Chapter 206
“What rises is the dawn, and what sets is the dusk. Yet my heart is a night without a single star; no matter how much I call, it does not reach, and no matter how much I listen, it cannot be heard.”
“Your Majesty…….”
Before the entrance of the collapsed catacomb.
The Queen of Carpe, Clara, had ceased all food and drink at the death of the Count, from whom no further news had come.
Thus, all the ministers of the royal castle gathered and knelt before her.
The voices of the ministers, pleading for her to put away her grief and attend to state affairs, reverberated loudly through the royal castle.
“The Duchy’s army is said to have reached the southern border.”
“The Duchy’s morale, unafraid of death, dares to pierce the heavens; we beseech Your Majesty to swiftly restore the discipline of the nation!”
“We beseech you!”
At this, the Queen shed a single stream of tears and rose from her seat.
“Even though the star that brightly illuminated Carpe has set, you will not even give me time to grieve.”
“How could we not be sorrowful as well? However, we know that this too is a sacrifice for Carpe.”
However.
“If Your Majesty continues to ignore state affairs and does not act for the benefit of the country, the Count buried here will also not be able to close his eyes in peace.”
“Please, attend to state affairs.”
“Haa…….”
The Queen, exhaling a sigh that contained the worries of the entire world, dry-washed her face with trembling hands and let out another breath.
“How many are in the Duchy’s army?”
“They are said to be an army of a hundred thousand.”
“The general leading them is known to be the foremost in the Duchy, and…….”
“Speak.”
“There was an urgent report that the traitor Luteon is by his side.”
Clara’s eyes closed.
Her snow-white eyelashes fluttered slightly.
“Viktor.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Queen Clara turned her head slightly and sorrowfully gazed at the land where he would be sleeping.
Soon, with a resolute expression as if she had made a decision, she brushed past the ministers.
“Prepare for my departure to war.”
“Are you saying Your Majesty will personally lead the expedition?”
“Yes.”
“But…….”
“The Duchy’s army of a hundred thousand would be difficult to face even if we gathered all of Carpe’s forces. I am neither skilled in military strategy nor possess outstanding abilities like the Count. But still, there is something I can do.”
Raising the morale of the soldiers by going to war.
The fifty thousand soldiers loaned from the Empire were also heading towards Carpe.
This was not merely an emotional confrontation.
“I, too, have learned the sword.”
The swordsmanship of Saint Stella.
Merely displaying it would strike fear into the enemy with the divine skill of the swordsmanship, and the morale of the allied forces would rise to the highest degree.
“Viktor. What is the current level of my swordsmanship? Please evaluate it coldly.”
“You possess the skill to block a Master’s desperate strike about once.”
“I see. Then what if I were to clash with a commander-class knight?”
“Though there may be a difference in experience, there will be no significant difference in skill.”
Clara nodded as if she felt the same way.
“Is there anyone who still objects to my departure to war?”
The ministers pressed their fists to their chests, knelt on one knee, and answered.
“Everything, for Carpe.”
“For Carpe!”
At that, the Queen nodded once, shed one final tear, and ascended a step of the stairs to prepare for war.
Several days later.
Horns announcing the war between Carpe and the Duchy sounded, and the Queen’s army, mounted on snow-white warhorses, left Kaladi.
‘Callius. This is my departure to war for you. Please watch over me from there.’
* * *
Crash! Rumble!!
The black-haired man who broke through the castle wall and tumbled out immediately regained his balance and spat blood.
“Damn it…….”
The name of the knight who spat curses and raised his sword was Callius.
The one fighting in Rumpad was not the Fallen he had expected, but a Fire Dragon.
It was Erbiwe.
‘This wasn’t what I had in mind.’
It was a continuous series of absurd events.
He had intended to rescue the captured fellow and leave, but a Fire Dragon suddenly popped out.
To make matters worse, the Fire Dragon’s name was Erbiwe, who considered him his mortal enemy.
As the system was warning, the bastard would use any means to kill Callius.
‘I have to end this here no matter what.’
He couldn’t run or hide.
The guy wouldn’t let him, and even if he succeeded by some one-in-a-million chance, Carpe wouldn’t be safe then.
Boom-!
The dragon’s fierce attack came without even a moment to catch a breath.
Despite its human-like appearance, the red aura draped over its claws was incomparably sharp and powerful.
Wherever the claws grazed, giant claw marks shattered the castle wall all over.
Clang-!
The dragon’s attacks wearing holy armor were incredibly fierce. A single strike could split the sky and tear the earth, so there was no need to say more.
With the aftermath of a single strike, the royal castle crumbled, and with just one breath from the guy, it felt like the world was turning inside out. Callius was overwhelmed just blocking its attacks.
He tried to attack while defending at every opportunity, but the holy armor got in the way.
‘As expected.’
Holy armor is holy armor.
Worthy of being called the primordial armor.
It was so sturdy that the sword couldn’t even pierce it. Not only did it bounce off, but it didn’t even leave a single scratch.
He didn’t know how a dragon that didn’t even serve a god could use that, but the power of a dragon wearing holy armor was even more incredible than he had thought.
Thanks to that, although the dragon’s form had changed to be closer to a human, rather than weakening, its smaller size compensated for its weaknesses and reinforced its strengths.
And the biggest problem above all else was.
‘The wings are the problem.’
Even if the holy armor protected it, there were definitely parts the armor couldn’t protect.
But since it was gliding and flying through the sky, there were many times he couldn’t even reach those.
Its speed was also extremely fast, worthy of being called the master of the open sky.
However, he couldn’t just accept that fact as it was.
Provoking the bastard had to be the start of the battle.
Otherwise, the goddess of victory would not lean her head towards him.
“It’s absurd how a dragon is just fluttering about like a flying bug.”
The guy didn’t answer.
Instead of an answer, it just fired a breath.
He brought up the Predation Sword to block the fired breath, and immediately shot back a sword aura in return. But the Fire Dragon flapped its wings once and its figure disappeared instantly as if using a swift step.
“That son of yours didn’t fight like that. He fought very proudly.”
As he mentioned its son out of frustration.
[Shut up!!]
An immediate reaction popped out.
The level of a dragon’s obsession with its bloodline was unimaginably strong for humans. As a long-lived species, reproduction itself rarely occurred, and the very act of laying eggs was something that chipped away at their own lives.
Therefore, a hatchling born to a dragon was no different from their alter ego, and on top of that, it was a Fire Dragon, rumored to have the strongest parental love among the dragon race, so there was no need to say more.
[Erbiwetru was a child who should never have died at the hands of scum like you!!]
Boom!
Dodging its claws slamming down from the sky, he immediately unfolded Remnants.
In an instant, ash swirled around Callius’s body, and as they swirled like a storm, they were contained within a single sword.
“Ash Flow.”
Crash-!
The swirling ash surged towards the Fire Dragon. No matter how much holy armor it wore, a direct hit would not leave it unscathed.
“!”
However, Erbiwe was a much more seasoned dragon than Callius had thought.
Having instantly noticed the decisive strike, it spread its wings wide and fired a breath.
Roaar-!
It wasn’t a straight laser-like breath, but one that spread out like a fan.
Everything below the sky where he stood was covered in red flames.
As the ash that covered the sky disappeared and everything turned into a sea of fire, a bloody smile hung on Erbiwe’s lips.
But at that moment.
Whoosh-!
The knight’s sword, piercing through the flames that seemed capable of melting anything, made the Fire Dragon’s eyes widen.
“Ash Annihilation.”
A sword aura filled with ashen energy.
A single strike unleashed with it.
An energy of a form and color that even a dragon who had experienced the Dragon-Demon War saw for the first time.
Instinctively sensing danger, the dragon moved its wings to avoid it, but.
-!
It failed to react to Callius’s speed, which had instantly accelerated as if he had used a boost.
‘Like that fairy bastard’s movement…….’
The thought was brief.
His claws, moving instinctively, struck the sword away.
Slash-!
But absurdly, the moment it struck.
“Flowing Water.”
His sword moved like flowing water.
It used the Fire Dragon’s power in reverse to slash with even greater force.
From Ash Flow to Ash Annihilation. From Ash Annihilation to Flowing Water.
All of them were connected without a break, linking like a single sword.
“……!”
Callius’s heart felt like it would burst, and the flesh all over his body tingled.
He had reached Master and devised various techniques, but had never used them with all his might. It was the first time in his life he had linked so many together.
He was that much of a formidable enemy, and was cautious.
Because it was a bastard that made it impossible to even grip Lament just by blocking its breath.
Thus, with the utmost caution.
Mobilizing all the capacity he possessed.
He slashed the Fire Dragon with all his heart and soul.
However.
“Damn it.”
[Ha, hahaha! Hahahaha! Can you even kill me with a sword like that!!]
Only a little of the rampaging guy’s holy armor was torn.
Rather, it was Callius who was injured.
‘It’s hard.’
It was harder than he had thought.
His palm was completely torn apart.
Catching his rough breath, Callius clicked his tongue as he looked at the broken Roas.
It was a sword that hadn’t broken since becoming a Phantom Sword, but it broke again this time.
He didn’t know whether the power of Rumpad’s holy armor was just that great or if it was because a dragon was using a holy relic, but he had to drastically revise his strategy.
‘Roas won’t work.’
What could he do with an already broken sword?
Since the power of the holy armor was stronger than expected, Roas wouldn’t do.
Mad Dragon was a sword that was more helpful when held in his heart, and the swords he could use were only Lament and Iron Lord.
Lament, which possessed the same grade of Phantom as Roas, was also highly likely to break if it clashed with the holy armor. It seemed better to use Iron Lord here.
This was because Titeo’s sword was not a Phantom, but a Rak. However, Iron Lord was somewhat lacking when used simply as a sword.
Callius tightly gripped Lament as he watched the Fire Dragon about to shoot another breath.
Even if it was somewhat dangerous, Lament was the right fit.
Callius’s intuition told him so.
“I heard the Fire Dragon’s soul is also burning.”
Tsk, tsk.
The Fire Dragon’s brow furrowed deeply.
Callius’s aura changed as he swapped swords. Instantly, the surrounding atmosphere began to freeze. The ground also turned white with frost and froze over.
It felt as if winter had arrived only around him.
[What are you….]
Perhaps because it was a Fire Dragon, it reacted somewhat sensitively to the temperature.
‘I didn’t want to use it if I could help it.’
The aura of Lament, fully charged with Callius’s divine power, exploded.
Turning one space into one domain.
Rumble-!
The moment a breath shot from the Fire Dragon’s mouth as it sensed the crisis.
Whoosh-!
The ground he stood on had already.
[Of all places, my most hated one.]
Changed into a snowstorm-swept plain.
This was Lament’s sanctuary that froze everything.
A frozen world.
“Like the North.”
It was a sanctuary he called the North.
Rumpad had already.
Transformed like the North of Carpe, where a deep winter had descended.
On the snow-white hill swept by the blizzard stood the man who was its master. Callius, fluttering a white mantle, looked down with eyes as cold as frost and spoke.
“I’ll turn you into an Ice Dragon.”
The Fire Dragon’s face contorted violently.