This is going to be a trip that will train all of us, I haven't encountered any dragons in the past, I need to collect info about it and fight it one on one to gouge its strength, if possible, I'll take it alive and have Alissa go crazy.

Alissa hasn't dissected anything in a while now andI'm sure she'd be thrilled to study an actual dragon, also, she's been pestering me for a demon's corpse. According to her, she wants to find out a demon's anatomy

Our destination is Macrom forest, it is north of Alphon city so we will have to stay there before heading to Macrom forest.

I was armed with Azazel, Silver edge, and an M4, our party consists of me, Brunhilde, Reiner, Melphis, Albert, and Guardian 1. Guardian 1 was carrying 3 grenades and 1 Desert Eagle prototype that Alissa made

It took us half a day to get to Alphon city from Arcadia, we all rode a horse of our own, we decided not to take much and will prepare all the stuff we need in Alphon city instead. In case we can't handle the dragon, Behemoth is on standby, it's been equipped with a chainsaw that Alissa has been working on. There are other equipment that was always with the Behemoth like the minigun attached on its back or the jet thrusters on its back but the minigun is out of ammo and the jet thruster is damaged so I'll have to rely on the solar-powered chainsaw with the battery life of 2 hours (continuous usage)

Alphon city is starting to improve, the once desolate city is starting to regain life, the people who always had bitter faces started to smile bit by bit. We headed for a huge market where we got some bread. meat, and vegetables. We will stay in Macrom forest for at least 2 days so this much is needed. I checked everyone in a local inn.

"The new city lord should at least welcome the queen's royal knight" Melphis muttered as we all walked the hallway of the inn, heading for our rooms

"He doesn't even know I'm here" I chuckled

"What? why?" Brunhilde asked

"You see, Alphon city is starting to recover and I bet that the new city lord is busy with everything, I don't want to trouble him since we're only passing by" I explained

"That's very considerate of you" Albert patted my shoulders

"Anyway, let's go to our rooms and get some rest, I bet you're all tired from our trip" I stated before opening the door

I got us 2 rooms with four beds in each room, of course men are sleeping separately from the women.

It was still 3 in the afternoon so I told everyone to go enjoy themselves before returning at 6. They all left except for me, Brunhilde, Melphis, and Reiner went off to do "Women stuff" it's what they told me, Albert went to a local weapon shop, as for Guardian 1, I ordered him to check on the city lord. It's not that I don't trust the person that Cynthia recommended, I just want to see if he's up to the task

I was a bit bored so I double checked on our food stocks and equipment till 5 pm. Everyone returned and we all had dinner together at a local pub beside the inn, Melphis strongly rejected but everyone preferred the pub so she can only endure in silence. I guess for a high-class lady like her, she wants to eat high-class food.

We all slept and left early for Macrom forest, we arrived at exactly 9 am, took us 3 hours.

We hired a carriage where Albert was the coachman, the women stayed inside along with our food stock while I was the vanguard and Guardian 1 as the rearguard.

I already reviewed the video of the new city lord that Guardian 1 took, I can see that he's a very hard worker so I guess Alphon is in good hands

"Hey Zeno" Albert called out

"What?" I replied, irritated

"I'm sorry, sir" He apologized before correcting himself

"Alright, what is it?" I asked

"That companion of yours that came, the one wrapped in cloth, may I know who he is?" Albert asked politely

"Oh, him, he's a soldier of my homeland that came along with me" I replied

"I see, I was a bit curious and worried since he wouldn't speak to anyone"

"That's just normal for him" I replied as I looked ahead

'Lilith, anything on your scanners?' I asked

'There's something, a small group of 10 ahead, their heartbeats are strong and loud, after identifying with my thermal, I can see that they're about 8 foot tall, with large body builds. My assessment, a group of ogres' Lilith replied

'I see, thanks'

"There's a group ahead, we think it's ogres, approach carefully" I stated, Melphis was about to ask my choice of words but after a small glare, she dropped the issue

Brunhilde, Albert, Melphis, and Reiner nodded and approached the spot I pointed at, making sure to not make any noise as they go. We peered through the bushes and saw a group of ogres sitting around a campfire, they seem to be roasting an animal.

"I and Uno (Guardian 1) will stay here, you guys go and eliminate them" I ordered

Melphis started chanting while Albert pulled out two arrows. Brunhilde silently approached the group using every bush she came across as cover and as for Reiner, she quickly disappeared as soon as I finished my sentence.

"Fireball!" Melphis finished her chanting and shot off a fireball the size of a basketball, she roasted one of the ogres.

Albert fired two arrows which dug themselves deep into two ogres' head, after the first two attacks, the ogre's group finally stood up and prepared for battle. Reiner appeared behind the ogre who is out of the group's sight before beheading it, Brunhilde popped out of the bush and just released a barrage of rapier thrusts to an unsuspecting ogre nearby.

"Five down, five to go" I mumbled as I observed them

The five ogre backed away and tried to flee but Reiner blocked their path, they issued a low grunt before charging ahead, attempting to trample Reiner who was in the way. Reiner clicked her tongue before popping a smoke bomb and retreating, the ogres ran inside the smoke screen, Brunhilde and the others quickly moved, making sure that Reiner was safe before killing the first ogre to get out of the smoke screen.

The smoke might've obstructed their visions but not me, I can clearly see bodies tumbling around inside the smoke. The wind started to blow away the smoke as everyone prepared to attack the ogres, as soon as the smoke faded, the ogre's continued their charge with no sense of direction. 2 ogres headed for Brunhilde while 1 headed for each member of the group

Reiner used her shadow clone to confuse the ogre before piercing her blade through the temples of her target while Albert shot the ogre dead before even arriving in front of him and as for Brunhilde, she kept moving as she released waves after waves of slashes and thrusts, like a butterfly dancing in the wind, none of the ogress attack seem to hit her but her attacks always land

Melphis though had a slight problem. She released another fireball but the ogre brushed it off with the stone club it dragged around, Melphis started dodging the heavy attacks as she chanted her next spell. After dodging 2 attacks, she got close to the ogre and released her spell on the ogre's face. The ogre jumped back and repeatedly scratched its face, trying its hardest to kill the flames that were burning off its face, soon the ogre fell on his back as the fire died down, revealing a scorched head with no skin

The monsters started to vanish and dropped a few items which were useless for us so we tossed it aside, we continued moving as we searched for clues as to where the dragon might be.

We pressed on our journey. An hour after eating our lunch, we started to see withered trees. It is not necessarily a sign of a dragon but at least we found something, we pressed on carefully

'Zeno, I've detected an irregularity within the area' Lilith stated

'What is it?' I asked as I stopped our party, my hands gripping Azazel

'A few feet away from you, I detected energy that took the form of a human being' Lilith stated

'Did you try thermal or echolocation?' I asked, everyone was silent and tense

'I tried thermal but no heat signature was found and as for echolocation, I seem to be getting a small response in the spot I stated but when I use my radar, there really seems to be something in front of us'

'I see'

I can try to release a [Crescent slash] to see if there really is something but I have no idea where the other party stand, they might be the so-called elves that live in the forests

"I know you're there, show yourself" I stated as I pulled out Azazel and pointing towards the spot of irregularity

"Heh? A human actually detecting me without the aid of an elf sentry? this is new" We heard an arrogant voice as it showed itself

Soon enough, it revealed itself to be a 5-foot lizardman, except its eyes were more like of a chameleon... so it's a chameleon man?

"What is your business with us?" I asked

"Nothing really, I'm just a monster looking for some food" It replied

"Oh? then please be continue on" I replied as I sheathed Azazel

'Zeno, be careful, it's manaleon, a demon known to be very good at hiding themselves, they may be the best at it but their invisibility will break if they were to ever move' Melphis whispered

'I see, thanks for your advice' I replied

"Yeah, thanks" The manaleon started walking away but it suddenly turned around and shout out its tongue

In an instant, I pulled out Azazel and split the tongue in half before changing to speed and catching up with the manaleon. I grabbed its head and lifted it off the ground, it started to struggle, it's feet kicking me with all its might

"Well? isn't it about time you talked? what are the demons doing here?" I asked

"Do you own Macrom forest?" He asked with arrogance

"Funny little guy" I chuckled before starting to tighten my grip

"Ouch, ouch, ouch" The manaleon started to feel its head getting crushed

"Well? still want to play as the smart guy?" I asked

"Okay! okay! I got it! I'm here to investigate a dragon! a dragon!" It pleaded

"Hold it, how can we trust your words, you manaleons always lie even after being captured" Brunhilde stated as her rapier stabbed the manaleon's tail

"MY LIFE IS ON THE LINE WOMAN!" The manaleon screamed

'Lilith, what say you?' I asked

'Most probably a lie' Lilith replied

'I see'

"Alright, Melphis, start a fire" I stated

"Okay" Melphis nodded

Albert and Melphis collected some woods before Melphis set it ablaze, I was still grabbing the manaleon by the head when I threw its body in the fire. It kept wriggling as it tried to escape its demise but whenever it got out of the fire, I grabbed him again and threw him back in, this kept going on until it finally died. Death by fire, this should be good enough

'Guardian 1, mark this spot on the map and have the ship recover this body for Alissa to dissect' I talked to Guardian 1 through the radio

'Will you guys have lizard meat for dinner later after Dr. Alissa cuts it up?' Guardian 1 asked

'Hey, it's for science' I replied

'You're no fun sir'

"Excuse me sir but I could've killed it with one fireball" Melphis spoke out

"Where's the fun in that?" I replied

I saw Melphis shudder for a second