Chapter 163: Subjugation Expedition
As everyone straggled over to where Fran and the others were, they looked in the direction Fran was pointing and let out a sigh.
Three large Whip Dragons lay there, all dead with their heads pierced.
“That’s Fran for you, truly skillful.”
“Hey, hey, Fran, how did you make that foothold from before?”
Eina, always eager to learn, was asking, but I decided to give a little warning.
“Fran, Whip Dragons sometimes gather in groups, but at that height, their tails could have easily reached you and knocked you down. You should at least surround yourself with a Shelter first.”
“I forgot. The intense intimidation and multiple presences just…”
I had the Kingdom’s Magicians observe thoroughly, making them realize the difference from what they saw at the Dragon House.
Meanwhile, Eina was having Fran create footholds and watching intently, but I was worried because ice pillars make for poor footing.
A Whip Dragon can fit into a Magic Bag if its tail is curled up, so I had Fran put them into the Magic Bag she was in charge of.
“Fran, how does it feel to be a Dragon Slayer?” I teased.
Fran turned bright red as everyone asked for her thoughts. She still needs more training.
I decided to let the Magic Squad handle the subjugations from the next one onwards, and we began to advance.
But things rarely go as planned, and a Long Dragon made its appearance.
It was a shame, as it would have been perfect prey for the Fire Magician who had left us.
Before entrusting the attack to Colan, I had him confirm its weak spots and then permitted the members of the Magic Squad to attack in order.
If they couldn’t attack its mouth, I egged them on to attack wherever they liked.
Ice Lances and Stone Lances flew about chaotically, but seeing them all repelled seemed to remind them of the strength of its scales.
There was a sign at the Dragon House detailing its defensive power and weak spots, so they should have known, but they must have forgotten due to the Dragon’s intimidating presence.
Since the Magicians had given up, I asked Eina to attack with a full-power Ice Lance.
She hesitated because she could only target the torso, about a third of the way down from its head, but from within the Barrier, an Ice Lance shot towards its torso… and was repelled.
Nada was also too far to aim for the mouth, so her Stone Lance pierced it just a tiny bit before falling off.
Seeing that, Ariela waved her hand, so I sent her an OK sign. A light extended from beneath the Long Dragon, circled its torso, formed a ring, and began to shrink.
It was in front of its eight legs on one side, so it must have been around the chest or neck. Squeezed tightly, the Dragon thrashed violently, and everyone covered their ears at its roar of agony.
I hurriedly raised pillars from the ground and bent them to hold the Dragon down.
Fran must have been helping too, as earth pillars extended from the opposite side, pinning the Dragon.
We somehow managed to stop it from thrashing around, and I cheered Ariela on to tighten it more.
“No one told me it would struggle this much!”
“Well, you didn’t tighten it all at once, so this is probably its death throes.”
Pinned by the two pillars rising from the ground and squeezed by Ariela’s Barrier, it finally quieted down and began to convulse.
(Tame Long Dragon: 249, 223, 194, 168…)
It would be easy if I used Domination, but it would be troublesome if they found out I can control them, so I decided to just silently watch the Dragon’s demise.
If more Dragon Slayers emerge and they guide their juniors, my goal will be achieved, and I’ll become less conspicuous.
Go for it, everyone! ♪ I cheered them on in my mind.
(Tame Long Dragon: 41, 33, 24…)
(Tame Long Dragon: 14, 9, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1…) Demise… RIP.
“Ariela, it’s alright now! Congratulations on the Dragon Subjugation!”
As I told her that, Ariela, who had been straining inside the Barrier, collapsed weakly.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
After that, whenever we discovered a Dragon, we decided to either move so as not to provoke it until we were in a sufficient attack position, or, if we were noticed, to hinder its movement with ice or earth pillars and then hole up in a Dome.
Since we only moved to attack the Dragons once we had a good position, the Magicians also succeeded in their Dragon Subjugations and gained confidence.
I left the second Long Dragon to Colan. While the others watched, he brilliantly shot it in the mouth in one hit, killing it instantly. However, the explosive power was too great, and its head momentarily swelled before becoming completely flat.
“Aah, what a waste.”
“Colan-chan, you overdid it.”
“Boys who are too quick get disliked, you know.”
Being teased like that by the women, he turned bright red, and the men who saw it burst out laughing.
“It was far stronger than an Armor Buffalo, so I raised my Magical Power too much,” he explained.
We stored the Long Dragon in Spatial Storage and resumed our advance. Half a day later, R informed me, (Master, I smell a long one).
《A long one? You mean the one with tasty meat?》
《Master said so. The smell is coming from this way.》
《R indicated upwind with its snout.》
Mii-chan’s fur on my shoulder was standing on end, so it was undoubtedly a Snake. But Mii-chan, if you’re so scared your fur stands on end, I wish you’d tell me.
I launched three light Fireballs in succession as a signal for danger, caution, and to gather.
As everyone gathered with tense faces, I welcomed them into the Barrier and told them there was a Snake. Ariela grimaced again.
“What, Ariela, you hate snakes too?”
“The ones you tell us about are huge, right? I’m not scared of the ones you find just anywhere.”
“So that’s why Fanna’s fur is on end and she’s growling, huh,” Eina remarked.
“You said ‘snakes too,’ does that mean there’s something else you hate?”
“Large caterpillar-like things. They’re about the same size as a Terrano Dragon, but all flabby.”
“I wouldn’t like something like that either.”
“I don’t sense anything, but where is it?” Nada asked.
“It’s upwind. I don’t know the distance, but I can smell it clearly,” I replied.
“Is that so?”
Everyone was sniffing the air, but if R hadn’t told me, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the faint raw smell either.
I remembered the smell since we’ve subjugated snakes twice now.
“Now that you mention it, there’s a faint raw smell, or rather…” Fran said.
“Fran, you can tell?”
“I used to play with snakes when I was a child.”
“So, is this snake big?” Glen asked.
“Yeah, since the smell is carried by the wind, I think it’s big.”
“Pass! Shinya, I’m leaving it to you!” Ariela declared.
“Ariela, an Earth Magic User or a Barrier Magician is best suited for this. For other Magicians, they have to aim for the mouth, so subjugation is tough.”
“Go for it, Mom!” someone cheered.
“Ariela, Shinya’s saying that, so go on and squeeze it tight by the scruff of its neck!” Colan encouraged.
“Shall I tell you something good, Ariela?” I said.
“What is it?”
“That meat from the other day, the one you said was the most delicious, Ariela, that was Snake meat. If you manage to subjugate this one splendidly, I’ll give you a whole chunk.”
“I’ll do it! Where is it?”
“Ariela, your appetite comes before your fear, huh?” Glen’s voice prompted a burst of laughter.
With everyone’s tension eased, we walked quietly upwind. The scouts from each party followed behind me at the head of the group.
“It’s definitely a raw smell.”
“Yeah, it certainly is.”
“For it to smell this much, what kind of creature could it be?”
They were muttering their impressions behind me, but the target was 70 or 80 meters ahead.
Since we were approaching into the wind carrying its scent, it felt like the smell would cling to our bodies. When we were less than 50 meters away, some started to notice the snake’s presence.
It seemed even skilled scouts couldn’t detect it until they were about half as close as I was.
I approached quietly with Ariela and Fran, but we were noticed midway, so we immediately holed up in an Earth Magic Dome.
Looking through a peephole, I saw it approaching the spot where we had disappeared.
“Uwah… I really don’t want to see this from inside a Barrier.”
“When they’re this big, it sends shivers down my spine,” Fran murmured.
“Enough with the commentary. Just tighten it around the back of its head all at once,” I instructed Ariela.
“I know. I won’t mess up this time. Whoa, there!”
A faint Ring of Light appeared behind the Green Snake’s head and rapidly shrank.
When the back of its head was squeezed to about two-thirds its size, it thrashed about violently, getting surrounding things caught up in its rampage.
“As expected, when they’re big, their rampages are incredible,” Fran commented.
“This is why I hate snakes,” Ariela grumbled.
Ignoring their exchange of impressions, I brought everyone who was waiting behind us to the Dome, letting them witness the rampage from inside the Barrier.
“Is it dead like this?”
“Snakes certainly don’t quiet down immediately.”
“Even chickens run around after their heads are cut off.”
“Still, that’s one heck of a rampage.”
“The sign for the Green Snake at the Dragon House did say it thrashes even after death, but…”
“Even so, to think Barrier Magic can do something like that.”
“I was surprised during the Long Dragon fight too, but she’s an incredible user.”
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
After parting ways with the remaining Fire Magicians, we traveled west for two days, then north for three days, then east for two days, circling clockwise. On our fourth day heading south, the landmark pillar came into view.
During that circuit, we subjugated seventeen Dragons of four types and three snakes of two types, and it seemed the Magicians had also gained confidence in Dragon Subjugation.
“Shinya, that’s the pillar you set up, right?”
“I thought we were making a clockwise circuit.”
“Your sense of direction is quite something, isn’t it?”
“We’re probably going to make a circuit south anyway, so let’s rest there for two or three days.”
The Kingdom’s Magicians had improved their skills, but as expected, the signs of their fatigue were quite pronounced, so we decided to let them recuperate and headed towards the pillar.
R and L were the first to notice something was amiss; they told me they could hear the sound of magic from a distance.
However, that sound was only heard about twice, and then it seemed to stop.
Hawkin and his ‘Sword and Fang’ group, who formed the vanguard advancing in an echelon formation with its western flank leading, suddenly signaled a halt.
Wondering what was wrong, I made three Jumps to reach Hawkin and his group.
“What’s wrong, Hawkin?”
“It was only once, but I heard the explosion of a Fireball.”
“It was definitely an explosion.”
“Everyone heard it, so there’s no mistake!”
“What should we do?”
“Understood. Wait here for a moment.”
It was probably 300 or 400 meters to the pillar. I Jumped closer, staying hidden in the shadows, and saw a Beast lying near the pillar.
Realizing this must have been the source of the explosion, I Jumped to the side of the Dome, which had grown larger since we last parted, and called out through the peephole.