Chapter 78 - Those who Covet the Blood of a Royal (4)
Chapter 78 - Those who Covet the Blood of a Royal (4)
6
However, they found out what those words meant not too long after they arrived at the County of Baldan.
Kah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
From dozens of kilometers away, one could hear oppressive roar ringing out. Afterward, a thunder clap illuminated the gloomy skies. After a couple seconds delay, a deafening sound of thunderclap rang out around Azell and Kairen.
Kairen was amazed.
“Dragon's roar?”
The fearsome roar by the Dragon and the destruction that happened afterwards was akin to Azell's power. It was similar to what happened after he used the 'Roar of the Dragon.'
Azell spoke.
“It is a Thunder Dragon. Moreover...”
Goo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Another Dragon's roar rang out. It was happening on the other side of the mountain, but one could detect an incredible power going off.
“What are two Dragons doing here?”
“We'll know when we get there, but…….”
Azell spoked as he started running again.
“It sounds like they are fighting?”
“They are fighting each other? Aren't they a little bit too close to the human territory?”
The domain of Dragons were mostly located deep within perilous lands where human traffic was sparse. This was why it was rare for human to become scared from hearing dragons fight. The aftermath of the fight almost never had direct effect on the humans.
However, when the two of them were at a distance where they could see the County of Baldan, they realized their worries were well founded.
“Shit.”
Azell's expression crumpled.
Half of Baldan castle was in ruins as smoke rose into the air. The nearby houses were ruthlessly crushed as if a tornado had passed through. The dragons had already descended from the mountain, and they had fought a bout within the town. Then they had continued their fight as they ascended the mountain again.
Ooh-roo-roohng! Gwah-gwah-wah-wahng!
The sound of an explosion rang out from afar as thunder fell from the sky.
The clear sky of the fall night was swept over by a snowstorm,, and a portion of the mountain froze. Numerous chunks of ice impacted on the mountain as if siege ordnances were bombarding the mountain.
Azell headed towards the town regardless of what was going on. When he got there, he saw people busily moving within the ruthlessly destroyed town.
“Fuckers.”
Azell grinded his teeth. He heard children crying, and he heard the moans of the injured people. Then there was the cries of those, who lost their family members... It was a heart-rending scene.
The knights moving busily through this mess caught their eyes. Kairen grabbed one of the knights, and he asked a question..
“Are there any survivors from the knights, who accompanied the Dragon Demon Prince?”
Soon, the two men was able to meet the old knight Pulmun. The old knight had bloody bandages all over his body. Pulmun had been busily commanding his men to save the people inside the town. He gave his respects when he saw Kairen.
“You came, Dragon Sword Duke! It is a real honor to once again...”
“You don’t have go through the effort of paying useless respects to me. We don’t have the time. Every second matters right now, so I want to hear your report. Please keep it as short as possible.”
“Yes.”
Pulmun had lived as a royal knight for most of his adult life, so he had fought with Kairen several times before. He already knew about Kairen' personality, so he had already prepared what he was going to say beforehand. He quickly conveyed the information.
Dragon Demon prince Seigar Weil Rulain was missing. While he was on reconnaissance, the communication was cut off. At the same time, the bandits led by the mutated Orc ambushed them. There were several monsters and magicians mixed in with the bandit group. Still, no one in Pulmun's group detected their movements. Pulmun's forces lost about 70% of his forces before he was barely able to muster a retreat.
“The mutated Orc was a fearsome bastard.”
“To what degree?”
“It makes me think of Dakan. However, this one was inferior. Still, several knights attacked it, yet they weren't a match for the Orc.”
“Hmmm.”
“Their magicians were quite skilled. However, there is no way they could have approached us without giving any signs of....”
“I have a hunch on the reason behind that, so you don't have to talk about it.”
“What?”
“This isn't a suitable time for me to satisfy your curiosity. What else?”
Pulmun decided to gathered his remaining men, and they retreated to the Baldan castle. He immediately used the Baldan castle's communication magic tool to inform the throne. Then he planned on reorganizing his remaining forces to go look for the whereabouts of Seigar. It was suicide to take his decimated group into the mountain occupied by the mutated Orc and the bandits. However, they couldn't just stay in place while Seigar was missing.
Before they could climb the mountain, thunders crashed as the mountain shook, and the dragons started to fight.
“They appeared near here. As they started to fight each other, the town was struck in the aftermath.”
Kairen let out a moan. He had no idea what was going on here.
It happened at that moment.
“I believe I can give you a more detailed account of what's going on.”
A very easy going voice that was incongruous with the current situation interjected.
A teen was walking towards them. He had on an expression that made him look as if he couldn't see the absolute horrors surrounding him. He was a blonde haired and blue-eyed teen that looked to be about 14 years old. It was Leone, the Keeper of Prophecy for the Guardian Shadows.
Azell's expression crumpled.
“You…….”
Leone let out at awkward laugh when an abundant amount of hostility was focused on him.
“You are scaring me, so please stop glaring at me.”
“How can I not glare at you?”
“Well, I do think it is a reasonable response. Still, aren't there more important tasks at hand?”
Azell clicked his tongue. He had a debt to pay against Leone. To be exact, he had to settle with the Undead named Zeta. However, this wasn't the time to obsess over it. Azell withdrew the energy that felt as if it was pressing down on their body. Kairen spoke.
“Why are you here?”
“I have two answers to the question. First, I was never too far away from you, sir Azell.”
“So you are stalking me. What's the other reason?”
“There was the matter of those beings that came out of the Plain of Darkness. They had attempted to kidnap the Dragon Demon Princess. At the request of the Dragon Demon Queen, we put Guardian Shadows near her two children. This was why we were alerted so quickly about this incident.”
“At the very least, I like the measure you guys took. Go ahead. Quickly give me an explanation. Keep it concise.”
“A Dragon Demon that exited the Plain of Darkness disappeared after taking the Dragon Demon Prince.”
“I guess it really was done by the Dragon Demon king worshippers.”
Kairen grinded his teeth.
Azell asked a question.
“Is there evidence that they came out of the Plain of Darkness??”
“We've faced this big shot several times. To be precise, she is the successor of a powerful figure?”
“A big shot?”
“'The Goblet containing the heaven's tears.”
“Are you perhaps talking about Aunsaurus?”
Kairen asked the question.
Aunsaurus.
During the Dragon Demon war, the Dragon Demon king had four subordinates called the Dragon Demon Generals, and Aunsaurus was one of them.
According to records, he had been able to gather all the light in existence in the sky to himself, and it allowed him to use fearsome abilities. This was why he was nicknamed, 'The Goblet containing the heaven's tears.'
Kairen furrowed his eyebrows.
“I hope you aren’t trying to say he's still alive right now. I'm pretty sure he was killed by the Archmage Carlos during the Dragon Demon war.”
“We even killed his heir to this power.”
“What?”
“That happened only 7 years ago. We suffered incredible amount of damage from that incident.”
“So who's behind Seigar's kidnapping?”
“She is an heir of an heir... Basically, she is the 3rd generation Aunsaurus. We've gone against her several times. She uses an incredible Magic Qi called 'Vitan's Chalice'....”
“It isn't Magic Qi.”
Azell cut off Leone's words. Leone tilted his head in confusion. Azell continued to speak with a hardened expression on his face.
“It is Dragon Demon Qi.”
“Dragon Demon Qi?”
“I don't have the time to explain it right now. Tell me the rest of it.”
“Aunsaurus’ heir used Vitan’s Chalice to obfuscate the prince and her location. Similar phenomenons happened before. I think she has the talent to make a pocket dimension. She is able to move in this state, and it leaves behind a very faint trace.”
“It is the Vitan's Maze.”
“What is that?”
“Find out for yourself. When the Guardian Shadow expressed seeing 'Tears', this is what they saw. How long has the prince been inside the maze?”
“It's been 7 hours.”
At those words, Azell asked Kairen a question.
“How is the prince's martial prowess compared to the princess?”
“Arrieta is better in terms of technique. Seigar is stronger in terms of strength. If we consider the whole package, they are similar in ability.”
“Mmm…….”
“Why do you want to know that?”
“I’m trying to guess what kind of state the prince is in. I believe he was suppressed by the enemy, and he’s been taken captive.”
“Are you absolutely sure Seigar lost?”
“The woman from the Dragon Demon race called Niberis pretty much toyed with princess Arietta. If this woman is the heir to Aunsaurus, this person can't be worse than Niberis. Moreover, if she was able to form the Vitan's Maze....”
“What is the Vitan's Maze?”
“It separates one from outside. The user of the Vitan’s Chalice is able to create and use an overwhelming advantageous pocket dimension. If the opponent possesses Dragon Demon Qi, the prince’s defeat is a given. We have to thank the Guardian Shadows. They recognized the trace left behind by the Vitan’s Chalice, and they gave pursuit. If they hadn’t, it would have been impossible to track it.”
Azell clicked his tongue. The memory of fighting Aunsauras during the Dragon Demon war was still fresh in his mind. Vitan’s Chalice had such a ridiculous ability that even Carlos had called it a bad joke. Amongst weapons that was able to generate Dragon Demon Qi, it was considered classified in the highest rank of how dangerous it was.
Azell queried.
“May you guide us to this location?”
“Of course.”
“However, don’t you have more to tell us?”
“Are you talking about the Dragons?”
“Yes.”
“We called them here.”
“What?”
Azell and Kairen was taken aback at Leone's nonchalant answer. Leone spoke.
“To be precise, we…ah... one of our comrades called the Frost Dragon here. Originally, we made a contract with it to make it fight Sir Azell. However, I never expected it to be used in this fashion.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I'm not the only Keeper of Prophecy.”
“It seems you aren't talking about those dirty Undeads.”
“Yes. Those beings do not making any decisions. It isn’t their role. Any ways, the Keepers of Prophecy aren’t a unified entity. We all do things our own way. One decided to test you again, so he called in a Dragon.”
“…….”
“The enemy decided to mobilize a Thunder Dragon as reserve for an unexpected situation. This resulted in the Dragons fighting each other, and this state of affair came to be.”
“Kook…….”
Azell's patience wore out. He lifted Leone by grabbing his throat. Leone struggled.
“Kek. That hurts.”
“Do you realize the consequences of your actions? Look at this terrible sight!”
Azell's anger was like fire. However, Leone didn't cringe. He wasn't afraid. He just struggled, since he couldn’t brief.
In the next moment, Azell felt a sharp killing intent, so he dodged to the side.
Hoo-oohk!
A black energy was exiting Leone’s shadow. A black sword shot out from the shadow, and Azell retreated. Leone lost his balance, but it grabbed Leone as he was falling.
<I don’t want any trouble right now.>
It was the skeleton knight wearing metal armor with ominous black-red lines crisscrossing it. It was Zeta.
Sparks ignited behind Azell’s eyes when he saw Zeta.
“You bastard!”
“Ah-ooh. How violent. That was close.”
Leone massaged his neck as he grumbled. He spoke to Azell as he hid behind Zeta.
“I get why you are mad, but I’m not the one to blame. I didn’t call the Frost Dragon, and I didn’t order it to fight with the Thunder Dragon called here by the Dragon Demon King worshippers.”
“Take that weak excuse out of here!”
“Ha-ah.”
Leone let out a sigh. Then he spoke as he shook his head from side to side.
“Well, I'll just say what I have to say. If you go to the entrance of the mountain, there will be Guardian Shadows that'll guide you to where the Dragon Demon Prince is located at. There's a chance that the Dragon Demon Prince might disappear without a trace, so you should hurry up and get there.”
“…….”
Azell grinded his teeth as he glared at Zeta and Leone. Leone was still hiding behind Zeta. If he had his way, Azell would have destroyed Zeta, and he would have killed Leone.
Kairen grabbed Azell's shoulder.
“I fully understand your feeling, but you'll have to settle it at another time. ”
“…I'll do that.”
Azell and Kairen turned their body. Then they ran towards the entrance of the mountain like a gust of wind.
When Leone felt people's gazes heading towards him, he used his magic to cloak Zeta and himself. Zeta spoke as they exited the town.
<How surprising.>
“Mmm? What is?”
<That man. It'll be worth it to observe him.>
A powerful light was emitted from inside the Skeleton's eye sockets.