The tower members were born as ordinary human beings who’d gained eternal life and had confronted dragons.
Their stories could fill over a hundred books. Their lives were considered miraculous by default. Therefore, finding some inspiration in the concept of miracles had long been a challenge for them, considering their background.
“I’m back.”
But Hayate’s resurrection...
“Hayate!”
“Lord Hayate!”
It reminded the tower members of the value of miracles.
The sight of them crying, laughing and hugging each other made their noses runny from holding back tears.
Seuron found Lauel, approached and whispered, “Tell Katz to keep his promise.” He was careful not to ruin the friendly atmosphere with his serious att.i.tude.
Lauel laughed.?“Have you perhaps changed a lot?”
“No? I was always like this. I’m ruthless only toward my enemies.”
The Black and White sisters interjected.?“Aren’t you the one so blinded by fame that you don’t care about anything else?”
“Speak for yourself.”
Seuron and the sisters were arguing with each other.
“I truly owe all of you,” Lauel politely told the three of them. “I will never forget your brilliant performance.”
It seemed that Knight had fully informed him of what had happened.
The Black and White sisters, who didn’t get along well with others, felt embarra.s.sed and left the place.
“We are planning to expand the Overgeared vampire branch... Are you interested in joining the Overgeared Guild? It would make me happy if you took charge of the branch.” Lauel suggested to Seuron.
This was one of the reasons why Lauel was considered one of the important contributors to building the empire. To sum things up, he was obsessed with talent. If he spotted someone who was talented in a certain field, he would reach out to them.
It sometimes took years to verify if someone could be trusted or not. That was why he needed a competent inspector named Knight, but in any case... The gathering of talent in the empire was the result of a combination of Grid’s connections and Lauel’s initiative.
“I’m not interested,” Seuron replied without giving it much thought.
It was a surprising answer. Seuron had hundreds of guild members. If he could join the Overgeared Guild and gain support, he would benefit tremendously. Lauel hadn’t expected him to refuse.
“If I become a part of the Overgeared Guild, who will I fight with later?”
“That... This is an answer I’ve heard from someone else...”
“Are there more people like me? I’m glad.”
Seuron laughed cheerfully.
“Everyone has different reasons for playing the game, but at the very least, my colleagues and I get the most fun out of war. There are quite a few skilled production workers in the guild. Someday, I will have a good a.s.sortment of resources and compete with the empire properly. There will be a war. That way, I can sit on a cus.h.i.+on of money if I acquire a few mines or something.”
“I’ve heard something similar from someone else...”
Seuron waved lightly and left.
“I didn’t expect to be refused... Hmm...”
Lauel’s expression while watching him was surprisingly calm. This was the man who had proudly declared that he would remain the enemy of the Overgeared Guild. At the very least, he’d expressed his intention to challenge them honestly, without relying on the usage of dirty methods. It wasn’t something to be anxious about.
Knight added out of concern, “He still shouldn’t cross the line lest he summons Grid’s wrath.”
“Since you’re defending him, I take it that Seuron’s performance must’ve impressed you quite a lot. The more I think about it, the more I feel it is a waste for him to reject my proposal.”
“He was truly amazing. Of course, some aspects of h.e.l.l’s environment were advantageous to him.”
“It is a pity, but it can’t be helped. He has my respect because he has a firm will.”
Most important than anything, Seuron was a player. If a big crisis occurred, something similar to the great human and demon war, he would eventually cooperate with the Overgeared Guild.
No matter whether it was Satisfy or reality.
***
[...Persistent guy.]
The three dragons who rebelled against the ice dragon Revola became even stronger by preying on their wounded kin. Now they were aiming for the hierarchy of the intermediate dragon.
However, it wasn’t easy. Revola had simply seemed incompetent when the dragons had been watching from the sidelines before.
It seemed that there was little room to attack once actually facing him as an enemy. Despite suffering from the aftereffects of losing to Grid, the volume of this guy became 1.5 times larger than usual once he covered his blue scales with solid ice. Both physically and mentally, he was like a statue that could never be broken. Therefore, he firmly endured most attacks.
[It isn’t good to waste time like this.]
The constant blizzards continued to cool down the temperature. It seemed like the whole area would soon enter the realm of absolute zero, so the three dragons became nervous. In fact, every time they moved, their frozen scales would let out an ominous sound, receiving damage every time they rubbed against each other.
Revola in his true form was powerful, especially when he didn’t have any allies around him. If Grid had fought Revola now, he would’ve experienced a phenomenon where all of the items he was wearing would become frozen and gradually fail to function.
The three dragons changed their strategy. They moved as far away as possible from Revola and shot a Breath once they were out of the range of the blizzard. The energy of an old dragon could cover the entire world. However, Revola was only an intermediate dragon.
The strength of his energy itself might be great, but the scope of its influence was small. If they could unleash a powerful attack without entering his range, then there was enough room to attack.
[......]
Within the ice, Revola looked serene. He was watching the traitors’ movements with his blue eyes. He would not act prematurely.
He was contemplating. During the Age of Oblivion, how many hearts of his own kin had he eaten? He was certain that the number wasn't small. He considered that, even if he didn’t eat the hearts of these traitors, he would still reach the hierarchy of a top dragon just by killing them.
‘I can’t handle it.’
In the aftermath of the Age of Oblivion, there were only two top dragons left. It was the highest level that Revola could realistically reach.
Unlike old dragons, he wouldn’t possess absolute power, but his physical ability and magic power would become threatening enough to the old dragons. It was a great burden to shoulder that much responsibility, especially since there were only two top dragons running wild currently.
However, Revola had already made a promise to Grid.
“I will turn my back on the will of the foreign G.o.d.”
Would he be able to keep his promise if he became a top dragon and took on greater responsibilities? Revola couldn’t guarantee it.
‘I’m not Cranbel or Kubartos.’
He was less honorable than Cranbel and less ambitious than Kubartos. He was half-hearted. He couldn’t rule out the possibility of breaking his promise to Grid and living as a servant of the foreign G.o.d again.
[......]
With these thoughts, Revola endured the power of the Breaths, which were weakened from breaking through the snowstorm and his ice armor. He tried taking advantage of the gaps in his enemies’ attacks when they were reloading their Breaths, only to stop several times.
Enough.
The three dragons were already acutely aware of the difference in strength between them and Revola. They realized why Revola had been defeated by a mere G.o.d. It wasn’t because he was weak or incapable. Grid was simply strong...
[What should I do with you guys?]
[...Is there any answer other than killing us? Of course, we will devour at least one of your eyeb.a.l.l.s, Revola.]
Even a lower-ranked dragon was a dragon. They might break, but they didn’t bend.
‘I’ll try not to kill them.’
The intentions of the dragons and their unbreakable fighting spirits now made clear to Revola, he prepared for a counterattack.
Just then, a thunderous voice echoed throughout the mountains.
[You are hesitating to the very end.]
A lightning strike swiftly followed through.
Suddenly, the wings of the three dragons were ripped off. A dragon stood in the middle of the other three, and he was larger than Revola, despite having enlarged his body with ice.
A being who showed off his majesty even though his entire body was covered in ice. It was none other than the top dragon, Kubartos.
Every time Kubartos shot a Breath and swung his tail, the scales of the lower-ranked dragons were repeatedly ripped off. Then, three still pulsating hearts suddenly fell into Kubartos’ hands.
[Thank you, Revola. I benefited thanks to your foolish hesitation.]
Gulp.
Kill and eat. There was no hesitation in Kubartos’ actions.
Revola had been watching the scene, stunned. His face twisted in a frown.
[How can you take the hearts of your own people?]
[An indecisive guy like you wouldn’t have betrayed your own people... Of course, these guys were traitors.]
[......]
[If you are going to blame someone, blame Cranbel. If he hadn’t seriously injured me, I would’ve thought twice about eating them.]
This meant that he had failed to kill Cranbel. If Kubartos had succeeded in killing Cranbel, he would’ve eaten Cranbel’s heart and returned to a healed state. Revola couldn’t help but feel relieved.
Kubartos instantly entered Revola’s realm and declared coldly, [Get lost.]
The blizzard would scatter into ashes every time it touched his golden scales.
[What are you doing?]
Kubartos’ eyes dropped. Revola was standing with his back to the entrance to Trauka’s lair.
Revola took a deep breath and spoke cautiously.
[Trauka’s condition is worse than you think.]
[Hoh... I wonder why you would reveal this information to me.]
Currently, Grid was rampaging inside the lair, and Kubartos was the only one who could quickly deal with such a situation. Despite this, Revola stood in the way, holding Kubartos’ gaze unwaveringly, who was starting to become uncomfortable.
[I wonder if you are after Trauka’s life.]
In the end, Revola was honest about his concerns. He immediately paid a harsh price for it. Kubartos grabbed Revola by the neck, his claws slowly squeezing the ice armor, smas.h.i.+ng even the blue scales.
[It’s fine for you to doubt me. However, you have to recognize the severity of your accusation.]
[Kuek...!]
[This is an old dragon. It’s only fair that I should be the one taking his life, not Grid. Could it be that you have a different idea?]
[No way... It can’t be. It’s just... I hope that an old dragon won’t die... That’s my only hope.]
[I am of the same opinion. Can’t you discern even that much?]
Smirk.
Kubartos’s long muzzle opened, his claws digging deep into Revola’s neck until red blood spilled out like from a faucet. It froze in the cold air, looking like a blooming transparent flower. By the time it melted and seeped into the ground, Revola would have long been dead.
Kubartos’s metal-like eyes, which were even colder and s.h.i.+nier because of the cold, gradually became filled with a dark killing intent...
[I don’t know what the situation is.]
In the midst of this short silence, a gray-haired man with well-trained muscles had descended, his hair swaying in the air.
This man who’d fallen between the two mountain-like bodies of the dragons was only two meters tall, but he had a presence that was capable of easily catching others’ attention.
[Go away.]
The double-handed palm energy blew away the dragons to the left and right.
Revola was still in a dreadful state and groaned because he couldn’t handle the attack, but Kubartos seemed fine.
However, there was a follow-up attack.
A giant sword fell from the sky and aimed at Kubartos’ head. Even that was blocked.
“Zeratul, isn’t it a bit concerning that your surprise attack failed?”
[I don’t do surprise attacks. I attacked after giving a fair notice.]
‘Are you bragging?’
Martial G.o.d Zeratul and Sword G.o.d Biban.
The strongest force of the Overgeared World arrived at a new battlefield.