Swooping down enough to see the tiny figure on the deck, the ice dragon folded its wings and clinged to its side, allowing itself to plummet straight into the sea.

Because it was so fast, the moment it sank into the water, it felt like it had hit a rock...... The nearly broken neck bone made a few crunching noises, but as it expected, not a single arrow could hit it.

Beneath the surface of the sea was chaos too, so chaotic that it couldn't see anything for a while. Karn was churning like mad, strands of crimson blood scattered in the blue waters, dizzying from its white figure...... The enraged creature probably couldn't hear it at all.

It was another pirate ship that attacked Karn. The megalodon's counterattack was clumsy and frenzied, but it was impressive. Its thick tail slammed into the side of the boat, and with a thud it almost threw the entire ship into the water. The shattered planks scattered in the water with a large number of bubbles, a terrible hole in the hull of the ship, and the sea water rushed into it in the blink of an eye, and the ballistas, pirates, and large and small wooden crates and barrels, fruits and salted meats in the cabins were ...... It was scattered all over the water, but miraculously the ship did not fall apart completely, but came to the surface crookedly, floating there half-floating and half-sinking.

The ship had clearly lost the ability to continue attacking, but Karn pursued it in a rage, opening his mouth to bite the broken hull and twist it violently.

After a loud snap, the hull of the ship finally broke in two, but Karn did not let go of his "enemy", but grabbed half of it and bit it. Completely ignoring its own vital point, it was completely exposed to the water, and the spear shot from the other ship was flying accurately towards its head.

The sight in the water is extremely bad. When the ice dragon found danger, it was too late to jump out of the water, so it was lucky enough to let the churning waves instantly freeze into ice, turning into the cold, transparent armor of the megalodon, barely blocking the spear - which even temporarily froze the beast's crazy movements. But Karn soon roared and struggled out, and with unabated rage, rolled over and rushed towards the other ship.

The ice dragon doubted that the other ship would not be destroyed so easily by Karn...... And it's just fed up with being dizzy and wasting all its energy trying to avoid getting hurt by mistake. It slapped away a pirate swept away by the waves and desperately trying to get away from it, and ordered Karn to leave again—the dragon's still-flailing tail nearly hit its head.

The "order" unsurprisingly did not receive any response. The ice dragon angrily avoided the debris that was stumbling into the water. Swam over and bit Karn on the neck.

It wasn't going to hurt it—its teeth weren't straining at all, but instinctive fear made the beast, which was more than twice its size, stiffen instantly.

Karn let out a low wail as it let go. The voice with pain and grievance actually made it feel a little guilty...... But it was finally able to drag it deeper into the water, pull out a few spears stuck in it, and let the big creature obediently leave.

It's helped it enough.

The pirate ship, broken in two, began to sink slowly. The ice dragon swam through its shadow and grabbed a ballista. Tear it apart with curiosity and disgust. Take a closer look.

Unlike deck-mounted weapons, it can only fire arrows that are slightly longer than normal arrows, but it can shoot quickly and continuously in short bursts. The jet-black body of the arrow gradually glows gray in the seawater...... It was made with a keel soaked in some kind of poison.

The ice dragon suppressed its anger, flicked its tail, and quietly swam directly below the other ship, staring coldly at the dark red name on the side of the ship, the Dragonbone, through the waters that had calmed down.

For the name alone, it can't spare these pirates.

This position allows it to avoid all attacks. It also allows it to see the hull and keel clearly...... It was really the skeleton of a dragon.

The ship's builders didn't try to hide it at all, but deliberately exposed the huge skeleton as if it were showing off. The keel that cannot be shaped is relative to the wood. It's not a better material for shipbuilding...... But it can perfectly carry the power of magic.

Debris and ice floating in the water grazed past the ship's side, leaving no trace, and the Dragonbone, if not indestructible, was clearly able to withstand a much stronger attack than the other ship. In terms of strength alone, the Ice Dragon knew that he was not even as good as Karn - there was no need to waste his strength on useless attacks.

Anyway, it was still a boat - the ice dragon turned and swam to the stern, squinted at the rudder in the water for a moment, opened its mouth and bit it.

“...... A little smarter than I thought. ”

Ninetoe murmured.

The dragon had been in the sea for a while, but no one had attacked, and no one had found it.

"I can...... I feel a little looking forward to it. He turned back to the elf who was standing quietly not far away, and curled his lips, "You're right—I do need a dragon." ”

There was a hint of doubt in the elf's eyes. He could have guessed that he didn't really want to unlock the damn curse, but he didn't know what he wanted...... Who knows?

"You should warn it again. He smiled at the elf, "though it probably can't hear it now—lo and behold, what is gained is what is lost, and it thinks it is safe to hide in the water...... A dragon shouldn't be so timid. ”

“...... If he's really as 'timid' as you say, he's not coming back. The elf retorted calmly.

Yes, he ...... "it". It has a pair of wings that shine like silver in the sun and can almost be described as "gorgeous...... It can stay above the clouds, where humans will never be able to reach it. No matter how powerful the magic is, no matter how sinister the trap is, it can't hurt it in the slightest.

But it flew back to its own death, falling into the ocean that belonged to him...... In order to save a fish with a huge body, but the brain is probably only the size of his fist?

Such a dragon, bound by human morality, simply made him feel a little pathetic.

When the stern of the ship was pulled into the water with tremendous force, the steering wheel in his hand shook. He tried to spin a little, but the steering wheel froze—the dragon had broken the rudder, but it had also revealed its own position.

The stern sank at an ever-increasing rate, and Nine Toes stared at the steering wheel a little distractedly, and sighed faintly.

"I didn't want to hurt it. He said, "It did it on its own." ”

Before the elf could react, he calmly pressed the engraving in the center of the steering wheel.

Among the eerie skeletons of the boat, on the blue sea, carved shallowly into the brass is an anachronistic and out of place pomegranate flower.

(To be continued.) )