22 Dragon-chan ends a war before it really starts

While Yuna was still off in Mireera, I went back to the Roost, delivered the Kraken parts, raised the prices on Kraken dishes by 25% so we could reduce the rate at which we go through them, and then I learned that the commerce guild had received several dozen requests for me to help with construction work. I really ought to have seen that coming, but... I didn't. As I was contemplating how to get out of it in a diplomatic way, I got an emergency call from Douglas. I moved to his location, and found him in a room with nobody around.

"Sorry about the emergency call, but... I just learned that the Regulus Empire, where we are now, is planning to declare war on Erufanica as they launch a surprise attack from land and sea. Their army is on its way to the border, and they have ships that plan to land near the capital currently off of the coast. The date is going to be in six days. If you want to stop them at the border, or lure a Kraken over to the ships, I would love that. I don't want there to be a war... Well, not quite. Honestly, I would love it if this empire were to undergo some... change in management, as the emperor, and his ancestors, legitimized and legalized forced slavery, if the slaves are either not human, or not from the empire. I can't stand that, so, honestly, if you wait until they declare war, and then crush the palace, that would be ideal. As they would have declared war on your country, you would have the right to retaliate as you see fit, as per international law" (Douglas)

"That sounds good. So, where in the empire are we, and where will they cross the border?" (Nene)

"We are in the outskirts of the capital city, and the point on the border they will cross is about here" (Douglas)

"Douglas... You know full well I'm rather short. I can't see the map that's on that table clearly... Do you find this funny? If so... You're going to have your last laugh soon" (Nene)

"Oh, right. Sorry about that. Here, you can stand on this stool. Anyways, so, they will cross here, and the ships will land here. There will be about three dozen ships, and about ten thousand soldiers going by land" (Douglas)

"Thanks. I'm going to report this to the King... actually, what proof do you have? I'm going to need more than just a 'my sources say this' or 'an S rank who I trust with my life said that' to convince him... I think..." (Nene)

"Ah, yes. Here's an item bag filled with some record crystals, and a few documents I copied. If you are wondering how I got all of this, I was hired as a guard for a general who needed to move fast, so he couldn't take any slow soldiers with him, and as I have a perfect visual memory, I could copy the documents he had near me. The crystals were made with {Item Enchantment Duplication} as he slept" (Douglas)

"You sly little... I take it the reason you wanted to do that was because you disliked this empire?" (Nene)

"Yeah... I wanted to find something that could start a civil war, but being able to have the empire get crushed after it declared war on someone is perfectly fine with me as well" (Douglas)

"You must really hate this place... what happened?" (Nene)

"Uh... basically, my friend and her entire family got forced into slavery, and there's nothing I could do about it. I'm hoping that those slaves with no criminal record would get released when a new monarch comes into power after the country's collapse. If not... I'll just have to do it again and again until it happens. Once it does, I'm going to find her and leave for Ordesia" (Douglas)

"Ah... Well, I'll see what I can do. I'm off then!" (Nene)

I took the bag, read over the proof, looked at the contents of the record crystals, and then took them to the King... Or I tried to, but I was told that I'd have to make an appointment to see him, and that the earliest slot was in two weeks...

"Fine, in that case, I'll make an appointment after I deliver some food to princess Flora. I assume I can at least do that?" (Nene)

"Yes, there is no problem with that, none whatsoever" (Guard)

That was easy. Since the King always shows up when I bring anything to Flora, I can see the King without an appointment... I wonder if he comes to see me by way of pushing his work off onto someone else... Nah, it can't be...

Sure enough, my plan worked, and I managed to get him to allow me to retaliate once the declaration came through. To that end, I gave him one of those magic stones so I could know exactly when they declared war... or at least, when the King had received the declaration...

Six days later, at the border, I was waiting, starting at dawn. I could see the camp of the soldiers on the other side of the border, which was a (currently) dry riverbed. Around noon, the soldiers started to move, and I sent out a few dozen of my Dragons to wait in miniature form in the bushes around the area they would cross the border at, as I stood up from where I lay under a tree. When the soldiers reached the border, it was right at noon, and I received the call that the King got the declaration at noon as well. I walked out from where I was rather well hidden, and, without calling for the crossing to stop, the horseman in the lead called over to me while advancing.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" (Horseman)

"That's funny, I was about to ask YOU that... My name is Nene, I'm a simple adventurer in, but not from, this country. I see you are soldiers, but... are you invading Erufanica? You shouldn't need... what, ten thousand troops? Shouldn't need that many troops to do, like, anything at all in another country... Well, besides invade or respond to a request for aid, and as I know of no military problem in Erufanica... I can only assume you are here to lay waste to the land I am currently living in" (Nene)

"Yeah, that's right. We are at war now, so you should get out of the way, little girl" (Horseman)

"No, I'm here to stop you. I knew you were here to wage war, I just wanted to confirm it. As you have so helpfully said, we are at war, so I am within my rights to do whatever I want to you, now that you have declared the intent to invade and are in a position to do so" (Nene)

"You can try to do whatever you want, but you'd die trying to attack us" (Horseman)

"Oh really? I think I can do plenty with no fear of you responding to it... {Draconic Invite: Cocytus}" (Nene)

With that, the area in which the army was standing was enveloped in ice and snow, for a second. After that, they were all standing in a block of ice that went up to their necks, and after that was finished, I used earth magic to lift up the block of ice, and push it back over the border, at which point the ice melted and ran downriver, and I just laughed as they panicked at my having used a Unique ice magic spell, also known as a Mythical ice magic. I did stop laughing after I nearly got hit by several A and even some S ranked magic, but I decided to keep dodging without throwing any more spells at them, and they started to think I had run out of mana, as one ought to after using a Mythical-class spell.

"Huh, you were more annoying than I thought you'd be, but no matter. You'd need an army of at least a few thousand to do much of anything to an army of this size. Ignore her! Keep moving forward!" (Horseman)

"I'd need an army of a few thousand, is it? I'm sure I could do it by myself, I just don't want to attack you while you are on that side of the border... not that it matters, but... Whatever. I brought an army, but it's only of about 1200. Even so, any one of those is more than a match for an A ranked adventurer in this country, and more than a thousand of them are a match for a single S rank on their own. I have several hundred that would cause any nation to panic if a single one attacked the country, if you'd like to test that, I'd be more than happy to send out, say, Lapis? Nah, she's one of my best, so that wouldn't really be a fair representation. I'm the strongest of the group, by the way... I guess I should properly introduce myself, actually. My name is Nene Drachen, I'm the Empress of the Drachen Empire, an S ranked adventurer, and what you would call a God Dragon. As I'm living in Erufanica with some friends at the moment, I would really hate it if this pleasant, laid-back life got interrupted by a war. My army is all Dragons, made up of 35 God Dragons, 229 Ancient Dragons, 536 Elder Dragons, 271 Dragons, and about as many Young Dragons, as you call them. Try not to die, please. I'm on cleanup duty, and I hate cleaning up dead humans. They just... get in your claws like nothing else does, for some reason" (Nene)

Everyone who heard that laughed in derision, until I roared in the Draconic language for these in wait to fly up and grow to full size. Sure enough, the soldiers ran like hell was chasing them... and they were right, if they didn't run, hell would chase them, as it was, there were just a few dozen miniature Dragons following them without attacking. I, meanwhile, went to the sea to scare off some ships... and by that, I mean I flew in with magic, landed on their flagship, and asked to speak with their captain. I instead got several dozen swords pointed at me, and soon after, I just had several dozen hilts pointed in my direction.

"What's all this commotion about? We won't get there for another hour or two... wait... who's this? What happened to your swords?" (some important looking guy)

"General. This girl wanted to speak to you, but we saw no reason to let her do so. She might be an assassin or something. When we all pointed our blades at her, she did... something... and they all broke" (Sailor A)

"OK, but... how did she get here?" (General)

"I don't know, she just landed on the deck out of nowhere!" (Sailor B)

"If I may speak? I heard about the declaration of war sent out by your empire, so I came to investigate whether or not these ships were military vessels before I sank them. My question was answered by the fact that you have a general, not just a captain, so if you'll excuse me, I have a fleet to sink" (Nene)

"You and what fleet will sink mine?" (General)

"Uh... The aerial force of the Drachen Empire, whose Empress you were so rude as to point your blades at and whose current home country you were so rude as to attempt to invade" (Nene)

"The Drachen Empire, you say? You think you are the Empress of an Empire that went belly-up a few hundred years ago? Don't make me laugh... And what was the other part? The AERIAL force? What the hell is that? A fleet made up of ships that can fly?" (General)

"No, it's a group made up of my troops: Dragons. However, I don't need them to sink this fleet, nor do I need them to fly myself. See, I am also a Dragon myself, a God Dragon. I am also an S ranked adventurer. You know what, I'll be nice. If you turn around, and let some of my Dragons escort you back, I'll let you live. It's not like the Regulus Empire you know will be around. The castle will be wiped off of the map in an hour" (Nene)

"HA! You talk a big talk, for a little girl lost at sea and surrounded by soldiers who could kill you easily. Men? Time to kill her, she's getting annoying" (General)

"With what weapons? All of ours broke!" (Sailor C)

"With magic then!" (General)

"No, I'll be taking my leave now, leaving behind a few dozen Dragons to watch you run. They won't be Young Dragons, they will be nothing less than Ancient Dragons, with a few God Dragons in there too. If you still try to invade Erufanica, your ships will hit the ocean floor... if they don't get fully vaporized. Bye now!" (Nene)

I did as I said, having two dozen Ancient and a few God Dragons at full size fly around the ships, before I used {Gate} to return to the capital of the Regulus Empire. I then used magic to let my voice be heard in the entire city, as I had a hundred or so Ancient and God Dragons fly above the city.

"Citizens of the Regulus Empire, I have learned of your emperor declaring war on the country of Erufanica for, frankly, reasons that do not make for a good excuse to start a war. Therefore, as well as the fact that I can't stand forced slavery, I have taken it upon myself to act and destroy the emperor along with his castle. You may wish to move farther away from it, though I will try to keep it from affecting those who are just in the city. First, however, I will see if your emperor will consent to an unconditional surrender and incorporation into Erufanica, but I doubt that he will... unless I show that he knew and had a chance to prevent his death and the deaths of several dozen others without any need. Emperor, I will wait in the audience room for a few minutes, if you are not there soon, this castle will be destroyed without any further warnings" (Nene)

After that, I went to the audience room, and he was already there, waiting. I opened my mouth, and he interrupted me.

"I'm sorry, the one who was threatening my castle was just a little girl? Don't make me laugh. You used magic to intimidate me, but you have nothing to threaten my castle with, do you?" (Emperor)

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nene Drachen. I was, at one point, the Empress of the Drachen Empire, and at other points, I was and am an S ranked adventurer. I am also in command of the hundred or so Ancient Dragons, as well as the dozen or so God Dragons, that are currently above this city. Look out the window if you want to check. I should also point out that I'm a God Dragon myself, Gold-bordered Purple. I also repelled both your fleet and your army before the got very far onto Erufanica's soil, and sent them to go the long way back home with Dragons keeping them from turning back to Erufanica before they got here and heard about your surrender or the destruction of your castle, whichever happens. I'm in a position of complete military superiority, and I don't need to do this, but I am giving you the chance to save your life and the lives of everyone in this castle by surrendering. It's your choice" (Nene)

"The Drachen Empire... didn't that die a few centuries ago? I don't believe you can do anything to my castle, you can't use magic on it, there's a strong barrier here, so I think this is just a bluff. Get lost" (Emperor)

"OK, it's your choice to die. Bye now!" (Nene)

I shifted into my Dragon form, went out the window, and bathed the skies in Dragonflame, causing my other Dragons to do the same to the castle, turning it and the ground underneath into a lake of lava, with my magic blocking the heat, debris, and lava from spreading beyond the outer edge of the castle walls. A few days later, the army came back to find me sleeping on a Gold-bordered Blue Dragon who was sleeping on the pool of half-molten rock where the castle used to be. After a while, I woke to find them bowing down to me from a safe distance.

"Mind if I ask why you are still here? I heard about what you did to the castle, but... I, and many others, thought that you'd leave for wherever you live, but we found you here" (Soldier who looked to be in command)

"Hmm? Ah. Lapis here wanted to nap here, as it's nice and warm, and I felt the same. Still, I figure this is as good a time as any to ask what you all plan to do now? You don't have an Emperor at present, and with my being here fresh in people's minds, I doubt many will need peacekeepers for a while. I would recommend going to the central record system in the Mage's Guild, getting the records of where all of the slaves are that aren't crime slaves, and going around and freeing them. If there's one thing I can't stand in this country, it's a system allowing people to be made slaves for no just reason against their wills, regardless of background. I've left records and made a grand speech to that effect, as well as saying that this will happen again if the system isn't changed within a year, or if it comes back later. Basically, any Emperor who tries to make such a system is committing suicide. In addition, I said that they should not fight any wars unless it was started by the other party. I've left several Record Crystals with that same message, as well as a slideshow of my Dragons melting the castle. Now, this only applies while I'm alive, but... I'm probably going to outlive this entire empire, in all likelihood, so..." (Nene)

"What? You're just human... or, at least, beastkin, elven, or otherwise a being with a lifespan on the order of decades to a few centuries, right?" (Random Soldier)

"Not quite... See, you might think I'm wearing armor made from the scales of a Dragon that I or someone else killed, but... These scales? They are a part of my body... I'm a Dragon, in other words. I'll live for... well, probably a few hundred thousand years, honestly. Now then, don't forget to get to work removing those collars, unless you want to see more of the city glow with the light of Dragonflame!" (Nene)

With that out of the way, I went back to the Roost and, well, roosted... after I gave my report to the King, that is.

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My guild card is as follows. Again, things in (parentheses/round brackets) are only visible to guildmasters, things in [brackets/square brackets] are only visible to guildmasters of a country's capital and to rulers of entire countries. Other information is that standardized titles are given by the guild or the King, but the public can petition them to give nonstandardized ones, such as the [Dark Horse] title. The King and the guild can do so on their own as well, but... Most titles for killing a lot of a kind of monster have a minimum group size to kill on your own, and different numbers for depending on the size of the party that killed the group. For B rank monsters, it's usually a group of three, if they appear in groups at least a fifth of the time, or five single ones if they don't, A rank monsters having it as a group of two or three singles, S rank monsters just need one single kill. For others, it can be anywhere from a group of 20 to 100 on your own. Goblin Gutter and Wolf Wrecker are some of those needing to kill a group of 100 on your own, while Orc Obliterator is a group of 20 on your own. Golems and Dragons are exceptions, where they need 50 of the lowest kind of Golem, the Earth Golem, 20 Stone Golems, 5 Iron Golems, or 1 Mithril or Steel Golem. Dragonslayer needs you to solo a pair of Young Dragons, or solo a single Dragon, Elder Dragon, Ancient Dragon, or God Dragon. Even being in a group of up to 5 killing an Elder Dragon, a group of 15 killing an Ancient, or a group of 100 killing a God Dragon is enough to get the title, but getting the Dragontamer title includes the Dragonslayer title, in a way. Soloing an Ancient Dragon or taking down a God Dragon in a group of 5 or less gives the title of Godslayer in addition to Dragonslayer, but... as one can imagine, that hasn't happened in several centuries, even inside of the Drachen Empire, so people have all but forgotten that the title even exists, which is why I don't have that title, sadly. If I could remember to point it out the next time I kill an Ancient Dragon or God Dragon, I will get it. If not, I'll just be sad about not having it for a while every time I remember it exists.

Name: Nene [Drachen]

Age: 12

Occupation: Magic Knight

Adventurer Rank: C

Commerce Rank: F

Titles (22): (Wyvernslayer, Kraken Killer, Dragontamer, Worm Wringer, Behemoth's Bane, Wolf Wrecker, Viper Eviscerator, Goblin Gutter, Orc Obliterator, Golem Grinder, Chimera Crusher... Hero of the Drachen Empire, Hero of Alayzard, Hero of Erufanica, Victor of Erufanica's Tournament, Dark Horse of Erufanica's Tournament) [Empress of the Drachen Empire, War Deterrent]

Other notes: The Drachen Empire has no age restriction on adventurers (Seal of the Drachen Imperial Family, Seal of the King of Erufanica, Certified User of Unique Magics, Certified Master Summoner)

Arc 2: New Home in Erufanica fin