Leona who appeared out of thin air and has been flying majestically caused Queen Tanya's shock.
"Is what I am seeing is real? The legendary Gryphon that has been passed down to the legends as a mythical beast is a steed of yours?!"
"Yes. I was lucky to get her when she was still a baby so she is quite attached to me. She will obey my commands without hesitation. Though I usually allow her to think by herself. Now, let's get going. We shouldn't just slow our progress because of Leona."
I added Queen Tanya to my party. Even though they are just NPCs, you can invite them into the party like a follower as Lina does. This way, Leona will also allow Queen Tanya to ride her back. Leona slowly descended from the sky and landed in front of us. I climbed up Leona's back before helping Queen Tanya climb on her back.
"Wow, although I have already have experienced riding on some flying beasts, the feeling of riding your steed is quite another feeling altogether. I am a little bit jealous..."
"Haha, it's alright your majesty. There will be a time where a more majestic and legendary than Leona will appear. If that is the case, maybe you should try to tame it."
"Impossible. Many monsters tend to be afraid of me so unless the steed of my liking will willingly submit, there is no way they will follow me."
I can't blame the monsters though. Queen Tanya is vicious enough that any enemy who stands in her way will either flee or die on her hands without leaving a single bone and dust on the ground that signifies that they exist before.
We bid farewell to Captain Ivona who got surprised but quickly recovered from it.
...
Due to the speed of Leona, we didn't take too long to arrive at Southern Oasis, and just like what the reports that the NPCs gave to me, the Southern Oasis is indeed crawling with different enemies. We already passed through the soldiers' encampment and it was too far from the main core of Southern Oasis which only means the situation in this place is much worse than in the West Desert.
"Are we not going to head straight to the soldiers' encampment?" Queen Tanya asked.
"Some companions are asking for my help on lowering the morale of Serbal's troops and weakening the offensive power of the enemies. Since this request of theirs also coincide with the request I needed to do, I decided to head straight here."
"Well, that is indeed a good point but isn't it better to ask for help from other people? Like for example, the soldiers as stallers for the smaller mobs so that the battle against the main enemy is much easier to deal with."
"It was a good tactic but we are going to lose some soldiers in the process. If we just attack without their help, the casualty is much less. The soldiers will be a much better distraction once the battle against the ruler of this area is much better. They should take the time to increase their offense and defense so that the battle won't be full of casualty."
"You are quite knowledgeable in tactics, I see. You would make a fine general if you are just one of us."
"Thank you for acknowledging my abilities, however, I am a free guy and will not allow the responsibility to take me out from trouble. I would rather stay like this than staying rusty due to a responsibility shoved to me."
"That is a real shame. But what you just said is right. If I was as free as you, I wouldn't be stuck on the throne governing and defending my people but I would be out there adventuring and discovering secrets unknown. However, I have the responsibility so I can't just abandon it just to pursue my hobby and dreams."
I kind of sympathize with Queen Tanya's backstory but I can't do anything about it. Ever since she was a kid, she is already royal blood and she has the responsibility to succeed the throne whether she likes it or not.
While I was thinking about Queen Tanya's life, Leona is slowly descending and I noticed not too far from us is the tribe of lizardmen. Not too far from us is Harmless Sparrow and Dolly attacking the lizardmen. Their party is quite bad since there is no healer and both of them are damage dealers. Once they lose health, they will have to rely on their own health regeneration or quickly drink a potion to mitigate the HP reduction every time the enemy attacks.
"Dolly, Sparrow! The backup has arrived! Add me to your party quickly!"
Dolly quickly opened the interface and sent a party invite. Since I was already at a party with Queen Tanya, the party merge appeared and I allowed it to happen. This way, even if I attack the enemies, my party members will be fine and will not receive any damages from my attacks.
I looked at Queen Tanya and she grinned as I nodded in response. Without thinking twice, I jumped off Leona's back and changed my weapon into a hammer, and charged it in mid-air. As for Queen Tanya, she used her ability in her Magician Ability Tree, [Levitation], and slowly descended in the air while materializing her giant scythe. I can tell she is itching for a fight.
The two ladies who were fighting desperately against the swarm of lizardmen heaved a sigh of relief and quickly unleashed all of their attacks against the enemies. Before I descended, I swing the hammer down to the ground, creating a shockwave that made a shockwave that stuns every lizardman in the nearby vicinity.
"Let the bloodbath begin!" Queen Tanya grinned like a crazy and swings her large bloody scythe at the enemies, killing them in one hit. Dolly and Harmless Sparrow were stunned seeing how Queen Tanya did the one-hit kill against multiple enemies.
I changed my weapon into a dagger and attacked the enemies who didn't get caught on Queen Tanya's scythe. I looked at the two dazed girls and snapped their daze and bring them back to reality.
"Oy, don't just dawdle there! Go!"