Around the time that the main body of Raul’s army has broken through the labyrinth.
“A-apologies! No matter how much we search, we can’t find a way out! Additionally, all the walls seem to be too even; there’s nothing to grab on to. We’ll need proper equipment to climb out of here…”
“…I see…hmm, not much we can do then…”
The soldiers, including the officers, that were trapped within the walls were on the verge of losing all hope.
“What’s with this labyrinth anyway? And how can its walls move? What nonsense.”
“Yeah, I’m just so confused…”
“But then again, I can’t complain about missing this fight. I mean, I’ve just been back from the last war, for crying out loud. What’s more, this fight’s basically a fight between brothers.”
“Oi, someone might hear you.”
And when unrest among the soldiers was rising…
“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
“What was that!?”
“Sounded like a roar…”
A distant roar silenced the soldiers in an instant.
Every instinct in their body told them to run far away from this place and as soon as possible.
“Is it a monster…? Now that I think about it, wasn’t this wasteland near some monster-infested forest or something…”
“T-they’re not feeding us to the monsters, are they…?”
Overcome with such terrible thoughts, the soldiers became as pale as snow.
◇ ◇ ◇
Raul was in disbelief at the sight of the giant that was about to attack his troops.
“A dragon!?”
But upon closer inspection, he noticed that the creature’s skin was actually bark, and that there were branches and leaves all over its body.
All signs pointed to the creature not being a real dragon, but what was known as a Tree Dragon.
That being said, with a width of about 10 meters and a length of more than 30 meters, this Tree Dragon was very much comparable to a real dragon in terms of strength.
The soldiers were attacked from their flanks and were blown away like leaves.
Even the veterans and the elites were no match against it.
“What’s going on!?”
Raul unintentionally stopped moving and stared at the unfolding carnage.
“All these walls and it still got in? What, did they tame it!?”
He turned his gaze toward the enemy army, and he was convinced.
Not a single one of them, including his accursed half-brother, was panicking. They knew that this monster would not attack them.
“Do they have someone with a [Monster Tamer] Gift!? Tch! But then, that makes things simple. Everyone, ignore that monster and charge toward the enemy army!”
Raul has decided that rather than deal with the monster, it would be much quicker to deal with the one controlling it.
The Tree Dragon has caused significant damage to the troops in the rear, but those in the vanguard have remained mostly unharmed. Moreover, these hundred or so left were the elites of the elites of the elites.
“““Awooooooooooooooo!”””
And so, even after coming here and experiencing all that, these soldiers still had the resolve to carry on.
Like an angry wave crashing on the shore, the remaining troops charged once more against the enemies.
Leading the charge was Raul, and the first to stand in their way was an enemy soldier with a gigantic shield. This enemy soldier had an impressive physique, but looked young, about the same age as Raul.
“You’re in my way! I’ll cut down your giant body along with that shield of yours!”
Up until now, they have been toyed with by the enemies.
In an effort to signal the start of their counteroffensive, Raul readied to put all of his fighting spirit into his next attack.
But then, the enemy, shield still in hand, decided to charge forward ferociously as well.
“Wha!?”
Raul didn’t expect that move, but thanks to his quick reflexes, he was immediately able to respond with a slash. Yet, the enemy was ever so slightly faster.
“Shield bash!!!”
“!?”
Before he knew it, he was flying in the air at great speed.