171. Dragon?
The rumors started in the Horton Kingdom.
The Hero Party, which had entered the Erjest Mountains via Hotenwork in the Korzen Kingdom, had appeared in Hyrun of the Horton Kingdom.
"It's the Hero Party!"
"The Hero Party's back!"
"Did they finally take the Demon King's head?!"
Terror and hostility toward the Flame Demon King had reached its peak.
Though doubts had crept in due to the party's delayed return, no one questioned that their abilities were more than enough to slay the Demon King.
And now, they had finally returned.
It was only natural to expect the Demon King was dead.
But they brought neither the Demon King's head nor even the byproducts of some monster.
"...What the hell is that?"
In its place—where something triumphant should have been—was a massive something being carried by dozens of heroes clinging to it.
It was a dragon's wing. A tail.
"...A dragon?"
"Not the Demon King?"
"D-Dragon Slayer!"
"The great hero Balaf Disrod felled a dragon!"
It wasn't the prize those expecting the Demon King had hoped for, but it was still a dragon.
A creature that appeared perhaps once every millennium, known almost solely through legends.
Its true form had been revealed—and felled by heroes, no less.
"Those wings were over 20 meters long!"
"And the tail! They say even seasoned knights couldn't scratch its scales."
"And they took it down?"
"Why just the wing and tail, though?"
"Who cares? The thing was too damn big, so they just brought what they could. Point is, they got it!"
"Long live the Hero Party!"
"Dragon Slayer Balaf Disrod! Long live!"
From Hyrun across all of Horton, from Horton to the Empire, across the continent.
The rumors spread even faster.
Because it was a dragon.
Because animosity and fear toward the Flame Demon King had hit its zenith.
The Flame Demon King had acted entirely differently from any before him. Similar to the one from a century ago, but stronger.
Despite several hero expeditions, the Flame Demon King remained unsubdued.
Once might be coincidence, but twice or thrice was inevitability. And the large-scale raids on imperial cities had reignited terror of the vanished Demon King.
But in this moment, all that was gone.
"If they took down a dragon, no way they'll lose to some Flame Demon King, right?"
"Damn straight. Won't be long before we see that bastard's head on a pike!"
From a human perspective, a Demon King—subdued countless times over a thousand years—was no match for a dragon, shrouded in legend.
It didn't make sense for the hero who slew a dragon to fail against a Demon King who'd only descended two years ago.
The fact that they still hadn't found the tower this time was quickly buried.
Confidence swelled that they could kill him anytime they found it.
And right now, the allied forces had joined hands to search for the tower.
So the continent's humans were convinced it was just a matter of time.
The Demon King was beneath them. Relief spread.
"A real dragon, you say?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
In the Empire's capital, Balaf—returning amid splendid cheers—was commended by the Emperor before immediately facing the First Prince.
"How did you manage a dragon?"
"We searched the mountains while pursuing the Demon King's tower. First the central region, then we shifted east."
"No sign of it there, of course."
"Yes."
"No chance it was temporarily hidden by magic?"
"We stayed a week at the site, following the record orbs, and scoured it. Nearly 500 heroes sensed no demonic energy."
"Hmm. Continue."
"Then we headed west and combed every inch of the mountains."
There had been casualties, naturally. Erjest was untouched wilderness.
Blizzards raged daily, and monsters drawn by the scent of prey attacked relentlessly.
But the subjugation force consisted entirely of heroes—the elite among them. Leading the charge were Balaf Disrod and three other Stars.
Every path they cleared was paved in monster blood.
"We wandered Erjest for months like that."
Even the strongest Hero Party of elites couldn't escape losses.
Dozens of heroes perished.
Yet Balaf Disrod didn't give up. Nor did the other Stars. With the Stars leading, the rest swallowed their complaints and followed.
"That's when we sought shelter from a blizzard in a cave."
"That was the dragon's lair?"
"Exactly. We set up camp to rest, but the cave was deeper than expected. And that's when I sensed it."
A colossal body over 40 meters long was violence incarnate.
The true great being rose to annihilate the intruders.
"Battle ensued. Over a hundred heroes died."
More fell in that single clash than in months of wandering the mountains.
"The fierce fight raged all day, reshaping the terrain."
"But you took it down. Truly the mightiest hero."
"We didn't."
"...?"
Rufus's brow furrowed. Then what of those trophies? The cheers of "Dragon Slayer"?
"It was strong. We had the upper hand—severed its wings, stripped its scales, cut its tail. However."
"However, not enough to finish it off?"
"It was enough."
"Then?"
"But not enough to stop one hellbent on fleeing."
Its massive frame was authority itself, but dragons were masters of magic.
They couldn't block the dragon's desperate dragon tongue sorcery as it escaped.
"We did inflict fatal wounds—that much is true. I believe it's dead, but without seeing the corpse, I can't say for certain."
Because it was a dragon.
"That explains why it felt off."
If they'd truly hunted it, they'd have brought the head and heart, not just tail and wings.
"Reason you didn't deny it?"
"Likely what Your Highness suspects."
"Indeed, it went as you intended."
The creeping fear of the Demon King had all but vanished.
A dragon greater than the Demon King, slain by a human hero—suddenly, the Demon King was no threat.
Admitting they failed now would flip public opinion.
And Balaf and the heroes' reputations would plummet.
"Either way, not bad."
It was an opportunity. Leverage the expectation that this great dragon-slaying hero would end the Flame Demon King once the tower was found.
Regained confidence synergized nicely with the newly formed alliance.
"I want to hear the concrete plan."
"Dormut, Korzen, Horton, Akan, Ormus, Traparta, Iasin, Hildean Kingdom, Heshen, Marciel..."
Nations poured from his mouth.
"All have agreed to join the alliance. At minimum, 100,000 allied troops will head to Erjest for a massive search."
Erjest demanded quality as well as quantity.
"Casualties will be heavy. Even elites struggle in Erjest."
"A risk we must take. The Empire won't shoulder it alone, right?"
The Empire was a beast that never shared its prey. But it wasn't foolish enough to bear everything alone when victory wasn't assured.
"Finding the tower is just a matter of time. I don't know how the Flame Demon King's held out this long, but with the tower in Erjest, his days are numbered."
"Well said."
"So I'll ask you again: once the tower's found, will you lead the vanguard and bring me that damned Demon King's head?"
Balaf bowed his head.
"Gladly."
"This spot looks good."
Berge stood atop the snowfield, surrounded by mountains.
He'd originally planned to build the tower on the northern Erjest coastline. Easier to receive true tower support, less risk of human detection.
Building straight from the mountains risked lightning striking if furious humans spotted them mid-construction.
But he'd changed his mind, thanks to Roger's boasts and the vein discoveries.
With Golden Moon Merchant Guild supplies drying up, Berge had the dwarves prospect nearby veins.
Jackpot.
"Yes. Erjest truly is paradise. Iron over there, copper there, silver beyond, and over there..."
Dozens more ores spilled from Roger's lips. "Over there" meant considerable distances, but their presence was what mattered.
"Even precious karnian. Can't wait to mine it."
"Calm down. Didn't I say I'd help once the tower's up? More importantly, mithril over there..."
"Forget mithril—over there's..."
No wonder even the dwarf artisans were buzzing.
"You can finish the tower in a month, right?"
"Of course."
"Much bigger than before?"
"Size alone doesn't make it heavy or flashy without substance. Compare to the high-dimensional magitech legs—no contest. Plus, local veins for easy sourcing..."
"I trust you."
"Yes! But, uh..."
"Fine. This time, you can really dismantle the tower."
"For real?"
"I'm not breaking promises out of spite. You haven't made a golem yet, that's all."
"You suddenly ordered tower legs."
"So this time, golem or not, permission granted."
"Three weeks, not one month!"
Roger snorted fiercely.
"I'll hold you to it."
Berge, having dumped all pilfered Golden Moon supplies, surveyed the basin.
Mountains shielded it from outside view.
But.
Ernan had warned of the Empire's alliance and massive search parties inbound for Erjest.
This spot would eventually be found. Tower completion needed max speed—and scouting for precautions.
Odd, though.
Pre-regression, Berge was the Demon King. Skipped Tower Harmony, kidnapped royals aggressively.
At the end, he'd razed minor nations, even killed a Star. But no massive backlash until the crown prince snatch.
What's different?
Everything, technically. But something key felt missed.
Location.
In hindsight, his old spot was prime. He'd thought it random, but it gave massive geographic advantage.
Now I see how lucky I was.
The southern alliance—Akan, Traparta, Hildean Kingdom, Jespain Empire—dominated the center. His old site was further south, in a fringe of fringe minor nations.
Sea-blocked from others, buffered from the Empire by the southern bloc.
Right—rampage all you want, no big attention.
Scattered heroes came. Raids, parties.
But no massive alliance, no all-Stars like Balaf Disrod.
Not for kidnapping dozens of princesses, raising armies, razing kingdoms.
Not until the imperial crown prince.
They watched from afar.
Kidnapping fringe princesses, toppling minors? No ripple in the mainstream. So Empire, Akan, Hero Guild stayed put.
Hell, the Empire probably loved it—Demon King culling annoying gnats.
Probably...
The biggest reason he could thrash like a frog in a well.
Disgusting.
Knowledge revealed his past idiocy crystal clear.
Tsk. Berge pulled out the communication orb.
Need to tell Krutoo to block humans from approaching the tower site.
Then it rang before he infused mana. Incoming from Krutoo.
"Demon King!"
"What is it?"
"Well... you should come see for yourself."
"I asked what."
"A d-dragon!"
"A wounded dragon's collapsed here!"
"...!"
What dragon?!