Chapter 170
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: The Unforgotten Cave
After a brief clash with the young vipers who had come from Ye, no one stood in the way of Ian and the Latent Dragon Squad's advance any longer.
Whether it was out of fear toward Ian or because they had finished assessing him, no one could say for sure.
"We've arrived."
Just as it was written on the paper Talor had passed to Kasar, a vast, deeply hidden basin nestled between the peaks of the White Fang Mountains revealed itself.
"Whoa..."
"Incredible. They call this just a bandits' lair? It's not as big as our fiefdom... but it looks way larger than Kalia's Arsenal territory."
The Latent Dragon Squad gaped at Ye's hidden land.
"I've never even seen a basin this size in the Great Desert... The power that this group called Ye wields is no joke. Agena truly is vast."
Even Aelion and Viona, who had lived through long years in the Great Cataclysm, couldn't hide their astonishment as they gazed upon Ye's territory.
Who could have imagined such a massive basin concealed deep within these expansive mountains?
As the squad members let out exclamations of awe one after another, Ian began walking toward the slope leading into Ye's stronghold.
"Hey? Captain! You're just charging right in?!"
Aelion, horrified by Ian's actions, blocked his path.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"No, no, no. Of course there's a problem, you fool! Those guys tried to stab even people who came with proper invitations."
Aelion spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Think about it. That means there are hordes of those Ye bastards inside right now, sharpening their knives for us. What if they pull some backstab on us while we're charging in blindly like this?"
"Backstab..."
Ian shot Ralph a glance at Aelion's all-too-familiar, infuriating expression, but only for a moment.
"Don't worry. At least inside there, nothing you're concerned about will happen."
"No, no, how can you be so sure? If that were true, they wouldn't have tried to stab us in the first place!"
The entire Latent Dragon Squad nodded in agreement with Aelion's repeated warnings, but Ian replied with unwavering confidence.
"Because they'll be freed from the long chains that have bound them."
Ian's prediction proved exactly right.
"What the hell are these punks? Some snot-nosed brats who haven't even weaned yet dare to show up here. Hey, you lot. Drop everything you've got and get lost quietly if you don't wanna die."
At the boundary where the slope met Ye's territory, the bandits on guard raised their weapons upon spotting Ian and the squad, entering full alert mode.
However...
"Hey, hey. Look at those bandages. Aren't those the punks Talor mentioned? You know, the ones Lord Balteran invited..."
"...Huh? Tsk... Looking at their faces, yeah, seems like it. Hey, you guys. Did you get anything from Talor?"
When Kasar quietly handed over the paper from Talor in response to the bandit's question, they checked its contents.
-Paper from Balteran. Let anyone who brings this pass.
With its distinctive terrible handwriting and the crudely drawn map.
No further verification was needed; it was unmistakably Talor's paper.
"...Cleared."
Thanks to Talor's solid reputation(?), Ian's group passed without much trouble.
Thud, thud!
But that didn't mean Ye's bandits paid them no attention whatsoever.
Scrape, scrape!
From those sharpening their weapons on whetstones while eyeing the group...
"......"
Splat!
To those glaring like beasts stalking prey...
"......"
...Lick!
And even those licking the freshly sharpened blades of their weapons in threat.
"...Ugh, damn. I'm too scared to walk anymore. Captain, are we there yet?"
Curiosity, hostility, murderous intent...
Exhausted by the whirlwind of gazes swirling with countless emotions, Sylvia stiffly turned her neck and cautiously asked Ian.
The other squad members clearly shared her sentiment, their fatigue evident.
No matter how bullheaded the Latent Dragon Squad was, Ye was a colossal force that rivaled even the Lichtenauer Martial Clan.
Walking through a space where that group's powerhouses freely unleashed their auras was no small drain on their mental strength.
As if understanding the squad's plight...
Just as the mental energy of everyone except Aelion and Kasar was nearly depleted, the Latent Dragon Squad finally arrived at the cave Talor had described.
A cave with a straightforward name meaning "the cave we shall not forget."
Even in its simple inscription, carved as if with a blade, an unfathomable resentment seeped through.
Perhaps because of that.
"Whoa... That handwriting is vicious. But what exactly are they not forgetting?"
"Vicious? Doesn't it somehow look... sad?"
Influenced by the intense emotions lingering in the writing, the Latent Dragon Squad murmured quietly as they stared at the cave's inscription.
"What resentment or grudge in some handwriting? Geez... You guys and your flashy exteriors."
"Ralph, shut up!!"
While Helena scolded the oblivious Ralph, Ian was silently struggling to suppress his churning emotions.
'These fools... these idiots.'
What did they mean by never forgetting?
The nation they longed for had already faded into the annals of history, and the world had chosen Siegfried's kingdom.
Even if they forgot that outdated banner, no one would blame them.
Yet these foolish old subordinates still clung to the belief.
That someday, a true successor to Lucas would appear—like fools.
With his emotions settled, Ian slowly entered the cave, and the squad naturally followed, starting with Ralph at the front.
At that moment.
"Gah?!"
Kasar grabbed Ralph's nape and yanked him back with all his strength.
"Cough, cough! What the hell..."
Thwack!
Before Ralph could finish, a blood-red arrow embedded itself exactly where he had stood moments ago.
If Kasar hadn't pulled him, it would have pierced straight through his skull.
"......!!"
"That's far enough. The boss only called for... that one punk."
From above the cave entrance, a woman glared ferociously at the Latent Dragon Squad.
Her aura, like a silent black panther's hunter gaze, was anything but ordinary.
"That crazy bitch...!! Mmph, mmph!"
"Ralph, stay still! We're in someone else's turf—stop acting out for once!"
Holding back Ralph, who was about to explode despite Helena's restraint, the squad silently glared at the woman.
But as they held their ground without advancing further, she gazed blankly at the sky as if nothing had happened.
Thud, thud...!!
Amid the bizarre standoff between the woman and the squad, Ian slowly proceeded deeper into the cave.
How much time passed as the sound of his footsteps echoed?
"Oh, you made it. That the guy?"
Creak, creak...
A man with a massive build, grinding herbs with delicate hand movements unfit for his size, spotted Ian and asked.
How could one forget that unique sight?
Among the North Continent's muscle-headed warriors—even those with heads full of muscle—he possessed an overwhelming physique, yet walked the unusual path of a healer.
Still, he crafted medicines surpassing even the holy power of average temple priests.
Ye's fifth-in-command, the Divine Physician Kawin.
"See? Told ya, Balteran! I said those kids wouldn't go down to the young vipers, right?"
Talor, who had been dozing with his eyepatch flipped up, boasted triumphantly to Balteran.
"From the start... Ugh, forget it. Let's not talk."
Balteran sighed.
And in the deepest part of the cave, atop a flat rock, sat a man silently watching him.
"Lien Darius..."
"...Hm?"
Ian's murmur of Lien's name carried an unmistakable mix of joy and longing.
Perhaps sensing that fragment of emotion.
Lien unconsciously tilted his head.
"...Have we met before?"
He asked Ian as much because that lingering emotion was one he would never show a stranger.
"...My apologies."
Ian hurriedly reined in his feelings.
He might reveal the truth someday, but not now.
"Meeting face-to-face those recorded in Lucas's book stirred my emotions without me realizing. I apologize."
'...Was it my imagination?'
Lien dismissed it as his own misconception, seeing Ian mask his emotions in that fleeting moment.
"Well then, Ian Lichtenauer. Glad to meet you. I hear you've properly mastered his martial arts?"
"Don't even get me started, big bro! That kid wields a sword like a beast—minced up that Tarik guy like ground meat!"
Talor chimed in excitedly.
"Even if Talor's a loudmouth, his judgment of skill is trustworthy. So... assuming you have what it takes to succeed him. I'll be direct."
Lien's lion-like eyes flashed.
He was truly curious.
"You've heard our situation in Ye from Balteran, right? Tell me, little one from the South Continent."
Indeed, the final piece he left behind.
"How do you plan to win our hearts and gather Ye's shattered true purpose?"
Before the purge began in Pang Kingdom.
After a minor skirmish(?) with Balteran in Viscount Sojen's territory, Dravia, where he learned Ye's current state.
Ian had pondered endlessly.
How could he embrace all of Ye?
The past Lucas would have cut down everyone rejecting Ye's original purpose of carrying on his will.
It wasn't just letting them go their own way.
He would have slaughtered every last one without exception.
No guilt, naturally.
Leaving potential threats alive was foolish.
Especially ungrateful wretches oblivious to their lord's graces.
After that purge, he would have forced the survivors to follow him, aligning them to Ye's true purpose.
The reason was simple.
Lucas had the power for it, and by choosing that swift, efficient path, he built the vast Alexandr Empire in such a short time.
But.
The current Ian, though stronger, had not yet fully regained his past life's might.
No—even if he had fully reached that previous realm, he would never choose that path.
'I've already experienced where that road leads.'
The merciless Path of Domination is swift. And efficient.
But it breeds countless enemies, a path laced with poison.
A sandcastle built that way cannot last.
It would vanish in a single wave.
Like a mirage.
Thus, he chose differently.
Even if inefficient and circuitous.
The path to build an unbreakable fortress of steel, unyielding to any adversity.
That was the bitter lesson Ian learned after the crushing defeat at the Kairon Plains.
"I'll bring them into the light."
"...Hm?"
"Having inherited Lucas's martial arts, I have no intention of embracing Ye to fulfill personal desires. As per Ye's original purpose, 'I' will devote myself to rebuilding the Alexandr Empire of the North Continent. But..."
Ian met Lien's gaze.
"Even if they've received Ye's grace, most of the bandits making up Ye now are originally from the East Continent, right? Thrusting their lives into North Continent affairs like arrows... is that truly what they want?"
"......"
Lien's eyes darkened deeply.
He too, tormented by that dilemma, had refrained from executing the vipers despite their rebellion.
"That's why I don't think I can win their hearts solely by aiming for North Continent reconstruction. But... at the very least, I can bring them into the sunlight. They're people who lived in the East Continent too. No one wants to live eternally hidden in these mountains. Right?"
"......"
"I promise. After the matter with the Khan Empire ends, I'll ensure everyone who wishes to step into the light can blend into the Empire and kingdoms. I'll make it happen."
Bold. And confident.
But.
"...Not enough. Some among them purely want Ye as a bandit group. They say they're content with life as outlaws. How do you plan to win those hearts?"
"I'll discard them."
"...What?"
Lien reflexively asked back at Ian's suddenly ice-cold tone, utterly unlike before.
"Lien, you've inherited the North Continent's spirit. That's why you haven't crossed the line during Ye's long tenure here. You've targeted those who amassed unclean wealth and the parasites sucking the people's lifeblood. Isn't that so?"
"......"
"But what's the perception of Ye in the East Continent now? No one views Ye righteously. The whole reason Pang Kingdom contacted our clan was to request Ye's subjugation, so what more is there to say? Reduced to a gang of strong but unwanted trash that no one desires. Wasn't that exactly why the Alexandr Empire you long for vanished from Agena?"
"What did you say, you brat! Watch your mouth!"
Talor bristled, face flushed red, but Lien restrained him.
"...Continue."
"I can't take trash like that along. Follow my words, or if you refuse to step into the light and adapt to the new East Continent... there's only one path."
Ian's eyes, infused with Blood Demon True Qi, gleamed blood-red.
"If they don't seize the chance and only hinder others, I'll sweep them all away. That's all."