Chapter 70

First, I must close the distance before the second breath attack comes. I will charge at the main body of Leviathan at maximum speed, diving into the wall of fish.

As I enter the range of the jumping fish, my vision is suddenly blocked. The massive number of fish colliding from all directions causes violent shaking, but the damage from collisions is negligible due to my reinforced armor. However, my visibility is severely compromised; it's a hell of fish where I can't see more than 3 meters ahead. I should be heading in the right general direction, so if I enter the range of the touch plates, I should be able to determine my position, but I won't be able to tell what the enemy is doing.

While pushing through the fish, a particularly large reaction appears on the touch plates. It's probably Leviathan, though I can't tell which part. I'll stick close to it for now since breath attacks are rare at this distance, and I'll close the gap.

However, this reaction is unusually large. The part I approached earlier, like the head, barely moved and was almost stationary like a fixed cannon. But the part I'm approaching now is swaying widely from side to side with a cycle of about 3 seconds and a range of about 5 meters. It suddenly moves toward me, trying to knock me off. Furthermore, when I try to attack, there's hardly any reaction, suggesting that this part is not very vulnerable to damage. It's not in the position where breath attacks come from, but not being able to see what's happening around me is a significant disadvantage. I can't even tell which direction to move to get into a better fighting position.

I've been using the touch plates only for detection so far, but I'll increase their number. I'll double the number of plates. The outline is becoming slightly visible. The MP consumption isn't significant; it's a very fuel-efficient spell.

Doubling, and doubling again. While moving to avoid breath attacks, I increase the number of touch plates. At 32 times the original, I can almost fully understand the surrounding situation. It's fine for normal combat, though I can't avoid attacks like needles. I can't extend the effective range of 20 meters, so I want to avoid fighting at a distance greater than 20 meters, but the same applies to a dragon with breath attacks.

The head seems to be out of the effective range, but from the situation, I'm probably near the tail. I'll fly upward toward the body and scratch it with my magic sword as I go. I can faintly hear a high-pitched sound, which I heard before the fish appeared. If that's a scream, it means the attacks are somewhat effective.

After moving for a while, I reach the area near the head where I cut earlier. It's a considerable distance to move from the tail to the head. The last time I fought here, I was hit by an unexpected attack, but there's no way I can lose to a Leviathan that has had its strategy exposed and a countermeasure prepared. The fish are still colliding from all directions, but if I know they're coming, they don't cause any damage. I maintain close proximity to avoid breath attacks while gradually cutting the neck. The enemy is screaming and thrashing its neck from side to side, but it's futile. Unless it bends its neck in half, it can't hit me with a breath attack from this position.

To compensate for the sword's length, I cut diagonally twice, like a lumberjack cutting a tree. In less than a minute, the neck is nearly severed, leaving only half. It's surprising that it's still alive. As I raise my sword to continue the attack, Leviathan shows different behavior. It suddenly bends its neck downward. However, it's still not in a position to hit me with a breath attack. The neck reaches its limit, and only the eyes face me. I can see Leviathan glaring at me through the fish for a moment, but that's all.

When I stop looking at the head and resume cutting, Leviathan moves again. It forcefully turns its head toward me. I hear a cracking sound, like bones breaking. It's not my bones, but Leviathan's. I briefly consider dodging the breath attack but realize it's too late. The pause was probably to prepare the breath attack, which is about to be released. My magic armor reinforcement isn't enough to withstand the first breath attack. I think I won't die, but I raise my magic sword horizontally as a last-ditch defense.

A moment later, the same overwhelming fire covers my vision as before. The atmosphere of the fire is the same as last time, but I don't feel the magic armor being instantly depleted. Looking at my hand, I see the blue magic sword glowing red. ...Is this the reason? I didn't know much about the magic sword, but it seems to be quite effective against dragons.

Fortunately, this breath attack seems to be a desperate attempt to take me down. It doesn't last as long as the first one and ends without causing any damage to me. Leviathan immediately stops moving and begins to fall. The fish are still charging at me, but Leviathan is already dead. I touch it and recite a spell, and its massive body is stored in my item box.

Now, the fish charging at me are no longer enemies. They seem to have hostility toward me, but I have no reason to fight them. I don't need to be in the range where they charge, so I quickly ascend and look down at them. These fish are just... food for me. I cast the explosive magic I saved, which wouldn't have affected the dragon, a few times to avoid unnecessarily injuring the fish, and knock them all down near the water's surface. This way, I get the dragon's materials and tonight's dinner, and I return to the city.

When I return to the city, the adventurers are surprised to see me. I give a brief explanation and ask them to cover for me. I don't want the news of defeating the dragon to spread, as it would limit my freedom. The guild agrees to keep it secret, saying they'll just say, "Leviathan died for some reason." I also give them the large number of fish I caught in exchange for processing them. The fish are sold cheaply at the festival, and people are eating them in the square, like a picnic.

While looking at the anchor I brought, its color suddenly disappears. I wonder if it's broken. I shake and tap it, but there's no change.

Then it hits me. It's broken, but not just any break. This anchor is not for normal use like a compass; it's an emergency anchor to call me from Fotoren. If it was accidentally broken, that would be fine, but if something happened on the other side, it could be a serious issue. There's a possibility that a dragon appeared there, just like here.

"Can you tell Ribaier that 'Kaede has returned to Fotoren'? I've already paid you."

I haven't heard if I need to check out, but just in case, I give a gold coin to a nearby adventurer and ask them to relay the message.

"Is it okay to take this much?"

"I'm in a hurry. See you later."

I rush to Fotoren, flying low to accelerate. Even if Broken and Desibator can stop the dragon, the damage would be significant. If it was something I could ignore, they wouldn't have called me.

Ignoring the shock waves, I reach Broken, the front line, at my maximum speed. I can see that something is happening in the center. They might be organizing a team to deal with an attack. However, when I land and join, the adventurer who spoke to me before greets me unexpectedly.

"Hey, Kaede, you're late. It's already over."

One of the adventurers I spoke to before laughs and talks to me. He doesn't look like he's about to face a powerful enemy.

"What's over?"

"The monster attack, a bunch of Metal Lizards. You could have made a fortune if you had come faster."

"Hey, if Kaede had joined, our share would have decreased. We have enough manpower, so we'd rather have fewer people."

"True, ha ha."

The adventurers are making a fuss. Looking in the direction one of them is pointing, I see several Metal Lizard corpses burning. It seems that a few Metal Lizards are just efficient gold mines for the adventurers in Broken. They might be preparing for a feast.

"Is it okay to have a feast here?"

"We gathered too much manpower from Fotoren and other places. We have more than enough. They brought in a lot of stuff in Desibator, but there's nothing tasty today?"

"Too much... Well, I don't know if it's tasty, but I brought some food. Do you want it?"

I take some fish out of my item box. The fish that came out look like sea bream but have a strangely desperate expression.

"Wow, it's Gaedai! I didn't think we'd get to eat it here."

"Gaedai?"

"Yeah, it's a delicious fish. The sea around here isn't safe enough to catch fish, so there aren't many. The nearest fishing village to Fotoren is Nono, which is a half-day walk away."

The adventurer tells the others about the fish.

"Hey, Kaede brought Gaedai! Is there a cook available?"

"I'm here!"

A cook who looks like an adventurer raises his hand.

"Sure, I'll leave it to you."

"Leave it to me!"

The cook quickly processes the large number of fish, making a cracking sound as he breaks the bones. His skills are impressive.

"By the way, can you process this much?"

"No way, this isn't the kind of fish you process."

It seems that the fish, like the pufferfish in Minatonia, are too difficult to process.

After about 30 minutes, the feast preparations are complete. I join the feast as a provider of ingredients, even though I didn't participate in the battle.

"To temporary income, cheers!"

Compared to Minatonia, the difference in manpower between this city and the front line is significant. Thinking about it, it's hard to imagine this city and its people being defeated by monsters in a short time. It feels silly to have rushed back. Well, Metal Lizards aren't dragons.