Chapter 46: …Ta-ma-ya—

The Deken Empire’s commander, Prince Jalpha, was feeling the pressure.

“Prince Jalpha. We’ve received bad news.”

“…Worse than things already are?”

The two-pronged campaign against Saripa and Yaiban was a trial—a test to determine whether he was worthy to become emperor.

And yet, Prince Jalpha’s results had been dismal.

“Despite overwhelming military superiority, we’ve yet to capture even a single fortress city.”

“Your Highness…”

“The invasion plan for Yaiban is already three days behind schedule. And now you’re telling me it’s going to get even worse?”

The Deken forces still hadn’t managed to take the fortress city of Byuredesto.

Thousands of soldiers had already been lost, and they were still being forced to allocate troops just to maintain the siege.

Understandably, Prince Jalpha was in a foul mood.

“—Wait. The Deken Navy failed to seize the port town?”

“They reportedly couldn’t even get ashore against Saripa’s forces and were forced to withdraw.”

Upon receiving the report that the Deken Navy had been routed at the port town of Anat, Jalpha shot to his feet.

This wasn’t just a minor miscalculation.

It was a shocking development that could change the entire course of the war.

“They don’t even have a navy! How could Saripa possibly beat us?”

“Well, it seems Saripa had… about four warships at their disposal.”

“Then crush them! We deployed two hundred ships, didn’t we!?”

Even the usually composed Prince Jalpha lost his temper, his face contorted with rage.

How could the Deken Navy be routed in a battle of four ships against two hundred?

“The navy suffered heavy losses. It will take time to recover.”

“This makes no sense. Was it spite? Or were they bribed…?”

Jalpha simply couldn’t believe that the Deken Navy had lost in a fair fight.

His first suspicion was sabotage by one of his royal siblings.

“This is outright sabotage. I can’t believe they’d deliberately sabotage a military operation.”

“Prince…”

“No, this is ultimately my fault. I haven’t commanded enough loyalty. Without naval cooperation, how are we supposed to manage logistics?”

For transporting supplies, the sea route was clearly more efficient.

Jalpha had intended to use the port town of Anat as a logistical relay point.

But with the navy’s retreat, the entire supply plan was now in shambles.

“We’ll have to rely on overland routes for the time being.”

“…Which will slow us down even more.”

Jalpha clenched his teeth in frustration.

Moving a large army was costly.

Any delay would worsen the emperor’s opinion of him.

“Prince Jalpha, perhaps we should just proceed with the invasion as scheduled?”

“You’re suggesting we advance without a supply line?”

“General Agaron is capable. I’m sure he’ll take the port town soon.”

“…Hmm.”

Despite the lack of a secure supply line, Jalpha could still move forward with the invasion.

He had taken the precaution of transporting plenty of food and resources when they first mobilized.

Even if the sea route remained blocked, they could probably fight for a month.

If Agaron managed to seize the port via land within that month, maritime supply would become possible.

“It’s hard to imagine General Agaron being bribed. He’s a hero of Deken. Why not trust him and press forward?”

“You make a fair point.”

Jalpha briefly showed a moment of contemplation at his subordinate’s suggestion.

If General Agaron performed as expected, the invasion could proceed on schedule.

“Still, I don’t believe someone who charges in recklessly is fit to be emperor.”

“…Understood.”

“What’s demanded of me isn’t to win gambles—it’s to remain calm.”

And so, Jalpha chose not to take the reckless path.

He avoided a desperate gamble that would increase the chance of defeat.

“We will not advance. We’ll hold position. Also, draft a formal protest to the navy.”

“As you command.”

To some, the halt in their advance appeared cowardly.

It’s said that some officers even mocked Prince Jalpha, calling him spineless when they heard of it.

—However, this calm, rational decision would later prove to be what saved the Deken Empire from total destruction.

---

Returning to the front lines between the Deken Army and the Saripa Army.

Among the Seven Heroes stood “Agaron,” and before him was Saripa’s rising star “Takeru.” The two introduced themselves and faced off.

“Come at me like you’re facing a dragon.”

Agaron, known as the “Dragon Slayer,” was a burly warrior clad in jet-black armor forged from dragon scales.

Facing him, Takeru stood calmly with his fists raised, wearing only light armor.

“…Haaah.”

Takeru’s concentration had reached its peak.

His sharp eyes were fixed on Agaron, his entire body brimming with magic, every fiber of his being, down to his fingertips, taut with tension.

Agaron waited with an air of complete ease, observing the young warrior.

“Not bad. I can tell, Warrior Takeru.”

“…”

“You’re strong, aren’t you? I bet you pretty much took down that dragon all by yourself, didn’t you?”

Though Agaron spoke leisurely, there wasn’t a shred of carelessness in his eyes.

Even recognizing Takeru as a formidable foe, he remained calm and composed.

“I get it. Honestly, I wanted to fight alone too… but everyone around me was too worried to allow it.”

“…”

“So yeah… I’m kinda jealous of you.”

Takeru didn’t utter a single word.

Meanwhile, Agaron kept talking nonchalantly, grinning the whole time.

“Was it fun… hunting dragons, Takeru?”

“…”

────Agaron was waiting.

Waiting for Takeru to finish preparing his most powerful strike.

While keeping the atmosphere charged with his casual banter, he patiently gave Takeru the time he needed.

“…Then I’m coming.”

“Oh, you ready now?”

After about a minute of silence.

Takeru stepped back with one foot, folding his arm and clenching his fist.

Seeing this, Agaron finally placed his hand on his spear.

Tension gripped the battlefield. Both men gauged the right moment to make their move.

Neither Agaron’s subordinates nor Saripa’s soldiers like Paulie dared to interfere, watching in breathless anticipation.

“Um… something’s off about this.”

Breaking the silence with a mutter was Levi, a support fighter from the Yaiban Army, who was watching the duel with a bewildered expression.

“This… this whole mood… wait, Takeru didn’t actually kill a dragon, did he?”

“…What do you mean by ‘not a dragon’?”

Paulie reacted sharply to Levi’s murmur, her expression souring.

“I was there, you know. It was clearly a dragon.”

“You’re… Paulie, right? Then why don’t you ask the Deken side over there?”

During a duel, it was customary for both armies to refrain from intervening.

As Takeru and Agaron glared at each other, Levi’s calm words drifted through the air.

“…Ask them what, exactly?”

“Have them describe what kind of monster Takeru defeated.”

“…Hah?”

Confusion spread through both armies.

What did Levi mean by saying it wasn’t a dragon?

“I’m telling you, it was definitely a dragon. Its whole body was covered in scales, it soared through the sky on huge wings, and it breathed scorching flames from its mouth.”

“Yeah.”

“It was hundreds of times bigger than a human, shaking the earth with every landing, and its flames could incinerate hundreds of people in a single breath…”

Paulie couldn’t figure out what Levi was getting at, so she simply kept describing the dragon Takeru had slain.

And then—

“Don’t be ridiculous! You’re full of crap!”

“You Saripa folks always love to exaggerate!”

“If you’re gonna lie, at least make it believable!”

“…Huh?”

The Deken soldiers burst out laughing, hurling jeers at Paulie.

Paulie, the young knight, could only gape in confusion, not understanding why the Deken soldiers were laughing.

“I-It’s true! The thing we fought was────”

“There’s no such thing in this world!”

“That’s just a fairy tale monster… a ‘Dragon God’ or whatever!”

To the people of Saripa, “dragons” referred to large, strong, and tough monsters.

So, there should’ve been no mistake in calling the creature Takeru defeated a “dragon,” and yet────

“Dragons living in Deken are just a few meters long, you know.”

“…Eh?”

As it turned out, the Kingdom of Saripa had a rather skewed understanding of dragons.

Because in Saripa, ancient giant dragons had long made their home.

Until they were wiped out by Takeru’s grandfather and Lord Spio, the only dragons known in Saripa were those colossal ones.

In Saripa, when people spoke of “dragons,” they were referring to “giant dragons”...

“When an especially strong dragon keeps growing for hundreds of years, it becomes a giant dragon.”

“…”

“It’s feared and revered by humans, eventually worshipped, and even granted the title of ‘god.’”

However, in other countries like Deken, dragons were far more common.

In the Deken Empire, a dragon was nothing more than “one type of powerful monster found deep in the mountains.”

Of course, Deken dragons were still formidable foes, far beyond what ordinary warriors could handle…

…but even someone like Paulik could easily take one down alone.

“Alright, one last thing. What did we call the one Takeru defeated?”

Among all those dragons, there was one kind regarded as the pinnacle.

An existence that had lived for centuries and been elevated to a target of worship.

“…Dragon God?”

“Exactly.”

That’s what it was—a Dragon God.

---

““Duel!””

Right after that word rang out, the two warriors vanished like the wind.

With a fierce roar, Agaron leapt forward, hurtling straight down at Takeru.

“Take my spear strikeeee!!!”

It was like a sharp, crimson meteor.

On Agaron the Dragon Slayer’s spear, flames of red magic coiled and surged.

The spearhead gleamed a brilliant red, twisting violently, tearing through the air as it lunged at Takeru.

“…Haaah!!”

Takeru met the attack head-on.

As if to block it. As if to swat it away.

With every ounce of his strength, Takeru swung his fist straight at the incoming crimson spear of Agaron.

“…Huh?”

────Takeru’s fist swung pathetically through thin air.

His all-out blow was dodged with ease, and Agaron’s figure vanished.

“W-Where did he go!?”

Takeru lost his balance and fell flat on his rear.

He scrambled back up, frantically scanning his surroundings, but there was no sign of anyone.

“D-Damn it, where…?”

“What just happened? Agaron… vanished…?”

“…Ta-ma-yaaa—!”

Takeru kept turning in circles, searching desperately.

But no matter where he looked, Agaron was nowhere to be found.

A look of panic crept across Takeru’s face. He had no idea when or where a surprise attack might come.

“Lord Agaron…?”

“Did… Lord Agaron disappear?”

But it wasn’t just the Saripa side that was rattled.

Even the Deken soldiers were bewildered after Agaron vanished so suddenly.

Until now, General Agaron had never once resorted to anything like “hiding.”

For several seconds, confusion spread across the battlefield…

“Uwah!?”

“An earthquake!”

Moments later, a deep rumble echoed across the battlefield.

Far behind them—several dozen kilometers away—clouds of dust rose into the air.

“…Ah.”

The soldiers of the Deken Army initially panicked, thinking it was an earthquake.

But Takeru and Paulie turned pale, sensing something was very wrong.

“…”

With a shudder, Takeru glanced down at his extended right fist.

Seeing the blood on it, a cold sweat broke out across his body.

General Agaron hadn’t dodged Takeru’s punch…

“Deken Army!! Send your healers in the direction of that dust cloud!! Hurry!!”

“Wh-What are you babbling about!? You’re in the middle of a duel with Lord Agaron!”

“I’m sorry!! I’m really sorry, but… I think I accidentally sent Agaron-san flying!!”

Agaron hadn’t been able to react to Takeru’s punch and was blasted away at full force.

Takeru had foolishly assumed that if Agaron had the same durability as a dragon, going all-out wouldn’t be a problem.

“W-W-What do I do!? He’s dead, right!? We’re at war, so it’s okay… right!?”

“Standard practice is to capture enemy nobles and generals alive, if possible…”

“Well… this might be unavoidable.”

Paulie replied with a pale face, while Levi smiled slyly, answering Takeru.

General Agaron was by no means a weak commander.

He had enough skill to hold his own in a duel with Paulik.

It was simply a case of the opponent being too much.

“P-Paulie… couldn’t you heal him somehow?”

“No way, Takeru. I doubt there’s even anything left to heal.”

“It’s fine. He probably didn’t even have time to feel the pain.”

────Incidentally.

Though they were already treating him as dead, Agaron had narrowly survived thanks to his “Dragon Armor.”

“What the hell is going on… You, Takeru or whatever, what did you do to Lord Agaron!?”

“Did you dig a pitfall trap or something!?”

“I just punched him!”

“When!? You never even moved from your spot!”

Not a single Deken soldier had been able to follow Takeru’s punch with their eyes.

So they wrongly assumed Agaron had fallen into a pit trap and erupted in fury.

“Shameless! You inhuman scum! Coward!”

“How dare you disgrace Lord Agaron, who accepted a duel with you honorably!”

“Spouting childish lies—aren’t you ashamed!?”

“There’s no such thing as a Dragon God!!”

The Deken soldiers roared in anger, drawing their swords all at once.

It was clear they were seconds away from launching an attack.

“Charge! Attack!”

“Slaughter them all!!”

Unluckily, the duel had been seen as tainted by a cowardly trick, a pitfall.

They wouldn’t be satisfied until they bathed the coward Takeru in blood.

“Mercy is no longer an option. As the third-ranked of the Five Dragon Slayers of the Dragon Slayers, known as the ‘Armored Shield,’ I—Merylin—will bring that brat to justice!”

At the front of the Deken forces, a knight brandishing a black-and-silver shield bellowed.

Merylin was a loyal knight devoted to Agaron.

“My defenses are the strongest in Deken! I can block any and every attack—none shall pass this shield!”

“…”

“Now, come! Face me!”

With Merylin taking the lead, the charge was finally ordered.

And so, a brutal melee battle between the two armies erupted, descending into chaos and bloodshed────

---

“Wait a moment.”

The battle was about to begin… or so it seemed.

Takeru stepped forward, raising his right fist as if to halt the charge.

“You bastard, planning more tricks!?”

“Kill him! Start with him!!”

All eyes of the Deken Army focused squarely on Takeru.

Just as the soldiers changed expressions and started to charge toward him—

“Hup!”

Takeru tightened his fist with a sharp motion.

With a deafening boom, he slammed it into the ground, gouging out the earth beneath him.

“…Huh?”

Immediately after, a terrifying shockwave erupted toward the Deken Army.

A thunderous quake, clouds of dirt shooting up like a fountain, the earth rippling in violent, circular waves.

Unable to keep her footing from the shock, “Armored Shield Merylin” toppled to the ground with a crash.

“Um… that’s the power of my fist.”

Still sitting on her rear, Merylin looked up.

From the spot where Takeru had struck, cracks radiated outward, and the earth had been gouged out into a circular crater—

────About several dozen meters deep.

“…Eh.”

“If you can block this, I’ll consider you an opponent.”

At that moment, Takeru wasn’t even fighting seriously.

He had simply tapped the ground lightly, as if knocking on a door.

“If you want to fight me, come across this hole.”

“…”

“But if you cross it, I won’t hold back. I’ll fight you at full strength.”

Again, to Takeru, this was nothing more than a light punch.

He’d gone out of his way to strike slowly, deliberately, just to make it easy to follow.

And because of that────

“…Eh?”

To Merylin, the enemy commander who called herself the Armored Shield—

Takeru’s strike had been something she could actually see.

“Heh, you think we’re scared of a cheap trick like that? You just planted some explosives beforehand, didn’t you!?”

“W-Wait! H-Hold—!”

Ignoring Takeru’s warning, a soldier in iron armor charged straight at him.

Then, the very moment his foot crossed the edge of the crater—

“You’re sure about this?”

“Eh?”

Takeru was already right beside the soldier—

His fist already drawn back, ready to strike.

“Goodbye.”

“W-Wait—!”

One second later—

With a sharp metallic clang, the soldier was sent flying high into the sky.

“Anyone else care to try?”

“…”

Agaron’s subordinates—the Five Dragon Slayers, known as the Faiz Dragon Killers—were the elite of Deken.

And precisely because they were the real deal, they understood.

“…H-Hrk…”

Takeru wasn’t lying.

The claim that he had killed a Dragon God wasn’t a bluff or some tall tale.

Actually… with him, it was completely believable.

“A… A monster!! Aaaaaaahhh!!”

“Run for it! Run with everything you’ve got! There’s no way we can beat that thing!”

“Retreat before we all get wiped out—ruuuuun!!”

Standing right in front of them was a monster beyond human comprehension.

That realization hit Merylin hard—and she let out a pathetic scream before turning tail and fleeing.

“Uwaaaahhh!!”

“Move it, move it—get out of here!!”

It was exactly because of their strength that they fully grasped the threat Takeru posed.

Fighting something like that… was pure madness.

They had to get away from that monster as fast as possible.

With their commander fleeing, the Deken Army fell into total disarray.

“…Paulie, what are Rouga-san’s orders?”

“The signal flags say no pursuit.”

“Got it.”

The Saripa Army made no attempt to chase the retreating Deken soldiers.

The reason was simple—

“You’re just letting them go?”

“There’s no time for that. We need to send reinforcements to the port town immediately.”

They had yet to receive word of Juugi’s outcome in the port town of Anat.

Rescuing the First Princess Lululu was deemed the highest priority.

“If something happened to Lady Lululu, Lady Rishali would be heartbroken.”

“Exactly, we have to hurry back.”

“…Boring.”

────Several hours later.

Second Prince Jikei would be informed of both Takeru and Juugi’s victories at the same time.