Chapter 49

In the scorching heat of midsummer, as the intense sun began to tilt towards the west, the corpse and the remains of the cargo dragon wagon were emitting black smoke beside the "Salt Road."

"Ready!"

Using logs cut to appropriate lengths as "rollers," young soldiers, drenched in sweat, were pulling ropes tied to the decaying corpse. The ropes, roughly woven, were biting into the shoulders of the soldiers, who were leaning forward so much that their knees almost touched their chests. Sweat trickling down their cheeks and dripping onto the dry road was turning the soil black.

However, such sweat stains would dry up in no time.

It wasn't just because of the scorching sun. They were burning the decomposed corpses and the damaged cargo dragon wagons.

The makeshift clearing created by cutting down trees beside the road was emitting heat like a smelting furnace.

The rising smoke and the red flames that were shaking the air.

"It seems the road repair will go smoothly."

Xavier, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a dry handkerchief, muttered these words.

He had burned the decomposed corpses. Initially, the intense stench had made tears well up in his eyes, but now he no longer felt anything.

The smell had indeed thinned out as the rotting flesh was burned, but mostly, his nose had become numb to the odor.

In any case, the road had temporarily regained its function.

With one task completed, Xavier felt a bit of mental relief and shifted his gaze from the fire.

That's when he noticed something.

"Hmm?"

The bearded hunter who had explained the attack earlier was frowning and tilting his head.

The bearded man, sensing Xavier's gaze, approached him without being called.

"Sir Xavier, I have a report to make."

The man's grim expression suggested that the information was not good, but Xavier, in his position, could not ignore it.

"Speak."

Without hesitation, Xavier, with a face like he was swallowing bitter medicine, urged the man to continue.

The bearded hunter, after a brief bow, began to speak quickly.

"It's strange, Sir Xavier. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but all three cargo dragon wagons had their wheels or axles smashed and were rendered inoperable."

"That's what it is."

Xavier nodded in response to the bearded hunter's words.

He had noticed this fact as well. Initially, he had intended to use the damaged cargo dragon wagons to transport the corpses.

However, unfortunately, not a single one was in working condition.

Xavier had thought it was just bad luck, but the bearded hunter seemed to have a different opinion.

"Of course, given the large-scale attack, it's not strange that all the cargo dragon wagons were inoperable. However, from what I saw, it looked like the wheels of each vehicle were destroyed by the dragon pack using their 'claws' and 'fangs.'"

Not damaged by the driver's mistake, but intentionally attacked by the dragon pack.

This meant only one thing.

"Intentionally to take away our means of transportation? Do the dragon pack have that much intelligence?"

"Yes. I find it hard to believe too, but I think it's better to consider it that way. Actually, there are other things that make more sense if we assume they are that smart."

"What do you mean?"

Prompted by Xavier, the bearded hunter deepened his frown and continued in a heavy tone.

"Well, for a dragon pack attack, there are no dead dragons, right? This means that the guards of the salt merchants couldn't kill a single dragon and were just completely overwhelmed."

"Unbelievable, right?"

In response to Xavier's question, the bearded man thought for a moment and shook his head.

"No, I wouldn't say it's unbelievable. The road here is narrow, and the trees on both sides are densely packed. If a well-organized dragon pack attacked from both sides simultaneously, it wouldn't be strange for them to be completely wiped out without a chance to fight back.

However, this assumes that all the guards were completely off guard."

The bearded hunter, seemingly not fully convinced by his own words, kept tilting his head after finishing.

Indeed, it was unnatural. Over a long journey, it was inevitable for the guards to become complacent, but if the surprise attack by the dragon pack was so successful that they were completely caught off guard, it would mean that the soldiers hired by the salt merchant were of very low quality.

Even if it wasn't completely unbelievable, it still felt unnatural.

Therefore, if there was another explanation that could account for the current situation, it would naturally be more credible.

"Thinking about it, the absence of dead dragons makes me think that the cause lies not with the guards' complacency, but with the dragon pack."

"The cause lies with the dragon pack..."

What do you mean? Just as Xavier was about to ask, a soldier on lookout duty shouted.

"Dragon in the sky, coming from the north-northeast!"

The loud voice echoed throughout the area.

"!"

Reflexively looking up at the north-northeast sky, Xavier saw it.

A black spot floating in the scorching blue sky of midsummer.

At first, it was just a black dot, but it quickly approached, and its detailed outline became visible.

A long neck. A long tail. And what seemed to be large wings, making up more than eighty percent of its body.

No doubt about it. It was a pterosaur. Not the small flying dragons used by humans for communication, but a genuine flying dragon.

"Everyone, form anti-air defense in squad units! Archers, ready your arrows and wait for the signal!"

Surprisingly, Xavier smoothly issued orders to the entire army.

The content of the orders was a standard response when the army encountered a flying dragon, but his reaction speed was more than adequate for a young commander on his first mission.

"Dragon!?"

"Why is it here?"

"Damn, did the smoke from the bonfire attract it!?"

Despite the chaotic atmosphere, the soldiers, following Xavier's orders, formed squad units and raised their short spears overhead like porcupines, taking defensive positions.

"Sir Xavier! Over here!"

"Understood, Andres. You too, come over here!"

Xavier, who had dismounted from his dragon, was pulled by his attendant Andres and slipped into the formation of the commander's direct unit, which was forming a spear wall.

"Phew..."

Surrounded by subordinates with spears at the ready, and receiving his favorite single bow from his attendant Andres, Xavier took a deep breath and, while glaring at the flying dragon in the sky, muttered to himself.

"A flying dragon is unexpected. Why in this forest..."

Xavier's words were not just a sign of weakness.

The main hunting grounds for large flying dragons are open grasslands, and it is rare for them to appear in such a forest.

Because of their large, membrane-like wings, it is almost impossible for flying dragons to land in a forest with dense trees.

Therefore, as Xavier said, the group's armament, centered around short spears and single bows, was not designed to deal with flying dragons.

If they were to face a flying dragon, they should have prepared long spears instead of short ones, and longbows instead of single bows.

"From its movements, it doesn't seem to be hunting in this area. It probably just passed by on its way to hunt in a nearby grassland."

The bearded hunter, who had knelt beside Xavier and was holding a single bow, said this with a tense voice, still looking at the flying dragon in the sky.

"Are they not hunting us?"

In response to Xavier's question, the bearded hunter, without taking his eyes off the flying dragon, nodded slightly.

"Probably not. Of course, we can't be complacent. For flying dragons, hunting humans walking in a forest is also very risky."

Contrary to popular belief, large flying dragons are not a significant threat to an army.

Certainly, a large flying dragon diving from the sky, an area where counterattacks are difficult, is a formidable enemy for humans, but the damage an army can suffer from such an attack is limited.

Think about it. Flying dragons can fly because they are flying dragons. In other words, their prey is limited to what they can carry with their claws and take off with.

Therefore, even if a group of humans is attacked by a flying dragon, the direct casualties are usually one or two, at most three.

In fact, it is generally accepted that merchants who cannot afford sufficient guards often bring one or two old "meat dragons" as "sacrifices" to protect against flying dragons when traveling on grassland roads.

In other words, if this army were to be attacked by a flying dragon, the human casualties would be one or two. As long as key figures like Xavier or the knight Josep are not among the victims, the army as a whole would not suffer a devastating blow.

However, for each individual soldier, such words are little comfort.

There is a one in a hundred or one in fifty chance of becoming the flying dragon's prey. This fear makes all the soldiers, whether spearmen, archers, or supply troops, and even the few magic soldiers, focus their attention on the sky.

"..."

In the painful silence, only the sound of the flying dragon's wings flapping loudly in the sky could be heard.

Some archers, lying on their backs with their backs against the road, repositioned their bows. The "directly overhead" position is a blind spot for archers. Shooting arrows straight up while standing requires a skilled technique.

However, fortunately, their vigilance was in vain.

Considering the flying dragon's vision, it is certain that it noticed their presence. However, as the hunter said, it is not desirable for a flying dragon to dive and attack in a narrow road with dense trees on both sides.

The flying dragon flew away, far above Xavier and his group.

"..."

When the shadow of the flying dragon completely disappeared, Xavier couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

This was not limited to Xavier.

The unexpected obstacle had been successfully avoided without any problems, and the tension in the entire army relaxed at that moment.

"Shh!"

Large shadows from both sides of the road suddenly attacked Xavier and his group.

They leaped from the shadows of the trees and landed on the heads of the group, completely crushing the soldiers who were completely off guard with their weight.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"Ugh..."

They appeared on the road, stepping on the soldiers' bodies.

Medium-sized carnivorous dragons, covered in green scales, standing on two legs, larger than a human by a head.

Dragon pack. Three from the right, four from the left. In total, seven dragon pack members, each with a soldier under their heavy feet, showing sharp teeth and drooling.

When did they hide by the side of the road? Perhaps they had closed the distance from the forest while the group was distracted by the flying dragon passing overhead?

If so, it means that the leader of the dragon pack, which should be a formidable enemy, was using the flying dragon's behavior to their advantage in hunting.

"What...!?"

Regardless of the truth, the sudden change in the situation required a few moments for the inexperienced commander Xavier to adapt.

---

Meanwhile, far away, the king and queen, Zenjiro and Aura, were having a conversation in the palace harem, completely unaware of the events at the border.

Certainly, their situation was not as serious as Xavier and his group, who were under attack by the dragon pack, but it was still a significant issue.

"So, it's almost finalized? The prince and princess of the twin kingdom are coming to this country?"

Zenjiro, dressed in a white T-shirt and light blue linen pants, leaned forward from the black leather sofa and confirmed with his wife, who was sitting across from him.

Aura, in a thin red robe, frowned and nodded in response to Zenjiro's words.

"Yes. It's still internal, but it