Case 169: Massacre.

    May 21th, 1835.

    Here I am, stepping into the Khruse Range again, albeit with many more than just Blob. For one, my whole horror team is here, and most of my other allies, too.

    Since wyverns and dragons are all desirable targets, whether because of their plentiful experience points or their bodies that can be useful for many purposes, everyone is enthusiastic.

    All except Kyomu and Sikare.

    Kyomu isn''t exactly interested in bullying monsters several dozen levels below himself in the first place. It doesn''t give him anything. As for Sikare, she is currently on a ''brewing spree,'' as she refers to it, so she is staying in Zircon for defense. It seems she really does trust the doc to retrieve materials for her.

    In any case, despite the fact that we''re moving in such numbers, the mountains are still too vast. Teleporting here is one thing, but actually traversing the peaks is another problem we need to tackle.

    Ariel can ride on Blob with me, Mister Slen can move pretty fast, and so can Smiley. That leaves Skely, 049, and Ash, who aren''t as nimble as the rest of us.

    Fortunately, we have the perfect airship with us.

    Ugh... why is this damn statue so heavy!

    ''''Stop complaining. Ash is light.''''

    I just thought for a moment that it would be disrespectful to Ash, but then again, I don''t even know if it''s a female or not. Either way, Ash probably needs to fight alone later, so I''m a bit worried. Still, it''s probably fine if we don''t encounter a horde of dragons above level 50.

    ''''By the way, boss!''''

    ''''Hm?''''

    ''''What about the fluffy owls you mentioned?''''

    ''''Ah, we''ve moved past them already. They live at the feet. We can come back and visit them later.''''

    At my words, the keen Ariel, who''s clinging to me with only her hands manifested, nods demurely, her momentum decreasing. I''m not sure if the owls want to see a ghost, though.

    ''''Oh, here they are.''''

    Perhaps because we have eliminated too many wyverns the other night, but it actually takes a while for us to find them this time around. Only on this specific mountain, of course. I''m sure their overall population hasn''t dropped all that much.

    Still, it seems words have spread among the wyverns. This batch looks a lot more aggressive than usual, and their levels are higher, too. They''re so strong as to pose a real threat to my horrors, however. So—

    ''''Alright, everyone. From now on, we are entering free combat.'''' I declare. ''''Be careful not to hinder one another.''''

    Free combat it is.

    ''''Do you intend to clear this mountain out?''''

    ''''Yeah. Should we not?''''

    For a moment, the skeleton appears deep in thought. For someone as experienced and intelligent as him to ponder, it must be something serious. Still, when Skely realizes that everybody is watching him nervously, he quickly brushes it off,

    ''''...No, It''s fine. It''s only going to be troublesome if we met a lord dragon, but I doubt something like that is here.''''

    So, keeping the momentum going, we continue scaling the mountain. Of course, curious about this, I climb up Nova''s back and sit near Skely.

    ''''Do you know more about lord dragon, Skely?''''

    ''''Ah, I used to fight one a long time ago. It was tough, really. Those things are no joke.''''

    ''''When you were an archmage?''''

    ''''Yes.''''

    That''s... impressive. Skely was a grandmaster, and even he couldn''t overwhelm a lord dragon. From what I''ve read, there is one more dragon grade above ''lord.''

    Juvenile, Adult, Senior, Lord, and... God. God dragons.

    I wonder how strong they can be. As strong as gods? Or are they mere myths? Once again, I turn to my trusty skeleton.

    ''''Then, do you know God dragons, Skely?''''

    ''''I''ve only heard of them. My knowledge isn''t different from what''s out there.''''

    ''''Okay.''''

    Well, God dragons or not, my goal is already defeating the Heavenly Demon, who is definitely a god, so everything stays the same.

    ''''By the way, does anybody know what the wyverns'' lair looks like?''''

    Suddenly, Ariel speaks up, still grabbing onto Blob''s back below us.

    '''''''' ... ''''''''

    For whatever reason, no one answers her question.

    No, really. No one knows...?