"Uoooooooooooooooooh!"
One of the Centaurs let out a battle cry, rousing himself as he charged forward.
His target was a woman who, from a Centaur's perspective, was overwhelmingly small—someone who could only be described as weak.
To the Centaurs she was no object of desire, but to those who walked on two legs, she would undoubtedly qualify as exactly that.
But regardless of any such feelings, the Centaur charged with everything he had.
Given the roughly fivefold difference in weight between them, a head-on collision would unquestionably be the Centaur's victory.
Even so, not a trace of confidence showed on the charging Centaur's face.
The reason was likely the many Centaurs already lying defeated around the woman he was charging toward.
Since she was the one who had laid them low, letting his guard down in this situation was simply not an option.
"Take thiiiiiiis!"
As he closed the distance, the Centaur swung a spear with its blade dulled for mock battles.
Dulled blade or not, it was unmistakably a real spear, and the strike—born from the Centaur's running speed and sheer muscle—carried force that made the presence or absence of an edge irrelevant.
And yet, despite being struck by a blow that could easily kill if it landed, the woman it was aimed at... Vihera... showed not a trace of fear.
If anything, a full grin spread across her face.
At a glance, the scene would appear to be the complete opposite of what one would expect.
But considering the gap in skill between them, it was not strange at all.
"Come."
The moment Vihera spoke those brief words, the Centaur thrust his spear—nearly simultaneously.
Vihera shifted her body just slightly, effortlessly evading the thrust.
But the Centaur had never expected to finish Vihera with such a simple strike in the first place.
The instant his thrust was evaded, he swung the spear sideways.
He swung the spear—still carrying the full momentum of his lunging thrust—in a horizontal sweep.
Pulling off such a maneuver was no simple feat.
The Centaur who delivered that strike had been half-convinced he could deal at least some damage to Vihera.
Even in a situation where many of his comrades lay fallen on the ground, he had believed this particular strike could land a significant blow.
He had held that very conviction, and yet...
"What!?"
Seeing his sweeping strike evaded so effortlessly, he let out a cry of surprise—and in the next moment, took a kick to the torso that sent him flying.
It wasn't Vihera's skill, Magic Impact Palm, but a mere kick that sent a Centaur likely five times her weight sailing through the air.
That alone demonstrated the sheer destructive power behind Vihera's strikes.
"Well then, is that it for now? Don't you think it's about time you at least managed to lay a hand on me?"
Gazing at the last Centaur she had sent flying, Vihera made the remark.
Several Centaurs tried to rise at her words, but the damage they had sustained was too great, and most could not stand.
Even those who somehow managed to get to their feet had all four legs visibly trembling.
Trembling so badly one might mistake them for newborn foals.
"Vihera, that's enough for now. You're going a little too far."
"You say that, but when we fight the Dragonias, are they going to hold back because we lack the strength? ...Even if I asked, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't listen to a word."
Vihera tossed that reply back at Rei.
In truth, those words carried considerable weight.
The Dragonias, driven by hunger, could not possibly be reasoned with.
Communication with them was difficult at best.
Since the Dragonias were apparently being commanded, there had to be some means of communication, but no one, including Rei, understood the details.
Logically, they most likely communicated through their cries, but unfortunately, Rei couldn't distinguish the nuances.
Given all that, Rei had concluded that under the present circumstances, attempting to communicate with the Dragonias was a lost cause.
And if communication was impossible, then they had no choice but to defeat the Dragonias.
If the Dragonias needed to be defeated, then holding mock battles to raise the Centaurs' strength was only natural as far as Vihera was concerned.
"Not... not yet. I can still fight."
Saying that, Zai—who had been the first to rise among those standing—gripped his weapon and took a step forward.
But it went without saying that whatever Zai tried at this point would no longer serve as training. Rei understood that perfectly well.
That was why he spoke up to stop him.
"Training in your condition will only break your body. For now, you should prioritize resting."
"But... in this situation, I can't possibly afford to take it easy. Right now, more than anything, I need to train and grow stronger."
Seeing Zai's resolve, the other Centaurs began to rise as well.
Zai was currently the strongest warrior in this settlement.
With even Zai pushing himself to keep training in such a state, the others felt they couldn't simply stay down—and for the proud Centaurs, that was only natural.
"Fine. Then train however you like after this. I'm heading out with Set to hunt for animals and monsters—anything we can eat."
"Please."
With that brief reply, Zai took his spear in hand, stood, and charged toward Vihera once more.
Watching him go, Rei called out to Set, who had been observing from a short distance away.
"Set, we're going hunting. I don't know what kind of animals or monsters are out here, but the more food, the better."
"Gruu? ...Gruu!"
"Rei, if you're heading out, be careful not to get lost."
Evading Zai's attack, Vihera called out to him.
Rei felt a fleeting urge to fire something back at her, but given that he and Set were indeed somewhat directionally challenged, talking big here would be pointless.
If anything, he'd only come across as trying too hard to act tough.
He'd rather avoid that, so he simply gave a light wave in response.
(Well, as long as we move around with this settlement as our center, we shouldn't get lost. ...Not that there are any roads.)
Nothing but grassland surrounded the settlement.
There were paths trampled firm by livestock and Centaurs walking about, but since this was still grassland, grass reclaimed most of them.
In a place like this, once you lost sight of the settlement, finding it again would be no easy task.
...That said, because they kept livestock, there was a distinctive smell around the settlement.
Given Set's sharp nose, tracing that scent back would not be impossible.
Though if they strayed too far—even for Set to pick up the scent—it wouldn't work.
Normally, Rei wouldn't have worried much about that, but with Set's speed, they could easily drift too far from the settlement before he knew it.
Given those circumstances, exercising caution was the right call.
"Set, let's take it easy on the movement. I've hardly ever traveled across a grassland this vast."
"Gruu? Grururuu!"
Set purred in acknowledgment.
Set had likely been thinking the same thing.
...Though it was probably more accurate to say he'd arrived at the same conclusion instinctively rather than through any deliberate reasoning.
In any case, Set had no reason to object—standing around watching mock battles all day would be boring for him too.
With Rei on his back, Set beat his wings and bounded skyward.
The Centaurs who still had some fight left in them watched the ascent with visible fear.
As with Zai, whether because their lower halves were horse-like or because their ancestors had lived on the grasslands for generations, the Centaurs harbored a deep aversion to flying.
When they had attempted to head for what they believed was the Dragonias headquarters, Rei had suggested Zai fly there using the Set Basket, but Zai had refused outright.
Honestly, Rei didn't understand why the idea of flying inspired such dread.
But if it was racial or instinctual, he decided there was no point forcing the issue, and hadn't pressed it since.
...Even so, to the Centaurs, the sight of Set soaring through the sky with Rei on his back was something beyond belief.
Rei, however, paid no mind to their awe as he gazed down at the grassland from above.
A cloudless blue sky stretched overhead, and below, an endless carpet of green spread in every direction.
It was as if the world had been dyed in just two colors.
Carrying that impression with him, Rei scanned the green carpet for any suitable prey.
"Nothing out here. ...Well, with the Dragonias around, I suppose that's only natural."
To the Dragonias, driven by hunger, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and every other animal were nothing but food meant for them to devour.
Of course, this area was not yet within the Dragonias' territory.
But given that they had attacked Zai's settlement countless times, they naturally passed through here as well.
If so, the larger animals that could serve as food had either been hunted and killed by the Dragonias, or had sensed the danger and fled.
Rei didn't know the full story, but given the circumstances, he could safely assume that game had grown extremely scarce.
(In that case, the only things left around here would be ones whose wild instincts have dulled... right? Well, those are definitely easier to hunt, at least.)
Thinking thus, yet still searching for some kind of prey...
"Gruu!"
Set suddenly let out a cry.
When Rei turned his gaze in the direction Set was looking, he saw a pack of Dragonias chasing what appeared to be a two-headed, goat-like creature.
"What is that animal...? Some kind of goat monster? It's fleeing from the Dragonias, but..."
Muttering to himself, Rei's gaze shifted.
Looking back in the direction the Two-Headed Goat had come from, he could see several Dragonias lying scattered on the ground.
Naturally, they hadn't suddenly gotten drowsy and fallen asleep.
Or perhaps they had fought among themselves over prey? He considered that, but the number sprawled on the ground seemed too high for that explanation.
From everything Rei had observed, when Dragonias identified prey to kill and eat, they all swarmed at once, but they fundamentally did not attack their own kind.
At the very least, he had never witnessed such a scene.
...There had been cases where Dragonias caught in the Fire Whirlwinds crashed into one another, using their own bodies or their comrades' bodies as weapons, attacking and being attacked—but that was different.
(So that Two-Headed Goat has enough power to kill Dragonias? ...Looking at it from here, it's about the same size as a Dragonias, maybe even bigger. Considering that, it's not so unreasonable... is it?)
Dragonias were massive creatures.
Many stood well over three meters tall.
If the Two-Headed Goat was roughly the same size, then naturally it would be comparable in scale.
Given it was such an enormous goat, in terms of attack power... the moment that thought crossed his mind, one of the goat's heads swung backward and unleashed a Breath from its mouth.
"A Breath... and ice, no less?"
Strictly speaking, it wasn't ice itself.
Seeing multiple icicles, each about the length of a dagger, embedded in the body of the Dragonias pursuing the Two-Headed Goat, it wasn't difficult to deduce the true nature of that Breath.
"An Ice Pillar Breath... I see. That explains how it can hold its own against the Dragonias."
Dragonias were formidable in close combat, but perhaps because they acted purely on the instinct to devour their opponents, they almost never used ranged attacks.
Rei had never seen one, and he hadn't heard anything to the contrary from Zai either.
"In any case... I'd like to capture that Two-Headed Goat alive and bring it back to the settlement, if possible. ...Set."
"Grurururu!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry and, beating his wings, began descending toward the ground.