Chapter 233 : Chapter 233
Chapter 233
The Dragon of Six Horns was terrifyingly powerful.
Eighteen who were outstanding even among the Commanders of a Thousand, five of Legion Commander rank, and on top of that, Nana Nereyades.
While facing twenty-four of the Cordis Empire's most prided experts at once, I was without a single major wound.
And even while doing so, the number of soldiers I had trampled was in the hundreds.
“-Ugh!”
The man at the very front was the 16th Legion Commander, Maseus Merkus.
The name of his Ars was ‘Obedience to Superiors’.
Nana Nereyades had ordered him not to die for one hour, and he obeyed.
Despite being relentlessly beaten by my claws and iron bloodlines, he simply did not die.
Because of that, I put Maseus Merkus in my maw.
Hotnes tried to stop me, but it was not enough.
Having put the man who would not die for an hour in my maw, I chewed on him thoroughly.
Not even a scream escaped.
The dragon's maw was filled with fangs and blue flames.
The maw that had annihilated even the Demon King Pāpīyān subdued Maseus Merkus's loyalty.
This meant that he melted and lost his life.
“---Maseus!!!”
At the death of his long-time rival, Hotnes let out a shriek.
He became furious and commanded the magi-soldiers.
The surviving giant-form magi-soldiers simultaneously rushed at me and tried to pry open my maw.
I responded by spewing flames.
Blue flames, falling magi-soldiers, a battlefield filled with droning sounds, roars and vibrations, smoke too harsh for a mage accustomed to a desk, blurry vision, and before he knew it, a lashing iron bloodline.
Dozens of strands of the ‘Heated Iron Bloodline’ headed for Hotnes.
Hotnes, who had become a five-star mage through his Ars, quickly formed a hand seal to protect his body.
He managed to block a whole thirty-seven of the thirty-eight strands of the iron bloodline.
It was a marvelous feat to block all but a single strand.
However, the ‘Heated Iron Bloodline’ was a filthily heavy and filthily hot Ars, so a single strand was enough to destroy a mage's frail body.
The heat of the iron bloodline melted Hotnes's skin, and then its weight completely shattered his spine.
The pain was so severe that not even a scream came out.
“-! ---!!!”
I swung my tail and struck Hotnes, who was bent in half with his spine shattered.
The man named Hotnes was scattered in all directions as several pieces.
Naturally, blood also splattered everywhere.
Maseus and Hotnes were men who had been in coveted positions.
They also possessed skills befitting their positions.
But they died in vain.
This fact shook the hearts of the Cordis soldiers.
[Are you surprised?]
I, who had become a dragon, found them puzzling.
[I'm asking if you are surprised to see those you admired become mere lumps of flesh!]
Death is inherently futile.
And all people must face death.
They just live on, turning a blind eye.
Flames boiled fiercely in my heart.
It was because Cordis was the one who had taught me this piercing fact.
[Did you only just realize what everyone knows? You are even more detestable, Cordis!]
The dragon leaped.
With a body that had wings but could not fly, it leaped about, trampling, swallowing, and burning people.
The twenty-four facing him became twenty-two, soon twenty-one, and then finally dwindled to thirteen.
It was around then that Nana's super-sized oar broke.
“…Damn….”
Nana had been constantly swimming over my body, swinging the super-sized oar.
Thanks to that, she had dealt considerable shock to me even beneath my black scales, but it seemed the oar could not endure any more.
The outer wooden part crumbled, and the iron core inside also bent.
She realized it was time to retreat for a moment and hastily pulled back.
“Still, soon, one hour….”
The soldiers who had hastily retreated were no longer in sight.
She felt a slight sense of pride.
Against Shion of Merion, the man who had become a dragon, she had managed to stall for time somehow.
Even though one side of her face was completely burned and it was clear she would soon lose her life.
“You all endured well. You can die soon.”
Excluding her, twelve men remained.
They nodded silently.
Would someone remember them?
It would be nice if they did, but if not, it couldn't be helped.
They just hoped their deaths were valuable.
“It would have been better if we had killed that dragon… but sending tens of thousands of His Majesty's soldiers away alive is a satisfactory deed.”
That's right, General. A few called Nana 'General'.
Nana didn't bother to correct them.
Instead, she picked up the oar's iron core and charged at the dragon.
It was a life like a floating water weed.
Even if it was loyalty in vain, it couldn't be helped.
They had not learned to live in any other way.
No, perhaps they had learned once, but now they had forgotten it all.
But at least, if the soldiers who followed them could live even a little longer, this wish would not be in vain.
The 15th Legion Commander Furios Foren's Ars was called ‘Cloud Step’.
Furios Foren, who roamed the empty air at will, was like a cloud and extremely difficult to catch.
However, when surrounded by hundreds of thousands of ‘Fantasy Fingers’ and blasted with ‘Soul Fire’, he became a pile of ash.
The 33rd Legion Commander Bix Bons Baretaus's Ars, ‘Invader’, was a charging power.
It specialized in ignoring and penetrating the opponent's domain, so it couldn't be pushed away even by ‘The Unclosable Twenty Steps’.
He left several long scars on my body like that, but was crushed by my hind leg.
Even now, the foul smell of Bix Bons Baretaus's crushed, burning flesh was on the sole of my hind foot.
Dandeus Deredom's Ars, ‘From Within the Shadows’, was a power that allowed him to move between shadows or hide his body within them.
But unfortunately, I was the owner of Mana Armor Valziart.
Dandeus Deredom, who had let his guard down while hiding in the shadows, was dragged out by my hand wielding Valziart and torn into thousands of pieces.
The twenty-four soon became one.
However, the soldiers had also retreated so far that I could not catch up.
Nana Nereyades laughed joyfully.
Now, it was her turn.
“I have no regrets.”
It was a lie.
If she looked back even a little, it was full of regrets.
She was just forcing herself not to think about them, but she was filled with lingering feelings.
But Nana Nereyades could laugh lightheartedly.
She had to laugh that way.
“Now trample me, Shion of Merion!”
[…Nana Nereyades. You are indeed Niko's granddaughter….]
“That's the highest praise.”
Nana lifted her head.
Her right face was completely burned.
Naturally, the eye also couldn't see.
The skin all over her body from swimming on my body was cooked, and her left pelvis was shattered, so she couldn't walk properly.
Even if she survived, dozens of severe scars would remain.
Because of that, she resembled the Whale of Hobel Bay even more.
“Swallow me. Be satisfied with this last life and go back today.”
[…I suppose I must.]
I glanced sideways.
I was still in the form of a dragon.
The Cordis soldiers were too far to chase.
Besides, the ‘Dragon of Six Horns’ had a high cost.
After returning, I would be sick in bed for days.
[Then which one will be the last life?]
“…What do you mean, which one?”
Nana expressed her confusion.
Besides her, there were only corpses.
It had to be.
Because everyone had already died.
I slowly raised my claw and pointed to one place.
[I will swallow only one of you and that man. It means I will let one go.]
“…That, man…?”
[Did you not know? He was checking me the whole time, protecting your life. If not for that man, you would have been killed by me long ago.]
The dragon growled.
[Will you keep hiding even when I've said this much?]
“I wasn't hiding, I was evading.”
The man finally walked out.
Nana Nereyades, who hadn't sensed his presence at all despite her grievous injuries, couldn't help but be shocked.
That man, gripping his hand-axe, had a face she knew better than anyone.
“…Bukenos!”
“Yes, it is Bukenos, your legion's Chief of Staff.”
“I'm sure I sent you with the army! I entrusted full authority to you!”
“Please don't worry. I sent the soldiers off properly. Only I returned.”
Bukenos smiled awkwardly.
On the gruesome battlefield, he looked remarkably unharmed.
There were singed or scratched wounds here and there, but nothing that could be called a serious injury.
I spoke, as if interested.
[Amethus said it. That he spent his school days without fear.]
“Who could possibly frighten Amethus?”
[But he said that when you, Bukenos, held your hand-axe, he had no choice but to be tense.]
I bared my fangs and smiled.
[Having experienced it, it's just as I heard. You were actually more skilled than Nana Nereyades.]
“The Legion Commander is not in a perfect state, so.”
[Why did you hide beneath the Whale of Hobel Bay? If you had revealed yourself, you could have easily sat in a seat of the Ten Great Generals of the Empire.]
“Because I didn't want to sit in a seat of the Ten Great Generals.”
Bukenos gripped his hand-axe.
“I had nothing more to wish for, as long as my hometown of Hobel Bay was peaceful.
Moreover, being able to serve the man I respect endlessly, the Whale of Hobel Bay, was more than I deserved.”
[Then choose now.]
I, the black dragon, looked down at Bukenos and Nana.
[You and Nana, which one will stay and which one will leave?]
“I don't know why you ask when you can kill us both. Hating the Empire as much as you do.”
[Niko kept one of my secrets. In return, I decided to show pity on Nana one time.]
Grandfather…. Nana muttered.
She raised her voice as if there was no room for thought.
“Obviously, you must trample me, Shion of Merion!”
“No, General Nana, I cannot let that happen.”
Bukenos looked at me.
“Do not give us a choice. Between me living and General Nana living, isn't it obvious which one Legion Commander Niko would want? If you intend to keep your promise with Legion Commander Niko, you must naturally save General Nana.”
[That is correct.]
I raised my head.
Instead of steam from my nostrils, blue flames flickered.
[Your loyalty has pleased me. I will swallow you without pain.]
“Just because I say that, I have no intention of going down meekly, Shion of Merion.”
[You are Amethus's friend, so I expected as much.]
Seeing Bukenos gripping his hand-axe, Nana shrieked.
“…No! You can't! Let me die, Bukenos!”
“I refuse, Nana.”
Bukenos was firm.
He began to speak as he would to a junior from his school days.
It was because Nana was, in fact, his junior.
“The 11th Legion needs you. Even with your leg injured, you'll be able to get away quickly.”
“…….”
“You know it too, right? The one to succeed the Whale of Hobel Bay is not me, but you.”
Nana could not answer.
It was because Bukenos's words made sense.
Her eyes were the color of dahlias.
Bukenos suddenly recalled their school days.
In their school days, Nana Nereyades always looked at Amethus with those dahlia-colored eyes.
And Bukenos always looked at those dahlia-colored eyes.
The memory of those young and fresh days made the smell of blood fade.
Bukenos let out a small laugh without realizing it.
It was all in the past.
“Just… Please take care of my children and wife, Nana. I have no one to trust but you.”
“……I understand, Bukenos-sunbae.”
“Ah.”
Bukenos smiled broadly.
“Please place dahlia flowers on my grave.”