Read Novel Full Vol 17 Chapter 7
Vol 17 Chapter 7
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Chapter 7 – Desert Danger Zone
I bought two amphibious vehicles that could handle rough roads, and we resumed our desert journey. The amphibious vehicles, which I named “Pal,” showed us how wonderful air conditioning is and how comfortable it is to use a vehicle. Walking in the desert is just hell.
Three days into our desert trip, all we could see was sand.
The scenery we saw was nothing but sand, and nothing seemed to have changed, but in terms of distance, we had arrived at the danger zone where the ruined royal capital, the destination of our journey, seemed to exist.
To be honest, I have often regretted choosing this adventure in the desert.
Well, I only regret it when I have to collect the magic stone after fending off the monster attack…
The only ones who could keep up with Pal were the desert lizards, and I didn’t feel any personal danger, but there seemed to be a lot of them, and they would gather as soon as we moved forward.
How many times have we gathered magic stones in the scorching desert? If it were not for the lack of funds, I would have given up collecting the magic stones.
Well, because of the financial difficulties, I collected them all, even though I didn’t want to.
In the end, we all improved our skills to the point where we were able to collect the magic stones quickly with dead eyes, but I doubt that the profit we made from so much work was worth the effort.
Otherwise, the trip was quite pleasant.
The group that liked to drive enjoyed driving in the desert, and we were able to get a good night’s rest at the Hideaway because we didn’t have to worry about being seen at night.
All in all, we didn’t have a very difficult trip, but I don’t think I want to travel in the desert again, probably because collecting the magic stone was such a painful experience.
And this is where the danger level of the journey changes.
According to the information we gathered from the mercenary guild, large monsters are starting to appear from this area.
Normally, we should be wary of them because of the increased danger, but we all hope that the large monsters will shorten the time we have to collect the magic stone.
“Wataru, we should leave soon.”
“I understand.”
We took a break before the danger zone, and at Alessia-san’s signal, we finally entered the danger zone. We had already discussed the direction and what to do if a big monster appeared, so I think we’ll be fine, but I’m starting to get a little nervous.
“No monsters are attacking us, are they? Are we really in a dangerous area?”
Ines was right; we had been in the danger zone for some time and had not seen any monsters.
It’s so peaceful because we don’t see the desert lizards that gather like insects around a lamppost when we drive a little further.
I was expecting to be attacked by one monster after another in the danger zone, so I was a little disappointed.
“Master, up there!”
Felicia, who was sitting in the passenger seat, pointed up and shouted. Following the tip of Felicia’s finger, a black dot… got bigger and bigger and closer and closer.
Maybe it was because I was thinking of a beat or something frivolous, but it seemed I had flagged it perfectly.
“The big flying monster was the Ruler, wasn’t it?”
According to the information from the mercenary guild, it seems to be the king of the sky in the danger zone of the desert. At present, we can only see a black shadow, but it is said to be a beautiful, huge, extremely colorful, and ferocious bird monster.
It’s a third-class monster, which means that it’s one of the most dangerous monsters in the desert danger zone, and it looks like it’s about to make its appearance.
“Yes. It’s dangerous to run, so stop at the foot of the dune. I’ll signal Alessia and the others. Everyone get ready for battle.”
Marina-san gives us quick instructions, and I follow her lead and drive the Pal.
As we stop the Pal at the bottom of the indicated dune, Alessia-san’s Pal No. 2 slides in nearby.
By this time, the huge black shadow of the Ruler was close enough to be clearly visible… and I thought it was different from what I had expected.
The Ruler. The king of the sky was called the Ruler. A beautiful and gigantic bird monster. That’s what I had been told, so it should have been natural to imagine something like a phoenix or something like that.
But…
“It’s a parrot.”
It has red, green, and yellow feathers, so there is no doubt that it is extremely colorful. Yes, they are beautiful.
But the round shape and the dull eyes destroy my imagination. I don’t know what to say… it’s not stylish enough.
No, parrots are cute. They are cute, aren’t they? …Who am I making excuses to?
“Let go!”
Alessia-san gives the order to attack when the Ruler is in range. The girls don’t seem to understand my discomfort, and they look extremely serious. It’s been a long time since I had a gap in the other world.
“No way…”
The Ruler spreads its wings and quickly slows down, then quickly changes direction and dodges all of our attacks.
I was surprised that the attacks of Alessia-san and the others, who had killed various monsters up to that point, were easily dodged. By what logic could it change direction so abruptly? Is it magic?
Alessia-san and the others who had missed the initial attack continued to fire attacks, but the Ruler was able to dodge them as it flew in an arc.
It moves like a fighter jet dodging a machine gun attack in an anime. It doesn’t matter if it’s in an anime, but in real life, it would be irresistible.
“Whoa!”
The Ruler, making another sudden change of direction, rushed towards us. Ines, clicking her tongue, shot out flames, and Felicia followed with lightning magic.
The Ruler, who was close by, could not avoid the fire and lightning but jumped in without a care in the world.
“Weak, makeshift magic won’t do. It is coming.”
“Pigyaaa!”
At the same time as Ines’ words, the Ruler screams as it hits the Ship Summoning barrier. Although it must have been quite a shock, the Ruler quickly readjusts its body position and grabs the barriers with both of its wings.
The Ruler tries to peck at us with its huge beak. All of them are repelled by the barriers, but it’s frightening to see a face the size of a pal approaching so close in rapid succession.
It looks like a parrot but is too big, and that alone is frightening.
With a dull thud, the Ruler’s face is bounced off, and its beak cracks and shatters.
It seems that Carla-san timed her shield strike to coincide with the Ruler’s attack.
Ines, Felicia, Marina-san, Claretta-san, Rimu, and Fuu-chan’s attacks were concentrated on the spot where the beak was shattered and the Ruler’s body was knocked out of place.
Other attacks came from the side as well, so Alessia-san and the others were probably attacking as well.
By the way, I was so surprised by the giant parrot that I was just watching.
The Ruler we were attacking, probably one of the most powerful in the world, flapped its huge wings two or three times, perhaps trying to escape, and finally, after another round of concentrated fire, it ran out of energy and fell to the ground with a resounding crash.
Oh no, Ruler. It is said to be one of the most dangerous in this place, which is supposed to be a danger zone, and if not for the barrier of Ship Summoning, it might have been a tough fight.
It might not help because it is even more of a cheat in the sea, but it looked like it had a harder fight than the sea serpent.
But oh well, we won anyway, so it doesn’t matter. I was surprised by the giant parrot’s discomfort, but once it was defeated, there was no need to panic.
The Ship Summoning barrier is obviously a cheat. Creator God-sama must be proud of it.
“Something is coming!”
Suddenly, Marina-san shouts. At the same time, there is a heavy bass sound and vibration.
“Huh? Whoaa!”
“Kyaaaa.”
“Hang on to the car!”
Before I know what it is, my vision turns black, and the Pal shakes violently, its body bumping here and there.
“Ugh, when, what happened?”
After someone’s warning, the shaking, which I endured by desperately clinging to the steering wheel, finally stopped.
I don’t think it was just shaking. Hadn’t we rolled a few times?
“We must have been eaten by a great worm. I only saw it for a second, but I’m pretty sure I saw something come out of the ground.
I think Marina-san answered my question, but the giant worm is also one of the most dangerous monsters in the desert. I think it was a great worm. Did something like that eat us?
Come to think of it, the Ship Summoning barriers have an almost invincible defense, but just as Paris-san launched the entire ship into the sky with seawater, it would have been affected unless it was a direct attack.
From what Marina-san said, it must have swallowed all the sand from underneath.
I mean, it’s not too bad to be attacked by the Ruler, one of the most dangerous monsters in the desert, and just when we thought we had finally defeated it, we were eaten by the other top-class monster, right?
Speaking of which, are Alessia-san and the others with us?
As I search for the location of Pal No. 2, I feel its presence in the direction right above me. I guess that means Alessia-san and the others are safe, and we are in the sand with the great worm.
The situation was quite grave.
“Oh, is everyone okay? Roll call!”
This was no time to be distracted. With a quake like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone was blown away.
“I’m fine. I’ll turn on the lights.”
Felicia answers my voice and turns on the light.
Felicia is safe next to me, and Rimu is safe in my clothes. I look in the back seat, and Marina-san and Fuu-chan are there, but I can’t see… Carla-san.
“Where is Carla-san?”
“Carla was holding her shield with both hands, so there is a good chance that she was thrown out.”
Marina-san answered my question with a somber look on her face.
“We have to find her!”
We were all swallowed at once, so there is no doubt that she is in the belly of the great worm. As long as she was not crushed, Carla-san’s endurance should be enough to keep her safe.
The passage is a straight road. It’s more like a path, but it’s inside the great worm’s body, and it’s either the mouth side or the butt side.
The funny thing is that it looked like I could drive the Pal normally, so I had to quickly decide which way to go and look for it.
No, we can use the Ranger if it’s that wide. Let’s split up.
“Split up. Whoa, again…”
Sudden tremor. Oh no, maybe the big worm is on the move. The Pal rolls over as if bounced by the shaking, and the body hits everywhere again.
I’m worried about Carla-san, but please give me a break.