Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Bloodless Sovereign
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Bloodless Sovereign.
One of the six lords currently existing in the world, and the master of the underworld.
She had lived an incredibly long time, as befitting a dragonkin.
Compared to absurdly ancient figures like the Judgment Sovereign, she was relatively young.
But considering the world's average lifespan, she had outlived even elves.
That was the Bloodless Sovereign.
And now, such a being had proposed killing two dragonkin.
Leyzon stared silently at the Bloodless Sovereign.
Aside from the horns on her head, dragonkin looked almost identical to humans in their twenties.
However, the depth in her eyes made it clear she was no youngling.
'This woman's more cunning than a century-old gumiho.'
Her intentions were pitch black.
She hadn't ruled the underworld for centuries for nothing.
'So, what do I gain from killing those two dragonkin for her?'
The Bloodless Sovereign had made plenty of enemies.
But in her black market, she was nigh invincible.
Others couldn't touch her easily.
Outside, though, things were different.
Those hostile to her could strike at any moment.
'And yet, this matter was worth stepping outside the black market.'
Leyzon slowly curled the corner of his mouth.
If she saw value in this, it meant a deal was possible.
'I've been worrying about skills lately.'
Getting them directly from the underworld's master would be convenient.
"What value do I get if I team up with you and take down those two dragonkin?"
The Bloodless Sovereign's eyes changed in an instant.
She was no novice, having weathered countless storms.
She immediately grasped what Leyzon meant.
"Abyss, didn't you set up this stage hoping the old dragon and the evil dragon would clash?"
"Of course. But killing them directly is a different story, isn't it?"
Watching them destroy each other was one thing.
Stepping in themselves meant massive losses.
The Bloodless Sovereign knew that too.
"You chased me all the way to the floating city because you wanted to talk without drawing attention."
Her eyes flickered subtly.
Leyzon had read her intentions better than expected.
Leyzon had his share of experiences too.
Reading this much was child's play.
"So, you want me to take down the two dragonkin without even showing your face?"
That wasn't cooperation at all.
As Leyzon pressed, the Bloodless Sovereign shook her head.
"Why frame it like that? I know the old dragon and evil dragon's weaknesses better than anyone.
Just handing those over will skyrocket your odds of victory, Abyss."
Leyzon tilted his head at her next words.
"Why wouldn't I know those two's weaknesses?"
Her brow furrowed slightly.
"...Doesn't it sound ridiculous that an outsider knows more about them than I, a fellow dragonkin?"
"If we were that close, you dragonkin wouldn't be at each other's throats."
Leyzon gave a chilling smile.
The grin forming behind his black mask unnerved even the Bloodless Sovereign.
As she said, outsiders couldn't know dragonkin secrets.
But she didn't know Leyzon's cards.
'I've cleared Dungeon Replay dozens of times.'
He had cleared Dungeon Replay a total of 64 times.
Poison Necromancer Leyzon was his 65th character.
Though the world now, 100 years later, had changed much, rendering old info less useful.
Information from 100 years ago was another story.
'On that, I'm the expert.'
To clear the game smoothly, Leyzon had memorized key figures' details.
The Bloodless Sovereign was one such figure in Dungeon Replay.
The old dragon and evil dragon were too.
So now.
"Shall I share something then?"
Leyzon decided to shatter her assumptions.
"The evil dragon is the old dragon's own son."
Her eyes widened slowly.
This time, she couldn't maintain her composure.
The old dragon and evil dragon's relationship.
A secret known only among dragonkin.
Leyzon knowing it meant he knew dragonkin secrets intimately.
"...Abyss, I've heard the name before."
Clenching her fists, the Bloodless Sovereign gazed quietly at Leyzon.
"You really are the mastermind."
Why does everyone keep treating me like the villain?
I'm just a regular necromancer.
"You underestimated me."
Leyzon had revealed his hand first.
The dragonkin weaknesses.
It was no surprise he knew them now.
Meaning her intel wasn't enough for the bargaining table.
"Talking it out, I see."
And through this, Leyzon realized something.
"Bloodless Sovereign, one of your fellow dragonkin was killed by the evil dragon, right?"
The reason she wanted the old dragon and evil dragon dead.
When the evil dragon devoured countless dragonkin, the old dragon was their lord.
He never stopped it.
Whether there was intent behind it, Leyzon didn't know.
But dragonkin numbers plummeted to just four.
"That's why you want them dead."
At that moment, the Bloodless Sovereign let out a faint laugh.
"Not wrong."
To her, the old dragon and evil dragon were mortal enemies.
The desire to kill them had always burned.
"But too much time has passed to cling to that."
Time flowed on.
She was now a mature dragonkin.
Too much time to be bound by the past.
"What I want is beyond that. Specifically, stealing the old bastard's true goal."
Leyzon's eyes widened.
This was info even he lacked.
'I've killed the evil dragon twice in Dungeon Replay.'
Killing the evil dragon always led to fighting the old dragon.
The ordeal was grueling with no real reward, so Leyzon stopped after two tries.
'I knew it was vaguely tied to the story's endgame.'
Defeating the old dragon triggered this line.
"We only wanted to fly in the true sky."
True sky.
He couldn't interpret it back then.
But now, he had an inkling.
'The Flamehead called the empire a birdcage.'
Perhaps the old dragon sought to escape the cage too.
'Is the evil dragon the means?'
Leyzon's gaze returned to the Bloodless Sovereign.
She wanted to seize the old dragon's purpose.
"Do you know what the old dragon's true goal is?"
"No, I don't."
Surprisingly, she was ignorant of it.
"But whatever he was willing to feed all dragonkin to the evil dragon for, I need to know."
Faint anger flickered from her.
She had forgotten much, but embers of resentment lingered.
What drove the old dragon?
To abandon his kin entirely?
She wanted answers, at least.
Staring at her, Leyzon recalled someone.
'The necromancer tied to the empire.'
The world's last dark elf now.
Allied with the transcendent evil, he slaughtered all dark elves himself.
Not unlike the evil dragon's actions.
'Something.'
Were similar conditions needed to escape the birdcage?
Leyzon's questions multiplied.
"Abyss, I get that you know dragonkin inside out."
The Bloodless Sovereign finished sorting her thoughts and spoke.
"Telling me that means you want something from me too, right?"
Dealing with sharp ones was easy.
Their goals aligned.
Leyzon was interested in the old dragon's true purpose too.
Teaming up wasn't bad.
But he needed to secure his gains.
"All SS-grade or higher skillbooks related to Poison Necromancer."
Leyzon stared straight at her.
"Can you get them?"
She ruled the black market's apex.
Few things she couldn't obtain.
The Bloodless Sovereign brushed her red hair aside.
"That'd be no different from openly showing the empire that Abyss and I are allied."
Collecting high-tier necromancer skillbooks.
The empire's interpretation was obvious.
"Gathering various skillbooks would draw less suspicion."
"High-tier ones cost a fortune.
Hoovering them up like that would empty even my pockets."
"The underworld's master wouldn't balk at that. Slap some conditions on and seize them—easy.
You'd resell them without loss anyway."
Their eyes met.
Hers curved slightly.
"This is why dealing with market-savvy types is no fun."
"Mutual feeling."
A transaction where both sought to outfox the other.
"Deal, and I'll handle it cleanly. Both the old dragon and evil dragon—disposed and served to your taste."
"With a chef like you, expectations are high."
The deal with the Bloodless Sovereign was sealed.
Skillbook worries solved.
She'd procure them discreetly and reliably.
"No business left in the floating city for me. I'll wait outside."
She'd reappear when the old dragon and evil dragon showed.
"One thing unrelated I'm curious about, before I go."
As she turned to leave the floating city, she posed a question.
"Demanding too much service."
"No grand motive. Just curiosity."
Leyzon shrugged, inviting it.
"Abyss, do you plan to destroy the empire?"
Leyzon blinked.
The empire's fall.
He hadn't expected that question.
The empire was doomed in 100 years anyway.
Leyzon was preparing for it.
"It'll collapse without me lifting a finger. Why bother?"
The Bloodless Sovereign gave him a meaningful look.
Then, as if interpreting it herself, she waved dismissively.
"Got it. Say hi to the Shadow Warlord's little brother in the shadows."
The Bloodless Sovereign departed.
Pondering her words, Leyzon let out a hollow chuckle.
How long had she known?
She'd figured out he and Hanok were the pair from the black market.
Leyzon removed his pointless black mask.
"Anyway."
This is why you don't tangle with sly foxes.