Chapter 101: Dragon extermination Team
The next morning, I found myself sitting atop one of several wagons heading toward the border.
Unlike most of my recent journeys, Finn wasn’t accompanying me this time.
The previous evening he had boarded the train heading toward Blackwater Hollow in order to begin recruiting volunteers for our dragon expedition.
Considering what exactly we planned on doing, I honestly didn’t envy him.
Trying to convince people to fight a dragon sounded significantly harder than designing weapons to kill one.
Still, if anyone could find enough crazy people willing to join us, it was probably Finn.
For now, however, I had my own task.
The wagons behind me were loaded with rifles, ammunition, spare components and maintenance supplies.
Months ago, these weapons had existed only as sketches.
Now dozens of them were being distributed throughout the Aldric Territory.
I couldn’t help smiling every time I thought about it.
The rifles weren’t perfect.
Far from it.
But they worked.
And soon thousands of soldiers would be carrying descendants of these very weapons.
The thought was enough to keep me in a good mood for the entire journey.
——————-
By midday, the familiar border fortifications came into view.
The massive stone walls stretched across the landscape while watchtowers stood overlooking the surrounding plains.
Soldiers moved about carrying supplies, manning positions and performing their daily duties.
The atmosphere was considerably calmer than it had been during the B-rank mage incident.
Which was probably a good thing.
As the wagons rolled closer, I noticed a familiar figure standing near the entrance.
Alex.
My older brother.
He immediately spotted me and began walking over.
By the time the wagons stopped, he was already there waiting.
"Leon."
"Alex."
We exchanged a quick handshake before he looked toward the wagons.
More specifically—
Toward the rifles.
A nostalgic smile appeared on his face.
"You know..."
He reached over and tapped one of the crates.
"These things bring back memories."
I laughed.
"Good memories?"
"Depends."
He looked toward my prosthetic leg.
"Considering what happened, maybe not."
I followed his gaze.
"Fair."
Alex chuckled.
"I still remember seeing that you and Finn somehow managed to kill a B-rank mage."
His smile widened.
"Nobody that wasn’t there believed it at first."
"Honestly, I don’t blame them."
He nodded.
For a moment he simply stared at the crates.
Then his grin widened even further.
"Still."
He slapped one of them.
"If two rifles were enough to kill a B-rank mage..."
He gestured toward the dozens stored throughout the wagons.
"Then with all of these we’re practically invincible."
I immediately shook my head.
"No."
Alex blinked.
"No?"
"No."
His expression became confused.
I pointed toward the soldiers moving around the camp.
"These rifles make us stronger."
Then toward the horizon.
"They don’t make us invincible."
Alex sighed.
"You’re getting smarter."
"Don’t sound so surprised."
"I am surprised."
*******
For a while we supervised the unloading process together.
Soldiers carefully carried crates into storage while quartermasters practically drooled over the amount of equipment arriving.
Several men couldn’t stop staring at the rifles.
Others were already discussing who would receive them first.
The entire camp seemed noticeably more optimistic than before.
Which made sense.
New weapons tended to improve morale.
Especially weapons capable of killing mages.
Eventually, however, Alex’s expression gradually became more serious.
The joking disappeared.
His posture stiffened slightly.
I immediately knew something was coming.
Sure enough—
He turned toward me.
"Leon."
I sighed.
"What did you hear?"
His expression didn’t change.
"So it’s true."
I groaned.
Apparently the rumours had spread faster than expected.
"Yes."
Alex rubbed his forehead.
"You’re actually planning to hunt a dragon."
"I am."
He closed his eyes.
For several seconds he didn’t speak.
Then he slowly opened them again.
"Why?"
"The oil."
"Leon."
"The oil."
"Leon."
"The oil."
Alex stared at me.
I stared back.
Eventually he let out a defeated sigh.
*******
"Do you understand how dangerous dragons are?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
"I don’t think you do."
"I do."
Alex folded his arms.
"You need armies to kill dragons."
"I know."
"You need powerful mages."
"I know."
"You need A-rank mages."
"I know."
His voice rose slightly with each sentence.
I remained completely calm.
Alex finally stopped.
Then looked at me in disbelief.
"If you know all that, then why are you still doing it?"
I thought for a moment.
Then shrugged.
"Because somebody has to."
His face immediately twisted in frustration.
"That’s not a real answer."
"It is to me."
Alex buried his face in his hands.
For several moments all he did was stand there.
Then he looked up again.
"At least wait."
I frowned.
"Wait for what?"
"Lillith."
I immediately shook my head.
"No."
His eyes widened.
"No?"
"No."
Alex looked completely baffled.
"You don’t want an S-rank mage helping you hunt a dragon?"
I pointed at him.
"That’s not the problem."
"Then what is?"
I sighed.
"She won’t let me go."
Alex opened his mouth.
Then paused.
Then slowly closed it again.
A look of understanding appeared.
"...Ah."
Exactly.
Both of us knew what would happen.
The moment Lillith learned I intended to fight a dragon, she would either lock me inside a room for the next year or personally drag me back to the Nightbane Manor.
Neither outcome helped me.
Alex pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You should probably listen to her."
"No."
"Leon."
"No."
"Leon."
"No."
He sighed heavily.
The conversation was clearly going nowhere.
*******
Eventually Alex gave up trying to stop me.
Mostly.
Instead, he settled for looking disappointed.
Which somehow felt worse.
"Do these new weapons of yours at least stand a chance?"
I nodded.
"Not the rifles."
That immediately caught his attention.
"What?"
"The rifles won’t do much."
His eyes widened slightly.
The fact I was openly admitting that surprised him.
"I know that."
I continued.
"The dragon’s scales are too durable."
Alex slowly nodded.
That matched what he already knew.
"So what are you using?"
A grin appeared on my face.
Something about that grin immediately made him nervous.
"A new invention."
His expression darkened.
I could practically see the concern forming.
"What kind of invention?"
"Big."
"Leon."
"Very big."
"Leon."
"And explosive."
Alex immediately closed his eyes.
For several moments he simply stood there in silence.
Then finally he sighed.
"You know..."
His shoulders slumped.
"I liked life more when your inventions were water pumps."
I laughed.
"I don’t."
Alex pointed at me.
"If you are absolutely determined to do this..."
I nodded.
"Yes?"
"I want to see this invention before you leave."
I smiled.
"Of course."
His expression softened slightly.
"Good."
Then he paused.
"How long?"
I thought about the current state of development.
The cannons.
The steam cars.
The shells.
The testing.
The manufacturing.
There was still a lot of work ahead.
"A while."
Alex sighed again.
Apparently that was becoming a common reaction whenever he spoke to me.
"Just don’t get yourself killed before then."
I grinned.
"No promises."
Alex immediately looked like he regretted asking.
Meanwhile, I watched the final crates of rifles disappear into storage and couldn’t help feeling satisfied.
The border would be safer.
The cannons were progressing.
The dragon hunt was moving forward.
And somewhere out there, Finn was probably trying to convince sane people to join us.
Honestly.
That last task was probably the hardest one.
————————-
Around three days later, I was once again buried beneath a mountain of sketches, measurements and calculations inside the workshop.
The work on the cannon was progressing steadily.
Not quickly.
But steadily.
One corner of the workshop was already filled with partially completed components while workers moved in and out carrying steel castings and unfinished parts.
Nearby sat the frame for the second steam car while the first prototype cannon barrel rested across several supports awaiting further testing.
I was currently trying to determine the ideal balance between shell weight and muzzle velocity when the workshop door suddenly opened.
I didn’t even bother looking up.
"How many?"
A grin immediately entered Finn’s voice.
"Five."
That got my attention.
I raised my head.
"Five?"
Finn nodded proudly.
"Five."
I stared at him.
Then sighed.
"I wanted eight."
Finn immediately pointed a finger at me.
"Then go find the other three yourself."
I leaned back in my chair.
Fair enough.
Recruiting people willing to fight a dragon was probably harder than I had originally anticipated.
At least he found some.
"Who are they?"
Finn’s grin widened.
"You know all of them."
That surprised me.
"Really?"
He nodded.
"Every single one fought during the mine operation."
That made sense.
If anyone would be willing to join a suicidal expedition, it would probably be people who had already survived one of ours.
Finn gestured toward the door.
"They’re waiting outside."
A few moments later, I stepped out of the workshop.
Five men stood lined up near the entrance.
The moment they saw me, they straightened.
The first face I immediately recognized.
Garrick.
The man who had essentially become Blackwater Hollow’s unofficial representative whenever something happened.
Which was fairly often these days.
Standing beside him was another familiar face.
Rowan.
The man who had operated the flamethrowers during the battle against the rats.
Honestly, if anyone was crazy enough to volunteer for this mission, it was probably him.
The remaining three men were less familiar.
One of them stepped forward first.
"Bob."
The second nodded.
"Stuart."
The third gave a slightly awkward wave.
"Kevin."
I nodded toward each of them.
Then looked over the group.
Five men was not enough, although it was a start.
For several moments nobody spoke.
Then I folded my arms.
"I assume Finn explained what this mission involves."
The men exchanged glances and Rowan nodded
"He did."
"And you still volunteered."
Another nod.
This time Garrick spoke.
"We did."
I studied them carefully.
None appeared particularly nervous, which I found a bit concerrning.
"This isn’t another mine operation."
The smile disappeared from several faces.
"This isn’t a monster extermination."
I pointed toward the south.
"We are talking about a dragon."
The atmosphere immediately became more serious.
A few moments of silence followed.
Then Rowan shrugged.
"We know."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You know?"
He nodded.
"Dragon."
Then pointed toward the workshop.
"Big guns."
Then toward himself.
"Good pay."
The simplicity of his logic was almost impressive.
A few of the others laughed.
I sighed but at least they were honest.
Eventually I led the group into the workshop.
The moment they entered, their attention immediately focused on the massive sketches covering the central table.
Several stopped walking entirely.
The cannon drawings tended to have that effect.
I walked over and unrolled one of the larger designs.
"Since you’re all volunteering..."
I pointed toward the paper.
"You should understand what we’ll actually be using."
The group immediately gathered around.
I tapped the sketch of the shell.
At first glance it looked similar to a giant rifle round.
But the internal design was considerably more complex.
"This is our primary anti-dragon ammunition."
Several men exchanged uncertain looks.
I continued.
"The front section is a ceramic cap."
I pointed toward the pointed nose.
"It’s hollow."
Rowan frowned.
"Wouldn’t that make it weaker?"
"Yes."
That surprised him.
I continued.
"But that’s intentional."
I tapped the tip.
"This portion only exists to improve aerodynamics."
Then I drew a line through the shell.
"When the projectile impacts the dragon, the ceramic shatters instantly."
Several if them nodded in unison as I then pointed toward the next layer.
"This section is soft copper."
Garrick frowned.
"Why soft?"
I smiled.
"Because I don’t want the shell bouncing or ricocheting."
That got their attention.
I drew a rough dragon scale.
"When the shell impacts, the copper deforms."
Then I flattened it with a few quick pencil strokes.
"It molds itself against the dragon’s scales."
Several eyes widened.
I tapped the center of the shell.
"And while it’s doing that..."
I pointed toward the steel penetrator hidden inside.
"The actual projectile remains perfectly aligned."
Rowan slowly nodded.
Realization spreading across his face.
"So all the force goes straight forward."
"Exactly."
I smiled.
"Straight into the dragon."
The men looked considerably more interested now.
Especially when I pointed toward the center of the projectile.
The explosive section.
"This part contains a delayed fuse."
Several eyebrows rose.
I continued.
"When the cannon fires, one primer ignites the main propellant charge."
Then I pointed toward a second mechanism.
"A second primer ignites a delayed fuse."
Kevin frowned.
"What does that do?"
I smiled.
The same smile that usually worried Finn.
"It gives the shell time."
The men looked confused as I tapped the drawing.
"The shell penetrates embedding itself."
Then I drew a small explosion.
"And several seconds later..."
I grinned.
"It explodes."
The room became silent.
Very silent.
A few of the men visibly imagined what that would do.
The grin slowly spread across Rowan’s face.
"That’s horrible."
"Correct."
"And it’s supposed to happen inside the dragon?"
"Correct."
Rowan looked impressed.
Which honestly wasn’t the reaction I would’ve expected.
After the explanation ended, I moved onto the next sketch.
The steam car.
This one generated significantly more confusion.
Mostly because nobody besides Finn and I had ever really worked with vehicles before.
I pointed toward the cannon mount.
"The cannons will be mounted here."
Then the driver compartment.
"One person drives."
Then the cannon controls.
"One person aims and fires."
Then the rear.
"One person loads."
I looked around the group.
"Each vehicle requires three crew members."
Several nodded.
I continued.
"We currently plan to build two vehicles."
That immediately caused some excitement.
Even Garrick looked impressed.
The idea of a self-propelled cannon apparently appealed to him.
Honestly, it appealed to me too.
Eventually the technical explanations ended.
I rolled up the sketches.
Then looked toward the group.
"For now, the plan remains simple."
I pointed toward the map hanging nearby.
"We travel south."
Then toward a marked region.
"We locate the tribe."
Then another location.
"We identify the dragon."
Finally—
"We observe."
Several men blinked.
"Observe?"
I nodded.
"Observe."
Rowan frowned.
"No charging at it?"
"No."
"No shooting it?"
"No."
"No explosions?"
"Not initially."
The disappointment on his face was immediate but I ignored it.
"We scout first."
I pointed toward the map.
"We study the terrain."
Then the dragon’s location.
"We study its habits."
Then toward the men themselves.
"And only after we know exactly what we’re dealing with..."
My gaze hardened slightly.
"Do we begin planning how to kill it."
That seemed to satisfy them.
A few moments later I looked around the workshop.
At the unfinished cannon parts.
The steam car components.
The shell designs.
The mountains of work still waiting for us.
Then I looked back toward the men.
"The next few months are going to be difficult."
That immediately got their attention.
"Building all of this won’t be easy."
I gestured around the workshop.
"Every one of you is going to be working."
Then toward the half-finished cannon.
"A lot."
A few men laughed nervously but I wasn’t joking.
"The dragon is dangerous."
I paused.
"But before we can fight the dragon..."
I pointed around the workshop again.
"We have to build everything required to kill it."
The men exchanged looks.
Then nodded.
One after another.
Garrick.
Rowan.
Bob.
Stuart.
Kevin.
Every single one.
Finally Garrick stepped forward with a grin spreading across his face.
"When do we start?"
That was exactly the answer I had hoped for.
I pointed toward a pile of steel waiting in the corner.
"Right now."
And with that, the Dragon Extermination Team officially began preparing for war.
