VOLUME 10: CHAPTER 14

VOLUME 10: CHAPTER 14

The Ancient Fire Dragon Agnus, who’d lived for only a little over two hundred years, was the youngest in the entire tribe. Currently, he was the only hatchling. He was the sole reason Vulcan ordered the dwarves to close off the borders of the Dwarven Kingdom a few centuries ago.

Although Agnus was a Dragon, he was still a child who’d yet to reach his full potential.

Before coming here to the human kingdom, his father Vulcan repeatedly told him not to show any disrespect to King Lark.

He remembered the words his father said to him before arriving to this place: ‘Agnus, listen well. In a few decades, you’ll become a full-fledged adult. A human as powerful as King Lark is a rare precedent. Grab this opportunity. Take this chance to explore the outside world and gain experience. While you’re at it, try gaining King Lark’s favor. And if possible, try learning from him.’

Even now, Agnus found the words of his father ludicrous. He couldn’t see how an almighty Dragon could learn anything from a mere human.

Dragons were the apex species in this world. Dwarves regarded them as not only deities, but the source of all wisdom and magic. Just their existence alone was enough to overturn the tides of a battle. Just their presence alone was enough to deter any war or invasion.

On the contrary, humans were feeble, and their lives were fleeting. It was no exaggeration to say that they were creatures that would die with just a flick of a Dragon’s finger.

What could a Dragon like him learn from such frail creatures?

Lost in such thoughts, Agnus, together with the representatives of the dwarven envoys, entered the throne room. After a few days of waiting, they were finally granted an audience with the human king.

“Welcome,” said Lark as he sat on the throne. “Thank you for coming all the way here. It brings me joy to meet one of the mighty Dragons of the Dwarven Mountain Range, and the dwarven envoys who came along with him.”

“It’s an honor to be in your presence,” said a boy with blazing crimson hair, and red slit-like pupils. It was Agnus, the youngest son of Vulcan, “Your Majesty, King Lark.”

Like the dwarven envoys who came here several months ago, Agnus and the dwarves didn’t kneel. Instead, they placed a hand on their chests and bowed their heads in respect.

“We’ve received the second batch of monster corpses. The corpses of the Abyss Lurkers, in particular, would greatly bolster my Kingdom’s military might,” said Lark in a voice befitting a ruler. “Once again, I give my thanks to King Lerenon and the Ancient Fire Dragon Vulcan.”

“I personally went to the Bottomless Gorge to hunt those monsters,” said Agnus. “After fighting against them myself, I could finally see how the Hafnir Army was nearly annihilated during the Trial. It pleases me that His Majesty, King Lark, is satisfied with their corpses.”

While exchanging pleasantries, Agnus used this chance to thoroughly observe the human king. He raised his draconian senses to the maximum, as he tried measuring the strength of the human his father swore fealty to.

The young Dragon wanted to understand what his father was so wary and afraid of. He wanted to understand the leader of the Fire Dragon’s recent actions.

‘What’s this? There’s hardly any mana leaking from his body.’

Contrary to his expectations, there was hardly any mana leaking from Lark’s body, as though the man before him was a commoner who’d never learned magic before. There were two possible explanations for this: first, the human did not have much mana circulating within his core. Or second, the human’s degree of control over mana was at least on par with a Dragon. Out of the two possibilities, it was apparent that it was the latter.

‘That knight.’

Agnus’ face contorted for a split second after he realized the strength of the knight standing a few steps below the throne.

It was absurd, but that knight seemed strong enough to fight several dragonewts on its own. It was strong enough that Agnus would need to undo his polymorph if he wished to kill it.

‘I heard from father that this human is using the monster corpses we’ve been giving him to create soldiers.’

‘But…’

‘What the hell is that? If he’s capable of creating soldiers as strong as that one, it’ll be only a matter of time before he turns this continent upside down.’

Agnus couldn’t see how mere humans could possibly stop the advance of such an army. Even the Empire, which boasted military might on par with the Dwarven Kingdom, would eventually be toppled when faced with such overwhelming power.

Agnus slowly retracted his heightened senses.

“The Trial and the Hafnir Army,” said Lark softly. “I heard from Vulcan the details. Honestly, I feel a bit responsible for the death of those soldiers. I believe that at the very least, an apology for that tragedy is needed.”

Using the corner of their eyes, some of the dwarves present looked at each other. The sharp ones seemed to have realized that the Dragon orchestrated that Trial for the sake of procuring corpses for the human king before them. Still, none of them dared voice out their complaints.

“No. It was the decision of my father. Your Majesty shouldn’t feel responsible,” said Agnus firmly. “Moreover, for centuries, the Trials we’ve given to the dwarven royalties had never been easy. The previous Trial alone that occurred several decades ago took the lives of two dwarven princes.”

Agnus noticed that although Lark didn’t seem utterly convinced, he nodded his head regardless.

Without turning around, Agnus commanded the dwarves behind him, “Bring that thing out and present it before King Lark.”

“Yes, Great Guardian Deity!”

Six muscular dwarves started walking toward the throne, carrying a three-meter large steel box with them. They placed the steel box down, bowed their heads, and slowly retreated to their prior positions without turning around or making eye contact with Lark.

“The Trial this time took the life of a single dwarven prince,” said Agnus. “What was the name again? Jovunir? Or was it Jornavis? Hmm….” Agnus rubbed his chin as he pondered. “No matter.”

Agnus channeled mana into the lock mechanism of the steel box. The sound of gears turning was heard, and several seconds later, the lid opened, revealing the body of a two-meter large woman with white hair and blue skin. Chilly mist started seeping out of the steel box.

“I present to you the creature that annihilated an entire dwarven army and killed the Third Prince,” said Agnus. “The ruler of the Bloody Twin Forest, one of the Forbidden Regions of the Dwarven Mountain Range – the Corrupted Dryad.”

Lark recognized the species of the monster presented before him.

Even back in the Era of Magic, Dryads were rare. The number of times Lark had encountered them could be counted only in one hand. They were relatives of Elementals and were capable of harnessing a specific element to its utmost potential.

“Did you kill it?” said Lark.

Looking at the perfectly preserved corpse, Lark realized that the Corrupted Dryad was killed in a single strike.

“No, this one was killed by Lerenon,” said Agnus. “Funny, isn’t it? Under the pretext that he is procuring corpses for you, he rallied his personal army and slaughtered the monsters of the Bloody Twin Forest.”

Lark immediately understood the real reason why King Lerenon, the so-called Blood Mithril, personally moved to kill the Corrupted Dryad. It was for the sake of revenge. Although he didn’t outwardly show it, he must have been enraged that his son was killed by the monster.

The fact that King Lerenon managed to kill the Corrupted Dryad in one strike showed that his strength far surpassed that of his sons’.

Agnus stared at the corpse of the Corrupted Dryad. For several seconds, he found himself lost in his thoughts again.

Agnus mumbled, “Maybe I should order Lerenon to bring me the corpse of the monster ruling the Poison Insect Paradise next time? I heard that it’s a monster stronger than the Black Puppeteer.”

Those words stirred the dwarves behind Agnus. Color started draining off their faces as they visibly started panicking.

One of them mustered his courage and spoke, “I-If… If you’ll allow me to speak, Great Guardian Deity.”

Agnus looked at the dwarf who spoke. Under the gaze of the Dragon, the dwarf trembled.

“Speak,” said Agnus.

“P-Please reconsider,” said the dwarf. He was so pale that it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he suddenly fainted. “E-Even if it’s His Majesty, King Lerenon… he’ll surely perish if he delves deep into the Poison Insect Paradise. No one has ever come out of that Forbidden Region alive.”

Even during the Trial, none of the princes dared pick that particular Forbidden Region to hunt monsters. It was a well-known death trap that had killed countless royals and dwarves before. The place was so dangerous that even the regions adjacent it had been abandoned.

Agnus frowned. He would have blown off the head of this dwarf by now under normal circumstances. But he knew he couldn’t dare show such discourtesy before King Lark.

“I will consider it,” said Agnus eventually.

“I-I am grateful!”

The dwarf’s head banged loudly on the carpeted ground as he kowtowed.

Agnus clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Sorry for the disturbance, King Lark,” said Agnus.

“I don’t mind,” said Lark. “It’s understa—”

Lark stopped midway his speech. A frown slowly formed on his face. He stood up, and looked to the west.

“King Lark?” said Agnus.

Lark didn’t utter a reply. He walked toward the window and looked at the sky.

“Agnus,” said Lark. “I apologize, but it seems that we have to end our meeting here. If there are further details you wish to discuss, please relay it to me through the communication crystal.”

Everyone noticed Lark’s grim tone. He no longer looked as nonchalant as before.

Agnus also gazed at the place where Lark was looking at, but found nothing but a clear, cloudless sky.

“Did something happen?” said Agnus.

“Someone…,” said Lark, “is trying to forcefully alter the portal.”

Through the spell he’d placed on the nearest Mullgray Island to the portal, Lark could feel the portal above the ocean twisting and tearing through space. He couldn’t see exactly what was happening from this distance, but through the detection spell, he could feel the mana rampaging and moving erratically in the skies of the Black Expanse.

After it was activated, the explosion spell Lark had placed on the portal several months ago caused a massive tidal wave that submerged several smaller islands underwater, taking an unknown number of innocent lives. Honestly speaking, Lark regretted casting that spell due to the collateral damage it had caused.

Although it was a much-needed deterrent for the demon’s further advance back then, Lark had no intention of recasting a similar spell.

He planned on sending his Sun God’s Army once the portal opened again. He deemed that they would be more than enough to take care of most enemies, even if a High Demon were to appear.

“How unexpected,” said Lark. “To think they have someone capable of altering the portal in such a short period of time.”

Even the Arzomos Tribe took decades before they successfully altered the coordinates of the portal. It was no easy feat, and it would take no less than a genius to pull it off in less than a year.

Lark went out of the castle and flew to the sky. Curious on what was happening, Agnus silently followed him.

“Someone is altering the portal?” said Agnus. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out soon,” said Lark. “They are forcing the portal to rip through space. It’s unstable. The cracks should appear anytime now.”

True to his words, after a few minutes, cracks started forming in the sky. The rifts, which resembled veins, were the products of massive amounts of mana being forcefully moved through space.

Lark realized that what the demons were doing weren’t simply altering the portal’s coordinates. They were duplicating it, and relocating it to a location on land. It was the reason why the process, when seen from the sky, looked so different than when the Arzomos moved the coordinates of portal.

“W-What is that?”

“Look! Above us!”

“Oh Gods, what in the heavens is happening to our Kingdom!”

The citizens of the capital walking through the streets halted in their tracks. Those inside their homes poked their heads out of their windows, and gawked at the sky. Everyone instinctively knew that something tragic was about to befall their city.

“King Lark,” said Agnus. “What is happening?”

Even the young Dragon felt uncomfortable upon seeing the veins of mana in the sky. In his two hundred years of life, this was the first time he’d seen a rift open up.

“Have you heard of the portal from Vulcan?” said Lark.

“Yes.” Agnus nodded. “My father told me.”

“I don’t know how they managed to pull it off it such a short period of time, but currently, someone is trying to relocate and duplicate the portal,” said Lark.

“Relocated and duplicate,” said Agnus. “Is that… even possible?”

“I also didn’t expect this,” said Lark, frowning.

Whoever the demon responsible for the alteration of the portal was, Lark vowed to kill him first. It was too dangerous to let such an intelligent demon live for too long. Just his presence alone was a threat to mankind’s survival.

Lark sent a mental transmission to Kel’ Vual, “Kel, are you seeing this?”

“Of course, I’m watching,” said Kel’ Vual.

“I thought Agreas severed all of the portal’s main pathways to the mana well located underground before he died.”

“I’m sure he did, Evander.”

“Then, the relocation of the portal should be temporary,” said Lark.

“I believe so,” said Kel’ Vual. “It’ll remain open for several days, maybe a week or two at most. It wouldn’t make sense, otherwise. It’s impossible to fully reconnect the main pathways of mana in such a short period of time.”

“I see,” said Lark. “Kel, in the event that the portal opens in our Kingdom, please protect the citizens.”

“Of course, that’s a given.”

With the presence of the Arzomos Tribe in the capital, Lark could feel at ease. They were the same demons who’d been protecting the portal for over a millennium. If they worked together, even just a few members could take down an adult Dragon. Moreover, Kel’ Vual alone could easily kill a High Demon.

Lark continued hovering above the capital, his gaze fixated at the rifts at the sky. Through the flow of mana, Lark could feel that the demons were trying to find an optimal spot to relocate the portal.

How vexing.

Had he known about this beforehand, he would have been able to forcefully stop the relocation process from this side. But alas, it was too late. All he could do now was patiently wait and annihilate all demons that would come out of the portal, if by chance it opened in their Kingdom.

Lark continued observing the veins of mana in the sky. After an hour, the veins started receding, and like a river, it flowed to the northern and southern direction, before disappearing from sight.

Finally, the sky regained its calm.

“Is it over?” said Agnus.

“No,” said Lark. “The demons were successful in relocating and duplicating the portal.”

Lark had seen the map of the continent before. Judging by the direction of the flow of mana, it seemed that the demons opened the portal in two different countries:

The Empire.

And the nation of Beastmen – the United Grakas Alliance.

“After that incident, I planned on sending them off without granting them an audience,” said Lark. “But now, it seems I have to meet with the envoys from the Empire.”