Chapter 161: Reinforcement Squad
“Guild Master, there’s a warning alert from the Sub-Master.”
“A warning alert, you say? Did a Dragon show up or something?”
The Guild Master received a letter from an Adventurer who had retreated due to injury. As he began to read it, his complexion gradually worsened.
The man who delivered the letter was watching the Guild Master’s face with an amused expression.
“Is there something amusing?”
At the Guild Master’s displeased voice, the man hurriedly tried to withdraw, but he was called back and couldn’t escape.
“If it’s an arm injury, it doesn’t seem to hinder your walking.”
“Eh? Ah, well, thanks to you… hehehe.”
“Then I can ask you to run an errand. Deliver this letter to the Guild in Hyulzass.”
Hearing the Guild Master’s words, the man clutched his arm, grimacing as if in pain, and regretted not having fled sooner. However, when a Gold Coin was tossed to him along with the letter, he recovered in an instant.
“Much obliged! I’ll deliver it right away!”
The Guild Master watched the man dash out of the office. He then quickly wrote similar letters addressed to the Guild headquarters in Klyunza and the Royal Capital, entrusting them to a lower-ranked but skilled rider, and sent them off with an escort.
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The man, ordered by the Guild Master, rushed into the Hyulzass Guild. He tossed the letter at the reception desk, saying it was from the Tanza Guild Master to their Guild Master, and then ran into the dining hall without waiting for a reply.
After chugging down an ale, he began to lecture the low-ranked individuals who could only take on jobs in the vicinity.
“Hey, you lot! You better earn what you can now. A Dragon was subjugated in Tanza, and it’s causing a huge uproar!”
“Is that true?!”
“Yeah. When I was injured and reporting to the Sub-Master, a guy who’d gone scouting into the Deep Forest returned.”
“Scouting? So he confirmed the Dragon, then?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourselves.”
He calmly looked around at the low-ranked individuals who had gathered to hear his story, and, basking in a sense of superiority, he slowly began to speak.
“The guy who went scouting is a real ace; last time too, he went scouting alone and hunted down a ton of big game. When he came back, what he presented before the Sub-Master was, believe it or not, a Dragon!”
“You saw it?!”
“Yeah, I was there too. Came face-to-face with a Terrano Dragon.”
“A Terrano Dragon?”
“I heard Terrano Dragons are huge.”
“It was massive! And what’s more, the guy who casually presented the Dragon surprised us even more than that.”
He slowly looked around again, then lowered his voice and continued his tale.
“Being surprised by a Terrano Dragon means you’re not cut out to be an Adventurer. He also brought out an Armored Dragon, a Long Dragon, and Whip Dragons! And get this, he lined up four Whip Dragons for us to see!”
As a murmur arose from the listeners who were hanging on his every word, he nodded in satisfaction and delivered his final line.
“And it wasn’t just Dragons! When he plunked down a Crimson Snake, I nearly pissed myself!”
He had been removed from the subjugation due to his injury, but having vented his frustration, he was in high spirits and stood up to get another ale.
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The express messenger who rushed to Klyunza dashed into the Guild, threw down the letter, stating it was an urgent report from the Tanza Guild Master to the Klyunza Guild Master, and immediately bolted out of the Guild.
The man at the reception desk grumbled as he picked up the letter and headed for the Guild Master’s office.
It didn’t take long for the Guild Master, upon opening the letter, to realize it was a major incident and start panicking.
He immediately made a copy of the letter and sent it to Earl Malcolm Falanes, the lord of Klyunza.
He also alerted the Sub-Master commanding the defensive line, warning him not to let his guard down as a Dragon had been subjugated in Tanza.
After sending out warning letters to all necessary parties, he reread the letter from Tanza and let out a groan.
One Terrano Dragon, one Armored Dragon, and one Long Dragon.
Four Whip Dragons and one Crimson Snake.
This many Dragons had been subjugated deep within Dielgo Village, west of Tanza.
If so many Dragons were subjugated in one location, there was a fear that a considerable number of Dragons might be behind the Beasts overflowing into Hyulzass, Tanza, and Klyunza.
The saving grace was that the subjugation had occurred at a distance of four days west from Dielgo Village, meaning it was unlikely Dragons would appear today or tomorrow.
It was necessary to carefully select skilled parties, including those with Magicians, from among those participating in the Beast subjugation, and form a Dragon Subjugation unit.
He took out a list of parties and individuals who had responded to the compulsory summons, and puzzled over their magical abilities and skill levels.
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I set up camp next to Tanza’s Shield, sending R and L forward to keep watch.
They let me know when Beasts approach, so in the meantime, I leisurely nap and conserve my energy.
The guys passing through my post for shift changes look at me with exasperation, but I can’t afford to be tense during what’s going to be a long haul.
Once this compulsory summons is over, we’re supposed to embark on a Dragon Subjugation, and there’s no doubt I’ll be nominated.
When I went to the village chief’s house to dispose of the subjugated Beasts, the Sub-Master told me that Fran and Osius’s Fang had arrived.
Separately, while pointing at the deployment map, he also told me that the leaders of Glacial Shield and the Sword of the Fire Festival were looking for me.
The place he pointed to wasn’t far from my post, so after dropping off my kills, I headed towards Glacial Shield’s position.
“Shinya, I’d like to say it’s been a while, but…”
“You don’t need to say any more.”
“You haven’t changed at all, have you?”
“Mii-chan doesn’t seem to have changed either.”
“Is Tanza always like this?”
“Hmm, it was a bit better before, but this time they seem to be overflowing over a wide area.”
“I hear there are Dragons deeper in.”
“Exactly! There was a rumor that the Royal Family was sending a Magic Squad to Tanza.”
“When we were leaving the Royal Capital, that rumor was going around.”
“So, how are things?”
“Fufun. I’ve been practicing diligently, so I’m hunting without any problems.”
“Oh, so you’ve gotten skilled enough to take down a Brown Bear in one hit. As long as you don’t run into a Dragon, you should be fine.”
“Well then, use this as an example and practice making Ice Lances too.”
With that, I thrust a Stone Lance up from the ground.
They were surprised by the Stone Lance, about 20cm thick and 8m long, so I left another one, 10cm thick and 4m long, as an example.
“If you can instantly create the hardness of stone, not just the firmness of ice, then Dragon Subjugation won’t be just a dream. You’ve made something similar before, right? Don’t forget that hardness is effective for both offense and defense.”
“I’m always learning from you. I’ll practice when I have free time.”
After exchanging information with Orkubo and Linna, I headed towards the Sword of the Fire Festival’s location.
Over here, there was a loud “BOOM!” so I found the subjugation site immediately. Explosions, prey sent flying, and clouds of dust—Colan seemed to have improved his skills considerably.
“Felzan, you guys seem to be doing well.”
When I called out, everyone who turned around stared intently at me.
“Shinya-san… it is you, right?”
“Ah, don’t say any more. An Elf told me that those with strong Magical Power or Divine Protection live long lives. Colan, you’ve improved your skills too.”
“Yes, following Shinya-san’s teachings, I’m focusing on accuracy. I defeat prey by either blasting them away or shooting them in the mouth.”
“How many times can you use it?”
“About 50 times. At this post, it feels like I recover after a few shots by the time the next prey appears.”
“What about adjusting the explosive power?”
“Leave it to me. About three days ago, I blasted away an Armor Buffalo and then finished it with one shot to the mouth.”
“We had nothing to do!”
“Our job has become to finish off the stragglers after he blasts away the herd.”
I told them my post location, returned to my spot, and continued subjugating, but on the eighth day, Tanza’s Shield and I were summoned back by the Sub-Master.
When I went to the village chief’s house where the Sub-Master was, Fran and Osius’s Fang were there too.
While I had a slightly bad feeling, as Ariela and Fran were exchanging information, the members of Glacial Shield and the Sword of the Fire Festival also appeared, and my premonition hit the mark.
“It seems everyone is here. I’ve gathered you for no other reason than this: a request for Dragon Subjugation has come from the Royal Family for all of you.”
I thought as much, but since I’ve taught them enough knowledge to handle Dragon Subjugation, there shouldn’t be a problem.
The problem was the men standing by the wall in the room where the Sub-Master was stationed.
The moment the Sub-Master announced the Dragon Subjugation, one of the men stood before me and gave a crisp salute.
“I am Muldann, Vice-Captain of the Kingdom of Wilandall Magic Squad. I have come under orders from His Majesty the King to place myself under Shinya-dono’s command.”
The Sub-Master was staring intently at me, his face a picture of surprise. Since everyone else knew about my identification, they were looking at me with amusement.
With it being revealed so openly, there was no way to gloss it over, so I steeled myself.
“If you’re to be under my command, then you’ve brought the Magic Squad with you, I presume.”
“Yes, sir! Nine Fire Magic users, seven Earth Magic users, four Lightning Magic users, five Ice Magic users, and three Barrier Magicians; they are the top members from their respective units. Separately from them, eight Healing Magic users and Lucian-jou are tending to the injured in a separate building.”
Good grief. Still, there’s that saying, “use anyone useful, even your own parents,” so before I work them to the bone, I’ll check their abilities.
“Sub-Master, I’m going to check the Magic Squad’s abilities and sort them into those I’ll take with me and those I’ll leave behind. Can you assign those left behind to parties that don’t have Magicians? Also, if the party called ‘Sword and Fang,’ the one with a guy named Hawkin as its leader, is around, call them for me.”
“Oh, uh, got it.”
He looked like he wanted to say something, but there was no need for me to satisfy the Sub-Master’s curiosity, so I ignored him.
Taking the members of the Magic Squad, I moved to a spot a little distance away from the village. There, I showed the Earth Magic Users and Barrier Magicians an example of a Dome and had them create one.
It wasn’t the usual hemispherical shape, but a thin, dish-shaped Dome, like the top third of a volleyball placed on the ground.