The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 16

Swordmaster Wants to Live in Peace – Episode 16

Nightless City (3)

There was a large, protruding black horn on the side of its temple.

The horn, resembling that of a water buffalo, indicated that this small creature was not human.

Moreover, looking down again, a reptile’s tail sprouted from the vicinity of its buttocks.

“Dragon.”

Yuseong-u guessed that the girl’s identity was a ‘dragon,’ commonly appearing in fantasy worlds.

A rather strong dragon at that.

Otherwise, there would be no way to explain the immense magical power he felt since it hatched from the egg.

In another world, Yuseong-u had witnessed dragons, as they were called, several times.

At that time, the discord between humans and other races was so severe that they couldn’t even have a proper conversation and only fought to the death.

The strength of the dragons he had witnessed then was beyond the realm of common sense.

A race closer to gods than any other. That was the dragon.

“If that’s the case……”

It’s still a young dragon, appearing to be in its infancy.

Yet, it possesses tremendous magical power, so it was impossible to know how strong it would become when fully grown.

Dragons are inherently fierce and cruel in nature.

Now, while it cannot open its eyes, it would be easy to kill and eliminate it.

Moreover, this dragon was the core maintaining the 3rd-grade Abyss, the Nightless City…….

“Be born as something other than a dragon in your next life.”

And just as he was about to swing his sword and cut off its neck,

The young dragon trembled and muttered in a small voice.

“Mom……”

Clunk.

Yuseong-u’s movement to swing the sword stopped.

‘Did it just say Mom?’

It didn’t send a telepathic message.

He might have misheard.

The word ‘Mom’ might have another meaning.

For example, ‘You trash-like humans’ or something…….

After much thought, Yuseong-u straightened his back and eventually lowered his sword.

Then, he sighed deeply and muttered irritably.

“If it becomes a problem, I can just kill it later……”

Even though it was a different race, he was reluctant to kill a child who didn’t seem to be long born.

As he was about to pick up the still young dragon to take it away,

“Don’t touch it-!! That is mine! It is mine, I say!”

A thick telepathic wave struck his head.

Turning his head to look at the entrance of the cavern, there was a skull wearing a crown.

The clothes and accessories it wore were all shabby, but only the crown on its head shone, revealing its presence.

Yuseong-u turned his body completely, frowned, and stared at the skull.

‘……It’s a strange one.’

Not a strong one.

But a strange one.

It was an undead clad in magic as powerful as the young dragon behind him.

What was strange was that the magic was not stored in the undead’s body, but excessively accumulated in the crown.

‘Could it be?’

Yuseong-u derived one possibility.

The quality of magic felt from the crown was similar to that emitted by the dragon behind him.

A large egg.

And countless magic circles overlaid on it.

“Did they imprison the dragon and continuously extract its magic to accumulate it in the crown?”

“It is none of your concern. Soon, you will kneel before me. Or perhaps, roll around.”

“I forgot that there’s no point in listening to boneheads. Things that can’t even be used as dog chews.”

His eyes twitched at the undead’s response, as if it understood his words. He drew his sword towards him and took a stance for the art of drawing the sword [a quick-draw sword technique].

“Behold, the power I have accumulated. Behold, the power of the crown. I will turn you into white bones and make you my loyal knight.”

“What bullshit……”

The undead spread its arms and struck the floor with an old wooden staff, and a huge amount of magic poured out.

The magic that soared into the sky fell back down and enveloped the undead.

Then, the form of the undead’s skeleton gradually changed.

Becoming more robust and sharper.

Within the skeleton that had been transformed to the point where one could say ‘bones’ were handsome, the undead muttered quietly.

“……My esteemed name is Azaha. The last king of the great and mighty Kingdom of Epsilon.”

Azaha.

The undead called himself that.

At the same time as the shabby robe and accessories he was wearing changed as if they were new, auras of death flowed out like black mist from his open mouth.

The moment Azaha, who had been merely a skeleton wearing a crown until just now, was promoted to a ‘Lich,’ belonging to the highest rank of undead.

‘No, not just a Lich.’

With this level of energy.

It would be no exaggeration to say that he had reached the realm of a demigod transcending death.

There are two names for undead who have reached such an immortal state.

Elder Lich.

Or.

Overlord.

“Haa…… Now, I shall take back what is mine. It is earlier than planned, but I feel that the time to fully take it has come.”

Azaha, who spat out black mist again from his mouth, flicked his sharp fingers.

Then, sharp bones suddenly rose from the floor without any warning signs.

Yuseong-u showed a crazy reaction speed, swinging his sword and cutting down the bones the moment they rose.

“Do not resist. The end you will reach is only death.”

“Hmm.”

At Azaha’s words, Yuseong-u swung his sword greatly, scattering sword energy in all directions.

Azaha once again erected a wall of bones to block his sword energy and struck the floor with his staff.

Then, a black hole was drilled into the floor, and Death Knights in heavy armor sprang up from within.

“Go forth. My loyal knights. Cut off that guy’s head and bring it to me.”

“This is too much, seriously…….”

Yuseong-u slightly regretted entering the Nightless City.

He should have just left it alone.

What kind of wealth and glory would he gain by invading such a place and provoking a demigod Elder Lich?

But at the same time, he thought it was fortunate that he wasn’t too late.

Azaha was obsessed with the young dragon.

The dragon’s heart, the Dragon Heart, is a perpetual motion machine that emits infinite magic, and its body is also no different from a panacea [a cure-all].

If that guy had completely taken this young dragon, he would have become even more terrifying than he is now.

‘Wait, obsession?’

Yuseong-u, who came up with a brilliant idea, flew backward and picked up the girl lying on the floor.

Then, with one arm holding her upper body, he brought the sword in his other hand to her neck.

“If you don’t stop, I will kill this dragon.”

“A cowardly bastard who has abandoned his pride! Taking a hostage!”

“You must know that the Elder Lich’s ascension you just did is against the natural order. Besides, if I hand her over, something even bigger will happen. Do you think I’ll hand her over willingly?”

“That was originally mine!”

“Sorry, but slavery has long been abolished in this world.”

Yuseong-u pressed the sword even closer to her neck.

Then Azaha flicked his fingers.

Then the Death Knights who were rushing in stopped moving.

“Open the way. I need to get out of this corpse-smelling place.”

His guess was correct.

Azaha quietly stepped aside, and the Death Knights also cleared the way.

Since there was only one exit, Yuseong-u did not let his guard down and moved his steps with the sword pressed against her neck.

At a leisurely pace, as if taking a walk.

Passing through Azaha and the Death Knights, he stood at the entrance and immediately swung his sword backward.

Behind him, the Death Knights had already approached silently.

“Do you think I’ll let you go so easily!”

“I didn’t think you would.”

Following that, bones rose from the floor, and a black mass fell from the sky.

He didn’t know what it was, but it was certain that it wouldn’t be good to get hit.

Yuseong-u broke the Death Knights and bones with his sword in one fell swoop and lifted the young dragon towards the sky.

Then the mass of black energy that was falling stopped.

“You scaredy-cat. You should just plunge it down in times like that.”

Confirming once again that this dragon was very precious to Azaha, he tucked the dragon under his arm and ran.

As he quickly returned the way he came, Azaha could not catch up.

Even if he became an Elder Lich, the difference in physical abilities between a Swordmaster and a mage is clear.

After escaping from the underground and returning to the throne room on the ground, he swung his sword and smashed the wall, then left the Black Castle as it was.

Azaha, who belatedly chased after him, muttered as he watched Yuseong-u’s back as he ran away quickly from the Black Castle.

“……Go now. But we will meet again soon.”

* * *

“He’s not following?”

Yuseong-u glanced back and stopped his moving feet.

Even if he didn’t follow, he thought he would send the undead, but there was none of that either.

The plain leading from Baekseong to Heukseong was quiet without a single undead.

The quiet plain where even the people who were hunting had hurriedly evacuated due to the anomaly that occurred in Heukseong, and no sign of people could be felt.

Yuseong-u stood there, looked at the sky, and took a long breath.

“This place must have been quite beautiful before it went to ruin.”

Azaha.

He called himself the last king of Epsilon.

Originally, Heukseong and Baekseong must have belonged to Epsilon, and judging from the scale, it must have been a fairly prosperous place.

But for some reason, this place turned into a hell of undead.

There are also plenty of vampires who seem to be out of their minds.

“And why is this kid here again…….”

He looked at the dragon tucked under his side for a moment.

It seemed to be breathing, but there was still no sign of waking up.

After clicking his tongue once and letting out a long sigh, he moved his feet again.

It was a problem to worry about after escaping the Nightless City.

* * *

“Oh, oh, oh, oh? Dimensional waves are rising! Emergency! Emergency! 3rd-grade Abyss Nightless City, dimensional waves are rapidly rising!”

“Damn it, what’s the possibility of an Abyss Rush [a sudden surge of monsters from the Abyss]?”

“I don’t know yet! It hasn’t been long since the internal cleanup was completed, but why is this happening suddenly!”

Goesan, Chungbuk, 3rd-grade Abyss Nightless City.

It was put on emergency alert thanks to the dimensional waves that suddenly began to rise.

The dimensional waves of the Abyss, which were originally only 3rd-grade, rapidly rose and reached the standard value corresponding to 1st-grade.

“Summon all divers in the vicinity! 1st grade! It’s a 1st-grade Abyss!”

What was a 3rd-grade Abyss was instantly upgraded to 1st-grade.

1st grade is a figure that surpasses the Abyss that used to be S-grade in the past.

It was truly a national disaster.

It had become a place where a monster like the one that had completely destroyed Sehyun City in the past might emerge.

Public officials were moving busily, and disaster alerts rang on people’s smartphones.

At the same time, the summoned S-class divers began to move towards Goesan all at once.

Of course, Yoo Ji-woo, an S-class diver, was also among them.

A hotel exclusively for divers near the Nightless City Abyss.

“……Oppa, what the heck is going on? Can you explain it to me?”

“…….”

“Weren’t you going to attack the Nightless City? But why is the 3rd grade suddenly becoming 1st grade?”

“How would I know?”

Yuseong-u said so and shrugged his shoulders.

Of course, there was something he could guess.

Azaha. The last king of Epsilon.

That guy, who was a simple skeleton, became an Elder Lich through a ritual.

The Elder Lich, who leads an infinite army of the undead, is a disaster sufficient to destroy a country single-handedly.

A 1st-grade Abyss, which is a national disaster, would not be unreasonable.

“And what is that child? Is it an alien race you brought from the Abyss?”