Reincarnated as a dragon’s egg ～Lets aim to be the strongest～ - Chapter 472

472 – Mandragora Levelling
With the treant by my side, we draw close to one of the fake legume shrubs. A troll mandragora should be sleeping below.

Treant-san’s leg roots lift up and down softly so as not to make a sound. Treant-san hasn’t had many opportunities to fight, so it must be feeling nervous. As I stomp forward without a worry, treant-san’s shifts left and right in a panic.

I check the positions of everyone else. I need to brace myself for the possibility of a monster like a fenrir getting in here. If that happens, I’ll need to react immediately.

As Aro totters away, the nightmare pats her shoulder encouragingly. Those two get along well. I suppose they’ve fought together a fair number of times now. The nightmare treats treant-san and me so coldly, and yet… Wait, does she maybe see me and treant-san as the same? Eh? Is that how it is? As I tilt my head to the side, the treant scowls at me. N-no, I didn’t mean it in a bad way or anything!

I should check on Volk and the black lizard, too.

“What’s wrong!? Why do you not strike!? I have drawn its attention! It’s full of openings!”

Volk is holding back the troll mandrora’s arm root while shouting at the black lizard. Th-they’re fast… When did it emerge from the ground?

“Hurry up and attack! What’s wrong!?”

“Ki…kishi…”

The black lizard turns to me, a pleading expression on her face.

『H-hey, Volk… Would you mind being a little kinder…』

“What nonsense are you saying, Irushia!? Lilixira isn’t as soft as me or the troll mandragora! Do you plan to spoil everyone much in training that they die in real combat!?”

G-guh… What he’s saying is true… I shift my eyes to the black lizard and give a slight bow of apology.

『U-umm… Do your best out there…』

“Kishii…”

She cries out faintly. I-it’s okay, you can do it!

The treant comes to a complete stop to stare at Volk as he barks orders.

“M-master-dono… Are we going to be doing that too?”

Treant-san asks fluently through [Telepathy]. So you really can communicate if you want to. I had thought as much.

『That’s right. For starters, please take care of the opening strike. We should get some damage in while we can.』

I turn to face the fake legume shrub. Treant-san approaches it and reaches out with a trembling branch. N-no, it’s fine for you to take your distance a bit more. You’ve got a bunch of useful magic skills.

Treant-san pulls back slightly and stands up straight, and then is wrapped in light… Is that [Physical Barrier]? I guess you wanted to boost your defence. There’s no need to be that scared though… If it comes to it, I’ll kill it right away with [Dimension Claw]…

I glance over at Aro and the nightmare. Before their troll mandragora had even emerged, they bound it with [Spider Thread] and the earthen arms of [Rope of Regret]. Only its head has pushed out, and it’s struggling against their bindings. Countless arms of earth are pressing down on it.

As the troll mandragora struggles, Aro and the nightmare fire simultaneous [Dark Spheres] to destroy its head. It falls limp and stops moving. Beaming, Aro runs up to the nightmare and holds her hand out for a high-five. The nightmare looks away from her as though finding her a bother and begins searching for their next prey, but as Aro keeps her arm raised and stares at her, she eventually relents and lifts a front leg for a pseudo-high-five.

Those two, they both fight dirty and their tactics are complementary… It must be because they’re on such good terms. They get along surprisingly well.

We can’t stay put here. We need to hunt our first too, treant-san.

The treant stiffly nods and creates a sphere of earth, then shoots it at the fake legume shrub. Its treant-san’s strongest skill, [Clay Sphere]. The shrub’s branch snaps off, but it doesn’t react at all… Does it not consider it an attack? N-no, there’s no way that should be possible.

『Treant… One more shot!』

『Y-yes, master-dono!』

The second ball of earth hits the shrub dead centre, causing it to creak backwards. I think for sure it’s going to react, but again, it doesn’t… Perhaps no matter how much we attack the above-ground part, it doesn’t deal any damage?

【Greengreens: Value C】
【A shrub with lovely pure green flowers.】
【Its wood is easy to work and contains significant mana, so it is often used to create staves.】
【However, due to over-logging, its worldwide population has diminished significantly.】
【…There are probably some remaining in the distant regions that humans dare not enter, but as they are not worth the risk of such an excursion, they are left alone.】
【The outward appearance is the same as the [Goblin Mandragora], so it is rumoured that [Goblin Mandragoras] are more likely to grow in [Greengreen] groves.】

It was a fake! I chose the wrong one! I should have looked at it more closely. I-I didn’t know that was a possibility! Treant-san’s trunk tilts to the side as a third [Clay Sphere] forms.

『S-sorry, treant-san. That one’s a fake.』

The impact of the third [Clay Sphere] causes the greengreens to finally topple over.

『…Master-dono, what were you saying?』

The treant turns to me and asks.

『S-sorry, I know I should’ve checked but, umm… I’ll make sure the next one is correct! S-see, over there, something that looks like a troll mandragora is growing! Let’s take a look!』

As I say that and start walking, Aro and the nightmare begin fighting their second troll mandragora. I see the black lizard has somehow managed to defeat hers after a life-and-death struggle, and is lying down to catch her breath. W-we need to hurry to catch up…