Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: The Kingdom in the Sands
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"I am human."
Dale replied, releasing the armor of dark blood that enveloped his body.
"Hoh."
Hearing Dale’s answer, the Mountain Crone smiled with amusement. In the body of a young dark elf, she radiated an otherworldly presence, utterly distinct among the Mountain Assassins.
"Well then, may I ask why a human such as yourself has graced the lands of the elves with your presence?"
"Originally, I came here to take over the contract the Blue Magic Tower has with you, in the name of Black."
"There are indeed many contracts between us and Blue. Which one do you speak of?"
"My purpose in coming here was solely to guarantee the safety of Lady Sephia."
Sephia. The moment her name was spoken, a sinister current stirred among the Mountain Assassins. The Mountain Crone, however, paid it no mind and asked again.
"Hoh, so the ‘Shadow Lord’ himself has journeyed all this way to protect one of Blue’s puppets?"
"That was my initial intention, yes."
Dale nodded.
"But after witnessing another exile in an Imperial city, and seeing the ‘mercy’ you grant that child… I grew a bit more curious."
"Curiosity, you say. Speak."
The Mountain Crone asked, amused.
"Why do you bestow such cruel mercy upon your own kind?"
"Well, shit. I never thought I’d say this, but can’t you watch your mouth?"
As Dale spoke, killing intent swirled like a sandstorm among the Mountain Assassins. Even Master Baro couldn't hide his alarm as he interjected, but Dale paid him no heed.
"I've heard that the Mountain Assassins are enforcers of the divine will, serving the Goddess of Shadow. Yet, I find myself wondering if your actions truly reflect the wishes of the ‘Goddess of Shadow’."
"Are you saying you know what the Goddess of Shadow desires?"
"That is why the Shadow Lord exists."
Dale replied.
Gold and Shadow. As Lord Black once said, no one on this continent can escape the fanaticism that has persisted since ancient times.
And as long as Dale existed as the Shadow Lord, regardless of whether he wished for it or not… there was no reason to refuse an asset given to him. Just as he used his title as the heir to House Sachsen.
"What is it that you desire?"
"I simply wish to understand why the Mountain Assassins, and indeed all elves, cling to such a cruel tradition of blood and mercy."
Dale answered.
At first, he had sought out the Mountain Assassins merely to guarantee Sephia's safety.
But when he saw the terrified young elf exile in the eastern city of the Empire, what moved Dale and Master Baro to act was pure ‘humanity’.
An altruistic act born not of profit or self-interest, but from the simple conviction that they could not turn a blind eye.
"What on earth did that child do to deserve exile from elven society, and why can't she escape the blades that hunt her under the plausible name of mercy? I wish to hear the reason directly from the leader of the organization that enforces the divine will of the Goddess of Shadow."
"Haha, ha!"
The Mountain Crone burst into laughter at Dale's words, as if finding them utterly absurd.
"Your meddling is so vast it’s laughable."
"Why were Lady Sephia and that child exiled from their homeland, and why do you threaten their lives?"
"Do not speak so rashly before our elder, human...!"
"That is enough, child. Stop."
The Mountain Crone stopped one of the Mountain Assassins who was about to speak. At her words, the assassin quickly shut his mouth.
"We have not declined so far as to forget our manners toward a rare guest."
With that, the Mountain Crone turned her back.
"Follow me, humans."
One of the Mountain Assassins snapped his fingers, and one of the desert predators, which had just been causing bloodshed, crouched before Baro and Dale.
"...Heh, shit. Surely I won't be dragged into a sand pit while riding this thing, right?"
Master Baro asked worriedly, and the Mountain Crone replied without turning around.
"That would depend on your karma, you damn disciple."
"What a fine sight, a master and his disciple."
Dale muttered as if it were none of his business, ignoring their conversation.
***
It was a distance that seemed impossible to cross, even if one rode a desert horse for days and nights on end without rest.
Yet the desert monster that carried Dale reached ‘their kingdom’ by the time the sun began to set.
The Empire, ruled by the Golden Emperor, never ceased to boast of its great achievement of unifying the entire continent, proclaiming itself the only nation on earth.
As someone who had dedicated his life as the Empire's proud standard-bearer of conquest and its hunting dog, Dale knew this was no empty boast.
And yet, the more Dale came to understand the truth of this continent, the more he realized the futility and mirage-like nature of the Empire’s grand proclamation.
Just beyond House Sachsen's northern Demon Lord territory lay the endless ‘Demon Empire’ ruled by the Eldritch.
And beyond this scorching desert stretched the kingdom of the dark elves, long shrouded in mystery.
In addition, there was the Crystal Continent at the southern pole, the land of the snow elves.
And that was not all.
Furthermore, there were the countless lords who constituted the Empire itself… The ones who truly ruled this Empire were powerful beings from demonic realms who could hardly be called human, to say nothing of the ‘Eastern Anatolian Continent’ that the Drowned Duke Barbarossa had proven to exist beyond the ocean.
Therefore, the Empire's claim to be the only nation on earth was nothing more than an attempt to cover the sky with the palm of one's hand.
Even knowing this, what Dale felt was nothing short of pure astonishment.
It was vast. Too vast.
"What exactly did you imagine, child of man?"
The Mountain Crone laughed as she finally looked down upon their kingdom.
"Did you perhaps imagine a community of savages living peacefully in shabby tents, huddled in some corner of the continent?"
"..."
To be honest, he couldn't completely deny it.
But he had never imagined that there could be a land vast enough to call itself a ‘nation’ within the territory the Empire claimed to rule.
The edge of the desert, a place even the Empire's most ambitious explorers dared not venture, was unbelievably just the beginning of their ‘dark elf kingdom’.
A literal kingdom, centered around a desert oasis, stretched endlessly beyond the horizon.
The sight of their great fortress and city, soaring high enough to obscure even the setting sun, was no exception.
"At the edge of this desert land, across the sea, we connect to the frozen lands of the snow elves."
The Mountain Crone spoke with delight, as if explaining the ‘vastness of this world’ to a child.
"You asked why exiles who break taboos are driven from the lands of the elves?"
"..."
"Have you ever questioned why a powerful noble family in your Empire can be annihilated overnight, their entire household cast out onto the streets?"
The Mountain Crone retorted. Dale could say nothing in response.
"Is it so strange that an innocent child is exiled to a deadly frontier because of the struggles and vicissitudes surrounding gold?"
"..."
"You called it cruel mercy, did you not, child?"
The Mountain Crone said.
"Did your people in the Empire even think of bestowing such cruel mercy?"
Dale was unable to respond and fell silent.
"As the Empire subjugated countless kingdoms on the continent, in that hell where invaders violated wives and slaughtered sons and daughters, did you ever once think of offering such cruel mercy?"
By now, even the hint of a smile had vanished from the Mountain Crone's face.
"In that tiny, cramped speck of land, you dare to believe yourselves the center of the world... Have you ever reconsidered the foolishness of usurping the names of Gold and Shadow?"
Just as the dark elf in the Imperial city who had mocked Dale had said.
But the Mountain Crone had executed her not because her argument was wrong, but for one reason alone: a mere soldier had defied her superior's command.
"Heh heh, Master. Please, that's enough."
Master Baro finally spoke up, addressing the Mountain Crone, whose voice had begun to rise.
It was then.
A vortex of blades erupted around the ground where Master Baro stood.
Yet the vortex never touched Master Baro, for the space he occupied was not the same as the ground beneath his feet.
Far away, an empty patch of air was caught in the storm of blades and distorted. It was a destructive force so absurd it seemed to twist space-time itself.
"Yikes, shit. Your temper is as fierce as ever, Master."
"And your nerve has suddenly become smaller than an ant's gallbladder."
"Heh heh, well, a man gets old, and things aren't what they used to be."
Master Baro chuckled and took a subtle step back, and among the Mountain Assassins, the Mountain Crone raised her head.
"Now, go on and speak. Child of man who claims to be the king of shadows."
The young dark elf asked Dale.
"Amidst the countless goddamn intrigues and political strife unfolding in this vast land and kingdom of our people, amidst the endless civil war where kinsmen shed the blood of kinsmen..."
as if she found it unbearably amusing.
"As one who dares to call himself the Shadow Lord, tell me how you will bring eternal peace and glory to this kingdom."
To that, Dale could offer no reply.
For Dale knew of the countless intrigues unfolding in the Empire even now, and the innocent children sacrificed to them. What was the difference? There was none.
Indeed, just as the Mountain Crone had said, it was Dale who had dismissed the elven community as nothing more than a primitive tribal society.
"..."
And so, after a moment of silence, Dale knelt.
"I will not ask for forgiveness for my foolishness, for being nothing more than a frog in a well."
"Hoh."
"Therefore, please grant me a chance. No, I dare say…"
The Mountain Crone smiled once more, and Dale continued.
"Nothing has to change."
"What do you mean?"
"About the chance for me to prove my worthiness as a lord to you and the people of this kingdom."
With the blood of Black swirling endlessly within him, the Shadow Lord spoke.