Chapter 34
**CHAPTER TITLE: The Bandit's Blunt Bargain**
Jin Chen gave Kalard a curt nod and continued.
"Become like me."
"Th-that's really true?"
"Yeah. So stop dawdling and grind hard. Got it?"
"Yes! I'll grind like a madman! Grind again and again!"
"You lot, too. Grind hard. The more you grind, the stronger you'll get!"
"We believe in the Bandit Leader!"
"Bandit Leader Lord!"
It was a shout that sounded almost like a religious awakening.
Jin Chen nodded, his gaze shifting to the bandits.
"Listen well. The place you all need to focus on is Muscle-i's back."
The bandits' eyes turned toward one direction.
Muscle-i, who was training the enormous Sabel Tiger like a puppy.
"Sit! Get up! Turn! Good job! You're really smart! Haha haha haha."
Even though he looked half-witted, everyone knew. How he had grown so strong. How many times he had overcome death.
The bandits nodded stiffly, their expressions grim.
Jin Chen spoke again.
"That's not something anyone can do. So when you look at that guy's back, clench your teeth and grind. Just endure like that, and afterward I'll handle the rest. Got it!"
"Yes, Bandit Leader!"
"We'll definitely make it happen!"
His shout earned another vigorous nod from Jin Chen.
Then, having finished his business, his eyes turned to Sybel.
"Alright! Shall we get back to the main point?"
"This wasn't a misunderstanding, was it?"
"Do I look like a brainless fool who would call you by such nonsense?"
It was on the tip of his tongue to retort that it wasn't, but he held it back. He was a dragon, after all. He was holding it back very well.
Sybel's ears caught Jin Chen's voice, low and soothing.
"Anyway, I called those guys over to teach them a lesson because of the misunderstanding. But then that woman suddenly popped out."
"That woman?"
"The god they serve. It was something about Belena, I think?"
Sybel's mind froze, as if time had stopped.
Quickly regaining his composure like a proper dragon, he spoke slowly.
"So... you say you personally met the Goddess of Dawn?"
"Surprised? Come on, you yourself gave all sorts of titles to that woman, calling her the highest life form on the continent and the master of magic. When I asked to meet a god, you made every excuse."
"It wasn't an excuse! The only humans who can meet gods are the Saintess, the Executor, the Guardian, and the high priests! This applies to us dragons too!"
"Is meeting a god that big a deal?"
"It's something that goes beyond the concept of greatness."
Sybel's voice grew increasingly intense, and Jin Chen nodded, his eyes on Chloe.
"You look like a completely different person all of a sudden."
"What are you talking about?"
"That goddess... she has lodged herself in this woman's body. She said she wanted to talk to me."
"Manifestation? Even as a daughter, that can't have been easy."
Sybel muttered to himself, then looked at Chloe.
"Her daughter?"
"The daughter of the Goddess of Dawn, Chloe, greets this great being."
"I am Gold Dragon Lord Sydortabel... just call me Sybel."
"Yes, Lord Sybel."
Without hesitation, Chloe answered, and the priests and knights, along with the mercenaries, bowed deeply and then knelt, foreheads touching the ground.
"We greet this great lineage!"
Sybel nodded in response, his gaze turning to Jin Chen.
This is my true existence. My position.
"Why? What? What do you want? Want to fight?"
"Hah, no."
Of course, he wasn't the type to compromise.
Sybel turned back to Chloe.
"Is what that bandit leader said true?"
"Yes. The Goddess herself manifested and spoke with her."
"Your faith seems quite deep. Manifestation and still so composed."
"Thanks to the Goddess's favor."
"The Goddess of Dawn was born among the primordial fragments for the sake of mediation. She who distinguishes day from night, banishes darkness, and opens paths for light to illuminate. Receiving such a god's deep love is a great blessing. You must always remember it as glory."
"Yes, Lord Sybel."
"Having said that..."
Sybel paused for a moment, then his eyes sparkled as he spoke again.
"What did the Goddess say? Did that human dare to be disrespectful to her?"
"I... I don't know for sure, but according to the words she left behind, the Goddess was quite angry."
"How did he act to make the Goddess so angry?"
Sybel looked at Jin Chen with an incredulous expression.
"But why is it that you're still fine?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I was going to step on and crush you, so I fought back. Then suddenly... a rabbit appeared."
"...You repelled the manifestation?"
"It wasn't a big deal."
A monster.
"Anyway, I called you over because of what the goddess left behind."
"Yeah, I guess the words the gods leave behind are things we can't easily understand."
In reality, the words each god left behind were so complex and abstract that all the priests had to cling to them to interpret them.
"Now I understand. You called me to get advice on the divine words the goddess left behind."
"What did you just say, you bastard?"
"What?"
"It's not advice. I called you to interrogate you! You bastard!"
What was he even saying?
When Sybel looked confused, Jin Chen spoke again.
"You, didn't you feel this year's plague outbreak? You don't know?"
"You mean the one that broke out at the border between Karis Kingdom and Dian Kingdom?"
"Yeah, you idiot!"
"So what about it? Plagues can break out anywhere anytime..."
"Look at this. Look at this! I thought you didn't know anything!"
"How much of it don't you know?"
"You boasted about preparing for eight hundred years and now you're just showing off your teeth? But what? A god who's playing around up there doesn't know anything, so why should I trust and help you?"
"Ah, no, I mean, you should tell me what I don't know."
"Want to just scrap the contract and take the dragon heart?"
As Sybel's face twisted with discomfort, Chloe spoke cautiously.
"M-may I speak?"
"Hmm, go ahead. Tell us."
"The Goddess instructed us to go to where the plague was breaking out. She said to save the poor children who became bait for death."
"Bait for death?"
"Yes. She definitely said that."
Sybel's face grew cold and hard.
"That means... there are people who caused the plague separately?"
"Actually, I don't know. Before meeting that person, we thought it was just sympathy for the victims of the plague. Until then, he had only left abstract divine words like the other gods..."
"He left different words for that human."
"Yes. Should I pass them on?"
"Yeah. Tell me the words the Goddess left behind."
"Yes. Then. Hey, you ignorant dog! If I had manifested rather than incarnated, you wouldn't have been able to utter a word before you died."
Sybel's expression froze.
How was this guy even alive for the Goddess to...
In the midst of bewilderment that went beyond shock, he made one resolve.
I must never cross that man.
That guy isn't human. He's the monster of monsters.
Thinking that, he shook his head.
Jin Chen's voice interrupted.
"Did you all hear everything?"
"Yeah."
"Do you understand why I called you?"
"I get it."
"Where do you think it is?"
"Hmm, I think I need to investigate."
"When I look at it, the plague is just a deception. To divert our attention."
Sybel nodded seriously at Jin Chen's words.
"That means you're trying to do something by avoiding our eyes."
"I think the same. And what those guys want is..."
"In the Dragon Mountain Range, right?"
"Right now, I want all personnel to mobilize and investigate anyone heading toward the Dragon Mountain Range."
"It won't be easy to find them since you've already experienced one catch. And... they might want your clan."
If another human had said such a thing, the word 'how dare you' would have come first.
But the opponent was a monster who had repelled even the god's manifestation.
His words could not be taken lightly.
"I'll personally investigate the clans."
"Report back if you find anything strange. This Dragon Mountain Range is..."
Jin Chen continued in a cold, sinking voice.
"My, and Jinryong Chae's territory!"
***
The carriages, protected by mercenaries and priests, began moving once more.
In the last carriage of the procession, Chloe sat with a stiff expression, lost in deep thought.
Herman, quietly observing her from the opposite side, spoke in a low voice.
"Don't worry too much. The great being said he would provide protection."
"Ah, yes."
After a short reply, Chloe looked out the window.
In truth, there was more of what the goddess had said.
But she had not told anyone about it.
'The boundary between the living and the dead is crumbling, and the fear of death will dye the world. Neither light nor dark, neither good nor evil, only this one can right that boundary. It depends entirely on his choice.'
Why did she say it so well and then suddenly...
Still, it had been much more purified than before.
She could immediately sense that a huge danger was about to come.
How many people would fall into pain and sorrow.
Chloe's expression turned sad.
Before becoming a saintess, as a human, she wished and wished again that the goddess's prophecy would be wrong.
Thinking that, gazing at the outside scenery, the last words of the goddess suddenly came to mind.
'The dawn is a being that is neither light nor dark. It can only be seen by uniting. My first child. To grow even closer to me, you too must unite. So, even if your personality is the opposite, find that rotten bastard who has good skills and good looks... Aaa! I manifested too hard lately and it's exhausting. Especially since even the gods are getting fewer these days. Anyway, I think you'll understand what I'm saying and I'm going to go now.'
Chloe, who had been sent to the temple as a child.
Since she had only come to the world when the goddess's grace was needed, she knew nothing about the opposite sex.
With that, Chloe thought carefully with a cautious expression.
What did the last words mean? If it's that rotten bastard, maybe like the man I saw earlier.
When Chloe recalled Jin Chen, her cheeks faintly flushed.
The intense gaze that had been staring at her fixedly did not leave her mind.
Ah, no! This is blasphemy!
Chloe quickly erased Jin Chen's face from her mind and fell back into thought.
To unite, make him fall... Was he telling me to attack the bandits? Then... that's not good.
She glanced at Herman sitting in front.
The moment she thought about speaking, her head shook.
Herman was an Executor.
If he had the same interpretation, he would immediately contact the temple and prepare for battle with the bandits.
Ah, since it's not confirmed yet, it's better to arrive and ask the high priest first.
Chloe tightly clasped her hands.
For her fervent wish that her thoughts were wrong.