Chapter 70

"Wh-Where are we!?"

The dragon people suddenly raised their voices as they noticed the scenery around them had changed.

It was no wonder they were surprised. The scene before their eyes had instantly transformed from a cave to a street somewhere.

They were no longer in the cave on the west coast of Lux Bay, but in the plaza in front of the government office on Ars Island, far to the southeast. I had teleported all of them here.

"Everyone's here... Golem, thank you."

I told the golem standing next to me.

The golem nodded its stone head.

I had thought it would take time to teleport everyone, so I had the golem block the entrance.

However, it only took a few times of teleporting together to bring all the dragon people here.

Soon, Selena teleported in front of me.

"Lord Alex, I've informed Yurii on the Mareas! The imperial cavalry was just approaching the cave on the beach... We would have been in danger if we had been a little late."

"I see. At least we weren't caught..."

I let out a sigh of relief.

I was relieved, but the surroundings were in an uproar.

The dragon people were surprised by their first teleportation and the giant rats – the rat people – surrounding them.

On the other hand, the rat people seemed to be frightened by the sudden appearance of the dragon people and were making a loud racket.

The priestess in front of me called out to the confused dragon people.

"Everyone, calm down!! The person here has saved our lives!"

At her words, the dragon people fell silent and turned their gaze toward me.

Then the priestess knelt before me.

"I should have introduced myself earlier. My name is Rahn. I am the priestess who leads our clan."

"Rahn, huh. I'm Alex."

"Lord Alex... From now on, we will serve Lord Alex."

"Thank you. But we can also stay here until we find a way to go to a foreign country."

I was about to say that those who didn't like it should speak up, but everyone, like Rahn, knelt before me.

Perhaps they had recognized my power just by being teleported from the cave to another place. Or perhaps it was due to Rahn's influence.

In any case, everyone seemed to follow Rahn's words.

Rahn continued.

"Everyone will serve Lord Alex. We want to repay the favor of saving our lives. And to defeat the evil dragon."

"Yes, we will. We need to return to Lux Bay soon... But as I mentioned earlier,"

Before teleporting here, I had told Rahn about becoming my vassal. I had explained that if they became my vassals, they would entrust their lives to me and might change in appearance.

Rahn turned around, and the other dragon people bowed their heads solemnly.

Rahn turned back to me and said,

"Everyone is prepared."

"Understood –"

I wished for Rahn and the dragon people to become my vassals.

Then Rahn and the others began to glow...

Selena exclaimed.

"This is..."

When the light faded, what appeared were dragons with wings.

Their bodies were slightly larger than a horse. Their scales, which had a metallic sheen, and their long, sharp claws gave a strong impression.

"Wings..."

The purple dragon in front of me looked at its own body.

"Rahn, is that you?"

"Yes. So this is what it means to change in appearance."

The purple dragon – Rahn – flapped its wings.

"Yes. But, all the others who have become my vassals, except for the slimes, have taken on forms similar to mine..."

Like Elysia, who took on a human form, or the rat people and the armored race, who began to speak human language.

However, the dragon people had been granted wings, which humans do not have. Of course, I don't have wings either.

Elysia asked Rahn,

"These don't look like decorative wings... Can you fly?"

"Let's see. Oh!"

When Rahn flapped its wings vigorously, its body slowly rose.

"Flying..."

Rahn whispered in disbelief and then immediately landed on the ground.

"It's as if I could fly from the beginning... I've heard that our ancestors could fly from birth."

Perhaps they gained wings because their ancestors could fly.

"Hmm. Not only can they swim in the sea, but they can also fly in the sky... This is a great help to us!"

Selena said happily.

The dragon people, who seemed to have a longing for the sky, were all delighted to see their own wings.

Perhaps the dragon people had always wished to fly in the sky... That's why they grew wings.

Elysia whispered,

"Since they've become vassals, we can rest easy. Let's leave the explanation of Ars to the dragon people to Tia."

"Right... Rahn, I'm sorry to ask you right away, but—"

"We're going back to Lux Bay, right? I'll accompany you."

Rahn nodded.

"Tia, can you explain Ars to the dragon people?"

"Sure, got it!"

Tia answered in a trembling voice. The dragon people had grown larger than before, and they seemed to be afraid of being eaten.

Rahn told the dragon people,

"Everyone, listen carefully to what Lady Tia says."

The dragon people all nodded and turned to Tia.

"Okay, got it! Lord Alex, I'll leave it to you!"

"Yes, I'll count on you."

With that, I teleported to the Mareas with Elysia, Selena, and Rahn.

"Lord Alex, welcome back—wait, dragons!?"

Yurii and the blue-haired people were surprised to see Rahn.

Dragons are said to live in remote places and are rare, so it's not often that you see them.

Well, Rahn and the others are descendants of the eastern dragons, so it's not clear if they can be called dragons...

"This is Rahn, who has become my vassal. This is Yurii."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rahn."

Rahn bowed, and Yurii answered with a relieved look.

"Sorry for the shock. Nice to meet you. By the way, Lord Alex... I heard something about a big dragon in the sea, but Selena's explanation was a bit vague."

"I can't say much more than that right now. We need to hear about the evil dragon from Rahn."

When I turned to Rahn, she nodded.

"We don't know when it will appear from the sea... So, let's start with the evil dragon's abilities. You already know it can swim in the sea, but it can also fly in the sky. Not as quickly as a bird, though."

Being able to move between the sea and the sky is already a troublesome matter.

Rahn continued to explain about the evil dragon.

"Its long, massive body is covered in scales harder than iron. Moreover, it is now covered in black miasma. It can also spew out that miasma, flames, and water from its mouth."

"Does it release dark magic? Can it use magic?"

When I asked, Rahn shook her head.

"It can't use magic, but it can summon lightning around itself."

"I see..."

I've never fought an opponent like this before.

The demons I've fought have only used dark magic. We can't defeat it without everyone's cooperation.

"Let's call Tika and Nate to plan a strategy... Oh!"

I squinted my eyes.

The sun had risen in the eastern sky.

"It's already morning—wait, what's that?"

Looking up at the sky, I saw something flying against the rising sun.

Three Pegasus with beautiful white wings... They were too far away to see clearly, but each Pegasus had someone riding it.

They weren't crossing the sea but hovering in place, as if waiting for something.

"Have I seen them somewhere... Whoa!?"

Selena, who was tilting her head, suddenly lost her balance.

The ship had started to shake violently.

Looking down, I saw the sea surface rising beneath the Pegasus. Suddenly, a high water column shot up.

"—What's that!?"

Amid the rain of water droplets, a massive black dragon appeared.