The copper-scaled Dragonias was visibly smaller than its golden- and silver-scaled counterparts.
Had Rei or Vihera been present, it would not have been unusual for them to wonder why only the copper-scaled variant was so small. Set, however, showed no concern for such things. He simply watched for an opening in his opponent's guard.
He had been entrusted with this settlement by Rei, and he absolutely refused to let the enemy do as it pleased here.
For Set, holding such a resolve was only natural.
Alongside Set, the Centaurs also fixed serious gazes on the copper-scaled Dragonias as the battle finally loomed.
"Grrrr!"
Set let out a bark toward the Centaurs, signaling that he had things handled here and they should stay vigilant of their surroundings. However...
"Understood! We'll fight hard alongside you, so don't you worry!"
Whether he had misread the meaning of Set's cry or not, Asdena, who stood nearby, made the declaration with conviction.
If Rei had been here, he surely would have understood exactly what Set wanted.
Or if Vihera had been present, she too would have grasped the gist of it, even if not as perfectly as Rei.
With neither of them around, expecting anyone to understand Set's intent was unreasonable.
Perhaps realizing this himself, Set abandoned the attempt to direct Asdena and the others. Instead, he resolved to defeat the enemy—the copper-scaled Dragonias—as swiftly as possible.
"Grrrrrrr!"
Set charged straight toward the copper-scaled Dragonias.
His speed was such that the Centaurs could not even react before being left behind.
That, in fact, was exactly what Set intended.
Closing the distance in a straight line, Set unleashed a strike with his front leg. Not just an ordinary strike, but one empowered with the Power Crush skill.
Set had no way of knowing exactly how much defensive strength the copper-scaled Dragonias possessed.
Even so, he judged that landing his blow would be more than enough to inflict fatal damage, and he committed to the attack.
"Giyaagachio!"
With that shrill cry, the copper-scaled Dragonias tried to put distance between itself and Set.
It clearly did not believe it could win a head-on collision.
In truth, that assessment was by no means wrong.
It believed that taking Set's attack head-on would mean death—or, at best with sheer luck, a mortal wound.
The copper-scaled Dragonias had confidence in its speed, if not its raw strength.
That was precisely why, when Set closed in far faster than it had imagined and slammed it into the ground with a single blow, it could not comprehend what had just happened.
Shrieking, it scrambled to create distance... and in the next instant, a second strike sent it hurtling through the air.
"Whoa, that's amazing, Set!"
Watching the battle unfold under the moonlight, gasps of admiration slipped from the onlookers' mouths.
Given the circumstances, that was all they could manage.
"Hey, it's fine to be captivated by Set's fight, but don't stop watching your surroundings! You never know when other Dragonias might show up!"
If the copper-scaled Dragonias had been the only one to arrive, leaving it to Set would have been fine. From what they could see, Set was overwhelming his opponent, and there was not a single cause for concern in his fight.
But that was strictly in the context of the battle between Set and the copper-scaled Dragonias.
If another enemy—Dragonias from within the grove—entered the settlement under the current circumstances, they would have to deal with it themselves.
They understood this, which made the present situation all the more difficult to navigate.
And then, as if timing it perfectly, several Dragonias charged into the settlement.
The Centaurs had not even noticed their approach. These Dragonias had come from a different direction than where Vihera and the others were fighting.
Had they come from the same direction as the rest, they would likely have sought out Vihera—driven by appetite—just like the others, gotten themselves stuck between the trees, and been swiftly dispatched from behind by Rei.
In that sense, these Dragonias were lucky.
Though lucky or not, the Centaurs had been lying in wait inside the settlement.
"They're here! Now's the time to show off the strength we built surviving that hellish training! Specifically, enough to avoid any extra sessions!"
"Ooooooooooooo!"
At Zai's call, many of the Centaurs raised a thunderous war cry.
During the battle to reclaim this settlement, they had failed to satisfy Vihera. Worse, she had seen them idling about long after the fighting had ended.
Considering what would happen if they displayed the same scene again... it hardly bore thinking about.
That was why they needed to fight properly here and redeem themselves.
Even setting that aside, they absolutely could not allow the enemy to reach the area where the non-combatants were gathered.
Each warrior readied their weapon and, shouting to ensure none of the Dragonias slipped past toward the non-combatants, charged forward.
The settlement's interior was quite narrow if the Centaurs tried to run freely. On top of that, the ongoing excavation work had made it even more cramped.
That was why, in this situation, they needed to fight with careful calculation.
Above all, it was night, which made it all the more critical.
Each Centaur gripped their weapon and moved to engage the Dragonias that had stormed inside.
Rather than fighting one-on-one, several of them converged on a single Dragonias at once.
From the Dragonias's perspective, it was fighting multiple enemies in a settlement where maneuvering was difficult. Unsurprisingly, it could not fully leverage its abilities.
The Dragonias possessed scales as a sturdy defensive measure, but while resilient, scales were not invincible.
If the same spot was struck repeatedly, the scales would eventually peel or chip. Once that happened, concentrated attacks would inflict significant damage even on a Dragonias.
Of course, individual scales were not very large, and landing repeated hits on the same one was no simple task.
That was precisely why multiple Centaurs attacked in quick succession.
For most, hitting the same spot on a thrashing Dragonias was difficult. But with several warriors striking in turn, blows would eventually land.
Those chosen for the Reconnaissance Unit were among the most skilled in the settlement. That was why they could act so swiftly in a crisis.
Even if one attack missed, as long as the follow-up connected, the scale would be worn away.
Once that happened, the opportunities to deal damage multiplied—a perfect opening for the fighters.
They continued their assault, passing the target to the next attacker if a strike missed. But the Dragonias were not simply taking punishment one-sidedly.
Using their sharp fangs and claws, they lunged to tear and slash at any Centaur foolish enough to close in.
The Centaurs' saving grace was that many of them wielded spears, weapons with long reach.
That reach kept most of the Dragonias's strikes from connecting.
Even so, the Dragonias pressed their attacks relentlessly, driven by hunger.
As the battle wore on, the number of Dragonias naturally dwindled. The fact that relatively few had entered the settlement in the first place certainly helped, and before long, the fight drew to a close.
"Set!?"
Having struck down the last Dragonias, Zai barked the name as he quickly scanned the settlement.
Zai likely knew better than anyone in the Reconnaissance Unit just how powerful Set was.
Even so, he called out to confirm the creature's safety because he understood that the Dragonias Set had been fighting was no ordinary one.
Given that it was smaller than the ones they had faced, it would have been easy to dismiss it as a weaker foe. But watching it battle Set, it was clear this was no minor threat.
Any of them could see that if Zai had fought it alone, he would have had no chance.
That was why he feared the worst—just in case...
"Grru?"
Completely unfazed by the desperate shout, Set padded over with the copper-scaled Dragonias clamped in his beak, purring as if to ask, "What is it?"
It was true that the copper-scaled Dragonias was likely stronger than a normal one. That was a fact.
But being slightly stronger than an ordinary Dragonias was nowhere near enough to defeat Set.
Zai may have known Set's abilities better than anyone in the Reconnaissance Unit, but even he did not know the full extent of Set's power.
"Ah... right. With Set's strength, an opponent like this was nothing. No need to worry at all, huh."
Zai muttered the words, but his thoughts drifted to the vast gulf in power between himself and Set... and between himself and Rei and Vihera.
"Gaannjajahateya!"
His gaze snapped toward a harsh, grating cry that suddenly echoed across the settlement.
It was not just one voice—many others rang out in the night.
Zai recalled the battle between Rei and the golden-scaled Dragonias, then turned his eyes to the copper-scaled Dragonias dangling from Set's beak.
"Could it be..."
"Hey, Zai. What exactly is going on here?" Asdena asked, weapon at the ready, his tone puzzled yet calm.
Zai stayed alert, ready to respond to anything, and spoke.
"The golden-scaled Dragonias I encountered before possessed something like absolute command authority over ordinary Dragonias. According to Vihera, the silver-scaled one has a similar ability, though not to the same degree as the golden."
"So the Dragonias Set killed had that same kind of power, and now that it's dead, the ones following it aren't receiving orders anymore... is that it?"
Zai nodded at Asdena's assessment.
The coordinated Dragonias had been stripped of their coordination.
On the surface, that should have been a clear advantage for Zai and his warriors.
But that was only under normal circumstances.
In this case, Dragonias losing control and going berserk was nothing but trouble.
If they rampaged blindly, driven by hunger, and destroyed the excavation site, it would be no laughing matter.
Above all, the cries echoing from the grove—particularly from the direction where most of the enemies had gathered—sounded completely different from before.
The sound of trees snapping echoed through the night. These were the same trees the Dragonias had previously been careful never to break.
That could only mean one thing: the Dragonias in the grove had broken free of the copper-scaled one's command as well.
"Hey... Vihera and Rei. Shouldn't we go help them?" one of the Centaurs asked Zai timidly.
The fact that Vihera's name came first made it painfully obvious which one he feared more.
That was how deeply the hierarchy had been carved into their instincts through repeated mock battles.
"Help... do they need it?"
Many of those who heard the muttered words nodded in agreement.
Thinking about it rationally, it was hard to imagine Rei or Vihera needing any help. That much was obvious.
Even Zai, who led the Reconnaissance Unit, could not argue with the sentiment.
But if uncoordinated Dragonias rampaged this badly... did that mean a creature like the copper-scaled Dragonias had been present when the settlement was first attacked, too?
Zai harbored the question, but deciding what to do about Rei and the others in the grove took priority.
"They probably don't need help. But if we don't go now... doesn't it feel like that'll be used as an excuse to add more mock battles?"
"Ugh..."
No one could muster a rebuttal.