Manowa

Chapter 399 – Let's Choose the Route

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While Yumika and the others were trapped in the Borgiana Clowns' barrier, naturally, Kazane and the others weren't sitting around doing nothing.

Since Naoki's Return Stake couldn't be used until 24 hours had passed, Kazane and the others had been thinking of heading there through a different means.
Having said that, going to their destination, which was somewhere between Torda Hot Spring Town and Jiran City, within 24 hours was impossible with an ordinary means of transportation.

In the first place, while they had rested in cities and exterminated monsters, it took Yumika and the others a week to reach that location from Kazane Magic Hot Spring Town.

If they could travel in a straight line, it might be a different story, but even if they traveled on the roads using Kazane's Thunder Chariot, it would be impossible to arrive within 24 hours.
In that case, using Naoki's Return Stake was a better option.

In that case, what could they do?

The answer was Kazane's Dragonization.

◎ Tsuvara Kingdom, Jiritia Mountains

「Uo, it's cold.」

「Nyaa.」

Yuuko-nee agreed with Naoki's words.
In truth, they should have been more than just cold, but a bulwark from Wind's Divine Protection was surrounding Naoki and the others; also, Naoki himself was surrounded by the flames from the Guren's Cloak he was wearing, while Yuuko-nee was being warmed by the flames of her golden fur.
Tatsuo had been listening to the exchange between the two and cried Kuwaa as he asked a question.

『Uncle, since you have that cloak, shouldn't you be warm?』

Naoki answered Tatsuo's question with a bitter smile.

「Nn, even so, my face is cold.
And if I cover my entire face, I won't be able to see.
Well, Tatsuo is a Blue Dragon, which seems to be strong against the cold.」

『That's right.
It feels comfortable.』

Tatsuo obediently nodded after Naoki spoke.
Apparently, Tatsuo was resistant to cold.

Kazane was a Blue Dragon with the Ice attribute, and from the start, Tatuso had inherited her Factors.
Because Mega Beam was powerful, he only used that, but Tatsuo was a Crystal Dragon while also being a Blue Dragon that controlled Ice.

『Muーyou seem to be having fun chattering on my back.』

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「Ah, sorry, Aneki.」

Naoki obediently apologized after Kazane spoke.

That voice from Kazane came from ahead of Naoki and the others.

And wings were fluttering to the left and right of Naoki and the others.
Furthermore, blue scales were lined up beneath where Naoki and the others were sitting.
In that place was a blue dragon with a rainbow-colored aura and crystals growing on its body.
In other words, Naoki, Tatsuo, and Yuuko-nee were on the back of Kazane, who became a dragon with Dragonization.

『So then, this direction is fine, right?』

「Yeah, no problem.
Yuuko-nee, is our height okay?」

「Nyaa.」

After Kazane's question, Naoki opened the map and answered, and after Naoki's question, Yuuko-nee nodded.

Both Kazane and Naoki had their Map Windows open, but the physical map Naoki was looking at showed the paths of Mana called Naga Lines (or magical power rivers) that Dragon Boats, Dragon Knights, etc.
used.

Monsters that flew in the sky, including dragons, travelled through the dense areas of the magical power rivers.
The average speed of a dragon was about 120 km/h.
Kazane could go faster than usual by using the Angel Bracelet's power, but she still topped out at about 140 km/h, which was no different from the Thunder Chariot.
Also, the miniature dragon boat was even slower at 100 km/h.

And in their initial plans, considering the flow of the magical power rivers and detours around mountains, Kazane and the others estimated that they would arrive after 10 hours at the earliest.
Also, since it was currently nighttime, Yuuko-nee was using the Skill『Night Vision』to survey the surroundings and make sure they wouldn't crash into any mountains as they advanced.

However, it seemed that shortly, that would no longer be necessary.

「Ooh, it's beautiful」

『It's incredibly bright.』

「Nyanyaa.」

Ahead of their lines of sight, the morning sun was rising through the clouds.

『Morning?…』

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Kazane muttered.
She had flown all night.
It was the first time Kazane had used Dragonization for such a long time, and fatigue had accumulated.
In her current state, she would start reeling if she lost focus, so she was suppressing that through willpower.

Up to this point, Yumika had been contacting them every hour.
Ao had said in a message that the Griffon Rider unit stationed in Tsuvara's Jiran City would leave at dawn to start searching near the road to Torda Hot Spring Town, so they were probably departing around this time.

(According to Yumika, the enemy's movements have stopped for now, but…)

They didn't know the state of Tiara and the others.
It seemed Yuuko-nee could somehow understand that Shippuu was still alive, so Jinrai appeared to be safe.

「Aneki, there's an open space ahead of us.
Let's take a brief break there.」

『Mmm, but…
no, understood.』

Kazane thought about saying she could still go on, but she decided to suppress that feeling and rest.
They were still only about halfway there.
As might be expected, they'd had to proceed carefully while moving at night, so they were greatly behind schedule.

She felt that in that case, they should hurry even more, but if she collapsed due to fatigue, it would all come to nothing.
Kazane had acquired such self-management and self-control during her time as an adventurer.
Except when it came to money.
Rather, that had gotten even worse.

In any case, Kazane spread her wings and slowly began to descend.

◎ Tsuvara Kingdom, Foot of the Jiritia Mountains

「Okay, it's done.
Aneki, here.」

「Nn, thanks.」

Kazane received a cup of corn soup from Naoki.

30 minutes had passed since Kazane and the others descended to the foot of the Jiritia Mountains and started taking a break.
Since taking out Kazane Cottage took time, they were taking their break in a simple Cottage Kazane made to protect them from wind.

『It's delicious.』

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「Nyaaaa」

Yuuko-nee and Tatsuo were also drinking soup next to them.

「It's taking longer than we thought」

Naoki said while drinking soup.

Kazane nodded after those words.
Their travel was taking longer than they initially expected.
That was partially due to them flying at night, but the movements of the magical power river had also been unexpectedly unstable, so their movement speed had been inconsistent.
Of course, Kazane's fatigue was also a problem.

Also, Minshiana and Tsuvara were mountainous lands.
Detours around tall mountains were necessary, and they also couldn't afford to lose time by imprudently flying through areas that had a lot of flying monsters.

「The sun has come out, so I could fly from here, but honestly, flying is tiring.」

Kazane took her own physical condition into account and said that.
She wanted to move quickly, but she couldn't ignore her physical condition.
She could push herself, but she couldn't be reckless.
She didn't want to use doing her best as an excuse and get her companions killed.

「In that case, do you think we should try the ground route after all?」

「Yeah.
I also need to recover my Magic Power, so I think we'll do that.」

Kazane responded to Naoki's question.
The two were talking about their means of transportation through Vessa Plateau, which was just past the Jiritia Mountains.

There was no doubt that it would be faster for Kazane to become a dragon and continue like they had been doing, but Kazane's stamina was becoming uncertain.
That had been taken into consideration from the beginning, so their travel route deliberately passed through the relatively flat Vessa Plateau so they could use the Thunder Chariot if needed.
And, in fact, after coming this far, Kazane needed to rest.
Naoki thought that in that case, they should use the ground route, and Kazane agreed.

But there was also a problem.

「However, it will be difficult to avoid the Issenman Buffalo.」

「As expected, it would even be difficult for the Thunder Chariot?」

Naoki asked after Kazane spoke.

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「With『Crawling Lightning』, we could probably do it, but we can't use it for the entire journey.
Well, if it seems hopeless, I guess we'll have no choice but to start flying from that point?」

Vessa Plateau.
It was a place with a large number of monsters called Issenman Buffalo that attacked at tremendous speed despite their heavy weight, which made it difficult ground for humans to tread.

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Summoning Fighter

Title: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King, Liberator, Guardian

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Draghorn Tonfa x2, Dragon Eating Ogre Army Armor (True), Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, White Magic Accumulator (Revised) ×2, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring, Angel Bracelet

Level : 39

Health: 155+20

Magic Power: 363+520

Strength: 78+45

Agility: 80+39

Endurance: 44+20

Wisdom : 75

Dexterity : 53

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』『Rabbit Speed』『Flare Mirage』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Kick Decapitation Wave』『Warrior's Memory: Lv2』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog's Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv4』『Aegis Shield』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition: Lv2』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『High Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『Sturdier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Devil King's Intimidation』『Stone Minotaur: Lv2』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『Space Expansion』『Pseudo-Silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur: Lv3』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』『Boost』『Monkey's Strong Arm』『Two-sword Style』『Boobies Plus』『Living Armor』『Alarm』『Six-sword Style』『Mental Attack Complete Protection』『Spider Web』『Wire Cutter』『Flexible』『Magic Power Absorption』『Red Body Transformation』

Kazane:「Yumika said that she finished resting, so she started exploring the surroundings, but as expected, it seems she goes around in circles through the same places.
She also dug a hole, but there was nothing but soil.」

Naoki:「As expected, is searching for the hole where her spear disappeared her only option?」

Kazane:「However, she says she currently can't sense that either.」