Reincarnated as a dragon’s egg ～Lets aim to be the strongest～ - Chapter 539

539 – The Mischievous Demon Attack Strategy (side: Treant)
I am using my [Tree Spiritisation] skill to stay in my small and charming form as Aro-dono carries me in her enlarged arm. With my current stats, if I were to run seriously, I could move at around the same speed as her but, well, I would stand out a bit too much.

Considering that it might attract the attention of additional enemies, or cause us to be bombarded by long-range magic, it’s best if I rely on Aro-dono to carry me. There’s also a chance that the group we’re chasing will lose sight of us in the fog this way.

We are chasing down the grievously wounded Aruane to finish her off, and then we will go and rescue atlach-dono. We were once brought to the brink of annihilation by Aruane, but now she has been heavily wounded by master-dono. That is why we can win.

However… As we catch up to Aruane, it becomes apparent that our estimations were off.

“She should have run away. That dragon-san probably wouldn’t have blamed her, as well.”

Aruane is facing us, ready to fight and in perfect health. Fortunately, she seems to have gotten in a fight with that Alphiss swordswoman, but… Her recovery from her wounds is unforeseen.

…Last time, we fought together with atlach-dono in a three-on-one, and yet we were still unable to put up a proper fight. Although it is purely a view based on hindsight… If it was going to turn out like this, we should have done something else. Had master-dono known that Aruane would recover, he wouldn’t have let us chase her.

Behind Aruane stands an undead of a middle-aged man, who stares at us with hollow eyes.

『H-how did this… Could she have been hiding her [Autoregeneration] to lure us in…?』

Aro-dono shakes her head.

“Probably… It’s that man’s magic.”

『How do you know?』

“I have no proof, but… It’s the only explanation that fits for why she killed her ally, why she bore the wounds for so long, and why she got in a fight with Alphiss. Ignoring the other possibilities would be dangerous, but… That explanation seems the most likely.”

『Oh…?』

I try to piece together her theory, but I’m unable to connect the dots… Unlike Aro-dono, I am not very adept at thinking in the middle of combat.

『I see, that could would make sense…』

For now, I decide to affirm Aro-dono’s theory. I don’t want to say anything unnecessary and get in the way of her thoughts. Besides, I can tell what sort thing I should say in response by reading the atmosphere.

“R-right…”

Aro-dono lowers her eyebrows in vague apprehension. O-oh? Aro-dono shouldn’t have [Telepathy], and yet it seems she was able to tell I didn’t understand.

The corners of Aruane’s mouth rise further into a wide crescent-shaped grin.

“You’re a clever one, aren’t you, undead onee-chan. Aruane you see, Aruane isn’t very bright, so she can’t understand what other people are thinking at all. That’s why Aruane is oh so jealous.”

Aruane swings her arms. Red liquid surges over her nails, forming into vicious claws.

“Aruane doesn’t have much leeway either you see. So she can’t play with you very much. It’ll be over real soon.”

Aro-dono stops moving.

…It’s clear from our previous clash that we don’t stand a chance in hand-to-hand combat. If we fight head-on, it’ll be over the moment Aruane’s claws reach us.

Aro-dono probably intends to use long-range skills to create an advantageous situation, and then hit her with a counter as she leaps at us. We already have a good idea of her speed and skills.

『Sh-she’s coming, Aro-dono! Please leave blocking the long-range attacks to me!』

“It’s okay… Please stay in your current form as you support me.”

『…B-but!』

“I don’t think Aruane has any long-range attacks herself.  Last time, she relied on the [Shockwaves] of the knight she was controlling to keep us in check at range. She probably doesn’t want to waste mana against us. It’s possible that that man has some sort of magic attack, but… If he’s a healer, it seems unlikely that she’ll waste his mana to attack.”

『I-I see…?』

In response to my words, Aro-dono laughs feebly. I-I actually understood this time! Most of it, at least…

『But I can’t let Aro-dono take on all the danger! I would be too embarrassed to face master-dono!』

“There’s something I want to ask you to do, treant… Just by myself, no matter how well things go, I don’t think I can do enough damage to kill her. If that man is a healer, then we’ll need to deal all the damage at once.”

『…So, what do you want me to do?』

“I’ll somehow create an opening… When I do, I want you to undo your [Tree Spiritisation] and defeat Aruane. You have that skill you created with dragon-god-sama, right?

Th-that skill…? Does she mean the skill we created while levelling? B-but I’m not sure I’ll be able to hit her with it…

『W-with that!? B-but master-dono and I pretty much made it as a joke… I don’t think it’ll work against an opponent like that.』

“…If it hits, I think it should have the power to defeat her. To overturn the status difference, we need to take her by surprise… That skill seems a perfect fit.”

C-certainly, it seems unlikely that she’d see it coming, but… The accuracy isn’t very good. If I miss, we’re dead for sure…. No, but I suppose there’s no other way we can defeat Aruane now that she has healed.

『I understand… Aro-dono. Let’s give that ill-natured vampire a nasty surprise!』