My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 256

The desolate scenery of the mountain peak.

“It’s amazing the more I look at it.”

Cyan muttered, looking around at the scenery.

“How can they just chase someone away like this?”

Well, it seemed to be a type of space- 이동 magic [teleportation magic].

But was space- 이동 magic this easy?

As far as Cyan knew, absolutely not.

The spatial coordinates to be moved had to be calculated, and the flow of each variable had to be modified and arranged in real-time.

It definitely wasn’t something that could be done with just a single, clear sound—!

“They’re even moving other people, not just themselves.”

Was there a reason why dragons were called the masters of magic?

Even Cyan, who didn’t know much about magic, could only marvel at it.

“How amazing was Elodie, who surpassed even these dragons?”

The more he dug, the less he could understand the Arnaizes.

Kyle, of course, was beyond words.

Well, anyway.

Although old and weakened, Karze was still a powerful being.

That’s why Cyan was really disappointed.

Currently, Nurvia, one of the seven demon lords, was involved.

“It would be great if Karze could help···.”

Karze’s power would be a great help.

The 500 million gold was also a lot, but it wasn’t as good as Karze’s help.

But Karze ultimately didn’t move.

He chose to stand by, stuck in his inertia.

Karze, the ancient dragon of a thousand years.

What did Karze see and feel during that long time?

‘Do you favor life, human? That fleeting flicker.’

Karze was with the Arnaizes.

He watched the Arnaizes’ efforts, will, and beliefs.

‘Many deaths have occurred to change fate. But it was meaningless. Some called it a noble sacrifice, but in the end, it didn’t change anything.’

And he also watched the deaths of the Arnaizes.

He watched their deaths from the closest proximity.

‘A valuable death··· did not exist.’

What did Karze see in their deaths?

What in that death made Karze like this?

His thoughts continued and deepened a little.

“A valuable death, huh···.”

Death, the fate that all living things in this world must face.

In a way, we could say that we are beings running towards death.

Like Karze said, no one in this world lives on.

Then what value is there in life?

What meaning does life have in a fate where death is already determined?

Also, does a valuable death even exist?

Is it possible to assign any value to death?

If it does exist, what kind of death would it be?

His thoughts grew deeper and deeper.

“······ Ah, whatever.”

But Cyan shook his head to clear his mind.

If he continued to think, it felt like Cyan would also become stuck in inertia.

Someone once said.

If you don’t know everything about life yet, how can you discuss death?

Now was the time to shake off those headache-inducing thoughts and move forward.

Cyan shook his head vigorously once more.

Clearing away even the last of his thoughts, Cyan took out his smartphone.

[Currently Held Gold] – 281,135,200 G

Gold plus the 210 million gold obtained from Karze.

Of course, this was the amount excluding the 290 million gold worth of treasures that hadn’t been exchanged.

“Hmm? It seems a bit low?”

Even so, it was less than the expected amount.

It seemed that 1.1 million gold had been deducted for maintenance costs in the meantime.

Currently, countless production facilities in Ruben must be burning day and night.

Was it because these infrastructure facilities were operating at their limit?

“The maintenance costs are insane···.”

Cyan let out a deep sigh without realizing it.

Forget about valuable deaths, he was worried about having enough money to live right now.

Well, the money in his inventory was still plentiful.

[Extreme Demonic Limbs (極魔肢體)] – 100,000,000 G.

[Soul of Dragon] – 100,000,000 G.

This money would soon disappear.

Kyle’s inheritance and Noemi’s inheritance.

The total gold needed to inherit those legacies was 200 million gold.

Considering the effects, it was practically giving it away for free.

Even so, his trembling hands couldn’t help but shake.

Cyan squeezed his eyes shut and pressed the purchase button.

Click, click.

《Purchase Complete!!!》

Two touches blurred by his trembling hands.

Along with that, the Mobile Lord’s notification window popped up.

It was the first time in a while that he had heard such an epileptic notification window [a very flashy and attention-grabbing notification].

And it was the Mobile Lord who hadn’t fainted even after pouring in 200 million gold.

“Are the Arnaiz legacies applied a bit differently?”

Was it a concept of collecting taxes rather than investing because it was an inheritance tax?

Well, anyway.

Whoooooosh!

In an instant, a bright cluster of light obscured his vision.

The source of that light was none other than behind Cyan.

“The Holy Relic?”

A brilliant light was erupting from the Holy Relic firmly strapped to his back.

A warm yet powerful light.

It felt similar to when he received ‘Muriel’s Miracle – Myth’ in the past.

The light erupting from the Holy Relic enveloped Cyan’s entire body.

Cyan didn’t reject the light, and the light was gradually absorbed into Cyan’s body and disappeared.

After a little time passed.

Dding!

《Your body evolves by receiving the power of the origin dwelling in the demon (魔)!》

《Your body evolves by absorbing the power of the dragon!》

Soon, a notification window popped up on his smartphone.

Cyan lowered his gaze to check his body condition.

“There’s nothing particularly··· different about my appearance?”

He was a little worried that he might turn into a Dragonkin (龍人族) [a dragon-human hybrid], but his appearance hadn’t changed.

Cyan was the same as before and now.

In other words, he still looked human.

However, that was only a change in appearance.

“Oh···.”

Cyan could feel an enormous power surging through his entire body.

He could feel that his body was clearly different from before.

“Hmm···.”

At this point, he was honestly curious.

A body evolved to the level of a dragon.

The harmony of mind, energy, and body (心氣體) [a concept of inner balance and power] finally achieved.

Could he now control the backlash of the Demonic Asura Sword, which had been a chronic problem?

“Should I give it a try?”

Cyan stretched his right hand slightly to the side.

Crackle—! Black electricity sparked, and the Sword of Annihilation (滅殺) [Sword of Destruction] was grasped in his hand.

Then, he tightened the Megingjörð belt to its limit.

The amplified power was a whopping 10 times.

The backlash that Cyan had to endure was also a whopping 10 times.

That’s why Cyan hadn’t used Megingjörð to its limit.

He knew all too well what would happen if he used 10 times the power.

So he was using it at 2 or 3 times.

He was going back and forth between those levels.

But now that his body had been strengthened with the Soul of Dragon.

Crack, crack, crack!

The muscles throughout his body convulsed explosively as the Megingjörð, tightened to its limit, strained.

“I can handle it?”

And he could handle it better than he thought.

Of course, this was without using any special power.

But even so, his muscles shouldn’t have been able to withstand this power.

It definitely felt different from before.

Cyan lightly took a stance to draw his sword.

“Come to think of it··· this is the first time I’m using the power of 10 with Annihilation.”

A moment of contemplation.

“Should I reduce the power a little?”

Cyan lightly drew up his magical energy.

And, as expected, he lightly swung Annihilation forward—.

Kaaaaaaaah—!!

······ It disappeared.

The swung Sword of Annihilation.

Everything in front of it disappeared.

“Huh···?”

Cyan was momentarily stunned.

Of course, it was a strike with some sincerity.

He had drawn up his magical energy, and above all, he had tightened Megingjörð to its limit.

Although he was lighthearted, he put his heart into it to test whether his evolved body could withstand the backlash.

But he never expected it to be like this.

It was embarrassing to even call it a tear in space.

It would be more accurate to say that the space disappeared.

The scenery of the mountain peak, with the entire peak blown away.

And Cyan had no problems at all.

He didn’t feel any side effects from the backlash.

But Cyan couldn’t recognize that fact.

That’s because this wasn’t just a simple mountain peak.

The space that had been annihilated by Annihilation.

And the giant creature visible inside that space.

[······?]

Question marks were clearly etched in Karze’s eyes.

Contrary to his thousand years of inertia, Karze’s expression revealed feelings of bewilderment, doubt, and suspicion.

That’s because the space in front of him suddenly disappeared.

In other words, the door to his house had been smashed.

Karze was confused about what was going on.

Soon, Karze’s eyes turned to the front.

And Karze could see some rascal.

“Ha, haha··· Hello···?”

A rascal who was making ridiculous remarks with a flustered face.

Karze’s gaze shifted slightly downward.

And he could see the Black Lightning (黑雷) [Black Thunder] sword held in Cyan’s hand.

A brief assessment of the situation.

But before Karze could react, Cyan’s actions were a beat faster.

“I, I just wanted to say goodbye one last time! W, well then, goodbye!”

Whoooooosh—!

In an instant, Cyan’s body scattered into darkness and disappeared.

Extreme Demonic Limbs (極魔肢體) [Extreme Demonic Body] and Soul of Dragon.

Perhaps it was Kyle and Noemi’s legacy, even if the inheritance tax was expensive.

The speed of the Demonic Asura Phantom Step (魔魂武影步) [Demonic Soul Shadow Step] unfolded to its limit.

Cyan’s escape was truly like light.

#

After Cyan annihilated the space and ran away··· no, disappeared.

[······]

Karze really didn’t even have the energy to be dumbfounded.

A human male suddenly appeared.

Not only did he steal treasures worth 500 million gold, but now he had even smashed his nest.

Even Karze, who was steeped in inertia, couldn’t bear it any longer.

Perhaps if Cyan hadn’t run away like that.

And if Karze hadn’t missed that movement.

Karze would have definitely risen to his feet.

But Cyan disappeared from Karze’s sight in an instant.

That’s why Karze could feel another emotion in addition to anger.

Surprise.

In fact, the main emotion Karze felt when he saw Cyan was surprise.

That’s because the energy he felt from Cyan just now was unusual.

He was a completely different being.

The human male who had been extorting Karze just a moment ago.

And the human male who had just smashed his nest.

It wouldn’t be strange to call them two completely different beings.

Was he perhaps hiding his strength?

But even so, there was no way Karze wouldn’t have noticed.

Then he had grown in that short amount of time···?

It was impossible. Only a nearly instantaneous amount of time had passed.

Growth in that amount of time was impossible.

Above all, there was a limit to how much one could grow.

Such growth was absolutely impossible.

Karze had even made a mistake.

Just now, when the door to his nest was smashed and he saw Cyan.

Karze felt like he had seen the figure of another man, not Cyan, for the first time.

An absolute being who had overseen the world.

It was only for a fleeting moment, but Karze could clearly see that figure overlapping.

[······]

Karze remained silent.

If he chased after him now, he could chase him down.

But Karze didn’t bother to do so.

Of course, if he came again, he was going to tear him apart for real, regardless of inertia, covenants, or whatever.

But right now, he didn’t feel the need to chase after him.

Because it was meaningless anyway.

Karze’s large eyes slowly closed again.

And in the closed vision.

‘Karze, I need your help.’

A very old memory flashed by.

‘The fate of causality. It has always been an object of fear and awe. However, if you understand the process, you can also create the result.’

It was impossible.

The law of causality that defines the world is absolute.

It is not a law that beings living within it can dare to do anything about.

Therefore, understanding the process?

That was no different from saying that you would become a god (神) [a divine being].

‘I will break the broken chain of fate.’

That’s ridiculous.

Even you ultimately failed to do it, didn’t you?

You crumbled and disappeared before the fate of mortality (必滅) [inevitable death], didn’t you?

On the other hand, the demons threatening the continent were immortal (不滅) [undying] beings.

Mortals (必滅者) [those destined to die] with an end.

Immortals (不滅者) [those who cannot die] with no end.

Finite (有限) [limited] and infinite (無限) [unlimited].

The only result that mortals can reach at the end of that battle is death.

It was a battle with a predetermined outcome.

If the outcome is already determined, what meaning is there in the process?

All that remains is to wait for the final destination of fate.

And.

‘I, I just wanted to say goodbye one last time! W, well then, goodbye!’

A descendant who appeared after a thousand years.

Even compared to the man back then, he is infinitely pathetic.

Can you really create a different result?

Again, there was no more meaning than this.

His thoughts remained unchanged.

[······]

However, it seemed that it would be meaningful to at least confirm the answer to that thought.

At the end of his life, which had come after a thousand years.

Karze wanted to observe the situation one last time.

#

The surrounding scenery whizzed by.

Lucas was shooting forward as if throwing himself.

Lucas, who had received orders from Cyan to retreat far away.

Numerous Ruben troops were moving along with Lucas.

Even though Lucas’s movements were quite fast, the soldiers were not left behind.

Lines of movements that were hard to believe were soldiers continued.

How much time had passed like that?

They should have created a considerable distance by now.

“Stop.”

Lucas stopped the steps he was taking.

Accordingly, the soldiers who were following him stopped in their places at once.

“Reorganize the ranks, check if there are any stragglers, and report.”

At Lucas’s command, the soldiers moved in an orderly manner.

“Th, th-thank you for the ride… I-I’m okay now.”

And then a clear voice was heard.

It was none other than Laura’s voice, who was on Lucas’s back.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Only then did Lucas let down Laura, who was on his back.

Lucas had picked up Laura on his back during the retreat.

Aria, the saintess, was both a saintess and one of the strongest people on the continent.

She could keep up with the movements of the soldiers.

However, Laura was an ordinary priestess.

She only handled divine power, and was no different from an ordinary woman.

It was difficult for Laura to keep up with the movements of Ruben’s soldiers and knights.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Lucas checked Laura’s condition.

He tried to pay attention, but the situation was urgent, so he couldn’t slow down his movements.

“Yes. Thanks to you…”

But fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any major problems.

“That’s a relief.”

Only then could Lucas smile.

But why?

Laura’s face was quite red for some reason.

And Aria was watching that figure.

“Laura? Are you sick somewhere?”

Aria approached Laura with a very worried face.

“Y-yes? N-no?”

“Then why is your face so red?”

“W-what’s wrong with m-my face?”

Laura panicked and covered her face with her hands.

“Are you perhaps sick somewhere?”

Lucas also asked Laura with a worried face.

Then Laura’s face turned even redder, turning as red as a strawberry.

“I-I’m just a little surprised! I’m fine! There’s no! There’s no problem at all!”

Then she turned her body away and disappeared as if running away.

Aria was still watching that figure.

“That’s strange…”

Aria only felt puzzled by Laura’s appearance, which was different from usual.

But only for a moment.

“······”

Aria’s face turned gloomy in an instant.

It was none other than Cyan, who was left alone.

It was because worries about Cyan came to mind.

But she quickly shook off her worries.

Because she believed. Like the people of Ruben, including Lucas, Aria also believed.

Cyan had always been like that.

He was clumsy, and sometimes he was hateful, but he was still a man who gave trust.

Cyan would definitely come back alive.

“No abnormalities found with the Black Lion Knights.”

As she was lost in such thoughts, a situation report was heard from among the soldiers.

“Squad 1. No abnormalities found with all members.”

“Squad 2. No abnormalities found with all members.”

.

.

The reports that followed in a row fortunately had no abnormalities.

Lucas nodded calmly.

Thanks to Cyan’s sacrifice, everyone was able to be safe.

The problem was, of course, that it was thanks to Cyan’s sacrifice.

He wanted to go help Cyan right now if he could.

But he shouldn’t.

Now was the time to act rationally rather than emotionally.

“Because of us…”

At that moment, Pavel’s words were heard from the side.

When he looked, Pavel was making a sorry expression.

As a result, this situation had occurred because Ruben was trying to help the beastmen.

But the beastmen were ignoring it.

Pavel could only be ashamed.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s what the lord has decided.”

Lucas said that to Pavel, but Pavel couldn’t lift his head.

Lucas slowly turned his gaze.

In the turned gaze, he saw Diana panting.

Diana, who was carrying Pavel on her back, had run.

At the same time, she seemed to be struggling because of the side effects of using the Dragonkin’s power.

It was a complicated situation in many ways, but there was no time to be like this.

They had to keep moving now.

At the same time, they had to look for a place where Cyan could come later.

That’s why Lucas chose this place as the retreat route.

“Can we enter the kingdom of the beastmen?”

The kingdom of the beastmen.

To be exact, the capital of the kingdom where the most beastmen are gathered.

“Of course. Follow me.”

At Lucas’s words, Pavel finally lifted his head.

Then he immediately moved his steps and guided Lucas.

“Everyone moves.”

Lucas led the soldiers and followed Pavel.

Like that, one step, two steps.

Just as they were about to enter the capital of the kingdom.

Stop.

Lucas’s steps stopped for a moment.

Accordingly, the steps of Ruben’s soldiers and knights also stopped.

Aria, Laura, and even Diana stopped walking.

And the expression on Lucas’s face, which he looked at, was stiff.

For a moment, he wondered what it was.

A strange presence began to be felt in the vision ahead.

Soon, a group of people revealed themselves.

Armor engraved with the white wolf’s crest.

The White Wolf Knights of Elandur.

“Oh my. Are you just arriving now?”

A woman’s voice was heard from among them.

A seductive woman with snow-white lily hair.

“But somehow… Cyan is nowhere to be seen?”

Rachel smiled sweetly.