Ice Dragon (1)

The north.

A land where frost reigned throughout every season, where even under the midday sun, the world only glowed with a winter afterglow spread across the silver sheets of white snow.

Two years had passed since Vergil’s exile, and he had long settled into the mundane life inside his small cabin in the winter forest.

“Here’s the payment for clearing out the goblin camp, Sir Vergil.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Work came easily in the nearby village.

His time as a knight who had defended the northern front during the Long Winter was more than enough for the villagers to place their unconditional trust in him.

By morning, Vergil went through the same routine. He gathered logs to last through the night and spent part of the afternoon fishing in the cold lake to save on expenses.

It was a peaceful life.

“Damn boring.”

Yet peace was not enough for him. He came from another world and somehow became a knight fighting through battlefields.

To turn all of that into nothing more than chopping wood and catching fish felt suffocating.

The monotony drained him far more than any war ever had.

What was even the point of transmigrating if this was all he was going to do?

Live like some recluse in a rural cabin, wasting away in the middle of nowhere?

If that were the case, then he might as well have stayed on Earth, where at least he could have sat in front of his computer and played games.

“Sigh.”

Vergil pushed himself to his feet after catching enough fish to last him the next three days.

With the bucket in hand, he made his way back toward his cabin, expecting nothing more than another quiet evening.

Instead, he noticed two figures waiting outside, and the sight made him slow his steps.

It was the village chief, along with the Head Knight assigned to protect the village.

“Master Vergil!”

Vergil approached them, setting the bucket down beside the door.

“Chief, what brings you all the way out here?”

The Head Knight turned his attention to Vergil.

“Master Vergil, we need your assistance. There have been sightings of Dragonoids in the southern forest.”

“......”

The southern forest was far from his cabin, positioned on the opposite end of the village.

Anyone heading there would have to pass straight through the village first.

It was not a place where Dragonoids should be roaming so freely, and the implication alone was enough to raise concern.

“Dragonoids?”

Vergil’s brows raised at the mention.

Dragonoids were descendants of dragons, smaller in size and far more humanoid in appearance, which contrasted the massive, winged lizards dragons were known to be.

They were dangerous enough on their own, and their presence near a village wasn’t a good sign.

The Head Knight nodded and continued explaining.

“Yes. The sighting came from the children. They shouldn’t even know what Dragonoids look like, but the descriptions they gave match too closely to be a coincidence.”

“I understand.”

Vergil set down the bucket of fish.

The matter clearly wasn’t something the village knights could ignore, and the fact that they had come all the way to his cabin meant the situation was more serious than they were letting on.

Without wasting time, he grabbed his coat and sword.

“I’ll take a look.”

The two men looked relieved as they followed him back toward the village.

Dragonoids appearing this far north was strange enough, but being spotted by children in the southern forest made even less sense.

They were not creatures that wandered aimlessly, and they rarely crossed into human territory.

After crossing through the village, Vergil made his way to the path leading into the southern forest.

He scanned the surroundings carefully for any unusual movement.

Rumble——

The ground trembled beneath his feet.

A loud roar resounded from the distance, shaking the branches overhead, followed by a rush of explosions.

Vergil drew his sword and sprinted toward the source.

The moment he broke through the thicket, the scene took his breath away.

A massive Ice Dragon towered over the vicinity.

Frost spilled from its breath, coating the ground in thick layers of ice.

Its wings were battered and torn in several places. Every movement it made seemed to be driven by exhaustion and desperation rather than rage.

Standing before the beast were several Dragonoids.

They were shouting orders to one another, trying to contain the Dragon’s movements without provoking it further.

“......”

There was a reason why Vergil was so taken aback.

In the novel ‘The Frozen Hyacinth Does Not Wither,’ Ice Dragons were described as endangered to the point of near extinction.

Even a single sighting was considered extraordinary.

And whenever an Ice Dragon appeared, Dragonoids were quick to hunt it down.

Vergil watched the scene unfold before him as the Dragonoids surrounded the wounded creature.

Weapons in hand, they struck the Ice Dragon again and again mercilessly.

Vergil narrowed his eyes.

To an outsider, the Ice Dragon would look like a terrifying beast lashing out in desperation.

But in Vergil’s eyes, the creature’s trembling wings and frantic attempts to retreat painted a different picture entirely.

It wasn’t fighting, but trying to flee. It wasn’t roaring in rage, but was crying out in pain.

Who was the real monster here?

As the Dragonoids closed in, the Ice Dragon lifted its head and locked eyes with Vergil.

“……”

The world seemed to stop for that brief moment.

Vergil’s eyes widened when he noticed something he never expected.

A single tear slid down the Dragon’s enormous eye, catching the light before falling onto the frozen ground.

That wasn’t the look of a beast cornered.

It was a plea.

A cry for help.

Swoosh——!

Vergil moved before he could think twice.

He stepped in front of the Dragonoid just as the spear came down for the killing blow.

Steel clashed against steel. The Dragonoids froze in surprise. Their formation broke for a brief second as they realized who had intervened.

“What do you think you’re doing, human?!”

Vergil held his ground with his sword locked against the spear. The pressure from the Dragonoid was fierce, but Vergil pushed back with equal strength, forcing the weapon aside.

Vergin positioned himself squarely between the Ice Dragon and the Dragonoids, making his stance clear as aura wrapped around his sword.

Dragonoids had maintained a peaceful pact with humanity for generations.

They still looked down on humans, but that never prevented both sides from honoring the treaty that kept them from open conflict.

For a knight to intervene in Dragonoid affairs, especially in a hunt, was considered a direct breach of that agreement.

Vergil knew this well, and he understood exactly what line he was crossing.

But he didn’t care.

Humanity had already cast him aside the moment he was exiled.

Whether the Empire and the Dragonoids clashed over this or not no longer mattered to him.

If this single act of defiance ended up sparking a war, then so be it.

Vergil was already prepared to watch the world tear itself apart.

Let the world burn, as he liked to say.

With aura coating the blade, Vergil swung downward. The strike cut through the air cleanly.

All the training he had accumulated during his three years as an Imperial Guard was finally being put to use.

After spending so long killing nothing but goblins, wolves, and the usual low-tier forest creatures, this was the first time he was unleashing his real technique again.

The Dragonoid recoiled, forced to leap back from the sheer pressure behind Vergil’s strike.

The others tightened their formation and raised their weapons, reassessing him with a new level of caution.

“Human, do not make this worse for yourself!”

Behind Vergil, the Ice Dragon released a trembling breath before its legs buckled under its weight.

The enormous body slumped onto the frozen ground, unconscious.

Vergil couldn’t tell whether it was still alive or already moments from death.

With that much blood spilling out, even a Dragon’s endurance had its limits.

But he didn’t have time to check.

Vergil pressed forward and continued the onslaught. He evaded past the Dragonoids’ swings, ducking under one blade and stepping aside from another spear thrust.

Their physical strength far surpassed his, and each strike held enough force to break bone if it landed.

But brute strength wasn’t everything.

Vergil had technique.

He parried a downward strike, redirected a thrust, and countered with swift cuts that forced the Dragonoids back despite their superior physiques.

One Dragonoid snarled in frustration as Vergil knocked aside his spear, sending sparks scattering across the icy ground.

Slash——!

When the last of the Dragonoids fell before him, Vergil lowered his sword and turned back toward where the Ice Dragon should have been.

He expected to see a massive, frozen body lying across the ground.

Instead, his sight was met with an empty clearing.

“Huh?”

Vergil blinked his eyes and stepped closer.

The enormous creature that had filled the space moments ago was gone without a trace.