Chapter 221: That’s Enough, Isn’t It? (3)
Chapter 221: That’s Enough, Isn’t It? (3)
Patrick returned for the time being.
Sanson and the men were greatly shocked to see Patrick returning from a full day of hunting monsters, his entire body drenched in blood.
“Young Master.”
“Just what on earth have you been doing?”
Patrick replied to his subordinates' questions.
“What do you think? I was out fighting. Can’t you tell by looking?”
“……”
“I’m tired. Move aside so I can wash up and rest.”
Patrick doused himself with river water to wash his body and filled his stomach with a simple snack. As he let his fatigue melt away, he fell into thought.
“Ugh, isn't there some kind of breakthrough method?”
Patrick’s creed was that most problems in the world could be solved by beating the life out of them.
However, even he knew.
He knew that occasionally, there were problems that couldn't be solved even by a good thrashing. That was why he emphasized most and not all.
Usually, at times like this, he would seek help from smart people. For example…
“I miss you, friend.”
“Me? Why?”
“Not you. My ugly friend.”
“…You had friends other than me?”
Matthew spoke as if he were truly surprised. Patrick simply let out a long sigh.
What would you know? You…
If the Dragon-Chasing Scholar, Zhuge Hyeon, were here, he would have suggested some brilliant solution. No, even just Zhuge Hyeon’s knowledge of mechanism arrays or formation diagrams might have been enough to solve this problem. If it were that guy, he might have even laid out a massive formation around the city to keep the monsters from entering.
Patrick suddenly had a thought.
“Hey, Mage mister over there.”
“Did you call for me, Double Dragon?”
Patrick stopped a passing mage. The Dragon-Chasing Scholar wasn't here, but there were plenty of mages. Weren't mages considered the symbols of knowledge and wisdom in this world?
Patrick spoke with a glimmer of hope.
“Can you guys perhaps set up something like a formation?”
“What is that?”
“You know, a device that uses magic to show illusions or makes people lose their sense of direction around here. Can’t you install something like that?”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Tsk…”
Magic wasn't as all-powerful as he’d thought. In the Central Plains, they said some fellow named Zhuge Liang blocked a million-man army just by arranging a few rocks.
Well, it sounds like a lie to me.
If that actually worked, why would he have lost? Still, formations themselves were real.
Should I have learned a bit? No, that’s impossible.
He had watched his friend do it hundreds of times, but he could never make heads or tails of it. His friend would ramble on about how the Eight Trigrams worked or how the Four Symbols should be placed, but it went completely over his head.
“A way, a way! A brilliant solution as sweet as strawberry-flavored cold medicine!”
As Patrick tore at his hair in a fit of frustration, the mage he had questioned spoke up.
“If you don't tell me what the problem is, I can't find a solution, can I?”
“I’m looking for a way to guarantee the city’s safety by preventing monsters from approaching this area.”
“Ah, I see.”
Only then did the mage nod as if he understood the situation. Patrick, who hadn't expected much, felt a momentary surge of hope.
Then, the nameless mage spoke.
“I don't know any way to do that.”
“…You don’t?”
“Yes. I don’t.”
“……”
Then why did you act like you did? Just as Patrick was slowly curling his hand into a fist, the mage added:
“Well, the story would be different if a dragon stepped in, though.”
“A dragon?”
“No matter how ferocious a monster is, they wouldn't dare invade a dragon’s territory.”
“Why?”
When Patrick asked as if hearing this for the first time, the mage explained.
“It’s because dragons can freely manipulate a killing intent that overpowers monsters. It’s called Dragon Fear.”
“Dragon Fear…”
“Furthermore, they are natural apex predators who reign at the top of the ecosystem. So, monsters instinctively avoid stepping into their domain.”
“……”
Patrick pondered.
A dragon’s domain. The apex of the ecosystem that monsters instinctively avoid. Right. That was the solution. But there was a problem.
“Where are the dragons?”
“Hahaha. Double Dragon, they left the Middle World a long time ago.”
“What? Why? With whose permission?”
Certainly not yours.
The mage spoke with a troubled expression.
“Well, there are various theories regarding that. The most prominent one is that the great race went extinct after exhausting all their strength in the war against the Demon Clan.”
“Ahem, what kind of nonsense is that?”
Another mage passing by chimed in.
“They are the race tasked with being the guardians of the Middle World. If they had truly vanished, there would have been some word from the gods, even through an oracle. The extinction theory is a baseless delusion.”
At that, the mage Patrick had been talking to glared intensely and snapped back.
“Delusion? The claim made by idiots who vaguely imagine they must exist somewhere without a shred of evidence is the real delusion.”
“What? Then where is your proof that they’re extinct? Where is it?!”
“A being possessing such massive mana vanished without a trace—if that’s not extinction, then what is?!”
“You ignorant fool. Then…”
And so, the mages began to fight among themselves. Other mages intervened to stop the fight—or so one would think.
“The extinction theory is obviously the correct answer.”
“Good heavens, what an uneducated man. To dismiss something as non-existent just because the answer isn't visible. I’m ashamed to be called a fellow mage.”
“What? What school are you from? Recite your lineage!”
“Why are you bringing up lineage now?!”
Instead of stopping, the fight only caught fire. Seeing the mages pointing fingers, grabbing each other's collars, and eventually coming to blows, Patrick spoke in a drained voice.
“I wish they’d all just get lost.”
Symbols of wisdom and intellect, my foot…
* * *
As is the case with most things in life…
Answers don't always come easily for every problem. Patrick’s current situation was no different. A situation with no perfect answer.
In such times, there are two choices. One is to give up. The other is…
“To do the absolute best I can for now.”
Man proposes, God disposes.
“If a human does everything they can, even the heavens will help. If they don't, I'll kill the heavens or whatever.”
[Cheon-ah, that’s not what that means.]
It was a shame the Sect Leader of the Twin Dragon Sect wasn't around to tell him that. Regardless, giving up just because there was no answer wasn't the style of the Radiant Dragon Hero. It was better to aim for victory by doing his best with what he could, even if there was no clear path. No matter how difficult and arduous that process might be.
“Elione, April, let’s go.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Understood.”
In the end, Patrick went back to roaming the outskirts of the pioneering city, conducting a massive monster subjugation. There were no tricks. He simply tracked down and slaughtered any creature that might pose a threat within Elione’s scouting range.
It was by no means easy. Every time he returned drenched in blood, everyone in the pioneering city was moved to solemnity.
“Just how much is he fighting?”
“I don't know. He goes out almost every day and comes back looking like that…”
Even April and Elione, who accompanied him, showed clear signs of exhaustion. But Patrick did not stop; he went out every single day.
Yes, this might be no different from pouring water into a bottomless pot. But if he didn't pour the water, everyone in this city would be in danger. So, what else could he do?
I have to do it.
Since long ago, Patrick had never been second to anyone when it came to sheer grit. He went out every day to grapple with demonic beasts, and as a result, the pioneering city had been peaceful for the past several dozen days.
And Patrick had to bleed just as much. No matter how strong he was, the monsters of the Great Forest were no pushovers. There were times when even Patrick was wounded. Yet, before those injuries could even heal, he would head back out beyond the walls to fight the monsters again.
“Young Master, you are overexerting yourself.”
“Overexerting? Please…”
Unable to watch any longer, Sanson stepped forward. But Patrick replied curtly. Beside him, April was changing his bandages, and through the gaps, his skin was visible, covered in numerous scars.
Seeing this, Sanson spoke through gritted teeth.
“No matter how strong you are, fighting the monsters of the Great Forest every day is physically draining.”
“And?”
“Please rest. If possible, take the next ship back to the territory and recuperate—”
“Sanson Kainel.”
Patrick looked at Sanson with a serious expression.
“What happens if I don't do it?”
“……?”
“What happens if I don't fight?”
“That is…”
“Monsters will swarm this pioneering city that’s still under construction. Some of them will be absolute monsters.”
“……”
“Then, you guys will have to fight while protecting the laborers. In that process, as the combat zone expands, there will be quite a few casualties. The city under construction will be significantly damaged as well.”
“……”
“And yet you’re telling me to rest because I’m tired? Just because it’s hard?”
“Young Master, what I mean is…”
“Wounds heal with time. They aren't worth as much as the life of a single laborer working on this city.”
“……”
Sanson had nothing to say. Because Patrick was right. Sanson simply lowered his head, and Patrick took a swig of the alcohol in his canteen.
“Kaaah…”
Then, Patrick gave a small smirk to the solemn Sanson.
“Hey, do you think I’m doing this because I like it?”
“……”
“If there were a better solution, I’d want to do that too. If there were a comfortable and easy way, I’d want to take it. But there isn't.”
“……”
“So, what can I do? I have to do what I can right now. Don't you agree?”
“Wouldn't it be better to just give up on this city? Is there a reason you have to go this far?”
“Of course there is.”
“What is it?”
To Sanson’s challenging question, Patrick replied:
“I checked via communication magic. Thanks to the ruckus we’re making here, there hasn't been a single monster attack on the territory.”
“……”
“No more children have to lose their families to monsters and cry.”
“That…”
“That’s enough, isn't it?”
That was right. This Great Forest pioneering project had been started in the first place to protect people from the dangers of the forest. Sanson was also a man born and raised in the Schneider territory. He had grown up seeing countless bereaved families weeping over monster attacks. Beyond that, Sanson himself harbored the same pain.
“If you’ve said your piece, go. I need to get some rest.”
As Patrick lay down with an expression saying his whole body ached, Sanson bowed with the utmost respect and withdrew. And then…
“Oliver.”
“Yes, Brother… I mean, Captain.”
“Summon the entire knight order immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
Sanson called his subordinates and recounted his conversation with Patrick exactly as it happened. Upon hearing those words, every member of the Double Dragon Knights clenched their fists.
Things were better now, but they remembered. Every month, every week, and sometimes even every day. Their home was a place where people died due to monster attacks.
Do you know what the saddest part was? That growing up while losing family and neighbors was a perfectly normal part of their daily lives. They never knew when it would be their turn. Their own death. The death of their family. The death of their lovers and friends.
Remembering the past where death was woven into their daily lives, they clenched their fists. Patrick was trying to change that hellish reality that everyone had given up on and accepted as normal. He was doing it by bleeding with his whole body and swinging his sword at the very front, more than anyone else.
Sanson spoke.
“We cannot leave everything to the Young Master alone. We didn't strive to become strong just to hide behind him and pick up the scraps.”
“……”
“Let us also do what we can for our home. No matter what it is.”
The expressions of the knights changed as they listened to Sanson.
“Of course!”
“Naturally!”
“Damn it, what have we even been doing all this time?!”
“Bloody hell, we’ve been slacking…”
The knights, venting their frustration, finally realized. They had endured that hellish training to gain strength so they could protect what needed to be protected.
The next day.
The Double Dragon Knights, having rediscovered their initial resolve, voluntarily began to scout the area around the fortress meticulously.
“Troll group spotted!”
“Track them! Don't let a single one escape!”
“Finish them off!”
And in their heightened state, they struck down every monster they laid eyes on. With their skills, it was impossible to face national-disaster-level beasts like Patrick did. However, to lighten Patrick’s burden even a little, they thoroughly searched the area around the fortress and eliminated the monsters.
Leaving early in the morning and returning at sunset, the Double Dragon Knights came back carrying countless monster byproducts on their backs.
Stimulated by this, the Orc warriors of the Red Rock Tribe also actively joined the hunt around the fortress.
“Do not be outdone by the humans!”
“We are a race of warriors. Let us show our bravery!”
“Wooooooh!”
Those who had passively performed only the tasks Patrick assigned became proactive. They were desperately doing what they could for this pioneering city.
And the mages, spurred on by this, did not stay idle either.
“Fifth Sage. What if we install defensive magical tools on the walls?”
“That is a good idea.”
“Of course, we need permission from the Tower of—pardon?”
“Send a communication to the Tower of Truth immediately and request the items. If they refuse, tell them to send it under my name.”
“Yes, understood!”
Thus, anti-monster defensive weapons created by the mages were mounted atop the walls. They looked like ordinary ballistae, but the bolts used were enchanted with magic. They were weapons of such destructive power that a direct hit could tear an ogre apart.
The elves also busily scouted the fortress surroundings, eliminating potential threats.
Everyone did their best. Even in a situation where there was no convenient or certain solution, everyone joined forces, and bit by bit, the pioneering city developed and took shape.
Driven simply by the power of will and effort.