Chapter 18: Border Rush
Naofumi was out, filling the carriage with supplies before their departure. Raphtalia went over to Fitoria's domain to get Keel, while Sakura and Ake continued their treatment in the cart. Thankfully, they had the foresight to hide it in a forest somewhere before the assault, and it had been helpful in their escape.
As he finished loading the last crate of food, he saw Ren walking over, looking pretty dejected.
"So. How did it go?" Naofumi asked.
"Better than I imagined."
"What, so she doesn't hate you?"
"Oh no, she hates my guts." Ren clarified. "She just says it's only natural because of the law of monsters. Whatever that means."
"Oh, it's a real law. She's probably referring to the entry on how the strong dominate the weak or something to that effect." Sakura replied as she plucked out a feather. "Damn acid."
"The more you know. So, what now?"
"She told me that if I wanted to make amends, I should focus on saving the world. But I have a feeling that won't be enough."
"I say you're thinking about this too hard."
"This is a child's life I ruined. I should be thinking about this hard."
"If that's your logic, I guess you're on the correct track. If you truly want to make amends, do as she asks and build from there. You aren't going to get much done if you just keep moping about it."
Ren sighed. "You're right."
Ren slumped in dejection as Fitoria appeared, her cart carrying Keel and Raphtalia with her.
Keel it had been a week since the raid, and he had spent almost every hour with the bird to a great result. He had grown up like Raphtalia, though not as tall. He was comparable to a teen Raph, though only a bit shorter. He also had more bandages on him, specifically on his chest. Though Raphtalia said they were unnecessary since Fitoria's healing was quite potent. So Naofumi assumed he was wearing them to look cool.
"So this is the sword hero… I smell the scent of a dragon." Fitoria turned away in disgust but looked back at Ren. "I shall respect your decision, but be careful, sword hero. A dragon emperor is not to be played around with." The filolial ran off, quickly disappearing in a flash of light.
"Was that?"
"The bird queen. It also seems like Sakura's hatred of dragons isn't just her. What do you know? Naofumi pondered for a bit.
He thought of an entire murder of filolials chasing down a dragon. A funny thought, though Sakura seemed to take offense to his thoughts. Or was overjoyed by it; her emotions on dragons were quite complicated.
"It doesn't matter; if she's not killing us, we're doing something right."
"O…Kay?" Ren replied, still pretty confused.
After some more talking, Draco and Wyndia came out of the bath. Refreshed and ready to take on the world.
It was the first time Naofumi saw the girl. She has a dog-like demi-human appearance, her ears and tail resembling that of a Shiba Inu.
She also looked around Keel's age, most likely the result of being leveled by Ren.
In her arms was a round orange dragon. Most likely the true offspring of the dragon Gaelion.
Even though Wyndia seemed to be able to tolerate Ren's presence. The dragon on the other hand, quite visibly despised him.
But that was an issue for Ren and Ren alone.
"Alright. I already have things wrapped up here."
"Same. If there's nothing else to discuss, we'll meet back here in 4 weeks. Then we'll make up plans for the next set of waves."
"Understood. Good luck in Siltvelt."
"And good luck in Zeltoble." Naofumi waved the sword hero off, with Ren doing the same, ready to depart himself. But before both of them set off, Naofumi called out to Ren once more.
"Actually, can I borrow someone real quick?"
/~/
"No! There's no way in hell! I would ride a lizard.!"
"And I refuse to let a fat bird ride on my back!"
"Who are you calling fat, you overrated fire breather!"
"You're obviously! And it's lightning, not fire, you dolt!"
The two monsters stepped forward, ready to beat each other down. But Naofumi got in between them and pushed them apart.
"Oi, none of that. We have no time to waste on your petty squabbles."
"Naofumi. Sakura knows she is difficult at times. Hell, she's unreasonable a lot of the time. But she refuses to tolerate any of this!" Sakura argued.
"Same here, Ren," Draco added.
The two heroes sighed and went over to their respective monsters. Naofumi walked over to Sakura, swapping to his rope shield, while Ren went over to Draco, holding a bag of coins.
/~/
"I swear when I get out of here, I'm dragging everyone to the ground with me!" Sakura shouted as she struggled to escape her restraints. Naofumi had tied her to Draco's back. So like it or not, she is riding the dragon.
"Stop moving. Break out of that and you'll fall!" Naofumi exclaimed.
"That sounds like a blessing."
"Ha. How does it feel to fly for the first and only time in your life?" The dragon mocked.
"Draco. Any more insults and you aren't getting this money!"
"But that wasn't our deal!"
"Then keep flying before I change it again."
"Hmm." Draco pouted.
Ren and Naofumi looked over at each other and just nodded their heads as they continued to fly.
After a while, they finally reached the hard part of their journey. But all they had to do was pass, and they'd be free to go.
"We're about to pass over the border of Melromarc. Once we get close, keep flying and don't stop."
"Getting past security can't be that easy. What's the catch?" Ren asked.
"We have some anti-air units on the towers, as well as our own dragons ready to chase illegal flyers," Ake answered.
Ake looked down at the border, confirming everything he could.
"If we stay at this altitude. We could avoid the anti-air relatively easily. The dragons on the other hand."
"We can deal with them… probably."
"Don't worry about that. I have plenty of dragon kill-." Ren stopped himself, remembering the girl he was riding with. Not to mention riding on as well.
"Even with those skills, I say avoiding a possible confrontation would be the simpler solution. Raphtalia."
"Okay. As the source of your power, I command you. Let the way shine through, and hide us from the sight of our enemies. [Dreifach Hide]" An orange light appeared around the dragon, making it disappear.
On the outside, nobody was able to see them. But on the inside, Raphtalia was struggling to hold the spell. Not due to inexperience, however, but something else.
"Ugh."
"Raphtalia, what's wrong?" Naofumi asked.
"Something is trying to strip away the illusion. I can't hold it." Raphtalia's focus dropped as the Draco reappeared back into the air. A bell can be heard from the ground as several knights spot them in the skies.
"Sorry, I tried."
"Don't be. Everyone, hold on." Draco dived a bit to pick up speed and started to rush towards the border wall. Several of the knights at the wall aimed their ballista bolts at the dragon and fired a barrage.
"Draco. Don't dive toward them!" Ake panicked.
"It's the quickest way to pick up speed. If we want to outrun the drakes, now is the time."
"She's right. [Airstrike Shield]" A green shield appeared below, blocking a few of the bolts before breaking.
The rest was either dodged by the dragon's evasive flying or destroyed by Ren's skill.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Keel complained.
"If you're going to hurl it, do it away from my scales, please," Draco demanded.
"Shut up. The second barrage coming this way!"
"I got it."
"[Zweite Holy!]"
"[Thunder Sword!]"
A beam of light and a stream of lightning flew through the air and crashed into the bolts, destroying them all with ease.
"Nice one."
"Don't celebrate yet. Dragons, closing in fast."
Naofumi pointed toward the dragons, five of them chasing them in total.
He swapped to his thunder dragon's shield as a fireball flew toward them, and activated its skill, successfully eating the flames and sending it back.
"Right, fire dragon. The things resistant to fire damage." Naofumi grumbled.
"Draco, evasive maneuvers."
"Okay, Ren."
The party held on to dear life as Draco performed all sorts of rolls in the air to dodge the drake's fire. But no matter how much she moved, they would always catch back up.
"I can't shake them!"
"You truly are a worthless drake. Sakura will handle this, [Fast Wind Cutter!]" A blade of wind cut Sakura's rope, freeing herself. As she got out, she used the rope to swing onto the other dragon.
"What the!" The rider called out. He pulled out a crossbow and aimed it at Sakura, but the bird moved quickly and kicked it out of his hand.
"Hmm, Sakura will let you live."
Overpowering the dragon rider. She knocked him out with a power kick to the head. She then sliced off one of the wings on the dragon and begrudgingly jumped back onto Draco.
"This is fun. Do you want to join?"
"Not the time!" Naofumi exclaimed.
"Fine. Taking Keel."
"W-what!" Keel tried to protest, but he was picked up and tossed over to another dragon by Sakura. Ren was also grabbed by the bird and tossed over as well.
"Don't do that!" Keel shouted. By the time he recovered, he was already being attacked by one of the knights.
"Die Demi."
"Huh."
The knight swung his sword at the surprised dog, but Keel ducked the attack and kicked the knight away. To his surprise, Keel actually packed a huge punch, the one strike knocking the wind out of him and leaving a dent in his armor.
He might only be level 23. But it seems Fitoria had the same stat-boosting capabilities as his shield. Most likely more, as Keel was holding his own. The way he fought was precise and deadly. He'd slide past attacks and strike back with a heavy blow, almost as if he knew the weak points of the body and where was best to strike.
The knight couldn't keep up as he was pummeled by the dog, hitting every vital area with the force of a truck. Of course, the knight was still pretty strong and eventually got the upper hand and caught one of Keel's punches. He tried to toss Keel off, but the dog quickly pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the dragon's back, stopping himself from falling.
The dragon roared out in pain as the dagger slid across its back, and the barrel rolled to shake off the pain. Both Keel and the knight hung on, with Keel climbing back on as the knight retook control of his dragon.
This gave Keel enough time to climb back to the top and rush the knight once more.
The knight responded in kind, swinging his blade at Keel. But the dog raised his foot, stomping the sword into the ground, before hitting the hilt, knocking the sword away. Keel then swept the knight's legs, causing the knight to trip and fall. But before he could fall out, he was caught by the dog, only to receive a punch soon after.
"Impressive. He's mimicking Fitoria, or at least a very scuffed version of it." Naofumi commented
"Intimidating or not, she's very efficient at her training," Raphtalia replied.
"Still. It was only a week since we left. To see results this fast is a bit frightening."
"[Dreifach Wind Burst!]"
"[Dragon Buster!]"
Being on their respective dragons, Ren's blades burst into flames and form themselves into the form of a dragon head. Wyndia looked away as the attack connected, and Ren cut through the dragon-like butter.
Sakura also dealt with her dragon with ease. Leaping into the air, before shooting back down, hitting it with a powerful kick empowered with the wind. The dragon lost consciousness and fell as Sakura leapt back onto Draco with the knights she rescued.
The only dragon left was Keel's. And while he awaited his ride's return, the dragon he was on began charging up its breath. Magic flows into its body like Fitoria.
"Draco. Mind if I borrow some power?" Wyndia asked. She stood up, walking past everyone before reaching the base of Draco's tail.
"Go for it. Just not too much, okay? I still need to fly."
"Don't worry. I only need a bit."
"What's she doing?" Ren asked as Wyndia knelt down and placed her hand on Draco's back. Lightning began to cackle as energy flowed from Draco's body into Wyndia's.
"Dragon Vein! Hear our petition and grant it! As the source of your power, we
implore you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Give us the power to
overcome the obstacles before us!"
The sky turned black as a ball of lightning formed in the air in front of them.
"I should be asking you that. Sakura, get Keel now!" Naofumi ordered.
Without a word, Sakura jumped quickly, grabbing Keel and his knight before leaping away, just in the nick of time.
"[Cooperative Magic: Flash of Lightning!]"
Bringing down her hand, the ball flew forward, expanding in a quick flash before discharging electricity across the entire dragon, causing it to explode.
After the smoke cleared. Naofumi and Co. Saw the dragon fall toward the earth. Not dead, but severely paralyzed from the shock it just received.
"What was that!?"
"Magic."
"What type?"
"Dragon Vein, a power utilized by the dragons. Though the one I use, Earth Vein, is a weaker version since I don't have the vitality to utilize Dragon Vein myself." Wyndia answered.
"Basically. Dragon Vein utilizes one's own vitality to cast spells. Very lethal to humanoids, basically an extra bar of mana for dragons. Earth vein, on the other hand, draws upon the elements around them, thus being more suitable for humanoids… How do I know this?" Draco explained with confusion.
"It seems that you got the knowledge held within the shard. That means you could give out the blessings of the dragon vein as well."
"No thanks." Sakura rejected the idea immediately. But Wyndia was quick to reassure her.
"Don't worry about it. Even if you got it, I won't be able to teach you. Unless you want to try and go at it alone?"
"Sounds like a hassle. I'll pass for now." Naofumi answered.
"I'm not a mage myself. So I'll also pass." Ake added.
Raphtalia also disagreed, wanting to focus on her illusion magic instead. And Sakura already rejected the idea several times, to the point that she started to be annoying again. Ren was going to reject it as well. But Wyndia forced him to accept, stating that his skill in magic is straight garbage.
The only one left on the dragon who didn't answer. And he honestly didn't know what to choose. He had just joined this party, and Ake seemed to be the only other person who didn't specialize in something. That, and what Wyndia did early, looked really cool. Raphtalia knew cool things were an easy way to sway Keel's opinion on something, so she guessed Keel would want to try it out. And sure enough, she was correct.
"Sure. I'll try it." Keel replied. He tried to act indifferent about it. But deep down, he was already ecstatic about the new moves he could perform.
"Alright then. I was planning on landing anyway; I need to catch my breath." Draco murmured.
"That's fine. There seems to be a lake; we can rest over there for a bit." Naofumi pointed out.
"You got it, shield guy."
Landing by the lake, Draco slumped to the floor. She had taken a few hits during the battle, many of which were still burning. Not to mention all the flips she was doing during the fight took up most of her energy.
With some healing from Naofumi. The dragon's pain was relieved, and she quickly fell asleep. Not before giving Keel the blessing of the dragon vein, however.
From there, with the knights properly tied up. Naofumi unloaded the supplies tied to Draco's back and began setting up camp.
Ake helped while Raphtalia kept Sakura from harassing Draco in her sleep.
Meanwhile, Wyndia helped Keel get the basics of Earth Vein down. It took a lot of trial and error, but before long, Keel successfully took some power from the lake. After a small celebration. Keel continued to practice throughout the night, determined to master this ability. Wyndia was pretty strict with her teachings but mentored Keel well as he continued to improve his skills.
Naofumi was quite surprised to see how fast of a learner Keel was. A few hours in, and he can already reproduce the effects of a fast-level spell. Before long, he might be able to reproduce the feat Wyndia did earlier.
/~/
"Good Mooorning!" Draco exclaimed, fully rejuvenated from yesterday. Burping out a bit of lightning, she began to help take down the campsite before transforming into her true form to carry the supplies.
"Master. What do we do with them?" Raphtalia asked, pointing toward the dragon riders.
"Set 'em free or whatever."
"Understood." Raphtalia began freeing the knights before instructing them to leave. Without any hesitation, the dragon riders ran off.
From there, the rest of the party completed their packing and prepared for departure.
Sakura, of course, was not happy that she had to ride Draco again. But after being wrestled down by the hero, she was once again tied up and forced to ride against her will.
The flight itself wasn't as bad. More uneventful than anything. They did encounter some new monsters; harpies and griffons would periodically attack them for whatever reason. But they were swiftly dealt with whenever they arrived.
Aside from that. Naofumi just laid his head back, waiting for their arrival. And after a few more hours, Draco descended before landing on the ground.
"Here we go. Outskirts of Siltvelts Castletown."
"We aren't flying in?" Raphtalia asked.
"That'll only cause issues. It'll be easier to go through the front gate normally." Naofumi answered.
He then turned to Ren. His bag of coins is out.
"I guess a thanks would be in order."
"Don't worry about it. Just be careful here. I heard they don't take too kindly to humans." Ren replied.
"In theory, we won't have to deal with that. All I need to do is show them my shield… hopefully."
"That may be a valid strategy for you. But what about me? Ake asked. He was quite fearful, being in an enemy nation after all. Not to mention one that enslaves humans like Melromarc did to demi-humans. Hero or not. This was certainly a dangerous situation to be in.
"I've prepared for that too. [Zweite Illusion.]"
Raphtalia touched Ake's shoulder, enveloping him with a bright light. When the light subsided, Ake stood there with a set of twisted horns and fluffy wool on his arms.
"What is this!" Ake whined in embarrassment.
"It's a perfect disguise."
"Why a sheep of all things. Couldn't you have made me a dragon or something cooler?"
"It was per Sakura's request."
"And it looks cute as expected." Sakura puffed up her chest with a flushed face. Clearly, she did not know her own tolerance to Ake's cuteness.
Ake sighed. "Thanks, Sakura… Hey! Ake exclaimed, also flustered.
"Let's just play it safe."
"Calm yourself. We'll be fine."
/~/
5 minutes later
"WE ARE NOT FINE!" Ren shouted.
They made their way to the front gate, and what seemed to be a simple task of showing he was the shield hero spiraled into battle as they thought he was a phony due to the sword hero and illusion magic on Ake.
"I've noticed. [Erst Shield!]"
/~/
Meanwhile with Motoyasu
"Damn it, why is it empty!? It was filled yesterday."
"Myne?"
"L-l-lord Motoyasu." Myne stammered as she accidentally knocked a few documents on the floor. "Oops. I'm sorry for-."
"Don't worry; it's quite alright. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were out grinding with Lesty and the others.
"Oh, umm, well, you see, we were, but then we returned early. I then wanted to check on the funding for the village."
"Oooh. Sorry, that must have given you the spook. I used it all yesterday."
"You what!"
"Yeah. When you went to sleep, I decided to work on a few things. Despite being retired, the old lord was very helpful in his suggestions on what to do. Then it was just a matter of checking the damages and allocating the funds to the correct areas. With the damage being very minuscule, I ordered a few materials with some reserves, bought several filolial to compensate for the ones that went missing after the wave, and lowered the tax on the gate since many were complaining about its outrageous price. With all of that out of the way, I also ordered the knights to clear the cave so we can have our mine, not you, by the way, back in commission, bringing in more income from there and drawing in more cities to trade with us. Honestly, I never played many RTS games, so I thought this was going to be hard. but with everything already laid out, it became easy. Right, Myne?"
"R-right. You're amazing, Lord Motoyasu." Myne's eye twitched as she lied. Her plans for a new money bin were just shattered while she was getting her beauty rest.
"You okay, Myne? You look a bit stressed."
"I'm doing wonderfully. Just a bit under the weather at the moment. Now if you'll excuse me... Myne left, barely able to contain her anger.
"Okay. Get well, Myne!"
/~/
AN: Geez, what a crazy wait. Christmas, New Year's, and writer's block caused me to rewrite and change the plot of this chapter at least 4 times, release a new fic, and start a web novel, and then I got accepted to college. Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled program.