Chapter 353 – The Wise Man’s Miscalculation
Chapter 353 – The Wise Man’s Miscalculation
Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes
The Wise Man’s Miscalculation
Monsters and soldiers clashed in an unpredictable battle. Creatures kept charging and charging from deep in the forest, their number never seeming to dwindle no matter how many they killed.
「Watch out! This Orc is actually leading the monsters!」
「There’s a Skeleton Archer shooting arrows from the back!」
「They just keep on coming!」
There was no order to the multitude of monsters. Forced to play by the ear, the human front lines collapsed in the blink of an eye.
「It’s the enemy scouts! Get them!」
「Fuckin’ devils! So you joined forces with monsters, huh?!」
「No!」
Near the main camp of the allied army, soldiers attacked Gin, who had both hands raised, from behind, knocking him forward. Similarly, the other members of his unit were also pinned to the ground.
「I’ll fucking kill you!」
「We messengers! Listen what we have to say!」
「Messengers, my ass! You fired at us!」
Gin and his team made it deep into the main camp, but as expected, they were spotted before they could even meet the allied army’s senior officials.
「Into the city! All of you!」
「What—」
A soldier was about to swing down his sword, but he stopped when he heard Gin’s words.
「Is it true?! Did you really capture the enemy’s scouts?!」
Forestia’s Army Minister came running to them. One of their leaders, Gin thought. The man couldn’t have come at a better time. Forcing his team all the way here was worth it.
Then all of a sudden, a loud explosion echoed up north.
From above the forest, up in the skies, it looked like a black muddy stream was flowing downstream. Among the giant birds flying, there was one bigger than the rest. A man whose eyes had gone pure black was riding it.
『I expected as much from mere humans, creatures that are not so intelligent.』Koukimaru muttered casually.
His plan was to let them take the dragon stones to poison their minds. Once they started bickering with each other, he sent a horde of monsters to destroy them.
『I must say, I didn’t expect them to bring so many humans. Is the current king of Dream Maker that competent?』
He didn’t know the circumstances. From what he saw back when they abandoned Dream Maker, he didn’t seem to be all that clever.
『In any case, this is the end—』
The giant bird shook. Not from the wind, no. It felt like someone landed on the creature.
『I guess anyone would notice if their seat shook.』
『Who are you?! How did you get here?!』
A boy wearing a black hooded cloak and a white silver mask was standing about five meters away. Koukimaru was sure no one was there a second ago. The boy pressed a pipe-like object onto his arm, emitting a glimmering golden light.
『Phew. I didn’t wanna do this ‘cause it hurts... Then again, I already steeled myself. I knew you’d be spectating from afar, Koukimaru.』
『You know my name?』
『Of course. Everyone knows. I mean, you did cause some chaos. I gotta ask you, though. Why didn’t you destroy the city?』
『There was no point in doing so. That is all.』
It was half true, and half a lie.
Koukimaru did intend to destroy the city, but it was difficult to control monsters for long periods of time. In fact, he lost control of the silver dragon he was riding, and the creature devoured Duinkler.
He planned to destroy Dream Maker, but failed. Of course, it was also true that there was no point in destroying it.
『I see. So where’s the silver dragon?』
Koukimaru gave a start. A menacing aura suddenly burst forth from the masked stranger.
Who is he?!
Koukimaru poked the neck of the giant bird he was on, a signal to “descend”. He determined that a combat up here would lead to a fall, which could be extremely dangerous.
The enemy used some kind of method to land on the bird. It was safe to assume that he also had the means to descend. If that’s the case, the only person who would be injured by a fall would be him.
In order to buy time for the descent, Koukimaru spoke.『The silver dragon is not here. I can’t control it fully. It often ignores my orders. Are you perhaps a friend of the man it devoured?』
The day of Dream Maker’s collapse came to Koukimaru’s mind. The silver dragon that was supposed to be under his control acted on its own and ate a human being.
『Where is the silver dragon?』
『Much farther north from here.』
『I see. Where the evil dragon is located.』
How? Koukimaru froze. He didn’t expect the enemy to know so much.
『Are you... going to slay my lord? How foolish. How dare a human point his blade at such a noble being!』
The masked stranger was silent.
『Take a look around you! The armies of men are about to be overrun by my lord’s clever design!』
Below them, the allied army and the monsters had just begun to clash with each other.
『I thought you were smarter when you were still in Dream Maker.』the boy said.
『What do you mean?』
『Don’t you get it? I’m right here in front of you. I already expected this monster raid of yours.』
『Haha. Hahaha! What a stupid bluff.』
『Here. Maybe this will convince you.』
The boy in the silver mask raised his right hand. He was holding a mirror, sending flashes of light somewhere. Koukimaru realized it was some sort of a signal.
『See?』
Koukimaru looked at the direction the boy was pointing at and was stunned. Dream Maker’s walls were about 300 meters away. Giant fireballs, bigger than the giant bird he was on, flew from the walls and onto the hordes of monsters.
A shockwave swept over the land. Flames raged, burning trees and monsters. Pillars of fire rose into the air, causing an updraft that blew towards Koukimaru, disrupting the giant bird’s balance.
『Wh-Wh-What the hell is that?!』
『All I want to know is about the silver dragon. You will be judged by your own people.』the masked boy said. Koukimaru still hadn’t recovered from his shock.『That is, if you survive.』he added.
『What do you mean by that—』
The silver masked boy jumped off the giant bird gently as though he was simply getting down from a ladder. Surprised, Koukimaru leaned forward. Bone-like objects grew from the stranger’s back, and wings sprouted from it. Koukimaru had no way of knowing that it was in fact a hang glider.
The hang glider flew away, easily dodging the turbulent winds.
『Who the hell was that guy? Perhaps I should retreat for now and report back to my lord.』
Koukimaru tapped the giant bird’s neck twice. It was the signal to return.
Then suddenly the bird shrieked. An arrow had pierced its head.
『Snipers?! Where?!』
Koukimaru felt eyes on him. He turned his eyes to the walls of Dream Maker. A small Mage, who was at this moment about to unleash another fireball, stood there, with a man of a solid build beside her. The man had the purple skin characteristic of the people of Dream Maker. He held a large bow in his hand.
Don’t tell me he fired an arrow from over there.
The man was surrounded by similarly armed men, and in the center stood a masked woman wearing a gray monastic attire.
『So this is what he means by “if I survive.”』
Having lost its balance, the bird was plummeting towards the ground. In Koukimaru’s eyes, the forest was fast approaching.