Chapter 536: The Real One and the Impostor (4)

Tauro introduced himself to the group of impostors.

There was little reaction from anyone except fake Tauro, who looked surprised and panicked.

“Alpha! Help me!”

The fake Tauro, unable to break free from Tauro’s firm grip on his arm, called for his comrades to help.

Then Tauro kicked the fake’s leg, knocking him to the ground, and swiftly tied up his arms to restrain him.

Alpha and the others remained on guard, unable to find an opening to move while Aeris kept them under pressure with her intimidating presence.

“…Well then, now that we’ve captured this noisy fake, that just leaves you people… You look strong. Oh—are you members of the ‘Golden Lion,’ the elite unit directly under the Emperor?”

“…”

Alpha and the others still said nothing in response to Tauro’s words.

“Ah, I guess I hit the mark. Come to think of it, you with the scar on your forehead—you were one of the people there when they tried to kidnap the Saint in Duke Barriera’s territory, weren’t you? Then I guess I’m right.”

Tauro, stalling for time and doing a little psychological warfare, taunted Alpha and the others.

“The ‘Golden Lion’? Hahaha! That’s ridiculous. Even I, an Imperial citizen, know stories like that are nothing more than legends—fairy tales.”

Fake Tauro, tied up and lying at Tauro’s feet, laughed at what the real Tauro was saying.

“…I see. So this fake was being used by all of you without even knowing your true identities. Your goal was to make use of his [Charm] ability, wasn’t it?”

“…”

Alpha and the others neither confirmed nor denied it.

“…Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Theta—why aren’t you saying anything? We’ve never heard about the ‘Golden Lion’… Aren’t you part of the Empire’s intelligence agency, ‘109’?”

The anxious fake Tauro blurted this out without being asked.

“Moteo, stop talking. This is unexpected, but… if we take him down here, it’ll make things easier. Let’s do it.”

Alpha readied his sword, called fake Tauro by his code name, and signaled the others.

As soon as he did, Alpha, Beta—the man with the scar on his forehead—and Gamma all attacked Tauro.

Delta and the woman Theta attacked Aeris.

Tauro drew Modified Shortsword Tauro and poured mana into it, extending its blade of light to the length of an ordinary sword before slashing at Alpha, who appeared to be their leader.

Alpha narrowly dodged his sword of light and leapt backward.

Meanwhile, Beta and Gamma moved in on Tauro from either side, trying to stab him with their swords.

However, Gamma’s attack from the left was effortlessly blocked by Pella, the Slime Emperor familiar disguised as a mimic. On Tauro’s right, Beta—the man with the scar on his forehead—was cut in half along with his sword by the returning sweep of Tauro’s blade of light.

“Cut in half… with that sword?!”

The scarred Beta muttered in disbelief before dying.

As for Aeris, she used the spear of light extending from the tip of her ebony staff to impale Delta, who was rushing at her, then struck Theta with the handle of her staff, knocking her away.

“No way… They’re avoiding our attacks and even taking us out without a scratch…!”

Alpha’s calm demeanor from before suddenly changed and he began to grind his teeth in frustration.

“Now, it’s just you and that Gamma over there. Surrender.”

Confident that he wouldn’t lose even in a two-on-two fight, Tauro offered them a chance to surrender.

“You underestimated us… Sure, I was surprised by your movements, which are far beyond the intel we had, but we can’t back down now. We’ll fight to the death and take you down here!”

Alpha exchanged a glance with Gamma and nodded. That alone was enough for them to understand what to do; each reached into a pocket and pulled out a small bottle.

Just in time, Ragune, Ankh, and Zion arrived to join the fray.

“This makes it five against two. It’s over. Please give up.”

““Shut up!””

Alpha and Gamma rejected the demand and drank the contents of the small bottles.

Now what—

“Whoa—!”

They let out fierce roars, and in an instant, Alpha and Gamma transformed into monstrous beings.

Their armor and clothing tore apart under the strain as their bodies rapidly grew larger.

“Graaaaaah—!”

They let out agonized screams as they fully transformed into dragon-like forms, losing all semblance of being human.

“This is beyond what I expected…!”

Tauro was slightly shaken as he faced the transformed Alpha Dragon.

“It’s like the transformation used by the northern dragonfolk.”

Aeris spoke as she recalled a transformation scene she had seen in the past.

“That’s not right, Aeris. Even the mighty northern dragonfolk wouldn’t bother transforming into such lowly little dragons!”

Ragune calmly corrected her.

“Either way, it looks like we’re suddenly fighting dragons now?!”

Ankh drew his magic greatsword and faced the two dragons, each roughly twice his size.

“Are these people even sane?”

Zion, cool and composed, also surveyed the dragons calmly.

“Looking at his eyes… I don’t think they’re in their right minds.”

Just as Tauro reached that conclusion, Alpha Dragon lunged at him with its jaws open.

Tauro dodged sideways at the right moment, swinging his sword of light at its neck.

The dragon’s magic resistance repelled the attack with a shrill clang.

“Everyone be careful, it’s magic-resistant!”

Tauro warned and then called out to Pella, who was on his shoulder.

“Pella!”

Pella, sensing his intent, used mimicry to coat Modified Shortsword Tauro, making it resemble a black-bladed sword.

“Alright, everyone. I’ll leave that dragon to you!”

Tauro decided to leave the Gamma Dragon to Ragune, Ankh, and Zion while he and Aeris took on the Alpha Dragon.