Lysfer looked at the clansmen walking through the San Soliel Mountain Range. The cold air from the mountains blew on their bodies and sent shivers through their bones. Still, they managed to hold on thanks to their thick fur.
“We are almost there. Just ten more kilometers!”
Lyser shouted loudly to cheer up her people.
Although they could not see it clearly, they could faintly make out the outline of the city in the distance.
The original Central City, now named Dragon City, was built in an admirable location. Its back was against the mountains, allowing it to block the cold winds coming from the north. At the same time, it received the warm winds of the southern plains. The two sides formed a delicate balance that allowed the city to experience the pleasures of the four seasons.
The beastmen were in turmoil. Lysfer clearly sensed the joy emanating from the hearts of her people. They had never once thought that Lysfer was deceiving them. They believed in her words, and they believed that as long as they could reach Dragon City, they would have a place to stay, that they would no longer need to wander.
Lysfer still wore her trademark smile, but in places where others could not see, her eyes would flash with gloom.
Would the lord of Dragon City accept them? Would they be treated as its citizens? She had heard that the main race living in Dragon City was humans and some elves. Would they fit in?
As various thoughts plagued Lysfer’s mind, she kept a stoic expression. She could not show any sign of unease, as it would only bring anxiety to her people.
If the dragon was not willing to accept them, then other than powerful warriors like her, the fate of the rest of her clansmen would be death.
They were already quite far from the beastmen country. They were now in human and elven territory now, and in most cases, they could not hope for any kind of preferential or egalitarian treatment.
‘Even if I die, even if I have to give my everything, I must make the dragon accept these people who voluntarily followed me!’
Lysfer vowed secretly. Even if she had to sacrifice everything, sacrifice all her dignity as a beastman, she would beg the primordial dragon to save her people. This was her last role as the heir of the former chief and a person close to the legendary rank.
Lysfer took a deep breath and continued on. Her footprints and her clansmen’s footprints left a long track on the pure white snow.
When they first left the city of the Blood Blade Clan, there were more than 2000 people, but along the way, more than a thousand had died. Now, only about half of them were left. This was partially thanks to them being beastmen. Even the untrained women and children were able to fight like soldiers as long as they picked up weapons. This was perhaps power that came from their beastly instincts.
But these people were not recognized as soldiers within the tribe. They still belonged to the civilian class. Those that could truly be called warriors numbered about 400-500. Over half of both the warriors and civilians had died when they crossed the swamp.
“We must succeed!”
This high and proud lone wolf girl swore once again.
As a self-proclaimed assassin of the ninth rank, and as a member of the wolfman clan, Lysfer’s five senses were very keen. She was able to detect someone spying on them. She didn’t need to think about it to know that it was a sentry from Dragon City.
‘We are just seeking shelter… and do not have any malicious intent.’
Lysfer murmured. She had countless ways to uncover this sentry and kill him, but as she said, they were here to seek shelter and not attack the city.
If she wanted to take down a city protected by a primordial demigod dragon, Lysfer knew that even if the people behind her were replaced by elite soldiers and multiplied by a hundred, it would still be insufficient. They would definitely be eradicated with a wisp of the dragon’s flames.
Any powerhouse, even a ninth rank powerhouse would still be exhausted to death if they were surrounded by an endless stream of enemy soldiers, but after immortal transcension to legendary rank, there was little significance in the number of enemies. Even if they were to be surrounded by tens of thousands of soldiers, they would still have ways to escape. Moreover, powerful legendary rank mages had powerful spells that could wipe out legions of soldiers.
To surround a legendary rank powerhouse, you would need to surround them with powerhouses at the seventh rank or higher or a single legendary rank powerhouse of the same rank.
On the other hand, against demigod rank powerhouses, you would need to exhaust their divine power before you would have any chance of killing them. This was because demigods and true Gods had essentially the same power. The difference between the two was only the usage efficiency and their understanding of divine authority, divinity, divine power, and godhood.
Leading her people, Lysfer continued to move forward. After an hour or so, they were finally able to see Dragon City.
After seeing the huge city that was built against the mountain and composed of continuous buildings, Lysfer was stunned.
This was because the scene was completely different from what she imagined. She was surprised to not see the huge ramparts that should have surrounded the territory. There were only low walls that served no true defensive purpose.
‘I heard that a large part of Central City was destroyed by the dragon. I’m guessing the walls fell then, but why haven’t they been rebuilt? And there aren’t any barriers either.’
Lysfer was curious. The cities in this world were different from Earth. Every single city no matter what size would have moats and walls as well as barriers to protect the city.
‘A city guarded by a demigod dragon… I guess no one would dare to invade it…’
Lysfer could only come up with this explanation.
……
Dragon City, Dragon’s Lair
Louie had just received the information about the incoming beastmen and immediately focused his attention on the [Protective Detection] spell. Since this was not a high-ranked spell, Louie was able to learn it quickly and placed them in all corners of the city as a surveillance tool. They served as his surveillance cameras.
“These are beastmen??!! Isn’t that an animal-eared woman?!!!”
After seeing beastmen for the first time, Louie’s eyes opened wide and he raised his head.
When he first heard about beastmen, he thought that they were all hairy creatures, but he never imagined them to look like this.
That said, they were not all animal-eared women. The males of the species seemed to be closer to the beastmen he imagined.
‘There are also some that look like mutts… err, no, that should be a wolf…’
‘That said, all the girls are animal-eared girls!’
“Hmph, what a bunch of pathetic-looking beastmen! Just look at the rags you are wearing and look at your spirit with such hunger and exhaustion. You are all one step away from death and no one could save you! But if you are willing to drop everything and serve this great dragon, the merciful I will give you hope to live!”
Louie was originally unconcerned, but his attitude immediately changes. He then practiced what he was going to say while looking for the right tone of voice and let out a laugh of pleasure.