"E-eh?! Who would agree to that, Sir Margo!"
"Oho~ Little Juvacha is going to be Brother Margo's son-in-law?"
"T-that's not true, Uncle Andizo."
"This little one is going to be your son-in-law? You must be joking, ahahaha! I wonder how they will get along living together!"
"He-hey! I didn't say that, Uncle Orucl!"
"Ahem~! All right, young man. How many are left in your squad now? Our squad originally had 86, 7 fell from the dragon, 16 died in the Heart of Archelion, 8 died during the escape, and 9 died of hypothermia here. Out of the 43 dragons we brought, only 9 died."
"Oh, that... I now have 16 members left, Sir. Some died on the way here, and some died here because they couldn't hold on any longer."
From their conversation near the campfire, everyone shared beds while a handful of others patrolled the night. The Quazetoph flock began to swoop down from the sky, striking several sleeping dragons precisely on the nape of their necks and then exploding their insides.
There were no screams, roars, or disturbances, especially since the vulnerable dragons were too exhausted from their expedition the previous day. Juvacha and Margo did not know that their mounts were gradually decreasing until dawn. Some of the dragons that exploded inside were immediately torn apart by those feasting in the darkness.
—Southeast Archelion, Tvuqcala Swamp
Their vision was impaired by sulphur vapour and volcanic smoke. The stifling, hot air made most of the low-ranking adventurers dizzy, hindering their progress. Torãmo led Squad 3 towards Northwest Archelion, fully equipped with irritation protection and air filters, and had to move quickly.
Torãmo observed that the miasma level gauge bracelet from the biome they were currently exploring was quite high, and even their armour was slowly melting due to exposure to Daűqo gas, making them vulnerable to attack due to their thinning armour. One of the members handed him a device.
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Squad— 3... Squad 1... come in? Can you speak with— Bzzzt— Bzzzt—
"Yes, yes, yes... what did you find, and who are you?"
Bzzzt— we are Squad 4... here with Juvacha, Captain Osyg of Squad 1, Captain Torãmo of Squad 3.
Our expedition ended in total failure—
"DON'T MAKE THINGS UP! WHERE ARE YOU NOW?!"
Beta Z-87, Horus Islands, Vâl-amülc Mountains.
"Beta Z-87, huh?"
Squad 4 was rescued by Squad 2, the mission failed due to the Arrow Devil hunt in the Archelion Heart region. We found Mr. Reygh along with nearly everyone on the missing persons list, frozen to death, totalling 188 people—
Not only that, our Squad 4 suffered 55 casualties, 40 members from Squad 2, and 9 of our dragons died. The White Hunter let us escape, at least we survived even though the hypothermia casualties were quite high because the freezing temperature penetrated our protective gear.
Captain Quzh also died, according to Deputy Margo. During our escape, the Arrow Devil seemed to be searching for new prey, and many of our anthropho and everin members died in the hunt.
Therefore, as Captain of Squad 4, and as the surviving expedition squad, I am informing the entire team to gather at Delta -258 for further planning. Thank you.
The report left Torãmo speechless. He had suspected that his friend had been killed by something, but he could not believe that the attacker was the embodiment of 'Terror' itself. His arm, which held Drake's reins, trembled. His comrade-in-arms had been devoured by 'Death' itself.
"TURN SOUTHWEST!" Torãmo shouted as he pulled on the reins, spurring the burly drake out of the poisonous swamp.
—East Archelion, Nazagœlla Canyon
Captain Osyg and the entire Azgyoth unit were startled, their giant mounts began to break formation, their screams and thumps shaking the ground. Arrow Devil, a name that intimidated the herd of burly giants, who were known to be quite intelligent and able to understand things, including their conversations.
Their hearing was so good that the signals from the riders on their backs sounded more like intimidating death threats than verbal messages. Just hearing the name 'Arrow Devil' was enough to disrupt their formation. Osyg gently pulled on the reins of his giant mount to calm it down and turned south.
"Hah~ damn kid. He doesn't know we're carrying a moving "fortress" that's as scary as this one near the canyon. If we're not careful, we'll be prey to the Ichanos and Oraco herds in the Tang River."
"But Captain, we're here for transport."
"Ah, you're right... I forgot our mission because of that message. The gorge fell silent as Juvacha explained the situation they were in."
"Hey, Osyg... these furry giants can't move fast, choose a solid rock foundation so we can pass through."
"Samol, you're a silly old man. Hahaha, their tusks can compact that foundation."
"Ohohoho, I didn't know you were so knowledgeable about zoology and geology. Hey, Osyg... have you heard that Majugh-Aju farm is about to go under?"
"What happened, Samol? Is there another bone infection in their horns? That's terrible..."
"No, it's not that. I heard that the Medica Tower is developing a vaccine for the fungal outbreak affecting the farm, but it's quite expensive in the city of Otur just to get a sample of the vaccine."
"Oh, really?"
Squad 1 wasn't as tense as the others because their route was rarely travelled by predators. However, the rocky terrain and dangerous geothermal activity were abundant along their journey. There was only hot mist, sharp rocks, and the roars of predators below the canyon during their uninterrupted journey.
—South Archelion, Horus Islands
Huff, huff, huff... that's terrible, I never thought I'd be able to say that name. Ugh, my head hurts. Luckily, the communication device still works with dragon steam, by drying it out. This is so complicated, even I can't handle the position of Captain.
Haku is dead, Tinuva is dying, Captain Quzh is dead, the dragon unit is dead, why us? Why, why, why, why do we have to feel this?! What kind of stupid expedition is this?! My fiance is dead, sob, sob... most of my team is dead! Our mounts are dead! Why not someone else, you White Mist Devil! My chest is tight, my head is frozen, my gaze is blank, every muscle is tense, my heart is beating irregularly, I feel nauseous, and I want to scream as loud as I can but I can't.
I, I don't want this! I don't want to be a hero! It's terrifying! Fighting the 'Nightmare'?! Are you kidding me! I don't want to join this expedition, but who wouldn't accept such high pay?! I'm just a powerless little anthropo who wants to live peacefully! Not a massacre with cheerful laughter!
The gold and silver I thought would add to our wedding funds ended up taking my beloved right before my eyes. You murderer! Do you think you look cool in your hunter's cloak amidst the thick snow?! Hunting anything that's alive, when you're not even the Angel of Death!
Even the Great Monster is afraid to see you! Even the dragons who rule the skies beg not to meet you! You are the White Devil!
I can feel my tears streaming down my face, my eyes stinging, as if I am crying too hard. Many of my friends have died, even those who were stronger than me.
As if he were mocking us, as if the strong deserve to die, and the weak deserve not to be born. I-I cannot accept that, I refuse to be like that!
The world is not just for oneself; every person or living creature has the right to live together in this world! I-I DO NOT WANT—
(Growl)
"What was that sound?"
"Captain Juvacha, what's going on? Aren't you resting in the tent? It's quite cold in the Vâl-amülc Mountains right now, at least warm yourself up, Captain."
"Ah... thank you for the chocolate, Syanuw. How is Tinuva?"
"She's quite exhausted, Captain. She's asleep now, at least her blood is flowing normally."
"Erm... Syanuw?"
"?"
"Did you hear something?"
"No, what happened, Captain?"
"Is it really this quiet on the Horus Islands? There should be some animal sounds, right?"
"I don't know. Besides, this is my first time on Floating Island. It's really cool! I thought the stories my mother told me every night about Princess Everin on Floating Island were just fairy tales, but it turns out the place really exists!"
"So... you've never been to a place like this before?"
" (> w <)~☆ "
Ugh, I just cried to vent my frustration. But what can I do, I'm the Captain of Squad 4. There's no reason for me to avoid it, I wasn't stressed earlier. Hah, instead of thinking about Haku... should I just accept Uncle Margo's offer?
Without thinking, I wanted to check on the patrol team in the forest. Only Uncle Margo had returned earlier, and Dan-Wo and Tin-Suo hadn't. Even though this was a Floating Island, I still hadn't expected it to have such a vast forest, rocky hills, lakes, and even volcanic activity. It was as if we were on a plain where even Beta Z-87, where we landed, was quite small compared to the others..
Even though this is Floating Island, I still didn't expect this island to have vast forests, rocky hills, lakes, and even volcanic activity, as if we were on a plain where even the island Beta Z-87 we landed on was quite small compared to the other islands.
Or I just ride a dragon looking for— like it's not.
Cruch, cruch, cruch
! ! !
Flap-flap-flap
Khaaack! Khaaack! Khaaack!
"Oh, Captain Juvacha?"
"Ermmh... Can we ask for help?"
"SQUAD 4, SQUAD 2! THERE IS AN ATTACK!"
This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad! Since when was there a herd of Quazetoph in our vehicle rest?! All the information about Quazetoph I've ever learned crossed my mind quickly, I knew they were predators but I didn't expect them to prey on anything even stronger than them.
With a quick arm, I grabbed one of the shovels and then slashed the wings of the predator with all my strength, then the monster screamed loudly and pecked at the spear. But focusing on one Quazetoph, made me let my guard down and almost died my head was crushed by the other.
—Beta Z-87, Dragon Post
Grrrrgh, the antropho and everin... there's no end to you attacking us who are having dinner, I quickly drop each of their feet with my tail. Huh, of course I knew they were going to jump over it. Just need to smash them with wings and then my brothers will smash each of their beaks.
Dan-Wo, Tin-Suo... I wonder why these everins hate us? His ability to use the long 'metal' tipped 'twig' made my brothers almost die. Juvacha? Is that their pack leader? Huh, I don't think antropho leads a pack that is clearly different species from each other.
Why are they working together? Do they hunt in groups like us? It doesn't matter, I don't understand. My beak cracked, my brothers diverted them to attack every side of their defenses. These little creatures dare to disturb our dinner, then feel our retaliation.
I stepped on the big lizard's face to make it angry, and I grabbed its face to direct and then burned the nest of the little creatures. What an ugly nest, it's strange that little creatures like them build a nest with only twigs and then cover it with skin. This flap of wings is enough to make the fire grow.
Because they carried too many sharp shiny objects, many of my brothers were injured. Our wings were hurt, I decided to fly away with the others. My beak cracked, commanding some of the others to transport the dragon carcass we had finished to eat on the opposite island.
They may be weak, but we are not stupid. Those metal branches and bars can tear our wings, which means they can hunt us down if we are reckless enough to underestimate them. As the alpha of the flock, I directed my flock to fly to an island further away from them.