The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 318

212. The Promised Land

“You. You smell of elves.”

“You as well. Though you’re even more peculiar than I am. You smell of elves, yet also carry the scent of dragons. And your body is human… How can you possess three powers at once?”

Above the Wyvern.

Where ordinary people wouldn’t even be able to lift their heads properly, the people atop it stood as if unaffected by the wind.

“Who knows? Maybe I’m not human at all, but a dragon. Dragons can polymorph, after all. Be careful. There’s a rumor that one of the reasons the elves disappeared was because they were sacrificed to dragons.”

“The Southern Empress does talk nonsense sometimes.”

Miliana approached Altemann and spoke quietly. Altemann, who was wearing a hood that covered his ears and hair, smiled wryly at her words.

There were four people riding the Wyvern.

Carryl and Aidan, who had departed from the North, and Altemann and Miliana.

“Enough with the pointless talk. By the way, Miliana, is it alright for you to leave the Southern forces and come alone?”

Feeling the atmosphere turn cold at her slightly provocative words, Carryl mediated between them.

“Kinu is there. And my brothers are leading the forces, so it doesn’t matter. They’ll be ready to move as soon as the order is given. The Five Great Families have already joined, not just the tribes of the Great Plains, so you can consider the South’s preparations complete.”

“Hmm. Quick.”

“Of course. We may be at the very bottom of the continent, but we plan to be the first to reach the Empire.”

Carryl chuckled at her words and nodded.

“Are you really planning to raid the White Gold Dragon’s Lair? Most of the dragons on the continent are in hibernation, but Nardie Maugh is different. Although he hasn’t shown much activity until now, his recent appearance proves that he’s active, so his lair must be different from the others.”

“I know. I went to Rieseria’s lair, the Fire Dragon’s Abode, a few years ago.”

“The mechanisms and seals?”

“They were intact. That’s where I obtained Eintringer.”

At Miliana’s question, the others couldn’t imagine how dangerous the lair of a still-active dragon would be, considering the lair of a dragon that had died 250 years ago was like that.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

“W-Who would be?!”

Miliana shouted, seemingly flustered by Carryl’s words.

“250 years ago, Kaiye Essir, the first Dragon Slayer, hunted the Flame Dragon alone. Compared to that, we have someone who was his former comrade, the Queen of Digon, who is on par with a Sword Master, and an assassin skilled in traps and ambushes.”

He pointed to himself last.

“Most importantly, I’m here. Altemann, do you think I’m weaker than Kaiye Essir?”

Altemann responded to the question with a wry smile and shrugged.

“Isn’t this a more luxurious lineup than 250 years ago? If the White Gold Dragon is waiting in its lair, we should rather catch him and strip him of his scales.”

“Whatever…”

Miliana shook her head at his words, but his always confident demeanor, to the point of recklessness, gave her a strong sense of trust without her having to say it.

And that was the driving force behind leading the great army of over a million, including various tribes and barbarians.

‘The White Gold Dragon’s Lair.’

A small island located further down from the Eastern Country.

From the sea flowing south below the Four Rivers, there was a group of small islands. Surprisingly, even in the middle of the raging waves, the area around the islands was calm without a single ripple.

Judging by appearance alone, the islands seemed perfectly suitable for human habitation, as the sea didn’t have waves and the sea route to the islands wasn’t difficult.

Even the soil and climate were so good that the trees growing on the islands were almost 1.5 times as lush as those on the continent, and even plants from ancient mythological times like Hapap were growing there.

However, over hundreds and thousands of years, no human footsteps had reached this place.

Unlike its beautiful appearance, the large and small islands all contained monster zones, and the monsters inhabiting them were all A-grade or higher.

People called this place a forbidden area and considered it an impregnable island that could never be reached, along with the Fortress of the Dead.

“I smell the sea.”

“We’ll be in the sea soon, Master. The Eastern Country will have prepared ships, and the Snakel unit that will join us.”

Aidan replied to Carryl.

“Hoo… I can finally rest a bit.”

Miliana let out a low sigh as if relieved at his words and shook the collar of her sticky shirt back and forth.

Even though they were riding the Wyvern, flying for days without proper rest was quite a forced march.

“It would be good to rest enough on the ship. We’ll be busy day and night when we get there. This might be the last time we can wash until we return from the island.”

“That sounds awful just thinking about it.”

Miliana shook her head.

“It would have been fine for you to wait for me while reorganizing in the South.”

“No way.”

She replied to Carryl’s nagging.

“I went to the North to meet you, and now you want me to wait for you again? I’d rather go with you, whether it’s the Dragon’s Lair or wherever.”

Carryl chuckled at her words.

Excluding the Flame Dragon and White Gold Dragon, which had already disappeared from the continent, there were three dragons living on the continent.

Enuma Elash, the Gold Dragon, the leader of the dragons, the descendant of the Golden Dragon called Tosca, and Pyton, the Red Dragon, lived in the east of the northern region. Now, in the southern region, there was Cruach, the Green Dragon, in the northwest.

Like dragons, these three dragons were also fierce and tyrannical as rulers of the continent.

They looked at humans as if they were insects and regarded them as weak beings, but they also had something in common with humans.

That is,

They do not invade the island where the White Gold Dragon’s Lair is located. That is why people call this forbidden area the Promised Land.

Splash— Splash—

As the Wyvern flapped its wings and landed below, a huge sailing ship was docked on the beach.

The sailing ship was black as if painted with charcoal, and those on board were also dressed in black.

“We’ve been waiting.”

As Carryl got off the Wyvern, one of the people on the ship greeted him with folded hands and took off the hood that was covering his face.

“It’s been a while.”

The woman, shaking her long hair from side to side under the hood, raised her head and slightly trembled her shoulders at his words.

“Did you know?”

“Of course. The Dark Shadow has many secret arts. The appearance has changed, but the aura is the same.”

Duke De Hold looked at Carryl and said,

“All of the Dark Shadow’s direct unit, Snakel, has gathered.”

“Do you know where we are going?”

“I’ve received the report.”

“It’s not an order.”

She said with a faint smile.

“The Dark Shadow only follows and does not question. Whether it is an order or not, we will carry out what you give us.”

“Going to the Dragon’s Lair and flirting. You seem happy?”

“……Pardon?”

“Straighten up. Move, I need to wash.”

Miliana shoved Duke De Hold with her shoulder, looking somewhat displeased, and Carryl smirked as he watched her leave.

Then, he lightly patted the cheek of the drake, who looked a bit tired.

[Krrr…….]

The red drake growled softly.

“You’ve worked hard carrying the four of us. Go back and wait. I’ll call you and your companions soon.”

As if understanding Carryl’s words, the drake bowed its head and then soared into the sky with a whoosh—!! of its wings.

“Set sail!!”

At Aidan’s shout, the large sail unfurled, catching the wind, and the sailing ship began to speed away.

Swish――!!

The sound of the waves parting was refreshing.

Kug……. Kugugugugu……!!

However, the clear weather quickly turned into a sky full of dark clouds, and it felt like a storm was about to break out at any moment.

“Why is it like this? There hasn’t been a single cloud until now.”

The helmsman of the Dark Shadow said, bewildered, as the surroundings of the island, which had always had clear skies, suddenly changed as soon as they started sailing.

“Why do you think?”

Aidan said quietly to him.

“The island is rejecting us. We have come to a forbidden area where even dragons do not set foot.”

“…….”

As expected of someone from the Dark Shadow, the helmsman’s face lost its initial bewilderment, and a murderous aura was felt.

Thud―

Aidan lightly tapped him on the shoulder and said.

“Never let go of the helm.”

Crack―!!

It was then.

Blood splattering in all directions around the sailing ship.

Something was entangled with each other under the sea, and occasionally what popped up above the surface were torn pieces of flesh.

“Be careful.”

A few fish with sharp teeth that had jumped onto the deck were flapping around.

However, at the same time as Carryl’s shout, the Snakel [elite assassins], as if they had been waiting, dismantled the monsters that had jumped up in an instant.

“There is no one who needs to be careful of such guys.”

Duke De Hold said, smashing the piranha’s snout with both hands.

With her body modification technique, her two arms had become as hard as steel, unlike her slender figure.

“There are many welcoming guys.”

Aidan said, kicking the piranha’s corpse off the deck.

[Kuaaaaa―――!!]

At that moment, a sharp roar struck their ears.

A huge mouth snatched the monster’s corpse that had been thrown a little while ago, covering Aidan.

“Dodge!!”

Unlike the relaxed attitude from before, this time the Snakel, with tense expressions, simultaneously drew their swords and leaped forward.

“Drake……?!”

Duke De Hold muttered quietly, identifying the monster that had darkened the sky with trembling eyes.

“Keuk?!”

Aidan hurriedly used Shukuchi (縮地) [a technique for instantaneous movement] to avoid the drake that was aiming for him with its mouth open, and the Snakel poured out hundreds of sharp needles from behind.

However, when the drake flapped its wings once with a whoosh―!, the needles were deflected without any force.

“It blocks attacks imbued with magic?”

“What kind of……”

“Even the drakes of the Wyvern Corps can’t do that……”

The Snakel looked at the wyvern that had attacked them with unbelievable expressions.

“It’s wild. I thought it would be hard to see them now……. It was living in a place like this.”

Altman, who had been watching the scene, said, drawing the rapier he had been wearing on his waist.

“Look at those scales and size. It’s on a different level from the artificial bodies synthesized with dragon’s blood by the Duchy. Even if it doesn’t have magic power, it’s no exaggeration to say that its physical abilities are quasi-dragon level.”

As he imbued magic power into the rapier, the blade, which had been softly bent, sharply rose.

“There are a lot of those guys in the sky, not just one……. It seems impossible for them.”

The Snakel were elite from the Eastern Country, but ironically, to Altman, who had lived in the magic era, they did not seem like a great force.

Just as he was about to run to detach the drake hanging from the deck, Carryl stopped him.

Kwaaaang―!!!

“See? There’s no need to bring a bunch of riffraff. They just talk too much.”

In an instant, the sailing ship tilted to one side with a strong impact and was lifted up. A little while ago, the drake’s jaw had slammed into the deck.

“Wild drake? Carryl, are you saying this guy is better than the wyvern you have?”

Brushing back her still-damp hair as if she had just washed, Miliana drew her sword from the scabbard attached to her thigh and pressed down on the drake’s head, which was stuck in the broken deck, with her foot.

“That’s what they say.”

Carryl shrugged his shoulders at her. Altman could only laugh in vain as he looked at the drake, which seemed to have fainted from a single blow and was limp.

“Really?”

At that moment, an alien magic power was felt from her. Her eyes momentarily turned silver-gray and then disappeared.

Miliana said, feeling refreshed.

“Then I’ll tame one too.”