Chapter 130
Chapter 130
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Defeat and Defiance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
BOOOOOOM!!
The ground erupted, spewing forth molten lava.
Whoosh! Crackle-crackle!
The earth itself morphed like clay into razor-sharp spears and blades, lunging to claim lives.
In that hellish abyss, any ordinary monster would have perished without so much as lifting a finger.
"...Chwiik!!"
For the first time in ages, Golden Eye let out a guttural orcish snort as he dodged the merciless onslaught.
It had been so long since he'd started speaking the common tongue with humans that the distinctive orc growl felt awkward now.
But in this moment, his mind was in such turmoil that ancient instincts surged forth unbidden.
He evaded the lava, kicked off the flat sides of weapons bursting from the earth, and relentlessly closed the distance to Karaktus.
...Hnnngh!
Power surged into his left arm gripping the massive axe, and the bracer encasing his forearm shattered under the strain of his wildly swelling muscles.
Shrieeeeeek!
The axe, infused with Golden Eye's aura, spun dazzlingly toward the earth dragon.
It pulverized the obstructing lava and earthen weapons in its path—a strike worthy of the South's overlord.
-Futile.
CRAAAAASH!
As the earth dragon's finger twitched, a colossal wall of ice materialized in midair.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
The axe ground furiously against the ice wall but ultimately failed to shatter it, clattering to the ground.
-Not bad endurance. Let's see you withstand this.
Whooooom!
No sooner had Karaktus spoken than gusts of wind and mana bolts erupted from all around Golden Eye.
From below, lava and earthen blades filled the space even more densely.
Zzzzzing!
From the skies, a relentless downpour of ice and lightning rained without cease.
Arkdor's ultimate spell, Frigid Thunder, paled like a child's prank before this overwhelming cataclysm.
It ruthlessly dominated Golden Eye from every direction.
"Chwiik! This mad...!!"
An assault that utterly defied the laws of nature.
Magic bent the world's rules by its very essence, but this transcended mere bending.
To control nature and the world itself on nearly a per-second basis.
This was no different from a demigod...!
-Realizing it only now?
As if reading Golden Eye's thoughts, Karaktus mocked him while he struggled to hold on.
-Dragons are the sovereigns of magic. Thus, I am Agena's rightful king. For a wretch like you to claim kingship—utterly laughable.
Kraaack!
The earth dragon clenched its fist, issuing its verdict.
-Sink into oblivion, foolish and lowly orc who dared to call yourself king.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOOM!
The terrifying barrage surrounding Golden Eye swept through the area in an instant.
"Grkhh...!!"
Unable to withstand the shockwave, Golden Eye's body hurtled into the valley cliffside, crumpling helplessly.
"Damn you, lizard bastard!!"
Shiiiing!
His shadow stretched like molten taffy as Sea King charged at the earth dragon, scimitar in hand.
-Ah, right—you were here too.
Just as with Golden Eye, the earth dragon merely sneered at Sea King.
Flash!
In an instant, a mana barrier as thick as a castle wall sprang up between the earth dragon and Sea King.
"...Tch!"
Having witnessed Paon's strike blocked by that very barrier, Sea King clicked his tongue.
Undeterred, he veered sharply, aiming to slip into an area beyond the barrier's reach.
-Isn't it strange, though? Strictly speaking... you're far more lizard-like, a lowly breed even closer to vermin than I.
Bang! Bang! KABOOM!
Yet the earth dragon toyed with him, unleashing a colossal fireworks display of flames.
Like a child pouring scalding water into an ant hill—pure playfulness.
Who had ever dared treat Sea King with such humiliating disdain?
He could not endure the insult of this unprecedented treatment.
"...You damned brat!!"
Scales peeled away, flesh seared by fire.
Even with his body ragged as a beggar's cloth, Sea King closed in on Karaktus, attempting once more to climb the earth dragon's body.
-Oh, and...
Snap!
With a flick of its finger, the earth dragon rendered all his efforts for naught.
Rattle-rattle-chain!
Chains erupted from the earth, binding Sea King tight.
-I was willing to play, but a mere lizard crawling on my body... I won't allow it a second time.
All plans crumbling before his eyes, Sea King wore a hollow expression.
"Ha...!! You fucking dragon spawn...!"
-Seems that's all you have to say.
Snap!
And with those final words.
BOOM!
A sound like compressed air exploding echoed from within Sea King's bindings.
"Damn... you...!!"
Gush!
Black, dead blood poured from Sea King's mouth, as if his organs had been churned.
Then he moved no more.
-Now only you remain, warrior of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan.
"......"
Paon Lichtenauer offered no reply to the earth dragon's suave words.
-If there's nothing more to show, begone. This time, I shall subjugate not just this narrow Southern Continent, but all of Agena.
Crack!
Karaktus opened its maw, spewing black flames toward Paon.
Fwooooosh!
And toward the oncoming inferno.
"...Something to show."
...Shing!
Paon quietly drew Skywall.
"The Lichtenauer Martial Clan's purpose has always been one: to protect humanity from the beasts of the Great Cataclysm."
Aura slowly gathered in the hand gripping Skywall.
"Witness the blade forged for that purpose... starting now."
Earth-shaking, heaven-rending.
Astonishing the skies, upheaving the land.
There was no other way to describe the clash between Karaktus and Paon.
Each of Paon's strikes crumbled the vast canyons of the Great Veil, built up over eons.
The desert sands melted under the earth dragon's black flames and magic, gleaming like glass.
The storm born from their transcendent auras altered the canyon's very climate, summoning a massive downpour onto the battlefield.
Yet as there is a beginning, there is an end—that is the way of the world.
Even a battle seeming eternal must divide victor from vanquished.
...Crunch!
"Hahk, hahk..."
Paon drove Skywall into the ground, gasping ragged breaths.
Its jagged, chipped blade made a mockery of its fame as the masterpiece of Southern Continent smiths, culmination of all metallurgy.
-...Impressive, Patriarch of the current Lichtenauer Martial Clan.
Karaktus's body, once pristine without a scratch, was now a ruin unworthy of its former state.
Its steel-like scales bore countless gashes across its indomitable flesh, and its sky-obscuring wings sported three fatal tears.
Flight would be impossible for the foreseeable future.
...Hiss!
Wiping blood from its mouth with an injured hand, Karaktus continued.
-Even the Patriarch who sealed me long ago couldn't push me this far alone. I admit it—I underestimated you, human. You have undoubtedly transcended human limits by a vast margin.
And so it was.
Martial King Paon Lichtenauer.
The mightiest warrior of this age in vast Midgard—Agena—who bore the title of Martial Sovereign.
He possessed an overwhelming martial prowess surpassing any prior Patriarch of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan.
-Remarkable skill... but such arrogance. To face me alone.
Yet he could not breach the earth dragon's defenses.
Wounds aplenty or not, the dragon's power—unlike in the past—remained intact.
Nay, more than intact... it was steadily recovering, bit by bit.
For the lives lost on this battlefield continued converting into Karaktus's strength even now.
-That very arrogance is why you lost today.
"......"
Though his hand trembled on Skywall's hilt, Paon stood ramrod straight on both legs.
A Patriarch of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan knelt to no one save the king.
'...A mistake.'
Yet beyond pride as Patriarch, the situation—as the dragon said—was indeed his blunder.
As recorded in the clan's histories.
That monster, barely sealed by the full might of the clan.
Truly something akin to a demigod.
But Paon had dismissed those records.
No—he should have mustered every force available to Aslan Kingdom.
Especially the Mage Tower.
That stubborn old codger absolutely needed to come.
A vital asset to the kingdom, and dismissing mages as useless against dragons... clear misjudgment.
He had been complacent.
Unlike the past, not just the clan, but Golden Heaven and Dark Current would fight alongside.
Not quite his equal, but with Golden Eye and Sea King too.
And in present Agena... no foe could match him.
Centuries as absolute ruler had poisoned Paon's mind.
The toxin of arrogance: that his power alone could conquer any adversity.
'...No different from him, am I.'
Paon let out a wry chuckle at his error.
Not even decades prior.
A man who had stood in his very position, on Agena's opposite end... fallen to complacency and arrogance, stripped of kingdom and honor by petty villains.
He had witnessed it with open eyes, yet committed the same mistake.
No excuses.
'As Patriarch, guardian of this land... unfit.'
In contrast, the earth dragon?
Never complacent despite its immense power.
Not content with revival alone, it had subordinates convert battlefield sacrifices into its strength.
The dragon knew from experience.
The potential of humans, those lowly races it scorned, could always exceed expectations.
A vast gulf in mindset from the start.
Thus, this outcome... perhaps predestined.
"Earth Dragon! Congratulations!!"
"Congratulations!!"
While Paon berated himself in deadlock, Great Veil's fingers—retreated from the front—began converging on the field.
'Coordinating revival with gathering minions...'
Prepared even for his defeat, mobilizing all forces.
Prudence born only of bitter experience.
'...Trouble.'
The Lichtenauer Martial Clan... unprepared to accept his failure.
"Patriarch?!"
"W-What's this...?"
As Paon feared, the clan's warriors facing Drakelas and Arkdor arrived, stunned by his state.
"Chwiik! B-Boss!!"
Golden Heaven's orcs battling Galtrow.
"Kerruk!! K-King!!"
Dark Current's lizardmen who pierced the center.
All forces thrown into chaos by an unimaginable battlefield result.
Victorious in most battles, yet defeated in the war.
Due to the complacency and arrogance of the three absolutes.
'Total defeat. Utter rout.'
Just as the Martial Sovereign's iron will—seemingly unbreakable—began to wear thin.
"Don't give up!!!"
Chiririring!
"Krrk...?!"
Slash!
A youngish warrior swung a whip-like longsword, decapitating an ogre, and shouted.
As if the situation were nothing at all.
Thwock!
Another dark elf head flew as he cried out.
"The Great Lichtenauer Martial Clan!! Has overcome far graver crises with iron blood!!"
As if saying... your task now was not despair, but to steel your will and swing your sword once more.
Ian Lichtenauer.
Latent Dragon Squad captain, lifelong halfwit of the clan until snapping awake two years ago.
It was he.
"This battlefield does not end in our defeat! If we fall, the Southern Continent—no, all Agena falls!!"
The former halfwit bellowed at the clan's warriors.
"Is the pride of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan so shallow it crumbles at this?!"
"......!!"
Crumbling morale surged in an instant.
This young warrior's cry did more than shift the clan's air.
"Those words ring true!!"
Rumble-rumble!
An orc, dust- and blood-caked, shoved aside shattered mountain rocks and rose shakily.
"This is... damn embarrassing. I blacked out there."
Twitch, twitch!
Even Sea King, scales crushed by earthen chains, wriggled free and chimed in.
Lies.
Paon knew.
Those two monsters had regained consciousness long ago.
Yet why hadn't they risen?
Their spirits broken too.
Facing a monster without end.
Encountering heaven's living calamity upon this land.
But.
Ian Lichtenauer—this naive youth—had roused their shattered hearts.
"Ha, hahahahaha!!"
Thud!
Paon burst into hearty laughter, gripping Skywall anew.
"Indeed, those words are spot on!!"
Plain common sense.
So what if he'd made wrong choices?
He was Patriarch of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan.
No matter the storm, he could not—must not—yield.
'Miraculous. How one youth's words rally everyone like this.'
Words anyone could say, yet Ian's carried unique power.
As if... he'd endured despair rivaling the earth dragon's.
And overcome it steadfastly.
From mastering the fragments of the Hegemon's martial arts?
In his young son, Paon glimpsed the shadow of the man who'd stood in his place.
Yes.
The shadow of the Hegemon, Lucas Alexei.