TING! TING!
The arrows failed to penetrate the Wyvern’s dark blue scales and bounced away harmlessly. Despite their unimposing appearance, the scales seemed remarkably durable.
THUNK! THUD!
However, several arrows embedded themselves in the Wyvern’s forehead and shoulder.
They had been fired by none other than Stefan.
THWIP! THUNK!
The arrows he fired next also struck the Wyvern’s head in rapid succession. Despite the enormous monster charging directly toward him, Stefan remained perfectly composed as he aimed his Mechanical Crossbow.
His sharp gaze and impeccable posture were the very image of an expert Crossbowman. He looked entirely different from the drunkard I had seen at the Guild.
SCREEECH!
The barrage of arrows caused the Wyvern to stop and recoil, roaring irritably.
However, it lasted only a moment. The creature shook its head once, regained its senses, and resumed its charge.
“Damn it! They did nothing!”
“Stop, you damned monster!”
Stefan and the other Crossbowmen hurriedly reloaded.
However, the Wyvern was approaching far too quickly. At this rate, it would trample them before they could fire again.
Valens urgently shouted,
“Spearmen, advance! Stop it!”
The Spearmen rushed forward and hurriedly formed ranks.
Long spears protruded like enormous spikes between the shields, making the formation resemble a gigantic hedgehog. Even a Wyvern would not emerge unharmed if it charged directly into them.
Perhaps the Wyvern understood that, because it suddenly spread its wings wide and leaped into the air.
“It jumped!”
“N-No! Run!”
“Aaargh!”
The creature soared over the shield wall and crashed into the soldiers behind it, shattering the formation in an instant.
As the Wyvern rampaged while swinging its powerful tail and wings, the soldiers were hurled aside helplessly.
“O-Our soldiers!”
“Surround it from every direction! We have to restrict its movements!”
Leaving the flustered Valens behind, Rolf stepped forward.
He and the indigenous warriors swiftly surrounded the Wyvern with their Boar Spears pointed toward it.
“Watch its tail!”
“Keep your distance! Do not be afraid! Think of it as an oversized Direwolf!”
Following Rolf’s commands, they maintained their distance and skillfully avoided the Wyvern’s attacks.
However, the creature was already thoroughly enraged.
It roared violently and thrashed its wings and tail with alarming ferocity. The spears repeatedly prodding it from every direction seemed only to provoke it further.
THWIP!
Amid the confusion, an arrow struck just above the Wyvern’s eye.
The monster recoiled sharply and released an irritated roar.
“Tsk. I missed. I was aiming for its eye.”
It was Stefan again.
He clicked his tongue and reloaded. Since the battle began, he was the only one who had managed to inflict even slightly effective attacks upon the Wyvern.
GRRRR!
Perhaps those attacks had drawn its attention.
The Wyvern stared directly at Stefan and growled. It then beat its wings, scattering the indigenous warriors surrounding it, and charged straight toward him.
“Stefan! Move!”
“Run! Run!”
Urgent shouts rang out from every direction.
Stefan hastily threw aside his Crossbow and began running, but the Wyvern was not an opponent he could escape merely by fleeing.
‘He cannot avoid it. He is going to die.’
There was no one near him.
I was the closest, standing approximately ten paces away.
There was no choice.
“Stefan! Come this way!”
Without considering the consequences, I charged forward and shoved the approaching Stefan aside with all my strength.
Then I raised my shield to face the pursuing Wyvern.
A chill ran down my spine when my gaze met its serpentine eyes, whose pupils were split vertically.
BANG!
The next instant, an immense impact struck my shield and shook my entire body.
The force was so tremendous that I wondered whether my shield arm—or perhaps several other parts of my body—had broken.
However, that was not the end.
My feet suddenly left the ground, and my body flew into the air.
‘What?!’
My confusion lasted only an instant.
I realized that the Wyvern had struck me with its head and tossed me upward like a bull.
The only thing that could happen next was for me to fall.
CRASH!
I landed directly upon the Wyvern’s back.
The violent impact sent pain screaming throughout my entire body.
“Ugh….”
I struggled to rise despite the agony, but the ground beneath me suddenly writhed and shook violently.
The Wyvern had begun thrashing in an attempt to throw off the creature clinging to its back.
If I fell now, I would be slammed directly into the ground.
I seized one of the spikes protruding along its spine and clung to it with all my strength.
SCREEECH! SKRAAAH!
The Wyvern’s piercing roars and the deafening beating of its wings filled the air as I desperately held on.
Then, without warning, its thrashing stopped.
‘What is it doing?’
At that moment, the wings on either side of me spread wide and began beating powerfully.
By the time I realized what the creature intended to do, it was already too late.
“I-It is taking off!”
“My lord! Get down from there!”
The Wyvern pushed forcefully against the ground and launched itself into the air, creating a tremendous blast of wind.
As the ground rapidly receded beneath me, I instinctively discarded the shield in my left hand and seized another spike.
“His Lordship is on the Wyvern’s back!”
“Do not shoot! You might hit His Lordship!”
Urgent voices reached me through the violent wind lashing my face.
The soldiers, trees, and Goblin huts below were rapidly shrinking.
‘I am clinging to the back of a Wyvern. Good heavens….’
A fall from this height would undoubtedly kill me.
Feeling a chill run down my spine, I tightened both hands around the spikes.
‘Remain calm. Panicking will only increase the likelihood of dying.’
I tried not to look down as I composed my thoughts and opened the Status Window to consult the information about Wyverns.
[Record No. 2594 - Wyvern]
[An inferior subspecies of Dragonkind with two wings in place of forelegs. It is remarkably agile for its size, and the scales covering its body provide formidable protection. A heavy piercing weapon, such as a spear, is relatively effective when attempting to penetrate the scales from outside.]
‘What? Is that all?’
That was the full extent of the information Ragna had left.
I had expected some decisive weakness, so the meager description left me flustered.
I possessed a Hunting Knife at my waist, but there was no chance that such a weapon could penetrate the Wyvern’s scales and inflict a meaningful wound.
I needed another solution.
At the very least, I had to force the creature back to the ground.
‘…Then there is only one method.’
My gaze naturally shifted toward the enormous pair of wings.
Unlike the creature’s body, the wings consisted of a thin membrane. I should be able to damage them with the Hunting Knife.
If I succeeded, the Wyvern would no longer be able to fly properly and would eventually fall.
That meant I had to leap onto one of those flapping wings and cut through the membrane with my knife.
Merely imagining it was madness.
However, there was no other option.
The strength in my hands was gradually fading. Before long, I would lose my grip and fall from its back.
I had to try.
‘To hell with it!’
I released a shallow “Phew,” planted both feet against the creature’s back, and leaped toward its right wing with all my strength.
GRAB!
By an incredible stroke of fortune, my hand caught one of the thick Wing Claws.
I clung to it and dangled beneath the wing.
The wing, which had been beating up and down, momentarily stopped beneath the sudden additional weight.
This was my opportunity.
I drew the Hunting Knife from my waist, drove it deep into the membrane, and tore it open with all my strength.
The Wyvern’s body lurched and tilted to the right.
It had worked.
RIP! TEAR!
Clinging desperately to the Wing Claw, I continued stabbing and slashing the membrane with the knife.
The tough, leathery tissue would have been difficult to damage with an ordinary dagger, but the Hunting Knife possessed a thick, heavy blade capable of tearing through it.
SCREEECH!
The Wyvern roared as its body continued tilting.
Eventually, it lost the ability to remain airborne and began plummeting toward the ground.
The dense trees, Goblin huts, and our forces rapidly drew closer.
“It is falling!”
“My lord! Be careful! Use the creature as a shield to lessen the impact!”
As everyone shouted below, I discarded the knife and gripped the Wyvern’s wing bone tightly with my right hand.
I could only hope the fall ended with one or two broken bones and nothing worse.
BOOOOM!
A tremendous impact engulfed my body when we struck the ground.
Every part of me screamed with pain.
Gritting my teeth, I slowly forced myself upright amid the thick cloud of dust.
SCREEECH! GRRRR….
A roar sounded directly beside me, and I hurriedly retreated.
The Wyvern lay sprawled across the ground, crying out in agony.
One wing had been torn to shreds, while the other was bent at an unnatural angle. The creature struggled miserably, unable to rise.
It had fallen from an enormous height, so there was no possibility that it had escaped uninjured.
“Save His Lordship!”
“Advance! Protect His Lordship!”
Hakon, Rolf, and the soldiers charged through the cloud of dust.
As Greatswords and Boar Spears penetrated the scales and inflicted wounds, the Wyvern could only scream in pain without properly retaliating.
The fall had clearly inflicted fatal injuries and stripped it of its ability to fight.
‘Perhaps I can finish it with this.’
I looked down at the object still clutched tightly in my hand.
It was the Wing Claw that had broken off from the impact.
It was thick and ended in a sharp point. It seemed capable of piercing the Wyvern’s scales.
GRRRK… GRRRR….
I approached the creature as it panted weakly.
The scales on its forehead, where Stefan’s arrows had struck twice, were already cracked.
I raised the Wing Claw and drove it down into that spot with all my strength.
CRACK!
The dark blue scales shattered, sending fragments flying.
The Wyvern trembled silently when the claw pierced its forehead. Then its body collapsed, and it ceased moving.
“Are you all right, my lord?”
“Are you unharmed? Were you injured anywhere?”
“Yes. I believe I am unharmed… for the most part.”
I leaned against the fallen Wyvern and released a long breath.
As the tension finally left me, the delayed pain swept through my body.
‘My forearm, my back, my calf… I think one or two fingers may be broken as well.’
I appeared to have suffered injuries in several places, but fortunately, there were no severe wounds such as torn flesh or shattered limbs.
The Wyvern must have absorbed most of the impact.
“Good heavens. His Lordship killed a Wyvern.”
“I was not certain whether to believe the rumor that he defeated a Drake, but this….”
“I do not even know what I just witnessed.”
Everyone around me murmured with astonished expressions.
They had directly witnessed the extraordinary sight of a Wyvern being brought down. Their reactions were understandable.
“Haah. First a Drake, and now a Wyvern… At this rate, rumors will truly begin calling you the Dragon Slayer. I only hope they do not bring us unnecessary trouble.”
“Strictly speaking, they were only Dragon Subspecies, not true Dragons.”
I answered Hakon and accepted the strip of cloth he offered, wrapping it around the scratch on my neck.
“More importantly, where is the Chieftain?”
“Over there in the corner, torn to pieces.”
I staggered toward the place Hakon indicated.
In truth, something had been bothering me for some time.
Not the Chieftain himself, but the object he had been holding.
‘It emitted yellow light and looked like a Magic Item.’
If that was truly the case, we had to recover and secure it.
Another Goblin might obtain it and use it for some unknown purpose.
When I reached the Chieftain’s corpse, I found the object lying nearby, just as expected.
I bent down and picked it up.
Even its appearance was peculiar.
Rather than a spherical crystal like an Orb used by Mages, it was a square piece of white stone.
Its perfectly regular shape and the geometric patterns covering its surface made it obvious that no Goblin could have created it.
Yellow light leaked from a circular indentation on one side.
It appeared as though the square stone contained light within itself.
‘What in the world is this…?’
As I examined it with fascination and curiosity, something suddenly appeared in my vision.
It was a white Status Window—the first I had seen in quite some time since taking control of the territory.
[Seal Module No. 4 of Facility A-3 has been removed.]
[Current seal status is unstable. Return the module to its designated position immediately.]