Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Great Relocation Operation (4)
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Pahang! Jaipa's body uncoiled like a coiled spring. The sky swallowed them whole. Ronan, clutching the tail with all his strength, spat out a curse.
"What the... fuck...!"
"Aaaahhh!"
He'd nearly snapped his neck. The speed far exceeded anything he'd imagined. In an instant, the forest had shrunk to a distant ripple. Pang! Tracing a gentle arc as it fell, Jaipa hit the ground and leaped again.
"Gyaahhh!"
Asel, who'd passed out, woke up screaming. Saliva and tears sprayed in their wake. The wyverns were still flying straight toward the Vaidian Mountains.
With just seven mighty bounds, Jaipa caught up to the wyverns. He stopped at the spot where he predicted the flock would soon arrive—a massive rock jutting up like a watchtower in the middle of a vast plain.
"Get off now."
"Urk!"
Jaipa flicked his tail like a slingshot. The two boys tumbled as if lashed by a giant whip. Asel, barely slipping free from Ronan's side, collapsed face-down and burst into sobs.
"Ugh... that's too much... this is really too much..."
He looked too drained to even stand. Ignoring the weeping Asel, Ronan approached Jaipa. The giant stood at the rock's edge, arms crossed, gazing at the northern sky.
"More than I expected."
"Yeah."
The wyverns were closing in fast. The flock approaching with eerie roars looked like storm clouds risen from hell. Ronan whistled at the sight of over a hundred heads.
"Damn, they've gathered them efficiently. Wyverns aren't exactly common monsters."
"What a shame. To have to kill them all."
Jaipa grimaced, clearly reluctant. Like griffons, wyverns could be tamed and ridden.
A herd that size would be worth a fortune. After a moment's silence, Jaipa spoke without turning.
"So why'd you tag along?"
"Just figured I'd lend a hand. Plus, get a look at the Sword Saint's skills."
"Lend a hand?"
"Yeah. Can't have any stragglers slipping away."
"Interesting."
Jaipa chuckled softly. His long tail swished lazily. After laughing for a while, he swung his glaive without warning.
Shick! It was a simple motion, like testing the blade's edge. Aimed at the wyverns, but no sword beam shot out. What was that? As Ronan tilted his head, a black line sliced across the flock's center.
"Huh?"
It was an otherworldly sight, like something from Kratir's spatial magic. The line, at least 50 meters across, cleaved the wyvern flock in two. Jaipa spoke.
"So, how exactly do you plan to help?"
Ronan's eyes widened. Then the black line flushed red, and a geyser of blood erupted. It looked like a chain of fireballs exploding. Delayed whooshes accompanied the wyverns' death cries.
"Kieeeeek!"
"Kreeeek!"
A rain of blood poured down. Mangled chunks plummeted helplessly. Jaipa swung the glaive again. Slash! Another black line crossed the flock, turning about twenty wyverns into minced meat.
"This...!"
Only then did Ronan notice the unidentified mana condensed on the glaive's blade. It had to be Jaipa's aura. Pulsing with immense power unlike any he'd seen, it was as black as the dawn just before sunrise.
'He's a total monster. A whole different league.'
Ronan shook his head in awe. He could see why Naviroje had lost. Then, a change came over the massacred wyverns. The disorganized flock split into ten squadrons of three or four each, fanning out in a deliberate arc toward the Romaira Mountains.
"Huh?"
The wyvern squadrons flew erratically, as if daring anyone to hit them, heading for the mountains. It wasn't random scattering for survival—it was a clear, strategic dispersal. Ronan let out an incredulous laugh.
"Looks like their handler's still alive."
"Seems that way."
Jaipa didn't flinch. Gauging the remaining wyverns, he glanced at Ronan.
"Don't get in my way."
Boom! Jaipa launched like a shot, unleashing a slash. The four lead wyverns shattered into nine chunks and plummeted. Mid-air, he swung again, and two distant squadrons turned to blood clouds. Another red rain soaked the forest.
"Crazy bastard."
Jaipa repeated leaps and landings, carrying out the massacre. Watching one squadron wiped out, Ronan shook his head.
The beastkin weren't slacking for nothing. At this rate, the wyverns wouldn't even reach the Romaira Mountains before annihilation. Everything seemed fine. But Ronan's expression remained uneasy.
'Something's off.'
No trace of the Nebula Klage's signature sparkling mana anywhere. Even straining his eyes, nothing.
'They have to be nearby.'
Nebula Klage was cunning. Even if all wyverns died, without capturing their operative, it wasn't over.
The wyverns' precise maneuvers suggested they were close. Hiding cleverly somewhere, no doubt.
'Where? Where are you hiding?'
Suddenly, Ronan's gaze drifted to the empty sky. Beneath the piercing blue, a few fluffy clouds drifted by.
In any other situation, a perfect scene to lounge and admire. A sudden incongruity made Ronan frown.
"Hmm?"
One cloud flew unusually low. That alone might be fine, but the direction was the issue.
Drifting at a subtle angle against the wind, straight toward the Romaira Mountains. Ronan's mouth fell open softly.
"Found you."
"Hiiiik..."
Asel watched Jaipa's slaughter, pale as a ghost. Each black projectile launched into the sky killed at least three wyverns.
Blood droplets carried by the wind dyed his hair even redder. Then Ronan dashed over from the rock's edge.
"If you're rested, get up. Time to go catch 'em."
"C-Catch them...?"
"Yeah. Gotta give these bastards credit for their tricks."
Saying something baffling, Ronan hauled Asel to his feet. Arm in arm with Asel, he pointed at the suspicious cumulus with his index finger.
"See that? The cloud flying weirdly low."
"Y-Yeah."
"We're heading there. You can do it, right?"
"It's too far...! If I throw it, it'll miss for sure...!"
"What're you talking about? You're coming with me."
"Eh?"
Asel's face twisted like he might kill himself right there, freezing in place. Ronan scanned around. Better to grab something to hold onto than fly barehanded.
"Need something for support... let's see."
Nothing useful on the bare rock. Maybe smash a stone to ride? As he pondered, kaboom! A wyvern head suddenly dropped before Asel. The startled boy screamed and scrambled back.
"Kyaahh! Kyaahh!!"
"What?"
Undeniably Jaipa's handiwork. The eyes, mad with frenzy, still blinked like it was alive. Ronan's face lit up.
"Oh, perfect."
Just the right size, with horns for handles. Ronan grabbed the near-fainting Asel, tucked him under his arm, stepped onto the wyvern head, and shook him.
"Let's go."
Even as cicadas heralded summer, the high altitude remained chilly like late autumn.
White clouds blanketed everything. Within them, two wyverns flew silently. The magic-made cloud held firm against their wingbeats, maintaining shape and speed.
Atop the red and yellow wyverns rode a white-robed youth and an old man. They'd been shivering in the sky for hours. The youth on the red wyvern spoke.
"How much longer?"
"Almost there. Thirty minutes at most."
"Good. Damn it, all because of that stupid bitch—we're about to lose all the wyverns I gathered."
The youth grumbled. He'd handled gathering and controlling them for this op.
His partner suddenly broke formation, ruining everything. The watching old man tsked.
"They were just decoy dragons anyway. No big loss."
"Still a waste."
"Be grateful Jaipa didn't spot us. If we hadn't acted fast, we'd be in danger too."
"...You're right, old timer. If that monster caught us, we'd all be dead. Damn, whoever spread that rotten fish stink—hope they drop dead."
"Tsk tsk... If we achieve our goal, they will."
Things had gone awry, but not failed. The frenzied monsters and three-digit wyvern herd were mere diversions. The anxious youth asked,
"You have it secure, right? Drop it now and we're done."
"Don't worry. Even if it falls, I'll retrieve it before it hits ground."
The old man stroked his beard and nodded. His wyvern's talon clutched a metallic sphere of unknown alloy.
Intricate geometric magic circles covered its surface without gaps. Glancing at it, the youth chuckled.
"As expected of Lord Alibrie. Thirty spells etched into that tiny sphere."
"Not a high exec for nothing. Truly the grace of the stars."
"Exactly. Hey, rumor is you're in line for Brigia's spot—true?"
"It is. I dare not compare to her strength, but..."
"Whoa, so you'll get the Hierophant's blessing too?"
The old man laughed instead of answering. The youth's eyes bulged, catching the meaning. He knew the old man's power, but branch chief? The excited youth pressed,
"What'd you get? Huh?"
"Heh heh, can't say. But know this: even after dropping that thing on the mountains, it'll save us."
The youth gasped. That was as good as spilling it.
A bit scared before, now he felt ready. From today, the Empire would suffer arterial sclerosis.
The massive explosion in Romaira Ridge would haunt the ignorant fools' memories forever.
"Alright, then..."
As the youth started to continue, shrrrip! The cloud ahead split, revealing a wyvern head.
At first, he thought it was a freed wyvern attacking. But no back of the head. His eyes went wide.
"A h-head?!"
"Fuck, took damn long enough. Good job, Asel."
"Y-Yeah...! B-But people really are...!"
And atop the head rode people—two young kids, blue as blueberries. The hitherto calm old man spoke, flustered.
"What are you...?"
"Two of 'em. Can kill one."
Ronan didn't answer. Distance closed plenty. Without hesitation, he kicked off the wyvern head, lunging at the old man. Lamancha unsheathed, tearing clouds as it charged.
"Oh ho."
The old man raised a brow. The boy's slash flew too fast to counter. Judging evasion impossible, he smacked his lips regretfully.
"Didn't want to show this here, what a pity."
A circular barrier unfolded around the old man. The familiar sight widened Ronan's eyes. A bizarre veil unlike mana shield—Star's Grace. Ronan sighed in relief.
"Whew, fucking close."
"Hm?"
Lamancha sliced straight through Star's Grace, arcing. Slash! A red line appeared on the wrinkled neck. As Ronan kicked the chest and landed, the old man's head tumbled off.