20 - Chapter 16: The Three Idiots Probably Won't Show Mercy Even to a Boss-like Earth Dragon-san
Serious-san... isn't breathing...
There exist dragons called Earth Dragons.
They are wingless dragons belonging to the sub-dragon species, and since they are sub-dragons, their intelligence is not much different from that of animals. They possess a certain amount of cleverness, but it never exceeds the scope of an animal, and naturally, they cannot speak human language. When it comes to true dragon species, they show intelligence far surpassing humans and sometimes interact with people through human speech, but I will omit that part.
In terms of dragon rank, they are on par with Wyverns, and are only slightly better than the lowest rank, the Dragon-kin. However, the perception that they merely avoided the bottom spot only applies within the dragon species. If the scope is expanded to all living creatures, the strength of an Earth Dragon suddenly surges into the upper tiers.
First, their massive physique alone makes them high-tier as living creatures, and the accompanying weight and muscular strength lead directly to destructive power. Furthermore, since they employ many physical attacks, they are naturally robust and exhibit tremendous toughness. Being of the dragon species, their outer skin is protected by strong scales, and the two horns on their heads, along with fangs and jaws that can crush even rock, make them an unstoppable force against any lower creature.
To put it simply for modern people, and to start with the conclusion, an Earth Dragon is essentially a piece of heavy machinery with a will.
If a human equipped only with a sword or spear were to challenge a self-aware excavator or dump truck reinforced with armor plates, how would they win? Either by utilizing the advantage of the terrain or by using heavy weaponry. However, utilizing the terrain requires appropriate preparation, which is not suitable for this occasion. In that case, heavy weaponry should be used, and in this world, heavy weaponry means magic.
That said, they are still dragon species. Their scales often possess magic resistance, and Earth Dragons can nullify a certain amount of magic. To pierce through this, one must use magic imbued with high magical power or high-tier magic that requires a long chant.
Earth Dragons are strong. To begin with, their basic specs as living creatures are far too different. That said, it is not impossible to win. If one forms a party centered around mages and opposes them with multiple people, even fragile humans have a chance of victory... that is the general perception in this world.
By the way, these countermeasures are for the case of a single individual. So, what happens when there is a herd of over a hundred Earth Dragons, as in this case?
Basically, it is checkmate.
To oppose them, an army of at least legion scale is required, and even then, unless they have prepared meticulously, they must be prepared for total annihilation in a strategic sense. It is hardly different from a disaster such as a typhoon or tsunami, and the most a common person without the power to fight can do is simply wait for it to pass. That is how great a threat a herd of Earth Dragons is.
It should be a threat... however.
"Oh, one Earth Dragon coming right up!... Ah, is it because we were talking about ramen earlier? I've started wanting to eat ramen for the first time in a while..."
Later enchanted the Rig Veda with a stupid amount of magical power to increase its sharpness, slicing through the Earth Dragons one after another as if they were tofu. The refugees thought that this was no longer a battle, but rather a random killing spree or a street slashing.
"Kukukuku... fuhahaha... ha-hahahaha! Decode Decode Decode! Now dance, you ground-crawling lizards! Show me a pathetic dance!!"
Geoglyph, who had lost his identity after meeting Romance (Elf) and became chuunibyou, was floating in the air with magic, bombing the Earth Dragons by firing his available magic like a rapid-fire cannon. From his strangely imposing stance and behavior (the three-stage laugh), the refugees thought he looked somewhat like a Demon King.
"Those guys are really letting loose, aren't they? I wonder if Geo will be too embarrassed to get out of bed once he's sober later?... Oh? This time it's an Earth Dragon's eyeball? That is a precious material."
While watching those two, Marianne had her subordinates, the shadow beasts, collect undamaged materials and was inspecting them. Since she was gazing at the Earth Dragon's internal organs and such with a smirking, satisfied smile, the refugees thought she looked like a witch.
What was the threat of Earth Dragons again? As the refugees faced this worldly mystery, their eyes losing their highlights with the background turning into space, the Earth Dragons were soon hunted to extinction by the hands of the Three Idiots.
And the last one remaining was the largest Earth Dragon... the boss of the herd. This Earth Dragon, exceeding 60 meters in total length, was already the size of a tower mansion, but this giant Earth Dragon-san was simply trembling, unable to comprehend the absurdity before its eyes.
Unable to keep up with the thought of why it, which had been in an overwhelmingly dominant position until just a few minutes ago, was now in such a predicament, it seemed to understand that the situation was somehow bad and immediately turned around, attempting to retreat with a noisiness that felt like it was causing an earthquake, but...
"Hmm. Planning to run? Truly, monsters without aesthetics or pride are unsightly. If you have no pride as a dragon, you should not show yourself before people.... Marie, lend me a hand."
"That strangely spine-chilling way of speaking has been bothering me for a while, but very well."
"Then let us finish this quickly.... Decode."
There was no way the Three Idiots would let ingredients slip away. Along with Geoglyph's words, an intense pressure rained down on the Earth Dragon. It was gravity magic classified as high-tier, but Earth Dragon-san had no way of knowing such a thing, and suddenly its body became so heavy it could not support itself, sprawling on the ground.
"Honestly, it's kicking up dust. Behave yourself."
As it struggled and flailed, the shadow beasts bit into Earth Dragon-san's body at Marianne's instruction. Then, the shadow beasts transformed themselves into shadow chains and fixed it to the ground. In a posture like a scene from Gulliver's Travels, Earth Dragon-san became unable to move.
"Finish it. Ray."
"You got it."
And receiving Geoglyph's instruction, Later approached the trembling Earth Dragon-san.
"Why are you shaking now? It's the providence of the world that those lacking strength become food, right? Both for me, and for you...!"
The Rig Veda in his hand emitted a glow, expanding and extending as if to pierce the heavens. He was to cut a tower mansion-sized Earth Dragon. Therefore, Later judged that a sword of the same size was necessary and enlarged the sword, but... for some reason, what emerged was a giant tuna knife.
To repeat, it was a tuna knife. No matter how you think about it, it was not suited for ikejime (T/N: a method of slaughtering fish).
Seeing this, Geoglyph and Marianne were pointing and laughing loudly.
Why a tuna knife in this important scene? At least a deba knife or a bone-cutting knife, the disgruntled Later thought, but then he decided that honestly, this was no longer a battle but more like butchering, and gave up. Then, he directed a great smile toward Earth Dragon-san, who was looking at him with terrified eyes...
"Chest!!"
Like a guillotine, the swung tuna knife easily lopped off the Earth Dragon's head.
●
The members of Hekireki, who had been watching this, were speechless, just like the refugees.
"Are you kidding me, those guys..."
"No way, hey..."
"Hey, you two... this is stronger than Silver rank, right...?"
At Mira's uncertain voice, Larc and Alan shook their heads.
'Hunting a herd of Earth Dragons with a single party is on par with Platinum rank! Why the hell are those guys acting as Iron rank!!'
Is this rank fraud?! they lamented the absurdity of the world.
To be continued tomorrow.