Chapter 157
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. My spear told me that the place they are hiding is right here."
The Imperial knight, who had been handing a grape to a squirrel, answered with full confidence.
"If it's your 'Whispering Spear,' it's reliable. We breach immediately."
Whispering Lesi.
The spear the knight held was a mysterious weapon capable of empathizing and conversing with animals.
The information given by animals was rarely false.
So the target was there.
A forest slightly far from Boltan.
They were hiding in a nameless forest without even a name.
"But Captain. He might be a Dragon Slayer. Will we be alright...?"
At the subordinate's words, the captain leading the knights shouted resolutely.
"Nonsense! The dragon has disappeared. Even if it fell from the sky and crashed, a dragon that half-destroyed Boltan couldn't have died. And even if he truly did slay the dragon."
He wouldn't have come out unscathed either.
If not now, when would be the chance?
"The Empire's prestige has fallen to the ground. If the Emperor learns of this, we won't be able to avoid severe punishment."
If they were to strike, it had to be now.
"But wouldn't it be right to bring even Lord Quillrod...?"
The Empire's Twelfth Spear, Quillrod.
Quillrod of the Lightning Spear.
The only Master stationed in Boltan.
Wouldn't it be better to strike together with him?
"He's a dying Master anyway. There's no need to hand over that merit to the Spear. Think about it. If we kill him alone, the Emperor might bestow the Spear's Holy Water, and we too might rise to Master."
Spear's Holy Water.
At the mention of that, their dissatisfied expressions softened a little.
There was no one among the Imperial knights who didn't know the miraculous effects of the Spear's Holy Water.
Thump, thump. The captain beat his chest and declared confidently.
"I am different from Quillrod. I won't let anyone die. Trust me!"
The atmosphere of the knights who had been rebelling against the captain's confident words calmed down.
When he motioned with his chin, the knight holding the Whispering Spear took the lead.
But that very instant.
Arrows flew in from the forest.
Crack!
The knight captain's halberd immediately deflected the incoming arrow.
"We've already been detected."
"What should we do?"
"The fact that they fired warning shots instead of drawing us in even though they already know we're here is crucial! It's also proof that their leader is injured! Charge!"
Thirty Imperial knights charged into the nameless forest.
Thud, thud-thud!
"Ugh!"
They thought it would be nothing more than arrows, but they were sharper than expected.
Not to mention the energy contained in each arrow, the knights were startled by the curved shots that even bent, clumsily dodging and colliding with each other, even getting hit by blind arrows.
As they approached the forest, the knights' bodies were turning into hedgehogs.
"Captain! Their arrows...!"
"It can't be helped! If we just deal with those bastards, taking care of their leader is just a matter of time! Endure and break through!!"
The arrows were quite fierce, but they were still just arrows.
If they couldn't even endure this much, how could they call themselves Imperial knights!
"Follow me!!"
The moment he shouted, raising his halberd high.
Flinch.
In an instant, the hair all over his body stood on end.
Then, a single blazing red arrow approached before his eyes.
"Captain!!"
Boom!
Crackle! The knight captain's body collapsed after being hit squarely in the forehead by the blazing arrow.
"Y-You! You bastards!! Where are you! Come out right now!!"
Thud! Thud-thud! Clang, clang!
The knights furiously charged into the forest, but no one could find anyone.
All that could be heard was the silence of the forest. Only the screams of the knights echoed.
* * *
Step, step.
Callius's face as he walked to the battlefield was as expressionless as always.
"How was it?"
"Splendid."
"Is that so..."
However, both Serena, who was making the report, and Callius, who was receiving it, didn't look too pleased with their expressions.
The reason was those standing beside Serena.
It was because of the beings clad in black armor imbued with a gray aura.
They were originally thinner and more elongated than other knights.
And they were all carrying bows and quivers, beings that originally did not exist in Callius's Gray Legion.
That's right.
They were the newly incorporated ones this time.
The slaves rescued from Lactus's garden.
"It was their will, and it was my will. Please don't make such an expression."
"Hmm."
Callius nodded.
And he looked at the lined-up elf knights.
Those whose eyes had been burned, ears torn, and tongues cut out long ago to be made into slaves.
At first, due to the lack of communication, their intentions were not well understood.
However, by taking the time to write letters on each other's palms, Serena was able to accurately understand their intentions.
What they wanted was one thing.
Revenge, and the power to achieve it.
But the tendons in their hands and feet had been severed, and besides that, the unseen damage to their bodies was severe.
So, they asked.
What were those beings, neither living nor dead, lined up beside the one who had saved them.
As a result of taking the time to define and teach them about the Gray Legion for quite a long time.
They all wanted new power.
Callius understood and accepted their will.
Of course, that wasn't the case for all of them.
Out of the 56 slaves rescued from the garden, only 7 wanted new power.
The rest were half-doubtful.
So, taking the time to do seven at a time, Callius personally killed and raised them.
Eventually, all 56 were raised as Gray Knights... no.
Were reborn anew.
"Both sight and hearing have been restored. Originally, they were beings with developed physical touch, senses, and qi sensitivity, so expectations for their potential are very high."
"Is that so."
"Yes, since all of them were warriors of the Great Forest, their potential is very high. They still need time to adapt to their new power, but once that is fulfilled, they will surely be of help to my lord..."
"No need to explain so much. Even if they fall short of expectations, I intend to embrace them."
"...Thank you."
Was she worried that Callius might cast them out?
Making it clear that Serena's worries were unfounded, he looked at them.
No, to be precise, he looked at the status window.
[Gray Legion Roster]
Grand Commander —
Commander —
Upper General: 2
General: 16 ▶ 19
Elite Knight: 659 ▶ 712
Regular Knight: 514
Yes. It was just an unfounded worry.
They wouldn't have used just anyone to take care of the slaves for Lactus's garden.
They must have captured elites among battlefield veterans and made them slaves.
The evidence was right before his eyes.
'Three at the General level. Are the rest all Elite? It's hard to guess how strong they originally were.'
The knights of the Gray Legion, made into Iron Lords, are all reborn with their abilities reduced by about half compared to their strength in life.
Even so, the elves' levels ranged from Elite to General, so it could be guessed that all of them were originally beings infinitely close to Master.
Probably, they were the elite of the elite even among the elf race.
Anyway, it wasn't bad.
[We thank you on their behalf.]
[Thank you.]
[Thank you!]
The three elf knights who became new Generals knelt and conveyed their gratitude.
The Elites were still below the level for smooth communication, but the Generals were not.
Since they had become knights of their own will, they seemed to have richer emotions.
"Your names."
[I am Kin.]
[I am Red.]
[I am Deu.]
Callius nodded.
"While in the forest, I won't undo your summons, so do as you please."
There were none better than them as scouts.
Their choice, while a bit bitter as it was to gain the power of revenge by pledging loyalty to him, was actually a good thing for Callius himself.
Tap!
Looking at the elf knight order that disappeared in an instant, Callius used his Yoryok to turn a cut tree into a chair wrapped in vines and sat down.
Seeing Callius, whose application level of Yoryok was improving day by day, Serena swallowed her amazement inwardly.
"Is that the sword obtained this time?"
"Yeah."
Callius held two swords in his hand.
One was a sword made from a dragon.
The other was a sword made from the gatekeeper who resided in the garden.
『Fire Dragon Sword - Elbuetru』
Grade - Spirit
Imbued Soul - Elbuetru
Unique Ability - Fire Dragon's Breath.
[Fire Dragon's Wrath]
- The more you use the sword, the more you incur the wrath of the Fire Dragon tribe.
"As expected, it's just so-so."
There was no need to look at the rest.
The unique ability.
The Fire Dragon's Breath would likely be the power to imitate a Fire Dragon's breath to a limited extent.
It was probably a sword that allowed the use of a limited breath.
Being able to use the Fire Dragon's Breath itself was a huge merit.
The Fire Dragon's breath that burned down the entire Boltan area had that much destructive power. If he could use it even limitedly, it would be a tremendous blow.
As expected, even a sub-dragon was still a dragon.
It was a pity that it was only at the Spirit grade, but it was still a good enough sword.
Besides, Callius already had the Mad Dragon Sword. If used in combination with the Mad Dragon's Breath, it would display power that wouldn't be inferior to the original breath.
The limits of a Spirit-grade sword were not a problem for Callius.
Also, regarding the Fire Dragon's Wrath, he had already made an enemy of the dragons anyway.
He decided not to care.
"Shall I try it."
After telepathically telling the elves scattered in the forest to avoid, he raised the Fire Dragon Sword.
When he injected divine power, the sword began to blaze.
It wasn't a normal flame, but felt like thick magma burning.
Callius immediately drew the Mad Dragon's Breath into the Fire Dragon Sword.
At the same time. The unique ability of the Fire Dragon Sword.
He drew out the Fire Dragon's Breath.
Two breaths were mixing in the trembling Fire Dragon Sword.
The dark red intense aura mixing together.
But it looked insufficient.
No, it felt like it could be filled more even though it was enough.
Callius's intuition told him so.
So he brought out the Remnant.
A gray aura slowly rose from his entire body.
Rumble!
The area was crushed by a mighty energy.
"Ugh!"
A groan escaped Serena's mouth at the tremendous momentum and pressure.
Callius didn't delay any longer.
"Fire Dragon's Breath."
Then, as he swung the Fire Dragon Sword strongly.
Kwaaaaaaa!!
Flames like a dragon's breath in a straight line devastated the forest.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!
As if an earthquake had occurred, the ground shook, and the forest burned away entirely in a straight line, leaving no trace.
Even though it was quite a distance away, it was enough to have destroyed Boltan's walls.
"Hic!"
Surprised, Serena hiccuped, and even Callius blinked at the unexpected power.
"I didn't expect much from a Spirit-grade sword, but the power is more tremendous than I thought."
No, this wasn't just the power of the sword. He combined two swords into one and mixed in the Remnant created by Callius.
That was what caused this.
It seemed to have more than twice the power of the breath originally shot by the Fire Dragon.
Of course, there were limits to the Spirit-grade sword.
The sword, which had been engulfed in flames until just now, had cooled down cold.
'It seems it can't be used for a certain period of time after one use.'
Even when he injected more divine power, the flames didn't rise.
That's why it had that level of power. It was fully understandable.
Still, looking at the Fire Dragon Sword's heat slowly rising little by little, Callius thought.
"To use this again, roughly..."
"Roughly...?"
"About three days, I suppose."
A cooldown of 3 days.
That alone made it a somewhat ambiguous sword.
'I'll use it occasionally and then give it to Niol or another knight.'
Since Garcia, who was also an Upper General, preferred spears, it seemed right to give it to Niol.
She used swordsmanship that suited a light sword.
It also matched well with the Fire Dragon Sword, which had strong instantaneous firepower.
The blade of the Fire Dragon Sword itself was also on the thin side.
"For now, I'll use it a bit."
It seemed better to give it away later when other swords became available.
After putting away the Fire Dragon Sword, Callius took out the sword made from the gatekeeper.
But at that moment.
[You have defeated the Empire's 12th Spear, Lightning Spear Quillrod, in a single blow.]
[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]
[No transcendent has ever defeated another transcendent in a single blow.]
[A special reward is given.]
"?"
His head tilted in disbelief at the suddenly floating message window.