The Monster Wave and the Dragon's Minions

Monster waves are among the most common disasters in the North. For reasons unknown, monsters from a specific region suddenly band together. It's a simple yet terrifying calamity where the strongest monster in the pack leads the charge, destroying everything in sight. Many scholars have investigated the cause of these waves over the years, but unfortunately, the origin remains a mystery. That very fact stings their pride, so every academic conference features new papers on monster waves. There's even a public declaration that whoever uncovers the secret will receive enormous rewards in the name of the Libertas ducal family. But to adventurers, that's just a story from a distant land. For them, a monster wave isn't some enigmatic secret—it's a very real threat they experience with their own bodies. That's why, while adventurers might not care about the cause, they know more about the scale and behavior of waves than anyone else.

The subjugation force from the Edenberg branch had finished their calm preparations and was heading toward the site of the wave. As a participant, I received information from Anel along the way.

"You said it was a medium-scale wave, right? For a medium wave, there should be at least dozens of Silver-rank monsters."

"That's right. And according to the informants, there's even a Gold-rank monster."

"That puts it in the upper tier of medium scale, doesn't it?"

"Pretty much. Luckily, the overall size is small, so it's barely scraping into the upper category."

As I grimaced at Anel's words, one of the students who'd been quietly following us—Elicia, the second daughter of the Golden Merchant Guild—asked cautiously.

"Um, what exactly is a monster wave?"

"Huh? Don't they happen in the Central region too?"

"They do, but it seems the composition is different from what the North defines as a monster wave."

"Ah, I see."

I nodded at the reasonable question. The monster waves in the Central region simply meant monsters banding together and charging toward cities. Realizing she might not fully understand our conversation, I explained.

"The monster waves that occur in the North aren't all that different from those in the Central region. The only real difference is how we calculate the level of danger."

"Is that so?"

"In the North, we assess the overall risk by considering both the number and the ranks of the monsters that make up the wave."

We divide them into small, medium, large, and extra-large scales, which generally refer to the number of monsters. Then we use terms like low, mid, high, and top-tier to evaluate the quality of the monsters forming the wave. To make it easy to understand, let's use the current monster wave in Edenberg territory as an example. It's classified as medium-scale upper-tier. That means one Gold-rank monster at the center, dozens of Silver-rank monsters, and hundreds of Bronze-rank monsters all gathered together. Considering that the guild's standard for designating a medium upper-tier wave requires at least one Gold-rank monster, it's a reasonable assessment.

"It's essentially the line in the sand that a territory can handle on its own."

"Then what about large-scale waves?"

"Those involve at least two to three thousand monsters and more than ten Gold-rank monsters."

"Hiiiieee....."

Elicia let out a horrified gasp at my explanation. Since she knew that Gold-rank monsters were on par with Sword Masters or Archmages, imagining that many of them banding together and charging forward was enough to make her blood run cold. I smiled in understanding at her reaction and looked at the subjugation force marching proudly ahead. Everyone was maintaining high morale, their faces filled with anticipation for the upcoming battle.

"Still, this scale is actually on the milder side. Large-scale waves happen about once a year."

"......?"

"Ah, I don't mean across the entire North. That's the average frequency when you combine the nearby territories."

"......???"

I lightly ignored the stares that suggested they thought they'd misheard and kept walking. To adventurers, this disaster was easier than a picnic. When I thought about the incident with Adela, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where she'd pulled out an army of ten thousand using the Puppet Queen, or the time millions of Storm Locusts had targeted the North's few remaining granaries, this was downright cute by comparison. Of course, if it had just been the adventurers from the Edenberg branch, it might have been a bit dangerous. But right now, the subjugation force included three Gold-rank adventurers total—me, plus the Ruin siblings. On top of that, there were the security forces and knight orders from the territory, plus adventurers dispatched from guild branches in every city. Even if there were Gold-rank monsters we hadn't accounted for in the wave, we had enough firepower to push straight through. That was why we could advance with such confidence.

Thanks to that high morale, the subjugation force reached a city along the monster wave's path of advance. The city's administrator, who had been waiting at the entrance, spotted us and approached with a welcoming expression. He was a middle-aged man following the orders of Regent Veil Edenberg and managing the city in his stead. Despite his administrative position, he had a robust, muscular build. When he confirmed that I was at the head of the subjugation force, his eyes widened. He thumped his chest in the warrior's salute.

"We thank you for your dedication. I never expected to see Edenberg's Summoner here."

"I got lucky. I just happened to be at the adventurer guild."

I answered lightly and looked around. On the walls surrounding the city, the security forces stood guard with steel-like discipline. Mages were adding more barrier magic circles to reinforce the walls, and fixed mana cannons imported from the South were being loaded with mana stones to charge their ammunition. Nodding at the textbook preparations for a medium-scale monster wave, I asked the administrator.

"How far along are the city's defensive measures?"

"We've completed preparations up to eighty percent for a medium-scale wave. Just in case, we're also getting ready to withstand up to medium top-tier."

"Excellent. Now I understand why Veil appointed you as this city's administrator."

"It's all thanks to the residents of the city helping out."

Despite his humble words, the administrator's face was filled with pride. Finishing preparations faster than almost any other city in the North was an achievement worth bragging about. Moreover, the citizens' active cooperation proved that his method of managing the city was correct. I thumped my chest in the warrior's salute toward this administrator who contributed to the North in his own way.

"To receive a warrior's salute from a Gold-rank adventurer...! Th-thank you!"

The administrator was so moved he looked like a fan receiving an autograph from his idol. I calmed him down and said,

"We can't let our guard down just because it's a medium-scale monster wave. As soon as the reinforcements gather, we'll select only the elites and begin a combat reconnaissance."

"Leave it to me! I will assist with all my strength!"

Seeing the administrator fired up with enthusiasm, I smiled awkwardly and nodded. It was always good when the administrator of what would become the temporary headquarters was cooperative. We settled into the city and stayed there for several days, waiting for the reinforcements to arrive. Since monster waves advanced by destroying everything in their path, their movement speed was slow, giving us some breathing room. Everyone was so used to dealing with monster waves that the reinforcements didn't take long to gather.

From among them, I selected only the Silver-rank combatants capable of long-range attacks and formed a 'reconnaissance team.' We immediately set out for combat reconnaissance.

"We're just going to take a quick look and come back, so fire one shot and retreat immediately."

"Leave it to us. We should give the Bronze kids a chance to shine too, so we'll only target the big heads."

I nodded at the reliable adventurer's words and moved forward. With each step, I leaped dozens of meters. After covering quite a distance that way, I detected a group of several hundred monsters far ahead and raised my hand to halt the reconnaissance team.

"Everyone stop. I've detected a monster group up ahead."

"Is it the monster wave?"

"Yes. Since we're only long-range personnel here, we'll follow the plan—hit them once and retreat."

"We'll follow your orders."

The subjugation force's scale was so luxurious that we could probably handle it ourselves. But since we had the opportunity, I decided to leave the Bronze-rank monsters alone and use this as a chance to train the fresh Bronze and Iron adventurers. The archers and mages who received the order quickly climbed into the trees. Though they fell short compared to me, they were Silver-ranks who had long surpassed human limits. And since I'd brought only the elites, they were more than capable of attacking enemies several kilometers away.

"Attack when I give the signal, then retreat immediately."

"What will you do, Sir Argo?"

"I'll draw their attention just enough to let you retreat safely. With Neon here, drawing aggro shouldn't be hard."

I handed a communication magic tool to the temporary leader I'd appointed for proper timing on the attack, then headed toward the monster wave. To silence our footsteps, we approached riding Ikelos and hid among the trees to observe the wave.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!"

"Graaaaaah!"

"Greeeeeeegh!"

Wood Gore, Laserdon, mature Nepentula, and all kinds of monsters were rampaging wildly in a state of extreme agitation. Neon clicked his tongue at the sight of them advancing while destroying everything in their path.

"This is no joke. Did they all eat something bad together?"

"We don't know either. When a monster wave occurs in the North, the monsters in a specific area suddenly become extremely aggressive and start destroying everything around them."

"Does that even make sense?"

"It doesn't make sense by normal logic, which is why scholars are trying to figure it out."

Anyone could see it was strange, so of course scholars were researching it. Maybe it had something to do with the ancient civilization. No, there was probably a high chance the answer was in the records of the ancient civilization. With that strange conviction, I watched the monsters and suddenly noticed that their movements seemed oddly consistent.

"Wait a second. Their movements seem strangely off."

"What do you mean?"

"The atmosphere is different from a normal monster wave... It's different from the waves I saw back when I was a guild employee."

It was an alien feeling I'd only caught through instinct. It didn't seem like they were mindlessly trying to destroy everything. It felt like they had a purpose. Their behavior suggested there was something they were aiming for at the front of the wave. With a growing suspicion, I moved toward the head of the wave's formation.

"Huk! Hah! The reinforcements finally came!"

"We've been waiting!"

"Goro? Arash?"

I discovered two familiar comrades being chased by hundreds of monsters. They were the pair I'd grown close to after cooperating with them a few times early on—decently skilled even among Silver-rank adventurers. I was surprised to see them. When they spotted me, their expressions brightened dramatically. I quickly sent Ikelos to rescue them.

They must have been running without rest, because they were drenched in sweat. They struggled to pull out stamina potions and drank them to recover. I watched the two with a puzzled expression.

"How did you end up getting chased by a monster wave?"

It wasn't that strange that the informants hadn't found them. If they got too close trying to gather detailed information and got detected, it could cause an unexpected situation. That's why reconnaissance of monster waves was usually done from a distance with quick observation before retreating. Because of that, even though the two were exhausted from running nonstop, they looked at me with serious eyes.

"That's not what's important. We've brought information that will throw the entire North into chaos."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know about the Mountain Dragon's minions, right? Those dragon-like bastards."

When the words 'Mountain Dragon' suddenly came out of Goro's mouth, my expression turned grave. In the North, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that name was never spoken lightly. Mentioning it meant something extremely serious had happened. Just as expected, the information that came from the two was an emergency far beyond what the word 'serious' could describe.

"The Mountain Dragon's minions have come down to the North. I don't know what method they used, but we saw them with our own two eyes."

"Those bastards were using the Mountain Dragon's power to gather monsters. Just counting the ones we discovered, there are over ten thousand."

"......!"

I was speechless at the shocking news the two delivered. A mere few hundred monsters weren't the problem. Ten ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thousand monsters. And not weak ones like War Ants—these were a real army made up of genuine monsters. The pressure was enormous.

"Those monsters were a group we happened to run into while secretly retreating. Their eyes were half rolled back—they looked even more dangerous than usual."

"We ran for a whole week without resting to avoid getting caught. If we entered a village or city and those things went berserk sacrificing their lives, it would cause massive damage."

So they waited until the subjugation force was organized. I bit my lip at the actions of these two who had bought time for Edenberg territory to prepare. I pulled out the communication magic tool.

As mana flowed into the tool, it lit up, and from the other side came the voice of the adventurer acting as temporary leader.

"The plan has changed. The monster wave isn't the problem right now."

"Two Silver-rank adventurers who were being chased by the monster wave delivered the news. The Mountain Dragon's minions have appeared in the North, and they're gathering monsters. That's the information they brought."

The adventurer on the other side couldn't hold back his curse. The communication tool grew noisy as the reconnaissance team apparently heard the story too, reacting strongly. I understood how they felt, but now wasn't the time to stay calm. Preparing only for a medium-scale monster wave wouldn't be enough. We needed to issue evacuation orders to nearby villages immediately and connect the cities to build a defensive line.

"Move as fast as possible. This information's value is in its speed."

"I'll take care of them."

After ending the communication, I looked at the monster wave with sunken eyes. The monsters, having lost their intended prey, bared their teeth but were still wary of me. They must have instinctively realized I wasn't an easy opponent. Clicking my tongue at the pathetic sight, I snapped my fingers.

Dozens of summoning circles appeared in the air, and my summons emerged. Cracks opened, revealing countless monsters. The monster wave—no, the frenzied monsters—were thrown into confusion by the sudden reinforcements. Without hesitation, I turned my body and gave the order.

"Handle them."

The moment the words left my mouth, my summons and monsters began hunting the frenzied ones. Ignoring the sounds of battle coming from behind, I tossed a potion each to Goro and Arash, who must have been exhausted from running for a week.

"Drink up and recover quickly."

"Thanks."

"We'll recover fast and help."

"Thank you for risking your lives to bring this information. Thanks to you, the North has gained time to prepare."

I thumped my chest in salute to the two who had accomplished such a tremendous feat, then headed back toward the city. I left the crack connected to the Water Realm open so they could return after the battle ended, sending the command mentally. My instincts told me this battle wouldn't be easy.

Thinking about it, the Mountain Dragon had already been repelled once. There was no guarantee it would clash head-on like it did eight years ago. Scholars had predicted the creature would use any means necessary to break through the North, but no one had dreamed the front lines would actually be breached. We'd been caught completely off guard. Recalling the Northern proverb that one must never let their guard down until the very end, I let out a sigh.

"As expected of the North. Look at that welcoming greeting."

I'd thought things were flowing comfortably for once. Looks like I'll get to fight to my heart's content.