Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Escalating Throne Competition (5)
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Suddenly, Wellington's neck?
What the hell is this all about?
“What do you mean by……!”
“Do you remember capturing the Magic Tower's sub-tower lord on your way back to the White Tower?”
“Yes. I happened to spot the sub-tower lord and took him alive, then handed him over to the Ascending Dragon……”
“That Ascending Dragon vanished with the sub-tower lord.”
“……!”
“The Magic Tower has signs of allying with Troyvan, and sub-tower lord Nazaru Monte was caught spying in our territory by Black Snow. We've been pursuing that lead.”
Theo recalled Klevé's appearance, saying he was chasing after the Ascending Dragon.
“Did something happen to Klevé……?”
“You and the Ascending Dragon…… no, even calling him a ‘dragon’ makes me sick. Anyway, on the very day you and Parel Ragnar parted ways, Klevé and eight Black Snow agents were killed.”
Theo's eyes wavered.
The Black Dragon's face twisted in rage.
“And at the exact same time, former family head Hilda Ragnar went missing.”
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!
His heart pounded wildly.
“For now, Black Snow assesses that Hilda Ragnar made contact with the Magic Tower side, and her retainer Parel Ragnar shook off our pursuit for that purpose. And as of yesterday, with the family head's permission, kill orders have been issued on Hilda and Parel across all of Black Snow……!”
“W-Wait a minute!”
Theo urgently cut off the Black Dragon's words.
“Is it certain that the Ascending Dragon killed Black Snow's agents?”
“Yes. That razor-sharp lethality, like [Blade of the Water Surface], is a secret technique only he can perform. The mana traces and mana scent all point to him without a doubt. We've confirmed it multiple times.”
“…….”
“Therefore, Wellington Narsio, the sole disciple of Parel Ragnar, has a kill order on him as well. That's why I'm curious about your opinion, as his closest friend.”
The Black Dragon's gaze deepened as he looked at Theo.
“What will you do? If the kill order is delegated to you. Could you cut their necks? I won't tolerate lies.”
In that instant, the Black Dragon's eyes turned pitch-black red, and a second pupil bloomed wide open within the first.
Intuition Eye.
One of the Black Dragon's famed secret arts, it could discern truth from lies by checking the target's physiological responses to questions.
“Everyone shows unconscious reactions depending on the situation. I'll judge your truthfulness by monitoring pupil movement, heart rate, breathing frequency, brainwave speed, nervous system tension, blood pressure contraction, cold sweat on your hands, and more. Do you agree?”
“……Yes.”
Theo swallowed dryly and nodded.
“That's sincere. Then I'll start asking now. When you parted with Parel. Did he give you any particular hint?”
Theo pondered briefly before answering.
“No particular words. Except.”
“Except?”
“He asked me to think positively of Lady Hilda.”
“That crazy old man. So he was plotting a rebellion after all?”
The one who had dragged the Mad Dragon Emperor from the throne at the forefront alongside Kyle was none other than Black Dragon Robert.
Naturally, he could only react with a sneer to any sign of Hilda stirring again.
“Anything else?”
“Nothing.”
“He didn't say where he was going?”
“No.”
“So far, none of your statements are lies.”
‘No need to mention finding the Naga's nest just yet.’
Theo hesitated very briefly. Whether to reveal what he knew.
But Hilda and the Ascending Dragon's betrayal was an event that hadn't happened in his previous life.
It meant something Theo had done had triggered a butterfly effect, leading them to this choice.
Theo intended to verify this himself.
Whether the Ascending Dragon had simply lost in internal strife with the Black Dragon and been framed.
Or if Hilda was truly dreaming of something greater while seeking the Naga's nest.
“Then lastly, I'll ask this. If the time comes to cut your friend's neck. Could you do it with your own hands?”
“Yes.”
Theo nodded without hesitation.
There was no wavering here.
In Ragnar, upper commands were absolute, and Theo had no intention of letting anything obstruct his path.
But above all, Theo trusted Wellington.
‘In my previous life, Wellington Narsio rebelled against Ragnar, but the current Wellington has no reason to.’
Wellington had a phrase he always carried.
-I’m curious what Ragnar will look like under Young Master Theo. It’ll be vastly different from now.
‘Wel won’t draw his sword backward until he sees my Ragnar. If it’s a misunderstanding, we can clear it up.’
Theo's faith was rock-solid, and it fully reflected in the Intuition Eye.
The Black Dragon accepted it all as ‘truth.’
“Good. Not a single lie in any of your answers, so you’re definitely Ragnar material. You qualify for the Dragon Gate Swordsman promotion exam.”
“Then from now on, I’ll be pursuing Lady Hilda and the Ascending Dragon?”
Wasn't the point of these questions to make the pursuit his promotion exam mission?
But Theo's guess missed the mark spectacularly.
“No. No need for that. Someone else has already taken that mission as their promotion exam.”
Theo glanced at Julius as someone came to mind.
Julius nodded heavily.
“Evelyn is tailing them. We’ve assigned a few from Black Snow and the White Dragon Knights as well.”
“……!”
“Your promotion exam will be a bit different.”
“Theo Ragnar, you were set to gain squad leader qualifications upon becoming an advanced swordsman, right?”
The Black Dragon pulled out a scroll and tossed it in front of Theo.
Theo quietly opened it and was slightly startled.
“This is……?”
“You’ll join a special operation at dawn tomorrow. But that’s just a cover mission. The real one is separate.”
The mission written there was simple.
-Lead the newly formed squad 5 and raid the Holy Demon Church’s mobile branch to stop the Nameless Lord’s revival ritual.
The fact that the Holy Demon Church was performing a revival ritual had already been confirmed with Kyle.
So if squad 5 took this on, along with the Dragon Legion’s ambush, it would deal a painful blow to them.
But this wasn’t the end?
“While you’re blocking the revival ritual, the remaining White Dragon Knights and Black Iron Knights will storm in as reinforcements to uproot the Holy Demon Church. Their resistance won’t be light, so there’ll be plenty of chaos. And right then, naturally.”
Every word the Black Dragon threw out embedded clearly in Theo’s ears.
“Eliminate Tor kel Ragnar.”
“……!”
Theo shot up from his seat at the completely unexpected words.
Julius, the Plum Palace Lord, and Niel all kept silent.
“If you do that, not only will you be promoted to Dragon Gate Swordsman, but Black Snow will back you.”
* * *
“Then feel free to contact me anytime.”
With the long talk concluded, Ancio slowly rose from her seat.
Instead of a farewell, Tor kel lifted his glass and tossed out a question.
“May I ask one thing, sister?”
“Of course. As much as you want.”
“Your brother Gishar, who’s always with you, wasn’t around.”
“Ah, my brother?”
Ancio gave a light laugh before stepping out the door.
“He’s dead.”
With a casual goodbye, she left the Black Iron Knights’ barracks.
Tor kel sat motionless for a long while, not seeing her off.
Iyan glanced at the doorway before quietly calling to Tor kel.
“Captain.”
“My sister just said that since she and the Defiant Dragon are together, we should join hands.”
Tor kel chuckled as he added ice to his glass.
“She said combining the Black Iron Knights and Crimson Sword Knights, her and the Defiant Dragon’s bases, could form a major faction. And we could even pull in the Elder Council? Then we remove Rje sister and Theo, drag down brother Kinkarnon, and the two of us can vie for supremacy.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. But I flatly refused.”
“…….”
“Do you think my choice is stupid too?”
Iyan smiled faintly.
“I don’t know anything. Honestly, I’ve heard ‘stupid’ a lot since I was young. I don’t know what’s good or bad. It’s nice being with people I enjoy, and I hate being with ones I don’t. But one thing’s certain.”
“……?”
“With you, Captain, it’s always fun.”
“…….”
“And we always win. What’s more important to a swordsman? The other knights probably think the same.”
Tor kel just stared at the ice.
“So there must be a good reason for your choice, Captain. The rest is too headache-inducing, so handle it yourself.”
Tor kel mulled over Iyan’s words as he brought the glass to his lips.
“That’s the perfect mindset for getting stabbed in the back. Forgot we lost to the White Dragon guys just now?”
“Lost? Who? Us? Nah. We didn’t even go all out, who’d count that?”
Iyan was sincere.
And that was the common sentiment among the Black Iron Knights.
Others might call it a defeat.
But not the Black Iron Knights.
They were undefeated, invincible.
Never fallen once on the battlefield.
Even if pushed back in this clash by the White Dragon Knights, if it had been real combat, it would’ve been different, they were sure.
They too had an ace up their sleeve they hadn’t revealed.
Of course, the White Dragon Knights probably had one hidden too, so others might finger it as mere self-consolation.
But so what?
That’s truly how they felt.
The lack of chatter among the knights right now, the silence, was just them planning how to respond next time they clashed with the White Dragon Knights.
And on another note, they thought:
Tor kel would handle it.
Their captain would somehow make it work, baseless as it was.
“……I’ve got damn good subordinates.”
Tor kel stared blankly at Iyan for a long moment before letting out a hollow laugh.
Iyan grinned.
“You just figuring that out?”
“No, I knew…… but not to this extent. Fine. As thanks, I’ll share my thoughts.”
In that instant, the smile vanished from Iyan’s lips.
The aura slowly emanating from Tor kel felt strangely unfamiliar yet familiar.
Fwaaa—
“M-Mana……?”
Rattle, rattle!
Objects in the barracks began shaking as if possessed by ghosts. Black haze billowed.
Goosebumps prickled across Iyan’s skin.
The aura of a demon sea beast.
An energy absolutely forbidden to the living pulsed within.
But that wasn’t the only issue.
“N-No…… this is dragon power……? H-How can dragon power mix with demonic energy……?”
Even the dragon aura, predator to demons, was infused.
The dragon power, which Ragnar swordsmen only realized upon reaching Dragon Gate realm, clashed with the demonic energy, intertwined, and shattered Iyan’s common sense at the root.
“Madness……!”
Whoooosh—
As a third energy emerged within that aura, Iyan felt his breath catch.
Just facing it made him feel like he’d lose consciousness.
No, more precisely, like his mental world was disintegrating piece by piece.
In that moment, a suppressed memory in the corner of his mind exploded.
Far in the past.
Before Kyle ascended the throne.
One who awakened the mysteries of dragon power to become the strongest family head in history, yet craved even greater strength and crossed to the demon sea, awakening even demonic beast power.
His madness, craving power, was too profound for human reason to judge, and the damage pushed Ragnar to the brink of destruction, only ending after Kyle and his sworn brothers revolted.
Subject to record erasure, few remembered now, but those who did still shuddered.
Hence his moniker: Mad Dragon Emperor.
That one’s secret art, said to have died decades ago, was manifesting here……!
“C-C-C-Captain……?”
Iyan trembled as he looked at Tor kel.
He’d known he was hiding something, but never dreamed it was this.
“Iyan.”
Tor kel stared at him with blackened eyes.
“How much do you trust me?”
“More than my life.”
“I hate my father. And everyone around him. Black Dragon, Demon Dragon, Sword Dragon. Old farts like Origin Dragon or Defiant Dragon. Sly foxes like Kinkarnon or Ancio. Idiots like Rje. Gutless punks like Theo. I deny all of Ragnar. So I want to clear them all out and build a new Ragnar.”
Tor kel extended his hand to Iyan.
“Will you join me?”
Iyan nodded silently and clasped that hand.