Lancer had known for some time that the nation Heng belonged to was called "Schrade," and the royal capital shared the name "Schrade Castle." However, perhaps due to the harsh environment, the structure of nations in this world differed slightly from Lancer's traditional understanding.
For starters, the central government lacked direct jurisdiction over its constituent villages—simply put, they didn't collect taxes! Consequently, they had no formal obligation to protect these villages. The relationship was more akin to a loose "alliance" or "membership."
A village joined a nation, contributed what it could, and received what it needed in return.
However, Schrade was the most powerful known nation because it was built upon ancient ruins. By utilizing the technology unearthed from those ruins, it had managed to develop into the "strongest" power.
But now————
"The city is under siege? How many dragons are involved?"
As a stranger, the hunter had no obligation to answer Lancer's questions. But perhaps burdened by his own worries, he felt a need to vent and explained patiently to Lancer.
"According to the last message from the city, there are five known Elder Dragons: Kushala Daora, Amatsu, Teostra, Lunastra, and Kirin. There are also dozens of other powerful dragon species..."
As he spoke, the hunter's voice grew heavy. Lancer's expression, however, turned quite subtle.
Lancer suspected that in addition to these five, there might even be a Chameleos. Given its nature, it likely hadn't been observed, but it made little difference. The threat posed by five or six Elder Dragons was self-evident—the only difference was whether one died horribly or even more horribly.
Lancer had recently dispatched a Kirin, a Teostra, and a Lunastra. He had felt something was off at the time; the lethality of those three didn't match the "legends." He hadn't been able to figure it out until he killed the blue Elder Dragon he dubbed the "Azure Star."
The energy within the Kirin, Teostra, and Lunastra was being siphoned by that blue dragon. They were undoubtedly in a weakened state.
The only thing Lancer couldn't grasp was whether they were weakened first and then drained, or weakened because they were drained.
Unfortunately, since the blue dragon was dead, he would likely never know the answer.
What was certain was that those three were weakened, yet they still displayed combat power far beyond ordinary dragons. If they could manipulate natural forces at full strength as the legends suggested, they truly deserved the title of "Gods" given to them by the ancients.
Five or six such powerful Elder Dragons besieging a city... in Lancer's view, even he couldn't hold a city against that, let alone————
Glancing at the gear of the village hunters, Lancer had even less confidence in them. According to Heng, aside from basic weapons, their powerful gear was often scavenged from ancient ruins. This meant the strength of their equipment was highly inconsistent. The only hope was that the city contained some truly "lucky" individuals with top-tier loot.
To Lancer, Schrade Castle was almost certainly a lost cause, considering the news was a month old. Yet, the others seemed unwilling to admit that possibility.
Hearing the news, Heng's first instinct was to look behind him. After all, the man standing there had already killed three of those five Elder Dragons!
But he stopped mid-turn.
During his time with Lancer, he had witnessed the man's strength, but he had also learned how terrifying monsters could be—especially when their numbers increased.
Rathalos and Rathian were pushovers individually, but together they could cause Lancer trouble. Thinking of five Elder Dragons appearing at once, he knew that even Lancer likely couldn't help him.
However, Lancer patted him on the shoulder.
"Mr. Lancer?"
"I know what you're thinking. I'll consider it, but I can't give you any guarantees."
Lancer was curious about the combat power of an Elder Dragon at its peak. While he craved battle, he wasn't one to seek death recklessly. He intended to test his spear against them, but he couldn't promise a victory.
Even so, Heng nodded with a look of pleasant surprise. To him, this was already more than he could have hoped for.
Ultimately, after Heng's repeated assurances, Lancer and his group followed him back to the village. A few hunters "escorted" them—which to Lancer was as good as saying, "Yes, I am monitoring you." He didn't complain, though; he was an outsider, and such precautions were reasonable as long as they didn't cross a line.
When the group reached the center of the village, they found a crowd gathered.
The people were divided into two types: those wearing clothes primarily made of beast hides—not poor quality, just different materials—and those wearing cloth garments familiar to Lancer. Two individuals, seemingly leaders, were in conversation.
They expressed surprise at the sudden arrival of the group, but a sturdy man in beast-hide clothing brightened upon seeing Heng.
"Heng?! You're alive! That's wonderful! But I'm sorry, I have very important business right now..."
"Uncle, please, go ahead. I'll take my friends to my house first."
Heng didn't say much, simply nodding with a stiff expression.
Following behind, Lancer looked at the warm middle-aged man and the awkward Heng...
"Family?"
"Uh... no, a friend of my parents. He's always been our neighbor..."
Heng didn't seem inclined to explain further, but Lancer soon found the answer. As they reached Heng's house under "escort," a Wyverian girl in simple clothes spotted Heng and ran over with joy.
Lancer, being tactful, left with the others to leave the scene to the "young" man and girl.
Heng saw Lancer's teasing look and knew the man had guessed the situation. But because of the girl beside him, he couldn't say anything and could only watch them leave. At that moment, the girl, who had been full of joy, suddenly put on a stern face————
"Heng! You've been missing for almost six months! Where on earth have you been?!"
Seeing his childhood friend's darkening expression, Heng shook his head awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, I..."
Thwack!
Before he could finish, he was kicked hard in the shin.
"Heng! You idiot!!"
She turned and huffed away, leaving Heng standing there, at a loss.
As a man of firm resolve and striking initiative, his powers of observation were not weak; if they were, he would have died long ago on his journey. He had noticed the anomalies surrounding Lancer and Olga Marie, but since they showed no malice and had helped him immensely, he chose to turn a blind eye. Even the best of friends need private space, let alone people he had known for only two weeks.
This was why he didn't tell his childhood friend about them—he didn't want to bring her into danger.
Furthermore————
"Sigh~"
Watching her leave, he let out a helpless sigh.
Their parents were old friends; he and she were childhood sweethearts. Having known her for so long, how could he not see her feelings? But his life's goal was a path of thorns, and he had nearly died several times this trip. He didn't want to drag her into his life because it would inevitably involve her in danger.
He loved her in return, but that was exactly why he resisted these feelings. To a rational man like him, love didn't necessarily mean possession...
Feeling a bit lonely, Heng tried to adjust his expression before pushing open his door so that his disappointment wouldn't be written on his face. But when he pushed the door open, he froze.
Lancer and Olga Marie were engaged in a serious discussion, though he couldn't understand them due to the language. The little girl, "Zero," was hugging the three cats; he couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but the girl seemed to have grown quite a bit.
He quickly shook the thought away. Humans aren't mushrooms; you can't just water them and watch them grow.
The reason he froze was the sharp contrast between the group and the several village hunters standing on the other side "staring" at them with grim expressions, looking as if they might draw their weapons at any moment.
It seemed his earlier assurances hadn't done much. While they allowed the group to return to the village, they clearly didn't trust them.
Just as he was wondering how to break the awkwardness, a hand rested on his shoulder.
"Heng? Why are you standing at your door? Is something wrong? Nana cleans your house often; it should be quite tidy."
Accompanied by a gruff male voice, the man who had spoken to Heng earlier appeared at the door.
Nearly a head taller than Heng, he took one look at the situation inside the room and shook his head helplessly.
"You lot can leave. I'll take over hosting Heng's guests..."
The men with stern expressions wanted to argue, but they met the middle-aged man's gaze and filed out of the room. He then smiled and extended his hand to Lancer, the obvious leader.
"Welcome to our village, friend of the humans."