Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: To Rimartan
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“Rimartan?”
A trade city adjacent to the Empire’s border.
It boasted a size incomparable to this place, and with all the people coming and going, it buzzed with a lively energy.
But Rimartan was territory of the Kingdom of Yanagdar, not the Empire.
“If there’s a problem, shouldn’t you inform the Empire first?”
“They already know in the Empire. That’s why I came ahead of them. Things just got a bit messed up… the situation arose sooner than expected.”
He mixed truth and lies just right.
He couldn’t very well say, ‘I screwed up and your city’s about to be destroyed.’
“So there’s a way to stop it in Rimartan?”
“That’s right.”
He didn’t say what it was.
Mohiaddin didn’t press for details either.
Whatever the method, he seemed focused on saving the city for now.
“But we barely have any troops in the city. Pulling more soldiers or guards from here might……”
It could make the already tough evacuation even harder.
‘At least three people are needed.’
The distance to Rimartan was three days by horse, even riding nonstop.
Factoring in the return trip, that made six days.
Nearly a week.
With no telling what could happen along the way, he couldn’t send just one person.
“I’ll give you one guard and one territory soldier. That’s my limit.”
‘Two people.’
A bit disappointing.
One more would’ve been perfect……
That’s what he was thinking when—
“I’ll go!”
Rinar shouted loudly from behind Seo Woojin.
Seo Woojin turned at the voice.
The kid had apparently been listening in, stifling his presence the whole time.
It was so absurd he let out a hollow chuckle.
“I can go! I’ve been to Rimartan a few times with my sister, so I know the way well!”
He pitched his usefulness hard.
Still, he couldn’t send a boy that young.
Who knew what dangers lay ahead? The kid had no way to protect himself……
“Hm?”
Come to think of it, this kid did have a way to protect himself.
A kind of ‘perception impairment’ ability, similar to one that could fool even Seo Woojin’s senses.
With that, he’d be far safer than any regular soldier.
‘And he’s quick on the uptake, too……’
Maybe sending him wouldn’t be so bad.
‘No, no. I can’t send a child, no matter what.’
Rinar was only twelve.
In Korea, he wouldn’t even have graduated elementary school yet.
He couldn’t send a kid like that on a long journey.
“And staying here seems way more dangerous than going to Rimartan!”
Seo Woojin paused again, just as he’d been about to shake his head firmly.
This city was definitely about to turn into hell.
That’s why they were evacuating people, right?
He’d planned to move them to nearby cities, but Rimartan wasn’t a bad choice either.
If he wasn’t sending Rinar alone but with his sister and a few others, it might work.
“I’ll assign you Mogadam from the guards and Bashir, a territory soldier. With them, the boy shouldn’t be in too much danger.”
Mohiaddin made the offer, sensing Seo Woojin’s hesitation.
“But……”
Seo Woojin couldn’t shake the uneasy look on his face.
He knew sending Rinar wasn’t a bad call, but he still couldn’t decide easily.
Glancing back and forth between Mohiaddin and Rinar, Seo Woojin finally nodded.
“One condition, though. Get permission from your sister.”
“……Huh?”
Rinar made no secret of his displeasure.
But Seo Woojin wouldn’t budge on this.
Rinar was a minor.
He’d probably only volunteered because he wanted to go to the capital—that simple.
He was still at an age where he needed protection from family and adults.
“If not, forget it.”
When Seo Woojin spoke firmly, Rinar shook his head fast.
“Got it. I’ll go get permission right now.”
The kid accepted.
“No need to rush. Come to the castle with your sister. I’ll wait there.”
“Understood!”
Rinar spun around and bolted home without even bowing to Mohiaddin.
“That boy will be fine.”
“…You know Rinar?”
Seo Woojin looked surprised.
“Of course. He’s one of the children I cherish, isn’t he? How could I not know?”
He surely didn’t know every single resident by name, did he?
Even in this remote little city, the population numbered in the tens of thousands.
No way he knew them all.
But seeing Mohiaddin’s warm smile, Seo Woojin thought maybe it was possible.
“Let’s head back to the castle.”
Snapping to his senses, Seo Woojin followed Mohiaddin to the lord’s castle.
* * *
In the end, Rinar got his sister’s permission.
Amir had opposed it fiercely at first, but Mohiaddin convinced her that staying in the city was riskier.
She even said that if they were evacuating anyway, Rimartan was better than other cities since they knew the roads well from frequent trips.
“Go to Rimartan’s lord and find the Sword and the Shadow.”
Accompanying Rinar were the bald guard Mogadam and soldier Bashir, whom Mohiaddin had assigned.
Seo Woojin explained their mission to the three.
“The Sword and the Shadow, you say?”
Mogadam’s tone grew a bit more polite.
He’d realized Seo Woojin was a Hero.
Naturally, any investigation into Seo Woojin was dropped.
No guard in this world had the guts to charge a Hero with assault.
“Just give them my name and tell them what’s happening here.”
That would tip off the Sword Sage and Shadow Duke that things had gone wrong.
“Got it.”
Mogadam nodded.
He didn’t know what the Sword and Shadow were, but if that was all they had to do, it wasn’t hard.
Relieved by Mogadam’s unquestioning attitude, Seo Woojin turned to Rinar and Amir.
Ever since learning Seo Woojin was a Hero, the boy’s eyes had been sparkling like they might shoot beams.
“You hear that?”
“Yes!”
Rinar answered briskly.
“If something happens, you make sure to escape and deliver the message, got it?”
With Rinar’s ability, escaping on his own shouldn’t be hard.
Amir was the one that worried him……
“Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility for those two.”
Seo Woojin decided to trust Mogadam, who pounded his chest confidently.
“So when do we leave?”
The soldier named Bashir asked.
The man, whose face bore the clear marks of experience, was said to be a veteran even in this city.
He was quick to adapt to emergencies, so his skills must be top-notch.
Seo Woojin liked his serious demeanor too.
“You should leave right away. The sooner they know, the better.”
“Understood.”
Bashir nodded and stood.
Mogadam, Rinar, and Amir followed.
“Travel safely.”
Mohiaddin blessed their journey.
Rinar kept glancing at Seo Woojin, like he had something to say.
Seo Woojin could guess what.
If he handled this well, take him to the capital, right?
Seo Woojin was leaning positive.
Rinar’s ability was pretty useful, even by his own estimation.
With the right training, he could become an invisible blade.
“Come back safe. We’ll talk about what you want then.”
The boy’s face finally lit up.
“Thank you!”
With Rinar’s hearty shout, the four left the city.
And shortly after—
Kugugung!
A massive explosion rocked the outer city walls.
They hadn’t even finished a proper evacuation plan, and the enemy attack was already underway.
* * *
“What’s this sudden evacuation?”
“Didn’t you hear?”
New guard recruit Aktar tilted his head at his senior’s words.
“Hear what, sir?”
“The story about the Sand Hill Inn.”
“…What happened?”
Being new meant endless tasks.
He had no time to listen to rumors.
So he still hadn’t heard what was going on in the city.
He’d only received orders to evacuate the citizens.
“A demonic beast appeared.”
“D-Demonic beast?”
Aktar’s eyes widened in shock.
It wasn’t his first time seeing one.
Monsters or demonic beasts occasionally wandered toward the city.
But battles rarely broke out.
The lord’s castle knights usually handled them.
A demonic beast appearing right in the middle of the territory?
And he, a guard, hadn’t known?
“How the hell did it get in? No alarms from the walls, right?”
“Word is, it had wings. Slipped in through the sky, bypassing the patrols.”
A winged demonic beast.
He’d never even seen one.
“So that’s why the evacuation? Isn’t this overkill……”
A demonic beast sighting was serious.
But evacuating the whole city for one?
“I don’t know the details either. No idea what’s going on.”
His senior sighed, equally baffled.
“You don’t think something bigger’s happening, do you?”
“Bigger?”
“Like more demonic beasts coming.”
His senior burst out laughing at Aktar’s words.
“Hey, demonic beasts and monsters aren’t that common. Most stick to the Demon Realm. Why would they swarm a backwater territory like this for scraps?”
His senior had a point.
“Then I really don’t get it. Why the massive evacuation……”
Kwaaaaang!
Aktar flew into the sky mid-sentence.
The wall where he’d stood melted away with his senior.
‘What the—!’
The stone was melting.
How hot did it have to be for that?
No, more importantly, who?
Floating in the air, Aktar couldn’t fight gravity and slowly fell to the ground.
He turned his head to look beyond the wall.
His eyes bulged.
There stood a being from old tales or legends, gazing this way imperiously.
Dozens of meters tall.
An immeasurable magical power raging endlessly.
Eyes filled with madness and malice.
“……Dragon.”
Those were Aktar’s last words.
His lower body had already melted away, leaving no trace.
Grooooar—
A massive roar shook the air, spreading terror across the city.
Its black dragon scales seemed cloaked in death itself.
Someone who saw it muttered in a daze.
The kin of the Fourth Demon King, herald of the apocalypse.
“The Ye Dragon.”