Reincarnated as a dragon’s egg ～Lets aim to be the strongest～ - Chapter 516

516 – Holy Knight Commander Alexio (side: Volk)
I straddle the lecherta’s back.

Together with the lecherta and magiatite, I will attack the Holy Knights in the air. At the same time, Aro, the atlach-nacha, and treant will fight the Holy Knights that draw close to the ground. That is the plan we’re going with.

This way we can prevent them from unilaterally attacking from above. If the Saint or the Fly King Beelzebub comes, we’ll be in serious trouble, but the Saint should want to concentrate her forces on Irushia. It’s unlikely that she’ll send any of her main forces at us.

“…They’re here.”

The atlach-nacha whispers. Following her words, shadows appear in the fog overhead… Twenty, no twenty five dragon riding Holy Knights have appeared. The lecherta bobs her head and looks at me.

“Umu, please fly! Our counterattack begins!”

“Kishii!”

The lecherta spreads her bat-like wings and kicks off the ground. I ready the [Golden Magic Steel Spirit Sword] in my hand.

Two dragon riders cut in front of us. They split to the left and right, intent on pincering us.

The lercherta’s cheeks puff up.

“What are you…”

“Kishi!”

A spray of poison shoots out of her mouth. The dragon riders shout and swerve away.

“Argh! Let’s pull back and join up again!”

One of the dragon riders shouts. They split further apart, beginning to fly away.

“Magiatite, I’m counting on you.”

I say as I swing my sword in a wide horizontal arc. The blade deforms and stretches.

“Wha…!”

The magiatite blade cuts through the armour of one of the riders, and the wing of other’s dragon. The dragon cries out and twists in pain.

But… Neither wound is fatal. The wounded Holy Knight clutches his side and grits his teeth as he flies up. The other uses [Rest] on his mount as they fall.

“Perhaps I should have aimed to kill one of them for sure. We’re going to be buried by their numbers at this rate.”

I look up. Dragon riders are glaring down at me with furrowed brows.

“How crazy is this guy…”

“It’s not just his sword and dragon, he’s probably a monster too. He’s not just a stray adventurer. He cut through a zephyr and our armour in a single strike, so he must far stronger than we assumed.”

“Bringing him down is impossible in close quarters! Surround him and use magic!”

Several dragon riders turn towards me.

“Interesting, let’s see what you can do. Come at me with ten or twenty, it won’t change the result.”

“You…!”

Just as one of the dragon riders is about to charge forwards, a man who had been hanging back flies forwards and restrains him with a gesture.

“You lot fight the monsters below. I’ve taken an interest in this man. I will fight him.”

“A-Alexio-sama…! Hah! Understood!”

The one called Alexio is a tall, blond man with blue eyes. While most of the knights have serious expressions, the look in his eyes alone is that of a beast relishing a hunt.

The wings of the dragon he’s riding are larger than the others. It’s probably stronger.

I’ve heard the name Alexio before. There’s no doubt that he’s the commander and strongest of Liarm’s Holy Knights, Alexio Ozroad.

“Dragon Hunter Volk, I will take your life.”

Alexio holds his sword ready. It’s long and thin, a shape that can only be used if there is no fear of it becoming damaged in battle… It’s probably made of a special magic metal. The silver blade reflects the sunlight in a beautiful shimmer.

“I see, you have a fine sword… It seems a somewhat dangerous opponent has emerged.”

“More than somewhat.”

I glance at Aro’s group. The dragon riders are diving towards them… The objective of this battle is to prevent them from being unilaterally attacked from the air. Focusing entirely on Alexio will mean deviating from that objective, but he’s not an opponent I can fight while distracted.

“I don’t dislike crossing swords with the strong, but I don’t have much leeway at the moment. I’ll end it quickly.”

“Enough drivel, Dragon Hunter!”

In contrast to his words, Alexio is grinning. His dragon brays, and he flies towards me.

“I hear you struggle with magic.”

The tip of Alexio’s sword glows with light. As he swings it, a ball of raging flames shoots out.

“[Fire Sphere]!”

The lecherta begins to dodge. But there’s no need.

“Leave it to me!”

I catch the ball of flames with the flat of my blade. The flames glide down the blade and fly off to the side. Thanks to the high magic resistance of [Golden Magic Steel Spirit Sword], I can deflect magic projectile attacks. I could have suppressed it more reliably with [Exorcising Blade], but that skill consumes mana so the times I can use it is limited.

“It’s getting interesting, Dragon Hunter! How will you deal with this? [Lucent Luna]!”

The sunlight reflecting off his sword forms into shards of heat and flies towards me. The lecherta drops down to dodge. I ward off the light that we’re unable to avoid.

Alexio dives straight towards us. I swing my sword at him.

“[Shockwave]!”

“[Shockwave]!”

Our sword swings are almost exactly in sync. The shockwaves collide inbetween us and burst.

“Kishi!”

The lecherta sprays a burst of poison to keep Alexio in check.

“Ignore it! Charge, zephyr!”

Alexio shouts. He dives into the cloud of poison.

“Kishii!?”

The lecherta cries out in confusion. With our vision blocked, it’s hard to predict where his sword will come from. I didn’t expect him to dive in either. Moreso than a battle of abilities, this is a battle of intuition and the speed of our swords.

“HaaAAAh!”

“I have you, Dragon Hunter!”

Our swords clash. My hand goes numb from the shock. He’s strong. It’s my first time crossing swords with someone who has so much arm strength.

I’m almost entirely incapable of using magic. Instead, I have a natural talent with the sword. Each person has their own set of abilities, and mine point me towards fighting with a sword. Those abilities are probably the stats that Irushia has talked about.

But, this man is different. He is skilled enough with magic to incorporate it into battle, and yet possesses more strength than me. I didn’t realise the Holy Country had a knight this powerful.

“But I can’t be pushed back here…!”

“Interesting, you’re strong enough to compete with me!”

Alexio pulls back his sword and immediately strikes again from a different direction. Just barely, I’m able to deflect his blow, but it’s fast and heavy. He pushes my sword aside as he rushes past me, then around to face me again.

“It really has been a long time since I’ve met a human who could keep up with me. It’s frustrating… If Saint-sama’s life wasn’t on the line, I could have played around with you a bit more. I’ll end it in the next clash.”