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At the relay station on the border between Viscount Lagart’s domain and Marquis Escalante’s domain, adventurers began moving before dawn.
Yesterday, they were attacked before dawn in a surprise attack, so most of the party started getting ready early this morning.
The adventurers’ breath was white as the New Year had just begun, and it was so cold that the ground was covered with frost.
Wearing thick robes for protection against the cold, they move their bodies and fingertips to keep warm by the campfire, ready for any attack at any time.
The men in charge of the lookout kept their eyes fixed on Mount Bule, which was finally beginning to brighten.
Wyverns are the only creatures that can fly from near the summit and be seen from the relay station at the foot of the mountain.
Those on watch are very serious, as they know that they are putting their own lives and those of their companions at risk if they fail to spot the approaching wyvern.
At this time with the members of Chariot, Serge is on watch.
He must have just replaced Gad before dawn, but there is not a trace of sleep on his face.
Standing upwind of the campfire, he looks out at Mount Bule as if he has forgotten how to blink.
“I don’t think it is coming this morning.” (Gad)
“Nyango… Did you get some rest?” (Serge)
Serge replied without moving his gaze in the direction of Mount Bule when he called out to me.
“I’m in perfect physical condition. I’m ready to go anytime.” (Nyango)
“Please. Anyway, if you don’t stop it moving and drop it on the ground, the attacks won’t reach it.” (Serge)
“Yeah, I’ll drop it no matter what.” (Nyango)
Last night, before I fell asleep, I had thought of a number of plans.
If we are attacked at the camp before it is deployed, if we are attacked after it is deployed, if it attacks the bait cows as planned, if the adventurer on the other side is attacked… etc.
It’s a 360-degree assumption from the sudden descent to the direction it’s going to dive in… I’d like to say that, but if it is behind something or across the encampment on the other side of the river, we may not be able to catch sight of them.
I thought about setting up on the top of the carriage so that I could see all around me, but Laius dismissed the idea.
If they were to target me and my plan failed, I would be the one to go down.
At this point, the only way to bring down the wyvern is with my void magic.
It seems that the Lagart Knights will procure a net in response to Bored Men’s suggestion, but even if it arrives, it will probably be several days later.
That’s why my responsibility is so great.
The air at the relay station became tense as the surroundings grew brighter, but the wyvern did not show itself at all.
Most of the adventurers who had gathered at the relay station were awake and ready to intercept the wyvern, but the air gradually became less tense when the wyvern did not appear.
Serge, who had been staring at Mount Bule like a sculpture, exchanged glances with Laius and twisted his head.
I have an incredibly bad feeling about this.
Thinking back on how the wyvern has attacked so far, they seem to outwit us adventurers.
The first attack was before dawn when they were off guard, and the second attack was on the Escalante side, pretending to attack the Lagart side.
This is a clear distinction from the monsters we have fought so far.
I can’t help but feel that the next attack will be carried out in a manner that makes a mockery of our preparations.
Or, if they attack the city instead of here… We will be out of our depth.
After the sun had fully risen and we took turns finishing a quick breakfast, the tension of the early dawn hours had faded considerably.
There are a number of people in charge of keeping watch, and the rest of us spend time looking at Mount Bule.
Still, the tension is relaxed because there is a time lag between when the wyvern takes off and when it attacks.
During the second attack yesterday, it took about two minutes from the time we heard the wyvern take off to the time it actually came over the relay station.
Even adventurers would be unable to move at the critical moment if they maintained tension all day long.
That is why I am ready to move at any time and stand by to rest my mind while there is no movement.
I fully understand that, and I think it is the right way, but something is bugging me.
After breakfast, we settled into a spot to watch the bait cows and look out at Mount Bule.
From the direction of Mount Bule, there was a bait cow, with adventurers and knights standing guard over it, followed by the encampment.
The Chariot members are, of course, in a position to view the bait cows, but my brother is in the shelter under the wagon.
When the wyvern arrives, he promises to hide in the shelter, in an even sturdier box, until we return.
Most of the adventurers in the camp were looking at the baits and Mount Bule, but I looked back at the encampment, curious to see if my brother was properly hidden.
There were still new adventurers coming through the streets, but I could not see my brother.
Apparently, he seems to be properly hidden… I thought, and when I casually turned my gaze upward, I saw a dark spot.
The dark spot was getting bigger and bigger.
“It’s right above us! It’s coming from right above us!” (Nyango)
At my shout, the assembled adventurers all looked up at the sky.
The wyvern folded its wings and curled up, holding its tail as it fell toward our position.
I thought I had prepared for it to come from either direction, but I did not expect it to come from directly above us.
Besides, with its wings folded, I could not aim at one of the wings, and if I did, it would fall on our heads.
“Damn it, [Shield]! [Shield]! [Shield]!” (Nyango)
I put up the shield with all my might at an angle and tried to shift the point of fall in the direction of the bait cow, but the wyvern’s weight and momentum from acceleration prevented me from moving it as far as I wanted to.
“Everyone back away! Get down!” (Nyango)
My shield caused a slight displacement, but the wyvern landed not more than 10 meters from the position.
To my surprise, the wyvern kept its body curled up until just before it landed, and just as I thought it was going to crash, it flapped its wings furiously.
Along with the quake that lifted the body, the ground was blown away around the wyvern, and a shockwave rushed in.
Even the [Shields] I had quickly put up at an angle were blown to pieces, but thanks to Gad, who held up a large shield, we were saved from being blown away.
I quickly put up [Shields] and prepared for a follow-up attack, but the thick cloud of dust made it difficult to see.
Still, we strained our eyes to see the shadow of the wyvern’s huge body, but the screams came from the other side of the river.
“Shoot, shoot!” (Voices)
“Gyaa!!!” (Wyvern)
“You idiot, where are you aiming!” (Voices)
“Where did it go!” (Voices)
“Wind! Blow away the dust!” (Voices)
The wind-attribute user tried to blow away the dust with magic, but since there was no unified direction as to which direction to send the dust, it was difficult to regain visibility.
When visibility was finally restored, the wyvern was a small dot far above.
The staging area where the wyvern had left was again a dismal mess.
On the Lagart side, a large crater had formed just beside the position, and many people had been injured by stones blown away.
On the Escalante side, two adventurers were kidnapped again, and many others were wounded after being reamed by the tail.
In terms of tactics, it was similar to yesterday, but more extreme today.
“F*cking monster, how the hell did they come from right above us?” (Adventurer)
“I didn’t see it fly away.” (Adventurer)
“But it went back in the same direction as yesterday.” (Adventurer)
“No way, is there another one?” (Adventurer)
“Don’t be silly, if there are many of them, no matter how many lives they have, it won’t be enough.” (Adventurer)
After the wyvern had left, the injured adventurers on the Lagart side began to discuss what had happened and what they were going to do.
Fortunately, Chariot did not suffer a single wounded man, as we all stayed down after Gad’s shield.
“Laius, isn’t this the end of today’s subjugation?” (Serge)
“Well, let’s go back to the camp for now.” (Laius)
As Serge said, not only the adventurers but also the bait cows had been blown away.
The other party had to regain their footing, and even if Chariot remained behind, we would only be a replacement for the cows.
“Nyango, how did you notice…?” (Laius)
“I was worried about my brother, so I turned around the encampment, and then I kind of looked up and there it was.” (Nyango)
“That’s right… It looks like an individual with a lot of intelligence…” (Shure)
Shure also seems to recognize that Wyvern is a cunning opponent.
“Laius, you should keep a lookout even when we return to the camp…” (Shure)
“That’s right… It seems to be aiming for the moment when we let our guard down.” (Laius)
“Probably not a young individual…” (Shure)
When I returned to the carriage, the brother was properly hidden in the box.
I don’t know if it was prudence or cowardice that kept him from getting out of the box when he heard the adventurers talking around him, but it made me feel safer.
“Nyango, can’t you take it down yet?” (Fawkes)
“Yeah, it’s pretty tough. This side only had the wounded, but the other side seems to have deaths.” (Nyango)
“I’ll be in my hiding place, okay?” (Fawkes)
“Yeah, same as today, please.” (Nyango)
“I understand… but I’m nervous, I can’t be an adventurer.” (Fawkes)
“You just do what you can do, brother. I became an adventurer because I wanted to be one.” (Nyango)
“I see, but don’t be reckless and get hurt.” (Fawkes)
“I know, I learned my lesson with my left eye.” (Nyango)
My mood was tense until I came back to the carriage, but I calmed down a little after talking to my brother.
Maybe I was a little worried.
From here on out, I have a feeling it’s going to be a cunning battle with the Wyvern, but next time I’ll hurt it badly.
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