Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Those Aiming for the King's Blood (1)
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75
Chapter 16
Those Aiming for the King's Blood (1)
1
The Dragon Demon Worshippers always moved with caution.
Once, they had come perilously close to completing a system that would allow them to rule the world from the shadows. While the Nadic Empire crumbled and humans scattered, turning against one another, they had slyly wormed their way into the cracks, fomenting destruction. They manipulated history and concealed vital truths from humanity, shaping the world to their desires.
But then, out of nowhere, the Guardian Shadow appeared, putting a halt to their activities. The Guardian Shadow's network of surveillance over every human had even cornered the mighty Dragon Demon Worshippers.
‘Even so… there are plenty of ways to evade their gaze.’
Nibiris bit her lip.
She had emerged from the Dark Snowfields after a long absence. Having spent the past four months under confinement honing her skills as a sorceress, she was now heading to the eastern continent on a new mission. Accompanying her were Regina and Durang.
Suddenly, Nibiris asked,
“Sir Durang, you’ve heard, haven’t you?”
“What do you mean, miss?”
“That Laura has been deployed to the Lurein Kingdom.”
“Yes.”
“…….”
Nibiris bit her lip.
Laura Aunsor.
A direct descendant of Aunsor, the bearer of the ‘Cup that Holds Heaven’s Tears’ who had served the Dragon Demon King Atein. Though her bloodline was a grade below Nibiris’s own direct lineage from the Dragon Demon King Atein, they were rivals vying for prominence as the next generation of leaders.
Hearing that her rival had been sent on a critical mission to the very region where she had failed was infuriating. If Laura succeeded brilliantly, it would be a humiliating blow to her pride.
Durang said,
“The mission you’ve been assigned is of utmost importance. It concerns finding traces of that person, after all.”
“I know.”
The reason Nibiris had come to this remote corner of the eastern continent was to locate a vital figure from the Dark Snowfields who had vanished around ten years ago, with even their survival unconfirmed. That person’s absence had thrown the internal power structure of the Dark Snowfields into disarray.
They had managed to pinpoint traces through cautious yet persistent investigation, but the eastern continent was a dangerous region that neither humans nor Dragon Demon Worshippers could enter lightly. That was why elite operatives like Nibiris and Durang had been dispatched.
Nibiris said,
“Will Laura run into him too?”
“You mean Azel Zestringer?”
“Yes.”
“No idea. Regina, do you know?”
“Intelligence on him has been scarce since he joined the Dragon Sword Duke.”
Regina, who had been following silently, answered. Assigned directly under Nibiris, she had encountered astonishing forbidden arts in the Dark Snowfields, dramatically boosting her combat prowess. Her exceptional administrative skills had also earned her the role of handling personnel and intelligence gathering.
“There’s no information beyond the fact that he’s holed up in the Tarantos Dukedom, training.”
“Training, huh.”
“The Dragon Sword Duke is providing full support.”
From the Dragon Demon Worshippers’ perspective, with Kairen Tarantos—a member of the Guardian Shadow—protecting him, they couldn’t get close. There were Dragon Demon Worshippers hiding in the Tarantos Dukedom, but none held positions high enough to access sensitive intelligence.
Nibiris grumbled,
“I hope he shows up in front of Laura too. That way, it’d be fair.”
“Miss.”
“I know it’s petty. But hearing that special measures to evade the Guardian Shadow’s eyes—ones we’ve prepared meticulously—are being provided just because Laura’s been deployed… it pisses me off.”
After the Guardian Shadow shattered their ambitions of ruling the world from the shadows, the Dragon Demon Worshippers developed various methods to slip past their surveillance. Manipulating dragons with the Dragon Slaying Ritual as bait was one such tactic.
When Nibiris had been assigned to kidnap Dragon Princess Arietta, no such ingenious measures had been employed. Yet now, hearing that long-prepared countermeasures were being allocated for Laura Aunsor made her seethe.
‘Let’s see about that, Laura. Just how lucky are you?’
Nibiris frowned as she pictured Laura’s emotionless face.
2
Azel’s training cycle of thirty days of extreme intensity followed by ten days of recovery was proceeding smoothly. Having completed his third cycle and entered the fourth, Azel was today, as always, pushing himself to the brink in various ways.
Clang!
Azel clashed with his clone. A thunderous boom echoed as dust billowed up.
At the same time, Azel urgently distanced himself, flying backward. Though nothing was there, a cut appeared on the bridge of his nose as if something had sliced past.
“Huff, huff…….”
Azel caught his breath and scanned his surroundings.
It was an open training ground. Yet Azel moved as if surrounded and under attack by presences beyond his visible clone.
“Urk!”
Azel left an afterimage and executed Flash Step. His short-range teleportation with spins and erratic trajectory changes made it seem like he was leaping through space repeatedly.
Even so, wounds appeared on Azel’s face and body. As if something had grazed him, and then……
Boom!
An explosion rang out as if struck by magic, sending Azel tumbling.
Surprisingly, this was all image training. Excluding the clone before him, which possessed an independent ego, everything unfolded within Azel’s mind.
Having mastered spirit arts for manipulating the psyche to their limit, Azel could immerse himself in self-constructed mental images to simulate diverse scenarios. He recreated crises from the Dragon Emperor War in his mind and fought his clone with full force. Though invisible to others, the vivid experiences in his mental realm affected his physical body as if real.
‘Damn it!’
As Azel’s stance faltered, his clone charged. The moment Azel prepared a desperate counter from his disadvantaged position—
“Sir Azel!”
A thunderous shout reverberated.
In an instant, the tense atmosphere shattered like an illusion, and Azel’s clone vanished. As Azel corrected his posture, the armor and sword the clone had worn clattered to the ground, ownerless.
Hasban was calling him from the villa, amplifying his voice with Dragon Spirit Art to make it echo through the mountains.
“Something terrible has happened!”
“Hm?”
Perplexed, Azel closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He deliberately withdrew the mental image he had blurred his sense of reality for, then dashed to the villa. There, Hasban delivered the shocking news with a grim expression.
“His Highness the Dragon Demon Prince has gone missing.”
“Missing?”
“Yes. The Duke is urgently requesting your assistance regarding this matter…….”
“Prepare mana recovery potions and healing sorcerers at once. Hurry.”
Without hearing more, Azel headed inside.
3
Seiga Bail Lurein had engaged in real combat nearly once a month since his debut as a Dragon Demon Prince following his coming-of-age ceremony. He spent more days in the field than in the palace, and his reputation had soared accordingly.
The royal family advised him to take it easy, but Seiga ignored them.
‘I need to run myself ragged now to make my name known.’
Insisting thus, he even took on tasks meant for Arietta.
At the same time, his direct subordinates grew rapidly.
As he toured the regions, he immediately scouted promising talents, advertising that any confident in their skills could join him anytime. Admirers of the Dragon Demon Prince and ambitious souls without backing flocked to Seiga.
By now, he led over two hundred personnel on expeditions, operating A-Team and B-Team in rotation. Securing such manpower, budgeting for it, and managing it efficiently showcased Seiga’s competence despite his youth.
“But Your Highness, shouldn’t you rest now? We’re fine, but you’re pushing too hard.”
Perlman, the veteran knight who had served him since his debut, said. A former deputy captain of the royal guard with vast experience, he had been considering retirement when the Dragon Demon Queen requested he join Seiga’s service, recognizing her son’s ambitions required a seasoned veteran’s support.
Seiga said,
“Hm. You’re right, Sir Perlman. But I’m still fine. Lately, it’s just minor skirmishes, so I’m not that fatigued.”
“Your duties aren’t limited to expeditions, Your Highness.”
His direct forces’ fatigue was well-managed through the two-team rotation. But wasn’t Seiga himself deploying nonstop without rest?
At fifteen, Seiga handled an unbelievable workload. Beyond the battlefield, he maintained ties with royal departments and high nobles to build political foundations, while tending to business to keep his support team in top condition, both materially and spiritually.
In short, even off-expedition, he barely rested. Responding to noble invitations, attending parties to promote himself and manage connections demanded immense mental and physical stamina. Even with his superhuman Dragon Demon physique, it was a schedule primed for burnout.
Seiga gave a wry smile. Traces of youth lingered on his face, now etched with fatigue.
“Sorry for worrying you. But just a bit longer… at least until early next year, I’ll keep this pace.”
“Why? Your position is already secure…….”
“I want to buy time for my sister.”
“…….”
Perlman was at a loss for words. Seiga continued,
“I won’t say I’ll take over all her roles. That’d be arrogant. I get that now.”
Originally, Seiga had intended to do just that. Handle every duty expected of the Dragon Demon clan himself, sparing Arietta to pursue happiness as a woman.
But trying it revealed his hubris. The stronger the royal power, the more demands on the Dragon Demon clan.
“My sister’s changed her mind since that incident. She’s slowly gathering people and building an organization… I want to buy her time until she completes a proper system.”
After appointing Zail as her direct knight, Arietta had begun assembling followers bit by bit. But lacking Seiga’s political acumen, her progress was glacial.
Seiga wanted to give her that time. Thus, he overburdened himself by taking her assignments too.
Perlman shook his head.
“You truly… you shame me, Your Highness.”
“It’s because of you all that I can do this.”
“Understood. As a knight and a man, how could I stop you from acting with such resolve? We’ll support you to the utmost. Let’s crush this mission effortlessly.”
Their current task was subjugating bandits plaguing the Bada Earldom in the northeast.
Among them was an orc of bizarre strength, felling knights like reeds. They treated ferocious magical beasts like pets and waged guerrilla warfare like a trained army, leveraging treacherous terrain. The Bada Earldom had suffered devastating losses.
Hiring renowned external knights had failed. After two villages were thoroughly ravaged and a merchant caravan plundered for massive damages, the Bada Earl surrendered and requested royal aid.