Chapter 106

"What are you talking about? And where did you come from? Who would believe you if you suddenly tell us to evacuate?"

Leandros had built only limited human relationships thus far.

When he was young, there was a small rural village of barely a dozen households,

When he went up to the capital wanting to become a knight, there were a few trainees and squires who shared the same training grounds,

At the ducal residence, there was the former Duchess,

And now, there were Arndt and Arenheit.

He hadn't felt the need to establish other relationships.

So Leandros's communication skills were significantly inferior compared to others.

But he had never felt that this was inconvenient.

Warriors tended to communicate with swords rather than words, and he was a typical warrior.

But in a situation like this.

"It would be better to evacuate quietly. As soon as possible."

"No, that's what I'm saying! Who would believe someone who just suddenly appears and says this! Who are you? Why would we obediently listen to some random guy spouting nonsense? Get this man out of here!"

...What would be the best way to handle this?

For the first time in his life, Leandros found himself reflecting on his life.

He even thought that His Grace might have assigned him a task that was too much.

Facing six black bears just awakened from hibernation at once seemed easier than persuading these angry people.

No, he shouldn't have such impure thoughts.

There must be a reason why His Grace had entrusted him with this mission.

What did His Grace think was his strength? It was his martial prowess.

Wait.

Did that mean he was ultimately expected to use force to drag these people out?

'Indeed. His Grace had a profound plan.'

If the frail His Grace had come to persuade them, he wouldn't have been able to face such angry people.

Only someone like him could chase people away, even if it meant using force.

Leandros nodded to himself and drew his sword.

When this unfamiliar person suddenly drew a sword, the poor civilian workers who saw it began to scream.

"Aaaah, save me!"

"There's a madman with a sword!"

"Run away, run away! Fall back!"

He hadn't done anything yet.

Leandros, who was watching the people's commotion with a disapproving eye, decided to chase them all away, riding this momentum.

But at that moment,

-Rumble.

The ground vibrated.

It wasn't as if the crust was shaking, but it felt like something massive was moving beneath the soil.

When Leandros turned around,

Something black spurted at once from the entrance of the pit that had been rising in the distance.

It was black mud.

Pollutants with an ominous color covered the night sky and overflowed in all directions.

People who were watching the pit, which was instantly covered in black, all stopped and stared blankly at the scene.

Something jumped out from inside the pit that was continuously gurgling and spewing mud.

At first, no one recognized it as a living being.

They thought it was a rock mixed with the overflowing mud, or at least something similar.

But it moved.

A creature in the shape of a giant snake crawled out, gripping the pit.

Sticky fins protruded over its long body.

Its long forelegs, with two joint parts bent, looked extremely bizarre.

Something began to grow from the lumpy skin along its spine.

The sound of giant thorns growing and tearing through the skin echoed through the air.

"It's a d-dragon... The eastern dragon."

Someone said blankly.

The centipede and dragon from the eastern legend.

The dragon sleeping underground was actually inside the pit?

The head of the thing covered in black mud turned toward the sky.

The 'eastern dragon' tried to jump into the air several times, but each time it fell, merely plunging its body into the mud.

It staggered up and looked around.

The same voice reverberated in everyone's minds.

[Fly away... cannot return... leave the star... insufficient... insufficient... insufficient... need more...]

"W-what is this?"

Someone staggered while clutching their head.

The same was true for others.

They looked around, not knowing who had spoken, or hit their heads hard, confused.

Leandros could also hear that voice.

But he calmly said to the people,

"I repeat once more. It would be good for your safety to leave the wasteland immediately..."

"Look over there! The dragon has disappeared!"

At the sharp cry, the gazes of everyone, including Leandros, turned.

The giant snake that had been rolling on the mud just a moment ago had disappeared.

How could it have disappeared when they hadn't even seen it move?

At that moment, Leandros noticed that the air above the head of the worker who had shouted that the monster had disappeared was strangely distorted.

A faint thunder sound rumbled very close by.

Right after that.

The worker exploded.

Literally, it could only be described as an explosion.

Only a terrible trace remained in that spot.

Unfortunately, the people who had been standing around the worker blankly stared at the sight of blood dripping from their bodies and faces.

"Ah, aaah..."

"Save me, save me!"

"It's revenge, since the dragon has awakened, it's trying to take revenge on people!"

In the chaos, people began to flee.

High-placed torches fell, and materials and chairs that had been placed outside collapsed.

In the midst of this, people trampled those in front to get out first, and those who lagged behind pulled at those going ahead of them.

With each thunder sound, sporadic screams erupted, and fear and panic spread rapidly.

Even Leandros could not maintain his balance among the people.

How could he calm these people down?

At that moment, he saw the air distort above a woman who had fallen and was being trampled by people.

Leandros, without time to think, ran and rolled while embracing the woman.

Right after that, a tremendous bombing sound exploded behind his back.

"Are you alright?"

The woman Leandros had saved was trembling.

She appeared to be in a state where she couldn't even get up properly due to being randomly trampled by the crowd.

How could he escape from here with the woman?

Leandros saw the air rippling above his head and took shelter in a nearby tent.

The thought was that if there was something above his head, at least he wouldn't die from an explosion.

But once inside the tent, something felt strange.

The searing air was still there, but the thunder sound that heralded an explosion had stopped.

As if quietly waiting for the moment to hunt, targeting this side.

'Could it be, perhaps.'

Could it be that it couldn't invade spaces with roofs?

As soon as Leandros made this deduction, he jumped outside.

The thunder sound and explosion noise that had been waiting for that moment fiercely chased closely behind him.

He shouted toward the people who were scurrying like frightened sheep, blinded by fear.

"Get inside! Everyone take shelter in the nearby tents! It's safe indoors, so get inside quickly!"

At first, people were too frightened to heed Leandros's advice.

But when a few people in the crowd exploded, some who saw this began to change direction and run desperately towards the tents.

"Move aside! Get out of the way! I need to get in, I'm the person in charge!"

"Don't act without business ethics, let the young ones in first!"

"Move, I have to go home tomorrow morning! My family is waiting for me!"

"This place is full! Stop coming in, go somewhere else!"

Fierce shouts went back and forth.

While people packed densely into several tents, the only person outside was Leandros.

Leandros had been waiting for this moment.

If that entity had intelligence, rather than targeting prey that was frustratingly hard to catch, it would be drawn to those packed tightly in the dens.

And his prediction was right.

The air that had been faintly undulating began to split as if it were being torn.

The hideous head protruded first.

The smooth head without eyes had only skin resembling reptiles and breathing holes slightly open.

Instead of a flat snout, the mouth extended to the body, creating a bizarre form.

[Insufficient, insufficient, insufficient, more, more, more, more!]

It wasn't a demonic beast.

It was a disaster that had descended wearing black mud.

Cold sweat gathered in Leandros's hand.

Could he subdue such an opponent? He couldn't be sure.

If there was one thing he believed in,

It was that the Duke who had dreamed the revelation had sent him here directly.

"Come, disgusting creature."

The 'eastern dragon',

Also known as the 'Star Walker,' a name Leandros didn't know, roared ferociously.

People inside the tents couldn't help but be shocked at the scene unfolding outside.

Was what they were seeing with their eyes possible in reality?

Was it possible for a giant dragon and just one person to face each other equally?

Moreover, this knight had been warning people to leave the eastern wasteland just a moment ago.

Had he come deliberately, anticipating this future?

There were many unresolved questions.

But the people buried all those questions and simply watched outside with frightened eyes, holding their breath.

They had only one wish.

"Please, please..."

Get us out of here.

Let us leave this wasteland.

Let someone defeat that dragon and save us.

Please, someone help!

They prayed fervently not to God, but to the one fighting outside.

For they had only that knight to place their hope on.

So, when Leandros finally thrust his sword into the dragon's head.

It was natural for everyone inside the tents to burst into tears, shouting cheers.

* * *

As dawn broke, Aiden Aisling, who had rushed over after receiving reports of the anomaly in the wasteland, was speechless.

The wasteland was completely covered in black.

The soil emitted a foul smell, and it didn't even seem to be originally made of sand and gravel.

The pit, the source of the mud, was covered in black mud and looked like a black hill.

But what was even more serious was the state of the outpost.

All sorts of facilities were broken, and some tents were torn.

Even the low fences that had been set up to prevent beasts from coming were shattered.

There were no people, and the floor not covered in mud was pockmarked in various places.

"What happened here?"

Aiden asked his assistant, but there was no way his assistant could answer.

It was around the time he was just completing a circuit of the outpost.

The assistant pointed to one side of the wasteland.

"Master Aisling, there are people over there!"

Aiden turned to look.

Under the rosy sky in the direction of the rising sun, there were two people approaching.

One of them had black hair, and at a glance, he seemed severely injured.

However, despite the visible wounds and bloodstains, there was no impression of weakness.

With a height taller than others by a head, a solid build, firmly closed lips,

The determination and impassivity that could be felt from his subdued gaze.

As soon as Aiden saw that man, he was reminded of a huge mountain.

A high and lofty mountain that couldn't collapse, no matter what invaded it.

The man approached Aiden.

He opened his mouth.

"Are you Aiden Aisling?"

"How dare you, do you know who this person is!"

"That's enough."

Aiden, who stopped his assistant from flaring up, nodded.

"I am Aiden Aisling. The heir to the Aisling Merchant Group, and the person in charge of this site. Can you tell me what happened here? You two seem clearly related to it."

The man turned his gaze to the person beside him.

The man's companion was a youthful young man with red hair.

He might have just come of age,

He didn't look very reliable, appearing skinny and fragile.

But the strange point was that the man was sending a glance to the young man as if seeking permission.

When the young man nodded slightly, the man finally answered Aiden.

"The pit suddenly went berserk, and a monster came out from there. The monster attacked the outpost where people were."

"Then, all the people here..."

"No, a few people lost their lives, but most were safe. After dealing with the monster, I moved them to a place further away where the mud wouldn't reach and protected them."

"My God."

It seemed clear that this man had defeated the monster.

Despite the man's tattered clothes and foul smell.

Despite the man's appearance bearing vivid traces of battle, Aiden firmly grasped his hand and shook it.

"Thank you, really thank you. Truly, you're my savior! Not only did you save people, but you even continued to protect them until now. Just say anything. I'll do whatever I can for you. I feel like even ten million gold coins wouldn't be enough for you."

Despite Aiden's gaze that looked up to him as if revering a god, the man didn't budge.

Instead, the man asked back.

"His Grace sent a letter directly to warn you, but you didn't listen. Isn't there someone else who should receive your gratitude?"

"His Grace's...?"

Aiden was blank for a moment before suddenly recalling a letter.

A few days ago, someone claiming to be the Duke of Hartmann had written a warning about the pit in the eastern wasteland.

Judging by the content alone, it definitely seemed like a scammer, but since the ducal seal was imprinted, he had no choice but to reply.

But it hadn't been long since he sent the reply, so how had they come here already?

Aiden asked back.

"No, are you saying the Duke sent you here?"

"Strictly speaking, he's here..."

"Where? Is he with the rescued people? So the Duke's words were true. Damn, I just thought it was nonsense!"

At Aiden's response, the man's expression became slightly uncomfortable.

But Aiden, not noticing the change, continued to babble.

"Who would believe such a letter? As soon as I saw it, I thought, this was sent by a madman. But to think it was true. How did the Duke foresee this incident? Surely it wasn't a plot devised by the Duke?"

"...If you're so curious, why not ask him directly?"

"Where is the Duke?"

The man silently turned his head.

Aiden also turned his gaze following him.

The young man receiving the gaze of the two smiled brightly.

Somehow, an ominous feeling swept over Aiden.

"Wait. Could it possibly, possibly be."

"I've witnessed your spirit, shouting that I'm a madman right in front of me. Are all merchants so brave? I'm truly surprised."

"N-no, that's not it. Well, that..."

"It's fine. Criticism naturally arises in places where the subject isn't present. I just didn't expect to hear it directly."

Behind the face of the young man, who was speaking gently and smiling, Duke Hartmann, Aiden seemed to hear the sound of a knife being sharpened.

The man quickly knocked away Aiden's hand and feigned ignorance.

Cold sweat ran down Aiden's back, having lost his savior due to the man's attitude of acting as if he had nothing to do with Aiden.

Yes. Better to die. By his own will.

Damn it.