Chapter 178: The Result of the Hostage Crisis (1)

“Oh? What’re you going to do, you bastard? Puhahaha!”

My prediction proved correct. For someone who appeared so proud, embarrassment lingered in the eyes of the mother monster. She evidently hadn’t expected us to hold her baby as a hostage.

Although this made me the villain, this tactic worked in my favor.

“Guh-uh-uh-uh…”

I could see her trying to move towards us. However, I moved Juliana close to her poor baby, and she ceased her movements immediately.

It wasn’t just her. The other monsters had also stopped moving.

‘Did she signal for them to stop?’

She seemed to understand me better than I thought. Thanks to this, I could observe her closely. She was bigger than I thought, and although she stood a good deal of distance away, I could still scrutinize her figure.

Even though I looked at her from a distance, I could see her figure exactly.

There were two huge horns on her head, yet I knew they were not just decorative. Those horns must have played a decisive role in smashing the western wall just before.

‘They can be sold expensively.’

Her horns weren’t the only ones that looked expensive. Her dark hide looked intimidating to anyone. Even from a distance, the shiny leather seemed impenetrable to rare-grade spells or lower. It would certainly make great quality armor.

This creature was definitely a type of dragon, with its long tail and all.

‘I think that could also be turned into a weapon…’

Of course, I had never thought that dragons would appear here. It didn’t seem like the type of creature that sat on top of mankind, freely using its magic. However, even if one were to look at it simply, they would still be able to feel its enormous magical power. I didn’t know if all legendary-grade monsters were like this, but this one seemed to harbor both emotion and high intelligence.

Thus, it was also capable of maternal love.

As soon as I looked at her with my Mind’s Eye, information about her spilled out.

[Dark Dragon Dialugia (Legendary)]

[This is a legendary-grade monster that lives deep within the Rock Rebel Mountains. As a dragon-type monster, it has a certain level of intelligence and lives by hunting medium-sized or higher monsters using its huge horns and long tail.]

[Checking the status window of the legendary-grade named monster, Dark Dragon Dialugia.]

[Name: Dialugia]

[Title: Ruler of the Rock Rebel Mountains]

[Age: 4,036]

[Disposition: A docile mother]

[Category: Dragon]

[Stats]

[Strength: 105/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Agility: 101/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Health: 123/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Intelligence: 100/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Durability: 132/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[Luck: 101/Growth potential: Legendary or lower]

[Magic Power: 125/Growth potential: Legendary or higher]

[General Review: She is very angry because her child was stolen. You should be careful.]

‘The stats…’

Her stats were ridiculously high. Assuming that the method of calculating stats for monsters and humans was different, her stats far exceeded my expectations.

Although her strength points were lower than those of Cha Hee-ra after a runaway, the two were vastly different in the weight division. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she had at least several times the efficiency if her strength depended on sheer size.

Her endurance was 132, while magic power was at 125. I hadn’t yet raided a legendary-grade monster, but I doubted the power of a city would be enough.

‘It should be possible…’

It probably was. Of course, if they were to confront her, Castle Rock may be put at a disadvantage.

However, I was holding her precious child as a hostage.

The now silent legendary-grade monster’s voice and reduced pressure gave Castle Rock a momentary silence, but there was no problem. Her intelligence proved to work in my favor.

The answer came when I thought about why she didn’t move actively in the first place. There was a reason why someone who could easily break down the city walls would stop her rampage.

‘Because the location was not confirmed.’

The body of the baby next to me was very much fragile. This made the mother monster anxious for the wellbeing of her lovely little child. She was probably thinking that we’d whisk her baby away if she continued taking down our walls.

There was no reason to directly confront a monster of such high intelligence.

As the angry and anxious mother continued staring at me, our troops also looked confused and disconcerted. They tried to analyze why this non-standard monster suddenly stopped all movements.

Of course, it was my mission to command the troops that seemed unable to cope with the sudden situation. Their reactions proved to be interesting when I spoke.

“Let’s protect Castle Rock, everyone!”

My voice spread out with the voice amplification magic, clearly reaching every wall.

“It’s just a monster. We have to show how strong our powers are to the dirty monsters who try to invade Castle Rock! The defense team shall chant shield spells in case of any situation, and all other troops should attack the monsters in front of you. Concentrate magic and arrows on your right arm! Melee ranks must protect the distant ranks and take down monsters that are still outside the walls!”

“Wahhh!”

“Victory is right before your eyes, everyone! All forces, fire!”

Flashy-colored magic flies from the wall and fell on her in no time.

Although her stats were high, the amount of magic they had gathered to direct at her would be enough to penetrate her hide.

Sure enough, the mother monster staggered. This could not even be called a raid. She was being treated as a punching bag.

Because of her defensive instincts, her tail swayed, but she knew it would risk her baby, so she kept quiet and quelled her rebellious streak.

“Kie-e-e-e-eek…”

Once again, the baby started crying softly. It was impossible to tell if it could sense its mother, but it indeed sounded sad. This only served to disconcert the mother monster even more. Seeing her constantly getting pelted with magic and arrows was very amusing.

“Let’s do our best, everyone! The enemy is now in an irresistible state. Victory is at hand!”

‘She can’t resist!’

“Today’s victory will be remembered forever in Castle Rock! It will be a victory achieved through sacrifice! Let’s speed up!”

‘This is the power of humans! You savage monster!’

“Let’s protect our hometown!”

Through my exhilaration, however, I felt a little guilty. Dialugia had gone into a pitiful state, given the countless attacks she had been receiving. Whenever she threatened to move, I brought my sword closer to her baby, effectively stopping her in her tracks.

She hadn’t seemed to realize that, if she were to die, her baby would be next.

Of course, even if she were aware of this, she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

This was what maternal love was. No parent would want to see their child get hurt.

‘Whoo… I’m a little sorry, but…’

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The guilt continued to stab my conscience, but I naturally had no intention of stopping. If I did, all of us would get hurt.

This was an easy way to win, and I was going to take that chance.

Half of Castle Rock’s population might die if I didn’t, and we were not unlikely to be pushed back. Though it was a sorry situation for this docile mother, whose egg had gotten stolen, there was no other option available.

‘It can’t be helped.’

She looked so helpless right now that it was impossible to believe she was a legendary-grade monster.

It was then that I could see her looking up, her mouth still shut.

‘What…’

It felt like strange energy, different from magical power, was flowing in this direction before I could even blink.

‘What is this…’

Nothing felt wrong with my body. However, I felt my energy continuously sapping away. Worry began to gnaw at me.

My status window popped up.

[Title has been created.]

[Dragon Spouse]

‘What… This is bullsh*t.’

[It is a title that can only be received by those who have been chosen as spouses of dragons who die and live together at the same time. You have been chosen as the spouse of Dialugia. From this time on, as Dialugia’s spouse, you will live and die together. Magic Power will increase by 5.]

‘This… crazy…’

It’s obvious what the debilitating feeling that suddenly came to me was.

‘Sh*t.’

Though I should be happy that my magic stats had increased, this also proved to be a disadvantage. As the troops prepared their final blow, I knew I would die alongside her.

“S-Stop the attack! Stop the attack!! Stop the attack!!”

First of all, I had to prevent her from getting killed. Logically speaking, considering the dragon’s endurance, she probably would’ve still survived, my anxiety-ridden nature couldn’t get rid of my worries.

As if they understood my orders, the magic attack stopped, yet Dialugia staggered. It appeared that she had fainted. Since the buildings covered her, it was hard to tell.

My mind flashed at the possibility of some troops planning to deal the final blow for some added experience points.

‘N-No…’

“Toward the monster!”

“What?”

“I need to head to the monster right now!”

“Ah… Yes. Okay.”

‘What the hell, you are going back and forth several times.’

Scooping me up, the Red Mercenary member began to run again. This time, I had the baby monster in my hands.

Meanwhile, the battle resumed once more.

The monsters that had stood on standby began to rage again, perhaps because Dialugia had lost consciousness.

“Capture the named monsters! Focus on clearing up the monsters outside the walls!!”

‘Please don’t kill her…’

“I say it again! Capture the named monsters! After blocking the collapsed walls with shield magic, enter the water system once again! Capture the named monsters!”

‘Where is she?’

Despite reaching almost all the western regions, the shadow of Dialugia was not visible.

Feeling frustrated, I ran down from the arms of the Red Mercenary warrior. However, I still couldn’t see anything.

No, what stood out was a human with a large horn on her head. It was noticeable that she was looking at me pathetically while being suppressed by several troops.

I felt a little disconcerted, but I instantly recognized her to be Dialugia.

“Ba… Baby!”

Whoever would see the scenario would see her as the victim and me as the villain.

“You were okay… Baby… You’re okay…”

When I saw her vomiting blood, I hurriedly began to shout.

“Hands… Hands off, you bastards!”