“─────……o,OOOOOOOOOOooooooo─────!!!”
As if to shake off Izayoi’s question, the Titans raised a battle cry and rushed in. If the enemy was going to rush in, then he’d have to push them back. Izayoi kept this faint suspicion inside his heart while he leaped into a Titan’s chest and punched through his armor, sending him flying. The Titan’s chain had shattered to pieces, and his momentum carried him all the way to the back line unabated, flying another few hundred meters entangled with other Titans.
After confirming that they were down for the count, Izayoi then turned to his allies, the Draco Greif Alliance, and fearlessly questioned them as well.
“By the way, I have some questions about our allies here as well, but………you guys in the Draco Greif Alliance, how long are you going to pretend to be in despair?”
“W,What………!?”
A buzz spread along the several phantom beasts, Gry included. There were those who felt insulted, and others who felt provoked by Izayoi’s words. All sorts of reactions ran about. Izayoi didn’t understand what they were saying, but after looking at their reactions, he figured it was possible to communicate with them, so he agitated them with a theatrical complaint.
“As you can see, the enemy was prepared to give up 10 of their own to kill me. That mindset is indeed, unmistakably that of a formidable opponent. I have to say, that was gutsy. ………After seeing that mortal enemy’s mindset, the Draco Greif Alliance, which upholds the symbol of courage, can’t possibly be sniveling like wimps.”
“………Nu……!”
Izayoi snorted as he felt like he struck a nerve. The alliance’s members bared their fangs, growling, but didn’t say a word. It was as he’d said, the Gryphon’s banner was typically engraved with bravery and honor. If this is a community with kingship, then it could be used as a display of sovereignty as well.
Elements of eagles, kings of the sky, and lions, kings of the earth, were present in the phantom beasts. By questioning the true meaning behind their banner, Izayoi had agitated the alliance members. His manner of speaking was indeed extremely irritating, but his word had some truth to it, which was in bad taste. They wanted to respond but couldn’t, as murmurs spread among the herd. Izayoi briefly examined their reactions, but replacing the smirk on his face with a serious expression,
“………Face the facts already. This grand harvest festival is supposed to have Underwood’s restoration riding on it. Those guys then committed acts of vandalism against this festival, throwing dirt on your deepest wish. Scarring your companions and the land, and raised arms against your pride and your flag. After taking this amount of humiliation, within the hearts of the members of Draco Greif─────shouldn’t be despair, but justified anger.”
This time, he spoke in half serious contempt. That was also how Izayoi really felt. Even though the [Draco Greif] Alliance had their pride trampled upon, spit on, and wounded………in front of their mortal enemy, they couldn’t let their anger erupt. That was frustrating, and couldn’t be left that way.
“If you’re not going to move anymore after this, then that’s fine too. That must be the [Draco Greif] Alliance’s secret to success. ─────But don’t forget. If you’re not going to stand up against your mortal enemy, the fact that you’ve hidden behind the backs of lowly [No Names] to survive will be something for even the future generations to laugh at.”
“………Tch……you’ve gone too far, brat………!”
“They’ve got a bit of bite to them, but in the end, they’re just seedy looking monkeys who have no claws or fangs!”
“Yeah! He may have crushed 20 Titans with his fist, but we’ve speared twice as many with our horns! We’re not inferior to them at all!”
Receiving Izayoi’s ferocious instigation, a cry of fighting spirit and reproach rang out from the phantom beasts. No matter the size of his power, Izayoi was inexperienced. Not to mention, being talked down by a human kid that much, even they’d get mad. The tolerant inhabitants of the south also had their limits.
The [Draco Greif] Alliance was roused by their anger towards Izayoi. But only Gry, who had already lost his rider, was in a different situation. Losing his partner who accompanied him for many years, it was for this very reason that Izayoi’s words carved very deeply into his heart.
(………My homeland was scarred, regardless of losing my rider, in this predicament……..even if that boy laughs at me, it can’t be helped.)
Gry raised his eagle head and looked at his lion body’s back. The partner he had carried there for many years was no longer here. In his everyday battles, his rider was struck by a falling arrow and fell, never to be seen again.
He’d gone numb battling with bad news happening one after the other, but anger and a sense of loss welled up deep within his gut.
(Fighting an uphill battle everyday, and my lack of aspiration up until now. There’s no way this abomination should be of one of the tribes of beast kings and the figure of the community………!!!)
─────The gryphon, of all tribes, had succumbed to fear towards the enemy instead of sadness towards the loss of his companions. Wrapped in anger towards his own humility, Gry, with all of his might, trembled as he roared like an animal and rushed towards the Titans.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOooooo!!!”
In the human language, it probably sounded like any other animal’s cry. But that roar was unmistakably that of an enraged warrior. Letting out a battle cry, Gry, without any cheap tricks up his sleeve, charged in, kicking up swirls of tornado-like whirlwinds which shredded the Titans’ armor and sent them flying. Izayoi praised his gallant figure in admiration.
“Hah, as expected of the king of beasts! Looks like this’ll be quite the show………!”
The gryphon had rushed in past Izayoi at supersonic speeds. His figure roused the other phantom beasts to follow after, roaring, and with great fighting spirit, they rained down on the Titans. Like this, they could probably fight the Titans on equal footing. Their morale had rebounded, and their confusion had been quelled as well. At this rate, Izayoi would probably no longer have to deal with the Titans.
(With this, there should be no more problems with the Draco Greif Alliance’s morale for the rest of the game. Now if we could make our standings clear during the deliberation resolution, maybe we can grab the initiative.)
In the middle of the increasingly intense war between the phantom beasts and the Titans, Izayoi casually looked up at the sky. Even now, inside the thunder clouds, the massive dragon was squirming around. When this game began, Izayoi understood that he had a role to fulfill. What could take down that massive dragon lurking in the thunder clouds was probably─────the gift that resided within him.