Chapter 19 – Meeting a monster
The afternoon of the day that I dreamed of Hitogami.
We left the town and made our way through the forest.
As usual, we didn’t use the highway because there was a possibility of an army blocking it.
Even if it’s not blocked, the checkpoints that block the road from here are very strict.
Maybe apprehensive of their people leaving their country, they would find fault with all people who are trying to pass through and chase them back to their country.
It feels like they’re rejecting all those who come and not letting go of those who leave.
Doing that, the circulation of their country might stop, but a country on the verge of collapse might not have the leeway to think about that.
It’s insane.
So, after a process of elimination, this place is the only place we can pass through, so we are making our way through the woods that is far away from the highway.
Of course, the forest also has its danger.
A danger that I have experienced all the way here.
First, monsters.
I don’t care about them that much. I’ve gotten used to them.
Now that I have a lot of experience dealing with monsters, there is no problem as long as ones as dangerous as Blue Dragons would appear.
Next, bandits and soldiers.
These are fine too.
I have long discarded the hesitation of killing people.
If not, I can’t survive here in Conflict Zone.
There’s no problem as long as no strong enemy, such as a Saint-rank swordsman, would appear.
Ironically, after experiencing battles against many swordsmen and warriors, I felt a lot of pressure to protect not only myself but also my parents, so my fighting power itself has increased.
Although I really don’t like to say it’s thanks to the teleportation incident.
So, in that case, the problem was formidable enemies such as blue dragons and Saint-rank swordsmen.
Unfortunately, we ran into them today as well.
The cause was, as usual, being found by soldiers wearing familiar armor.
It’s a soldier from one of the three countries fighting a battle royale.
These guys appear precisely right in front of us as if they were guided by something.
Then, as usual, someone ordered, “Kill them!” and I started fighting them to death as usual.
But what was different from usual was,
“Charge……!!”
“Die! Dikt bastards!!”
“What!? Brauz shit are here too!?”
“Counterattack!!”
In the midst of our battle, soldiers from another country joined in.
A three-legged battle began from there on.
I desperately wished we could escape by taking advantage of the melee, but things couldn’t go so well.
My side has Father, who is covered in wounds from past battles, and Mother whose mobility has slowed down because of supporting him.
It’s difficult to leave the battle while protecting the two of them.
We’ll get killed as soon as we show our back against them.
On top of that, my strong strength made me kill more soldiers, making their priority to defeat me not decrease at all.
Even so, if I try to hold back not to kill them, their offensive would only get stronger.
Once there is a battle in Conflict Zone, discussions will not work.
The only way I can protect the two of them is to kill everyone before they can touch them.
But this time, there are more than 30 soldiers, a few magicians, and even a Saint Rank swordsman on each side, so it’s not on a level that could be described as bad luck!
It’s at a level of either being hated by fate itself or being targeted by someone!
But, the tragedy did not end there.
Rather, it was only the beginning of the real nightmare.
“GUOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
A deafening roar suddenly reverberated, and that thing joined the battle with a blast.
A dragon with red scales crawls on the ground despite possessing wings.
Red Dragon.
The guardian that blocks the way of everyone that tries to pass through the Red Dragon Mountain Range that divides the Central Continent.
I had a hunch that this guy was such a thing.
Probably, a so-called rogue dragon.
A red dragon that left the Red Dragon Mountain Range for some reason fell to the ground, yet not good at flying, so it could not return.
It sounds silly hearing it that way, but rogue dragons are “natural disasters” whose solo subjugation would be romanticized as a heroic epic.
It is said that to defeat such monsters, a high Ranked adventurer party must set up a trap in advance and be fully prepared before it becomes possible.
A monster that is equal to the Blue Dragon that I fought in a deadly battle before.
And unlike that time, I was more exhausted, and it appeared in a situation where I needed to beware of other enemies.
But the real nightmare is not about the Red Dragon’s attack.
If it was only that, it would not be a pinch but a chance.
With such a big and easy-to-understand enemy, the soldiers should prioritize defeating it over defeating me.
In that way, we might be able to escape while the soldiers are fighting the Red Dragon.
So that was not the real nightmare.
The true monster appeared after a few seconds, the Red Dragon attacked.
“Doryaaaaaaa!!”
A man holding a club-like weapon appeared while shouting a war cry.
A dark-haired middle-aged man around his fifties.
He looks like an ordinary human.
That’s right, looks like.
The instant I saw that guy, the instant my right demon eye perceived the appearance of that guy… I could not stop cold sweat from flowing out of my body.
“Seeeeeiiii!!!!”
“GYAAAAAAAAAA!!?”
The club that the man swung hit the Red Dragon’s head.
One blow.
With just a single blow, the monster that is equal to the Blue Dragon I fought in a deadly battle, a monster described as a natural disaster, died with its head crushed.
Astonished, stunned.
I couldn’t understand what had happened.
Most of the people present must have thought so.
In my case, it felt like it was a very natural result, and I couldn’t stop shivering instead of being surprised.
“Heya! I am a wandering mercenary hired by Malkien Mercenary State, Sándor von Grandeur! Brave men of the Conflict Zone! Let’s fight to our best!”
Malkien Mercenary State.
It’s the last of the three countries in the middle of a battle royale.
Seeing that monster who called himself a mercenary, I started to regret it too late, wishing that I should’ve followed Hitogami’s advice.
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