bravado! Do you not see the power I wield? I could take over the entire world! You dare defy me?” The Dragon King yelled at me, but he was sweating profusely. Really, now? I mean, sure... there are over five-hundred Dragons here and all, but... can you really conquer the world with this much? I don’t buy it.
“Well, how about it? Join forces with me, child, and I shall grant you half of the world. We must—”
“Snrk....”
“What are you laughing at?!”
How could I not laugh?! You’re a dumbass, Dragon King! Who the hell says that kinda cliche crap in real life? I’m not exactly a hero or anything, but my answer is a hard no.
“Right now your Dragons are just an angry mob, isn’t that right? They’re a useless gathering of idiots without any direction. Do you want me to tell you what I think, Dragon King? I think you aren’t commanding them, you’re just drawing out their power and sending them out without any kind of co-ordination. You talk big, saying you can command Dragons at your will, but... I bet you can only control one or two before the strain’s too much for your pea-brain to bear, am I right?”
“Guh!!!” Bullseye. Seems Cesca was right about that needle being a shoddy product. Looks like this guy’s relying more on bravado than actual power.
“Ha... Hahaha... Fool. Why would I need to directly manipulate these ones, anyway? You’re an enemy to our kind, Dragon Slayer. All these Dragons here are awaiting my command. I need to say but one simple word, and they will ki— AHGUGUUUHGHAH!!” In a flash, the man’s upper body vanished from sight. It was engulfed in the maw of a Black Dragon. And then I heard a crunch.
Holy SHIT. His lower body slumped to the ground, trickling blood from its oozing wound. It was disgusting. The beach sand dusted his sticky organs as they splattered out. These Dragons couldn’t speak human languages, but they could certainly understand what was being said.
They were arrogant, after all. It was only natural to assume they’d be reluctant to serve under a demi-human, even if he made them stronger. But it seemed like they were going along with him because they thought he could control them at will. However, once they found out the fear was baseless, there was no reason to keep him around anymore. That was the most likely reason for the Black Dragon’s actions. The Dragon King had revealed his own fatal flaw.
“Well, I guess he got what was coming to him, but... that doesn’t solve the main problem.”
“They’re already starting to yell things about spilling blood, and killing humans... What a terrible sort...”
“Man, what a pain. Let’s take out the trash already.” I snapped my fingers, and a [Gate] opened up. A loud series of thuds heralded the arrival of several Frame Gears on the island.
The Dragons turned their attention to the sudden invaders. I could sense their irritation. I’d summoned fifty Frame Gears in total. That was only about a tenth of the number of Dragons here, but I felt it was enough.
“Everyone, listen up. Don’t hold back, go all-out. We’ll have a Dragon BBQ cookout tonight!”
“Hoorah!!!” I spoke through my radio and informed all the pilots of the plan. This would be a much easier battle than the last. Dragons weren’t nearly as strong as the Phrase, and magic worked on them just fine as well.
I was actually more worried about fifty Frame Gears being overkill. If we mashed the Dragons into paste, we wouldn’t be able to sell them... Still, we couldn’t exactly afford to go easy, either.
Well, it was too late to worry about that anyway. We were fighting for the sake of the humans who had been put at risk, as well as that of the real noble Dragons who wished us no harm, and to also line Brunhild’s coffers with bountiful gold. We couldn’t afford to hold back. It would be disrespectful to those that had already been victimized.
“Brunhild Knights, charge!”
“HOOOAAAAAAH!!!” At my command, the Chevaliers marched forward. The Dragons unleashed flaming breath and balls of fire, but they were easily shrugged off by shields. In a matter of moments, several Dragons lost their heads.
The Dragons started trying to fly away, apparently having realized the power of the mechs. But it was too late. Several of them released wind magic and brought the airborne creatures crashing to the ground.
The Ether Liquid that fueled the Frame Gears also transmitted magic all over the surface of the mech, allowing spells to be channeled through them. This didn’t really work for restoration spells or anything like that, but it allowed them to cast spells while piloting. This was because Ether Liquid held the same properties as spellstones.
The Chevaliers descended upon the fallen Dragons, making quick work of them. I didn’t really mind seeing heads fly due to decapitation, or their flesh being pierced by spears... but I had expressly forbidden the use of maces and hammers for this fight. Mulched Dragon meat didn’t really sell so good. Wait, don’t trample them! They’re valuable, damn it! The Black Dragon who had eaten the Dragon King (I didn’t even catch that guy’s name), was restlessly glancing around the battlefield. He watched his comrades die one after the other, and I could feel the fury emanating from him. Luli noticed too, and took a step toward him.
“Luli?”
“Allow me to punish this
child. He discarded his pride as a Dragon. I will show him the true power of my kin.”
“Uhh... Alright, I guess. I see where you’re coming from.”
“I am in your debt.” Luli turned and let out a deafening roar. If there were any wine glasses nearby I was sure they’d have been broken. Damn it, my ears! The Black Dragon roared in response, but compared to Luli its voice was miserable and weak.
I wondered if it understood its predicament, but then it suddenly shook its head and fired a fireball directly at Luli. She tanked the hit, didn’t even flinch.
I was a little surprised that she was completely undamaged. Not a single one of her azure scales seemed out of place.
The Black Dragon panicked and took a few steps back. However, it was too late for that. Luli charged forward and took its throat between her jaws. The creaking sound of splintering scale and bone rang out across the beach. Urgh... That’s... I’m gonna puke...
The dead Dragon fell on to the sand. Luli reared her head, roaring a deafening tone once more.
Suddenly, various Dragons stopped their protests, and fearfully huddled on the ground. A message came through on my radio.
“Your Majesty... Many of the Dragons have stopped fighting....”
“Luli... Is this a surrender?”
“It is. I just told them all to give up if they value their lives. I told them that resistance is futile. I told them that, if they didn’t wish to become ash, they would give up in the name of the Azure Monarch.”
You think I’d let you turn them into ashes? They’re too valuable for that!
All jokes aside, it seemed there were a few Dragons among them that knew about the Azure Monarch. But not all of them. There were still some trying to attack.
“Don’t fight the Dragons that surrendered. But feel free to kill the ones that are still being aggressive. There’s always the chance they might pretend to surrender, so don’t let your guard down either.”
“Understood!” After a while, we had killed three-hundred-and-fifty of the five-hundred or so that were originally there. Then, we took the needles out of the living and dead ones alike. This artifact was a real pain in my ass, but I was sure we’d gotten all of them. It was possible that back in the old days, they’d been gathered somewhere for disposal, but weren’t able to be destroyed for some reason. And then after thousands of years, someone came across them all and figured out what they could do... I did want to know more about the needles, but the only guy who had figured them out was half the man he used to be, so I was out of luck. I buried the Dragon King, or his lower body at least, by the coastline. I also buried the Black Dragon that had killed him nearby. I didn’t do it out of some sense of honor or compassion or anything, though... I just didn’t want to bring the Black Dragon back and deal with the gross half-corpse in his belly.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 8 Page 9
