Chapter 234: Symbol of Victory (6)

Cale, who was on top of the teleportation magic circle created by the Ancient Dragon Eruhaben, couldn't hide his confusion.

"Aren't you planning to leave?"

"…."

Round green eyes looked at Cale. The little white snake curled around Cale's neck showed no intention of leaving.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to your mother?"

"I don't want to."

The little white snake rubbed its face against Cale's cheek again.

Cale's eyes reflected Raon's frustration as he squeezed his front paws, unsure of what to do.

'Sigh~'

Cale closed his eyes tightly at the sight that made him sigh.

Here I am, in this crappy world, trying to save Aipotu, and I'm stuck between a seven-year-old Dragon and a baby snake that looks even younger.

"I thought your mother was sick; shouldn't you be by her side?"

The little white snake shivered at Cale's words. It then muttered helplessly.

"It's heartbreaking and difficult to see her."

At that moment, Raon's body shivered.

The dark blue eyes that wandered stared at the little white snake. Then, it looked at Cale, shrugged, and pushed its belly forward.

"Human! Let's just go together! Anyway, didn't we say we would meet this little white snake's mother later? So, we'll meet!"

At that moment, the little white snake cautiously looked at Raon. Its movements were slow and hesitant, showing that it was still afraid. Looking at Raon, the snake opened its mouth silently.

"…Good Dragon…?"

Raon shook his head.

"I'm a cool Dragon! A big Dragon!"

"Cool Dragon?"

"Yes!"

"Very big Dragon?"

"Yes, a very big Dragon!"

Cale was listening to the conversation between the snake and the Dragon with an astonished expression, then gestured to Eruhaben, who was laughing.

"Let's just teleport."

"Yes, yes."

King Dennis looked at the scene and slightly bit his lip.

'Kendall appeared, is it really okay to be so calm?'

Ten living Dragons of Aipotu. No, Gods. Although Kendall occupied the lowest position among them, he was quite powerful. Cale and his group knew that, but they appeared quite relaxed.

Woosh!

Soon, the teleportation was activated, and Cale, Raon, and the little white snake left. While the Har Kingdom group felt relieved and left behind the momentary fear that had invaded them when Eruhaben got angry.

Knock, knock, knock.

Along with the sound of someone knocking on the door, the voice of the Knight Commander was heard from outside.

"Your Majesty, Duke Tols wishes to see you."

Eruhaben's gaze turned to Dennis. Seeing the appearance of the Ancient Dragon, Dennis responded calmly.

"He is the strongest Mage in the Kingdom."

Duke Tols, the strongest Mage among the three official mages within Har Kingdom.

"And the leader of the opposing faction, the faction of the Empire."

In King Dennis's opinion, the worst obstacle to Har Kingdom. He was the leader of the opposing faction that relied on the Holy Empire instead of Har Kingdom for its power and was notorious for worshiping the Holy Empire.

"It seems he has noticed something and has come."

A mysterious smile formed on Eruhaben's lips upon hearing the king's words.

"It's not an easy job."

Eruhaben was left alone after Cale and Raon left. However, unlike his words, his face still showed a smile.

"I have more things to do now that I've returned to my younger self."

Thinking that he would be busy for a while until Cale returned after dealing with the Dragon of Aipotu, Eruhaben told King Dennis.

"As of today, I am your Knight."

It was Eruhaben, the rejuvenated Dragon of over a thousand years who was thinking of pretending to be a Sword Master for the first time in a long time.

"Paaat-!"

And Cale returned with Raon and the little white snake.

"Cale."

"Mila-nim."

The Dragon Mila greeted them. Cale's expression stiffened upon seeing her.

Mila's expression was not good. She had been waiting for Cale without moving after his return. Cale's expression tensed when she spoke with a serious expression.

"I can't feel Rasheel's presence."

She added:

"Something seems to have happened."

* * *

"Ah, that's right."

The silver-haired Dragon, Kendall, smiled widely on his pretty face.

"They said they sent an Eradication Team here because there was a Wolf Tribe, right?"

Kendall stepped forward, but surprisingly, his footprints were nowhere to be seen in the snow.

"..."

Rasheel took a deep breath and slowly got to his feet, expelling the cold air that had built up in his lungs as he lay on the ground.

"Hehe."

Kendall couldn't contain his laughter at the sight.

"So, were you protecting that Wolf Tribe? Why did your expression become so gloomy?"

Damn.

Rasheel wanted to get angry at Kendall's words but couldn't. The Beast People were approaching. Both Rasheel and Kendall knew this, but both ignored it.

In Kendall's case, this situation seemed amusing to him, and he wanted to see how it unfolded.

Rasheel thought:

'Oh my god! Why are they coming here?! Even from afar, they could see that there's a large-scale battle going on here!'

Rasheel couldn't move easily.

Honestly, he didn't care whether the beings of Aipotu lived or died. To be more honest, he didn't care much if this world collapsed or not. However, only one thing...

'I don't want them to see this!'

He couldn't allow the Young Wolf or the old Tiger from Cale's group to see him like this.

"...I'm annoyed! This is bothering me!"

Kendall, upon hearing his words, shrugged as if he was even more pleased.

"It seems you're quite a young Dragon unlike what I thought."

Kendall found it amusing that Rasheel couldn't hide his emotions.

As he was already treated as the youngest for being the last among the Ten Gods, Kendall was quite annoyed, and seeing a Dragon younger than him was quite entertaining.

"Hmm."

Therefore, he made a decision.

"I will make you, my subordinate."

"What? Your subordinate? Has this guy gone crazy?"

Rasheel, who was surveying his surroundings while breathing heavily, was full of anger in his eyes. His body was already moving before his mind could rationally process the situation. Rasheel's fist reached Kendall's face in an instant.

Kwaaaang!

But a shield appeared and blocked Rasheel's fist in front of Kendall's face.

"Hehe."

Kendall smiled at that scene.

Originally, he had the intention of getting rid of all beings that bothered him, including the Beast Tribes in the Erghe Mountains. However, at this moment, he felt quite good and thought he might play with this Dragon for a while.

"Unless you drink Holy Water, you won't be able to defeat me for a lifetime."

Rasheel clenched his fist tightly. He opened his mouth.

"...Holy Water? What is that?"

Rasheel didn't know what Holy Water was. However, he understood why he couldn't defeat Kendall at this moment.

'Mana is not listening to me.'

While Rasheel enjoyed physical combat, mana was essential for dragons. Even though he was using Dragon Fear, Rasheel couldn't control his mana.

'And that damn young Dragon seems to control mana very well.'

Not just mana.

'There's nothing in my favor in this area.'

Near the top of the mountain, where Kendall and he were fighting.

In this area, there was nothing that favored Rasheel. More precisely, most things in this world should be in Kendall's favor.

'Fortunately, the air isn't his, right?'

Mana, aura, wind, snow.

Everything ignored Rasheel.

'Surely, that Holy Water is the reason for all this.'

So, he wanted to know the identity of the Holy Water.

Rasheel looked at Kendall with a serious expression. Kendall, in turn, got excited receiving that look.

Victory.

Since he manifested this Attribute, he realized that this Attribute accurately reflected his personality. He liked seeing the faces of those facing defeat. Full of despair or with a small spark of hope in their eyes as they looked at him. And when he crushed them...

"Are you curious about Holy Water?"

He felt alive.

"Well, what will it be? I'll tell you when you become my toy."

A raucous laughter escaped from Kendall's lips. Even if they were of the same species, the Dragon Lord and the Ten Dragon Gods were completely different beings.

'Yes, I'm a God after all. Shouldn't I have at least one Dragon as a toy under my dominion?'

Those who had drunk Holy Water could not be toyed with in this way. After all, the Dragon Lord would not allow it.

'Surely he would say that Holy Water, which shares the origin of the world, must be respected.'

That's why Kendall, despite being a God, had to treat the other nameless Dragons with respect, even if he was stronger than them.

How tedious that was!

But if they hadn't drunk Holy Water...

'No matter who it is, I can keep them by just demonstrating my power.'

A Dragon controlling other Dragons. Isn't that what befits a God?

Kendall felt his body heating up.

Finally, he was savoring Victory. Life that had been boring until now. Without a doubt, he preferred this kind of battles, his own battlefield where Victory was guaranteed.

"Well, then, if I give you a few lashes, will you learn a bit?"

Kendall extended his hand.

Swish!

A huge flow of mana spread from his hand, forming a whip. The Beast People no longer approached. Had they sensed fear? But Kendall felt it was a waste of time for them not to run away.

He could play with the Dragon in front of him and then tear apart the Wolves with that whip.

He looked at Rasheel and said a word.

"Do you feel lonely?"

Now you have no one on your side.

And with that, he wielded the whip.

Swish!

The sound of the whip cutting through the air resonated threateningly. How fast was it moving? In an instant, the whip struck Rasheel's human body. Even in his human form, the whip, which had grown as tall as his torso, hit him.

Aaah!

A roar echoed. But the whip didn't just hit Rasheel. It struck the mountain behind him, opening a deep crevice near the summit.

Craaack!

The thunderous noise echoed as an avalanche was triggered, causing another uproar in the Erghe Mountains. However, the smiling expression disappeared from Kendall's face.

He looked down at his hand.

The veins on the hand holding the whip stood out.

The strength was intensifying more.

A place covered in snow and mountain debris.

Kendall's eyes moved to where Rasheel was supposed to be lying.

His expression hardened.

"..."

On the other side of the wielding whip.

Pressure could be felt from there.

The eyes that rose sank, and debris and dust fell to the ground.

The landscape in front of Kendall entered his field of vision.

"Heh, hehe-"

Rasheel was laughing.

Drip, drip.

His forehead was torn by the whip, and blood was dripping.

His body was trapped near the top of the divided mountain.

Still, he didn't let go of the whip.

"Heh, hehe, heh."

And he laughed. He had no choice.

'Do you feel lonely?'

The question Kendall threw at him seemed amusing.

Probably, the young backward Dragon asked if he felt lonely since there was no one on Rasheel's side in this area.

"Cough."

Rasheel spat out the violently gushing blood.

Except for his current body, there wasn't a single entity that could help him in this place.

"Heh, hehe-"

It was truly funny.

When he got trapped in the mountain, the ground became hard.

And right where he was impaled, the stones were sharp.

Yes, it could be considered bad luck.

"Hey, what's your Attribute?"

Rasheel asked, and Kendall responded with a strange expression.

"Victory."

Ah, so that was it.

Rasheel could understand this situation by thinking about the Holy Water and the Victory Attribute.

'Yes, this area is the board for that guy to win.'

Not just because of the effect of that unknown Holy Water, but also because of that Attribute, he understood the reason for this situation.

"Cough."

After laughing heartily, blood gushed out again.

Still, Rasheel smiled.

'The Beast People don't come closer anymore.'

So, they won't see this pathetic spectacle anymore.

'That's fine.'

At least one resolved.

Rasheel's smile became even more intense.

'Do you feel lonely?'

Kendall's question came back to his mind.

"Heh, hehehe, hehe-"

"...Why are you laughing?"

While he looked at Kendall's incomprehensible expression, Rasheel laughed again.

"Hehehe, hahaha-!"

However, that laughter was suddenly cut off.

Rasheel looked at Kendall with an indifferent expression.

"Hey."

Rasheel, born as a Dragon, expressed the truth he discovered when he was young.

"Dragons naturally prefer to live alone."

Dragons grew alone.

"And the world is not on my side."

Rasheel never thought that the world was on his side.

Dragons are not very sociable with each other.

Most Dragons grow alone.

Isn't that what young Dragons are told, that the world is not on their side?

Rasheel grew up thinking that way.

That's why he was proud to be a Dragon.

Why?

Because I am strong despite everything.

Loneliness?

Is there something wrong with relying on myself?

The moment he realized this; Rasheel fully understood his nature.

Indomitability.

Not giving up in any situation.

That's what Rasheel believes being a Dragon is. Even if magic, earth, and even the wind is not on his side, he will overcome the situation without giving up.

"Oh, this is too cool, isn't it?"

Rasheel got excited at the thought of looking cool.

"I feel like fighting after a long time."

Thud, thud.

Rasheel ignored the blood dripping from his wound and instead focused on the expression on his face, enjoying it with a sense of excitement.

It couldn't be otherwise.

If he won this fight, that would mean...

'Isn't that beating the world?'

For Rasheel, it was a funny and exciting idea.

"Oh!"

Kendall's eyes, who was watching, widened.

Crack!

The whip that Rasheel held between his hands began to crack.

A crack opened in the mana concentration that was tightly squeezed by Rasheel's power.

And at that moment...

"...Sir Clopeh."

Lock could see Clopeh Sekka standing in front of him with a kind face.

Clopeh spoke with a gentle smile.

"Let's erase our tracks and be patient."

"Why?"

When Lock, in a moment of bewilderment, asked without understanding, Clopeh smiled brightly.

"For hitting a dragon from behind, patience is essential."

Rasheel thought Clopeh Sekka had fled, even Kendall lost Clopeh's presence.

But in reality, he was waiting, waiting to strike the Dragon who had become his enemy from behind.

Lock, the Wolf Beastman, stared in amazement, recalling some advice he had been given.

'Lock, Lock! Be careful with Clopeh Sekka! That guy is crazy!'

It was the advice of the Great Dragon Raon.

* * *

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]