episode_0106

How long has it been since Juul looked ahead?

Boom──! Boom───! Boom────!

The earth shook to the sound of footsteps.

Julias’ vertical pupil begins to grow round and enlarged, as if he were wearing a lens.

“···It’s Lint’s name.”

“Big. It’s an ancient dragon. There is no way an ancient dragon would have settled here.”

There was a hint of puzzlement in Jules’ voice.

Shir looked around and looked at the group, and then, using me as a shield, he put his head on my shoulder and stared into the darkness.

Dennis is holding on to the arrows he has as much as he can and is staring straight ahead with the intention of firing a rapid fire at any moment. Soon I started pulling the bowstring.

“Shall we prepare for battle?”

“Dragons are more rational than demihumans. My eyeballs don’t roll over like this.”

But Dennis’ anxious expression still remains.

“···Seollang. If something happens, I will take my two children and run out of the forest without looking back.”

“It’s the right decision.”

Perhaps because the sunlight comes in, the surroundings become brighter and the outline of the other person can be seen. A huge body that appears to be about 10 meters tall. The bipedal dragon walked this way, slowly calming his jumping steps.

It’s not a theropod like an ostrich…

It walks on two legs like humans. Soon the body was revealed. The spine is not S-shaped like in humans. Perhaps because of its tail, its back is slightly curved forward like a naga.

However, the height is roughly the height of a 4-story apartment building. The long tail was as long as Lindtwoom’s height. The tip of the poisonous tail was reminiscent of the shape of the tailbone.

The end is shaped like an animal’s claw, capable of stabbing or scratching. Lindt’s fingernails didn’t just grow on the tips of his fingers.

One was growing like a horn from the back of the hand, and the nails on the tips of the fingers were no different from human nails except that they were a little sharp.

The skin was thick and flaky. However, as hard as it is, it seems to lack elasticity.

The skin at the joints where the body bends a lot is split like torn flesh, and the horns, which look like a mix between a water buffalo and a mountain goat, point forward.

The eyes have sharp vertical pupils and the facial structure looks like a mix of Naga and Lexia. It had no body hair at all, and its jagged, thick teeth made of plate skin were reminiscent of cutters.

You can tell just by looking. The fact that no animal on earth can defeat this dragon. It is a monster that will shake off even if hit by a shell and tear up a tank.

Such a monster is silently looking this way. If the cockatrice was wild, this Lindt call is cold. I can feel Shir’s trembling through his back.

Julia and Dennis, who were triumphant, also froze and could not open their mouths. right. That is a perfect higher species of demi-human.

Lindwurm looked at the group, looked at Jules and Julias for a while, and then let out a loud snort.

That alone brought steam to this hot South.

“···Why are you here? The southernmost mangrove forest is your territory, right?”

Zul looks up at the ancient dragon in surprise.

─Tell me first why you greeted the visitor so violently.

“I received a call from the root snake. You’re crossing the Black Forest, but mosquitoes suddenly come flying during the crossing, right?”

Molten cobwebs dripped down the bridge of Lindtwerm’s nose.

As he wiped it with his finger, he looked at the growing cobwebs, and as he brushed them off, the Lintworm purred as if he was uncomfortable.

“Hipp?!”

The sound, which is several times lower than the purring sounds of dogs or cats I know, gives me goosebumps all over my body. Shir started shaking.

─···Does that mean you are setting fire in the forest?

“You made the forest habitat a mess first. We lived in the South before we were protected by dragons.”

─When you shake off dust, dust is bound to fly away. I can’t help it.

Jules tilts his head.

“What does it mean?”

─Without the power of Lu and Diana, the soil of the forest began to rot. The tree roots and soil are full of mold. If this continues, the forest will die within a century.

Juul glares at the dragon with a sullen expression.

“···If it was to that extent, it should have been dealt with first. Why are you only doing it now?”

─Because it was a young guy’s domain. Looking at your face, I think you thought it was a tyrannical dragon that took over its new territory… but you still have limited insight.

That’s right.

When this is revealed in Jules’ expression, Lindberg’s eyes turn gloomy.

─I did not damage the ecology with my personal whims like your shallow thoughts. This is what the root snake wants.

Jules could no longer continue speaking.

There is nothing I can do about it because it is different from what I thought. Because they were working under the orders of the root snake over there as well. Lindberg looks at the sky where the light comes in.

─As a result, sunlight comes in. It’s a risky approach, but it’s one worth considering. I won’t blame you. Stop it now.

Jules shakes his head.

“Like you said, we are covered in dust while walking down the road. I’m fine, but my group is weak.”

Only then did Lindtwoom’s gaze sweep over people, including me.

─···So?

“I would like you to allow me to burn it like this, or… remove some of the scales to prevent insects from approaching.”

─Juryul… Surely, you’re not talking about disgusting people?

“That’s right.”

The dragon’s eyes narrow…!

─You probably know what Yeokrin is, right? Your absurd request is making me see the root snake through my eyes. To begin with, this forest isn’t the only road you pass through.

“I have no intention of abusing Yeokrin. Please take a little bit off. I’ll give it back to you on the way back.”

Lindt’s name scans the light-filled sky and slowly sweeps down the group.

─In that case, please provide collateral that I can understand.

Lindbrürm’s eyes turn to Julias.

I realized that Julias was Dragonia.

It seems like it was intended to be used to bring sunlight into the forest.

“These are not objects. You can’t leave it as collateral.”

─Then I have no intention of accepting your request. Even the root snake agrees with this. He says he will understand, even if it is somewhat late.

“I can’t go back either.”

─That is your situation. Don’t make any more fuss.

Lindberg turned around as if he had nothing more to see.

As I hear the pounding footsteps moving away, the strength in Shir’s hand that is hugging me begins to drain little by little.

I can’t help it.

The Black Forest has become impossible to traverse, but this cannot be said to be Jules’ fault.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s go back.”

It was a gamble made with limited information.

There was no guarantee that I would succeed, and I wanted to get out of this multi-faceted hotbed as soon as possible.

You will sleep here in the sunlight, and at night you will return the way you came. not bad. The Black Forest is disgusting.

I petted Shir to calm him down and cleaned up the torch.

At this rate, I’ll have enough left over to go home. It’s morning, so I don’t know if I’m going to sleep or not──.

─···Ha.

A loud, low sigh sends shivers down my skin.

······Looking behind me, I saw Lindt calling this way─── Me? He was looking at me. why me?

─The root snake changed its mind. He wants to see you guys as soon as possible.

The voice is several times lower than before.

He seems quite angry. Lindt called off a small piece of the tip of the large scale on the solar plexus with his sharp claws and threw it this way.

Tuk!

The drop that fell in front of Jool in a parabolic curve was the size of my palm, even though it was only at the tip.

Even though it is this huge, it is less than 10% of the ancient dragon’s evil.

─Take it with you.

Juul quickly picked up the pill.

“Grandpa, what kind of sudden change of heart occurred?”

Lindtrum doesn’t seem to like the current situation.

The sight of him snorting strongly, frowning, and glaring at Jules gave me goosebumps to the point where my heart stopped.

─Do you think the root snake would tell you that?

“No.”

─When you meet him, I hope you will talk to him a lot and torment him.

Lindtrum disappeared into the interior of the black forest as if his business was done.

*

“Why was it necessary to obtain the dragon’s curse?”

“This is the root of the majesty that the dragon exudes. In some ways, it is just a simple scale, but it contains the power that a manager of the southern region must have.”

majesty? I’ve never really felt anything?

Although it was overwhelmed as a living thing, there could be no dignity in something that was crumbled like that and had no idea what its original form was.

Other people also– The others were wondering if that was the case, and the group was glancing at the reverse gear in Juul’s hand. There is awe in the eyes.

why? I don’t understand.

Could it be that I’m the only one who doesn’t feel it?

“Does dignity come from scales like these? Usually… people get scared when they see the animal’s body odor or its size. Like exposed teeth.”

“Sihyeon, are you really okay?”

“Huh?”

Shir’s eyes were wide open.

Are they emitting low or high frequency waves that humans cannot hear?

“How do you explain God’s protection? Most insects live by their nature, so the moment they feel an unpleasant energy, they will all start running away.”

···God’s protection.

Everyone is so frozen that they can’t even take their eyes off Yeokrin, but Juul is laughing dejectedly by himself.

“It is not convenient to be wary of large animals such as cockatrices or Groots, or curious demi-humans.”

Jules took all the money out of his leather coin pouch and put it in another pocket, then put the broken coins in it.

Then he tied it tightly and held it out to me.

“Sihyeon. Hang this around your neck.”

“Yes? Why am I doing this───.”

“It’s the thing you need the most.”

I don’t know if it’s accurate, but if you carry that, you won’t be attacked by pests.

for a moment. That sound…

“If you carry this, won’t you be able to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes?”

“Well? I don’t know about that.”

Who would take it? I quickly and politely accepted the leather pouch with both hands. After that, I attached a leather pouch to the necklace with my finger sewn on it and put it all in order.

After carefully tying the leather bag containing the dragon scales, it seemed as if the witch doctor’s necklace was missing.

“Now that things seem to be settled, let’s get some rest and leave at night.”

Only after those words came out of Jules’ mouth did Julius let out a drowsy sigh and show a smile instead of a smile.

“······I thought I could somehow do something with magic, but what on earth is that?”

“All ancient dragons are like that.”

“Ugh, my head hurts. I used too much magic today.”

Yulias pressed his temples, walked out to a sunny area, and started making clay cubes. Shir looked envious of me, and Dennis was still on guard everywhere.

I can compromise on quite a few things, but I absolutely cannot compromise on this kind of semi-permanent insecticide.

Sorry. Even if you look at it that way, they won’t give it to you.

···Because I won’t give it to you.

I subtly avoided Shir’s gaze and looked towards Dennis.

“···It’s strange. From ants to earthworms underground, all worms are moving away from Lee.”

Dennis, who looked around for a while, probably decided it was safe, retrieved the bow from the bowstring and began putting arrows in the quiver at his waist.

Jules glances at me. Why doesn’t this person give this to Shir and give it to me?

“Come in quickly! Just sleep.”

At Julias’s urging, I entered the mud house without any hesitation.

*

We were able to sleep comfortably from that day on.

It is true that sleeping is more uncomfortable than in the village, but homelessness is not a matter of uncomfortable sleeping, but a matter of mood.

The basic habitat of mosquitoes and cockroaches is the wild, not urban areas. Moreover, this place—especially the southern part—is a place where we can confidently say that nature is alive.

It is a great privilege to be able to sleep in such a place without pests such as mosquitoes.

As there is no interference from insects, there is no reason to be wary of the surroundings, so the crossing of the Black Forest, which was originally supposed to take a week, will end tomorrow.

This is because it is safe to pass through the Black Forest wetlands thanks to the inverse.

but···.

“I’ll have to hunt whatever comes out of the forest tomorrow. If you see a cockatrice, you have to catch it.”

Thanks to the disgust, even the prey ran away.

The five of them are chewing on the shriveled dried meat, but there is no way there is any dried meat left.

Shir was holding his stomach as if he was still hungry.

There were a lot of mushrooms around as there was no sunlight, but because the ecology here was different from outside the forest, there were only different types of mushrooms. If it is difficult to determine whether mushrooms are edible, it is best not to touch them at all.

“Ugh~ I want to eat Sihyeon.”

Shir playfully bites my arm.

It doesn’t hurt when you bite it gently, but it gets sticky with saliva. Still, it hurts like a dog I raised in the past, right?!!

“This bitch?!”

I tried to shake off Shir who was trying to chew me, but Shir clung to me and kept biting me.

I thought that people born in the mountains would not be afraid of bugs or would not hesitate to cut off a chicken’s neck, but those were all just my stereotypes.

After learning that bugs wouldn’t be attracted to him when he was around me, Shir began to sleep right next to me.

Thanks to this, Dennis had been distracted by Julias’ subtle pranks for the past few days.

“Now let’s go to sleep. It will be night when I leave this forest tomorrow, so I’ll go hunting for cockatrice right away.”

···You want to catch that pseudo-dinosaur?

Just like yesterday’s Lindt call, I’m just worried that this is a sign that they want to commit it.

“How do you catch that?”

“If it’s difficult, just hunt baby cockatrices. If that’s the case, you can just hunt the mother.”

That’s more dangerous.

I still haven’t forgotten the warning the male cockatrice gave me. Cockatrice is a bird that will literally eat an elephant. Of course, there is Julia, but it is just as dangerous.

“Didn’t you say that cockatrices are animals with strong maternal love? They say hosots don’t hunt animals with babies.”

“But, I guess I have to eat something first. Hunting itself isn’t that dangerous. Most cockatrices have night blindness, like chickens. It may be a little dangerous when the full moon rises, but…”

“Tomorrow is the new moon.”

Dennis added and Jules grinned.

“Then there is no problem.”