The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Lilia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 056 – Raizen [A]
Leonhart swung his sword.
As the battle continued to intensify, Leonhart utilized the swordsmanship he had trained all his life against the giant dragon, Raizen.
“—!”
Even now, he poured a lot of power in the pressure behind his slash, and swung his blade against the dragon’s white, shining scales with great effort.
His slash was fully loaded with Leonhart’s power and weight, however, it harmlessly bounced off of Raizen’s body with a few sparks and a dull sound.
There wasn’t even a single scratch left on the scales after Leonhart finished his attack.
At that moment, the dragon moved his body. He neatly pivoted on his four limbs as he turned, and a huge, white object flashed in the corner of Leonhart’s vision. Leonhart immediately identified what it was.
…It’s the tail!
A dragon with a total body length of fifty meters would obviously possess a tail several times longer and bigger compared to that of normal dragons. Yet even with that massive length and weight, the silvery white tail moved with surprising speed and flexibility as it swept towards Leonhart.
Leonhart only took a moment to think. He realized almost instantly that taking this impact head-on would be disadvantageous, so he immediately changed direction to avoid it. Leonhart lept forwards and slid through the gap between Raizen’s feet. As he passed underneath the dragon’s belly, he swung upwards.
Raizen correctly sensed Leonhart’s intention and spoke out.
“Did you think you could wound me from below?!”
“—!”
The blade of Orpheil made contact with Raizen’s underside, but it was repelled away, the same as with any other surface of the dragon. As he spoke, Raizen shifted his balance again, and his front limbs rapidly approached Leonhart.
Leonhart recognized the danger. What he saw before his eyes was the claw of a dragon. Its luster clearly showcased its sharpness. This was the weapon of a dragon that was the equivalent of a man’s sword, but it far outshone most swords in strength and quality.
As Leonhart leapt away from the underside of the dragon, Raizen’s front limb pierced the ground so hard that his food sunk into the ground and he had to yank it out with some effort. The ground shook as it endured the impact of that giant’s weight, and cracks spread out from the point of impact.
Leonhart saw the result of the exchange and spoke with a bitter expression.
“This really troubles me… I can’t cut it at all. Maybe there’s a problem with my weapon or swordsmanship?”
“No, I doubt that’s the case.”
Raizen spoke with a relaxed tone.
“Your skill is amazing as far as I can see, and there’s no problem with your weapon’s sturdiness. Most weapon would break down as soon as they hit my body, after all… it’s just, my body happens to be really hard—”
“Look,” said Raizen, as he lifted his front limb up in front of his body, almost to Leonhart’s eye level. As Leonhart watched, Raizen singled out a claw on the limb and raised it, then slammed it into his other leg.
Although a dull metallic sound echoed through the space, and sparks scattered, the scale itself wasn’t damaged at all. Even the claws of a dragon were useless when it came to leaving a mark on these impossibly hard scales. As he showed the result, Raizen exhaled in disappointment.
“As you can see, I can’t even hurt myself. I have fought countless battles and bathed in the blood of others, but I have never shed any blood from my own skin.”
Leonhart wondered if he had mistaken Raizen’s tone as disappointed. After all, Raizen’s diamond body was basically Leonhart’s natural counter, and even fellow dragons would have a hard time dealing with him.
“…Isn’t that okay? That basically means you’re invincible, right?”
No no, Raizen shook his head as he spoke his disagreement.
“It doesn’t mean I would always win; even I have lost in combat before, and besides that, it’s not like I never suffered any pain or wound. So I’m not complaining about never feeling pain, you know? …It’s just, being invincible also has its own share of pain…”
Raizen raised his head while saying that, reminiscing about his old times.
“After all, most enemies cannot put up a decent fight if I fight them upfront… although achieving victory through straight combat was something praiseworthy among dragons, I personally didn’t find that interesting or fun at all.”
Leonhart nodded in response to Raizen’s words. In other words, this dragon…
“Basically, you want to enjoy your battles, huh?”
“Indeed. I prefer strong enemies in combat. It’s better if they can put up a decent fight, and make me strategize a little bit. Even better, if they are strong enough to actually wound me.”
Leonhart immediately understood his response. Leonhart couldn’t help but smile as he heard Raizen’s wish.
“No doubt about that. It’s exciting fighting against a strong opponent, after all.”
“Yes. Despite being human — oh, I guess you’re not one. You sure understand it well though, despite being a majin. Such struggle is the secret to improving oneself.”
“…Well, I guess you’re in luck then.”
“?”
Perhaps Raizen didn’t understand what Leonhart meant, because the dragon’s eyes were full of questions. Leonhart revealed the true meaning behind those words.
“It means I will teach you what a defeat is today. You should be satisfied if a strong opponent grants you that, right?”
“Mu…”
Raizen’s words were trapped in his throat. Even after all those useless attacks, Leonhart hadn’t lost hope. Indeed, he had only gotten more fired up and determined.
But after a while, Raizen opened his mouth and spoke,
“Fuh, maybe that’s the case… but don’t you misunderstand—”
He once again stepped forward as he roared his final words.
“—I don’t really like losing that much!!”
“—I also don’t like it!!”
With such agreeable words, Raizen rushed forward.
…Well then, what should I do about this…!
Leonhart was thinking about the best countermeasure against his current opponent.
He kept trying every idea he had as the battle continued. First of all, Leonhart unleashed his powerful sword slashes in succession without moving around.
It was the vacuum slash, a long distance attack that utilized Leonhart’s sword, but didn’t require Leonhart to be close to his target. He sent such a slash flying toward Raizen.
“Muu, this is…!”
Raizen’s eyes widened in surprise. He had never faced this kind of attack, which was when a series of invisible yet fast slashes were unleashed from distance with precise targetting.
However, the moment he understood that, Raizen still flashed his fangs in a smile.
“Fufuh… interesting! It’s my first time seeing a slash sent flying like this!”
“Cih…I hoped to get such praise if I managed to wound you with that instead!”
Even as Raizen said so happily and the slashes came flying towards him, he didn’t care, instead continuing to advance forward with high speed.
The first few slashes made contact with his body, but they glanced off and the scales were as perfect as before. The momentum of Raizen’s charge didn’t slow down, either. Leonhart clicked his tongue in annoyance as he saw that.
Raizen accelerated even as more slashes were sent flying toward him.
“You’re right. In that case, entertain me more!”
“—!”
The giant dragon approached the majin.
The speed and instantaneous force he produced, which one could hardly have imagined as coming from such a massive body, was overwhelming. Despite the heavy wind resistance, Raizen charged forwards, only accelerating faster the more distance he travelled.
Leonhart knew it would be a bad move to even try to counter it. His best option here should have been to avoid it. Raizen was travelling in a straight line to maximize speed, so if he dodged at the last second, the dragon wouldn’t be able to turn in time.
But Raizen likely had anticipated this move. He could easily use his dexterous front limbs to suddenly change direction. He would lose a little speed, but his force would still be deadly.
…I thought he was merely dexterous, but to think he could even make such precise movements, taking his weight into consideration!
Leonhart was impressed as he saw how Raizen used his limbs.
Raizen used different battle tactics compared to the dragons Leonhart had fought up until now, who had mostly depended on their physical power.
This dragon’s movement clearly showed the experience he accumulated after countless years of training and fighting.
In other words, Leonhart’s opponent this time not only had fearsome strength, but utilized a refined technique to really max out his great power.
He wasn’t simply a dragon. He was a trained warrior, who also had the benefit of being a dragon.
And the trouble this combination was capable of was about to strike Leonhart.
…This opponent is getting harder to deal with…!
Not only did the dragon already possess pure power that could defeat most beings just by brute force, but he also possessed a fighting technique that surpassed most trained warriors. Curse you, Four Great Saint Dragons. Leonhart felt like he could hear voices saying, “you, out of all people, shouldn’t have the right to say that,” but he didn’t bother to pay attention.
Leonhart finally thought, I guess I should try that.
Since his opponent fought with his technique in such a novel manner, Leonhart decided to fight back, using both technique and ingenuity.
Therefore, Leonhart stepped forward.
His body instantly accelerated to top speed. Leonhart’s body seemed to disappear due to the explosive instantaneous power he possessed as a majin.
“—!”
Raizen was astonished again by Leonhart’s speed as the majin flashed in front of the dragon in an instant for the second time.
Leonhart then looked up, searching for his target.
Before his eyes were the glittering scales of Raizen. His gaze landed on a certain scale, and immediately sharpened in focus. Leonhart leapt upwards, swinging his sword towards that special scale.
…Eat this…!
He wielded the demonic sword in his right hand in a reverse grip. Orpheil was a long, heavy sword of considerable length, so it was quite awkward to wield with one hand. Leonhart would normally have chosen to not swing it this way, since he wouldn’t have such fine control and would lose strength, but he needed such ingenuity to have a chance.
Leonhart had made all these calculations instantly. The sword he held in reverse with his right hand was aimed at one scale on Raizen’s chin.
…Fall down, this reverse scale…!!
As if he was trying to hammer down a stake, he attacked with blunt force towards the reverse scale.
Raizen praised his opponent’s movements.
…Splendid!
His opinion rose as the majin disappeared in an instant from his gaze. The speed itself wasn’t something that couldn’t be traced by his eyes, but the acceleration needed to reach that speed was a completely different matter. After all, perceiving speed was a matter of one’s eyes getting used to it, and the sudden acceleration could easily deceive one’s senses.
When taking into consideration the flying slash the majin had unleashed on him, Raizen considered the majin’s skill to surpass his. Although it seemed weird to compare dragon and majin, especially when said majin was humanoid and therefore used their body differently from the dragon, it was still a fact. Raizen’s battle technique was suited for his massive body and unbreakable scales, but his physical attributes also meant that he didn’t have to rely so heavily on precise technique as Leonhart did.
In addition, said majin also had swift, accurate judgment during the heat of battle. It was definitely that of a first class warrior.
Raizen knew, Indeed, my weakness lies on the reverse scale on my throat.
For a dragon, that scale was something that was off limits during battle. It was a natural weakness of dragons, because it was upside down, so it was insulting if another dragon aimed at that spot. Outside of the dragon race, the existence of such a spot was usually unknown. The fact that Leonhart had learned, remembered this knowledge, and had the bravery to target such a spot, was very admirable.
On top of that, it was worthy of praise that the majin used blunt force instead of a slashing attack. Normally, that one attack would be enough to force him to the ground.
However, that wasn’t the case right now.
With that in mind, Raizen followed the traces of movement left behind by Leonhart and let the majin, almost completely below his line of sight, connect his sword with that reverse scale.
Raizen indeed felt pain. But, there was still no wound left behind there.
However, he felt that one attack deserved praise. Therefore, Raizen opened his mouth.
Light accumulated inside his mouth. It was the most famous weapon that dragons had in the entire world.
—Dragon Breath.
…Well, how will you deal with this…?
After a brief moment, Raizen unleashed it without a second thought.
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
