Chapter 60

The journey to the part of the Shadow Moon Road that was closest to the Royal Capital was three and a half days by carriage.

The military exercise would take place a little further on. We were told that the entire journey would be over four days.

I was currently riding as a passenger on Marty’s running dragon.

He sat in the front and I sat behind him.

“So, we’ll arrive within a day on dragonback. It will be hard to go back to carriages once I get used to this.”

“Yes. Of course, we’re just going at the speed of an earth dragon now. We could actually go much faster.”

Marty said.

If you considered just the speed, flying dragons were the fastest, because they weren’t affected by the terrain. Running dragons were just a little slower.

As earth dragons were big and tough, they weren’t quite as quick in terms of mobility.

When it came to the sudden unleashing instantaneous force, running dragons were superior. Flying dragons took a while to fly at a stable speed, and were not as suited for short-distance travel.

“I guess matching your speed to the earth dragons is the most comfortable way to go.”

“But on the other hand, running dragons walk on just two legs, so they aren’t as stable when slowing down. It’s not something you have to care about with earth dragons, since they have four legs.”

“I see.”

We were all riding on the dragons that the Second-Years controlled.

Everyone was supposed to pair up with their roommate, but as it wasn’t an even number, anyone who was left would ride with the veteran Dragon Masters.

I had paired up with Marty previously, and so I rode with him again.

“A thought just hit me. What’s it like riding a running dragon who is going at full speed over a long distance?”

I had ridden with him short-distance a number of times, but not for half a day.

“Recently, we’ve been traveling for longer distances so that we’d be able to keep up during the military exercise. Riding a dragon that’s going at full speed is a life-threatening experience. I mean, it’s not really possible to concentrate that much for hours on end, is it? When going for long distances, you really have to know the movements of your dragon. If you can’t react to it instinctively, then you are likely to be thrown off once you lose focus.”

It was harder than I expected.

Mary controlled a running dragon. And it was quite gentle.

If it was just walking normally, the sounds its feet made were like ‘tap-tap-tap.’

In comparison, the sounds of an earth dragon walking were ‘boom-boom-boom.’ And the ground would shake. It really showed how light the running dragons were on their feet.

However, things started to change once they picked up speed.

The sounds became ‘thud-thud-thud,’ and then they became even faster.

That meant the rider would have to endure the up and down vibrations for a very long time.

“It starts to turn your stomach inside out.”

The dragons tried to run without swaying too much.

However, their bodies were much larger than humans.

Even a small amount of swaying was enough to shake up the insides of the rider.

“Good thing we’re allowed to go slowly.”

I didn’t want to start vomiting during our march.

“By the way, while many people think that riding on flying dragons is easy, they also have their problems.”

You couldn’t always predict the currents of the wind, and you could be unexpectedly pushed downward out of nowhere

Of course, it wouldn’t result in a crash landing, but the dragon would have to desperately flap its wings in order to regain its posture, and the rider had to hang on for dear life.

“I suppose it’s a test of one’s stamina, regardless of which dragon you are riding.”

It was often said that a human’s limit is what decided a dragon’s movements.

We departed in the morning and took three short breaks before arriving at the campsite that night.

Both the First-Years and Second-Years helped pitch the tents.

In spite of having just finishing such a tiring journey, we had to set up a place to cook and rest.

“I guess this is part of our training.”

I knew it would happen, but I was exhausted. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to bake bread.

This was all from the fatigue of having to sit in the same position for so long.

We rubbed at our sleepy eyes as we set up our tents and cooked dinner.

While we sat down to eat, the instructors walked up to us.

“We are only a short distance away from the Shadow Moon Road now. It’s doubtful that the Moon Beasts will attack this campsite directly, but we must still stay on our guard. And so you will take turns patrolling the area.”

That was a rather demanding order.

We were a group of nearly 60 people. And it was decided that 8 would have sentry duties.

“To make things fair, how about drawing lots? Four people from each year.”

One of the Second-Years suggested.

People would be disgruntled if they were chosen specifically, so perhaps it was the best option.

Everyone prayed that they wouldn’t draw the lot as we began.

“..So, that’s settled then.”

I was assigned sentry duties with a Second-Year student.

“I guess we’ll be working together.”

The person who would stand guard with me was Irith Sodi.

He had a red scarf around his neck.

It wasn’t because he was cold, but to hide the Dragon Mark that had appeared there.

“I’m going to go patrol the area.”

“You sure take things seriously, Leon.”

“Well, people might die depending on how we act.”

“I suppose you’re right. Uh, do you want me to go with you?”

“We have to guard the campsite as well. You can signal to me with a whistle if you see anything.”

“Alright. You too. And be careful, Leon.”

“I’m used to this kind of thing.”

I said as I left the campsite.

The truth was, it was probably a good thing that I was chosen as a sentry.

We would camp out here for a few days and then move to a proper lodging facility.

This would be repeated several times until the military exercise was complete. And during this time, they would fight against Moon Beasts.

I hadn’t even seen a real Moon Beast yet.

I had only ever heard of them in stories.

And so I wasn’t sure about just how strong they were.

“Most people who live far away from the Shadow Moon Road are just as ignorant.”

It wasn’t just me. I doubted there was anyone my own age in Sol that had seen a Moon Beast.

I melted into the shadows and scanned the surrounding terrain.

While we expected an attack from Makoku, they wouldn’t know of our exact location yet.

And so I didn’t think tonight was the night worry.

“The real problem will come when we go to the base.”

It was where Christan and the others had gone. A place where a town had once been.

The town had fallen during a Great Shift.

As Moon Beasts would descend in that area, there were no plans to rebuild the town.

It was currently being used by Dragons Masters.

While it was small, there were walls and it was apparently quite impressive.

I couldn’t wait to see it.

“..Alright. That’s good enough.”

I finished searching the area.

What surprised me, was that the veteran Dragon Masters were positioned around us, as if to protect the campsite.

Unless our luck was unbelievably bad, there should be no problem if I got a good night’s sleep.

As I thought this, a shadow moved behind me.