Chapter 71: Magical Beasts and Peace #2
I felt the scent of unrest wafting from the armed soldiers hiding among the crowd.
Chills crawled down my spine as the smell of conflict seeped into my bones.
“Get the Golden Mercenary Group to back off! You planning on starting a war?”
At my declaration, the Gryphons exchanged startled glances and erupted into a frenzy.
The first to protest was a Gryphon male named Mars, clad in brass armor.
“I don’t know what ‘Golden Mercenary Group’ you’re blabbering about, but disbanding the council and the military? That’s absurd! By what authority do you even discuss this? Do you think I’ll just let you set up a puppet government in Cairo? Get down here right now!”
Mars extended a hand towards me, growling menacingly, apparently intending to grab me and drag me down. Instead, I seized his arm and pulled hard, slamming his head to the table with my front paw.
“Grrr!”
With his head firmly stuck to the round table, Mars flailed helplessly. A female Gryphon beside him adjusted her glasses, her face pale with shock, and shouted, “Mars! W-What are you doing? Mr. White One! What’s going on here!? Someone stop this rude creature!”
“Air Bang!”
“Yaaah!”
The female Gryphon screamed as she collapsed, blasted by an energy ball erupting from my mouth. The other Gryphons jumped up from their seats in a panic.
“Mars, Minerva! What is happening!? Is this how negotiations are conducted!? Mr. White One, I think there’s a misunderstanding here!”
Crash.
Among them, Jupiter was raging so intensely that I could almost hear his teeth grinding.
“Showing your true colors, aren’t you, White One? But I knew you’d come to this. You’ve always been a vile usurper and a thief. I noticed it as soon as you teamed up with that fire dragon Azidahaka. Those scaled creatures and their perverse kind cannot be trusted!”
“What did you say?”
Azidahaka, enraged by Jupiter’s words, suddenly stood up. He growled fiercely, looking ready to charge at him.
“Indeed, sitting at this table with you was a foolish idea, Jupiter.”
“I thought so too. And I had already planned for this outcome. Humans, here are the saint and the white magical beast you’ve been looking for!”
Jupiter thundered, and suddenly, soldiers clad in golden armor started slithering towards us through the crowd.
‘Just as I suspected; the Golden Mercenary Group Jupiter prepared. That sly trickster surely had a trap set up.’
I had already noticed the dazzling golden armor shining between the throngs of people.
They belonged to the Golden Mercenary Group said to be hired by King Solomon; reputed to be the best resolution team money could buy.
“Dear sisters, Azidahaka. What has happened!? Has the negotiation completely failed!? If so, only war remains!”
Flap, flap.
The dragons, having settled down on the ground, were greatly startled by this sudden turn of events and attempted to soar back into the sky.
Flash.
At that moment, a powerful flash of light exploded before everyone’s eyes.
“Roarr!”
The dragons that had taken flight screamed as they plummeted, rolling across the dirt floor of the arena.
“My eyes! I can’t see! Aaaah!”
“It’s a crystal infused with the power of a hundred luminous stones! What a shame the light turned out to be detrimental!”
“Hehe, it’s my lucky day to see the desert dragons all gathered like this. If I use a refined version of the sedation jewels, I might be able to capture them alive! Hehehe.”
Taking advantage of the moment, the mercenaries began staking thick stakes into the dragons’ membranous wings and scales.
Swish.
The purple smoke emanating from the stakes and the pungent scent were reminiscent of the sedatives I encountered in the Eastern Forest.
It worked forcefully enough to restrain the forest lord, Kublai.
“My strength… it’s fading…”
“Hehe, I don’t understand what you’re saying, but you must be feeling delightful, huh? Did you really think this world would continue to belong to beasts forever? Nope! From now on, it’s our human world!”
The dragons writhed, entangled in human sedatives and capture nets. Azidahaka gritted his teeth at the sight.
“You’ve allied with humans, Jupiter! This was your plan from the start!”
“Right, my original plan did change a bit, but it remains true that I alone will stay in this land. This time, I’ll sweep away the foolish crowd, the incompetent Cairo council, my rival you, and the dragons. Even that vile thief among them! Then I’ll create a new city! To do that, I needed to bring everyone together!”
Dark clouds began to gather ominously overhead. Crack! Crash! Lightning struck and raindrops started to drown the earth.
The crowd, pale-faced and bewildered, screamed in panic.
“W-What’s happening!? Are those golden-armored beings humans!?”
“I don’t know! The negotiations probably failed! Run! A war is about to break out! The sky’s about to burst into flames!”
“The dragons are going wild!”
“Help me! I’m scared, please!”
The palpable sense of crisis enveloped the crowd in terror. Citizens lost their wits, scrambling chaotically, trampling over the weak.
Their screams and cries resonated, carried by the wind and the torrential downpour.
I frowned deeply at the scene, a furrow forming on my brow.
“This is a real mess. It’s your city, isn’t it? Do you really not care if it all gets destroyed and burned?”
While I had broached intimidating the crowd, I truly didn’t wish for them to be slaughtered en masse. But the one pulling the trigger was none other than their leader, the Gryphon Jupiter.
“Jupiter, what on earth has happened!? The Golden Mercenary Group, really!? To partner up with humans, those who treat the beasts like slaves, is beyond any decency!”
Some Gryphons protested against Jupiter’s actions. An elderly man holding a trident pressed him for answers, but Jupiter, filled with rage, bellowed back.
“Shut up! This city is mine! I won’t hand it to anyone! Make peace with dragons? Ridiculous! You think I’m going to hand my daughter over to that white beast? Feed it to the dogs!”
Ka-ching.
Jupiter, clad in white armor, started to emit a current of electricity and light.
“Then I’ll just destroy everything and rebuild it again! With Ambrosia, if I can k*ll the monstrosities and grasp nectar, reviving this desert will be possible!”
Crash! Crash!
In the thunderstorm, Jupiter shot up through the clouds like a bolt of lightning.
The deafening roar and lightning made it feel like the world was crumbling. With it, strong winds and storms swept everything away.
“This is a storm! Is this Jupiter’s power!? Is he going to k*ll us all!? Destroy this city!?”
“Underground! Run underground!”
*
“There they are! Catch them! If we succeed in capturing them, a reward will ensure prosperity for our descendants!”
“What an endless mess!”
I struck the golden-armored mercenaries charging at me with my front paw and tail.
But those tough pieces of work, even with broken bones and dented armor, kept flailing their limbs desperately trying to grab me.
They were a petty mercenary band in terms of strength, but their tenacity, their sheer numbers made this challenging for me.
“sh**t the sedative rounds!”
Whoosh.
An arrow flying from somewhere aimed straight for my head. I quickly deflected it with my front paw, sending it back on the same trajectory.
“Oof! My head, spinning… Mama, I want noodles….”
“Why is the fool getting hit by his own shot!? Everyone, use any means necessary—nets or new weapons—to capture it!”
Humans surrounded me, trying their best to catch me using all sorts of tools.
Their frantic attempts reminded me of the chaotic night when I fled from those wolves and foxes in the Eastern Forest.
The gloomy sky and the pouring rain blurred my vision and made the situation quite dire.
The damp fur clinging to me and the cries of the disoriented mob echoed eerily in my ears—the pungent smell of the sedatives evoked memories of that night.
‘But I’ve grown strong enough not to run away.’
One key difference from then was my rapid growth. Regardless of how many humans came at me, they lacked the strength to capture me.
Huff.
“Oof!”
“Ugh!”
With just one swipe of my tail, the humans swarming around me fell like reeds in the wind, rolling into the muddy ground.
“Filthy dragons, today I will end the grudge of thousands of years! You all shall d*e here!”
“Seems like Gryphons’ brains are as light as feathers! You think chickens can take down a dragon!?”
Huff, whoosh.
The cutting winds from the Gryphons’ wings and the flames spewed from the dragons painted the stormy sky with vibrant colors.
“d*e, Jupiter!”
“I am Garuda Jupiter! The dragon slayer! You shall be the one to d*e, Azidahaka!”
High up in the sky, the massive silver-white armored Gryphon and the dragon were entangled, breathing out fire and lightning.
Every clash of their talons and wings erupted with deafening explosions and rumbles, reminiscent of the world’s demise.
“Come here, good boy! I’m not a bad guy!”
“Kyuuh!”
Sizzle.
Yingyi discharged lightning from behind me, knocking out the golden mercenaries. With the rain falling, the electric properties of Yingyi were undoubtedly powerful.
“Hey, White One!”
“Hehe, I caught myself a raccoon! Looks a bit familiar… My daughter will love it.”
Turning at the call, I saw Riff, the raccoon, being dragged away like a sack on a mercenary’s shoulder.
“L-Let go of me!”
Riff squirmed fiercely, trapped like a beast in a snare, resisting intensely.
“Hey, stop squirming! Just stay still! Argh!?”
Bang!
With an explosion of mist, Riff transformed into a girl.
She twisted from the mercenary’s shoulder and wedged his face between her legs, launching him down forcefully onto the ground.
Boom.
“Awwww!”
The mercenary collapsed, knocked out cold. The unexpected scene made me lose my will to fight.
“What… what did you learn in the royal palace?”
“Just some basic self-defense. Let’s get outta here! If we stay, we’ll really d*e!”
Draped in tattered rags, Riff grabbed my front paw, trying to pull me away. I noticed a group of mercenaries battling against the Gryphons.
“Capture the Gryphon! Their feathers and blades will fetch a good price in the kingdom’s market!”
“You think you can catch us, human mercenaries!?”
Flap!
The Gryphons dove down.
Bang! Bang, bang!
At that moment, an infernal roar from somewhere caused the Gryphons to lose their footing and crash to the ground.
The explosive sounds striking their ears and the noxious, acrid smell tickling their noses were far too familiar to me.
‘…Guns.’
“Did you see that? I hit it! This weapon is amazing! A Gryphon that size defeated by a few tiny iron balls…!”
Golden mercenaries appeared waving long sticks, taunting the fallen Gryphon. Riff shuddered, either from the cold rain or fear, as she observed the scene.
“Isn’t that a Silence Magic Wand? They said it would take a while to commercialize…!?
“A Silence Magic Wand? Do you know what that is?”
At my question, Riff nodded vigorously.
“It’s a weapon that causes explosions within its long barrel and fires iron balls propelled by the recoil. Much stronger and faster than arrows. It’s common knowledge that only those from the royal family can procure such banned items!”
“Oh, this is bad…!”
Bang!
A loud gunshot rang out again. I turned my head with a jolt and swung my front paw to deflect the incoming iron ball.
Before my eyes stood a smoke-emitting mercenary and his ruffled comrade.
“What the hell are you doing? Do you want to d*e?”
“We just need to take them back alive! It’s better to injure them and capture them than to let them escape!”
‘These bastards….’
I sprinted toward the mercenaries trying to aim their guns at me.
“How dare you sh**t at me!”
“Yiiik! W-What’s happening! sh**t!”
“It must be wet in the barrel and gunpowder! Nothing’s coming out!”
“Grrr!”
I slashed at the golden armor and helmets of the mercenaries, turning them into scrap metal. Steel plates ripped apart like paper and splashed into the muddy ground.
Not satisfied with just that, I broke the Silence Magic Wands before me, bending them until they were utterly useless.
“Haaah!”
The mercenary quaked beneath my crushing weight. I slashed my tail and twisted his neck before glancing up at the sky.
‘I imagined this would end easily.’
What I overlooked was that Jupiter was even more emotional and reckless than I had anticipated.
Bang! Bang!
Ping, ping!
“Monster! It’s a monster! The balls don’t work on it!”
“Shh, who are you calling a monster!”
“Humans, consistently making horrifying weapons, aren’t you! Even the Fairy’s magic engineering and the Stone Dwarves’ skills don’t create something so terrifying!”
“Brother, what shall we do?”
“I’ll proceed as planned.”
The Spotty One Cerberus locked his cold gaze on me. After a while, his six eyes turned toward the sky.
“Pluto’s nemesis. I will surely tear Jupiter’s throat out. Help me, and I will grant you nectar as promised.”
[Author’s Note] If you enjoyed reading, please press the recommendation button at the top of the mobile screen! With two seconds of your time, you can gift a happy day to the writer!
