Chapter 303

The soldiers and monsters originally stationed had already been completely wiped out, leaving only the elite squad: the beastfolk Mateo, the half-elf Janice, and the seed race Zeh, along with their partners. (T/N: This is the first occurrence of the seed race except from chapter 302)

This meant they had to face that monster with just the strength of three creatures and the wisdom of three people.

Thus, while cautiously keeping an eye on Cardina glaring from the sky, they began their strategy discussion.

“The fastest among them is yours, Janice, right? Then comes my Caraballos, and Zeh’s is last,” Mateo said.

“In terms of strength, it’s Mateo’s, followed closely by Zeh’s, and my Lente comes last,” Janice added.

“For durability, it’s my Armato, followed closely by Mateo’s, and Janice’s is far behind,” Zeh noted.

“Then—”

They quickly assessed their combined forces and started formulating a plan.

Cardina, sensing the humans scheming something clever, expanded its Detection Magic to a wide range. Confirming that the other members were engaged without issue, Cardina, tasked with aerial duty, decided that defeating the remaining three now would leave it with nothing to do.

So, to prolong the engagement, Cardina chose to observe quietly until the three made their move.

As Cardina waited, the three began to act.

First, the black panther. With Air Walk, it kicked off the sky, exceeding 100 kilometers per hour in an instant to circle behind Cardina.

But Cardina didn’t even turn. Its Detection Magic grasped every subtle movement without needing to look, and that speed posed no threat, no matter how many were involved.

“Hey, it’s not even fazed!” Mateo called out.

“Haha! I might’ve moved too fast. It can’t even react,” Janice laughed.

“As expected, it’s just a sluggish monster skilled in high strength and mid-to-long-range precision attacks. Janice, can you slow down a bit to draw its attention?” Zeh said.

“Got it,” Janice replied.

With a mocking smile, Janice sent a command to the distant black panther.

Understanding the order, the black panther slowed to about 50 kilometers per hour, circling Cardina provocatively.

“Peewee?” Cardina tilted its head, puzzled by the action, as if it were following the black panther.

Realizing Cardina had noticed, Mateo and Zeh sent commands to their own monsters as planned.

A giant beetle with four horns buzzed into the air, while an armored golem with large wings began moving slowly and quietly.

The beetle traced an inverted U-shaped trajectory, climbing above Cardina before diving sharply. As it channeled Ki into its four horns, spiraling energy coiled around them.

With the momentum of its descent, the beetle aimed to impale Cardina with a four-pronged strike.

“Peewee” Cardina activated the effect of its title Deverylute, transforming its wings into blades. Spinning sideways, it met the attack head-on with True Dragon Wing Blade.

The moment the spiraling Ki-clad horns met the blade-like wings, three of the beetle’s long, vertically aligned horns snapped off and fell through the air.

By forcibly jerking its head upward to halt its descent, the beetle managed to preserve the single short horn in the center, but stopping in front of Cardina was a fatal mistake.

Cardina swung its sharp eagle-like talons on its left foreleg down toward the beetle’s exposed underbelly.

“Gigi—!” the beetle screeched.

“Caraballos!?” Mateo shouted.

A mere Scratch, not even a skill, tore a gash in the beetle’s abdomen and ripped off one of its legs.

“Peewee” (It might die if I keep going. What should I do?) Cardina hesitated, debating whether to pursue.

In that moment, the armored golem below flapped its large wings and hurled a slender spear.

Seizing the chance, the beetle tried to escape, but Cardina deftly caught the incoming spear with its hind leg and hurled it at the beetle’s retreating rear.

The spear, thrown with greater speed and precision than its original owner could muster, pierced the beetle’s backside and protruded from its lower abdomen.

The injured beetle, with the spear still lodged in it, staggered back to its master.

“My Caraballos…” Mateo muttered.

“For now, let’s hold back!” Zeh shouted.

“Get it some first aid, quick!” Janice urged.

“Y-Yeah!” Mateo stammered.

The plan had been for the beetle to pierce Cardina with its horns, release the spiraling Ki like a spring to inflict severe damage, followed by the armored golem below piercing Cardina’s wings with a spear, and finally, the black panther biting its neck to finish it off.

But in reality, Cardina, meant to be gravely injured by the first strike, was unscathed. Instead, one of their monsters was critically wounded, and their masters were left scrambling, giving Cardina the leisure to observe them with Detection Magic.

As Cardina displayed such composure, the armored golem below generated new spears and began hurling them at Cardina from a distance.

Cardina caught them with its feet, as before, and threw them back at the moving armored monster.

Unable to dodge, the golem was pierced by its own spears, becoming a pincushion.

“Armato! Stop already!!” Zeh shouted.

“Lente, back it up!” Janice called.

Despite being riddled with its own spears, the armored golem didn’t stop throwing. Zeh sent a command to halt it.

Seeing the dire situation, Janice realized the golem would be defeated if this continued and sent a command to the black panther.

The black panther, using Air Walk, lunged at Cardina, driving Ki-infused claws into its blade-like wings—but…

“Gyan—!” the panther yelped.

“Peewee—!” Cardina chirped.

“Guu!” the golem groaned.

Cardina’s wings were protected by a blade-deflecting defense, shredding the panther’s claws and arm to pieces.

Spinning vertically in the air, Cardina delivered a heel drop with its hind leg to the panther’s head, sending it crashing onto the rooftop where its masters watched.

“Lente!” Janice cried.

“Guuu…” the panther groaned.

Thanks to Cardina holding back to avoid killing it and the panther diving downward to reduce the impact, it was battered but not immobilized.

Responding to Janice’s worried approach, the panther stood up bravely.

“You okay? Can you keep going?” Janice asked.

“Guau!” the panther growled.

“Armato can still move,” Zeh said.

“Foooorn—” the golem rumbled.

“Caraballos… it’s done. Any more, and it’ll die,” Mateo said.

“Gi… gigi…” the beetle whimpered.

The black panther, despite multiple lacerations rendering its right foreleg useless and body-wide pain from the impact, was the most mobile of the three.

The armored golem, after removing all spears and repairing its riddled body, had nearly depleted the Magical Power needed to move.

The beetle, despite minimal first aid, was missing a leg, had a torn abdomen, and a slender spear lodged from its rear to its lower belly, barely able to move or make a sound.

“Just touching it did this much damage. There’s no way we can win. Shouldn’t we escape? Honestly, I don’t have enough loyalty to that Lord to risk my partner’s life.” Janice said

“Same here, I’m only here for the easy life and good pay.” Mateo agreed.

“Armato’s my precious partner too. I won’t lose it. Besides, no one thinks they can beat that thing. The Lord’s probably done for.” Zeh said.

“Then it’s settled. Plus, looking closely, that creature has intelligent eyes. It doesn’t seem to enjoy pointless fights. Maybe the Lord touched its reverse scale.” Janice said.

“I was just thinking the same. Risking our partners’ lives for someone like that is idiotic. Let’s get out of here.” Mateo said.

“But how? Will waving a white flag make it let us go? At least in Mateo’s partner’s condition, we can’t carry both.” Zeh asked.

Looking up, they saw a being with overwhelming combat prowess, illuminated by moonlight, gazing down at them.

Even with superior speed, they doubted they could escape long-range Magical Power bullets in their current state, and the atmosphere didn’t suggest Cardina would let them go.

“Then maybe if we make it think dealing with us is too much trouble, it’ll let us escape—kya!” Janice yelped.

“It’s attacking!” Mateo shouted.

“It might be saying to hurry up… it won’t wait any longer. Let’s steel ourselves. We still have one Trump Card. So, Janice—” Zeh began.

Switching to a strategy to make Cardina think they were too troublesome, the two remaining monsters acted.

The black panther, favoring its injured right foreleg, ran through the sky on three legs.

Unable to reach top speed, it could still manage about 100 kilometers per hour.

Believing Cardina couldn’t keep up, the three aimed to capitalize on their supposed speed advantage.

Naturally, for Cardina in the sky, this was no different from walking. Waiting casually, it noticed black smoke rising from the panther’s body.

Analyzing instantly, Cardina identified it as a smoke screen with a mild paralyzing effect, mixed with poison that would only affect those with low Magic Resistance—ineffective against a martial artist of level 15 or higher.

Unconcerned, Cardina watched as the smoke darkened the moonlit sky.

This rendered eyes useless, but the black panther had a skill to accurately track targets even in darkness, making it no different from daylight.

Unfortunately for them, Cardina’s Dispel Magic made vision unnecessary, as its Detection Magic clearly tracked even their breathing.

“Peewee—!” Cardina chirped, thinking it was time to end things as the others’ battles neared conclusion.

Silently moving through the dark sky, the panther unleashed a claw slash at Cardina.

Cardina blocked it all with its wings, neutralizing the attack with blade-deflecting defense, when it sensed a significant Magical Power reaction below.

Analyzing, it found the armored golem, having somehow restored its Magical Power, crafting a massive 10-meter spear to hurl at Cardina.

“We used a precious magic recovery potion. Finish it in one shot!” Zeh urged.

“Foooorn!” the golem roared.

The skill, Great Spear Barrage, was far more powerful than the earlier thrown spears, launching the massive spear like a bullet.

However, it consumed nearly 95% of the golem’s Magical Power, using up the recovery potion’s effect in one go.

Though the golem could repair wounds with Magical Power, its slow recovery rate meant depleting 95% would leave it immobile for a while—a double-edged skill they’d rather avoid.

To ensure a hit, Janice shared her vision with the golem, precisely calculating coordinates.

“It’s not moving at all. Finish it now!” Janice said.

“Got it!” Zeh replied.

“Foooorn!”

Mateo’s pair could only pray, watching silently, while Janice and the black panther, still drawing attention, continued observing. Zeh raised and lowered his right hand, signaling the golem to fire.

The massive spear shot toward Cardina like a bullet.

Hoping it would injure Cardina and make it seek other targets, this was their final strike, though none believed it would defeat it.

Aimed straight at Cardina’s right flank, the spear closed in. Through the panther’s vision, Janice saw it reach its mark—only for Cardina to grab it with its foreleg’s eagle talons and store it in its Item Box.

This was due to the MOTTAINAI spirit inherited from Tatsuro, thinking it might be useful later.

Despairing as their hopeful strike failed, Janice collapsed, tears streaming.

The others realized the outcome, but the black panther, refusing to give up, understood it was the only one still mobile. Using the humans as a decoy, it raced downward to save its master.

Reaching Janice instantly, it grabbed her limp clothing to flee—but noticed everyone staring behind it.

Amid an indescribable oppressive aura, it fearfully turned to see Cardina standing majestically behind it, despite being thought slower.

“Guau!” the panther yelped.

“—Whoa!?” Mateo gasped.

Instinct screamed to escape at all costs. The panther flung Mateo at Cardina with its left foreleg and grabbed Janice to flee forward.

But in an instant, Cardina appeared in front of it.

Finally, they all realized they had no advantage whatsoever.

Resigning itself to being unable to escape, the black panther tucked Janice under its belly and curled up, glaring at Cardina with determination to protect her even in death.

“Peewee♪” Cardina chirped.

“Guon?” the panther growled, confused.

Cardina was touched by the panther’s actions, feeling a kinship—it would do the same for Tatsuro in a similar situation.

Surveying the scene, Cardina saw two tamers, one critically injured monster, and one nearly immobile from Magical Power depletion.

Tamers without martial or magic skills relied on their partners to shine, with low individual combat ability.

Cardina reasoned that leaving them be posed no threat.

However, leaving without action might lead to underestimation or lingering resentment, which would be Cardina’s responsibility.

Thus, Cardina chose a method to demonstrate overwhelming superiority without further harm.

“Peeweeeeeeeeee!!” Cardina unleashed its full Oppressive Aura, amplified by a roar infused with Dragon Force, scattering it around.

Most humans, with less developed senses than monsters, could only vaguely sense something immense.

But monsters, like the panther, beetle, and golem, instantly grasped Cardina’s true power, realizing they could never stand on the same stage, overwhelmed by their own insignificance before a biological king.

The humans froze, their heartbeats nearly stopping, so Cardina reduced its aura to a minimum.

“Peewee” Cardina chirped, conveying (Take care of them) before flying off leisurely to Tatsuro.

The monsters vaguely understood, bowing their heads until Cardina vanished from sight.