— Syrøn Taiga Forest
Rain drenched every plain I passed through, even though it had been sunny earlier. Tch,
since when did Archelion have a teleportation system that got us lost here?
I couldn't hear any more orders from Team 4. Hadn't they released a flare in the heart of the Great Forest of Archelion earlier?
"Brother Margo, how far are we from here to Archelion?"
"About 6 nero horse rides, Brother Quzh."
"Tch, call the dragon unit to pick us up! Everyone, move to the Northeast!"
6 nero rides, are you serious?! We were thrown this far by the forest's random teleportation.
Huh, Squad 4 should have already reached the heart, but there's no sign of them reporting to us. Damn, we have to move fast.
The wind blades struck each member of our squad, and the dragon unit arrived. Those wild lizards are difficult to control, and their riders are slow. Tch, I wish I could ride them to go faster. This dense forest obstructs our view, but not if we fly above it.
Sir Torãmo should have already combed through Southeast Archelion and approached the heart. This expedition must yield results. The closer we get to the heart of Archelion, the crazier the temperature gets below freezing.
Even the power of 50 Archmages is impossible to penetrate the temperature of a blizzard disaster. The Blizzard Dragon Lord can only freeze a radius of 168 hectares from its nest in winter. Even then, the temperature isn't this crazy, especially since it's still spring.
It was impossible for the ice dragons to wake from hibernation at a time like this, with the Life Stone still pulsing. The wind blew against us, and at this speed, the Dragon Riders would only need until evening.
— Taiga Syrøn Canopy
Quzh, who was fed up, pulled his subordinate to sit behind him. As a member of the Mērvio tribe, who were skilled riders, they forced Quzh to ride the ferocious lizard he was riding. The dragon roared in rebellion, wanting to tear apart the foreign rider on its back. Quzh roughly kicked the lizard's neck.
"NO MOUNT BITES ITS RIDER, YOU DAMN LIZARD!!"
The dragon roared even more uncontrollably, but Quzh grinned smugly as if that was what he wanted. Quzh spurred the ferocious dragon on, forcing even the rider to hold on tightly to the saddle behind Quzh.
"DRAGON RIDERS! WE ARE NOT HERE TO HUNT, OUR BROTHERS ARE LOST IN THE HEART OF ARCHELION! SPUR THOSE LIZARDS AS FAST AS YOU CAN!" Quzh's thunderous voice, now able to ride a dragon, was heard only once by his subordinates.
They immediately sped off at the fastest pace they could control, regardless of how strong the wind was hitting them. From a distance, the snowstorm in Archelion began to appear clearly shortly after they spurred the dragons on as fast as they could. The dragon Quzh was riding still roared, trying to tear everything apart and burn it all.
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Team... 4... coming in...
"Brother Quzh, team 4 has just connected with us."
"Get to the point, Brother Margo! This damn lizard wants to burn all the other units!"
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
White... Hunter...
We... are being hunted...
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Cold...
Our expedition... ended in failure...
There are 188 missing victims, including Mr. Reygh, who was found dead...
43 of our members were killed...
The 28 of us who remain are fleeing from—
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Death... Bzzzt— Archelion has fallen...
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Run... don't save us...
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Ahahahaha, again! Again! Let's play again, uncles!
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Please... tell the guild that this search expedition for the missing persons has ended completely!
DON'T SAVE US!
STAY ALIVE—
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
AHAHAHAHA! LET'S PLAY AGAIN!
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Hearing the message, Quzh's stern face was filled with terror and his head went blank upon hearing the code. Margo and the expedition team members shuddered in horror upon hearing it.
Something taboo for anyone to talk about, the killer of the Celestials, the killer of the Heroes, the killer of the Demon Lords. The Apex Predator of all Predators.
Quzh took command and ordered all dragon units to fly as fast as possible before something bad happened.
The roar of the wind from the flapping of the dragons' wings shot like projectiles, and they passed through the hurricane-force winds even though the temperature was below the dragons' tolerance limit.
— The Heart of the Great Forest of Archelion
Silence, everything froze. There was only thick fog, snowstorms, and as far as the eye could see, only snow and ice pillars filled the area.
The dragons thrashed about, roared in panic, and tried to escape from the Heart of Archelion. Their predatory instincts forced them to flee as far as possible, never to return.
Seeing this terrible situation, Quzh could not say much—
"BURN THIS FOREST, SQUAD 2! IT'S THE ARROW DEVIL! SAVE ANYONE YOU FIND, BURN THIS FOREST! OUR BROTHERS COULD FREEZE TO DEATH DOWN THERE!"
With dexterity, Quzh immediately grabbed the horn of the ferocious dragon and directed it towards the frozen forest. His teeth chattered, his hands resisting the burning heat, forcing the dragon he was riding to raise the temperature of the forest. The burst burned everything.
It was a terrifying sight in the centre of Archelion, where ice and fire destroyed each other. Several Amurõy trees exploded due to the drastic temperature increase, and the dragons opened their jaws to burn everything below. Clouds of smoke and cold vapour collided, and Quzh and his entire team aggressively captured anyone they saw surviving below.
No matter if they staggered or were gripped too tightly, they saved anyone they could see. A relentless barrage of ice arrows shot at anything the White Hunters saw, animals, monsters, trees, all hitting their targets. Margo speared hundreds of ice blades that bombarded their dragons.
"Brother Tin-Suo! Turn the dragon south, I can't hold these ice blades back any longer!"
"Tuvana! Come on, big friend, fly faster! We could all die! Blow all the wind off your wings!"
All dragon units could only spur their dragons on as hard as they could. The dragons, who were indeed the rulers of the sky, had been restless since they first entered the Heart of Archelion. They were terrified of the manifestation of 'Death'. Quzh and Team 2 sped away from the Heart.
"Brother Margo! We've saved Team 4! Hurry up and get out of here!"
"Brother Quzh! Behind you!"
Thud—
"EVERYONE HOLD ON TIGHT TO YOUR REINS! THE DRAGONS WILL FLY FASTER THAN YOU CAN KEEP UP!"
The death of Quzh and his Dragon Rider froze Margo's mind. Just like that, they were gone, the dragon and its rider gone in an instant. The other dragons also sped away, the sky rumbling from the force of their wings as they avoided the attack.
Margo took control of their flight towards the nearest Delta -258 sector to secure the remaining team. From behind, the whizzing of ice projectiles and the roars of the dragons were clearly audible, but despite all the attacks, they couldn't look back.
Thud—
Sraaakh—
Gyaaaagh—
Aaakkkhhh—
Ahahahahaha, again! Again!
Syuuuuut—
Sraaakh—
Ahahahaha, they got hit again!
Graaaawr—
No matter how many of them die, they must flee as far as possible. Margo's chest tightened, unable to stop herself from saving them; he was not Quzh. That man had died the moment his desire to ride a dragon was fulfilled.
Only the terror of death pursued them all, like rabbits being chased by wolves—no, it would be better to meet Fenrir than that White Hunter. Cold, fearful, gripped with dread, like prey hunted by a predator only to be toyed with.
"Sister Zanac! How much longer until we reach Delta -258? The dragons are starting to forget their torn bodies just to flee from the Heart of Archelion."
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
About 84 måch... heading south... Tch, damn it! The storm... it's interfering... Bzzzt— we...
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
"It's fine, return to the left wing."
Bzzzt—
Bzzzt—
Alright, Brother Margo. Bzzzt—
Margo clicked his tongue in annoyance, staring at the blue misty sky above the canopy of the Archelion forest. Spring was too bad this year, so they took a shortcut through the Vâl-amülc Mountains not far from the Heart of Archelion. With all the other Dragon Rider units, they managed to escape the Arrow Devil's pursuit.
—Southern Archelion, Vâl-amülc Mountains
The howls of the Anumav and the migration of the Gørypo herd were clearly visible on the mountain slopes, allowing them to momentarily forget the terror of their predators. The extremely humid air and the scent of rain slightly calmed the exhausted Squad 2 and the remnants of Squad 4, who were already suffering from hypothermia.
They landed on one of the floating islands to spend the night there, especially since the dragons had expended nearly all of their energy. The few dragons that still had strength burned piles of wood into bonfires. The night breeze and the sounds of animals and monsters beneath the island became music to their weary ears.
Quazetoph screeched as they flew through the canopy of the island's small forest, but most of the adventurers were already at their limit. Their hands and feet were cramping as they controlled the dragons, their minds exhausted from the loss of most of their members, and they could not imagine that the expedition had turned into a life-and-death hunt.
"I'm so tired, wake me up at dawn, okay? Good night, everyone~"
"Tinuva! Tinuva! You're hypothermic, you fool! Get out of that blanket so I can check you!"
"Uhe~ It's fine, really. My body's warm now~ Wake me up at dawn, Syanuw~"
"Hurry to the medical room, you silly girl~! Hiks, hiks..."
"Syanuw, I'm already warm~ Girls like us shouldn't cry, you know~"
Syanuw continued to channel his energy into Tinuva's body, sobbing despite his own body being on the brink of collapse from extreme exhaustion after riding the dragon. Syanuw and the others did their utmost to prevent Tinuva from falling asleep that night.
All squads were in their respective positions. Juvacha took command. The Captain of Squad 4 did not expect Quzh to die so quickly. At least his actions that afternoon had saved their squad from being hunted down.
He smiled bitterly, mourning the death of his friend, whom he had ordered Haku to send a message to Squad 2 to leave them. Unexpectedly, after contacting Team 2, he had to die tragically. Margo also agreed with Juvacha about Haku's death.
"Syanuw, Evis, take care of the rest of Team 4. Dan-Wo, Tin-Suo, Margo, patrol this island for anything we can eat."
"Shina, Ocme, Xanuf, set up the tents. The rest of you can help with everything I've mentioned, take care of the dragons, cook, and dig up the island to bury some of our brothers who didn't make it."
"My feet are frozen, please get a machete. I want to cut them off myself."
"Hey, my arms are numb. Can you call for medical help?"
Everyone was injured, unconscious, or dead, except for those who were still alive. Bandages, medicine, herbs, and other items were scattered among them. The smell of frozen blood, rusty metal, and cooking smoke mingled together. It was a terrible situation, but they were used to it and considered it normal.
"Captain Juvacha, our communication device is dead. It seems that the energy from the White Hunter has frozen it completely.'
'Hah~ In that case, warm it up for a moment, and also contact Mr. Torãmo if our expedition has found the cause of Mr. Reygh's death."
"Brother Juvacha, you are quite calm on this island. What's bothering you? Sister Haku?"
"It's not bad, Mr. Margo. We were planning to get married in a few weeks, but he died right in front of me."
"Young man, at least you're alive. Life is like this, how about you marry my daughter when you return? Ahaha, coincidentally, she's quite talkative, so I'm confused about who would be a good match for her."
"Carnish?"
"Ahahaha, you remember! So when do you want to get married, young man?"