The moonlight silently descended upon the vast expanse of the prairie.
The prairie, filled with an uncanny stillness, was strangely quiet.
As he glared at the prairie, Alex stepped in front of Yona and raised his shield.
“Princess Amira, is the Empire at peace now?”
The atmosphere shifted abruptly.
In stark contrast to Alex’s previously relaxed demeanor, Amira appeared somewhat flustered.
Still, after a brief hesitation, she answered Alex’s question.
“I-I don’t know— it’s been a while since I returned…”
However, Amira also began to survey the surroundings.
Right now, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual.
The prairie remained the same, and the moonlight shattered beautifully against the rocks scattered here and there—
“…Rocks—?”
As Amira muttered, Yona also sensed something odd.
Crawling out of her sleeping bag to rest her hand on Alex’s shoulder, Yona looked around, pondering the strangeness just like Amira.
The numerous rocks scattered across the prairie.
Those rocks were the problem.
All this discomfort seemed to stem from those rocks.
Kaiyak gripped his dual-handed axe, glaring at the rocks.
Behind him, James nocked an arrow to his bow, scanning the area.
“Those aren’t just rocks.”
“Yeah, they appeared out of nowhere.”
As if Kaiyak’s mutter was a signal, the rocks began to tremble in unison.
Then, they suddenly started rising, and what had seemed like rocks straightened up—
They transformed into a bipedal lizard-like creature.
With a shark-like head, it resembled Kaiyak in both height and build.
The difference? Whereas Kaiyak had sleek dorsal fins, these creatures sported rocky shells on their backs.
“Lizardmen.”
Kaiyak murmured.
His gaze swept over the twenty Lizardmen that had finally revealed themselves.
“Lizardmen, you mean they’re your kin?”
James cautiously asked, but Kaiyak shook his head.
“No, they’re prairie Lizardmen. I’m a lake Lizardman, so we’re not quite the same.”
And it wasn’t just their appearance that was different.
“They’re also quite savage.”
As if waiting for those words, the Lizardman at the front of the group stepped forward.
On a notably bright night, his figure was sharply visible.
He wore a lightweight leather armor over his whitish skin.
The leather armor had splashes of red paint, and the Lizardman’s face was painted the same shade.
With his shark-like head even accentuated with red paint, he looked all the more fearsome and vicious.
He looked vicious and fierce.
“I heard Princess Amira is here.”
The guards escorting Amira also sensed the unusual atmosphere and readied their weapons. They formed a defensive formation around the Zakeloko where Amira was mounted.
“Princess Amira.”
Alex called out to Amira in a soft voice as he watched the scene. Amira, clearly frightened, nodded slightly.
“Who knows that the princess is not traveling by ship?”
That made sense. The original plan was to stay a day in Kapatum and then travel by ship to Kubrus. However, due to Yona’s seasickness, they decided to make an overland trip to Zakeloko without staying even a day in Kapatum.
And someone had immediately received that information and was now waiting for her. Moreover, it seemed like they weren’t here to greet Amira with good intentions.
“It’s none of your concern if Princess Amira is here or not. Did you come to act as her guards?”
One snake beastman, serving as Amira’s captain, spoke with a notably menacing voice. Although his hissing breath mixed in, his intent was clearly conveyed.
“Guarding, you say? It’s somewhat similar, I suppose.”
The Lizardman at the front suddenly began to laugh loudly. And as if to join in, the Lizardmen standing behind him chuckled along.
Kkil-kil-kil—. The sound of Lizardmen laughing spread across the grasslands.
“What’s so funny?” Amira’s captain shouted with a scowl, and the Lizardman abruptly stopped laughing.
Then, without warning, he drew an axe from behind and instantly hurled it at the captain.
The motion was as smooth as flowing water and as swift as lightning. Before anyone could react, the flying axe struck straight into the captain’s forehead.
With a crunch—something broke, and the light vanished from the captain’s eyes. The captain, with his head nearly split in two, fell dead, and as the Lizardman reached out, the axe that had lodged in the captain’s head shivered for a moment and then returned to the Lizardman’s hand.
“Guarding is guarding, indeed. But not in the imperial palace; in our tribe.”
With the sudden turn of events, the guards moved quickly. Without even a moment to collect the corpse of their fallen captain, they surrounded the Zakeloko where Amira was mounted without leaving any gaps. Meanwhile, Alex turned to Yona.
“Yona, what should we do?”
“…….” Yona frowned as she glanced between the Lizardman and Amira.
I stared intently.
It’s tough to judge who’s right just by looking at this.
Amira, who was exceptionally kind to Yona.
And that Lizardman who killed her captain in one blow.
Kaiyak is kind, but—
“Saint.”
‘…Why?’
It sounded like someone was being crushed by something.
A voice that seemed quite angry from Vervaria.
“They’re harming my followers. I will reveal myself and punish them.”
What would happen if Vervaria revealed herself here?
—There probably wouldn’t be a problem.
It could even be a good opportunity.
Thinking that, Yona shouted at Kaiyak.
“KAIAK—!”
“What’s wrong?!”
Kaiyak quickly replied.
Yona continued shouting in that voice.
“Are those guys your kin—?!”
“No! Don’t lump me with them!”
“Got it—!”
Yona looked at Alex.
And then turned back to Amira.
“Amira.”
“Y-Yes, Saint!”
Amira, who was slumped on Zakeloko, was trembling like a leaf.
Yona thought it was understandable, patting Amira’s head.
“Don’t be scared. Alex, you don’t be scared either, got it?”
Alex nodded.
“Princess Amira, please come out calmly. Even surrounded like that, those weak Lizardfolk can’t stop us. It’s better if you come out quietly.”
Amira, hidden under the protection of the guard, wanted to cover her ears.
Hunched over and shaking, she might be a princess, but she was just a girl, and this was her first time experiencing something like this.
“We will escort you, so the Lizardfolk should step back quietly…”
Barikyan, the commander of the prairie Lizardmen’s special unit, felt his words trailing off.
Lizardmen, a race specialized for battle.
Among them, the Lizardmen of the Katus Empire were prairie Lizardmen, confident that they were stronger than any race when it came to fighting in this prairie.
However, he was now shaken by an emotion he had never experienced before, as if something gigantic was glaring at him.
It was the feeling of being stared at by something that had never been prey, only reigning as a predator.
That unidentifiable something made him feel vague fear.
He thought it would be a very simple task.
Although he unexpectedly changed course, it couldn’t be said that he had grasped the situation in his homeland for a corresponding response; rather, moving overland merely acted as an opportunity for the prairie Lizardmen.
They had changed their route, but it couldn’t be considered a proper response to assess the situation back home. Instead, traveling by land became an opportunity for the prairie Lizardmen.
So, while moving to Zakeloko, they thought that ambushing in the middle to secure Amira and moving to the specified location would pose no problems.
‘…What on earth is happening?’
Barikian looked at his own hand.
The sweat dripped and shined under the moonlight.
Fear, dread.
That was the emotion tightening around him.
‘I’m scared? Me…?’
“The snake people are planning to take Princess Amira—!”
Trying to shake off the fear, Barikian shouted loudly.
And then it happened.
“With good lizards, there are bound to be bad lizards.”
A young female voice.
With that voice, the serpent guards surrounding Zakeloko scattered left and right.
In the midst of them appeared a female figure with milk-white hair dressed in black.
“What are you doing here—!”
Barikian yelled, but Yona didn’t even blink.
Instead, she confidently stepped forward, raising her left arm high.
“Let there be divine retribution against those who oppress your followers.”
Yona’s expression overflowed with composure.
It was Barikian who felt fear from the bizarre atmosphere surrounding him.
From Yona’s raised left arm, crimson magic surged.
The magic soared high into the air, spreading outwards at once.
In an instant, the magic covered the sky, forming a sphere that surrounded everything.
This space, even blocking the moonlight.
In the flickering crimson light, barely allowing visibility, Yona confidently declared.
“—The spell, Saint Region.”
The power drawn from Damian, the spell.
Yona’s space created by that spell.
Though it was a spell that mixed neither divinity nor magic, Yona, having mastered that power, could freely manipulate those within this realm.
And the target was the prairie Lizardmen.
“I declare that this is my domain, so show yourselves. Come forth, Demon Duke—! Vervaria—!”
– Rumble…!
A thunderous sound echoed loudly.
In the space shimmering with crimson light, a large shadow emerged.
【Is there one here who oppresses the followers of Vervaria?】
A deep, resonant voice.
Vervaria had descended.
And with Vervaria as her backdrop, Yona felt quite proud inside, thinking she had done something rather impressive.
