Legend

The Wyvern, which had been flying through the sky as if it owned it, suddenly smelled the thick scent of blood.

Not just one scent of blood, but multiple scents of blood. It flapped its wings, drawn over by the mix of scents.

Among the various Dragon species, Wyverns were the lowest ranking ones. That said, they were still considered a kind of Dragon.

Naturally, compared to ordinary monsters, Wyverns had considerable combat power. The Wyverns raised by Dragon Knights from eggs had strength on par with C or B rank monsters.

For a wild Wyvern, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they were stronger than B rank.

It was impossible for ordinary monsters to compete against a Wyvern flying in the sky.

There was no opponent that it couldn’t defeat with its own claws and fangs.

Unfortunately, this Wyvern was unlucky in the sense that it had never met anything stronger than itself since it was born.

If they weren’t its parents or siblings, then they were its prey for hunting.

This unlucky Wyvern, who thought itself to be the king of the sky……or lucky depending on how you look at it, was attracted by the scent of blood drifting up from the forest below as it searched while looking down.

The forest might have blocked its view, but it couldn’t get rid of the smell of blood.

After flying over the forest several times, the Wyvern’s sharp eyes eventually succeeded in capturing the figures of many humans between the gaps in foliage.

It had eaten a few Orcs in the morning, but it was already hungry again. Because of that, it gave a cry to show off its presence, as if telling them to hand over its rightful prey.

「SHGAAAAAAAAAH!」

It was a roar that had more of a wild feeling to it, different from the Wyverns that Dragon Knights rode.

Up until now, any prey that heard its roar would run away or realise they couldn’t escape and accept their fate.

However……that was only what the Wyvern had experienced so far. As if he hadn’t heard its roar, a lone creature flew up into the sky.

A monster with the lower body of a lion and the upper body of an eagle. A Griffon, an A rank monster which would normally be considered higher ranking than a Wyvern.

But, since the Wyvern had never encountered a monster higher ranked than itself, its wild intution didn’t sense anything. On the contrary, it thought that its prey had decided to fly up to hand themselves over.

It would soon realise its own arrogance.

Going back a bit earlier in time.

The adventurers started making a fuss when they spotted the Wyvern flying over the forest, but when Rei swung the Death Scythe around, they all felt silent from the pressure.

Rei spoke up after seeing their eyes focus on him.

「Don’t worry about it. Dealing with one or two Wyverns won’t be an issue as long as Set and I are here.」

「No, but that’s a Wyvern you know? Will it really be okay?」

One of the adventurers replied as if they coulnd’t believe what Rei said, the other adventurers nodded in agreement.

However, even though they looked at Rei with distrust and anxiety, Rei didn’t seem to care as he turned to look towards the forest.

It was in a completely different direction to where the Wyvern was.

As if following his gaze, the adventurers also turned to look over, from where Set appeared between the trees.

Seeing Set, the adventurers’ expressions started to fill with hope.

It was true that wild Wyverns were high ranking monsters. However, the Griffon before them was an A rank monster that surpassed a Wyvern.

At this point, so as to not miss the timing, Rei spoke up.

「My title, Crimson, was given to me during the war with the Bestir Empire last spring. Back then, we had fought more than one Dragon Knight at the same time on even footing and defeated all of them. Both Set and I are here. When you think about it, one Wyvern doesn’t really matter.」

Deliberately pausing for a moment, Rei continued with a ferocious smile.

「No, rather, Wyverns are nothing more than prey. ……Listen up, I’m going to take care of the Wyvern now. If I do that, the Wyvern will become part of the monsters to dismantle in this request. Does anyone have any thoughts?」

Saying that, he glanced at all the adventurers, but no one said anything and just stayed silent.

Among the adventurers, there were some who were thinking that the Wyvern hadn’t been one of the monsters listed in the request, but no one them said anything about it.

After all, the only one that could help them against the Wyvern right now was Rei.

From his appearance alone, Rei didn’t seem like someone who had a title or someone who could defeat a Dragon Knight. However, he was given the title Crimson and he had actually defeated Dragon Knights.

「Okay then, I’m going to kill the Wyvern. Just to be safe, you guys should hide under the trees so it can’t find you. Set.」

「Guru~!」

Hearing Rei’s call, Set crouched down as if he knew what Rei wanted.

After making sure that Rei was on his back, Set ran up into the air with a few steps and flap of his wings.

The adventurers distracted by the amazing sight before they heard the Wyvern’s roar and recollected themselves, quickly hiding themselves behind various trees and rocks.

All while trying to believe in Rei’s skills.

Leaving the forest, Rei and Set saw a Wyvern roaring at the ground,

It’s body was covered in green scales and it was larger and more powerful than the Wyverns the Dragon Knights that Rei fought in the previous war rode.

(This is the difference between a tamed Wyvern and a wild Wyvern, huh. I don’t need Wyvern magic stones anymore though.)

As a result of fighting in the last war, both Set and the Death Scythe had already absorbed a Wyvern magic stone.

So, even if they killed the Wyvern here, there would be little benefit with regards to the Magic Beast Art.

Of course, other than that, materials were a completely different matter. Even though Wyverns were the lowest ranking kind of Dragon, it was still a Dragon, so its materials could be sold at a high price.

Alternatively, if he didn’t want to do that, Rei could also try to capture it to sell for an even higher price.

Ordinary Dragon Knights raised Wyverns from an egg to develop a bond with them. However, it wasn’t that easy to obtain a Wyvern egg. There were also those that wanted to become Dragon Knights but didn’t want to be tied down in service to a noble.

For such people, their last resort would be to become a Dragon Knight by taming a wild Wyvern.

Of course, becoming a Dragon Knight using this method was extremely difficult and almost always resulted in the aspiring Dragon Knight dying or the Wyvern being killed or released.

「SHGAAaaaAAaaah-!」

The Wyvern roared provocatively towards Rei and Set, who appeared from the forest.

If it had been any monster which the Wyvern had previously run into, they would have run away or lost their fighting spirit with just that.

As a Wyvern living in a narrow world, it had assumed that Set and Rei’s response would be the same.

However……

「GURURURURURURURURURURURURURURURU~!」

In response to the Wyvern’s roar, Set gave an even more intimidating cry.

It wasn’t just any cry either. It used one of Set’s skills, a cry using King’s Awe.

As expected, it wasn’t enough to stop the Wyvern’s movement with the skill at level 1, but even so, the Wyvern slowed down slightly.

「SHGAaaah!」

Not wanting to be outdone by Set’s pressure, the Wyvern gave another roar as it opened its mouth wide……the next moment, it used Fire Breath as fire spewed out from its mouth.

「What-!?」

Although Rei had expected a similar attack when the Wyvern opened its mouth, he hadn’t expected the Wyvern to use Fire Breath.

Among the Dragon Knights Rei had fought before, their Wyverns had only spit out fire balls instead of using something like Fire Breath.

Even so, as expected of Set, he folded his wings and dived down, under the Fire Breath.

(Fire Breath, huh? Maybe it’s a different species compared to the Wyverns Dragon Knights ride? ……NO, it’s slightly larger, but looks basically the same. That means that Dragon Knight Wyverns should also be able to use Fire Breath. Maybe it has something to do with the environment they were raised in?)

Rei thought to himself with some confusion as he felt the Fire Breath pass right over his head.

Needless to say, Fire Breath was an attack that could be moved by turning ones head and was much more of a threat compared to a single fireball. Furthermore, there was a slight time lag between spitting out fireballs while Fire Breath only required a deep breath before it could be used.

Of course, there were monsters that could shoot out fireballs continuously without break, but there were always exceptions, some monsters needed a long break between using Fire Breath attacks.

「Damn it, I wish I could use Fire Breath as well……!」

Rei muttered to himself as he recalled the adventurers who were probably hiding in the forest. With those words, Set spread his wings to stop them from falling further before flying up again. Their aim was the underside of the Wyvern.

Of course, the Wyvern had no intention of letting Rei and Set get right up to him. It used Fire Breath again as it tried to stop them from getting closer. However, unlike its first attack, Set already understood that the Wyvern used Fire Breath instead of spitting out fireballs.

Because of that, Set flapped his wings and gradually closed the distance to the Wyvern as he dodged away from the Fire Breath.

「Flying Slash-!」

The flying slash that flew out from Rei’s Death Scythe flew straight towards the Wyvern……and the next moment, the skin of the Wyvern’s right wing was slashed.

「Shgaah!? SHGAAAaaaAaAH!」

The Wyvern let out a roar as it suddenly lost its balance and started to fall towards the ground.

「GURU, GURURURURURU~!」

While raising a cry, Set used Evil Eye Impact. The Wyvern, that had been struggling to regain its balance, suddenly received an impact to the head, as if it had been hit by something, further increasing its confusion.

Due to the distance between Set and the Wyvern, the level 1 Evil Eye Impact wasn’t able to deal that much damage. However, even if it didn’t do any damage, the impact was enough to distract the Wyvern for a moment.

「Flying Slash-!」

Another Flying Slash flew out. Tearing through the air, it slashed the Wyvern’s left wing.

「SH-SHGAAaaaAaaaAH!」

Already unable to regain its balance, the Wyvern plummeted towards the ground at a even greater speed.

As if chasing after it, Set flapped his wings as he dived towards the ground.

「GURURURURURURU~!」

Flapping its wings several times, Set gained speed as he caught up to the Wyvern.

Giving a loud cry as he raised his front claws……Set used Power Crush, a skill he had just learned the day before.

Up until now, Set’s attacks had boasted brutal power due to his own physical strength and the effects of the Bracelet of Herculean Strength. However, this time, his attack was bolstered by the use of Power Crush and speed from diving from a higher point. Because of that, Set’s attack strength had risen to a different level compared to before.

Set’s attack struck the Wyvern’s neck…….it didn’t just crush the bones in Wyvern’s neck, it tore right through the Wyvern’s neck.

The Wyvern didn’t even know what happened to itself, the last thing it saw was Set’s claws swinging towards it. The next moment, its consciousness disappeared as its life faded away.

A squishy sound, one that a live creature wouldn’t make, echoed out into the surroundings and was heard by the adventurers in the forest below.

At the same time, Set’s attack caused the Wyvern’s head and body completely separated as they fell to the ground.

「Watch out below!」

Rei shouted out from the sky, and fortunately the Wyvern’s body didn’t hit anyone. The head was caught in the branches of a tree while the body destroyed several trees that served to absorb its impact before it hit the ground.

Naturally, the Wyvern’s corpse was barely damaged even in such a situation because it was still a kind of Dragon, if a low ranking one.