Chapter 438: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 15

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"For now, regarding this matter, I demand the right to punch you once!"

"Find Rust. I'll transfer the right to you."

"Got it, you coming? Or going?"

"It'd be a big help if you came."

Exchanging information in five seconds, OiKatzo dashed off, slipping through the hole in the encirclement that the mysterious person clad in 【Rising Waterfall】 had drilled.

"Um, if I recall, those two had the Vampire flag, right...?"

And the other one is handling Brockentried... or so it seems, while actually executing some ridiculous scheme.
The seeds scattered by the Demon Lord were already on the verge of sprouting. OiKatzo, as a primary accomplice in this plan—which had been proposed a while ago but postponed for various reasons—searched for the mismatched duo to finally set it in motion.

"There's no way I'm gonna find them in this!!"

Just how many players did he think were simultaneously connected in this frontline base that had turned into a warzone? The chances of finding them were probably higher than randomly throwing a rock and hitting Mold in the head by sheer coincidence, but still...

"Wait, are they near the Vampires... No, where even is that..."

Thinking for a moment, he decided to just ask the first player he saw and turned around...

『Nuguaaaah! Damn it! There is no way the great me can die hereee!!』

"Eh, wai—"

Scattering damage effects from its entire body and completely discarding its intimidation as the strong, the red aberration (dragon) came charging toward him without a care for appearances.

"Naaaaa!!?"

『Naaaaa!!?』

Coincidentally letting out the same scream as Bryreinyego, OiKatzo jumped sideways with all his might.
However, Dreadhowl's massive body crashed into Bryreinyego—who couldn't possibly hope for such agile actions—and the white behemoth tumbled over, crushing a not-insignificant number of the small dragons endlessly pouring from her back.

『Th-That's right! There's no way the great me can die here, so you die in my place!!』

『You bastard...!!』

It seemed the cornered Dreadhowl had tried to use Bryreinyego as a meat shield.
Looking back the way the Red Dragon came, he saw Dreadhowl using Bryreinyego as a shield against whatever was chasing him.

"...Ah, OiKatzo-san."

"Psyger-0-san... ah, I see."

Turning toward the voice that called out to him, OiKatzo understood why Dreadhowl had been cornered.
It wasn't just Psyger-0—clad in an armor that still made one think "enemy" rather than "player," wielding a greatsword that clearly radiated an extraordinary aura—but behind her were members of the 【Black Sword】 and numerous other players wearing what must be the most cutting-edge gear currently available, all stepping into the White Dragon's combat zone to deliver the finishing blow to Dreadhowl.

(So the Red Dragon has been whittled down the most, huh... Pencilgon should be delaying the Green Dragon, so are they planning to finish off the Red here?)

No, OiKatzo immediately rejected that thought.
It was too early to cut down Dreadhowl, who was currently gathering the most aggro, but there were some things even fiendish schemes couldn't control.

"Base buffs... how troublesome."

In the first place, the biggest reason attacks concentrated on Dreadhowl was because Skull Azuchi had granted heat resistance to all players.
For better or worse, this decisive battle phase—left entirely up to the free will of the players—provided no options other than "Defeat all the colored dragons" or "Defeat Siegwurm." Therefore, many players were simply following the target indicated by the base known as Skull Azuchi... the symbol of the players, so to speak.

And the Lord of Skull Azuchi was the leader of the Anti-Noirlind faction... no, perhaps "Master Builder" would be more accurate. If Skull Azuchi's next target became Noirlind...

"This is bad... this is really bad..."

Unlike the Wethermon fight, since everyone was scattered in different locations, ShanFro—where there was currently no way to communicate outside of earshot—severely restricted the means to transmit the orders of their Brain, Pencilgon.

"What do we do? Which one do we target?"

It was then.

Hyurururu......... Paaaan

"!!"

A firework, shockingly out of place for a battlefield. It ascended with a sound that lingered unpleasantly in the ears, exploded... and bloomed into a white flower.

"White!!"

In an instant, the battlefield shifted.

"White."

"It's white."

"That's the 'signal', right?"

"It's Bryreinyego!"

"Target Bryreinyego!!"

From out of nowhere, from no one in particular. Voices rose amidst the thousands of players packing the area.

It's white,

The White Dragon,

Target Bryreinyego,

If it were the words of just one person, it would be washed away by the noise of the battlefield. However, when the voices of dozens spread the information exponentially, players began to act on the assumption that "this must be the way," regardless of truth or basis.

"Sunraku!"

"Eh, you're talking to me now!?"

"Orders from the Fiend! Focus on Bryreinyego!!"

"Wai— wai, wai, wai... Argh, stop swarming! Scatter!"

Swinging the monochrome greatsword, Sunraku yelled while slamming a stubbornly clinging small dragon into the ground with one hand.

"TKO!!"

"You mean TPO? Plus, the one getting knocked out is that small dragon."

"Either one works! So!? The 'signal' has arrived, which means... it's time, right!?"

"Yeah, drag the flow in, Sunraku!!"

The first phase of the strategy devised by Pencilgon was simple and clear.
Infiltrate collaborators who "liked that sort of thing" among the players, and the moment any dragon was cornered, divert the attacks toward another dragon.
Of course, neither Sunraku, OiKatzo, nor the mastermind Pencilgon expected every player to follow suit. But even if only twenty out of a hundred broke off, work efficiency would drop by 20%.

And that signal was the firework from earlier. The toughness-specialized Brockentried would buy them time regardless, Noirlind was conveniently engaged in aerial combat and thus wasn't drawing aggro, so they would use Dreadhowl and Bryreinyego to shave off (buy) attention (time).

And once the firework went up, everyone—with the exception of roughly two people—would gather. Excused from search duty, OiKatzo buffed himself and turned back toward the White Dragon.

"To tell me to rampage flashily enough to get in the way of the surrounding players... what an unreasonable request."

"It means the time has come to reveal my third form."

"Eh? Your appearance is gonna change? A complete metamorphosis...." [*1]

A raised middle finger and a pointed-down thumb crossed paths.

"U-Um... Sunraku-san."

"Oh, Rei-shi, and Psyger-Nee."

"We've confirmed the signal. She told us, 'Our guy is going to stand out flashily! Just piggyback off of that!' but... what are you planning?"

"Heh... I'll show you. The absolute limit of DPS...!!"

Stabbing the monochrome greatsword into the ground, Sunraku manipulated his Inventoria, and a red object appeared in his hands.
It was grotesque and alien, looking somewhat mammalian and somewhat reptilian, yet possessing traits that didn't fit any known living creature... a bizarre red skull.

"What is that?"

"Clear reward from a Raid Monster."

"I see......... Wait, no, I don't see! What!?"

"Talk later, focus, focus!!"

Author's Afterword
Not enough time, not enough arms.

The collaborators who love the "Secret Agent Roleplay" were mainly gathered through Zenith Guevara's connections.

Translator's Note

• [1] In biology, 完全変態 (kanzen hentai) means "complete metamorphosis" (holometabolism, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly). However, literally translated, it also means "complete pervert."