Dragon Maken War

Chapter 169 - Advent of Confusion (1)

1

The situation within the continent was quickly deteriorating to the worst it has ever been.

In the end, the Bijes kingdom and the Iellos kingdom had gone to war.  The two armies clashed at the borders, and the Iellos kingdom achieved victory in the battle.  Afterwards, they marched straight towards the capital of the Bijes kingdom.  The army of the Bijes kingdom counterattacked, and the fight between the two kingdoms continued to this day.  The war intensified.

Then there was the war between the Yudusk kingdom and the Garan kingdom.  It was seesawing back and forth.  While the casualties at the border increased, chaos erupted inside the Yudusk kingdom as the slave revolted.

After the Dailan kingdom’s king was poisoned, the first prince wanted to settle the succession in an amicable manner.  However, the next two people in line of succession was assassinated.   The first prince became enraged as he blamed the death on the nobles, who opposed him.  In the end, a civil war erupted.

Then there was an outbreak of war between the Rulain kingdom, and the Rarus kingdom.

Also…..  Dragon Demon princess Arrieta was fighting against the 2nd Grand Alliance that had appeared at the western border of the Rulain kingdom.  It had been a fortnight, yet the fight hadn’t ended yet.

The sound of battle was ongoing as Arrieta opened her eyes.

The noise wasn’t the reason why she awoke from her sleep.  The sound of battle had been ongoing since yesterday night.

She had fought from the front as she defended the castle wall.  However, she needed rest, so she had changed shifts with the soldiers to get a brief amount of sleep.

She was taking a break when the battle was ongoing.  It sounded crazy, but the this was a protracted battle.  It was something she had to be prepared to do as a warrior.

She used a Dragon Arts technique to force herself into a deep sleep.  No one had come to wake her up, yet the reason why she had woken up was simple.

Ka-ahhhhhhhhhh……!

The sound of a Dragon’s cry could be heard.

When she realized this fact, Arrieta mumbled to herself.  It almost sounded like a groan.

“They mobilized a Dragon again….   Why is there so many Dragons inside this forest?”

This was already the third Dragon that had been mobilized against them by their enemies within the Balan Forest.

The Earth Dragon had died after it entered into the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual with the Azell.

The Water Dragon had appeared before the 2nd Grand Dark Alliance had made their appearance.  It died while attacking the fortress.

At present, another Dragon had appeared again in front of them.

Arrieta quickly went outside.  Giles, who had been sleeping in the next room, came out of his room.  He followed behind her.

Giles spoke.

“Faikan was killed, yet their spirit remained unbroken….  Was it because they had kept this Dragon hidden as a secret weapon?”

“Maybe.”

The 2nd Grand Alliance had been formed around a central figure.  It was a mutant orc named Faikan, and Arrieta had killed it.

However, their enemies had another pivotal figure.  Gakan was another mutant orc, and it had worked under Faikan as its lieutenant.

Koo-gwa-gwa-gwahng……!

Before the two of them could reach the castle wall, the Dragon’s attack broke down part of the wall.

The castle wall had already been in rough shape from the battle with the Water Dragon.  They had to fight the 2nd Grand Alliance without being able to repair the walls, so it didn’t stand a chance when another Dragon made its appearance.

Arrieta climbed atop the rubble.

Hoooooooooooo……!

It was hard to even breathe within this powerful gale.  An enormous Dragon stood within the heart of the gale.

The Dragon possessed dark green scales, and its terrifying eyes looked over the castle wall.  She had never seen this type of Dragon, yet Arrieta instantly knew what it was.

‘Storm Dragon……!’

It was a Storm Dragon.  It was able to freely control the power of wind.

It was a more difficult opponent than the Water Dragon that had appeared before at the Western border fortress.  The Water Dragon could use its fullest power when it was raining, or there had to be a body of water nearby.  The Storm Dragon wasn’t limited by such requirements.

The Western Border guard was using broken down structures to stop the advance of the Storm Dragon.  They shot the ballistas installed on top of the castle walls, and soldiers fired catapults from the inner castle.  Magicians kept shooting their spells.  The knights either threw spears, or they tried to use chain hooks to tie down the Dragon.

Arrieta asked a question.

“What about Seigar?”

“He is facing the enemy’s detached force.”

Since they sent out the Dragon, their enemies could not directly attack the castle wall.  There was no way a Dragon would be able to differentiate between allies and enemies in its attack.  However, it seemed they weren’t willing to bank everything on the Dragon.  The mutant orc Gakan took a small detached force through harsh terrains, and they were coming at the castle wall in a roundabout way.

It was the worst case scenario.

Arrieta closed her eyes for a brief moment as she thought over the problem.  Soon, she made her decision.

“Sir Giles.”

“Yes.”

“Go help my brother.”

“What?”

“I want you to take all the soldiers here, and I want you to lead them towards the detached force.  We won’t need our soldiers here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Arrieta didn’t explain herself.  She let out a deep breathe before she spoke.

“Oh, Dragon that rules over the winds...”

Her voice was amplified using her magical energy.  Her words cut through the winds to reach the ears of the Dragon.

“I’m am the Dragon Majin princess of the the Rulain Kingdom.  I am Arrieta.”

At this point, Giles realized Arrieta’s intention.  He desperately tried to stop Arrieta with his words.

“Princess! You can’t!”

“I request the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual.”

However, Giles was a beat too late.  Arrieta had made an irrevocable decision.

The swirling gale died down as silence descended.  Everyone, who had been desperately attacking the Storm Dragon, stopped their attacks in confusion.

After a brief moment, the Dragon broke the silence as it nodded its head.  The Dragon Slayer’s Ritual was approved.

Arrieta spoke.

“Everyone listen to me!  I want you all to stop attacking the Dragon, and draw back!  I repeat! Stop all attacks on the Dragon and draw back!  If you attack the Dragon from this point forward, it would bring a bigger calamity down on us!”

After speaking those words, Arrieta spoke towards the Storm Dragon.

“Many do not know the meaning behind this ritual.  I request we move this battle to a far away location.  Will you agree to it?”

She spoke those words to the Dragon.  She couldn’t believe she was trying to talk to a Dragon, but at the same time, she was sure her intent would be delivered to it.

Soon, the Storm Dragon nodded its head.  Giles spoke to her as Arrieta got ready to follow the retreating form of the Dragon.

“Princess!”

“Do as I say, sir Giles.”

“Princess…  You are an idiot.”

“You presume much, but I can’t deny your words.  Maybe, I was influenced too much by a certain person.”

“…….”

Arrieta remembered the moment when Azell initiated the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual with the Earth Dragon.  He had done it to save her life.  As she was tutored under him, she knew she would have to go through the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual someday, but….  She never expected it to be now.

“I wonder if he felt the same as I feel right now.  Please pray for me.”

Arrieta let out a dazzling smile as she jumped into the air.  Her white hair swirled in the air as she moved away into the distance.  Giles watched her with a devastated expression on his face..

Then…  From afar, the sound of the Dragon’s Roar rang out.

2

Leticia would never forget her first meeting with him.

She had been branded as a failure by the Almarick tribe, so she had been sent to the black magic research facility to be used as a test subject.  Each day was like hell for her.  She didn’t know if it was a god’s miracle or a devil’s curse, but she was lucky enough to escape from that hell…. 

However, her escape hadn’t been smooth at all.

The Plain of Darkness wouldn’t let her go easily.  Persistent trackers were sent after her, and she had to continuously fight against an endless number of pursuers.

She used her mighty strength to defeat her enemies, but she steadily became wounded and tired.  In the end, she reached her limit, and she collapsed in front of her pursuers.

Shwaaaaaaaaah…….

Rain had been falling on that day.

Her pursuers had lost half their party thanks to Leticia.  They grinded their teeth from the hatred they felt for her, but they couldn't kill her on the spot.

“Shit.  Do we really have to take her back alive?”

“She is a precious test subject, so we have to keep her alive.  I’ve gagged her, but she might try other methods in an attempt to kill herself.  Be wary.”

“In the end, she’ll be wishing for her death, so let go of your anger.”

Leticia had been bounded and gagged.  She despaired as she listened to their conversation.

“I cam up here thinking there was a landslide.....  What the hell are you doing?”

It had been Jisel.  He was a Dragon Demon youth with disheveled black hair, who would become her teacher in the future.

He had been residing in a nearby town, and he had heard the thunder-like sound that was created when a part of the mountain was destroyed.  He had thought a landslide had occurred, so he came up here to make sure the landslide wouldn’t do any harm to the town.  Instead, he had found them.

“Are you a Dragon Demon? This is a problem.  If you back off, we won’t raise our hands against you.”

They were Dragon Demon worshippers.  They weren’t tolerant of Dragon Demons, who weren’t within their organization.  However, they had given his Dragon Demon an out.  This meant they knew this Dragon Demon was a formidable opponent.

The Dragon Demon youth kicked away the offer.

“Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be able to overlook this situation.”

“Your idle curiosity will result in your life ending prematurely.  I’ll warn you once again.  This isn’t any of your business.  If you back off, we won’t raise our hands against you.”

“Now that you put it that way…..  I really don’t want to back off.”

The youth was not show any signs of fear.  He let out a bright smile.  The elite soldiers of the Plain of Darkness had no choice, but to attack him…..

“You guys are dangerous.  It seems you are from the Plain of Darkness…..  Why do all of you think it is ok to kill people to keep secrets?”

He slaughtered them before 5 minutes was up.

Leticia had seen it with her own two eyes, yet she was having a hard time believing what had just occurred.

‘He’s strong.’

This batch of pursuers weren’t just minor members.  These were elite members dispatched from the Plain of Darkness.  However, they all perished without being able to ham a single hair on this youth’s body.

“Are you ok? I don’t know why they were pursuing you.  However, since I know who they are, I’m sure they were up to no good.  You probably were not at fault.  Let’s go to my dwelling for now..”

“You are….”

“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself.  My name is Jisel.  What is your name, miss?”

“…Leticia.”

This was the first meeting between Jisel and Leticia.

Jisel took Leticia to his dwelling, and he treated her.  She didn’t know what he did, but after that day, no one was able to track her down.  In hindsight,  he probably manipulated her tracks to send her pursuers on a wild goose chase.

It took a long time for Leticia to open her heart to him.

Her life had been messed up from the start.  She had been born to be used as a exceptional tool, yet she had been branded as a defective product.  She became a test subject that experienced living hell.  It would have been stranger if she had a normal personality.

Jisel was the first person to treat her as a person.

He treated her as a person, and he taught her everything about how to live as an individual.  As she lived with him, Leticia was able to laugh at others, and at times, she was able tell terrible jokes. .

“You graduate today, Leticia.  You’ll be fine on your own.”

After two years, Jisel allowed her to stand on her own two feet.

It wasn’t something that was abruptly sprung on her.  Jisel had made it clear in the beginning that he wouldn’t stay in this place for long.  He always told her that there would come a day when he would have to leave.  He had lived here for two years, because of Leticia.

Leticia thought Jisel was coldhearted for leaving her behind, but she bid him farewell without making much of a fuss.

She didn’t make a fuss not because she didn’t love Jisel.  As she lived with him, she had found herself.   However, at the same time, her rage and hatred continued to burn in the corner of her heart.  She couldn’t forget it.

She wanted to fight the Dragon Demon king worshippers throughout  her life. She knew it wasn’t the right way to live life, but she couldn’t give up on the emotions that was etched into her soul.

“I don’t have proof that this will happen, but…….”

Jisel let out a bashful smile as he spoke.

“I have hunch that I will meet you once again in this life, Leticia.”

…after seven years had passed, his hunch was proven to be true.  It was realized in an unexpected fashion.