Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation - Chapter 268 : Chapter 268
Chapter 268. What Kind of Fresh Bullsht is This? (1)
The training room.
This was probably the only place where the Hegemon King, who was always surrounded by people, could be truly alone.
There, the Hegemon King stood his sword upright, closed his eyes, and focused his mind.
Lord of Sword.
His own unique enlightenment, realized by challenging the Double Dragons with his life on the line.
Thanks to this, the Hegemon King was able to overwhelm even the existing 7-star swordsmen.
And above all….
‘Just a little more, and I think I can do it….’
The 8-star realm.
The realm called the realm of transcendence, beyond the supreme realm, was now almost within his grasp.
If he were to ascend to the 8-star realm, it would be possible to face the Empire’s Imperial Sword Saint or the Double Dragons to some extent.
To grasp that clue, the Hegemon King had recently increased his training time.
The problem was….
“Come out.”
There were gadflies disturbing this precious training time.
Where the Hegemon King’s gaze was directed, a black shadow flickered and then smoothly appeared a Black Mage wearing a black robe.
“I greet His Highness, the Hegemon King.”
“I believe I told you not to come during my training time.”
“But there is no better place to make secret contact than here.”
“……”
“Recently, even in the bedroom, the gaze of the Salamander Princess is frightening, so I had no choice but to choose this place and time.”
“If you have something to say, say it quickly and go.”
At the Hegemon King’s words, the Black Mage spoke.
“Yes. The Venerable Master has asked you to decide where to work on for the next target.”
“……”
“If we follow the natural course, the Magellan Kingdom would be good, but since the Empire has been suffering great losses in the war with the Holy Theocracy recently, I think it would not be bad to aim directly for the Empire instead.”
The Hegemon King’s next target.
If Cierion were to speak here, the Black Mages would immediately infiltrate the inner workings of the corresponding country and prepare.
And that would bring the Hegemon King a pretext for war, along with victory.
But….
“It is not needed now.”
“What do you mean by that…? Do you mean to abandon the goal of unifying the continent?”
The Black Mage said, glaring at the Hegemon King with sharp eyes.
Then the Hegemon King said.
“Due to the rapidly increased territory, we have not been able to consolidate our internal affairs at all right now. Above all, starting another war now when the food situation is bad due to the great famine is madness.”
“……”
“There will be no war for the time being. I will stabilize the country and focus on strengthening the defense line of the Great Forest in the east.”
“Is that Your Highness’ will?”
“If not my will?”
“I was just concerned that it might be someone else’s influence…. Hmm….”
The Black Mage, who was speaking, shut his mouth.
The murderous energy emanating from the Hegemon King’s body was pressing down on him.
And the Hegemon King continued to speak….
“If you cannot watch your mouth yourself, I can make you shut up.”
“My apologies. Oh, Hegemon King.”
“……”
“But please keep in mind. We are the strongest and oldest allies who wish for the Hegemon King to unify and rule the entire continent more than anyone else….”
“…I know.”
“Then, I shall be on my way….”
The Black Mage disappeared as if seeping into the shadows, just as he had come.
And the Hegemon King, left alone, let out a sigh.
[Even if the will is good and the purpose is for all people….]
[If the path is wrong, then everything is wrong.]
Someone’s voice would not leave his mind.
I know.
I know, but….
It can’t be helped.
What has already happened cannot be undone….
‘The only thing I can do now is to do my best….’
“I greet the Venerable Master.”
The Black Mage, who had returned from meeting the Hegemon King, prostrated himself before the Venerable Master.
That reverence was on a different level from the pretense he had shown towards the Hegemon King.
It was the appearance of someone who truly feared and revered the person before him.
The Venerable Master spoke to the Black Mage.
“What did the Hegemon King say?”
“He says that for the time being, he will focus on consolidating internal affairs rather than war.”
“Hmm…. So the little tiger cub has grown up quite a bit, has he? He even knows how to put up something like a rebellion.”
At the Venerable Master’s words, the Black Mage prostrated himself flat and said.
“If you wish, how about we get rid of the Hegemon King and set up another pawn?”
“It is difficult to find another pawn like him.”
“What about the Double Dragons of the south?”
“The Double Dragons, you say….”
“Their talent is said to be clearly superior to the Hegemon King’s. Above all, the forces they have gathered are no less than the Hegemon King’s.”
The Schneider Duchy was a small country, but its influence was immense.
It had embraced the powerful different races of the Elf and Orc tribes and maintained a cooperative relationship with the Tower of Truth.
On the continent, the Schneider Duchy led by Patrick was already being evaluated as one of the four major powers, following the Empire, the Holy Theocracy, and the Yusef Kingdom.
“From what I hear, the Double Dragons are said to have an extremely vicious and violent personality.”
Uh, that is true.
“We must shed as much blood as possible before the Day of the Falling Sun of Salvation proceeds. If so, wouldn’t it be better to tame a new beast than the Hegemon King who has lost his fangs?”
The Venerable Master stroked his beard and said.
“Are you confident?”
“Of course. According to the information I have gathered, the Double Dragons are said to be greedy for wealth and have a personality where violence precedes words.”
A very accurate assessment.
“Wouldn’t such a human who is faithful to their desires be the most suitable for us to handle?”
Well now?
I wonder about that….
“Huuuum….”
The Venerable Master thought.
Until the moment of the Falling Sun arrived, they had to tilt the scales of the world in their favor as much as possible.
The death of the World Tree was a great achievement, but there were still many bothersome beings.
The dragons who had hidden themselves were the most bothersome.
And one couldn’t know where the servants of Helkaness, hiding in the Great Forest and waiting for their time, would jump.
Before that, they had to gather as much power as possible, but it was troublesome for the Hegemon King to dawdle like that.
“Greed.”
“Speak. Oh, Venerable Master.”
“I will entrust the matter of the Double Dragons to you. You may bring him in, and if not, then kill him.”
“Yes. Understood.”
If a big shot like the Double Dragons were to die, that alone would bring sufficient chaos.
‘Until the Day of the Falling Sun of Salvation comes, we must make more preparations than anyone else.’
***
The Schneider Duchy was peaceful again today.
While most countries on the continent were embroiled in war and great famine, the Schneider Duchy was living a peaceful daily life as if it were a completely different world….
“Kuaaaaaak!”
“Noooooo!”
“Dodge!”
“No, hit it head-on! You’ll get hit more if you dodge!”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
With some exceptions, that is.
“Hoooo, nice look in your eyes?”
Patrick, with twin swords slung over both shoulders, grinning, and the Twin Dragon Knightly Order surrounding him.
Patrick beckoned with his fingers with an expression that said he was having the time of his life.
“Come on. Come on.”
At that annoying sight, the knights gritted their teeth.
It felt like they could sell their souls to the devil if they could just smash a fist into that mouth once.
But would that even work?
It seemed difficult to find a devil of a higher rank than the opponent before them even in hell.
“Sir Sanson, you go ahead and face him. Then I’ll get him from behind.”
“Why am I the one in front?”
“You’re a 7-star now, aren’t you?”
“What meaning does that have against that demon?!”
Sanson, who had recently reached the 7-star realm, also attacked Patrick along with the other knights, but the result of the sparring had not changed in the slightest.
Patrick always beat them down, and the knights were always beaten down.
Do you know what was most unfair?
It was that thanks to Patrick so diligently beating them down and making them break through their limits, several knights, including Oliver, had recently stepped one foot into the 6-star realm.
In other words, this hellish training was proving effective.
“Kuuuh, so it turns out most of the world’s problems can be solved by beating them down.”
They had to prove that demon’s theory wrong, but the effect was too good for that.
That was what the knights found most unfair.
After the training was over.
“Ah, that was fun today too.”
Atop the pile of the knightly order’s gruesomely scattered corpses, Patrick spoke with a pleased face.
“Ah, it’s time to go home and play all lovey-dovey with my wives. Let’s play again tomorrow, kids.”
I just wish he would go and die.
That was the thought of the entire scattered knightly order.
“Kuuuugh….”
“Damn it, I’m gonna die.”
“I really wish I could hit him just once. Just once….”
The corpses, no, the knights, got up again.
And as if accustomed to it, they organized their equipment and prepared to go outside and clock out.
“Hey, who’s up for a drink today?”
“Sounds good. Shall we meet at Moonlight Dew?”
“Should we? There’s an elf girl serving there recently who’s super pretty.”
“What’s the point of her being pretty? It’s a pie in the sky.”
Among the knights finishing their day while grumbling, one knight hesitated as he organized his equipment and left the training ground.
“Jason, you’re not joining?”
“Ah, I’m good.”
“Why don’t you join in sometimes? Isn’t that how you build camaraderie and get a bit closer?”
“You guys get all close and sticky. I’m not interested.”
“Hey, why are you talking like that?”
“What did I do?”
Since it was a knightly order where rough men bumped against each other, friction, big and small, often occurred.
Just as the atmosphere was about to turn sour….
“What are you all doing?”
“Commander.”
“……”
The knight commander, Sanson, intervened.
Sanson, who had been listening to the whole conversation from the beginning, said with a stern expression.
“Grown men, don’t growl at each other over trivial matters.”
“No, Sir, it’s not that….”
“If you have energy to spare, shall I tell the Young Master to play with you a little more specially?”
“No, sir. It was my fault.”
“Good. Then that’s settled. And Jason.”
“Yes. Commander.”
“Can you talk with me for a moment?”
“…Yes.”
And after all the other knights had left for the day, Sanson had a private meeting with the knight named Jason.
Sanson’s office.
He was the commander of the Twin Dragon Knightly Order and had recently received the title of count upon reaching the 7-star realm.
But his office had not changed much from his days as a guard captain.
Without calling a servant, he personally brewed tea and, sitting opposite Jason, he spoke.
“Jason.”
“Yes. Commander.”
“Just call me Big brother for now.”
“……”
To the silent Jason, Sanson spoke.
“You’ve been very on edge lately.”
“I apologize.”
“I’m not scolding you.”
“……”
“I understand too. It must be very frustrating.”
Jason Theorg.
He was a knight who had achieved the mid-4-star realm.
Considering his age in his early 30s, it wasn’t a bad realm.
But in this Twin Dragon Knightly Order, his skill was clearly in the lower ranks.
It hadn’t been like this from the beginning.
When Patrick personally took charge of his training and guided his growth, he was once a skilled fighter who ranked within the top ten in the entire knightly order.
But from some point on, his other comrades began to surpass him one by one, and conversely, he gradually stagnated.
He knew the reason.
The injury he had received from a werewolf during his soldier days was the cause.
He hadn’t received proper treatment at first, and as a result, he always felt a sense of discomfort in his left knee.
Although he was correcting the energy in his body with the efficacy of the Supreme Purity Heart Law, the imbalance caused by the twisted joint was not something that could be corrected with energy.
Unless he underwent something like Body Reformation, his knee was a handicap that would follow him for the rest of his life.
‘If only my knee were fine, I might be able to beat someone like Oliver….’
Such thoughts never left his mind.
A way of thinking that repeatedly held onto regrets over self-blame and unavoidable problems.
A chain of negative thoughts that were not helpful for a person’s growth was dominating his consciousness.
As a result, his anxiety and resentment grew as he saw himself gradually falling behind his other comrades.
It was a vicious cycle.
Sanson spoke to Jason.
“Jason, your skill is not something to be ashamed of anywhere you go.”
“I know. But….”
“The sword is something you improve by continuing to train steadily. You know that too, don’t you?”
“……”
“So let go of your anxiety. And stop putting up sharp thorns towards those around you.”
“……”
Jason was silent.
He just bit his lower lip and remained silent with a displeased expression.
If he had his way….
[It must be easy for you to say that, Big brother. Since you’re a great 7-star knight who has pioneered the supreme realm!]
He wanted to say, but….
‘No. What kind of bullshit was I about to say?’
His anxiety had worn down his character a lot, but he wasn’t that broken yet.
Jason bowed his head and said.
“I will do as you say, Commander.”
Sanson looked at Jason and said sadly.
“Yes. Thank you for understanding.”
In fact, judging by his expression, it didn’t seem like he had accepted it.
But if he changed his attitude on the outside, couldn’t his heart follow?
He was a subordinate and comrade of the knightly order, but personally, he was also a younger brother he had known since they carried toy swords as children.
Sanson hoped that Jason would one day be able to break out of his current stagnation.
