Rei and his companions departed the campsite as a large party of twenty.
At first, Rei had been concerned about how things would go without Zai to keep everyone in line — or rather, he worried that each person might start saying whatever they pleased and cause trouble. But fortunately... truly fortunately, no one made any selfish demands.
There might have been someone who would have spoken up under normal circumstances, but the majority of those present understood that the current situation was a genuine emergency.
Given that, voicing selfish demands here carried the possibility of leading to the worst possible outcome rebounding right back on them.
An outcome like death, for instance.
To avoid that, the ones they could truly rely on were Rei, Vihera, and Set — those with a proven track record of having actually defeated Dragonias.
Moreover, since they were currently traveling to watch Rei annihilate a Dragonias base, it was also a fact that no one wanted to displease him.
As far as Rei was concerned, as long as those around him didn't cause problems, that was fine.
And so they continued onward, eventually taking a lunch break when noon arrived.
That said, this was already a place that could be called Dragonias-controlled territory.
As usual, they couldn't afford to sit down and eat a proper, delicious meal.
(If it were just us, we could eat whatever we wanted.)
As he ate dried meat and bread, Rei found himself deeply dissatisfied with a meal that could scarcely even be called food.
Considering his current situation, he understood that it couldn't be helped.
But at the same time, it was also an undeniable fact that he found the present circumstances troublesome.
Even if those around him were eating dishes that stimulated the appetite, as Rei had just tasted himself, if it were only him, there truly wouldn't be a problem.
But with twenty others besides Rei's group, expecting him to protect all of them was unreasonable.
Of course, many among those twenty were well-versed in combat. They were... but even so, whether they could handle an attack if Dragonias came was questionable.
(In that sense, having Vihera — whom the Dragonias stubbornly fixate on for some reason — come along is actually a welcome thing.)
Honestly, Rei didn't think there would be any need for Vihera to step in during this particular endeavor.
Even so, for Vihera's part, she likely felt that was better than silently waiting at the campsite.
Better to be somewhere she might fight Dragonias, even if only slightly.
"Rei, is something wrong?"
Perhaps noticing Rei's gaze, Vihera — who had been stretching to loosen her body, stiffened from riding on Set for so long — asked him.
Stretching in that way while wearing nothing but thin, revealing clothing like Vihera's was, under normal circumstances, harmful to the eyes in more ways than one.
Enough to steal the gaze of not only men but women as well.
But fortunately, to the Centaurs, Vihera was recognized as a powerful fighter, but at the same time — perhaps because she was two-legged — she wasn't viewed as a woman... specifically, not as an object of desire.
This slightly wounded Vihera's pride, but having no one coming on to her was nonetheless a convenient arrangement.
"No, it's just that we've been making better progress than I expected, all things considered."
"...True. We're getting close to their base, so you'd think a fair number of Dragonias would have shown up by now."
"So that really was your reason for coming along."
"Oh, it's not just that, you know? It's a given that I wanted to be with Rei. No, that reason is actually the bigger one."
Without the slightest sign of embarrassment, doing squats while saying it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Vihera's words brought a faint blush to Rei's cheeks.
Coming from Vihera's mouth, it had been far too unexpected.
"Ah... yeah. I see. Well, anyway, once lunch is over we'll rest a bit before departing, so keep that in mind."
"Okay."
Whether or not she noticed that Rei was flustered, even he couldn't tell.
Be that as it may, after finishing their post-meal rest, the party set off once more.
They pressed on, racing across the grasslands without any particular issues arising.
"Hey, Rei. That Dragonias base — there's one with golden scales, right?"
"Huh? Oh, there was at the base I attacked, but... I can't say for certain whether the one we're heading to this time will have one too."
"If there is, will you let me fight it?"
"...Only if my magic doesn't kill it first."
That was what Rei said, but he was fairly certain that a commanding entity existed within the base.
In the first place, Dragonias were fundamentally driven by hunger.
If there were no one giving orders, they would run around doing whatever they pleased.
Given that they weren't doing so, it stood to reason that there was likely a commanding individual among them.
"Still, the base we're heading to this time has fewer Dragonias. It's not guaranteed that a golden-scaled Dragonias will be there, like at the base I wiped out."
The golden-scaled Dragonias had been strong.
Strong enough to deflect the strike of Rei's thrown Twilight Spear.
Given that, it was easy to imagine that it was undoubtedly a formidable individual among those commanding the Dragonias.
Of course, the idea that golden scales meant strength was, in a sense, merely Rei's own conjecture.
Based on his speculation, it wouldn't be surprising if under the golden-scaled individual there were those with silver scales, or copper scales, and so on.
But perhaps... truly perhaps, gold might not be all that important a color to the Dragonias.
"True. But if there is such a strong individual... you understand what I'm getting at, don't you, Rei?"
"You're looking forward to fighting it, huh? Like I said, if it survives my magic, then fine. But if it's dead, give it up."
"Right. That would be unfortunate, but that's how it'd be."
At Rei's words, Vihera told him as much while looking genuinely disappointed.
Fighting Dragonias was enjoyable.
Since they didn't even know the meaning of giving up no matter how dire the situation, Vihera had no complaints about them as opponents.
But despite being ruled by hunger and never knowing surrender, she was dissatisfied that their attacks were so monotonous.
There were occasionally individuals who launched unexpected attacks, but they were quite rare.
Furthermore, it wasn't as if they deliberately chose to attack in such a way — it was merely a coincidence that things happened to unfold that way.
That was why she found it wasteful.
If they had Dragonias-level physical abilities, they should have been capable of achieving considerable strength.
That was what Vihera thought, but if what Rei had told her about the golden-scaled Dragonias was true — not that she doubted him — she absolutely wanted to fight such a being.
It was only natural for Vihera to feel that way.
"Hey, when you found the Dragonias base, was there anything strange... any individual that stood out from the rest?"
Vihera asked this of a man running alongside Set.
She knew that this Centaur was the guide for the journey to the base.
Rei was also curious about such information, so he directed his gaze their way as if to ask how it had been.
But the only response that came back was the shaking of a head from side to side.
Quite skillful to do while running, he thought, but it was undeniably disappointing.
"There wasn't?"
"To be precise, it's more accurate to say we couldn't confirm it. We scouted from as far away as possible to avoid being noticed by them."
Hearing that, Rei had no choice but to accept it.
The difference in individual capability between Dragonias and Centaurs was simply too vast.
Moreover, considering the difference in numbers between the reconnaissance unit and the Dragonias, that choice was only natural.
And Rei recalled the time he had first annihilated a base.
Back then, the golden-scaled Dragonias hadn't revealed itself initially.
It only showed itself after the hellish scene worthy of being called Scorching Hell materialized — with Fire Whirlwinds and a torrential downpour of Flame Arrows.
Whether the settlement they had found this time contained a golden-scaled Dragonias, Rei couldn't say.
But even if one was present, considering its past behavior, it was safe to predict that it wouldn't show itself right from the start.
In other words, no matter how hard the reconnaissance unit tried, it would have been impossible to find a golden-scaled Dragonias... or any other individual issuing commands.
"In that case, we won't know what kind of enemy is there until one actually shows up... Just so we're clear, it's not guaranteed that some strong enemy like you're imagining will appear, Vihera."
Seeing Vihera looking delighted at his words about not knowing what kind of opponent awaited, Rei turned to face her and said as much.
But Vihera paid no mind to his demeanor and simply smiled.
She was completely convinced that a powerful Dragonias awaited at the enemy base.
In truth, that assessment was very likely correct, which left Rei unsure of what to say.
Be that as it may, they continued onward...
"Gruu!"
"Halt!"
The moment Set let out a warning growl, Rei swiftly issued the order.
Following Rei's command, the Centaurs running nearby also slowed their pace.
Normally, bringing a force of twenty cavalrymen to an immediate stop would be impossible, but in this case, they weren't cavalry — they were Centaurs.
Something like this was easy for them, even for those who weren't combat personnel.
Once they came to a halt, some of those near Set wore anxious expressions.
They knew full well how powerful Set was, but still, suddenly encountering a situation like this in such a place was bound to give them pause.
"Set, which direction?"
"Grrrrru."
In response to Rei's words, Set purred while looking slightly to the right of their direction of travel.
In other words, Rei deduced that the enemy lay in that direction.
(The question is, how many Dragonias are there?)
Since this was an encounter in their current situation, it was almost certainly Dragonias without a doubt.
Given that they were approaching the enemy base, the likelihood of running into Dragonias naturally increased.
If it were the reconnaissance unit that had discovered the base, being only a few in number, they might have been able to maneuver around encountering Dragonias. But Rei's current party was a large group of about twenty.
Considering that, avoiding Dragonias and proceeding onward was simply not an option in their present situation.
(And besides...)
Rei couldn't help but sense Vihera's presence behind him, brimming with motivation and radiating Fighting Spirit.
"If there are a lot of them, I'll join in. I don't want to spend too much time here, and if the fight drags on, other Dragonias might gather."
"Yes, it's unfortunate, but please do that."
At Rei's words, she looked genuinely disappointed, yet still accepted his opinion without resistance.
This was what set Vihera apart from the others known as battle maniacs.
That was precisely why Rei could leave the fighting to her.
And then, before long, about ten Dragonias emerged from the direction Set had been looking.
"What, only ten?"
"I can handle this alone, right?"
"Sure, do as you please. Just don't take too long."
Having received Rei's permission, Vihera happily dismounted from Set and broke into a run toward the front.
Normally, ten Dragonias would represent an insurmountable difference in combat power for Centaurs, but for Vihera, they were merely opponents she could enjoy playing with.
But since taking too long risked drawing other Dragonias, there was no question that she needed to defeat the ones that had come as quickly as possible.
Rei, knowing Vihera's true strength, hardly believed she would take any time at all to dispatch them.
And the Centaurs surrounding Rei were also well aware of Vihera's power, so they felt no unease.
Watching Vihera already launching her attack on the Dragonias in the direction of their gaze, Rei turned to ask the guide Centaur.
"So, is the Dragonias base somewhere near here?"
"Yeah, it's a bit further ahead, but we're definitely getting close."
At those words, Rei nodded in satisfaction.