Chapter 74

The flight went smoothly.

Thanks to the good weather, Kuran flew easily to Haver Prairie without flapping his wings much.

Of course, a minor incident did occur along the way.

‘To think I’d be riding a dragon and flying. I must tell Mother back home.’

The swordsman Cassim resolved to tell his mother, who lived in the Kuntach Principality, about this amazing experience.

‘But she probably won’t believe me. Hahaha.’

It was such an absurd and unbelievable story that he would be lucky if he didn’t get a beating.

But that was only for a moment.

Humans are creatures of adaptation, aren’t they?

The excitement of this amazing experience gradually faded as time passed.

Once the flight exceeded 10 hours, it started to get boring.

‘Ugh. I’m sleepy.’

Cassim couldn’t resist the drowsiness and started dozing off.

Then, suddenly.

Whoosh!

Tilt!

Kuran, encountering a gust of wind, suddenly twisted his body, causing the dragon’s massive frame to jolt violently.

As a result,

“Eek?!”

Cassim lost his balance and fell off the saddle, plummeting down to the sky below.

“Aaaaaah! S, save meeeeeee!”

Cassim screamed as he fell.

However, no one could hear his cries.

Whoosh!

The noise was so intense due to the rapid flight that Cassim’s screams were drowned out.

To make matters worse, everyone was dozing off, so no one noticed Cassim’s fall.

“Ah.”

Cassim thought everything was over as he fell.

‘Ah… I’m dying like this. I haven’t even gotten married yet… Mom… I’m going ahead…’

Cassim closed his eyes calmly and humbly accepted his fate.

After all, there was no way to survive a fall from several kilometers up, even for a swordsman.

Thus, Cassim, who had fainted, fell endlessly without a parachute.

Right then.

“Kiit (Hmm)?!”

A wyvern flying nearby by chance noticed Cassim, who was falling rapidly.

“Kyaa (Oh)? Kyaa Kyaa Kyaa (What’s this)?”

The wyvern was puzzled when it suddenly saw prey—Cassim—falling from the sky but quickly dismissed its thoughts.

Then, it flew at an extremely fast speed toward Cassim and snatched him up.

“Kyaa (Gulp)! Kyaa Kyaa Kyaa (What a windfall)!”

The wyvern, delighted by the unexpected windfall, flew swiftly toward its nest, still holding the unconscious Cassim.

* * *

Whoosh!

A giant dragon making a steep descent toward the forest.

However, the landing was far from graceful.

Stumble!

Kuran, who had landed, stumbled.

Crash!

Rumble!

Thud! Boom!

Kuran tumbled and rolled several times, turning about a fifth of the forest, which they had chosen as a landing site, into a wasteland.

As a result,

“Aaaaaah!”

“Cough!”

“What the hell!”

Oto and his party were scattered by the unexpected accident.

They were flung away due to Kuran’s fall.

“Ugh. I almost died.”

Oto, who was battered and bruised, grumbled as he fired a signal flare.

Soon, his companions gathered one by one.

“Is everyone okay?”

Oto asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Do you think I’d die this easily?”

“I’m fine too.”

Kamui, Kairo, and Amukan, though scratched and bruised, didn’t seem to have any serious injuries.

“We’re all fine.”

The Kuntach family’s swordsmen also seemed unharmed.

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

Oto sighed in relief, confirming that no one was seriously injured.

“Wait. I don’t see Cassim.”

Swordsmen Shonan reported to Oto.

“You can’t see Cassim?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Didn’t that guy disappear before?”

Oto recalled that Cassim had been mistaken for a spy during the previous war and had fallen behind.

‘I felt a bit guilty about it then.’

The situation was so urgent that no one noticed Cassim had fallen behind.

As a result, Cassim was mistakenly suspected of being an enemy and had to spend almost a month in prison.

“He must have been flung far away and sustained serious injuries during the crash.”

“That’s true. We definitely saw the signal flare.”

Oto said, sounding worried.

“We’ll go look for him.”

Three swordsmen stepped forward.

“Thank you.”

Oto entrusted the search for Cassim to them.

They couldn’t all go looking for Cassim right away because the situation was urgent.

After the three swordsmen left to search for Cassim,

“Are you okay, sir?”

Oto asked Kuran, who was groaning on the ground.

- Ugh… My whole body aches… Ugh!

“Ouch….”

- I have no strength… no strength… Ugh… My legs are trembling, and I can’t even stand… In my youth, I could fly for a week without any trouble….

The failed landing was one thing, but the two-day flight had been even more exhausting.

Kuran, the old and sick dragon (approximately 9,900 years old, suffering from dementia), found even flying difficult.

“You’ve really suffered. Sir, rest now. I’ll take care of you.”

- Thank you….

Kuran, using the last of his strength to transform into a human, immediately collapsed.

He fainted from exhaustion.

“Sir! Sir!”

Oto hurriedly shook Kuran awake and poured a stamina potion into his mouth.

However,

[Notice: Kuran’s stamina has recovered by 3! (27/175,435,221)]

Kuran’s stamina capacity was over 175 million.

‘175 million? I gave him a high-grade stamina potion, but it only recovered 3 points?’

Kuran, being a dragon, had an enormous total of life, mana, and stamina.

‘This is hopeless.’

Oto poured all the high-grade stamina potions he had into Kuran.

[Notice: Kuran’s stamina has recovered by 3!]

[Notice: Kuran’s stamina has recovered by 3!]

[Notice: Kuran’s stamina has recovered by 3!]

(omitted)

[Notice: Kuran’s stamina has recovered by 3!]

It wouldn’t make much of a difference, but…

“Sir, how can you be so weak? You need to regain your strength.”

Oto, feeling sorry for Kuran, who was old and sick and could no longer fly properly, massaged his arms and legs vigorously.

* * *

Oto and his party immediately left the forest and arrived at the Haver Prairie.

The Haver Prairie was so vast that it could make anyone feel dizzy.

The endless green prairie stretched as far as the eye could see, almost to the horizon.

The sky was high, the air was cold, and the wind was dry.

A green but barren land.

That was the Haver Prairie.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Oto and his party rode Tatar breed horses, a specialty of the Haver Prairie and renowned for their speed, galloping toward Ulan Bator, the base of the Kungirat tribe.

“Where exactly is Ulan Bator? You said it’s nearby?”

“There it is.”

Amukan pointed to the distant horizon and answered Oto’s question.

“Huh? There?”

“Yes, we’re almost there.”

“I don’t see anything.”

“I can see it.”

“Don’t lie.”

Oto denied Amukan’s words.

“I only see the horizon. Did we take the wrong direction?”

“I’m telling the truth. Can’t you see it? If we keep going straight, we’ll reach Ulan Bator.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Do you want to die? What do you see? There’s nothing!”

At that moment,

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Kairo interjected, embarrassing Oto.

“What a ignorant fool.”

“What, man?”

Oto flared up.

“You’re calling me ignorant?”

“Of course you’re ignorant. Are you not?”

“This is ridiculous! What am I ignorant about!”

“What a stupid and foolish fool. Don’t you know that nomads living in such vast prairies generally have extremely developed eyesight?”

“Huh?”

“People living in such open areas naturally have good eyesight. Moreover, due to their long history of nomadic life, they are always on guard, which further develops their eyesight.”

“Is that true?”

“Tsk, tsk. Not knowing such basic common knowledge. You only know how to scheme, you ignorant fool.”

Shiver…!!!

Oto trembled with anger at Kairo’s words.

He had accused Amukan of lying without knowing anything, and now he had no words to say, even if he had ten mouths.

‘We’ll see about this.’

While Oto was trembling,

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!!

A group of cavalry approached at a terrifying speed from the distance.

“Who are they? Are they from the Kungirat tribe?”

Oto, embarrassed by the rebuke, tried to use the <Piercing Vision> skill but found it useless.

The <Piercing Vision> skill didn’t provide the ability to see far distances.

“Dare they…!!!”

At that moment, Amukan burst with anger.

“What? Why are you suddenly charging forward?”

“Those… are the army of the Margret Kingdom.”

“What?!”

“Rushing past the sacred Ulan Bator….”

Oto was shocked to hear that it was the army of the Margret Kingdom.

The Margret Kingdom was a nation located on the border with the Haver Prairie, known for its strong military power despite its small size.

‘Why is the Margret Kingdom’s army here?’

The Margret Kingdom usually defended its territory from nomadic warriors crossing the Haver Prairie, but rarely initiated attacks.

Even as a military power, they knew how difficult it was to face nomadic cavalry riding Tatar breed horses.

‘Have they gone mad?’

The question didn’t last long.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!!

Arrows rained down like a storm.

The cavalry simultaneously fired arrows, aiming to turn Oto and his party into a pincushion.

* * *

At the same time.

Swordsman Cassim slowly opened his eyes, woken by a sharp, ear-piercing sound.

‘Where am I…? I was sure I died. Could this be heaven? No, that’s impossible.’

It was too implausible.

He hadn’t committed any major sins, but he wasn’t good enough to go to heaven.

‘So I didn’t die?!’

Cassim looked around with hopeful eyes.

But he immediately regretted that decision.

He should have never looked around.

In fact, waking up was a clear mistake.

If he had remained unconscious, it would have been more peaceful.

“Kyaa! Kyaaa!”

“Kiiiiii!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

Wyverns, wyverns, and more