Dragon and Airship

Flashes of fire rose from the town behind him. Rain poured down on them, billowing up thick smoke.

Shouts of battle, cannon fire, and cries filled the night, piercingly sharp.

Lothar watched from afar, his feelings somewhat complicated.

The strong, docile Black slaves had been specially selected as breeding stock, while the weak, genetically inferior, unruly ones did not even qualify to breed.

But now, it seemed that the breeding stock was not as obedient as the slaveowners had imagined.

In the darkness behind Lothar, a pair of scarlet eyes lit up. A creature crawled low, swiftly shifting its body forward.

Lothar could see that it was a great cat resembling a prehistoric saber-toothed tiger.

This was what colonists often called a "wilderness beast." Unlike ordinary wild animals, they were more destructive and recovered faster. People generally regarded them as dark creatures like werewolves and vampires.

But that was not actually the case. They were merely spiritual creatures of this New World, widespread due to the sparse population. They even included many ancient dragons that had already gone extinct in Europe.

Even the Nordic lands, which were dragon paradises in both worlds, now had a population of five million. Other places needed no mention. This was also why Dragon Knights had gradually vanished.

During the Westward Movement in the North American Colonies, the greatest problem had been wilderness beasts. The natives could only be considered a secondary concern.

The monster sieges described in novels became increasingly common the deeper one went inland. Even now, the population on North America's west coast far exceeded that of central North America.

Lothar merely revealed a trace of dragon might, and the beast that could stroll into an ordinary human town and order its meals bristled its fur, whimpered, turned, and fled. Wilderness beasts