Volume 7 Chapter 47 Chase Echidna!
When it comes to capturing Echidna, I thought about how to make it impossible for her to escape.
After all, Echidna is weaker than me, but she's still an ancient dragon who can't be underestimated. Moruru also respects her as a teacher, and I acknowledged her strength as the top of gold.
However, I was confident that I could win because I didn't sense any passion from Echidna when it comes to fighting itself.
If someone doesn't have a personality that loves fighting, they can't reach the platinum level.
So, I thought that what I should focus on is not just winning, but making it impossible for her to escape. In reality, ancient dragons like Echidna's Dragon Breath have no shortage of countermeasures.
So, how can I catch her?
My answer is this.
"Let's do a one-on-one infight, Echidna! I won't let you escape!"
I'm "Create Chain!" and I appeared with chains to bind Echidna's feet, quickly closing in to punch her. My right arm is an artificial limb, and my left arm is in a boxing style with a gauntlet.
Echidna went "Hii!" and turned pale, dodging my attack. Of course, an ancient dragon can do that much.
"Hey, aren't you getting too angry just because I tricked you a little?! Do you really need to go this far?!"
"Get angry? Sorry, I'm only thinking about fighting the mature ancient dragon Echidna with all my might!"
"That's even more despicable!"
That's true.
I unleashed a flurry of punches, but Echidna thought "You think you can just keep hitting me?!" and transformed her fist into a dragon's claw to counterattack.
However, my fist was stronger than the dragon's claw.
I crushed the dragon's claw and my fist destroyed Echidna's fist. "―――!" Echidna's face turned desperate, and she retreated.
"Damn, it seems like a head-on collision won't work... Then I'll escape―――."
"I'm not gonna let you escape, you're chained down!"
I pulled on the chain, trying to create some distance between us. Echidna, who was lifted off the ground, was being dragged towards me by her feet. That's when my fist connected with her. She tried to defend herself with her dragon arm, but I was stronger since I'm human.
"Gaah!"
My fist broke through her dragon arm and struck Echidna.
Blood splattered everywhere, and flesh flew in all directions. I took a mounted position, laughing maniacally.
"I'll keep hitting you until you surrender!"
"~~~~~~! Ah, okay! I surrender! You win, you crazy person!"
[Dragon Voice]
The intense sound that came from Echidna's throat made me lose my focus for a moment. Even though I had weakened my hearing with Anahata Chakra, I still lost consciousness for a second.
When I came back to my senses and looked around, Echidna had escaped from under my feet, saying "You can't keep me here!" while healing her wounds and crying ancient dragon tears.
A "hole" appeared. A void floated in mid-air. The chain had already been broken. I had no choice but to attack, and as expected, I cut through the air.
Echidna disappeared into the "hole". Immediately after, the "hole" closed. I muttered, "I got outsmarted. What do I do now?" and looked at Moruru, who was staring at the situation with a blank expression.
"Moruru! Do you know what kind of magic that was?"
"Uh, um, I think it was a 'Dragon's Gate' that allows her to instantly teleport to a previously registered location..."
"That's right. So, Echidna moved to a safe location she had set herself?"
"Y-yes."
Moruru nodded. Then, my next course of action was clear.
Although I had let Echidna escape, my backup plan had worked perfectly. I thought to myself as I activated my second eye, Ajna Chakra.
I would chase after the ancient dragon's magic. If I followed it, I could find Echidna's location.
I smiled, feeling amused.
"Now, Echidna. You can do what you want. If you do that, there's no way Echidna won't register a location within Birk's territory, aside from this base."
I was observing the reappearance of an ancient dragon's magic within the city using Ajna Chakra. When I realized that, I clenched my fist and shouted, "Yes! I've got it!"
"Now I've got the location of 'Oath' base. Echidna, you're good to go. First, let's take care of the fake gold, and then we'll get to the main event."
* * *
'Oath' Arthur was taken aback by Echidna's sudden appearance, his mouth agape.
"Grrr... You're going to regret this, Wade! I'll make you pay for this grudge, you'll see!"
"...What are you talking about, suddenly showing up like that?"
In the living room of 'Oath' base, 'Oath' was sitting in a chair, legs crossed, thinking about the future.
Even for 'Oath', who had been through many battles, it was a first-time experience to have an ancient dragon, which was impossible to distinguish as friend or foe, suddenly appear in their hideout without warning. It was only natural to be perplexed.
Noticing 'Oath's' confusion, Echidna let out a "Oh!" and exclaimed.
"Great, I had specified you as the registration location. Now, let's take down that hated Wade together!"
"You don't trust me? I won't do that. We're already in a tough spot, having been kidnapped of Alkei."
"...Everyone's so annoying!"
Echidna was getting agitated, waving her hands around. But 'Oath' couldn't just leave things as they were, so he spoke up.
"You, from the flow of the conversation, it seems like you're saying you directly specified me and teleported under me? That's not possible, is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"I have a Geas that repels direct magic cast on me. It's a trade-off for not being able to use magic other than Geas. So, direct magic cast on me shouldn't be effective."
When 'Oath' said that, Echidna burst out laughing, saying, "Ah, that's useless against an ancient dragon's magic."
"After all, the magic of the ancient dragon is equivalent to the power of the gods, a mighty magic created by the Creator themselves! If humans want to counter the ancient dragon's magic, they'll need to complete the magic seal, that's for sure."
"...The completed magic seal―――'Seal of Completion'?"
"Anyway, what's with this treatment?! I'm the oldest ancient dragon, after all! The Creator even told me, 'You're old enough to become a god, so grow up already!' But I'm still stuck in this state! It's infuriating!"
Hmph! Echidna snorted, spitting out the 'mystery' seal―――probably the ancient dragon's seal that had appeared in the conversation.
"I've had enough! I won't get involved anymore! Wade and 'Oath' can fight on their own! I don't know anything!"
As she enlarged her body with the seal, Echidna transformed into a massive dragon. The ceiling collapsed, and the floor cracked and sank.
Terin, who had opened the door and appeared, let out a shocked "W-what?!" and stumbled backward, while 'Oath' couldn't help but gape in surprise.
"Well, humans, go ahead and fight with your petty thoughts and petty strength! See if I care!"
With a completely defeated tone, Echidna flapped her massive wings. The ceiling shattered as the dragon took flight.
"W-what just happened?! What's going on?!"
Terin, still unable to stand, asked 'Oath' for an explanation. But 'Oath' could only respond with "It's an accident, that's all" due to the sudden turn of events.
However, one thing was clear.
'Oath' stood up, a smile on his lips. He opened his mouth and spoke to Terin.
"Terin-san, she was the one who brought us information from the 'Slow' camp earlier. We were able to proceed without any burden because of that, but―――ancient dragon Echidna. If she's that powerful, there's value in believing her."
If she had teamed up with Wade to attack, 'Oath' would have been at a huge disadvantage. Echidna had that much power, but she didn't use it.
If that's the case, Echidna's goal was really different from the "Slow" camp's. Echidna was truly neutral, not an enemy or an ally.
So, her information is trustworthy. Especially, the information about the "Slow" camp's base she provided.
'Oath' turned to Terin and said, "Terin-san, about that thing I asked you to do, can you finish it by tomorrow?"
"Eh, yeah. I'll stop other work, but it's possible..."
"Then I'll ask you to do it. This information is crucial. They know Echidna betrayed them, but they don't know we know all the entry points to their base."
Terin's eyes widened. 'Oath' smiled, saying "Fate is indeed unpredictable."
"We've been lucky so far, not trusting Echidna and not attacking their base. They must be letting their guard down. There's no better opportunity than this."
'Oath' continued.
"But now we've found out about the 'Slow' camp's base, and it's likely they're not prepared for it. Let's attack quickly."
Terin nodded, saying "I'll take care of it. Please leave it to me."
"Okay. So, tomorrow, we'll launch a surprise attack. The enemy is the enemy. I'll take care of it myself."
* * *
I rushed to visit Sylvia and Gold.
"Ah, Wade, isn't it? Did you hear from Coin-san? We've also gotten stronger to some extent. Can you show us Durandal again?"
In response to Gold's words, I handed over Durandal, saying "Here you go."
"I'll ask you too! And, I'll say something sudden, but can you strengthen the forging by tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow!? What's the hurry, what happened?"
When Sylvia asked about the situation, I replied.
"I has found out about 'Oath' base. We need to attack before they find out."
Gold replied, "Leave it to me. I'll have it ready by early tomorrow morning."
"Okay. So, tomorrow, we'll launch a surprise attack. The enemy is the enemy. I'll take care of it myself."
* * *
The strongest words from the 2 of them coincided, strangely, at the same timing within the Birk territory.
And it was decided that the strongest spearheads of the 'Slow' camp and the 'Oath' camp, who were also their leaders, would simultaneously launch a surprise attack on each other's enemy bases.
Each camp's number 2 would prevent this from happening. For the 'Slow' camp, it was 'Narcissistic Bard' Romantini. For the 'Oath' camp, it was 'Great Rune Storyteller' Terin.
Tomorrow, the war situation would undergo a drastic change.
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