Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Trail of the Young Dragon
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Leyzon emerged from the World Forest, having gathered Poison Spider, Piran, and Hanok Wilbria.
There was nothing left for him to do in the World Forest.
Thus, there was no reason to linger any longer.
"Leyzon, do you have any idea where the young dragon might have gone?"
Leyzon nodded at Syria's question, delivered while handling her shadow wolf.
"Yeah. After the Judgment Sovereign, it reached the elves but still couldn't find any clues about me."
So the young dragon must have moved on to chase the next lead.
"Its next destination is already set."
A red-haired dragonkin came to mind in Leyzon's head.
"The Bloodless Sovereign."
This was the person Leyzon had met recently for a deal.
She had also been present when the ancient dragon died.
The young dragon was sure to seek her out.
'Or perhaps...'
Just like with the Judgment Sovereign, it might have gone there harboring grudges.
"No wonder things felt off when we met."
Leyzon clicked his tongue, recalling his encounter with the Bloodless Sovereign.
It hadn't been for no reason that he'd felt compelled to send the telegram.
"Did you send word?"
"I did, just a bit ago."
In response to Eden's question, Leyzon held up the telegram he'd sent to the Bloodless Sovereign.
But there was still no reply on the paper.
"It's unusually quiet."
The Bloodless Sovereign ruled over the underworld.
Naturally, she wouldn't be free of her own affairs.
Even so, she wouldn't ignore a single telegram.
'The young dragon might have already reached her.'
So far, the young dragon had cleverly evaded Leyzon.
Just look at the fire it set in the World Forest.
By the timing, they should have crossed paths, yet Leyzon and the young dragon never met.
This meant the young dragon's speed was beyond imagination.
'It must be handling Dragon Scales proficiently.'
The dragonkin innate ability, Dragon Scales, varied by the user's proficiency.
Thus, it was hard to gauge the young dragon's specs.
'But the real issue is...'
The true problem was the power of Heaven's Revelation that the young dragon possessed.
"Granfin."
Leyzon called out to the one who might know the most about this.
Granfin, who had been conducting further research on the Poison Spider, turned toward them.
He looked a bit ridiculous, his entire body smeared with ink from writing with his quill.
"Do you know anything about that voice which can't refuse commands, like Heaven's Revelation?"
Leyzon suspected the young dragon's power resembled the Ossuary's.
The Ossuary's world-spanning force that erased memories.
Nothing short of that could handle the Judgment Sovereign.
So he wondered if Granfin, who had served the Ossuary, might know.
"I do."
Granfin answered nonchalantly.
Leyzon blinked for a moment.
In that instant, Syria strode over to Granfin with heavy steps.
"You knew and didn't tell us sooner?!"
She promptly kicked Granfin, sending him rolling across the ground.
When he finally stopped tumbling, he gathered his scattered bones and slotted them back in.
This guy must be used to such treatment by now.
"Jeez, you didn't ask."
That was true.
Granfin never volunteered information unless asked.
With his twisted personality, there was no helping it.
Leyzon sat Granfin down in front of him, dragged over by Syria.
"So, what exactly is this power?"
"Oracle."
Granfin clacked his teeth, as if reluctant to speak.
"One of the powers prophets borrow from the Transcendents."
Leyzon's eyes sharpened at those words.
"Does that mean the young dragon became a prophet?"
"Yeah, probably something the Ossuary did."
Granfin also judged that the Ossuary was behind the young dragon's transformation.
"Tell me more about these oracles."
Granfin sighed, opening his mouth with evident discomfort.
"Oracles are powers borrowed in part from the Transcendents and manifested.
Each prophet possesses their own such oracle."
Oracle.
The Ossuary's world-spanning power was undoubtedly one type of oracle.
Borrowing the might of Transcendents—what an absurd force.
"But oracles aren't omnipotent. I heard that in the Empire, built atop a Transcendent's corpse, activating another Transcendent's oracle has harsh conditions."
Leyzon finally understood upon hearing Granfin's next explanation.
"That's why the Ossuary used an oracle on former White Lion Knight Captain Siron but kept you as a safeguard."
Granfin nodded affirmatively.
The Ossuary's oracle couldn't fully exert its power in the Empire.
Hence, they had prepared Granfin and the labyrinth's curse as backups.
"Then the black plague spreading among the land beasts is..."
"One kind of oracle."
Leyzon exhaled as the pieces fell into place.
At the same time, another question arose.
"But the young dragon is using oracles freely without issue?"
This was the most puzzling part for Leyzon.
And Granfin felt the same.
"I don't know about that either. No idea how it's spamming oracles like that."
Even Granfin wasn't all-knowing.
He was a magical researcher, not a prophet, after all.
It was surprising he knew this much.
"Primitive magic is tricky enough."
Leyzon clicked his tongue.
Still, he now understood the source of the Ossuary and young dragon's powers.
"It's fine! Leyzon, I'll take care of everything!"
Syria shouted reassuringly, lifting her slender arms like bulging muscles.
Leyzon appreciated her spirit but hoped his undead wouldn't get hurt.
If possible, he'd like to know in advance how the young dragon was abusing oracles.
"Leyzon."
Then Eden, lost in thought, spoke up.
Eden walked over in doll form and sat before Leyzon.
"Remember when Carmen said she'd become the dungeon boss and a Corpse Prophet?"
"Yeah."
As Leyzon affirmed, Eden tilted her head slightly.
"Maybe becoming a Corpse Prophet lets you use those oracles somehow?"
"That's it!"
Leyzon's eyes lit up at Eden's words.
A Transcendent's corpse was merely a husk clinging to post-mortem will.
If the young dragon had become a Corpse Prophet through some process,
and then mastered using oracles from it, everything fit.
Handling a corpse's oracle would allow unrestricted power use.
Leyzon hurriedly turned to Granfin.
Granfin nodded gravely as well.
"Yes, that's entirely possible."
"Hehe."
Eden puffed up proudly.
As she glanced at Syria, the latter stomped her feet in frustration.
"It's okay, Syria. You've been reading lots of novels lately and had fun, right?"
Hanok's consolation backfired, earning him a bite from Syria.
"Gahhh!"
While Hanok screamed, Leyzon sank into thought.
A new problem had arisen.
The Ossuary had clearly intended to turn the young dragon into a prophet.
That meant it now knew how to draw out oracles as a Corpse Prophet.
'The reason the Ossuary has stayed quiet so far.'
It might be preparing to mass-produce Corpse Prophets.
Corpse Prophets wielding oracles.
If they rampaged, the situation would spiral beyond control.
'But it's not full mass-production yet.'
Leyzon didn't view the imperial family's relationship with the Ossuary simplistically.
They cooperated, but clearly pursued different goals.
'The imperial family wouldn't want the Ossuary mass-producing Corpse Prophets either.'
They wouldn't sit idly while power concentrated in the Ossuary.
Leyzon took some comfort in the multitude of enemies.
The Empire was currently a battleground for various factions.
True to their differing aims, they checked each other, locked in stalemate.
Of course, that didn't give Leyzon room to relax.
He had to catch up even a little while they stagnated.
Leyzon had become a rising force thrusting into their power struggle.
No way he'd get devoured by ruin.
He'd struggle to the very end.
"Syria, we need to pick up the pace."
"Yes!"
Syria replied crisply, pausing her bite on Hanok.
Young dragon, Nermacardia.
The reasons to catch him had multiplied.
The Bloodless Sovereign.
Nirmokiria.
This was her office in the southeastern black market of Bergadia.
One of the five black markets she oversaw, including the capital.
She skimmed lightly through reports of recent incidents in the black markets.
Lately, the world felt chaotic.
Incidents were spiking.
'Looks like it's the fallout from the Judgment Sovereign's death.'
The Judgment Sovereign punished evil.
In truth, he was a puppet moved by prophecies, but the public saw him that way.
News spread nationwide of the Judgment Sovereign beheaded.
People interpreted the scene as they pleased.
Especially villains.
The Judgment Sovereign who punished evil is gone.
Those like him will die ahead.
Evil, rampage freely.
This rumor now circulated among villains.
Hence, underworld factions were mushrooming.
Even figures who retired fearing the Judgment Sovereign were returning.
The world had entered irreversible upheaval starting with the Judgment Sovereign's death.
'The factions are growing faster than imagined.'
As underworld forces swelled, the surface world couldn't escape the effects.
Nobles would inflate their own forces for territory security.
Legal punishments would stiffen, making citizens tense.
Tense citizens sparked impulsive incidents.
Perpetrators naturally joined the underworld.
Corrupt nobles fueled it further in the process.
The bigger the underworld grew, the more profit margins expanded.
Markets scale earnings with size, after all.
The Bloodless Sovereign sensed an ominous current.
'Things the Judgment Sovereign suppressed are erupting to the surface.'
Noble movements had been suspicious lately too.
She had ears everywhere.
She'd heard the Emperor had been absent from his throne for ages.
Nobles seized the chance to bolster their forces.
Would such people leave underworld factions alone?
They'd invest their own money to grow them.
'The Empire is fracturing.'
The imperial authority, once solidly centered on the Emperor.
That authority was crumbling with the world's flow.
'Meanwhile, those necromancers...'
For reasons unknown, they stirred incidents everywhere.
As if advertising a massive backer, they rampaged madly.
And the Bloodless Sovereign knew who that backer was.
'The Abyss.'
A figure even she couldn't fully gauge yet.
The world's hidden true mastermind.
'What on earth is he thinking?'
Was his intent woven into this incident's flow?
The Abyss was too elusive to fathom.
The Bloodless Sovereign pressed her temples, feeling a headache.
She too was a great villain ruling the underworld.
She at least maintained minimal order.
But the world no longer heeded such rules.
Incidents in black markets targeted her directly.
New factions coveted her position.
"Fearless fools. Shall I burn them all?"
The Bloodless Sovereign set the documents ablaze.
"Peep!"
Then a baby evil dragon popped out from her bosom.
It wagged its tail boredly.
"I'm working, so back in you go."
As the Bloodless Sovereign pushed the evil dragon back in,
"Bloodless Sovereign!"
A panicked voice burst in with someone rushing through the door.
"Fire in the black market!"
The Bloodless Sovereign blinked.
I'd only burned some paper documents so far?