The ice dragon slid sideways past the sail, dodging a spear that shot at its left flank.

The spear looked dark and sharp, as if it had been magically cast. However, the pirates were indeed good at maneuvering their ships, but they seemed to be a little less accurate in their shots - and even if they did not dodge, the spear would only pass within arm's length of it.

But it has carefully chosen to avoid ...... The black pirate ship under the wings was full of ominous aura.

It was its familiar breath -- the smell of its kind. In its senses, the ship floating on the surface of the sea at this moment did not look at all like a man's wooden and overly carved navigational tools, but more like the skeleton of a giant dragon, silently exuding death, hatred, and danger.

That made it angry...... Also keep it on your toes.

Too many dragons have died from weapons made from the corpses of their own kind. Ever since the dwarves discovered the way to fuse the horns, claws, scales, bones, and even flesh of dragons into metal, preserving or even enhancing the magical power within, some dragons have died at the hands of adventurers, even if they have been carefully secluded, because they are willing to pay a high price in exchange for a magnificent and powerful magical weapon, even if its greatest use is to hang on the walls of the hall and become dusty in the eyes of the people.

It wouldn't be surprised if the ship had something to deal with it. After all that had happened last night, it thought it was even more strange why it hadn't been caught even today.

It seems like there's always going to be someone to help it. Whatever the reason.

But it doesn't bet its life on such a fluke...... It can't be as impulsive and reckless as it used to be - it has to admit that it's not as powerful as it once thought it was.

The shadow of the black sail fell on it, and more black spears burst through the air. It lowered its body and skimmed over the deck. With its wings, its limbs, and its long tail, it did its best to overturn all the ballistas it could see, while ordering Karn to get out of here, as far away as possible.

The megalodon was wounded—it could smell blood in the churning waters, and so could the sharks in the sea. The ferocious predators don't usually want to deal with a megalodon that is a hundred times their size, but the bright red will drive it crazy if Karn is too badly wounded. It will be powerless to defend itself.

It needs to get rid of these pirates as soon as possible.

Some of the crossbows were fully fixed to the ship and were able to steer in any direction, while the pirates who wielded them looked unhurried. Trained...... But none of the spears actually hit it.

They just forced it off the deck, away from their fragile mast...... A ship so well prepared shouldn't just want to get rid of it.

But it had to pull high, snorting in exasperation as it dodged. Then give it a hard slap with the tip of the tail. The half-hung black sails on the mast turned into countless cold and hard shards, which fell on the deck one after another.

As its gaze swept over the deck, it saw Sethana.

The elf didn't look like a captive. It didn't understand why he was here, like one of the pirates...... Of course, he didn't attack it, but just looked up and yelled at it as he jumped to avoid the debris falling from the sky.

There was a lot of chaos around, the sound of the waves, the sound of pirates roaring at each other. Planks creaked, spears rubbed against the air...... But it still heard the warning—

"Watch out for both sides!"

This warning is a bit strange. All of the attacks it has come from weapons in its line of sight. Those iron crossbows and bullet crossbows mounted on the deck......

The sailboat made an abrupt turn, and its entire hull tilted almost to the surface. Even before he could figure out what was going on, the ice dragon wisely heeded the elf's warning.

It gave up on tearing off the other sail and lunged upwards so fast that even the sound of the wind passing around it turned into a shrill screech.

However, more screams followed. The voice was small, high-pitched, sounding like a bunch of crazy rats, making it tingle.

It resisted the urge to look back, flapped its wings hard, and sprinted upward.

The scream weakened - the strange weapon had a limited range after all.

But how many did they shoot it...... It has a few subtle tingles on its tail.

It glanced at it hurriedly. The tail was pierced with several blackthorn-like crossbow arrows that easily pierced its scales. But such a small arrow can only pierce its flesh and make it hurt a few times, and it will hardly affect it at all......

As the sting turned to a faint paralysis, it understood what the pirates were trying to do.

They really want to "catch" it, like catching a rare white deer. They need it intact, preferably unscathed, so that ...... How can they probably sell it for a good price?

And what will it end up becoming? a chained pet, or a perfect specimen?

It roared in mid-air, but it couldn't ignore the despair and sorrow in the anger. It's not without malice, but in the eyes of its former enemies, even if it's evil, it's at least a great magical creature with respectable intelligence and power...... They treat it as an adversary, an enemy, or even an enemy, but at least they don't treat it as a lower prey.

And what it sensed from the attacks of these pirates was only callousness and contempt.

Perhaps, in many years, when all history will be left to the tellings of mankind, the great dragons, the former darlings of this world, will only be described as ferocious and inferior, unable to think, speechless, and living only on instinct.

It burst through the clouds, gasping violently in the mist. In fact, instinct was telling it that it was wiser to leave—to "flee."

Its wounds are still unhealed, and the enemy is well prepared and determined to win. Beyond the Black Sails, it had to be careful of the caster who never showed up...... It simply has no chance of winning.

But there is no need to "win" either. It had helped those men reclaim the Unicorn, the elves seemed to be able to take care of themselves, and it was believed that he would be able to take care of Rosa as well, and Karn had returned safely to the deep......

The roar came from the distant sea, faint but still legible—it was Karn's voice.

The ice dragon roared in exasperation. It didn't know why the big guy just wouldn't listen...... Although it is true that it is not its real owner.

Without hesitating for long, the ice dragon took a deep breath and rushed down again.

It had to have a plan, but it couldn't leave Karn alone. It gave it a name, and it swept it into this vortex, if it was abandoned like that...... It literally turned itself into a beast.

(To be continued.) )