Chapter 46

4 TO THE DRAGON’S NEST The Remium Plateau. In dwarf territory, located in the very center of the continent of Vastonia, adjacent to the human and elf countries. Surrounded by many flat-top table mountains, it’s noted for its high-quality ore. The dwarves continued to extract ore from here, providing the front lines with their high-quality military equipment. If the Coalition of Seven were to take this place, the humans and elves would be cut off from one another, and the supply of ore to the main dwarf forces would dwindle. Resources would be blocked, and many fighting units would be isolated. In other words, it was a vital location. That was why the Coalition tried so hard to protect it, and why the Demon Lord Geddigs chose it as the site of his final battle. The orc army was deployed front and center of the Coalition’s forces. In other words, on the front line. It was the densest part of the battle, where the fiercest of the fighting happened. The Demon Lord Geddigs understood orcs well. When an orc defeats a woman on the battlefield, he drops and defiles her on the spot. But they are senselessly brave, no matter the conflict. And the orcs were so stupid, they would charge forward regardless of how many enemies they faced, or how many of their allies had already been killed. And of all the races, they were the greatest in number. No one would weep over orcs wasted in battle. And when an orc was paired with a fairy, he tended to stick around even longer during the fighting. Most races disliked being paired with the fairies, but the orcs were different. And so the orcs were optimally positioned on the battlefield. At the time, though, the other non-orc races had their doubts. “Why entrust the orcs with the most important position in such a vital battle?” “Wouldn’t it be better to put the ogres in the forefront like usual?” “But that way the ogres will become even more bigheaded and will take a larger share of the spoils.” “I mean, it’s always been that way, though. Look. The ogres are incensed.” Geddigs’s response was…, “We shall see how it all shakes out within the first hour of battle.” Though all basically had faith in Geddigs, they still doubted his words. An hour after the start of the battle, when the various races had gotten all scattered and mixed together, and it was beginning to become a fray, the orc army began to push back against the humans. Humans may have been strong, but at the time, they lacked the fighting strength needed to hold out. The orcs also spotted the royal crest visible behind the human army, and with their crotches throbbing, they charged forward, determined to be the first to bed the princess. The orcs’ fighting power was so immense, it seemed merely a matter of time before the humans were overthrown. But the ogres were not amused. Anything an orc could do, an ogre could do better, they said. Actually, if it had been the ogres, no doubt they would have crushed the weak human army in the first wave… Or so they claimed. And it wasn’t just the ogres. The other races thought the same way, too. But then… The dragon appeared. And all hell broke loose. In just a few minutes, a full half of the orc forces had been reduced to ashes. The orcs lucky enough to avoid the creature’s breath attack were now surrounded by a wall of fire, with nowhere to run. And the magical attacks of the humans continued to rain down upon them. It was like a scene straight from the fiery pits of hell. Faced with this nightmare, the higher-ups all looked to Geddigs. But his face was as composed as ever. Just calmly appraising this new development. As the dragon unleashed a barrage of fire breath attacks from the air, reducing hundreds of orcs to ashes, the demon army mobilized. A giant magic circle appeared in the sky above the demon army, and multiple magical spears shot out. They were powerful siege spears, dozens of them, the kind used to destroy human forts and elven magical barriers. They rained down on the dragon like guided missiles, knocking its massive body to the ground. And so the dragon fell. Right in the middle of the Coalition’s camp, populated with not only orcs but with ogres and other races as well. The ogre army ran as one for the giant body. The higher-ups wasted no time in singing Geddigs’s praises. “We’d expect no less from Lord Geddigs! He used the orcs as bait!” But that was when the real hell began. The dragon went mad after finding itself on the ground. Having lost its ability to fly, it seemed to have realized that escape was impossible and thrashed about in a desperate fight for its life. And not a single member of the Coalition was a match for this dragon. The ogres and the orcs that still remained on the battlefield, the succubi, the lizardmen, and the harpies that rushed to the scene to help…were all mercilessly shredded, without being able to inflict so much as a scratch on the dragon’s scaly hide. It was unclear whether or not Geddigs had also anticipated this development. Those on the front lines were unaware of this, but at around the same time, a reconnaissance force from the demons’ main camp was also being attacked. Communications had been cut off, and the chain of command had been temporarily paralyzed. This was a sabotage operation by the beastkin to increase the success rate of the operation run by Nazar’s forces. Geddigs was then attacked by Nazar’s forces… But never mind that part for just now. Back on the main battlefield, the dragon began to drag itself toward the human camp. It seemed to have sensed that it still had a chance of escape and was going for it. When those fighting on the front lines saw this, they all panicked. Once the dragon reached human command… It would have its wings magically healed and take flight again. And once airborne, it would make sure not to let itself be grounded again. Instead, it was likely to come straight at the demon headquarters and crush them all. They had to stop it. But no one could stop a dragon. Demons, ogres, succubi, all the famous warriors of every race tried to stop it in its tracks, only to be roasted to a crisp in the process. What to do? What on Vastonia had Geddigs been thinking? Right, just as the higher-ups in command of the front line really began to panic… A warrior appeared in the path of the dragon. A green orc. It must have been somewhere on the battlefield obscured by the smoke from the great sea of burning fire, unaware of what was actually going on. It would no doubt either be eaten by the dragon it stood before or turned to charcoal by its breath. The moment of death that comes to all the warriors had now come to him. So everyone thought. Until they witnessed something beyond belief. At present, Bash was clinging to an ice wall on the face of a mountain. Bash did not know the name of said mountain. However, he’d heard that there was a tall mountain to the far north. And that the dragon lived on the mountain. So he figured this must be that mountain. But whatever. The info that there was a dragon’s nest on this mountain had come from Sequence. And Bash and Zell had business at the nest. More specifically, they had business with the surviving members of the group that even now were launching an attack on the dragon’s den. “Hope at least three of ’em survive, eh, Boss?” “Indeed!” A raging blizzard was all about them. There was next to no visibility, and chunks of ice kept constantly pounding them. Zell wasn’t zipping and zooming about as usual, but instead was hiding in Bash’s pocket. Hey, maybe the fairy was just cold. The ground was beyond sight, but one slip and it would be a straight fall right to the bottom. Since Bash had Zell with him, he probably wouldn’t die. But it would hurt a whole lot, no doubt. Bash dug his fingers into the slippery ice wall and began to climb upward. Perhaps because of the extreme low temperature, the ice walls did not crack. The climb went…quite smoothly, actually. “But you know, Boss, I never expected we’d get such a positive response!” “Yeah!” The first meeting with Sequence had been a smashing success. At first, Sequence had acted like a demon would act, with suspicion in all of his eyes…but the moment they’d shown him Nazar’s letter, he’d changed his attitude with a quickness, and had even offered Bash his own daughter! And he’d even said that Bash could have all the demon women under his daughter’s command. “I thought he’d say somethin’ like, ‘If you want my daughter, go forth and slay the dragon first!’” “That would be fine with me. As long as we know where the nest is.” “Ah yes, Boss, so you must! I missed your great feat at the Remium Plateau, so I did. Ah, I wish I could have seen it! When you dragged that dragon down and went Biff! Boff! Bash! Then flung it clear across the battlefield! Ah, or did you? Knowing you, Boss, you no doubt took it out with just the one punch…!” “Not at all… It was a pitched life-or-death battle. I easily could have died. I mean, when the dragon appeared, I actually lost consciousness for a while.” Bash didn’t often brag about war exploits. When an orc brags about their war exploits, see, he has to finish it up with stories of all the woman he defiled. The battle story is worth 50 points. The story about ravishing a woman is worth 50 points. Together, they make a total of 100 points. That’s how the points are distributed in an orc boasting bout. No matter how hard Bash tried, he could only ever win 50 points. But the fight against the dragon was different. An orc had faced a dragon and won. The tale of the dragon slayer. Even for an orc, the story of slaying a dragon has got to be worth 100 points all on its own, even without the bit about defiling women and so on. After all, in the entire history of the Vastonian continent, the number of people who had defeated a dragon could be counted on one hand. Of the heroes, who can also be counted on one hand…well, half their exploits are still just tall tales. It’s hard to say whether the other half are even true or not, either. But dragons do exist, and there are warriors on the battlefield who wield weapons made from dragon bones. So while it’s best to take them with a hefty dose of salt, there is a grain of truth to the tales. There are warriors capable of slaying dragons. It was done. And it passed into legend. Earning the teller entry into a class of their own. “Y-you lost consciousness? What happened, Boss?!” “I’d love to go into detail, but it’s a bit cold here.” “Oh, right! Yeah, I’d like to hear it somewhere a little warmer, perhaps over a drink! Oh, I’ve got a great idea! You should tell the demon ladies you’re about to meet that story! Right now, demon women are really struggling, living under the threat of the dragon, right? If you tell them the story of how you defeated a dragon once, they’ll be putty in your hands!” “Well, I think it would be quicker if I just slay this dragon, rather than telling stories.” “Oh yes! And so a new legend is born!” Bash already had the go-ahead from Sequence. Demons live in a strict hierarchical society. If a high-ranking demon orders a woman to be an orc’s wife, she must obey. Just as an orc must obey the word of the Orc King. But, yes… Perhaps Bash had better curb his enthusiasm. Sequence said Bash could have one of his daughters and any woman from the extermination squad for himself, but…they may have already been wiped out. Usually, you could expect one or two to survive a bloody battle, but there was never a guarantee. And this time, the opponent was a dragon. So Bash’s plan B was to utilize the methodology he’d been using so far. The tried-and-tested method. Woo the woman. And then make her your wife. The best part was how simple it was. Defeat a dragon. Tell a woman about it. Very easy to understand. If he couldn’t even slay this dragon, then attempting to woo a woman was clearly beyond him. To Bash, a demon woman was more intimidating than any dragon. “Hmm.” Ruminating, Bash encountered a hole in the ice. Halfway along the ice wall, there was a gaping hole, just big enough for one person to pass through. It looked to be a very unnatural hole. It must have been dug out by hand. “Here…?” This hole was no doubt dug out by the hunting party… A direct passage, in other words, to the dragon’s nest. Bash had heard that the hunting party’s plan was to enter here and take the dragon’s nest by force. From this, it was easy to infer that the burnt squad they encountered on the way to the fortress invaded from here, encountered the dragon inside, and engaged it in combat. Then, realizing they were no match for it, they had retreated. The dragon must have pursued them down the mountain and roasted them from the sky. “…It’s here.” Strange warm air was flowing from inside the hole. What’s more… There was the presence of some powerful life-form coming from deep inside the hole. Other than that, there was no sign of anything. No animals around. And certainly no other magical beasts. This was evidence that some powerful creature was making its nest here. The territory of the apex predator. Only one apex predator would establish its territory in a place like this. “Let’s go.” “Right on, Boss!” Bash entered the hole. The hole was big enough for Bash to walk through, but the walls and the ground were awfully slippery, making it difficult to keep his feet. Bash didn’t slip, but a human or demon easily could have. “I heard that the hole was just big enough for one person to pass through… But you got through without getting stuck, Boss. Which must mean it was a pretty big old hole.” “Right… Yes…” Bash muttered in response, already getting a bad feeling about this. Every surface all around them was incredibly smooth, sparkling as the light reflected off it. Bash had seen floors like this before… Just once. Yes, just once. “…” As the moment of recognition came to him, Bash tensed. He reached for the sword on his back as he made his slow way along. He gripped the cold hilt and girded his loins. Zell seemed to sense the tension in Bash and fell silent. Ah, but the fairy had noticed it, too, now. This sound that had been audible like the howling of the wind for a while now… No, it was not mere jitters… They were getting closer to their target. So Zell stuck close to Bash, dutifully casting a glow for them to see by. It was good that they were on high alert. Because when the giant yellow eyes appeared suddenly in front of them, they were ready. “…!” They made eye contact with the creature. And the creature saw them. In this moment of realization, Bash unsheathed his sword and swung it. He cut through the wall to the left, shoved his body into the crack, and dug his sword into the ground to hide the part of his body that was still showing. Just before ducking into his hidey hole, Bash realized that the yellow eye at the end of the hallway had disappeared. Bash inhaled deeply and curled in on himself, hiding Zell against his chest. Everything was whiteness. Bash held his breath and counted slowly, his whole body as hot as if he’d just fallen into molten magma. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12… After counting to thirteen, Bash pulled his sword out of the ground and took off running. The next cave was larger than the last one, but the walls and ground had melted here and become muddy, making it difficult to run. His sword was red-hot, and where his hand gripped it, the skin made a hissing noise. There was a similar sense of pain coming from the soles of his feet… And then there was a stabbing sort of pain all over. His clothing burst into flames and then disintegrated into ash. Though he was in excruciating pain from the burns all over his body, he didn’t stop… He continued to run, without even taking a breath. Bash knew he could not breathe here. Though he didn’t know anything about oxygen and its properties, he knew there was no good in breathing right now. Once, he’d been knocked out for about ten minutes as a result of this very thing. He also knew that if he stayed here, he would die. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8… As he ran, he counted again. When he reached nine, he saw them again… Those yellow eyes again, farther ahead. Without a moment’s hesitation, Bash thrust forth his sword. “Rooooar!!!” There was a terrible, terrifying roar. Bash flung himself over to where the eyes had been. There was a cave here. One with a roof so high, Bash could jump without hitting his head. It was large enough for a very large creature to live there quite comfortably… A large creature like the giant lizard in front of him now. A dragon with red scales. One of its eyes had been put out by Bash’s sword, and it was bleeding. But its fighting spirit had not been dampened in the slightest. It glared at Bash with its remaining eye and roared at the cave roof. “Roooarrr!!!” Bash inhaled in that moment. It was like he was steadying himself, in the face of his natural enemy, to show that orcs were brave warriors who feared nothing. And then he yelled. “Graaaagh!!!” His war cry. It shook the cavern walls all around. And the battle began.