The expeditionary army’s astonishing advance did not last very long. When word spread that the humans of Arcadia had invaded, the startled orc tribes finally began to join forces. As orc warriors organized into large units blocked the roads, the expeditionary army’s seemingly unstoppable speed of advance began to slow markedly.
Duke Pershtein, after receiving reports on the state of the war, halted the advance at that point. They had already occupied roughly one-tenth of Truvenia’s territory, so there was no need to rush.
“We made full use of the surprise attack, so we can say our initial objective has been achieved. From now on, we must focus on defense.”
Although they had occupied an immense region and wiped countless orc tribes off the map, it was only the tip of the iceberg compared to the number of orcs that remained. Therefore, it was necessary to revise the troop dispositions that had been organized for a blitzkrieg. They also had to prepare for the counterattack the orc army would soon launch.
“The forces they can mobilize will far exceed the size of the expeditionary army.”
As the duke, he also could not help but pay attention to the most important matter: the possible intervention of the dragons. The strategy Duke Pershtein devised after agonizing over it again and again was delivered to the divisions scattered throughout the land by magical communication and messengers. The Second Race War had unfolded over as many as ten years, and considering that, there was a strong possibility that this war as well would become a prolonged conflict.
Therefore, the duke had to prepare accordingly. Thus, the war upon which the fate of each race depended was racing toward an irreversible course.
It was a quiet space. Silence filled every direction, and only the occasional sound of wind slipping in broke the stillness. This place was a vast hall. Stone pillars thick as old trees stood lined along the walls, and the ceiling was so high it could not even be seen.
A hall wide enough to accommodate more than one hundred thousand fully armed soldiers. Judging from the briny smell of salt in the air, it seemed to be located close to the sea. In the very center of it stood a dozen or so shadows, firm and immovable as Mount Tai. Shadows that did not move, as if they were creations, and kept their silence.
They had the forms of humans, but from their bodies flowed, little by little, a pressure that could make all things kneel and bow. After a long time of silence passed, an ancient voice broke the stillness and resounded throughout the hall.
“Has Berkis still not arrived?”
The one who spoke was an old man with silver hair and a luxuriant silver beard. The silver-haired elder, whose appearance was supremely benevolent, astonishingly even had eyebrows tinged with a faint silver hue.
After a moment, an answer came from beside him.
“Lord Berkis will probably be a little late. As you know, Lord, he was unable to complete his sleep period properly…”
“I suppose that is so.”
For some reason, a deep lingering note lay beneath the old man’s voice. His eyes seemed filled with some kind of anguish. The old man’s identity was, astonishingly, Kranus, the Dragon Lord. As the eldest Silver Dragon, he was the spiritual leader of all dragons living on the continent of Truvenia.
His appearance made it difficult to believe that he was the being who had led the dragons and orcs of Truvenia from the front and annihilated the race called humans.
With profound eyes, he looked over the shadows lined before him one by one. Those standing there had something in common. Most of them had the forms of humans—men and women of extremely beautiful appearance. Of course, there were also some in the forms of trolls or ogres. Races that could never be called friendly with one another were mixed together, yet surprisingly, they did not guard against one another at all.
That was because their true identities were dragons. The appearances visible on the outside were nothing more than forms created through polymorph. For some reason, more than ten dragons had gathered in one place. After looking over their faces one by one, Kranus quietly opened his mouth.
“As you all know, the humans of Arcadia have invaded Truvenia.”
“……”
The dragons quietly kept their silence. Every dragon already knew that fact. Was that not why they had awakened from their sleep before completing their sleep periods?
They had gathered together at the Dragon Lord’s residence to prepare countermeasures.
And they were waiting until the final dragon arrived.
Because the meeting could only begin once Berkis, the Red Dragon in charge of strategy, arrived…
The dragons standing in line did not converse much. As a race that lived thoroughly independent lives, there was no way they would have anything in particular to talk about with one another.
Moreover, opportunities to gather like this were rare indeed.
If it had not been for a grave matter such as the Third Race War, there would have been no reason for them to gather at all.
Kranus looked at the dragons with an amused gaze.
“It is quite amusing that the beings who decided on the extermination of humans are wearing human forms. Come to think of it, I too am wearing a human form. Is that not truly ironic?”
At Kranus’s words, several dragons gave small, wry laughs. In truth, even they found it absurd when they thought about it. Until now, the dragons had polymorphed into human forms without much thought. In the past, humans had been the race most widely distributed across the entire continent, and to enjoy amusement, it was convenient to take on a human form.
Turning his head, Kranus looked at one dragon. Polymorphed into the form of a desert troll, he was a Blue Dragon who lived in the desert of central Truvenia.
He bore the name Demitrius, and his temperament was somewhat gentle. Kranus addressed him.
“Demitrius. What do you think? About the fact that the humans, who were utterly routed and driven to Arcadia, have invaded Truvenia again after only five hundred years.”
Demitrius, who had narrowed his brow and seemed to be thinking about something, quietly replied.
“Humans are a more tenacious race than they appear. In my opinion, if five hundred years have passed, then the humans have likely recovered most of the power they once had.”
“Why do you say that?”
Demitrius shook his head and began to explain.
“To be frank, humans are an extremely difficult race to understand. Strictly speaking, humans are markedly inferior to orcs in terms of adaptability to nature and resistance to the environment. But the surprising thing is that five hundred years ago, humans lived in the desert. Even though the desert is an environment as harsh as any, the humans managed to live there fairly well. When I entered my sleep period, I predicted that the orcs would take over the place left behind by the destroyed humans. But my prediction was wrong. As I looked around on my way here, I did not see a single orc in the desert.”
When Demitrius finished speaking, someone took up his words. She had the appearance of a beautiful woman, and her dazzling white hair gave off an exceedingly enchanting atmosphere. Her name was Dimones, and she was a White Dragon who lived in the frigid lands at the southern edge of Northwood.
“I agree on that point as well. At least five hundred years ago, humans could often be seen near Northwood. But on my way here, no matter how hard I looked, I could not see any orcs. They were living only on the plains or near forests, where the environment was good.”
Kranus wore an amused expression.
“That is quite interesting. Orcs are certainly stronger than humans in their ability to withstand the environment. They also have excellent fertility and mature quickly. Then how could such a thing happen?”
“……”
The dragons quietly kept their silence. In truth, that was the greatest question the dragons had regarding humans. Among the dragons, there was only one who knew why the human race, with short lifespans, weak bodies, low birthrates, and a growth process far longer than that of other races, could take root and live across the entire continent.
Kranus quietly raised his head and looked up at the ceiling. He had a vague idea of the reason, but he felt no particular need to explain it.
‘It is because humans have society. Individual humans are weak, but when they unite, they become dramatically stronger because they live by forming societies. Of course, orcs also live in groups, but that cannot be called a society. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a herd…’
As he was lost in thought, a deep voice pierced his ears.
“Lord Berkis has arrived.”
Kranus quietly turned his head. Someone was walking across the vast hall. Fiery red hair and a handsome face that looked as though it had been carved from marble. The dragon who appeared was also in human form. A bitter smile appeared on Kranus’s face.
‘Even Berkis, who is the most active in trying to exterminate humans, cannot abandon the human form after all.’
Berkis’s approaching face was extremely haggard. Seeing as the state of his main body was reflected even in his polymorphed form, his condition seemed extremely poor. Kranus could vaguely guess the reason.
‘It must be the aftereffects of deceiving his body with magic. And on top of that, he was unable to complete his sleep period properly…’
When Berkis approached, three dragons brightened and went toward him. They were relatively young dragons who trusted and followed Berkis. They offered Berkis endless respect and adoration.
The reason was that they had been captivated by the logic of overwhelming power that Berkis pursued.
Kranus quietly looked at their backs.
‘Strictly speaking, they should be considered the most humanized of the dragons.’
Though their lifespans were short, humans were truly a race of astonishing greed. Even dragons could not help but be amazed by the almost limitless greed of humans. The greatest factor behind Kranus’s agreement to the Race War had been precisely his concern over human greed.
Yet ironically, Berkis, who stood at the vanguard, was the dragon who most resembled humans…
Berkis walked over quietly and paid his respects to Kranus.
“I greet the Lord.”
“It has been a long time. Five hundred years, is it?”
“Yes.”
Silence passed between them for a moment.
Kranus, who had been looking at Berkis with a deep expression, spoke first.
“As you requested, I used magic to isolate the two continents from each other. And yet the humans ended up crossing over to Truvenia.”
At those words, Berkis’s face twisted hideously. The humans had crossed the sea by a method he had never imagined. Before coming here, Berkis had investigated how the humans had crossed the continent, and at last he had uncovered the secret.
After regaining his composure, Berkis continued in a dry voice.
“Upon investigation, I found that the abominable humans used the Dark Portal that Naidelhark had constructed to cross over to Truvenia. They fixed the portal’s coordinates to Arcadia and created a spatial transfer gate between the two continents.”
“Was the Dark Portal not destroyed during the Dark War?”
Berkis silently shook his head.
“Regrettably, it seems it was not completely destroyed.”
“Then that was your oversight. You were in charge of destroying the portal at the time.”
“……”
Berkis quietly kept his silence. In any case, Kranus’s words were true.
“I will not make excuses. If you wish me to take responsibility, I will. But there is a more urgent problem than that. I believe we must resolve it first.”
Fortunately, Kranus did not seem particularly inclined to press him over the portal issue.
“Do you have a plan in mind?”
Berkis looked around at the gathered dragons one by one and continued speaking.
“First and foremost, we must destroy the portal. From what I observed, human troops and supplies are continuously pouring in through the portal. Therefore, we must cut off the humans’ supply line first.”
“That is not a difficult matter. It is a dangerous object regardless, so it must certainly be destroyed…”
“For this operation, multiple dragons must join forces. It is certain that many humans are guarding the portal, and they also have a Dragon Slayer.”
At Berkis’s words, Kranus showed interest.
“You mean the human who killed Zicrate, then stole Incresia and fled? Was his name Damon?”
“That is correct. Rusellant, who crossed over to Arcadia to retrieve Incresia, also fell victim to that scoundrel’s wicked schemes and lost his life. Abominably, the man turned Zicrate’s and Rusellant’s corpses into Bone Dragons. Something that should never have happened has occurred.”
Unlike Berkis, who was trembling with rage, Kranus’s reaction was utterly calm.
“Ha. What a remarkable human. There has never before been a precedent of an Ancient-class dragon falling by a human’s hand. He must be considered an excellent Dragon Slayer.”
A member of their own race had lost his life, and even his corpse had become a Bone Dragon, yet Kranus himself was expressing admiration for the human. Berkis’s sword-like brows, as he listened, bent into an inverted V.
“Dragons are a great race. And yet such dragons lost their lives at the hands of a mere human, and even their corpses were desecrated. How can you—”
Even at Berkis’s agitated voice, Kranus did not waver at all.
“Dragons are great. Therefore, a Dragon Slayer must also be great.”
“……”
Perhaps because he was dumbfounded, Berkis stared blankly at Kranus.
After a moment, he shook his head from side to side.
“In any case, after destroying the portal, we must deal with him immediately. Fortunately, I know his greatest weakness.”
Having finished speaking, Berkis turned his head. There were several stone statues placed there, and Berkis’s gaze was fixed on the statue in the center. It was the statue of a beautiful girl, her eyes filled with tears, kneeling with both hands clasped together, frozen in place.