My Beloved Princess ~The Boy Called Incompetent Rises with Only a Sword and the Princess's Devotion~ - Chapter 032: Escape

The wagon raced refreshingly through the forest.

Considerable speed was coming out. At curves, wheels creaked, scattering ominous sounds suggesting midair disintegration. The road was open. The path the Tempest Turtle had blown away trees to cultivate continued on and on while including meandering.

Then the wheel was bounced by a largish stone, and the cargo bed floated diagonally into the air.

“Whoops, that’s bad.”

Kishō, who was both the cargo puller and simultaneously the driver, put firm strength into both arms as if supporting the vehicle body tilted to the right. The wheel that had lifted from the ground stopped in midair for an instant, then gently descended pulled by gravity. And it softly contacted the ground. Breaking a cold sweat, Kishō sighed in relief. The Princess’s consciousness still hadn’t returned, and she was lying on the bed. He couldn’t let the wagon overturn.

“Hey Shō-kun. Be careful, would you? It’ll affect Yō-chan’s injuries!”

From the rear of the cargo bed, Ōka’s angry voice came down from above. She had shot down a white wolf that had leaped at them in pursuit with her light-attribute breath, [Flash Burn]. Kishō hunched his shoulders, apologized briefly with a “Sorry,” and put extra strength into the feet kicking against the ground. The wagon surged forward, accelerating even faster.

Dragonkin possessed leg strength exceeding ten meters in vertical jumps. Pulling a wagon was nothing. It was tremendously tiring so he really didn’t want to do it, but this was the only method to safely convoy the Princess.

“That giant turtle is at least a bit useful.”

The path gouged and cut open in the ground continued straight to headquarters where the instructors were. Even if the path deviated partway, it didn’t matter. Even if direct access to headquarters wasn’t granted, it was fine as long as they could get through to the highway. Even if they couldn’t make it to the highway, just putting some distance between them was a godsend. And at this pace, it looked like they would reach the highway without much trouble.

Also, magical beasts along the way were all ignored. Magical beasts attacking from the front, excluding those leaping at the cargo bed, were completely ignored. Smashing the massive cargo bed like an ultra-heavy blunt weapon at them was enough. As for magical beasts trying to jump onto the cargo bed, he gutted their bellies with the practice sword. At those times, it became one-handed driving and unstable steering was a bottleneck.

Among them were magical beasts biting Kishō’s arms and shoulders, but biting through dragonkin skin wasn’t easy. Below dragonkin skin was another layer of skin, and that skin was in extremely minute scale form. In other words, it was easy to understand if described as being like wearing chainmail. If it were forcibly peeled off while being bitten, the magical beast’s fangs would break off instead. After that, just throw them away so they don’t block the wagon’s path.

Then, at the timing of turning a sharp curve, a magical beast called a black dog leaped at the cargo bed. To finish turning the curve, Kishō couldn’t free his hands and shouted toward the cargo bed.

“Ōka! One got in. Handle it.”

“Okay.”

Ōka in the cargo bed received the leaping black dog’s fangs with her left arm. The sharp jaw closed with all its strength trying to bite through Ōka’s arm. But Ōka ignored this and slammed the black dog onto the cargo bed floor along with her bitten left arm. The black dog still continued thrusting its fangs trying to bite through, but Ōka struck that face with a tightly gripped fist.

Just because she’s a woman doesn’t mean you should underestimate dragonkin muscle strength. The muscle quality is fundamentally different from humans and such. Even if she looks like a fragile maiden unconnected to muscle, in truth, she harbors frightening violence.

“Gyaun!”

One hit, two hits, three hits.

After striking with her fist three times, the black dog stopped moving.

Licking the wound with a lick, Ōka discarded the black dog by throwing it from the forward cargo bed.

“I won’t let them lay a finger on Yō-chan.”

The blood of dragonkin as a combat race was completely awakened. The resolve considered most important in battle—she currently possessed it. If you’re resolved to fight, your body will react automatically to any situation.

Two white wolves jumped into the cargo bed from behind. Scattering cargo crates and barrels, the white wolves leaped. Against this, Ōka had moved to action faster than thinking. If she released breath, the wagon would be damaged. That was foolishness that would remarkably reduce the Princess’s survival rate. Therefore, the best plan was suppression through hand-to-hand combat.

Making maximum use of physical ability as a dragonkin, an unhesitating straight right fist blew away a white wolf’s face. With momentum exceeding the momentum when it had jumped in, the white wolf was blown backward, tumbled from the cargo bed, and disappeared into the road’s horizon.

But the other white wolf had passed Ōka’s immediate side. Its aim wasn’t her.

“You—”

Ōka converted linear kinetic energy into rotational energy by twisting her waist, and simultaneously, executing a 180-degree turn, grabbed the white wolf attacking the Princess by the tail. And then pulled with all her might. Sounds of pain unimaginable to dragonkin—rip rip rip—echoed, and the giant body that must have been 1.5 meters was thrown from the wagon by brute force.

Then the manpower-driven wagon hung in midair for an instant.

About to lose balance, Ōka grabbed onto the cargo bed. Trying to complain and directing her gaze forward, the wagon had just arrived at a long slope. The black soil path intensified its degree of gradient and was drawn to the forest below.

“Hey Shō-kun. The speed is—”

“I know. But I can’t control it.”

Speed was rising rapidly. Kishō’s feet were about to tangle but somehow endured. Ōka, who’d moved her gaze forward again, was at a loss for words.

“No way…”

On the wide black soil path where three wagons could pass, a large pack of white wolves was lying in wait. Were there fifty? If they all leaped at once, she couldn’t even imagine how many infiltrations they’d permit. If it became a melee, with Ōka’s ability, she couldn’t protect the Princess.

“Shō-kun, that’s impossible.”

“I know. But I can’t stop. Can’t turn back.”

The wagon advancing on the steep slope had accelerated to the limit and entered top speed. Even if emergency brakes could be applied, Ōka and the Princess riding would be thrown outside with inertia as is.

Absolute superiority. Before foolish prey jumping in of their own accord, the white wolves smiled ferociously and licked their chops.

The time of battle’s opening was near.

They’d probably have to force through with the momentum accelerated on the steep slope as is.

Ōka gripped her fists tightly and steeled her resolve.

And then, at that time.

Around when they’d finished descending the slope and arrived at flat ground, a weak “kyuuun” cry was heard from the pack of white wolves. She understood they were fighting something when the distance narrowed more. White wolves and white fluffballs were grappling in melee.

“No way. Magical beasts are fighting each other.”

A gigantified rabbit’s jaw chomped and devoured a white wolf from the head.

It seemed a pack of about thirty rabbits was attacking the pack of over fifty white wolves. Surprisingly, the rabbits with inferior numbers were winning.

“No, that’s different. Those aren’t just magical beasts. Those are—”

They were the rabbit magical beasts the Princess had restrained and let go without killing.

“It looks like they’re helping us somehow.”

“No way. Would magical beasts do something like that?”

The wagon raced through at top speed beside the melee situation.

As they passed, the rabbit that seemed to be the leader with horns raised a growl of “Gyuuuu!” It sounded just like it was saying “Leave this to us. Go ahead.”

—Killer Rabbits.

Ferocious magical beasts that mercilessly devour those who enter their territory.

But at the same time, they had very honorable personalities, and never forgot a debt received once. For example, if you dared to let them go without taking their lives, they who felt an obligation would never attack again. And depending on the case, you could even expect their assistance. Just like now. It was a long plan by the Princess looking ahead.

Ōka showed her face from the rear cargo bed.

About five white wolves escaped the melee and pursued.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Ōka quietly looked down at the pursuers.

One white wolf leaped greatly and jumped at Ōka in the cargo bed.

Ōka swung back her right fist and thrust her tightly gripped fist into the white wolf’s widely opened mouth interior. And then—

“[Flash Burn]!”

Blowing away the head from the white wolf’s mouth interior, fresh blood scattered.

She carelessly shook off the white wolf that had become a corpse from her right arm. Bouncing on the ground and involving one pursuing white wolf, it disappeared toward the horizon.

All color vanished from Ōka’s expression.

Quiet bloodlust filled only her surroundings.

The other white wolves that had continued pursuing seemed to feel unknown fear and slowed their running pace, stopping their pursuit. As if seeing off Ōka, who stood imposingly at the wagon’s rear, turning void eyes on them.