Chapter 142 - The Limestone Cave Tea Party Incident and the Nosediving Summer Bird (Part 2)
Fam had sliced off three of the Earth Dragon King's claws. Two remained, but she had created more than enough of an opening for Mizuki to escape.
Mizuki switched to the offensive, thrusting at the Earth Dragon King again and again.
Red blood trickled from the monster's body.
However, the damage didn't seem to be leading to a fatal blow.
The creature was simply too large. To it, Fam and Mizuki's attacks were shallow, not nearly enough to bring it down.
It wasn't just its fur; its hide must be thick as well. We couldn't even cut through the flesh.
Still, Cecily had scorched its nose, and Mizuki had ruptured its ears. We had successfully deprived the monster of two of its senses. It could no longer pinpoint our locations and was reduced to flailing blindly. This was our chance.
The Earth Dragons that had been making a racket fell silent. Now, they watched the battle's outcome quietly. It was like we were fighting in an arena.
Yanan and her warriors had nearly finished mopping up the smaller earth dragons. Some were even joining the attack on the King.
Fam and Mizuki's attacks paused as they took a moment to breathe.
The Earth Dragon King's movements had also stopped. The claws Fam had severed were beginning to regenerate. I watched, praying its destroyed sensory organs wouldn't recover as well.
The pain in my back vanished under Aira's healing magic, and I got to my feet. As much as I wanted to keep enjoying the sensation of Aira's chest and admiring Mizuki's panties from a low angle, I had a feeling someone was about to get mad at me.
Maira rushed over to us.
"Are the injured okay?"
She had been healing the wounded members of the Earth Dragon Tribe.
"I've applied first-aid healing magic to everyone. But, one of them…"
"I see."
Her voice trailed off, so I gave a short reply.
"Should I join the attack?"
"No, from the looks of it, I don't think blunt attacks will do any damage."
"You're right. If only we had a better way to attack…"
Maira sent a dejected look toward the Earth Dragon King.
It seemed she was also concerned about our lack of offensive power. We had learned to read the Earth Dragon King's attacks, but constantly dodging them was difficult. A single hit could be fatal for any of us.
Mizuki's Special Skill, Super Kill, which I had been counting on the most, showed no signs of activating. I couldn't tell if it was just bad luck or if it wouldn't trigger unless certain conditions for a fatal blow were met.
"I'll slam another fireball into its face!"
Cecily declared. It seemed she'd drunk a mana potion and regained her fighting spirit.
"It can still sense temperature. It'll come after you again."
"But if we all use that opening to attack at once…"
As she spoke, the Earth Dragon King began to move.
It started backing away. To the north. In that direction lay the tunnel leading to the great plains and the massive hole the creature had crawled out of. Right, it still had its ability to sense magnetic north.
"Looks like it plans to escape…"
Cecily let the tension fall from her shoulders. Maira and Aira must have thought the same thing. They let out a breath, relaxing.
"…No. If it gets away, nothing will have changed."
The Earth Dragon King would still hold dominion over the great plains. Once the monster recovered, it would surely attack the Earth Dragon Tribe again.
"But we don't have…" Cecily murmured.
"Fam, block its escape route!"
The shout escaped my lips before I could think.
She nodded, then dashed forward and planted herself in front of the hole the Earth Dragon King had dug.
"Special Skill, Yata no Kagami!"
The instant she yelled, a colossal circular plate materialized before her. The light it emitted was reminiscent of the glow from Racshell herself. When the Earth Dragon King collided with the Yata no Kagami, it tried to claw its way past, to push the wall aside, but the shield didn't budge an inch. Then it tried to destroy it, lashing out with its claws. The Yata no Kagami remained unscratched. It had completely sealed off the Earth Dragon King's retreat.
"Mizuki, don't let it get away!"
Mizuki nodded at me and began slashing at the Earth Dragon King's back. In truth, she was probably the most frantic one here. Everyone in Levante knew about her Special Skill. Though no one said it out loud, they were all waiting for her Super Kill to activate.
She had to know that. But no matter how many times she struck, the moment never came. That desperation was making her use unnecessary strength, leading to exhaustion, which in turn was dulling her blade—a vicious cycle. My own words were just adding to the pressure.
I searched for the right words to calm her down, but I couldn't find them.
Giving up on talking, I ran to pick up the sword Fam had left behind. Then, hoping to be of some help, I plunged the blade into the monster's back.
Yanan and the others joined the assault, driving their claws in all at once.
The Earth Dragon King didn't stop trying to flee. Realizing it couldn't destroy the Yata no Kagami, it started digging at the ground in front of it. It seemed to know our attacks couldn't deal it a decisive blow.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!"
I stabbed it over and over. As I did, it swung a claw at its back, as if swatting away a swarm of flies.
I leaned back to dodge it, but one of the Earth Dragon warriors took the hit.
"Hey, hang in there!"
Carrying him was impossible. I grabbed the unconscious warrior by the scruff of his neck and dragged him back to a spot safe from the Earth Dragon King's attacks.
He seemed to be conscious. But he was badly injured, groaning in agony.
"Mash, I'll take him."
Aira ran over, so I entrusted him to her and returned to the attack.
The Earth Dragon King resumed its digging. The ground was bedrock, not soil. It should take some time for it to burrow its way through.
We couldn't let it escape. We had to finish it, no matter what. As I thought that, the Earth Dragon Tribe members who had been watching the battle began to make noise.
I glanced in their direction and saw Siril, the one who had guided the others to safety. He hadn't fled either; he had come back.
He gave me a thumbs-up and a grin.
Next to him, a large ballista had been set up. They must have brought it from the farm, where it was kept for defense. I'd seen one on a sailing ship when we came down the river, but this one was a size larger. In the battle on the water, the archer had been taken out before the ballista could demonstrate its power, but it looked like it had more than enough force to pierce the Earth Dragon King.
It seemed it was already prepared to fire.
"Bolt's coming! Everyone, fall back!"
I roared at the top of my lungs. Those who had been attacking the Earth Dragon King pulled away.
At that signal, with a sharp twang of the string, the ballista fired.
A bolt as thick as a spear ripped through the air and struck the Earth Dragon King.
The monster let out a roar that sounded like a scream, but it wasn't a finishing blow. The creature, now desperate, continued to dig frantically, its head about to disappear into the ground.
Even for a monster, seeing it struggle so desperately stirred a faint sense of pity. But we couldn't let it go.
"Maira, hit the back of that bolt!"
"Right!"
She answered my call, hefted her mace, and charged toward the Earth Dragon King.
Then, using the full coil and centrifugal force of her body, she swung the mace and slammed it into the nock of the bolt. The massive projectile plunged deeper into the Earth Dragon King's body.
The Earth Dragon King's movements ceased.
"One more time!"
Maira cried out, raising her mace again.
But she never brought it down.
The Earth Dragon King vanished.
A hush fell over the cavern.
I slowly looked around.
Mizuki was breathing heavily, her shoulders heaving. I had relied on her power and pushed her too hard again.
Aira was tending to the fallen warrior. Cecily stood beside her, as if protecting her.
Fam's Special Skill, Yata no Kagami, had been brilliantly illuminating the cavern, but the light converged and then faded. I could see Fam standing in front of the tunnel.
I confirmed that everyone was safe.
"The third one is…"
"Not here… right?"
Maira answered from beside me. She, too, was carefully scanning our surroundings.
The silence held. There was no sign of any monster. We had eliminated every enemy in this cavern.
"Alright, we defeated the Earth Dragon King!"
I threw my arm into the air. My words served as a victory cry, and the Earth Dragons in the cavern erupted in a unanimous cheer.
Maira was looking at me, her expression as if she were looking at something dazzling.
"As expected of the hero."
"You're the one who dealt the final blow."
"Mash… I…"
As I reached out to touch her cheek, trying to hear her fragmented words over the cheering, Yanan rushed up to me.
"Mash-sama, this is the fulfillment of our deepest wish!"
Her excited voice rang out. Had she been calling me with '-sama' before? It felt strange.
In any case, I extended my hand for a handshake, but she ignored it and threw her arms around me. Seeing this, the other Earth Dragon warriors also swarmed me, and I was completely mobbed. I felt like the ace pitcher of a high school team that had just won the championship. In fact, for them, this was an even bigger deal, so their excitement was understandable. I was just worried that in the confusion, someone might take the opportunity to grope Maira's chest.
Finally, Yanan and the others calmed down, and I was released.
In their place, my companions from Levante gathered around.
"Alright, everyone, let's hug Mizuki!"
"Why?!"
My suggestion was immediately shot down by Mizuki. But I ignored her and hugged her anyway.
"Hya-ha, we won!" "Master, we are invincible!"
Fam and Maira joined in, hugging her too.
I thought Mizuki would resist, but she obediently wrapped her arms around me.
"I'm so glad we really won…" Mizuki murmured.
Cecily and Aira were watching us from a distance. Cecily had a clear look of disgust on her face.
"Hey, Cecily, Aira, come celebrate with us!"
"It's embarrassing, no way!"
"We won because you burned its nose! Just be happy!"
Still, she wouldn't come closer. Maira pulled away from our group hug. Then, grinning, she approached the two of them and hugged them.
"Fam, Mizuki, let's join her!"
We followed Maira's lead and hugged them too.
"Gah! Anyone else is fine, but not you, Mash!" Cecily shrieked.
"That's a horrible thing to say!"
I squeezed them all even tighter.
"Let go! You reek of black tea!"
"So do you!"
I wouldn't let go until I had thoroughly ruffled her. I had made up my mind.
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