"Looks quite young, can he handle it?"
Bolcorp asked Rutger, watching a blond boy chasing after the herders.
Although his eyes were sharp, his slightly unbalanced body showed that his vessel was not yet complete.
"It was the best choice I could make."
"You mean that boy?"
Aage doesn't tell everything.
Only experience, skill, and accumulated achievements can determine the success of a mission.
"Yes. He's the one who even pulled out the Deathworm that was already underground."
"······The Deathworm."
In that sense, among the herders heading towards Lindworm now, there would be no talent equivalent to Vlad.
Rutger brought the best dragon hunter he knew for this hunt.
"Then it's a natural decision."
Bolcorp nodded quietly after hearing Rutger's words.
He thought Rutger was the only talent worthy of attention in this generation of the Bayezid family, but one more person was hidden.
"Now, let's move."
"Understood."
With another noteworthy detail to report to the Iron Duke, Bolcorp lifted his spear and headed towards the upper part of the canyon.
"······."
Rutger turned his head to look behind him before moving to his planned position.
Mirshea, the commander of the Dragon Slayer Knights.
His blue eyes were looking at the departing Northern knights.
Calm and composed.
Instead of the sneer he had been harboring up until now, he was just looking at the young dragon herder who was disappearing into the snow fog with serious eyes.
※※※※
Lindworm's current state could be described as a rampage.
Every creature has its own behavioral pattern, and Lindworm was no exception.
However, the sight of Lindworm recklessly heading south, abandoning its established territory and ignoring its habit of following the cold, seemed to have some kind of purpose.
"There it is."
"Let's turn back."
Among the group here, the knights of the Iron Duke were the first to start hunting Lindworm persistently.
Rutger also managed to extract information from the barbarians captured as prisoners, allowing them to locate Lindworm's whereabouts.
With the information each group possessed, they were able to pinpoint Lindworm's location, and now it was time to capture the white dragon from there.
"Everyone, get ready!"
With a loud command, the knights who successfully caught up with Lindworm, who had been resting, began to rush towards the white dragon.
Growl-
Lindworm, who had been dozing off for a while, suddenly raised its head at the sound.
Even a fallen dragon's remnant could make some instinctive judgments.
Glittering armor.
And burning wooden sticks.
Kraaaah!
Lindwurm realized that they were not the barbarians he usually preyed on but the sparkling humans who gave him painful memories, so he quickly stood up and roared in anger.
Remembering the persistent and threatening spear that had ultimately caused it to shed its scales, Lindworm decided to flee rather than confront the knights for now.
As time passed, Lindworm's instinctive judgments began to resemble more and more those of intelligence.
"Well, well."
Vlad, instead of charging straight in, was somewhat surprised as he observed Lindworm's behavior, which seemed to be assessing the situation rather than immediately engaging.
Given that Lindworm was showing a different demeanor from the Deathworm, which would attack at the slightest hint of human presence.
Thump-
The sight of Lindwurm moving as intelligently as his beating heart was surprising to the boy.
"It's moving!"
"Block its sides!"
The knights of the Iron Duke, who had already missed Lindworm once, gritted their teeth and quickly moved to the dragon's sides, brandishing their magic torches.
They knew well.
Losing Lindworm here could lead to unpredictable consequences.
While Bayezid may have been unaware, Bolcorp knew, and thus the knights of the Iron Duke had no choice but to act more aggressively.
"Now!"
From the knight's left eye, the aura spread, and the flames of the torch, fueled by their momentum, began to grow threateningly.
----!
Lindworm took a cold breath as he looked at the knights threatening him again, but neither the time nor the situation was convenient for him to let it out.
Kraaaah!
Rather than exhaling its cold breath, Lindworm decided to dodge the threat with swift movements for now.
As long as it accelerated enough, it could easily shake off the knights here.
With prior experience, Lindworm wasted no time and began to leap out of the white snowfield.
"Don't let it escape!"
Aware of this fact, the knights desperately blocked Lindworm's path, refusing to give the white dragon an opportunity to leap away.
The battle between the knights and the dragon began as they attempted to control the space.
Heeheeheehee-!
"Argh!"
A knight was unable to avoid the sharp teeth and fell off his horse.
Along with the pitiful screams of the horses, red blood was splattered everywhere and was splashing onto the knights' armor.
"Vlad! Come to the rear!"
Rutger's knights and Vlad, who had already worked together through Death Worm, quickly filled in the gaps left by the knights of the Iron Duke and began to block Lindworm.
Kraah-! Crash!
"Insane! It won't go in!"
"Don't force it!"
Among them, there were knights who seized the opportunity to strike Lindworm directly, but the dragon's scales did not easily yield to the knights' attacks.
Grooaaah-!
Not as formidable as the Deathworm, Lindworm possessed scales that were unparalleled compared to ordinary monsters.
To penetrate them, knights with a deep and sturdy resolve were needed.
"Breathe!"
Finally seizing the opportunity, Lindworm inflated its swollen neck, prompting the knights to quickly disperse and avoid the dragon's exhalation.
"Kraaaah!"
One of Rutger's knights took the brunt of the breath attack head-on and slowly began to come to a halt in his tracks.
Although Dorothea's imprint was shining, the harsh breath of the dragon would no longer allow him to participate.
"It's stronger than last time! We need to get further away!"
"Why all of a sudden!"
The knights of the Iron Duke were astonished to see Lindworm's breath even more powerful than before.
As time passed, it became more sinister and stronger.
The dormant blood of the dragon, stimulated by something, was slowly stirring up a more ferocious potential.
[You must step up! There are no more knights to hold out!]
"Damn it!"
And here, there was another being whose blood boiled more as time passed, alongside Lindworm.
"Vlad!"
"There! Pass the torch!"
Although they had prepared as best as they could, Lindworm's breath, which was much stronger than expected, was slowing down the horses' advance.
"Here!"
Amidst the knights slowly retreating from Lindworm with frozen legs, a sleek black horse began to dart out.
Though faster and different from the plan, sometimes such judgments were necessary in combat.
[You need to go towards its jaw. The moment it tilts left or right, it will be out of the canyon.]
"...This is insane."
Vlad felt a surge of adrenaline at the voice telling him he had to lure Lindworm to the entrance of the canyon, but he also knew there was no other choice.
'Can I do it?'
In one hand, he held the magic torch passed from the knights of the Iron Duke. In the other, Jorge's dagger. Vlad swiftly cut his own palm with the dagger.
"Argh!"
He heard that Mirshea imprinted the taste of human blood on Lindwurm by sacrificing barbarians.
And if this plan failed, they would use Aage's tribe as bait to catch the dragon and roam the North as they pleased.
'Damn it, just do it!'
As much as you believed in me, I want to give it my all.
Even though my existence is very weak.
Thinking of Rutger, who nodded in approval, Vlad raised his blood-drenched hand high.
The red drops began to trickle down from the shaking hand of the boy atop the trembling horse.
"Here! Here's the blood you desire!"
Lindworm watched with his eyes wide open as the blood dripped down and left a red trace on the white snow.
There was a thirst there that couldn't be quenched by human blood alone.
It was what it had been seeking all along.
Kraaaaaaah!
The white dragon began to accelerate towards the black horse with a ferocious roar never seen before.
As if it were mad.
As if it only needed to tear apart one boy.
"It's too effective!"
[...Perhaps you shouldn't go that far.]
Vlad quickly grabbed Noir's reins as he saw that Lindwurm had become more ferocious than before, even though he had only cut one palm.
"Run!"
The knights, already exhausted and frozen, fell back.
...!
Now realizing it was just him, Noir quickly began to absorb the world of the boy rushing beside him.
The boy's world is a world whose colors have not yet been determined.
But even so, it would be enough to hang a single star in the dark night sky.
Hiiiiing-
As Noir sprinted at a dizzying speed, a single white horn began to form on his forehead.
With it, Noir felt an indescribable sense of liberation and took a deep breath.
This was it.
For this moment, Noir had sought out Vlad.
To become a little faster, a little more perfect.
Now, there were only two worlds racing across the white snow-covered plains.
The fastest dragon and the fastest horse.
And only one being that could fully occupy these two worlds.
"Let's go!"
There was only one boy, his blonde hair blowing in the blowing snowstorm.
The roar of the fallen dragon and the forgotten unicorn filled the white plains with echoes.
※※※※
"Here they come!"
Bolcorp, who had been standing still with his left eye closed, heard the report from his adjutant.
"How long?"
"They're right ahead, so in about 5 minutes... No."
Unlike usual, the adjutant's voice reporting in panic was trembling.
"3 minutes, no, 1 minute!"
"What?"
In response to the frantic report from his adjutant, Bolcorp quickly drew his spear and injected aura into it.
The sight he saw with his squinting right eye was indeed something that would startle his adjutant.
"Right ahead!"
"What in the world..."
A blizzard was raging across the white plains, fierce enough to cut through even the northern gales with its straight-lined fury.
Right at the forefront of this blizzard, amidst the swirling snowflakes, was a gleaming black horse.
And behind it, there was Lindworm, whose blue eyes had now turned into blood-red ones that seemed to drip blood.
They were charging towards the canyon.
"Signal the knights of Bayezid!"
The plan they had laid out seemed to have vanished into thin air. All Bolcorp could see now was the torch wielded by the boy, swaying pitifully.
"So, he truly is the best dragon herder..."
With a mixture of admiration and regret, Bolcorp threw his shoulders back and brandished his spear.
"That is indeed true!"
Plans may go awry, but as long as the outcome is favorable, everything is justified.
Bolcorp swung his spear sharply, feeling both regret for daring to doubt and admiration for the boy.
Swish—
The spear heaved by Bolcorp towards the distracted Lindworm raced through the air.
※※※※
[It is coming!]
Vlad, who could not even open his eyes due to the blowing headwind, quickly lowered his head with a warning of the voice.
Swish—
For a moment, there was a sharp whistling sound that brushed past Vlad's ear.
The ferocity of the sound even made Lindworm, who was chasing after them, momentarily turn his head.
Thunk!
But it didn't hit. However, it was an attack that was enough to turn the dragon's head with its momentum alone.
'All right!'
Though the attack failed, Vlad tightened his grip on the torch he was holding.
Although the starting process was a mess, from now on everything was going according to plan.
Bolcorp's intention was to lure the dragon into the narrow canyon. Perhaps he was even attempting to cut off Lindworm's retreat with his spear.
"Where are you looking!"
Vlad boldly threw the torch he was holding, once again drawing Lindworm's attention.
It's almost there now. If he could just lure this creature to the canyon ahead, then perhaps the fiery world of Rutger could finally end this.
Since it is Rutger's sword that even split the Deathworm's outer skin, it can certainly split Lindworm's scales...
Thunk—
"...Ugh!"
Just as Vlad was celebrating the near-success of the plan, he suddenly felt a heavy blow, clutching his chest as his heart sank.
[Vlad! What's wrong?]
"Ugh..."
Despite the urging of voice, Vlad couldn't lift his head easily.
Noir, who was worried about the boy's safety, and Lindworm, who was following behind, were slowing down and shaking their heads as if in pain.
The knights waiting at the entrance of the canyon, ready to seize the opportunity, began to show expressions of confusion.
'What's going on!'
Vlad's vision narrows to black, anxiety and fear as if his heart stops.
Vlad had to grit his teeth in response to the strong warning from his instincts.
Stop running.
Don't move forward anymore.
"Damn it..."
Vlad forcibly ignored the warning conveyed through his pounding heart, gritting his teeth as he forced his stiff neck to turn towards the source of the impending threat.
There was a point indicated by his pounding heart.
Deep inside the canyon, a man stands in front of weeping barbarians.
The man's blue eyes were fiercely smiling as he looked at the boy.
A force that only a dragon could feel was weighing down Vlad and the white dragon.