Chapter 513: At the Silver Ice Sky
We are almost to the unexplored kingdom. Above that sky, more than ten silver dragons are hovering.
“What do you mean……I can’t believe it, all of that”
When I muttered in shock, Laila also looked a little disappointed, but still nodded with dignity.
“It depends. Owner is reserved, but it’s not impossible for a rider to have several dragons under his control. But……I’ve never heard of twelve dragons”
There were apparently twelve of them.
“What are you going to do, Dianne?”
“If they came to collide with each other, it’s a deal breaker. But that is the final step. The dragons will be able to talk to us. Maia, negotiate”
『What do you want me to say?』
“Greetings, I suppose. And what do you want? I’m here to bring back the local 『Hero』”
Maia barks in a high-pitched voice outside as Dianne says.
“I, I guess we can have a conversation with that”
“Don’t worry. The language of humans differs from region to region, but the language of dragons does not vary so much throughout the continent”
Believing Laila’s explanation, I watched the exchange of cries in the air for a while. But after a while, Laila suddenly grabbed my arm.
“No. Hold on, master. The other one is close at hand””
“Eh!?”
“It’s not a negotiation. They want us out of the way. Run, Maia!”
Laila used her piercing hand to make a hole in a piece of flooring, just big enough to fit her fingers through and guided my hand to hold on to it. At the same time, the carriage suddenly tilts and is thrown into a centrifugal force, sending everyone inside spinning around.
“Uwaa!?”
“Apple, hold on”
“Th, Thank you, Luna-cha……hiiii!?”
We tilt again, swing around and then suddenly float away. I’m falling, I realized.
“H, Hey, Laila!?”
“It’s a dive! Be careful you don’t get thrown out of the window or off the carriage!”
Everyone clung to what was handy. After slowing down to a thump, they heard one of the wheels shatter, as if it had hit the ground or something.
“Damn, what happened……?”
“Dianne, I’ll buy you some time. In the meantime, you and Maia will make it through”
“Laila!”
“Hoho, this is the first time I’ve had to deal with more than a dozen of them……but I have to make them regret putting their hands on us”
Laila jumps on the coachman’s stand and leaps out with a mighty leap. The next moment, a new low roar appeared outside.
“Damn……there is nothing we can do against this number of dragons”
Dianne mutters in frustration. We should have constructed a winning strategy, but that was simply based on our expectations of Laila’s fighting ability as a dragon. In fact, Laila, the strongest black dragon in the fire dragon family and one of the rarest and strongest among them, would have been able to defeat even two or three of her enemies. But it was unexpected that there were so many of them. If she had at least brought Asti with her, the story would have been different.
“I wonder what their purpose is……I’m sure they won’t just blindly chase away anyone who approaches them”
Neia said as she stood up, holding onto a chair. She had been sitting properly at first, but the violent maneuvering had sent her tumbling down the aisle.
“Maybe they’re going to use the dragons to keep the country in complete isolation……but then there’s some things you never know. Did Rainer Exeliza follow this many dragons in the short time since Neia was gone? Or has it been this way before and the heroes were unaware of this air defense?”
“Perhaps their aim was to finish me off. Maybe they thought it would be detrimental if I went back”
“If that were the case, they would have had a chance first. Why on earth are they doing this now……?”
『Dianne, if we don’t do something, Laila-sama will be killed』
Chibi Maia interrupts.
“……How’s the war going?”
『Intense. Laila-sama is putting up a good fight in her own way, but if she’s surrounded by something like that in the sky, she can’t resist……one wing is frozen. She’ll melt it with her breath, but in the meantime……』
Chibi Maia’s live commentary brings back memories of when Laila put her body on the line to protect me from the holy beast and when I fell to old man Bonaparte.
“Maia. Let’s leave everyone here and go back”
“Andy, wait. That’s an order”
“If Maia and I go, we can stop them. I’m a dragon rider. Dragons can’t attack directly”
“That’s wishful thinking! Think of what would happen if it was an evil dragon!”
“I can’t let them kill Laila unnecessarily. It’s just me and Maia……”
“I’m going with you. Let’s see what they’ll do”
Neia put her hat back on deeply.
“Then we’ll all together……”
“Tetes, calm down. I mean, even if you come, the others won’t be able to help”
“Yaa, Yakuu……!?”
I turned away from the astonished Tetes and opened the side door of the carriage. Maia was slowly slowing down, about to lower the carriage into the middle of the wilderness.
“Don’t tell me you’re useless, Andy, even to me”
“I’ll have you wait for me too, Dianne. If the dragons come after us, there’s nothing we can do, but if demons appear in this wilderness, Tetes won’t be able to protect them alone”
“……Impertinent saying”
“I’ll reflect on it later, or whatever. For now, I’ll do whatever it takes to help Laila”
I jumped down, though it was almost two meters to the ground and then jumped onto Maia’s downed hand. Neia follows behind me and then follows me into Maia’s hand. Then, looking sideways at Dianne and the others looking up from the carriage, I command to go.
“Maia, go. Cut in front of Laila”
“……If a breath come, be as small as you can and hide behind my fingers”
“I know”
Maia returns to the original airspace with a big swipe of her wings, which had been slowing her movements, creating a wind that could blow the carriage on the ground away.
Laila was doing her best to stay alone in the airspace dominated by the silver dragons. Laila bared her fangs in a threatening manner, spitting her breath everywhere and trying to get her hands on the silver dragons at hand. The silver dragons, however, moved more gracefully in the air than Laila and slipped past her attacks. Then, from above, another dragon attacks Laila with a kicking foot strike and a blast of breath, adding to her wounds. It would have been better if she could have concentrated on one of the dragons, but that was not possible when the others were rushing to block the attack while Laila focused on one. The fact that we were outnumbered was more than just a literal statement; it was an overwhelming difference in strength.
“Laila!”
“……Don’t come back!”
“Shut up! You don’t get to decide!”
Half of what I yelled at Laila was realization, the other half was performance. I was trying to show the silver dragons that I was 「Above」 Laila.
“Stop fighting! This is my dragon! A dragon without a rider is not to be messed with! It’s against our alliance!”
I shouted, almost at random. I don’t know the specifics of the pact, so I may be confronted with the opposite. But if there are riders, they will show their faces. The silver dragons stop their attack.
“……Rider……do you say?”
The largest silver dragon said in fluent Northwestern language, as if he was speaking along with me.
“Thats right. My name is Andy Smithson. I am the master of Laila the black dragon and Maia the blue dragon! I have come to deliver the hero Neia Grans! But what kind of rudeness is this!”
“…………”
The silver dragons did not argue, but slowly hovered with their wings flapping. In the meantime, Laila melted the ice cubes on her body with her breath and forcefully healed the wounds on her body while standing right next to Maia.
“You’re being reckless”
“Laila. Go and join the others. It seems the pact is holding”
I ordered Laila and folded my arms over Maia’s hands. The one thing that I am wearing is the Celesta army uniform. The clothes may be shabby, but at least the pose makes me look great.
“Please explain. What do you mean? You don’t even have time to tell us who we are. I thought dragons were more intelligent than this”
“…………”
The silver dragons hesitated. I’m not used to being so bossy towards dragons, so I’m nervous in my heart as I wait for their reaction. ……Or rather, I’m starting to understand something based on the response. These guys don’t seem to be under the direct control of an rider. If they were directly under an rider, they would challenge other riders like Sahul and Bauz without being intimidated. After all, Dianne and Laila were not wrong in their estimation. There probably aren’t that many dragons that have to fight directly.
“That’s…….”
“Excuse me”
Suddenly, a voice came from above. When Maia turned around and looked up, a silver dragon that looked a little different from the original twelve was hovering in the air. Unless they were hiding in the shadows, they must have seen us coming back and took off after us. They must have some serious flying skills if they were able to get above us without being noticed.
“They are my friends. They’ve been bothering me ever since rumors spread outside. There are many dragons that fly by on sightseeing tours”
“Is that something we have to chase away?”
“Not all dragons are good. It is my responsibility to protect this valley”
A silver dragon slowly descends to our eye level. On top of its head is the one……I saw once.
“Rainer Exeliza…….”
“I guess I’m famous out there too”
Not the somber-looking figure we saw in Rennesto that time, but a man dressed in the same type of complex armor that Neia once wore. Despite his slender silhouette and glamorous attire, there is a somber sharpness to his appearance.
“Welcome, dragon rider except me. And……it’s been a while, Flash Rider”
“……Its been a while. Rainer”
“It’s been a little over a year. ……Fine. Shall I accept your visit?”
Thunder Rider, Rainer Exeliza. He was intimidating with his eyes. Don’t think that you can leave this valley to the power of one or two dragons to touch it as they please……along with the surrounding herd of silver dragons.