The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 206

“Did the wyvern just talk??”

Talking monsters are extremely rare.

If it’s a rare monster that can fly, even more so.

The academy students were stunned by the unexpected sight of the wyvern suddenly speaking, which they had thought of as just a mount.

[Stop your useless resistance. The Great One has expressed a liking for this airship. If you surrender quietly, there won’t be any bloodshed.]

The wyvern spoke in a very solemn voice, quite unlike its lightweight appearance.

Not exactly speaking, but rather projecting its will.

Nevertheless, it’s still a monster.

Saying that there wouldn’t be any bloodshed is a bizarre claim.

Already, there’s blood from all kinds of enforcers scattered inside this airship.

It’s laughable for it to talk about avoiding bloodshed when it was the one that unleashed a bunch of armed thieves first.

“There are over thirty wyverns… We might need to call the Sky Knights…”

Edgar couldn’t let go of his flamberge, sweating profusely.

Wyverns are not weak monsters.

They’re powerful enough to be called small dragons, serving as the fundamental reason that mere thieves can be referred to as enforcers.

They breathe fire equivalent to a third-circle level spell and their scales, while light, are durable.

The most terrifying part is that there’s no way to stop the bombarding of this massive airship by the wyverns.

Even if we reactivate the defense systems, a full-on charge from over thirty wyverns wouldn’t hold for long and the shields would break.

The fireballs breathed out by the wyverns would soon turn the airship made of fine woods into a pile of ashes.

If we were on the ground, we might fight back somehow, but we’re in the air.

The number of people who can fly is minimal.

If the wyverns set this airship ablaze, all passengers would fall to the ground from a height that would make them look like ants, eventually becoming pancakes.

In an unprecedented crisis, Perda was deep in thought, clutching his head.

“Ah… I got it! I’ll hand over the airship, so stop the attack..!!”

“Perda, what are you talking about?!”

After much deliberation, Perda had decided to give up the ship.

“I’ll give up the airship… Just at least give us some time to dock and disembark!”

Fighting might yield a high chance of winning.

We have over four experts on our side.

There are enough supportive magicians and even elves trained in hunting.

But even if we win the fight, the airship would be heavily damaged and likely crash.

If we don’t engage the people on the deck and focus our attacks to sink the airship, it would ultimately be impossible for the airship to endure.

If we give up, we might lose the airship, but at least the passengers would be safe.

The value of the passengers inside is far greater than the value of the airship.

Even if a significant amount of money has been invested in the airship, this is quite a bold decision.

[That’s impossible. There’s no cliff nearby suitable for docking. If you dock on solid ground, dirt will get on the hull, so if you want to get off, jump off yourself.]

The wyvern, confidently believing it was in control, spoke up, and Atlas finally opened his mouth.

“That little fox is riding on a tiger’s back, brimming with unwarranted confidence.”

-What…?

The self-assured wyvern was left speechless.

“In this case, it’s not a tiger, but a dragon. If the Great Being the wyvern serves is indeed a dragon.”

The squire in his grip still had blood on it.

The squire, boasting a black blade, was glistening with the blood of most of the thieves who had invaded the airship.

“Atlas… I know you’re confident in your fights, but this airship can’t withstand a wyvern of that caliber…. Can’t we find a way to pass through safely without fighting?”

As Atlas charged toward the wyvern, brimming with combat spirit, Perda stopped him.

Even if there are about twelve wyverns left alive, the airship could incur severe damage.

He probably thinks he won’t be able to handle them all at once.

“The wyverns are cunning. They won’t think of sparing us after we’ve slain their prized mounts.”

[Are you determined to shed blood?]

Seeing Atlas swinging his sword around, the wyvern murmured lowly.

It was strange where it decided to play innocent.

They were only dragon wannabes.

“But… if what you say is true, then isn’t there a dragon behind those wyverns? Wouldn’t it be dangerous to turn a dragon into an enemy?”

“What could a dragon possibly do?”

“What…?”

Edgar brought up the danger of having a dragon on their side, but he was half-right and half-wrong.

“Dragons are powerful, but they can’t take on an empire alone. Do you remember how many times you’ve heard of dragons going on rampages?”

“Now that you mention it…”

Dragons are known for their strength and high intelligence.

They can polymorph into various races to indulge in plays, and they develop magic that humans can hardly imagine.

The unique flaw of their race is that, although they live long lives, breeding is incredibly difficult.

In severe cases, a single dragon may end up having just one offspring over its entire lifetime.

That doesn’t mean dragons are invincible either.

Average dragons can be dealt with by those in the upper expert rank.

The strength of the dragon race is about a level that would take an average human a lifetime to achieve, but there are overwhelmingly more humans than dragons.

Dragons that have harmed humans have generally not met a good end.

If a dragon that is known among humans as an Evil Dragon kills a thousand people, ultimately, if that dragon dies, it’s a loss for the dragon race.

In the end, the number of deaths exceeds the number of births.

Thus, dragons are allowed to be collected in the form of “protection money” or “tolls,” but raiding is strictly forbidden.

That’s a pact made between human nations and dragon societies.

In other words, despite such agreements, the dragons are targeting humans… particularly the properties of high nobles?

“If they’re recklessly aiming for only the nobles, they must be dimwitted or fledgling outsiders who can’t even fit into a dragon group. It means they are definitely not someone we need to be concerned about.”

They must be naive to the world, lacking the intelligence to comprehend the pact, or outright fools who can’t fit into any dragon faction.

[You daring human!! How dare you insult the Great One!!]

Whoever it was, when ignored, the wyvern yelled.

“Did I say anything wrong?”

[I’ll teach you a lesson!!]

As the leader shouted, the wyverns changed their flying tactics.

They all shot up into the air and began circling above the deck.

[You’ll regret this! Open fire!!!]

At the command, the wyverns’ chests glowed, and fireballs began to rain down from the sky like a deluge.

“Eek??”

“Gah… Ugh!!”

The first to react to the fireballs falling from above was Perda, who grew wooden planks to shield the people on the deck.

Lemnos’s flamberge spat fire.

He couldn’t fly, but he swung his sword to deflect the fireballs, burning his aura to the max.

The clones created using ‘Mirage’ handled two fireballs each, but still, over twenty fireballs poured toward the deck.

Even hitting one or two of them would result in explosive damage, setting the airship ablaze.

Edgar’s complexion turned pale as he saw the fireballs raining down around him, despite trying to slash away as many as he could.

Atlas, who was gazing upward at the falling fireballs, raised his sword.

“I’ve heard enough, so you’re no longer needed.”

The deck that Atlas was stepping on suddenly exploded.

It wasn’t because of a direct hit from a fireball.

He leaped with a powerful force that created a significant impact.

The fireballs began to erupt quickly from above, bursting one after another, resembling trees made of fire standing in the night sky.

As Atlas soared from the deck, small sword qis shot out, intercepting the fireballs.

[You’re just using tricks!! Don’t stop! Keep attacking!!]

“I’ll handle that.”

Before the wyvern, Atlas appeared without even using his aura blade.

His entire body was radiating heat from the pressure of slicing through the wyvern’s fireballs, seeming to give off mirage-like effects.

Seeing me hovering in the air, the wyvern unleashed another fireball.

But my squire was much faster.

-Crack!

[Graaaagh??!!!]

One of the wyvern’s wings was sliced off.

.

.

.

The enforcers’ attack was impactful but didn’t cause much damage.

All the enforcers ended up dead or were blundering fools in need of death.

“Cleaning the inside is done, so you can come in.”

“Is the blood cleaned up already? Impressive.”

“You need to invest that much to manage this.”

It was surprising how quickly the once-messy cabin had been cleaned up.

While those who thought everything was finished went back into the guest room, there were some who couldn’t enter.

They were the ones interrogating a single monster and a person stuck right in the middle of the deck.

“Who’ve you been robbing until now?”

“Marquis Remnant and… Count Calapha.”

“Those guys have been running around borrowing money recently, trying to make up for the stolen airship, huh?”

“The direct blood relatives were ransomed off, and… the rest were sold to slave traders…”

Perda, knowing who they were talking about, coldly glared down at the one-eyed man.

Some real bastards, they are.

Since they’ve all been killed, wouldn’t it be better to hand these ones over to the capital?

[You barbaric humans!! Do you think you’ll get away with this…!! You’ll regret it…]

“Then tell me who that great one is.”

[Graaaaagh?!!]

Although their physical structures differ from humans, they liked to be poked around to locate the right spots for pressure.

I’m not sure if I struck the pain with my pokes or if my fingers just digging deep inside him hurt, but he’s screaming, so I guess that’s a good result?

“I don’t care if you don’t tell me. A wyvern of your intelligence would surely be appreciated as a gift back to the capital.”

[Do you think I’ll be tamed by a mere human?!]

“Then go ahead and commit suicide. Wyvern leather is lightweight and durable, great for armor linings, and bones and teeth are popular materials for magic. The insides and fire sacks are favorites among magicians.”

Detailing how they would be sold after being dismantled drained the color from his face.

It seems that the primary culprit of the attack was a wyvern, led by a single head.

Once we subdued the only conversationalist and scared him a bit, all the many wyverns fled without looking back.

The sole remaining wyvern, missing one wing, could do nothing but take the beating from me.

[Don’t think you’ll get away with this…!! You’ll pay for this!!]

“Anyone might think I attacked first! You all jumped me first, do you even have a conscience?!”

At that moment….

-Rumble…

Thunder began to rumble from a clear sky.

[You dare to touch my subordinates?]

Looks like the noble they were talking about has finally appeared.

They kept coming out one after another like sausages strung together, which was absurd.