NOVEL NEXT chapter 13
13 – Dragon Hunting Dragon (9)
Looking around the bushes where Liana was hiding, she shouted.
“Liana! Don’t activate the shield!”
“But then Erga will get hurt!”
“Don’t do it! Activate it when the wyvern completely latches onto me!”
“What?!”
In case Liana couldn’t hear me properly, I shouted as clearly as possible.
“When the wyvern! Latches onto me! Activate the shield! Very loudly! Louder than the wyvern! What I mean is…!”
Before I could finish my sentence, I turned my body.
The wyvern’s talon landed right where I was standing.
Did Liana understand my words…?
Just as the wyvern was about to soar again, violently digging into the ground.
A massive shield appeared, enveloping me and the wyvern entirely.
She understood!
The wyvern, in mid-air, collided with the shield.
Startled, it desperately flapped its wings, but it was no match for breaking through the shield.
The word I couldn’t say to Liana was ‘cage’.
To trap the wyvern like a cage with the shield and strike it inside.
As long as both of us have our feet on the ground, I have an overwhelming advantage.
I dashed towards the sobbing tail of Wyvern right in front of me.
I ran forward and grabbed onto Wyvern’s tail, pulling it.
I climbed onto the Wyvern’s belly, which had been forcibly dragged down to the ground, and began to strike indiscriminately at its abdomen.
The creature’s skin and ribs were quite tough, and its tail and hooked claws ominously brushed past my head in an attempt to throw me off.
In the chaos, the protective covering was filled with the dust of the earth, obscuring everything from view.
With each strike of the tail hitting the ground, the vibrations and noise caused my skull to shake.
But I stubbornly clung to the creature’s torso and relentlessly punched it.
Soon, the skin tore and the ribs shattered, causing hot blood to burst out.
As if bathing in blood wasn’t enough, now I was drenched in it again.
Living with a human body is truly inconvenient.
If I were my true self, I would have swiftly flown over and cleanly cut off the creature’s vital parts.
After a while, the vibrations that had been shaking the braille gradually ceased, and the dust on the protective covering slowly settled.
Wyvern’s chest was completely destroyed, revealing its shattered ribs, and it twitched intermittently.
“Erga-nim!”
Liana shouted as she rushed out of the bushes.
“Are you okay? I’ll treat your injuries!”
I lightly pushed away the overprotective Liana with a smile.
“I’m fine. I’m not hurt at all. This is all Wyvern’s blood.”
I wiped the blood off my face with my hand and looked at the dead Wyvern.
The creature that died earlier must have been an immature Wyvern that hadn’t yet gained independence…
There are sometimes cases like that.
When transitioning from the Hatchling stage to the Youngling stage, they’re supposed to leave the nest, but there are cases where they can’t do that depending on the individual.
I never thought there would be three of them.
“Stay here. I’ll check the nest and come back.”
“Be careful, Lord Erega.”
I grabbed my bag and quickly climbed up the cliff using my hands and feet.
Having climbed up once, the second time was much faster, so I was able to enter the nest quickly.
The entrance of the nest was shaped like a wide diamond with a split in the middle.
As I went further inside, the width increased, and the actual place where the wyverns resided was closer to a flat cave.
The bottom of the nest was covered with thick branches and various leaves, making it as soft as human beds.
Stepping on the branches that reached up to my knees, I soon found what I was looking for.
There were wyvern eggs in a place covered with unidentifiable animal fur.
The wyvern eggs were a pale beige color with scattered black spots, and they were almost the size of a human head.
The shell was very hard, so as long as it was kept warm without any special treatment, it would easily hatch.
I carefully wrapped the eggs with the fur on the floor and put them whole into my bag.
Fortunately, the bag was quite large, so even with the wyvern eggs inside, there was still some room.
In a few months, the wyvern hatchlings would probably be born.
If I raise them well to follow me like their mother, maybe I can ride them.
A dragon that rides wyverns.
It’s funny.
Feeling good, I was about to venture out of my nest when something peculiar caught my eye.
Underneath the fur that supported the eggs, between the branches, I saw something shining.
Approaching closer, I carefully examined it and quickly started digging up the area, breaking the branches.
Soon, what was stuck there revealed its complete form, and I called out to Liana from outside the nest.
“Liana! Liana!!”
“What is it?!”
“I found it!”
“What is it?!”
“A treasure!”
Then, Liana’s exuberant cheer echoed clearly even inside the nest.
What I found was the remains of a human, with the lower body torn apart and half of the skeleton exposed.
Of course, a human corpse is not a treasure. I know that much.
What I called a treasure was what the human had on their finger.
It was a thick, solid gold ring with a large ruby embedded in it.
Even to someone like me, who was not knowledgeable about such things, it looked valuable.
Wyverns don’t collect shiny things, but it seems I accidentally hunted down a human wearing jewelry.
I took it off and put it in my pocket.
Thinking there might be something else, I searched around and found a bag containing some flower buds and white powder.
It seemed unnecessary, so I just threw it away.
“Thank you. I’ll make good use of the ring.”
I greeted the human corpse and left the nest.
It was fortunate timing, as I needed money.
* * * * *
When I descended to the ground and showed her the ring, Rihanna became ecstatic and applauded.
“Look! I told you there was treasure!”
“Yeah, you were right.”
I was in a good mood, so I didn’t bother arguing logically and just went along with it.
“But what is this? Why is the egg so big? Could it be a wyvern egg?”
“Yes, it is. I brought one with me.”
“hehehe…why? Oh, I see.”
Rihanna exclaimed, slamming her fist on her palm.
“You want to cook it, don’t you? hehehe. With its size, how many fried dishes can you make?”
“No, I’m going to hatch it and raise it.”
“hehehe. Seriously? Wait, what?!”
Rihanna widened her eyes in surprise.
“You want to raise a wyvern? Why on earth?”
“To ride on it and travel. You can tame wyverns if you handle them from a young age.”
“Travel on it…? But we have horses, why ride a wyvern?”
“Horses can’t fly.”
For a moment, Rihanna scratched her head with a puzzled look, not understanding the meaning of my words.
And then, with her mouth agape, she exclaimed,
“No way… are you planning to ride a wyvern and fly around?!”
“That’s right. It’ll be comfortable, won’t it? It’ll be faster than anything you can imagine.”
“Wow…”
Liana came out with a bewildered expression and alternated between looking at the eggs.
Soon, she opened her mouth with a tone that seemed resigned.
“I see… it would be comfortable. But can two people ride it too?”
“Suitable saddles? If we have those, we can easily fit three or four people, don’t you think?”
“Oh, really? Then I can try riding too.”
Just a while ago, Liana was trembling in fear, but now she laughed as if to say, “When did that happen?” and hugged the eggs.
“I’ll hold you warmly like a mother. Come out quickly.”
I wanted to say, “Why do you call me mother?” but I kept it to myself because I didn’t want to ruin the mood.
* * * * *
We washed our dirty faces and hands in the stream and shared some jerky.
Liana, who was sitting, nodded off and soon leaned against a tree and fell fast asleep.
She must be tired from waking up early in the morning and exerting herself until now.
Carrying those large breasts and traveling through rough places, she must have had a harder time than others.
I lay down, gazing at the blue sky through the branches, and thought about the next journey.
First, we have to go to that place called Yeongjuseong.
Once we get there, another path will surely open up.
By the way, I wonder how far Riana will travel with me.
I think we’ll probably go together until Yeongju Castle.
From her perspective, it would be better to go to the city than to wander around in such a remote place alone as a female, or rather, a female alone.
And when I suggested being her guide, I said we should go together until we reach the city.
But I don’t know what will happen after that.
Since she escaped from the slave market and survived the danger of death, she might be able to go back to where she lived.
Her kin will be eagerly waiting for her.
Then I will be alone.
I won’t starve to death or anything, but I feel like I’ll continue to have small difficulties because I don’t know much about the human world.
Hm… Let’s think about that when we get to Yeongju Castle.
* * * *
As the sun slightly tilted westward above our heads, we were able to leave the valley.
The bag was full of wyvern claws, and Riana was delighted at the thought of selling them all.
How long did it take? I saw the sight of a white flock of sheep ahead.
On one side, shepherds were preparing their meal by the bonfire.
“Oh? Hey! Erga! Lady Saint!”
Bapelt, who was riding a horse and roaming around the flock, waved at us happily when he saw us.
“Bapelt. It’s good to see you again.”
“You’ve come back alive.”
“There’s no reason to die.”
“hehehe. So, have you found the treasures?”
I showed him the ring.