NOVEL NEXT Chapter 537
Chapter 537. Reconnaissance Flight
The sound of Leila’s wings fluttering faintly echoed in the cool night sky――
Tonight, the clouds are just right. Even if there’s someone out there with sharp night vision who notices the oddity of the concealment magic, it should be hard for them to spot us.
‘――Ah, flying is just the best! Humans are so slow on foot――’
Perhaps too exhilarated from flying for the first time in a while, Leila was about to vent about how slow humans are, but hurriedly decided to shove those thoughts away, as if feeling guilty about it.
Well, it was a bit too late for that; through the 【Kizuna】, I could feel the pent-up emotions of annoyance from being forced into an awkward long-distance run in human form, but I just chuckled.
It’s fine, I get how Leila feels. For us, it’s like being tied up and forced to crawl on all fours…
Once you know the freedom and exhilaration of the skies, anyone would feel the same way!
‘――Hearing you say that makes me feel relieved――’
Leila seemed to be smiling wryly as well.
With a strong flap, her wings caught the wind and carried us along.
“Leila, you really fly so smoothly,” Liliana whispered in my ear, clinging to my back.
“You’re being careful while flying for us, huh…”
“Absolutely.”
The ride was worlds apart from the White Dragon during the assault on the Demon Lord’s castle… I nodded in agreement.
Gliding through the clouds, we flew west, further and further.
On the ground, I could see scattered torches and bonfires. They seemed to be from fortresses, castles, and villages of humans—small scale and looking feeble compared to the dwarven strongholds.
‘…………’
Reflecting on my experience during the Evaroti campaign, I had the impression that it wouldn’t take even an hour to take them all down. If the Demon Lord’s army truly came pouring into this land, what would happen?
The demands of the first Arthur were clear――‘If you wish to be a hero of salvation, you must protect a few nations while you are a hero.’
If I were to protect this country, what should I do? Fighting against the Demon Lord’s army is a given, but simply joining the allied forces as a hero wouldn’t suffice.
My advantages――strong magic power for a human, and whatever trump card Ainz will deploy in the near future, and that leaves holy spirit techniques as well? These are the cards I have.
I must fight strictly as a hero, so I can’t use teleportation spells. If I do, it must be without anyone witnessing――anyone who sees must be killed, and their soul obliterated. That level of precaution is necessary.
Based on all that,
how do I stop the Demon Lord’s army?
……I’d have to kill as many demon race warriors as possible, and also take down the enemy commanders and their flags.
Ruin their command system to make continuation of battle impossible.
Then I’d need to destroy their supply lines and deplete their food and resources. If one legion tries to run, I have to do at least that much.
‘So you mean…’
Antedeixis snickered.
‘Sister――you need to kill Spinethia.’
………
That big glutton’s face comes to mind.
She’s still a demon. Our values as humans don’t align.
However, within the demon framework,――it’s not that I…… dislike her.
‘――！！――’
In that instant, Leila heightened her vigilance to the maximum.
What’s going on!?
‘――A Wyvern! One of them!――’
Just then, we had just emerged from the clouds. I thought Leila would flip her wings to retreat back into the clouds――but instead, she continued gliding.
‘――If we panic and return now, it’ll create an unnatural vortex in the clouds. They might notice us――’
……A calm judgment. And the fact that Leila, who should still be young for a dragon, could respond appropriately in such an instant was thanks to the experiences she inherited from Faravgi.
That said, a Wyvern. Even as a demon who should have night vision, I still couldn’t see anything.
‘…What’s the matter?’
‘It seems she spotted a Wyvern.’
Even without the telepathy of 【Kizuna】, I suppose the tension between Leila and me transmitted to her. As she quietly asked, Liliana also tightened her grip around my waist.
……That Wyvern must be far off. But if Leila noticed, that means it can also notice us.
‘――We have concealment magic, so as long as we don’t make a blunder, I think we won’t be found out. Plus, their altitude is lower than ours――’
Leila responded somewhat nervously.
‘――A green dragon carrying a demon. Looks like a reconnaissance flight――’
……Really, I could see it too. Sure enough, amidst the starlight, a green dragon was lazily flying by. I couldn’t make out the demon riding on its back, though…
A green dragon on reconnaissance means the one riding it is most likely an Izanis Tribe messenger. They’ve got non-stop information relay from the air on lock.
‘――It seems focused on the ground and isn’t looking our way――’
It must be pure arrogance that the green dragon is not using concealment magic. Well, for a long time now, the skies have belonged to the Demon Lord’s army. There are hardly any archers around who could shoot down a dragon, so it’s not surprising they’d be careless.
Still――I’ve never heard of the Demon Lord’s army conducting reconnaissance flights after the fighting has started. They usually deploy dragons primarily for proclamations and leaflet distribution before the war breaks out.
‘Perhaps they’re lacking information on the allied side, huh?’
……I get it, the night elf intelligence network was wiped out!
There’s probably zero information coming in regarding the allied forces. Apparently, a vampire was sent in as a replacement for the spies, but Lexar and others obliterated everything in a fit of anger…!
Though they barely did anything besides drinking blood and so were effectively useless.
Whatever the case, the wandering Wyvern was aimlessly flying above us, trying to gather scarce information――
‘――What should we do? We could definitely take it down right now――’
Despite the tension, Leila showed no sign of wavering. She asked with a calm demeanor.
‘――If we unleash a breath attack as a preemptive strike, they won’t even get a chance to use the Izanis Tribe’s voice spell!’
We could kill it without even giving them time to think――that’s what she implied.
…….
From my viewpoint, it was a short distance, almost right in front of me for an aerial battle.
The demon riding the green dragon lazily passed below us.
If we take down the green dragon here, it would eliminate one source of lookout for the Demon Lord’s army. If we could half-kill and capture an Izanis Tribe member in midair, then we could use them as a substitute for a teleportation spell――
‘――――’
……No, I’ll let it go. Let’s pass on this one.
‘――Understood――’
Leila spread her wings, only gliding on the wind without making a fuss.
A superb stealth flight that doesn’t create unnatural air currents, letting even the green dragon, a child of the wind, feel no discomfort.
We passed each other, distancing ourselves――and soon Leila relaxed her tension.
‘…Was that alright?’
Liliana whispered.
‘Yeah. I don’t want the Demon Lord’s army to know about the existence of something that could shoot down a green dragon in the midst of a reconnaissance flight.’
Moreover, the kind of something that could do so without giving the Izanis Tribe a chance to inform them. That would inevitably draw the Demon Lord’s army’s attention.
Besides, unleashing Leila’s breath would stand out quite a bit too.
If the Demon Lord’s army ramps up their reconnaissance and patrols because of this, it would ultimately tighten the noose around our necks. If they ever notice us, it would be a whole different story…
‘――I’ll take precautions and continue gliding for a little while longer――’
So we continued our airy journey, physically comfortable but fraught with tension.
Somehow, we were nearing the border. I didn’t intend to push it this far with just reconnaissance…
……Speaking of which.
‘…Is it just me, or is there an unusually large demon over there…?’
If my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, there’s a ridiculously enormous demon, looking like it’s several dozen meters tall, doing something on top of a mountain…
‘――There is. That demon seems to have a textured look like stone――’
Leila agreed too. So it seems I’m not mistaken.
‘――It looks like they’re digging through a pile of rubble… oh!――’
What’s going on?
‘――A crushed demon is coming out. Could that rubble pile be a fortress?――’
I heard that the frontline dwarven fortress was attacked, but…
‘A pile of rubble in a day…’
I muttered with dread.
It really seems the guards’ estimates of the city were overly optimistic.
What should’ve been merely a precarious situation turned out to be undeniably desperate; the Demon Lord’s army could come pouring in tomorrow or the day after――so that reconnaissance was probably a preview of their advance route!
‘Let’s go back.’
‘――Understood――’
Leila flapped her wings gently, making a turn and heading east.
……That aside, I still have my doubts. It’s standard procedure to secure the surrounding human territories and beastman territories first before attacking the dwarven kingdom. What was the intention behind taking down that dwarven fortress head-on?
And now it’s just a pile of rubble without even attempting to occupy it…
Well, whatever actions I take, it seems I’d better hurry up with the reforging of Adamas. Just figuring that out makes the reconnaissance seem worthwhile.
――As I pondered all this, we made our way back to Ainz’s workshop.