Chapter 125.1

On the Brink of War

As soon as he took a mouthful of the prepared herb, the strong odor and flavor hit his mouth as expected, and Tatsumi almost spat it out immediately due to reflex.

Looking around, Jadock and Miruil also seemed to be in real pain.

“This is… worse than I expected…”

“Sorry… I think I’m going to throw up…”

“You two must be absolutely patient. It’s better than being hit by the dragon’s venom.”

“Even if I can use deflecting arrows, that doesn’t completely prevent the poison from the armored dragon, so this herb is a must.”

Apparently, Morgernike and Calcedonia, who have used this herb before, seem to have a little more leeway than Tatsumi and the others.

Even so, both of them were frowning through their well-groomed appearance, so this herb seemed to be quite a “strong enemy” as Tatsumi had predicted.

Incidentally, Calcedonia’s “arrow deflector” magic is a defensive magic that creates air currents around the body to deflect arrows and other projectiles.

Since the poison of armored dragons is discharged in the form of mist, this magic, which generates air currents around the body, is one of the indispensable magics when fighting armored dragons. However, it still cannot completely prevent the poisonous mist, as such, the medicinal herbs are a necessity here.

“This guy… needs to be put down quickly.”

As Tatsumi said this while thinking about the “powerful enemy” sitting in his mouth, Jadock and Miruil nodded their heads with a determined expression.

Tatsumi and his team approached the group of armored dragons slowly and cautiously from downwind.

As they drew closer, Tatsumi felt a renewed sense of dread at the size of the armored dragons as he ducked between the trees.

─ ─ If this huge body were to come upon us, a human being would be crushed in no time at all.

Thinking of this, Tatsumi looks around at his friends who are spread out at a certain distance from him.

Jadock, Miruil, and Morgernike. And finally, he sees Calcedonia’s face.

Calcedonia notices Tatsumi’s gaze and, perhaps realizing his state of mind, smiles softly.

As soon as Tatsumi sees this flowery smile, the fear in his heart is banished, and instead, his fighting spirit rises.

A sense of trust exists between the two of them. It was this that ignited courage in Tatsumi.

“The… armored dragons are scattered… which is convenient for us.”

While checking the locations of the armored dragons scattered throughout the forest, Morgernike looks back to his companions.

“All right, we’re right on schedule!”

Then, in a whisper, he signals the start of the battle.

At that, Tatsumi and the others jumped out of the trees in unison.

Mira watched from a distance as Tatsumi and the others ran toward the giant armored dragon.

With her current position, she would not be able to compete with the armored dragon. Therefore, Mira was tasked with watching the entire war situation from a distance and informing her friends of any changes that may occur. That is her role.

As Mira looked on, the first thing that flew out of the sky was also “Tenshou”.

Flying like an arrow at an extremely low altitude, just above the ground, “Tenshou” quickly approached one of the armored dragons – the one at the furthest point.

He drew his sword in mid-air and slashed at the outer shell of the armored dragon as it was. The transparent blade made of the wing of the flying dragon easily slices through the solid outer shell of the armored dragon.

Although Mira’s eyes cannot see it, Tatsumi does not simply slash at it, but activates 《Space Breaking》on the blade. As expected, even with the flying dragon’s sword, it is impossible to slice through the outer shell of the armored dragon by itself.

The sudden shock felt by the armored dragon made it turn its huge body up.

The high pitched, shrill roar of the demonic beast may have been caused by pain or surprise.

With that roar, the other armored dragons’ appearance changed at once.

“The beasts have noticed! Watch out!”

Mira warns Tatsumi and the others that the armored dragons have entered a fighting stance.

Here and now, the battle between the beast hunters and the armored dragons was about to begin.

After slashing at the armored dragon, Tatsumi rises and turns around in the sky to check on the armored dragon at his feet.

The shell was indeed slashed open, but the flying dragon’s sword merely damaged the shell. The main body of the flying dragon seems to have sustained only a scratch or two at most.

“As expected, the shell is quite thick.”

The 《Sakku》 that Tatsumi activates now cannot cut where the blade cannot reach.

In other words, the thickness of the armor dragon’s shell is slightly shorter than the blade of the flying dragon’s sword. However, this was to be expected. The blow is just a wait-and-see approach for now.

“If so, then next time… I’ll use a longer blade.”