The carriage rode fast, its entire perimeter surrounded by guards.

"What the hell was that!?"

The head of Justinian's guard barked out at the rear of the carriage, the first line of defense just in case something followed them from back on the mountain.

"That isn't important!"

The head of the paladins replied, also at the rear just beside him.

CRASH!

"Huh...?"

The head of Justinian's guard looked behind, seeing a trail of smoke following them.

Their formation had come in handy after all.

"Keep going! I'll take care of it!"

He yelled out, unsheathing his sword and pivoting, charging straight at the creature that was creating the cloud of smoke from behind.

"I'm coming with you!"

The head of the paladins joined in, charging side by side with the other as the figure of the creature had now started to become visible.

It was... a koi.

A jade koi.

"Is that..."

"A fish?"

The two wondered, but not for long, as its jade skin suddenly twisted, turning into a dragon that was just as huge as the carriage they were escorting.

"What kind of dragon is that!?"

"Dismount!"

The two quickly dismounted, and it was the best choice they could have made.

Because in the next second... their horses were gone, and it wasn't like they just disappeared.

No.

They were flattened, blood pooling from the ground, and they had left their horses as the dragon suddenly charged at their former position.

GROWL!

The dragon just hovered ominously above the flattened corpses of the horses, its jade-like skin covered in blood; it was like a statue that had come to life.

And if it was just like the statues, they had nothing to hurt it; both of them were wielding swords, even with how hard they tried to slash it, nothing would work.

But they weren't out of choices.

"Don't just stare at it!"

Justinian's captain moved first, holding his sword by its blade, planning to smash it with his sword's pommel and crossguard.

CRACK!

A single hit, but it managed to dent its jade skin; it was enough to give them hope for a victory.

"It worked!"

Justinian's captain laughed.

And that was enough to convince the paladin to join in, also holding his sword by the blade as he gave his own swing.

CRACK!

"W-We have a chance!"

THUD!

The dragon's tail suddenly whipped, hitting the two soldiers at once as they were sent flying.

Each one tumbled across the sky, both of them landing on their back as they groaned from the pain, but they had felt worse; both of them were elite of the elite.

The paladin from sheer rough royal training, and Justinian's captain through pure divine magic from Justinian, along with Lucan's drills.

If any normal mortal would take down a miniature jade dragon, they were one of the best choices you could have.

"Felt like I just got hit by a boulder..."

Justinian's captain groaned, using his sword as a crutch to stand up, spitting out blood.

"A boulder would hurt more..."

The paladin laughed, his nose and ears bleeding from the impact.

The two were badly injured, but with the princess and the duke still making their way back to Snowkeep, they still had the duty to buy time.

The two charged in again, but this time the dragon was now fully ready for battle; they weren't even sure if it was possible to get another hit in.

CLANG!

The paladin blocked the Dragon's head with his blade, the steel cracking as the dragon's more sturdy skin met it head-on.

CLANG!

Justinian's captain didn't fare any better, attempting to attack while it was distracted, but was instead met with its tail.

But unlike the paladin, he was unable to block in time as his head got flicked hard, his helmet flying away and leaving him with a massive dent in his head.

But adrenaline was one hell of a drug.

"For Thirell!"

The captain charged in once more, this time avoiding the dragon's tail strike and striking its tip, its smaller size making it easier to break.

CRACK!

The full tip of the tale completely exploded, glowing green energy coming out of the small hole as the dragon cried out in pain.

Something the two warriors didn't even know was possible.

"Not as tough as I thought!"

The paladin was spurred on by the captain's small victory, sliding past the dragon's head and managing to smash through the dragon's eye.

And just like the tail, it fully exploded.

Even if the dragon was made of pure jade, it seemed like some of its parts were still vulnerable, just like a normal living, breathing creature.

The dragon cried out in pain, flying upwards to the sky, which created a powerful sonic boom from where it left, deafening both the paladin and the captain.

"Aghh!"

The two grunted, their ears pierced by the deafening sound.

CRASH!

And without warning, swooped in from the sky and grabbed the paladin from the ground before flying off once more.

"Dirty bastard!"

The captain tried to reach out to the paladin, but it was too late.

THUD!

"Huh...?"

He looked behind him.

But he wished he hadn't.

It was the paladin's body, which died instantly the moment the dragon dropped it to the ground.

And after looking up at the sky, it seemed like he was next.

But at least he now knew what it was planning.

"Fucker!"

The captain dodged at the last second, rolling away as the dragon instead met dirt, burrowing itself deep into the ground.

But now that presented another problem... it could now strike anywhere from below.

"Did this thing really think it would get me that easily?"

The captain laughed weakly; he was already bleeding, dying even, but even so, he didn't act like one.

He quickly grabbed his greaves and, without a second to spare, threw the greaves.

And the moment it was close to landing? He jumped, trying to give the illusion that he had moved location.

And that gamble?

Worked.

FWOOSH!

The creature emerged from where the greaves landed, flying towards the sky with the greaves in its mouth.

The captain now had more time to think of another strategy.

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