Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 151

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Chapter 46: People Gathering in the North

“To rebuild the Akard Empire, we must hunt a dragon!”

Adolf’s declaration caused his lined-up subordinates to widen their eyes.

Dragon hunting.

If those words had come from anyone else, they would have scoffed.

However, Adolf was one of the only five Sword Masters in Deutschland [Germany].

The royal family of Deutschland inherits a part of a dragon to never forget the glory of the past.

Adolf, as the first prince, was given the most precious fragment of the Dragon Heart.

Combined with his innate swordsmanship, he became a Sword Master at the young age of twenty.

However, Adolf was not satisfied with just that.

“You all think it’s impossible. Of course, catching a fully grown dragon is difficult. It requires mobilizing national-level forces, and about ten Sword Masters to face the dragon.”

Adolf slowly rose from his throne.

Then, as if the gravity around him had increased, an immense pressure emanated from him.

“But if the opponent is a young dragon that hasn’t reached adulthood, the story is different. Three Sword Masters, three hundred wyvern-riding soldiers, and the Akard Empire’s prized ballistae will be enough to handle it.”

“But Your Highness… All the dragons with lairs in the Akard Empire are adults.”

Then, a strange madness appeared in Adolf’s eyes.

“Have you forgotten where our borders lie?”

“…Are you perhaps referring to Britannia [Great Britain]?”

Northern Britannia, where vast snowfields spread out around the White Mountains.

That place was originally the territory of the Akard Empire.

However, it was seized after a major defeat in the territorial war with the founding king, Charlemagne the Great.

To reclaim that place someday was the mission and destiny given to the Deutschland royal family.

“A young White Dragon, not even a hundred years old, lives there. And you’re just watching such delicious prey. The Britannia royals must be fools.”

“Y-Your Majesty, are you planning to wage war against Britannia?”

No matter how much the White Mountains used to belong to the Akard Empire, they are now Britannia’s territory.

Invading that place was, in effect, a declaration of war.

Adolf said with a bitter smile.

“There’s no need to worry about war. I have a collaborator.”

“A collaborator… Could it be that you have planted a spy in Britannia?”

“Similar. Introduce yourself, Merlin. These gathered here are my loyal subordinates.”

Then, a man with a long beard bowed with exaggerated gestures.

He looked as natural as if he had been there from the start.

“Kee hee hee. I am Merlin, the alchemist of life. My specialty is creating chimeras [a creature made of mixed animal parts].”

Then, Adolf’s subordinates screamed in horror.

“T-The alchemist of life? Isn’t that the one who attempted the forbidden human transmutation?”

“Surely, Your Highness wouldn’t associate with such a heinous person…”

Koo-oong!

A terrifying aura emanated from Adolf’s body.

Those who couldn’t protect themselves with their aura had blood dripping from their noses.

“For the revival of the empire, I must join hands even with the devil!”

“Y-Your Highness… I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once…”

“Friedrich is a very clever fellow. He would surely be a great ruler if he became king.”

“……”

“However, what the Akard Empire needs is a conqueror. Only one who devours everything is qualified to be the master of the empire!”

Adolf smiled and snapped the necks of those who had resisted him.

Then, he waved his hand as if it were a nuisance.

“Dispose of them.”

“As you command, Your Highness.”

The Deutschland throne war, which had been going on for years, was coming to an end.

Gottfried, who had received the blood of the dragon, self-destructed without properly using his abilities.

Only Adolf and Friedrich remained.

Soon, it will be decided who is fit for the throne of the Akard Empire.

But who would have thought that Gottfried would do such a ridiculous thing and be eliminated.

Adolf’s face twisted hideously as he thought of that.

“Friedrich’s reputation has risen tremendously among the nobles for curing mercury poisoning. It’s safe to say that all the noble factions have sided with him.”

That’s why he needed even stronger power.

With just a small fragment of the Dragon Heart, Adolf became a Sword Master.

If he could devour a complete Dragon Heart, he would surely rise to the rank of ‘Grand Sword Master’.

Adolf hated the fact that there were dozens of opponents who could rival him in swordsmanship.

“…Only I can be the overlord of this continent!”

To do so, he had to succeed in hunting the dragon at all costs.

Merlin chuckled as he watched Adolf, who was consumed by madness.

He couldn’t get dragon meat, but he had found a very plausible test subject.

A pure human body cannot accept the infinite aura of the Dragon Heart.

But Tartarus, made mainly from the body of a Sword Master, is a different story.

“Kee hee hee. If I transplant all the fragments of the Seven Deadly Sins into the body of a Sword Master and attach the Dragon Heart in place of the heart… The ultimate chimera that no one has ever created, the true Tartarus, will be completed.”

One person to become the overlord of the continent.

Another to create the ultimate chimera.

That’s how Merlin and Adolf joined hands.

@

The army led by Adolf was able to sneak into northern Britannia without difficulty.

It was thanks to the large-scale illusion magic that Merlin had prepared.

Of course, the incompetence of Marquis Phillips, who was in charge of defending the north, also played a part.

He was too busy filling his own selfish desires.

In the end, he didn’t notice that three Sword Masters had crossed the border until the very end.

Just before Cainchel, the newly appointed lord of the north, arrived.

Adolf and Merlin succeeded in hunting the dragon.

Krah rah rah rah rah-!

Four aura blades emitted by Adolf severed one of the White Dragon’s wings.

Eventually, the dragon, which was trying to fly away, crashed somewhere in the White Mountains.

“It’s all thanks to your efforts, Merlin. The chimera you brought is incredibly strong. I never thought that just ten of them could be so effective.”

“You flatter me…! No matter how strong the Tartarus Corps is, they are no match for a dragon flying in the sky. It’s all thanks to Your Highness’s wyvern troops who prevented the dragon from flying.”

“Heh heh, heh heh heh.”

“After all, the greatest joy of hunting is when you go to retrieve the game you shot down. I will concede that to Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Merlin. You said you only needed the dragon meat, right?”

“Yes, the rest is all Yours, Your Highness.”

Adolf nodded with a satisfied expression.

Although he received Merlin’s help, he succeeded in hunting a dragon, something no one else had done.

“Heh heh heh, I am indeed the one fit to rule this continent!”

But a huge problem arose.

The dragon, which should have crashed into the White Mountains, was nowhere to be seen.

Panicked, Adolf released all his troops to find the dragon. But no matter how much they searched the White Mountains, it was nowhere to be found.

In the process, they encountered unlucky mercenaries, but they were no match for the Sword Masters.

“Your Highness. No matter how I look at it, I can only think that it has changed its form and is hiding among humans.”

“Damn it… Even if Marquis Phillips is a moron, he should realize something is wrong if we’ve been rampaging this much. Except for the Sword Masters and Merlin, everyone else returns to the home country.”

“Yes! I will obey Your Highness’s command!”

“I must find the dragon… I must find it no matter what…”

The heart of a dragon is needed for a human to surpass the limits of a Sword Master.

A pure white snowfield with nothing on the surface.

In it, a loud salute echoed.

@

The small territory of Mino, located at the edge of the White Mountains.

That place had various problems due to the suddenly appearing dungeon.

On top of that, a tribal war was taking place out of season.

“Cainchel, I can’t be in the same space as a race that digs up this land, cuts down trees, and burns fires.”

“Heh heh, I agree. I never thought I’d see that fussy race even in the north. But if you don’t burn a fire, you won’t have any water to drink. Surely you’re not planning to melt the snow with that uselessly large body of yours?”

The Elf Queen Nymue bit her lip and drew her sword.

“You draw your axe too, Blue Mountain. I’ll cut off all that useless beard of yours.”

“I’ve been waiting for this! I wanted to fight you anyway!”

Dwarves from Iron Hammer, who followed Blue Mountain, numbered about 100.

Elves who came to the north for the reconstruction of the clan and the revival of the World Tree numbered about fifty.

Two races that never mix, like water and oil, had formed a strange symbiotic relationship.

Of course, there were constant petty squabbles between them.

In the end, the hair of Baron Mino, who had to watch the tribal war every day, fell out in droves.

It was a very precious head of hair that he didn’t have much of to begin with.

“S-Save me… Lord Cainchel…”

Cainchel, who was grilling Sand Worm meat in the kitchen, poked his head out.

“Everyone is just hungry. Soon, vegetarian dishes for the elves and Sand Worm barbecue for the dwarves will be ready. Please wait a little longer.”

Then, Nymue and Blue Mountain sat side by side at the table as if they had never fought.

“Heh heh, I understand.”

“…I understand.”

Baron Mino applauded the man who ended the tribal war with a single dish.

“Bravo! It’s always amazing to see. But I never knew that Lord Cainchel was the successor of Baron Gistard. Ah, I should call you Count now, shouldn’t I?”

“You can call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Haha, thank you. But for the hero of the north to become a Sword Master… This will improve the security of this area a little more. But why did you choose the Gistard territory? Although it was ruled by Baron Gistard, there’s nothing there now. It would have been much better to receive another territory.”

Cainchel smiled and looked alternately at Nymue and Blue Mountain, who were sitting side by side and eating.

That was the answer.

“There’s nothing in the Gistard territory. We have to build it up one by one. That’s why I thought it was the best place for elves and dwarves to mix.”

“Heh, is that so… I wonder what kind of territory will be created when dwarves and elves, and the dishes made by Lord Cainchel, are combined.”

“But rebuilding the territory is costing more money than I thought.”

The dwarves who followed Blue Mountain dug the ground, piled up stones, and built houses and buildings at an incredible speed.

Until now, he had been using the money he had earned from selling ice cream, but the future was a problem.

‘I need other ways to make money. Something that can earn a lot of money.’

He would have to discuss that with Abel when he returned.

“Abel should be back soon, why is he so late?”

Abel, along with Reman, was looking for a place suitable for planting the World Tree.

It seemed that he was trying to find a place as far away as possible from the White Mountains, where the dragon’s lair was located.

“…Cainchel.”

Perhaps he smelled the meat grilling. Abel opened the door and entered with an urgent expression.

But Abel was holding a girl with blood on her hands.

“Oh, Abel? What happened to that child?”

Cainchel swallowed dryly without realizing it.

She was only about 12 or 13 years old at most.

Snow-white hair and pathetically pale skin.

And an injury so severe that it wouldn’t be strange if she died right now.

“…I found her on the outskirts of the Gistard territory.”

“There’s nothing there, though?”

Cainchel swallowed dryly and took the snow-white girl. A body that felt not just cool but cold.

Fortunately, she was still breathing faintly.

He didn’t know why this child was lying in the Gistard territory.

But since she was found there, he wanted to heal her wounds.

Cainchel covered the girl with his outer garment and went back into the kitchen.

A dish that would help her regain her lost energy and heal her wounds.

He grabbed the kitchen knife, recalling the recipe.

People Gathering in the North #2