Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Audience with the Sea King
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Ian's group, who had unintentionally picked up(?) an elf in the Fourteen Paths, hurried on toward Hasfel.
They needed solid evidence before the Dae Mak could cut off their tails, or else they might not be able to stop the brewing clash between the Dae Mak and the Golden Heaven Chain.
Soon enough, the main current of the Amatres River finally came into view before the group as they left the Fourteen Paths behind.
"...This is really a river? A river?"
The squad members' impressions upon facing the main current head-on were exceedingly simple.
It was vast.
Truly vast.
Every sightline visible to the naked eye ended at the horizon.
The river's width was so immense that the great plains surrounding it faded from view entirely, making it hard to believe ships could actually float here—this had to be a river, right?
If not for the salty sea-like scent wafting up from below the deck...
It was a colossal basin that no one would have questioned if called an ocean.
"...Now I get why the river's master bears the moniker 'Sea King.'"
Of course, with Takryu's influence extending all the way to the southern tip of the Western Continent, no one dared dispute the title in reality.
Even if Takryu only dominated the Amatres River itself, without reaching the Western Continent, the epithet would still feel fitting.
The main current of the Amatres River boasted an overwhelming scale.
Swoosh!
Rasna extended a finger, pointing toward the distant horizon.
"If you follow the waterway straight that way, you'll soon see Hasfel, the island my father rules."
Sure enough, after about three hours of progress, a massive island rose imposingly on the horizon, exuding a heavy presence.
Or could it even be called an island to begin with?
The landmass filling the center of the vast, sea-like Amatres River felt more like gazing upon a small continent.
Rooooaaar!
Regardless of Ian's group's awe, the Goreland swiftly closed the distance to Hasfel at high speed.
Booom!
Hasfel's sheer outer cliffs rejected any external intrusion, leaving only the frontal gap in the cliffs as the sole entry point.
Like the gaping maw of a colossal beast, the Goreland entered the island's concave inlet and anchored. Lizardmen on guard duty throughout Hasfel swarmed the ship, fully armed, and bellowed.
"Kerruk! How dare you approach Hasfel without prior notice! Whose ship is this?!"
"Goreland! It's the Goreland!"
The voices of frantic lizardmen shouting from below the deck carried up clearly.
"Kerruk?! Lord Regulus's ship? There must be some mistake! He would never use such brazen methods!"
The lizardmen panicked upon realizing the unauthorized vessel at Hasfel was the Goreland.
Lord Regulus's mild nature was well-known among them.
The idea of him leading a ship into Hasfel without permission was utterly unimaginable.
But the lizardmen arguing back and forth had no choice but to accept it once they spotted the identity of the figure slowly descending from the Goreland's deck.
"...Lady Rasna?"
"Kererrrruk! Lady Rasna has returned! Hurry, report to the Sea King!!"
Whatever had transpired on Hasfel during Rasna's absence, the lizardmen who noticed her return scattered in panic, racing toward the Sea King's lair without a second thought.
After a brief commotion.
Just as in Western Heaven, a lizardman clad in ornate armor—clearly of high rank—approached, leading his troops.
Step, step, step!
Their disciplined footfalls moved in perfect unison, as if one body, signaling they were elites rivaling Regulus's finest.
"Kerruk... Hah, Lady Rasna. Just where have you been and what have you been up to that you're only returning now?!"
The lizardman bellowed heartily at Rasna.
This was none other than the One Dragon, Maximus.
Leader of the Four Dragons and Four Phantoms, and Takryu's second-in-command in name and truth, succeeding Sea King Zakura.
"Do you have any idea how worried the Sea King has been! Even if you're sneaking off for a pleasure trip, you must choose the time and place! Especially now of all times...!!"
Just as Maximus was about to continue his scolding.
His eyes fell upon Ian's group.
"...And what are those humans? Why are there humans in Hasfel...?"
"Uncle Maximus, you can chew me out all you want later. Right now... I need to see Father first."
Rasna met Maximus's gaze squarely and spoke.
"The Dae Mak... is plotting something filthy."
Maximus was wise enough to deserve his seat as One Dragon.
He intuitively knew this was no mere excuse from Rasna to dodge trouble and silently began escorting her and Ian's group without a word.
Step, step!
Surrounded by Maximus and his troops—for protection or surveillance, it hardly mattered—Ian's group arrived at a massive cave.
It appeared an ordinary cave from outside, but the interior was astonishingly systematic.
The hewn, polished, and ornately carved walls evoked the grandeur of any royal palace.
'And... this cave.'
Tap, tap!
As they ventured inside, Ian discreetly touched the walls away from the lizardmen's notice. A hard, smooth texture met his fingertips.
'It's a complete fortress.'
Incredibly, the entire cave's rock walls were granite.
They wouldn't budge under most external assaults.
An island encircled by a sea-like river, ringed by near-impassable cliffs, accessible only through a single entrance.
And the cave within that entrance was fortified solidly against invasion.
Any foe seeking to topple the Sea King would pay dearly in blood.
Thud, thud!
Deep into the cave they went, yet glowing stones embedded densely in the walls kept darkness at bay.
...Thud!
After a long trek, the footsteps ahead halted abruptly.
"Kerruk... You there, humans."
Before a massive stone wall blocking the path, Maximus—who had been walking at the lead with Rasna—called out to Ian's group in a chilling tone.
"I am truly grateful for saving Lady Rasna. As proof... we're letting you vermin who set foot in Hasfel without permission live. But."
The One Dragon, Maximus, glared at Ian's group, his killing intent rising.
"From here on, watch every word and deed. If even one syllable disrespects the Sea King... I'll tear you apart and feed you to the fish around Hasfel."
The warning sent chills down the neck just hearing it, but Ian merely shrugged it off lightly.
His insolence irked Maximus, whose brow twitched.
"...Tch!"
But only for a moment. He clicked his tongue briefly and said no more.
He had issued his warning; if ignored, they would pay the price.
"Kerruk, open the gate."
Clank, clank!
At Maximus's command, two lizardmen guarding the stone wall began manipulating mechanisms along its surface.
Grrrrrrumble!
Moments later, the massive stone wall split slowly to either side with a groan.
The interior it revealed left Ian—who had only thought Takryu tough to conquer—genuinely stunned.
'...Trap mechanisms too?'
He never dreamed monster lizardmen would employ such devices.
Ian glanced quietly back at Sylvia, who wore an equally shocked expression.
The Clonen assassin clan, experts in poison and hidden weapons, also excelled in mechanisms; Sylvia could handle most herself.
For her to be surprised...
'Even Sylvia from the Clonen assassin clan sees it as advanced tech.'
He had dismissed them as barbaric monsters, but the more he learned, the less he could underestimate Takryu's prowess.
"...Keruk! Father, I'm back. Sorry for worrying you."
As Ian continually raised his evaluation of Takryu, Rasna's voice echoed from within the stone wall, where she had entered first.
Ian's group followed Maximus's troops inside moments later.
The sight before them was bizarre.
Despite being the cave's deepest recess, the ceiling opened in a circular gap high above like a plaza, sunlight pouring through.
Beneath that gap, sprawled casually on a chair basking in the rays, sat a white-scaled lizardman.
This was Takryu's pinnacle: Sea King Zakura.
"Keruk! Stand aside until Lady Rasna finishes speaking, human. He's wise; there must be reason he came with you lot."
Thud!
Maximus, already inside, slapped Ian's shoulder, urging him forward.
Repaying the earlier threat, Ian shot back snidely.
"You sure that's wise? Even with our weapons still on us? Meeting Takryu's head like this feels a bit lax, no?"
It was a pointed jest hinting he could slit the Sea King's throat given an opening.
"...Keruk, kek! Kerererruk!"
Maximus burst into manic laughter as if hearing the funniest nonsense.
"Kerruk, human. That was quite the amusing joke. Asking if it's fine without disarming?"
Ian shrugged lightly, and Maximus replied in kind.
"I'll answer. It makes no difference. With or without weapons, you lot... are no more threatening to the Sea King than insects."
With that, Maximus stepped aside by the stone wall, clearly uninterested.
It signaled he had no part in the Sea King's conversation.
"......"
Ian's eyes twitched at the arrogance, but he showed nothing.
Showing emotion here would be tantamount to losing to the lizard.
As Ian and the Latent Dragon Squad took position beside Rasna, ignoring Maximus's odd demeanor, Rasna timely introduced them amid her talk with the Sea King.
"...Keruk! While I was being pursued, these people saved me from the Dae Mak's trolls."
"......"
Swoosh!
The Sea King, who had been listening silently to Rasna, shifted his gaze toward Ian and the group.
And then.
"...Ugh!"
Thud!
Every squad member except Ian dropped to their knees involuntarily.
No killing intent released, no aura flared.
Merely looking at them upon hearing Rasna's words.
"...Mm!"
'...Indeed. Not just that lizard—every lizardman here ignored our arms for a reason.'
Ian gritted his teeth, steadying his trembling knees to endure.
The Sea King's presence was that of an absolute being overlooking all creation.
Those unqualified to face it could never withstand the pressure.
In his past life as Lucas, he too had wielded this power to dominate foes.
Only fellow absolutes or those with spirits strong enough to resist could endure it.
The squad, yet unperfected, stood no chance against this monstrous aura.
Praise was due for merely kneeling without fainting.
But Ian differed.
He had reached this realm as Lucas before, and even in his weakened current state, his pride as Hegemon remained unbroken.
'Impressive, but... weaker than my past self.'
Strictly speaking, half a step below past-life Lucas, yet a step above the Four Heroes he had clashed with.
To kneel to weaker or stronger alike would shame the Hegemon's name.
"...Hoo."
Surprised Ian withstood his aura, perhaps.
A faint gleam entered the Sea King's impassive eyes as he regarded the group.
He hadn't even raised two-tenths of his power, yet these young humans endured.
None had fainted, and one even resisted, however strained.
With such foundations, victory over Dae Mak trolls was plausible.
"Well... I see. Not con artists sweet-talking my naive daughter, then. Worthless scum wouldn't merit hearing more."
Swoosh!
Propped on his armrest, the Sea King slowly spoke.
"Let's hear it, then. Is it grave enough for humans to set foot in Hasfel?"