957: A Big Transformation

After asking the captured dragonkin many questions, we didn’t get much useful info out of them. Or rather, they knew barely anything in the first place. These guys were pretty much obeying their orders to the letter.

Still, there were a few tidbits of new information.

「Ordered by the Dragon King, huh?」

「Nn. Dragonkin from the north are the enemy.」

「Seems like the whole reservation is in cahoots with the Dragon King.」

The dragonkin we captured were no ordinary thugs.

The entire group consisted of apprentice warriors from the northern dragon reservation. Compared to the stragglers running away because they were sick of the rigorous training, these guys were officially ordered to cooperate with the Dragon King.

「And yet, they apparently have no clue what his plan actually involves.」

「Or even anything about his location.」

We learned nothing about the plan itself. Well, I guess we’ve confirmed the Dragon King was still scheming something. That’s good enough for now.

「If they’re to be believed, the Dragon King intends to blockade this entire area. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I’m sure it’s nothing good.」

「They weren’t lying.」

「Oh? Did you have a way of detecting lies?」

「A woman’s intuition.」

「Hahaha! That’s great!」

「What now?」

「Let’s see. I’d like to hear from a dragonkin who knows a bit more about the situation. By the way, nice threat earlier. I’ll be counting on you for that next time too.」

「Nn! Leave it to me.」

So in conclusion, we learned three things from the dragonkin.

First, it was indeed the Dragon King who ordered the northern dragonkin to eliminate any intruders here. Second, the Dragon King was trying to attain some sort of power and ascend to a new level. Third, he intends to use that power to take over the continent and establish a new nation for dragonkin.

「I don’t know what Trismegistus has to do with the Dragon King’s goal, but something smells fishy.」

「Nn. Let’s try going there.」

「Hmm, I’m not sure about that. You don’t have permission to enter the center, do you?」

「It’s an emergency.」

「Hmmm…… Well, I guess we can just say you got permission from a Rank S adventurer. I’ve given the guild plenty, so I might as well make good use of my authority.」

「Oh! So can I go see Trismegistus now?」

「Finding the Dragon King is our first priority.」

「I know.」

Wait, we kinda just bypassed all the rules and started heading for the center of the continent. Didn’t we need the guild’s permission to visit Trismegistus……? I guess Izario was on our side, so he’ll cover for us later, right?

Besides, Izario was absolutely right. Dealing with the Dragon King was top priority. The longer we leave him alone, the closer his schemes come to fruition.

Oh yeah, we just left the captured dragonkin sitting there.

They may be our enemies, but Izario did promise not to take their lives. They weren’t involved in the slave trade either.

Though weak, they’re still dragonkin. They’ll manage to escape sooner or later.

Meanwhile, we needed to find and capture the Dragon King before he accomplishes his goal. However, we ended up stopping in our tracks right after departing.

Rumble Rumble……

「Did you feel a shake?」

「Nn?」

Izario stopped and muttered right after we heard a strange rumbling noise. Apparently, he felt the ground shake, while Fran and I didn’t notice anything.

We were riding on top of Urushi, so we only felt the force of his legs hitting the ground.

『Urushi. Did you feel anything?』

「Woof!」

Urushi nodded his head. I guess there really was a tremor.

Rumble Rumble Rumble!

It’s louder than before!

「It shook!」

「Woof!」

「You felt it too, huh! What the hell is happening……? I’ve never heard of any earthquakes in Gordicia.」

Apparently, earthquakes never occurred on the continent of Gordicia. This was definitely some kind of anomaly.

Right after that……

「What?」

「!」

「Grr!」

Fran and the others braced themselves simultaneously. A huge amount of evil energy erupted to enshroud the entire area.

At the same time, the ground began shaking extremely violently.

Rumble――RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

The earth shook with such force that all of us stumbled. I’d say about magnitude 5?

But the shaking didn’t stop. Rather, it intensified.

「Something’s coming out!」

「That’s the direction of Trismegistus’ castle!」

In the direction that Fran pointed, something huge suddenly appeared out of the ground. Whatever it was, its form was obscured by all the dust sent flying about.

Behind the veil of dust covering the sky, we could see a huge shadow clearly several dozen meters in height.

No, if it looked that big even from this distance, it might be over 100 meters in actuality.

The size of a skyscraper.

「We pause here for a bit, little lady. Even I have no clue what’s going on.」

「……Okay. Is Trismegistus gonna be okay?」

「Hah! That’s gotta be the first time I’ve seen anyone worried about him. Either way, he’s quite literally immortal. If there’s some way to kill him, I’d love to know.」

In the first place, we knew nothing about what was going on or who was causing it. Was this part of the Dragon King’s schemes or Trismegistus’ doing? Or maybe even the antidemons?

With so little information, we had no choice but to wait and see.

So we waited, anxiously, for a few long minutes.

Then, a faint silhouette emerged from the dust.

「I can see part of it!」

「Arf!」

「Oi oi…… What the hell is that……?」

At first I thought it was a tower or something, but this was no structure.

The shadow began to stir. Those wriggling movements meant this thing was alive and moving.

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