"I am a dragon, Kukratio Gulakias, and the humans call me ...... Abyss Dragon. ”

Ratchi's light answer reveals the shocking facts.

The girl named Laqi is actually the resurrected demon dragon, the Abyss Dragon, Kuklatio Gulakias.

"But the Abyss Dragon, isn't it on the Fa Rilabis Mountains?"

"That's my being...... Now, the magical link between me and the main body has been severed. ”

"Cut off...... What will happen!?"

"My body will lose its rationality. Moreover, I have left my anger against human beings for thousands of years in my original body. Perhaps, it will go crazy. ”

"Hey, isn't that bad, is there a way to stop your body from going crazy?"

"Hmm...... As long as I can return to my body, there will be a way. ”

To sum up, I didn't expect that my daughter would have the guts to hook up with the demon dragon that destroyed the world...... But there was no time for Rutega to bask in surprise, because it also meant that there was another reason to have to rush back to Celia as soon as possible with Rachi.

To do this, Lutga must find the right direction. According to Rachi, the two of them fell while flying in a straight line along the Franco-Rylabis mountain range. During the fall, Ratchee managed to deviate from the path of the fall that hit the mountain, and with the last of her strength, she landed safely on the shoreline on the back side of the ridge.

According to calculations, if you can pass through this jungle and successfully cross the Franco Rilabis Mountains, you will be able to return to the territory of the empire. If you find the road later, you will be able to determine the location of Celeria.

However, the road back home was not easy.

The dense forest is undoubtedly a deadly demon realm for ordinary humans.

In dense floral thickets, there are simply no means to determine the right direction. Normally, the team of adventurers will carry a magic guide or compass to point the way, but unfortunately, Lutga left the package containing these in the inn in [Aitania].

It is taboo to judge the direction by feeling, and often think that you are moving in a straight line, but in fact you are just spinning in the same place. Not to mention that the jungle may be inhabited by dangerous magical beasts, and even if there are no magical beasts, the rugged terrain is full of natural traps. One wrong step can lead to injury, and without treatment, even the slightest injury can be fatal.

In order to decide the route forward, Lutga had no choice but to choose the most dangerous method - climbing trees.

He found a straight and towering cedar tree. If you can climb to the top of the tree trunk, you will definitely get a good view and find your way to the mountains. But climbing a cedar tree requires a huge risk, and the seemingly lush branches are actually impossible to visually determine which one is strong and which one can be easily broken.

In fact, the climb was dangerous, and Lutga used the momentary 'Elven Blessing' several times to alleviate the danger, until he was exhausted by the time he found his way back to the ground. However, the journey has only just begun.

The first thing that lies in front of us is how to solve the problem of eating.

During his time with the Knights, he underwent a lot of training to survive in the wilderness. After all, knights are also soldiers, and the environment of combat is not something they can control. In the Knights, how to save oneself in an extreme environment is also one of the important criteria for judging comprehensive strength.

Foraging has become the most important issue. If you don't fill your stomach, you can't fight.

Right now, Lutga and they haven't eaten for a day and a half. Although Rathi did not show obvious signs of hunger, from the somewhat erratic steps, Lutga guessed that she should also be almost at the limit.

"Hmm...... What are you doing?"

"I'm making weapons for hunting. ”

In his hand, Lutga is holding a sturdy and dry bamboo pole more than a meter long. He was sharpening the top of the bamboo pole with the knife he carried with him to make a simple spear.

During the days of the Knights, the spear was his best weapon. Although there is a gap of seven or eight years, and the bamboo pole is estimated to be difficult to reuse, it is better to be prepared than not to have one.

Just as it was about to be finished, Raki walked up to Lutga's side, crouched down and asked.

"Hmm...... Is that done?"

"No, wait a few more and use them alternately, such bamboo guns are not strong, and they may break in three or two clicks, so wait a little longer. ”

Hearing this, Laqi silently stretched out two Qianqian jade hands and gently wrapped Lutga's hands.

The sudden intimate contact made Rutega's cheeks red. It was only very soon that he realized that he would be wrong.

At this time, the spear sharpened from the bamboo pole in his hand was wrapped in a pale blue halo, and when the light dissipated, he saw that the surface of the spear was covered by a thin layer of ice crystals, which turned the originally simple bamboo pole into a clear ice spear.

Incredibly, this magical ice film does not exude a biting chill, and it is very comfortable to hold directly with your hands.

"...... this?"

"Hmm...... So that you are not afraid of breaking. ”

However, even if it is wrapped in a layer of ice crystals, the bamboo gun is just a bamboo gun after all.

Lutga stood up with a suspicious look, and then whirled his spear into the air for a few weeks, stabbing it out towards the bushes not far away.

The results were unexpected.

The dense foliage, thorny branches, and hard trunks of the bushes were pierced as easily as pieces of paper. With a flick of the sideways, the entire bush was cut off without hindrance.

Even if it is a military gun forged by a famous craftsman, the power is no more than that. Fang Cai's blow, if it were replaced by an ordinary bamboo pole, I am afraid that it would have broken or cracked. However, the bamboo spear wrapped in ice crystals in his hand did not even leave a trace of scars on the surface of the thin ice.

"That's pretty remarkable...... Is this also the ability of the Abyss Dragon?"

"Hmm...... Yes, but that's all I have left......"

With that, there was a hint of apology in Rachi's words.

"No, no, it's a great help, with it, at least the ingredients don't have to worry. ”

It wasn't long before the two found the ingredients in Lutega's mouth.

It was a herbivorous beast known as the [Curly Cotton Beast], which was more than three meters long and covered with rich fur. At first glance, it looks like a giant sheep.

Among the many demonic beasts with violent personalities, the Cotton Roll Beast is indeed a relatively docile species, but what does not match its somewhat simple and cute appearance is that its danger has reached C+.

Every year, countless rookie adventurers are deceived by its appearance and die as a result. In other words, the appearance of the curly cotton beast that is easy to take lightly is probably one of the benchmarks for its danger evaluation.

In addition to its appearance, the physical ability of the cotton beast itself is actually very barren. But even so, it is a dangerous C+-class magical beast, and the truly terrifying thing about it is the magic that casts the earth attribute at an extremely fast speed, which is a terrifying magic that can silently turn a large area around it into a muddy swamp.

Especially in moorlands hidden under grass or shrubs, it is impossible to prevent them, and for most animals, bottomless marshes are undoubtedly one of the most terrible traps.

It is absolutely impossible to break free by brute force, and the more you struggle, the deeper you will fall. If we don't struggle, we can only wait for death in constant exhaustion.

The method of hunting the Cotton Curler is simple, but it is not simple, and that is to launch a surprise attack with a speed that makes it undetectable, and kill it with a single blow.

On the other hand, once it is detected, it is better to give up the idea of hunting immediately. Because from this moment on, you will not know if your next step will lead to hell.

Although the risk is not small, the prey also has a value commensurate with the risk. You know, the fur of the cotton beast is quite precious material in this kind of cold jungle area at night. Peel it off and use it as a sleeping bag.

In addition to this, its abundant subcutaneous fat also has many functions, and it can be applied to the surface of the skin to prevent sunburn, and it can also be used as an important knife for maintenance.

Of course, the main purpose is to eat. The meat is quite tasty, at least in the wild, and there is no more ideal ingredient than that.

Now the prey was twenty meters away from the two of them, pouting its fat round buttocks, and was looking down to nibble on the young leaves growing on the bush, completely unaware that there was a hunter watching for its life behind it.

Under normal circumstances, the best way to hunt the Cotton Curler is to have the Wind Elemental Mage chant high-speed attack magic from a distance, killing it in one hit. It is an earth-type monster itself, and its thick fur and fat are also extremely resistant to magic such as ice and fire.

Therefore, only wind magic is its Achilles' heel, and high-speed magic such as the Wind Blade can easily cut through the body of the curly cotton beast, causing it to die immediately before it can detect an attack.

Unfortunately, Lutga is not a magician, so he has to find other ways to kill his opponents instantly. In fact, he does have such a means at his disposal.

"- Holy Ghost blessing!"

All the while, he tried to avoid using the power of the Time Spirit. Because every time you use it, you will directly lose your life. To be honest, the previous conquest made him no longer dare to guess how much of his life was left. Maybe if you use it a few more times, you'll run out of life and die.

But the current state of affairs is not the time to be reserved. In order to return to his hometown as soon as possible and save the people and daughters in danger, there is no choice even if he wants to burn his life.

Lutga's spear-carrying figure flashed out of place, and when he reappeared, his body leaped into the air and jumped directly above the blind spot of his prey, and threw the icy bamboo spear in his hand vertically.

After the flesh and blood were shattered, the fat and round cotton beast fell over, and the back of his neck, the weakness that his fur could not cover, was deeply pierced by the bamboo spear. The cervical vertebrae were severed, killing with no doubt with one blow.

"Ha-a-ha-"

Just like when he climbed the cliff yesterday, what happened in an instant, in the eyes of others, made Rutega's face pale and he gasped. However, the fatigue is worth it, and the hunt is successful, so that as long as the bacon jerky is properly conditioned and easy to store, you don't have to worry about the next few days.

"Rakhi—come and help me!"

The next thing to do is to drain the blood and peel off the fur. But after all, the prey is huge, and it can be very hard to work alone. Rutega beckoned from afar to the maiden who was waiting in place, hoping to ask for her help.

"Hmm...... Well. ”

Ratchet poked her head out from behind the bushes, and she chose to tread on the relatively flat ground, cautiously approaching in the direction where Rutega was.

However, as if he had not taken a few steps, Lutega seemed to have suddenly discovered something, and hurriedly shouted: "Wait, don't move! Don't lean over again!

Unfortunately, his warning was still a step too late, and one of Ratchi's feet was already in the mire, and then, a kick in the air caused her body to lose her balance, and finally the whole person fell into it.

It was not because of carelessness, but it was impossible to judge at all, because the surface of the mire was covered with dry turf, and even bloomed with many small white flowers, and ordinary people, no matter who they were, would be because it was just ordinary grass.

But Rutega knew it, because those peculiar little flowers were plants that only grew on the surface of the swamp.

The blooming flowers are enough to prove that the swamp is not the magic that the cotton curl beast used before it died, it is the swamp that existed in the first place.

It was Lutega's negligence, and he forgot for a moment what his brother, the instructor at the time, had taught him during training.

"Hmm...... What should I do?"

Ratchet asked lightly, fortunately, because of her character, she didn't struggle randomly because her lower body was swallowed up in the mire, and the progress of falling into it was very slow.

"Wait! I'll get you out right now!"

Having said that, Lutga did not dare to rush to the rescue, because he had no idea where the quagmire was located, so he had to rely on bamboo guns to constantly tap the ground in order to find out the scope of the swamp.

In this way, Lutega, checking the edge of the swamp, followed the outline to the shore of the marsh, and reached out and grabbed the girl's bare shoulder, pulling her upwards with all his might, trying to drag her out of the swamp.

But this didn't work, he only felt that Rakhi's body seemed to be sucked tightly by something, no matter how hard he tried, not only did he not float a little, but even he almost fell into the pool several times.

Moreover, he had just used the 'blessing of the Holy Spirit', and his physical strength was almost overdrawn, and he could not use all his strength.

Seeing the girl's body being swallowed up by the mire, Lutga was anxious, cold sweat continued to pour from his forehead, and he tried to recall the teachings of his former brother, the instructor, and at the same time looked around, praying to find some way from it.

In the end, Lutga left Raki without saying a word, ran away from the swamp alone, and returned to the side of the slain cotton curler out of breath.

"Hmm...... That's ......."

Seeing this, Ratchey lowered her head and looked away from the young man.

At this moment, the girl instinctively realized that she had been abandoned.

Of course, Raghi did not blame Rutega for his thoughts, because the choice of youth was taken for granted.

- I guess I'd die here, so abruptly, just because I took a wrong step, I easily lost my life.

Raki didn't feel remorseful about this, but was a little surprised - she didn't expect that the ancient and powerful dragon clan that had survived for thousands of years would bury her life so easily in this nameless little swamp.

Now that I think about it, this kind of "unexpected" emotion is my own arrogance.

Because for many other creatures, life is such an ethereal and fragile thing.

For example, in the past, when humanity betrayed itself and was destroyed, didn't it usher in the end of powerless resistance without warning, as it is now?

"Hmm...... It's called retribution, probably. ”

Ratchee thought so and came to a conclusion without please. But fortunately, unlike when she was almost violated in [Paradise] before, she still had a little comfort in her heart.

At least, Lutga didn't betray himself, he had tried hard just now, tried his best to save himself, but he just failed.

If there is any dissatisfaction with him, it is probably only the last silent back to leave. It made her a little ...... No, I should say that I feel very, very sad.

At the very least, she hopes that the youth will leave some farewell words.

"Hmm...... At the very least, you should leave this to him......"

Raki pulled her arm out of the mire, holding a dim spar stained with mud in her palm, "With this, I might be able to find a way to restrain my crazy 'body'." ”

Thinking of this, Ratchet hesitated, she was hesitating whether to shout out to Lutega and hand him the hedron in her hand. But because of the dragon's pride, she couldn't speak, she didn't want to be misunderstood by Lutega that she was asking him for help, for some reason, she hoped that in the heart of that human youth, there would always be an arrogant image that matched the dragon.

Rachi, who wanted to stop talking, finally sighed and buried the palm holding the spar into the mire again.

"Uh-oh-oh-"

But at this moment, Lutga's shouting sounded not far away. Ratchet looked up suddenly, and saw the young man's facial features distorted by the strength of the tiger.

I saw him drag the heavy corpse of the curly cotton beast all the way over, and threw it into the swamp in one go. Ratchee couldn't understand why he was doing this, why he wanted to throw the beast he had hunted into the bottomless swamp.

"Whew...... Ha...... Call...... Raki-!!...... Call...... Grab its fur!!This thing has plenty of oil!!It will float on the surface of the swamp-!!!Hurry!!

Rutga was half-crouched, obviously out of breath, but he still shouted as hard as he could at himself.

"Uh-huh...... but...... Isn't this monster an important ingredient......?"

"What stupid thing can you say more than your life? Climb up!!"

When he shouted these words, Lutga's posture made Ratche, for the first time in thousands of years, really the first time, have this incredible feeling now. Her eyes were hot and her nose was sour, as if something was about to burst out from the bottom of her heart.

"Uh-huh......!"

The willow-like eyebrows unconsciously drooped to the sides, and two warm currents slid down the cheeks on both sides.

- I see, this is crying.

The delicate two lips unconsciously rose upward, and a heat made the cheeks on both sides hot.

-- I see, that's laughter.

In a moment, Ratchey finally feels that she has become the heroine of Alice's story - in love with humans.