Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Sea of Blood and Mountains of Corpses (7)
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BOOM!!
The ground trembled with a deafening roar. It came from the clash between the kingdom's evil dragon and the empire's master, far from the capital.
Some knights showed concern for Cain, who was facing the dragon alone, but Morgana responded firmly.
"There's no need to worry about Lord Blackguard. Just like always, he'll surely triumph and return to me."
"Pardon? What did you just...?"
"Th-that... expression is a bit too direct, Your Highness."
"Ahem!"
At Anna's remark, Morgana cleared her throat awkwardly and averted her gaze. Her desires had slipped out unbidden.
This won't do.
She had to strictly separate public and private matters. Morgana cooled her head. And Cain was no cause for concern.
A master.
An army of one, the pinnacle of human achievement. That's why masters were treated like strategic weapons.
Besides, this wasn't just any master—it was Cain Blackguard himself. He wouldn't possibly lose to some evil dragon.
So while Cain handled the dragon, she advanced to seize the capital. But something felt off.
"...They're openly smashing the gates, and there's still no reaction?"
"Could it be a trap?"
"We can't rule that out, but... would they really...?"
No matter how she thought about it, defending the city alongside that grotesque abomination would have been far more advantageous in every way...
Of course, they might have anticipated that and set a trap in reverse, but even so, it was too great a loss.
It made no sense to sit idly by and watch a perfectly intact city get destroyed. The benefits were simply too low.
Doubts and suspicions piled up one after another, but she couldn't ignore the prize right in front of her.
"We can investigate slowly after we've secured the capital. Advance."
"As you command, Your Highness. All forces!!! Charge the capital!!"
No sooner had the order been given than the imperial army surged into the capital. But there, the princess was stunned once more.
The capital was the kingdom's largest—and practically only—city. It was called the heart of the kingdom for good reason.
Yet that heart had no blood... no people. Not a single soldier, knight, or even civilian.
The eerie scene, utterly beyond imagination, sent chills down the spines of the soldiers—and even Morgana herself.
"Y-Your Highness. We've searched everywhere, but not a soul in sight."
"The palace is the same! It looks like they were dragged off somewhere..."
"...What in the world."
A city of considerable size—not quite on the empire's level, but still—utterly devoid of people.
Not just people, but livestock too. All that remained were long, gruesome handprints trailed by clumps of blood.
Anna in particular stared at the streets in shock. This place hadn't been like this before. How had it come to this...?
"...Let's head to the palace."
"Pardon?"
"Your Highness, we must go to the palace. There has to be a clue there."
"Indeed... There's only one suspect who could leave such unnatural traces."
Morgana nodded at Anna's urgent suggestion. No matter how she looked at it, Andre was behind all this.
The palace where King Andre resided would surely hold some clues. Morgana quickly rallied her forces.
BOOM!!
Even as she sorted out the confused troops and marched toward the palace, the roars continued to echo.
'Cain... please be careful. Something feels wrong.'
Anna's worried stray thought scattered like petals on a sudden breeze.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Dragons are sacred beings. Depending on the nation or tribe, they're revered almost as gods, and they possess power to match.
Doesn't the empire itself claim descent from dragons? But if they saw this...
They'd probably recoil in horror at the cursed dragon before him—or scream blasphemy.
Cain exhaled, glaring at the cursed evil dragon. Even reduced to bare bones and scraps of flesh, it was still a dragon.
A rotting monarch was still a monarch; its mere presence exerted immense pressure. But that wasn't all.
Every breath it inhaled and exhaled corroded life itself—and even the earth—into rot.
'It's like a living chemical weapon. If this is, as Her Highness said, far weaker than a true dragon...'
How dangerous would a real one be? But Cain shoved the thought aside. No need to dwell on it.
That might just jinx things. For now, he was grateful this wasn't a true dragon.
Strength surged into his sword hand. Sensing his intent, the evil dragon struck first.
Its corrosive breath, rotting all it touched, poured toward Cain. But he wasn't one to be trifled with.
"Hah!!"
He didn't even need to swing his sword. Unleashing his death force with a shout was enough to block it.
Death force versus corrosion. Two similar yet different forms of death collided and vanished like a controlled burn.
From this exchange, Cain and the evil dragon realized neither was an easy foe.
Cain assumed his stance. He'd perfectly defended against the dragon's attack and even severed a wing, crippling its mobility.
Exposed to Cain's onslaught, the dragon resisted with its body... but it was futile.
It was far too slow to match a master's speed and skill. Cain first severed its left foreleg.
'Even death force can't fully halt its regeneration. It slows noticeably, but... what is this thing?'
Death force was the power of death itself—a counter to regeneration and even resurrection.
The necromancer, who had lived near-immortally through a life vessel, hadn't died cleanly against Cain.
And that was only because Cain wielded death force. Against another master?
They might win, but only after an exhausting war of attrition.
'When I fought the necromancer before, there was a definite sense of severing. But this feels like slicing water with a sword.'
There was no clean cut. Slash after slash, it felt like something flowing in to cover the wounds.
He needed to find the source. Cain focused his death force into his eyes.
Death Sight. Eyes that read death. Originally, they showed only his own demise, but now they revealed others' as well.
Yet peering into this cursed dragon's death yielded only screams thick with resentment.
"Kill... just kill me...!!"
"Kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me kill me."
"Why! Why us!!"
"...?!"
Something was wrong. No death vision as usual—just echoes of agonized screams.
Through Death Sight, he saw the cursed dragon burdened with countless souls. Then it clicked.
Those scraps of flesh clinging to it weren't mere flesh—they were humans absorbed by the dragon.
Thousands, easily. Absorbing that many humans from around here?
"They're still alive. And from the cries calling for the king... don't tell me..."
"..."
"You devoured the entire capital's populace, Andre...!!!"
No proof, of course. But the moment he activated Death Sight, certainty overtook mere suspicion.
Through some ritual, Andre had sacrificed the capital's people to gain this monstrous power.
Realizing this, Cain unleashed his death force at full strength. It no longer mattered.
You're still this land's king. How could a king fall so low, Andre?
"I'll kill you for sure. It's the only way to save us both...!!"
In that Death Sight glimpse, Cain grasped an unwelcome truth: killing the dragon would kill them all.
The absorbed humans still lived, gasping in torment. And the cruel reality he realized alongside it.
To save those devoured by Andre, death was the only answer.
Soon, the blood-red hue in Nox faded, and ink-black darkness began devouring even the eclipsed sky.