Chapter 97

I Married the Dragon I Killed
Chapter 97: Raid

Raid
Chapter 97. Raid
Two men were watching the village from a distance.
— That place is Hestia Village.
— That’s right.
— Can it really change so much in just a few months?
The heavily built man expressed his surprise.
The Far East, a place where no one sets foot.
Seeing a properly built village on that land near the border between them, the feeling was unusual.
— Wasn’t it said that, until a few years ago, it was impossible for a new village to take root in this land?
— Impossible. Because the perception of the Far East is that bad.
— How is that possible?
— It can only be said that he possesses great capability. With the full support of the Pascal Company, the declaration of alliance by Iorga, and even the annexation of the southern region of Halim, isn’t it almost as if he performed alchemy?
— Alchemy… Well, since it’s a place where money accumulates, calling it alchemy isn’t wrong.
Transforming this wasteland into a place packed with gold mines went beyond surprise.
— Moreover, everything was done under the name of Ferda Valdrova.
— He is a dangerous person. If he expands his power like this, the plan will become problematic.
— Hmm…
The man gazed down in silence.
The burly man guarding his back suggested to him:
— What if we reveal ourselves right now?
— No. That doesn’t fit our plan.
He answered firmly and with cold judgment.
— From the beginning, what we need is the isolation of Valdrova. If we openly step forward and destroy Hestia Village, what would happen?
— Wouldn’t they lose their centripetal force?
— No, they would unite. Just like during the Dragon-Demon War.
The Dragon-Demon War.
The man who heard those words also quelled his excitement.
For the demons, there is no event as humiliating as that one.
— For humans, a just cause is a fearsome thing. Humans gathered under the pretext of exterminating demons. Even now, when only remnants remain, they try to exterminate them as well.
— True.
— That’s why we must leave them alone. So that the descendants lose their vigilance against demons.
The man murmured as if reciting poetry.
— What rusts the sword is peace; what ages the castle walls is also peace; what numbs humans is, in the same way, peace.
The burly man also agreed with that plan.
However, since there was no way to control the anxiety settling in his chest, he ended up asking him a question.
— Even so, if we leave it like this, won’t his power grow?
— Of course. That is also something that cannot be overlooked.
If we destroy it, the big picture is broken; if we hide like this, it gives strength to the centripetal force.
Everything started when Ferda Valdrova accepted the engagement.
— So throwing some seeds isn’t bad, right?
The man showed his fingers hidden in the robe.
His fingers were very thin and white.
That finger traced a vertical line in the air.
Then, a shimmering multicolored rift opened before him.
What was revealed from there was a wolf.
— Grrrr…
No, they were monsters in the shape of wolves.
They came out of the rift one by one slowly and lined up.
All of them had eyes that had lost reason, yet were obedient.
They waited like puppies serving the hooded man as their master.
The man ordered in a polite tone:
— Sweep through them.
— Woof! Woof!
The monsters charged the moment they heard the man’s command.
Beings filled only with malice to destroy ran toward Hestia Village.
— —
— Combat situation! Summon all soldiers and notify the adventurers! Repeat. This is a combat situation! All officials evacuate the residents, and soldiers capable of fighting assemble!
Shouted Isabella, who had authority as commander in emergencies.
— Approaching numbers?
— 15 of them.
— 15, huh…
Isabella was busy with telepathic communication for the summons.
Meanwhile, Erica remained silent and stared intently at the ground.
“Strange.”
She took another step back and observed this situation broadly.
“The sudden appearance of monsters. And 15 of them, no less.”
Recent incidents and situations.
And even if it could be somewhat forced, she did not hesitate to take leaps of speculation to find the answer that best suited this situation.
“Perhaps…”
Erica looked at Isabella and said:
— Bella! Will it be fine without me?
— Aren’t you going to participate in the battle?
— There must be an instigator behind this monster invasion. I intend to find that mastermind.
Five telepathic communications were constantly piercing Isabella’s ears.
She frowned deeply and answered with a fierce look:
— The children of the Great Iorga-nim are watching the rear. Please, do not worry.
— Thank you.
Erica calmly grasped the situation and deployed a magic circle.
Unlike ordinary humans who drew a single magic circle, five circles rotated around her.
That was the capability of Erica, the renowned Master of the Blue Eyes Tower and head of the Blue Dragon Spawn.
Multi-casting.
She could chant two spells at once and prepare five.
Erica manifested the first magic circle.
— Go, transform into my eyes.
The mana condensed in the magic circle dispersed in all directions, turned into dozens of blue sparrows.
Those infused with motion detection and mana detection magic tracked those making suspicious movements.
Befitting the title of Blue Eye that monitors all magic, no one can escape that tracking.
Something caught the gaze of the sparrows that spread instantly beyond the village into the dense forest.
— Found him.
Erica immediately deployed a prepared magic circle on the ground.
It was teleportation magic.
She locked onto the coordinates in an instant and dropped upon the blue sparrow captured by the detection magic.
What was only visible as a shape of mana began to be properly discerned with the naked eye.
Erica did not hesitate or worry.
Because she had decided to treat those who released monsters as demons, without exception.
She immediately launched the prepared magic circle toward the visible target.
— Binding Time.
High-tier magic that makes time at a designated point infinitely slow.
For a mage of Erica’s level, stopping it completely was possible.
Everything affected by that magic stopped on the spot.
Two spells remained.
Those two magic circles assimilated to form a new geometric figure.
That bizarre magic could only be wielded by Erica.
Elemental Demolition.
A destructive and barbaric magic that utilized the repulsion of two opposing elements to blow everything in the area into the air.
It was destructive to the point of being excessive, but Erica didn’t care at all.
That was not lacking for the demons who once tried to rule the continent, and it was the firm will to leave no leeway for the remnants.
However, Erica’s sixth sense sharpened while preparing the magic.
The developed five senses of the Dragon Spawn.
Among them, something reacted sensitively in her field of vision.
“Impossible.”
Literally, time was stopped.
If they were within range, nothing could move there.
Yet she didn’t blindly trust her rational judgment.
That was the right answer.
Something flew toward this place from inside a space where time shouldn’t have been flowing due to Binding Time.
A large, black object with a fierce face extended a hand the size of a pot lid.
Erica knew it instinctively the moment she saw that hand.
The instant she was caught by that hand, she would die helplessly.
The fierce hand gripped her leg.
No, what it gripped was the place where an afterimage remained.
She had already escaped that danger with teleportation magic.
Erica landed on the ground and readjusted her stance.
Analyzing what had just happened took precedence over the thought of preparing a magic circle.
“Was the time-stop magic nullified?”
Even the trembling of leaves, the crawling insects… everything stopped there after losing color.
The magic was still working.
Yet there was one thing moving in that space.
A man wearing a grey robe.
Only that man ignored everything and looked at Erica.
“How is that possible?”
To block Binding Time, what is typical is deploying resistance magic.
However, there was no resistance even at the moment of activation.
Everything stopped; it was a state of helplessness.
That was why Erica attempted to deliver a decisive blow.
How can someone move alone in a stopped space?
— You seem quite surprised.
That man’s voice echoed clearly in her ears.
— You are a descendant of the Great Iorga and the Wisdom of the 12th Expedition, yet this is not the first time you have faced demons.
The man’s voice sounded as if he were mocking her.
Erica regained her composure and displayed a serene appearance.
— True. It is surprising that I still have things to be surprised about.
— That is good news. That we haven’t fallen behind.
Shortly after, the burly man who flew into the sky landed on the ground.
Kuwung!
The vibration of the ground was deep, corresponding to the heavy mass.
The man was kneeling behind that figure.
The man asked without looking back:
— Did you fail to land a blow on a vital point?
— The judgment of the situation was faster than expected.
— Isn’t that natural? The opponent is one of the members of the 12th Expedition and the Master of the Blue Eye Tower, so it would be strange if she simply took it helplessly.
The eyes of the man hidden in the robe were briefly glimpsed.
Black pupils that shone like jet and red pupils.
The composure and contempt within them stimulated Erica’s deep anger.
“I should kill them all…”
Unlike her heart, reality is not easy.
The price of failing to cast high-circle magic was too great.
Due to that mana backlash, she did not just simply lose mana, but the mana inside Erica’s body was also dispersed.
“It cannot be helped.”
She set aside human magic for now.
Erica carefully pulled her hand back.
The water flask fastened to her belt.
To open the spout of the flask.
Pop!
The moment the spout opened, the contents inside swam along her fingers.
The overflowing water turned into a ring surrounding her.
One of the burly man’s eyebrows rose.
— What’s with that water ring?
— Iorga is not just magic, but also the Phase of Water.
— Hmph, what can you do with simple water?
While the burly man sneered, Erica extended her hand forward.
A part of the water ring turned into a droplet and floated above Erica’s hand.
— I can do things like this.
The instant she snapped her finger, the water droplet turned into a bullet and flew in a straight line.
The burly man extended his hand forward to block that water bullet.
— Mmph?!
The pressurized water bullet pierced cleanly through him, embedding itself even in his heart.
— Kueok!
It pierced his chest, penetrated his back, and flew attempting to pierce through even the young man behind him.
Yet it could not penetrate the mana protection wrapping his body and bounced off.
— Kkeueuk… What is that? It was just a water droplet…
— Didn’t I tell you? Iorga is the Phase of Water and Magic. Moreover, it is magic wielded by the head, so piercing your skin is only natural.
— You should tell me such things quickly.
— Don’t you prefer to feel it directly?
The burly man showed a face unable to hide his surprise.
However, the most surprised was Erica upon seeing those two conversing with such delight.
“I shot with the intention to kill both…”
Her water droplet boasted lethal power.
Upon piercing the heart, it should have twisted from rotational force and water pressure until shattered into pieces.
Even if they were demons several times stronger than humans, a fatal wound was inevitable.
Yet the pierced demon treated it as a minor wound, as if stabbed anywhere, and stood up abruptly.
“Moreover, it couldn’t even pierce the demon behind him.”
The mana protection simply wrapped around the body was at that level.
“Remnants of demons, and yet they are at this level.”
At least Noble class.
Even Noble class approaching Emperor.
Now that both Binding Time and Elemental Demolition had failed, nothing remained that could be called a resource for her.
“The only option is to pull back and return prepared.”
She deployed a teleportation magic circle.
The magic circle manifested and enveloped Erica’s body.
However, her body did not teleport.
— Kueok!
Instead, blood welled up and spilled from her mouth.
Without knowing why, she coughed up blood and contorted in pain.
“My innards… feel twisted.”
She knew what that side effect was.
It was a phenomenon that occurred when casting imperfect teleportation magic.
“Did I implement the magic circle wrong?”
That could not be.
Erica had lived for over a thousand years and used teleportation magic hundreds of thousands of times.
Erica was so skilled that she would draw teleportation circles while sleeping and move somewhere.
“That means that man used a trick.”
She was fooled like a fool.
Erica looked at that man with a resentful expression.
— Did you think you could leave whenever you wanted, just like when you entered?
A deep smile could be perceived in the voice.
Whether getting angry or cooling down, she had to do something, but she could only lean forward and groan.
— Since the Tower Master greets me with such enthusiasm, I should also provide an answer.
He raised a finger from inside his robe.
His hand was not black, but pure white.
That finger pointed forward and traced a vertical line.
Multicolored rifts occurred, spitting out what was inside.
— Kureuk.
— Kureuk.
They were monsters modeled after wyverns.
They flapped their wings and soared into the air.
Their number was at least more than twenty.
An infinitely desperate situation for Erica, who found herself cornered.
The man’s finger pointed at Erica.
— Cut off her breath.
— Kiyet!
The wyverns flew toward Erica all at once.
It was at that moment.
Gusts of heavy wind rushed toward them.
An object large enough to block Erica’s view turned into a wall.
The flying wyvern monsters died in a single strike.
Kuwung!
Dust rose into the air as it slammed against the ground.
Erica opened her eyes and saw that object.
It was an axe.
A battle axe with a blade so large it seemed a giant would use it.
Erica knew the owner of that axe.
A small build, unlike someone who wields a ferocious axe.
Yet a silver-haired young woman with outstanding martial arts sufficient to hold the title of Nightmare of the Frost Giants.
— Hello, Erica-nim.
It was Ruri Silverwind.
— I heard that you visited the territory and came running barefoot, but was it an unnecessary blunder?
Erica wiped the blood from her mouth with her index finger.
— I have shown an unsightly appearance to Valdrova’s maid.
— I don’t care. But from now on, it would be better if you pulled yourself together properly.
There was no need to express deep doubt at Ruri’s words.
Because she soon felt the presence of someone walking over here.
Jet-black suit, grey hair, and blue eyes.
Tall, yet a frail-looking figure immediately catches the attention.
Yet no one could think he was weak.
His eyes faced the enemy without a single tremor, as if backed by an army of thousands.
Ferda Valdrova.
He stood beside Erica with a dignified bearing.