At which point the Kaiser Dragon — reading the room or not — finished sizing us up and drew in an enormous breath.
“—Dragon breath incoming! Lord Tatsuya!”
I readied the hoe, on general principle.
Preempt it and break its rhythm? Or dodge the breath outright?
As I weighed it, the divine voice rang through my head.
[Skill: Farm Labor Resistance Level 10, activated.]
Farm Labor RESISTANCE? What is that supposed to be?
The dragon breath came roaring out—
—and a gigantic barrier-looking thing materialized in front of us.
The dragonfire was completely shut out. Not even the heat haze reached us.
Oi oi — THIS is “Farm Labor Resistance”?
The divine voice rang out again, helpfully:
[A skill that lets you withstand the harsh summer sun during fieldwork.]
THAT IS NOT “SUNLIGHT”!
That is a full heat-shield barrier out of a mecha anime, and you know it!
…Also, apparently the divine voice answers questions sometimes. Noted.
Right then, the fled rabbits came flooding back, all talking over each other.
“Would ya LOOK at that! His big attack an’ we’re UNTOUCHED!”
“Momentum’s OURS, baby!”
“GET ‘IM! Get ‘im get ‘im! OU OU OU! GET ‘IIIM!”
“Tonight we’re havin’ KAISER DRAGON HOT POT, ya hear!”
“This is an ORAORA situation if there ever was one, HUH?!”
Mercenary little creatures… the INSTANT they sensed we had the advantage, back they came with the aggression switch flipped to maximum.
The Kaiser Dragon, for its part, was visibly rattled that we’d taken zero damage — openings everywhere.
And Maria shouted:
“—NOW! Lord Tatsuya! Your chance to — TILL THE DRAGON’S SKULL!”
“WAY ahead of you!”
Also — “till the dragon’s skull” as a sentence… still incredible, every time.
I launched myself at the Kaiser Dragon.
It wasn’t defenseless — it counterattacked with its foreclaws, but—
[Skill: Farm Labor Level 10, activated.]
Suspended midair, I kicked off the AIR itself, adjusting my jump’s trajectory mid-flight.
So, um…
My body moved on its own so I almost missed it, but — I just kicked. Off. The air.
And course-corrected in the middle of a jump.
—What even IS Skill Level 10 anymore. This has stopped meaning anything.
No wonder Cornelia and the Adventurer King clocked me on sight.
Anyway — several air-kicks later, I arrived at the dragon’s head.
“MEET YOUR MAKER!”
With a roar of fighting spirit, I drove the hoe into the Kaiser Dragon’s skull.
“GUGAAAAAAA————”
The dragon loosed a death cry so violent it shook the earth itself.
THOOOM!
A beat later, the dragon toppled, rattling the ground with a full-body bass note.
And as it lay there twitching, the palm-top rabbits broke into a full sprint, all at once.
“Mince it into NAMASU, ya hear!”
“FINISH IT! Finish it finish it FINISH IT!”
“GET IT! Get it get it! OU OU OU! GET IIIT!”
“In through the ears — scoop out the BRAINS, boys!”
“This is an ORAORA situation if there ever was one, HUH?!”
Truly the most opportunistic creatures alive…
High combat power, cunning, and — once the switch flips — mindlessly aggressive.
Yeah. I never, EVER want these things as enemies.
Watching the palm-top rabbits gleefully storming into the dragon’s ears and nostrils, I made a quiet resolution: when we get home, the carrot field gets ANOTHER expansion.