A communication method executed by a processor included in a relay device, the communication method includes receiving a target packet among a plurality of segmented packets generated by dividing a transmission packet, the plurality of segmented packets including a same identifier as that of the transmission packet; storing the target packet into a memory, when no error is detected from the target packet; discarding one or more packets stored in the memory and including a same identifier as that of the target packet, when an error is detected from the target packet; generating a discard request including an identifier of the transmission packet, and information requesting to discard a packet including the identifier, when the discarded one or more packets do not include a head packet among the plurality of segmented packets; and transmitting the discard request to a transmission destination to which the head packet is transmitted.