The elite warriors of the pure Highlanders are called Chariot Units because the true Highlanders do not know how to ride horses.

On the Palohian plateau, where the terrain is mostly steep and precipitous, the largest mammal is the large rock sheep, which weighs 200 kilograms. This herbivore, the East Coast Rockd-dwelling Wyvern's primary prey, is fierce and muscular, making it difficult for even seasoned Highland hunters to catch, let alone tame it as a ride.

Unlike the mixed inhabitants who were naturalized into the mainstream Lamanite society at the foot of the hill and learned to ride because of the necessities of survival, the pure highlanders were heavy infantry nearly ten centuries ago, and they are still heavy infantry today.

During this period, the Lamanite Empire became the Patrosi Empire, and their opponents gradually changed from the traditional Lamanite phalanx legions to the heavy cavalry that is now the mainstream of the world in Rigal.

Despite the changes in equipment, the Highlanders' armies have always been hoplites - but that doesn't mean they're stupid and conformist.

There is no such thing as the best weapon or equipment, only the one that best suits the current environment. Just as in the Abu Sera steppes, the nomads still rely on light cavalry, and the highlanders did not follow the mainstream of the world and began to develop heavy cavalry because there was no need to do so.

To remain unchanged, should change.

Their domains are forests, peaks, and canyons. The elite cavalry of the Patrosi could not be used in these terrains, and melee fighters armed with axes and spears and clad armor stepped forward to stab the trapped knights to death by hooking them with the hooks of their long-pole weapons, while the ranged hands could also pose enough threat to the heavily armed knights with heavy armor-piercing crossbows that required steel hook pedals attached to their belts to be wound.

It was clearly infantry, but it swept through the cavalry. Because of this strong fighting power, the Lamani society also used the name of the classical era, and named them "Catolia", that is, chariots.

On the one hand, this term shows that they can defeat the cavalry in the right circumstances, and on the other hand, there is also the subtle mockery of the Lamanites.

Mock them: These heavy infantry are antiques of the past, just like the chariots that have disappeared into the long river of history.

So, what happens when a hundred-strong highland chariot force armed to the teeth encounters a low-level earth dragon in the wooded terrain they do best?

We obviously know the answer.

Screams continued, and Henry and Olaf led the team back.

Even if it is a genuine classical chariot, it will only end up in fragments in front of this behemoth, not to mention these human infantrymen who rely more on stratagem to solve problems.

In the face of absolutely powerful forces, strategies and plans seem to be useless.

A thirty-centimeter-long axe spear with a cone-shaped armor-piercing tip large enough to pierce the weak parts of the knight's plate armor and penetrate deep enough to deal more damage.

However, the thinnest part of the dragon covered with scale armor has almost the same strength as three millimeters of excellent quenched steel armor - this is twice the thickness of the average knight's breastplate, and the steel may have weak points due to the blacksmith's handling process, but the dragon's scales are uniformly strong.

The only thing that can be pierced is the lower part of the neck, the inside of the legs, feet, and the abdomen, and other areas where the scale armor is missing, and the axe gun is a specialized armor-piercing weapon, unlike the longbows of the Avenella, which pierce the tough but not hard dragon skin, which is like a play, and Olaf's men have also rushed up bloody before this and stabbed countless times.

The Earth Dragon's chest was densely packed with holes, which was a testament to their bravery, but unfortunately, so many sacrifices only made its black body fluids overflow a little more, and then move more slowly.

It was all useless—at least until that crazy north—Olaf thought so.

"Alright, lure into position, Fant (forward), Foss (retreat)!" Olaf prompted in Lamanite and changed to Highland in the latter section, Henry stopped his horses, the leader of the Highlanders panted and the Sage raised his great sword and swung it in circles in the air.

In the snow, the glowing Kramer reflected the sun, and even the earth dragon, who was blind in one eye, was attracted to it.

"Flash, it's a signal. "Everyone prepares. "Mira and Minna, who had divided their forces earlier, led ten longbowmen each in ambush on the slopes of the hills on either side, and the perennial untouched terrain of the Bao Forest provided great convenience, with a pocket-like terrain raised on both sides and a small canyon in the middle.

"So you're going to use Rolling Stones? That sounds like a good idea, but—" Olaf only said half of what he said, Henry had made a plan before he came to contact him, because the situation was urgent, and the Sage didn't have time to talk to him, but the leader of the highlanders who had been cornered had no choice but to lure the dragon to this side and his men sacrificed several more people on the way to lure the dragon here, if this guy's plan was just a rolling stone-

"Whew—" The snow-covered tarp was lifted, and Mira slashed the twine with a swing of her sword.

"What the fuck is the barrel?you fucking want to smash that dragon with those little portable barrels?!" Olaf was so angry that his beard cocked, but Henry ignored him, just staring intently at the earth dragon covered in frost, with a gray-black death aura on its skin and eyes.

"Longbowmen!" Despite being the first time commanding, Mira was surprisingly calm, standing on the left side of the group and raising her longsword. And Minna on the other side is doing the same thing.

The plural barrels were still tumbling, and the slopes of the hill were not large, but the arc was very steep, giving them enough kinetic energy. But even if such a large barrel accelerates faster, how can it cause damage to the ten-meter-long earth dragon-

"Oil, ignition—" The Roan maiden and the blonde dame said both words in clear voices at the same time.

"Huh——!" The arrows wrapped in thick linen ignited a raging fire.

"Ready—" The two raised their swords, the barrel still rolling down, and the earth dragon seemed to finally notice the imminent target.

"Roar——! instinctively opened its mouth to bite, and at the same time flicked its tail to the other side.

"Woo-" The sword fell, and Mira and Minna shouted together.

"Put!!"

"Bang!!" The barrel that burst open in an instant spilled viscous golden liquid and white transparent liquid onto the Earth Dragon's body, and at the same time, a large amount of liquid was still stained on its head because it shattered a wooden barrel in one bite.

If the dragon had any brains, it would have regretted its instinctive act of self-defense.

"Whoa—"

But it has no brains, and even if it does, it will die out quickly in the next few minutes.

The air seemed to freeze, the highlanders who had achieved their goal ran desperately, Henry calmly watched ahead, and in the midst of such a scene, Orff, who was stunned by a series of changes, sniffed his big red nose and muttered to himself.

"There's the—"

"Wine and pine oil?"

"Boom !!"

"Roar!!"

Covered in a highly flammable liquid, the Earth Dragon was hit in an instant by twenty fire bolts, unable to pierce its formidable scales, but enough to ignite the supplies that belonged to their team attached to it.

Precious torches and spirits to warm up in the snow and ice were consumed.

But the blazing fire was a sign of hope in the eyes of the suffering Highlanders: "Good, good!" the soldiers stopped and shouted with their weapons raised in their hands, and even Olaf looked at Henry with excitement.

"Roar!!" Although he could no longer feel the pain, the earth dragon still subconsciously twisted to rub the flames off his body, but under Henry's explanation, these pine oils and spirits that added resin to increase the viscosity were burning and extremely tenacious.

The "roaring ————!!" turned into a raging flame of the earth dragon, but it was still roaring, its dead body began to twist and twitch because of the heat, it kept rolling low, its claws cut the snow and the earth flew out, as if it was struggling before dying. But unlike Olaf, who was ready to celebrate the victory, Henry took Kramer in one hand and turned his head again as he grabbed the reins.

"Let them retreat. The sage was succinct, and the leader of the highlanders was stunned for a moment before he reacted.

This one is a little late.

"You garbage will kill me—ahhh

The flaming mouth bit down on a soldier who was about to die, wanting to come up and stab a few times to avenge his companions.

He only had time to let out a brief scream, and he left the world before the object of his hatred.

"None of this is dead!" The flames burned the dragon's scales bright red, and the heat wave stood several meters away. But the Earth Dragons still rose from the ground, and the Highlander soldiers retreated with a scream, while our Sage Gentleman rode his horse and rushed towards the Earth Dragons.

"Hiss-" The warhorse under him resisted, it was not a knight horse after all, its instinct as a creature made it want to run away from this monster that exuded an extremely dangerous aura and high temperature, but the runes on Henry's body once again shone slightly, and he put his hand on the warhorse's neck, and unexpectedly, it was calmed.

"Shhh

"When!!" The sword blade and the dragon scales made a sound of gold and iron clashing, and the two reddened dragon scales that had been cut off fell on the snow with more collapsed dragon scales, and the snow water fell into it because of the high temperature, and the earth dragon was cut open, and the black body fluid that overflowed from the forelimbs was burned by the fire in an instant.

"Click!" the entire cape was stained with flames as it got too close, and the black cloak turned fiery red in an instant. Henry decisively untied the lacing and abandoned it, and the steel cuirass sparkled with it.

The earth dragon turned its head, its attention completely focused on the striking little man who had hurt itself.

And that's exactly what Henry was all about.

"Roar!!" it let out another dragon roar, and the fire, which had been lit with all their might, was finally extinguished after a few minutes of violence, and the temperature was 20 degrees below zero.

The pitch-black body was torn in all directions, and the scales were all burned to a bright red skin, and the terrified earth dragon looked more like a ghost from hell than before.

"Is this a fucking madman!" Olaf hid in the woods with his head in his hands.

And the earth dragon opened its claws.

"Shhh

"Knock knock knock—" The warhorse accelerated wildly, and the Earth Dragon, who had been so badly battered, still flung the embers and flew into the ice and snow, and a puff of smoke rose from its body, following closely behind.

"Roar—" A burst of snow melted where it had run, and the highlanders watched in amazement as the sage lured it away, the situation changing so quickly that they didn't even have time to react.

"Huh-" The war horse galloped, and under the skilful command of the sage, it could always find the shortest route between the trees.

"Bang!click!" The dragon, still smoky and red, followed, knocking over one snow-capped tree after another, quickly closing the distance.

"Is this crazy guy going to lure him away like this, it's a good thing—no! he's running in the direction of—" Olaf reacted.

"Hey, you guys!" he said, looking up at Mira and Minna, who were poking their heads out of the hill to look at Henry's back.

"Stop him!

"There's-"

"A river!" Olaf's Highland-accented Lamanite reverberated through the forest surface.

Rushing to the river of thin ice, Henry glanced back at the huge earth dragon, still red and emitting white smoke.

"Roar!!" it opened its mouth, and the sage dodged it with a standard lateral movement in a split second.

"Roar ————!!" The flying of the earth dragon fell into the air.

Its twisted jaw shattered like glass the moment it hit the ice.

Immediately afterwards, the huge body, still carrying extremely high temperatures, fell into the water.

Like a hardened steel sword.

It's like water has entered the oil pan.

It's like a hot knife cutting butter.

——!!The river boiled in an instant, and the steam rose and exploded, and the earth dragon struggled and rolled in it, splashing and bubbles popping up one after another.

Finally tranquility.

"Bang!!" The huge claws broke through the ice again and slashed at the dry mud floor, and the earth dragon poked its head out, and its dark eyes reflected the figure of the sage, and for a moment it seemed to flash a trace of spirituality.

"Roar—" "Rest in peace—"

"Click-bang!!"

Eyeballs, internal organs, epidermal muscles, and scales cracked and exploded to the ground in an instant.

Pale muscles trembled in front of Henry, and even the earth dragon, whose organs had been shattered, could not even roar.

It became unable to support its massive body and could not move, but it still emitted a terrifying aura that no one could enter.

Noisy footsteps sounded behind him, and Olaf and Milamina and the rest of the group rushed over. At the same time, the remaining ten longbowmen who were lying in ambush near the creek also drew their longbows.

Their minds echoed Henry's brief narrative of the plan before departure:

"The dragon is originally a warm-blooded creature, and when it turns into a dead soul, its heart no longer beats, and its body naturally has no temperature at all. ”

"The corpse of the earth dragon, like an inorganic matter, was burned by high temperatures and then instantly covered with cold. ”

"The end will be like weapons and armor that have failed to quench, the skin will crack and fall to the ground. ”

The words that Sage Heng had calmly uttered a few hours earlier were confirmed as if they were prophecy, and the Sage carried Kramer to the ground with several arrows fired by the longbowmen, who carried Kramer and walked up to it.

"Shhh

"Whew-"

In the moment he exhaled, no one could see his movements clearly, and the sage's angry slash was complete.

"Click!!" Because of the impact, the already bony jaw of the earth dragon was raised, and then the entire huge dragon head fell heavily to the ground.

"Bang-" Henry shook off the remnants of his greatsword with a wave of his hand, and then turned around.

"......" everyone looked at him in silence.

"What's the matter, so that's my plan, it's not bad. Henry shrugged, and Mira gave him a roll of the eye along with Minna.

The longbowmen looked at each other, and then finally understood why the dame had given the reins to the man.

Olaf looked at the huge dragon head, and the corners of his eyes twitched.

Yes, it was scarred, yes, it had burned a lot of flesh, and yes, its most important powerful scale armor had been cracked.

But the keel and cervical vertebrae larger than a person's head and the muscles thicker than the waists of three people combined.

This kind of thing, cut off with a single blow?

Rao is a woodcutter who boasts of his wrist strength, and it takes him half a day to cut such a thing, and he must have a sharp axe at hand.

Olaf looked at Henry's greatsword, and on the way he noticed the scales of the dragon that had been flattened in half, softened by the heat, but that was obviously not something that ordinary weapons could do.

He looked at the rest of his men, who had already been defeated before they encountered the Earth Dragon.

Receiving a request for help from those who were related by blood among the mixed residents at the foot of the mountain, he led this force down with the intention of giving those Lamanite nobles a long-lost dismount. But I didn't expect those soft-boned guys to only think about robbing the peasants' rations, and in the process of advancing, people kept leaving the team without permission for women, food, and wine, and I don't know when only their loyal elites remained.

"It's never good for a highlander to go down the mountain. This proverb from the Palohian plateau has been around for 10 centuries and can still be applied to Olaf today.

Scarred and lacking in supplies, he resisted the terrible winter with his will, but encountered an unexpected enemy.

In contrast, this alien army of Gentiles is well-supplied and outnumbered by its own side—

Allies, yes, until the Earth Dragon dies.

It's better to die than to be your own.

The highlanders were no less skilled in betrayal than the Lamanites. Historically, many people have been deceived by their bold personality into thinking that these guys are simple-minded, but they have ignored the fact that they have not been corrupted by the cultural and political methods that have been fought against the mainstream of Lamanite society for so many years.

It is a matter of course to obtain what you need to survive, and it is even more reassuring to take it from the dead, and it doesn't matter at all whether the other party died before or after the materials were taken.

Olaf never minded, and the little calculation in his heart was also made from the beginning.

But because of this guy, this damn Northern, this goddamn Suomir.

These weird guys wielding big swords.

Come on, the subordinates, who have long been exhausted, now see this scene, and their morale is afraid that it has fallen to the bottom.

Olaf had mixed thoughts in his heart, and the moment he looked up, he saw Henry carrying a great sword and raising an eyebrow at him.

"......" The leader of the highlanders clenched his fists and became so angry that his beard was cocked.

'This guy's showmanlike decapitation is in—'

He trembled with anger, but in the end he only let out a long sigh.

"Well, then, we're going to take our leave, and you're here for some purpose, so let's say goodbye. Mo said that he was a subordinate, and even he himself could not raise his mind to turn against the water after seeing this scene, the leader of the highlanders said so, and then, after a brief goodbye, he led a group of infantry to turn their heads and walk in the other direction.

"Whew-" Minna patted her chest and let out a sigh, "I thought they were going to snatch supplies." ”

As she spoke, she glanced back at Henry, and then at the skull of the earth dragon, which had begun to frost.

"I'm afraid that the little girl might say, 'They're miserable, let's give them some supplies,'" said the sage, shrugging his shoulders, and the "little girl" in the words turned her head and glared at him viciously.

"When did I speak in that tone. Mira kicked Henry, then continued, "And." ”

"I also understood the fact that I can't help everyone, and when I meet a group of people, I give them a little bit of my own supplies, and this so-called good deed will only hurt the people I really want to save can't be saved. ”

"M-" Minna was about to say that Mira also knew how to judge calmly, but Henry interrupted her.

"Are you unwilling? The sage said lightly, and the blonde lady was stunned, although she was also very close to Mira, but after all, she was not as familiar as Henry, who had been with her all the way as a mentor, and this heart was like that white hair, as pure as snow, and her heart had not changed so far.

"Hmm. Mira nodded without hesitation.

"If you can't do it, you have to give it up, and this kind of judgment can be made. ”

"However, not reconciled. ”

"Not reconciled, so keep going. ”

"If you want to be stronger, you have to be more prepared, even if it's just a dream, you have to do it one day, and you can save everyone. ”

"It doesn't matter if you can't do it quickly, as long as you keep improving, keep going, and save more people each time than you did last time. ”

"That's enough. ”

She turned her head, her pure eyes sparkling.

"......" Minna hung her head, but smiled again after a moment.

"Ahh She embraced Mira and rubbed her face in the latter's bewilderment, while Avenella's longbowmen looked at the strange and sudden behavior of the lady, who had always been calm and generous, and was reliable, and did not know what to do.

"Okay, now that this threat is out of the way, it's time to move on. Henry reached out and rubbed their heads, then turned to look at the wind-howling sky across the river.

Snow was falling there, and the sky was overcast as if it was about to fall.

"It's like. The sage whispered in a low voice.