< Chapter 31 - Holy Land #3 >
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Black Knight Billvine.
He was one of the strongest among the intermediate-level demon eyes, and he looked up at the basin.
“That place is a holy place.”
Born into a fallen knightly family of the Argonian Empire, he knew little about the savage lands.
But even he couldn’t help but feel special in the holy place before his eyes.
‘According to the information, the ones guarding it are one wild god and four lowest-level angels.’
In fact, the western land of the Savage Lands had already fallen into the hands of the Angry Horn Tribe – the Devil’s Eye.
Thanks to this, the Devil’s Eye was able to obtain all sorts of information about the Wild Lands, including information about the wild gods in the east, as well as the locations of dragon veins and holy places.
‘Bluebeard, a wild god in the shape of a dragon.’
Although he was a dragon, he was still a young dragon and would not be very strong, but he was a wild god as well as a dragon.
He was by no means an easy opponent.
‘Moreover, the goal is capture.’
It was Bilbain’s mission to corrupt the dragon veins, cloud the spirit of the wild god, and then corrupt Bluebeard with the power of the great overlord Belial.
‘After luring him out, activate the spell. If you defeat the tomb guardians while keeping the wild god tied up, the holy land will become a deserted place.’
After reviewing the general strategy in his head, Billbain stopped about a hundred meters from the entrance to the Holy Land and ordered his men to form up.
‘I’ll make it so you have no choice but to come out.’
The dragon veins were spread out like a net throughout the wild land, just like the blood vessels in the human body.
The holy place is where such dragon veins gather and circulate, like the heart of a human being.
In order to properly pollute the Dragon Vein, it was necessary to occupy such a heart – the Dragon Vein Spring, but in any case, even the minute Dragon Veins were Dragon Veins.
“Get started.”
“I will obey your orders.”
As Bilbain barked out his command, his black-armored subordinates followed their master and began to thrust their cursed spears of Overlord Belial into the ground.
“Because the power of Belial is young in this land······.”
As Bilbain chanted his spell between the rows of cursed spears, the curse took effect and the snow around him began to melt. A purple aura rose along the spears, and at the same time, a vicious green curse seeped into the ground.
Bilbain raised his head and looked at the entrance to the sanctuary.
What I had hoped for was coming true.
&
Ten minutes before Bill Bine sticks the Spear of Curse into the ground.
Uther and Cordelia looked at each other and spoke quickly.
“Bilbine is not just a simple brute force.”
“You have a brain, right? And you’re also a cautious person.”
“Right, and remember what the rough avalanche said?”
“A means to subdue the wild gods?”
“Yes, that’s the method. The rough avalanche was said to have been blocked by the evil objects and curses they had prepared. It’s highly likely that they’ve prepared something similar this time.”
“Block Bluebeard and capture the tomb guardians?”
“That’s right. So we have to destroy Billbain’s plan from the ground up.”
“How? With a fucking bang?”
“No, that’s what I’m saying. It’s true that if you blow up the Holy Land, you won’t be able to occupy it.”
“Just kidding, just kidding. You know who the bomber is. I’m not that kind of person.”
“···Let’s say that’s the case for now.”
“So what?”
“Anyway, what do you think Bill is missing right now?”
“Why don’t you just tell me instead of asking me? I can’t be bothered to think about it.”
“···Madam, I don’t want to give up on you yet······.”
“I know, I know. You want to say we? That’s what Bill Bine is missing.”
Because Uther and Cordelia won’t be in Billbain’s information.
Furthermore, although it was not intentional, it was Yuder and Cordelia who virtually annihilated the demon’s eye minions and their subordinates in the rough avalanche mountain and the fine snow wind field.
It was highly likely that they had not yet been informed of Uther and Cordelia, and even if they had, it would have been difficult to imagine that Uther and Cordelia would appear in the Holy Land.
“Oh… As expected. You’re the kind of kid who can do it. Let’s keep working hard in the future.”
“Let’s leave the brain dead for now. Anyway, if you break it from the root, then it’s Bluebeard?”
“That’s right, Billvine’s plan most likely starts with ‘sealing Bluebeard.’ In other words, if we can’t seal Bluebeard, we can ruin his plan from the beginning.”
“What means?”
“That.”
Yuder turned around and pointed to the Holy Land – to be exact, the Bluebeard Temple – and Cordelia narrowed her brows.
“Uh… Let’s not blow it up.”
“No, not the Dragon Vein. That place is both a temple to the Wild Gods and a sacred place for Solari.”
Cordelia blinked several times at Uther’s words and then understood.
Uther and Cordelia knew little about the Wild Gods, but not about Solari.
“Is it available?”
“You can do it.”
“Will it be time?”
“So, we have to hurry from now on.”
Cordelia nodded at Uther’s words and ran towards the entrance shouting.
“I’ll buy some time!”
“Don’t push yourself too hard! Got it?!”
“you also!”
Cordelia shouted something vaguely and ran without looking back, and Uther also flew towards the temple.
And about ten minutes.
Bluebeard reacted to the cursed spear that Billbain had stuck into the ground.
&
“Who is defiling the dragon vein!”
Bluebeard burst out of the temple, shouting.
It looked like he was going to charge at Billbain and his men at any moment.
No, I definitely would have done that if I had been alone.
Although he had been guarding the Holy Land for nearly a hundred years, this was the first time he had been attacked.
But there was Cordelia.
“Wait! Stop! You can’t go!”
Cordelia, who had drawn up her power through witchcraft, shouted with her magic power mixed in. Bluebeard stopped walking, but his angry expression remained the same.
“Stop! Can’t you see what they’re doing?”
He sticks a spear of curse into the ground and spreads the curse of Belial.
Cordelia had already seen similar things happen in the Land of the Windy Snow, so she understood the gist of it, but she still did not back down.
“I know! But it’s a trap! And it’s an obvious trap!”
A proper dragon vein – If it wasn’t a dragon vein spring, you couldn’t contaminate the dragon vein. In other words, what they were doing was like digging, but there was only one reason for them to dig like that.
‘Fishing!’
Bait to lure out Bluebeard.
“What about Yuder? He’s drawing a magic circle inside, right? We have to wait until Yuder finishes his work!”
Yuder was ignorant of the dragon veins but was bright in solaria.
He must have been drawing a magic circle to utilize the power of the Holy Land, so he must not do anything rash until Yuder completed the magic circle.
“But aren’t they polluting the land?”
“You can just clean it up later!”
“No, that’s true.”
Alone in the holy land, Bluebeard, who was weak-willed, hesitated for a moment, but only for a moment.
“Hey! Don’t stop me! I’m the guardian of the holy land! I’ll beat those guys to death with a single blow! Guardians of the tomb! Rise up and face the enemy!”
“Koooo!”
The four guardians of the tomb, stationed at the entrance in response to Bluebeard’s command, simultaneously spread their wings.
Cordelia stamped her feet with an urgent look on her face, then quickly made a decision.
“Parallelize!”
“Huh?!”
Cordelia’s second specialty was paralysis magic.
But, one way or another, it was Bluebeard, the wild god. Cordelia’s paralyzing spell made his body stiffen for a moment, but it didn’t last long.
It was because the Solari necklace hanging around Bluebeard’s neck was emitting a blue light and dispelling Cordelia’s magic.
‘Solari’s Curse-Removing Necklace!’
A necklace that protects the wearer from harmful spells once a day. The number of times it can be used is limited, but because its power of protection is so strong, it is an item that must be obtained and kept.
Anyway, Bluebeard shouted with an angry face, repelling Cordelia’s magic with the power of the necklace.
“I thought you were a good kid, but you’re not!”
“No! Just listen to me! Yes?!”
“Get out of my way!”
Bluebeard shouted threateningly as if he would launch a real attack if they interfered any further, then kicked off the ground and rose into the air. Using the Wind and Cloud Harmony, he rode the clouds and flew towards Bilbain together with the tomb guardians.
“Oh, really!”
Cordelia swallowed her swear words and looked back at the temple where Uther was, then clenched her teeth and stood.
I was worried about Bluebeard, but I had to leave one person near the temple in case they carried out a diversionary operation.
‘please!’
Now that it’s come to this, let’s show the wild god’s might!
It was the moment Cordelia had been longing for.
“Belial’s cursed hammer! Strike the enemy! Cursed web! Capture the enemy!”
As Bilbain shouted loudly, five of his men sacrificed themselves by cutting their own throats.
Bright red blood spread through the air, and at that moment, a dark red curse power shot out from the Spear of Curse and rushed towards Bluebeard.
The Devil’s Eye was a sealing curse exclusively for the Wild Gods, developed after investing a long time in carrying out this operation.
“Kwaaak!”
Although Bluebeard had great momentum, he was inexperienced in battle and was unable to properly deal with the curses that struck him repeatedly.
Bluebeard, who had his head struck by the hammer of curses, fell to the ground, and the curses of the net bound not only Bluebeard’s body but also his soul.
Solari’s necklace, which had already been used for today’s protection, was practically useless.
No, even if it had been usable, it wouldn’t have made a difference.
From the beginning, the Devil’s Eye had prepared a form in which ten curses would be activated in succession.
“Strengthen the curse! Completely seal the wild god!”
As Billbain shouted, five more of his men stepped forward and cut their own throats.
They were brainwashed sacrifices prepared for human sacrifice from the beginning.
“Kwaaah!”
Bluebeard, who had been desperately fighting against the curse, let out a scream of pain. The power of the curse had nearly doubled the moment the human sacrifices were added.
“The wild god has been sealed. Attack the holy land as it is!”
As Bilbain drew his sword and shouted, his men raised their flags and blew their horns.
They were part of the Devil’s Eye but were closer to the Knights Templar and began to charge towards the Holy Land, passing Bluebeard.
“Koooo!”
The guardians of the tomb spread their wings and rushed at Bilbain’s men.
However, they had already prepared countermeasures against the tomb guardians. They formed groups of ten to deal with the tomb guardians, creating a situation similar to a hunter and his prey on a hunt.
“I’m taking their breath away one by one.”
Billvain, with a pitch-black aura draped over his sword, instead of hastily heading to the holy land, advanced towards the guardian of the tomb.
It was a simple yet effective hunting method where ten of his men would tie up the feet of the tomb guardian while Bilbain himself would strangle him.
“Kuaaa······.”
The guardian of the first tomb lost his life without mercy.
Cordelia, who was watching the scene, gritted her teeth and thought.
The situation was already a mess. Here, he had to step up and protect the tomb guardians. It was best to cooperate with them to stop Bilbain and his men.
“let’s go.”
Cordelia took a deep breath and kicked the ground.
And at that moment, a loud noise erupted from behind.
Kwaaaaa-!
It was a temple.
At the top of the Solari temple was an open space to welcome the sun, and from there rose a brilliant pillar of golden light.
Cordelia quickly turned around and saw the pillar of light, and cheered, realizing what Uther had done.
“Long live the sun!”
Cordelia raised both hands high in the air, as if worshipping the sun.
Although it was not a particularly meaningful action, the pillar of light responded as if in response to it.
window-!
With a sound like glass breaking, the pillar of light split into hundreds and thousands of pieces. As if time had stopped, each piece seemed to linger in the air in its broken state, and soon an intense light enveloped the entire world.
The land of Solari.
A spell that spreads the power of Solari to the surrounding area, temporarily creating a Solari sanctuary.
And the effect was truly amazing.
“Ohhhhh!”
The guardians of the tomb grew in size. Their eyes glowed with golden light, and the holy power that covered their bodies nearly doubled in strength.
Not only that. The curse of Belial that had been weighing down Bluebeard was also instantly broken. The power of Bilbain and his men was also weakened.
“As expected, it’s our family’s Yuder!”
The power of the Solari stored in the Holy Land had just been squandered by the magic ritual, but the important thing now was to repel Bilbain and his men.
Cordelia, smiling brightly, looked toward the entrance of the temple. She was planning to rush towards Bilbain together with Uther when he jumped out.
But contrary to Cordelia’s expectations, Uther did not jump out.
No, I couldn’t jump out.
Because something that even Uther, let alone Cordelia, could not have imagined was happening.
‘The drinking, the drinking won’t stop!’
The center of the temple.
Yuder, who was standing in the center of a large magic circle, couldn’t move with a bewildered expression on his face.
There was nothing wrong with the drink.
By squandering the power of Solari stored in the temple, he succeeded in manifesting the land of Solari.
But the drinking didn’t stop.
Even though he had already squandered Solari’s power, he continued to gather strength.
And then Uther realized.
At this moment, what the magic circle was pulling was not the power of the Solari remaining in the Holy Land.
It was devouring the power of the dragon vein.
“Uder!”
Cordelia appeared at the entrance to the temple. She saw Uther, and with her animalistic intuition she realized.
“Hey! I told you not to blow it up!”
The dragon vein was writhing.
It felt as if Cordelia had deliberately set things off, as if a fight was about to break out.
And again, the two realized.
Uther saw through it because he was standing right above the magic circle, and Cordelia noticed it again thanks to her animalistic intuition.
It was different.
The flow of the dragon vein was not normal, but it was not a runaway. There was no explosion either.
Something else.
Not an explosion, but something that causes the power of the dragon vein to surge forth.
It wasn’t a drink.
The ritual was merely a trigger, and at this moment, it was someone else’s will that moved the dragon vein.
Kwaaaaah-!
“Uder!”
A golden pillar of light rose from the talisman again. The moment Cordelia saw it covering Uther, she rushed toward the talisman without hesitation. She threw herself between the pillars of light and tried to grab Uther.
And that’s why Cordelia could see it too.
Originally, he shared a sight that only Yuderman was supposed to see.
golden yellow.
A world shining entirely in gold.
“Cordelia!”
Uther quickly pulled Cordelia towards him and then moved her behind him as if hiding her.
Cordelia, who suddenly found herself standing behind Uther, raised her head and looked up at the sky instead of saying anything.
It was no longer a temple.
I couldn’t tell if it was a real space or a mental space, but what was unfolding before my eyes was not the sunset sky, but the eyes of a giant being.
“Golden Dragon.”
At that moment, as Cordelia spoke without realizing it, Uther also raised his head.
Cordelia was right.
A huge golden dragon covered in golden scales and with shining blue eyes was looking down at them.
“I am the golden dragon.”
A voice spread from heaven to earth.
Uther and Cordelia felt their own existences become smaller as they heard the voice of that huge, huge being.
“I am a being that is one with the dragon vein-”
The golden dragon’s head that had been high up there began to slowly descend towards Uther and Cordelia.
Cordelia flinched and drew up her magic power, and Uther took a half step to the side to cover Cordelia a little more.
“I have recently experienced a series of explosions in the dragon veins. And you are the ones causing them.”
The golden dragon’s voice had no highs or lows, so it was impossible to read his emotions.
Cordelia bit her lip and flinched once more at the list of plain facts, while Uther thought and thought again about how he should protect Cordelia from that gigantic being.
‘Should I run away after all? No, it’s impossible. If this space itself is the image of a golden dragon, then I can never escape. Then, forgive me? It was to save the wild gods – if there is to be a punishment, then let it be me -‘
As Uther’s head was moving busily, Cordelia stepped forward. She opened her lips that had been tightly shut with a determined expression on her face.
‘I was wrong. Please forgive me. Please forgive me. It was all my fault.’
It was the moment when I was about to let out my voice.
“Thank you.”
“I was wrong- yes?
As Cordelia blinked blankly, the golden dragon spoke again.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to open my eyes.”
What does this mean?
Could it be that the golden dragon appeared to punish them?
“I am one with the dragon vein. That is why I share life and death with the dragon vein. The evil group has completely taken over the western part of the wild land. While I was sleeping, they took advantage of it to pollute all the dragon veins in the west, causing me to fall into an even deeper sleep.”
Even in Heroes Chronicles 2, the golden dragon did not awaken.
It was because the Devil’s Eye had contaminated not only the dragon veins in the western part of the Wild Lands, but also all the dragon veins in the eastern part, causing the golden dragon to fall into an eternal sleep.
But Uther and Cordelia – Cordelia, to be precise – changed the situation.
The pollution in the East has been continuously blocked.
Since only the western dragon vein was polluted, decisive actions were taken to restore the consciousness of the golden dragon, which still had the potential to awaken.
“The dragon veins run wild.”
Uder said softly. The moment he said it to himself, he realized.
The explosion of the dragon vein caused ripples throughout the dragon vein.
And the ripples reached the consciousness of the golden dragon, which was in deep sleep.
“At first it was just a small ripple. But the recent big shock opened my eyes.”
A massive explosion of the dragon vein that would destroy the entirety of Endymion.
Cordelia blinked again.
Although she didn’t understand it as perfectly as Yuder, she had a rough idea of the situation this time too.
That’s why I spoke in a slightly timid tone.
“Uh… So did I do well?”
“Well done. Your actions deserve praise.”
A bright smile spread across Cordelia’s face.
As a bonus, my back and shoulders, which had been bent over from the harassment over the past few days, straightened out.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Uther, who tried hard to avoid Cordelia’s gaze that was raised to her chin, asked the golden dragon.
“Golden Dragon, are you now fully awake?”
“No, unfortunately not. I have opened my eyes, but I have only regained consciousness for a moment due to the shock. So, children, please do me a favor. Help me open my eyes completely.”
“I’ll help you!”
As Cordelia shouted, a small smile spread across the golden dragon’s face.
“Thank you, child. Then listen carefully to my story and put it into practice.”
The golden dragon closed his eyes and opened them again, and a map of the wild lands appeared above the golden sky, and the flow of the dragon veins was drawn on it again.
“Blast the polluted western dragon veins to shake off the evil power and create ripples throughout the dragon veins. Then I will be able to fully open my eyes.”
“······yes?”
Uder couldn’t help but ask again.
So, are you saying that we should blow up all the dragon veins in the West?
“Wow, so we’re legal now?”
Uther tried to ignore Cordelia’s admiration and tried to think rationally.
‘Yeah, it’s polluted land anyway.’
The Holy Land, Nabal, and the western ones are all contaminated. So blowing them all up would be a solution.
“The evil ones will try to protect the polluted Yongmaekcheon. But do not give in and destroy them all.”
“Yes, I will definitely do that. I promise!”
“Okay, thanks.”
Somehow, it seemed like the roles of good and evil had been reversed – Uder felt confused between the warm and yet not-so-warm conversation between the golden dragon and Cordelia, but he soon came to his senses and said the words that were most needed at this moment.
“Golden Dragon, we will follow your command, so please give us the strength to carry it out.”
Whatever happens, I will accept it whenever and wherever I can.
Cordelia, who suddenly came to her senses at Uther’s words, also said with an expression of courtesy.
“Please protect me.”
“I will do so. My protection will be with you, and all the wild gods will help you.”
That was the moment.
A burning heat rose on the back of Uther and Cordelia’s left hand, and a golden dragon emblem was engraved on it.
‘Huh! Dragon’s emblem?!’
It was a sentence that granted the owner the power of a dragon.
Among the numerous sentences in Hero Chronicles 2, this one is particularly rare, allowing its owner to use the power of a dragon with a human body.
‘A warrior uses dragon fighting, a wizard uses dragon magic.’
Especially in the case of wizards, if the power of the sentences continues to grow, they can even use dragon language magic, which is the magic of dragons.
“Wow.”
Cordelia’s face relaxed as if she had seen a diamond ring. And in fact, Uther was not much different.
“Children, I beg you. The wild lands – all those who live with the wilds -”
After saying his final words, the golden dragon closed his eyes.
Uther and Cordelia also closed their eyes as if following them, and when they opened them again, they were inside the temple.
“The magic circle has stopped.”
At that moment, Cordelia looked at the back of her hand again. It was a spotless white hand, but when she focused her consciousness, a golden dragon emblem appeared.
“It’s true. And I even got a license.”
“concession?”
“Yeah, a bombing license.”
It was the permission of none other than the Golden Dragon, the king of the wild gods and the true master of the wild lands.
Now no one will be able to tackle Cordelia’s moves.
“Oh, no. You can’t have a license to kill.”
“Okay? And it’s a blasting license, blasting.”
Cordelia, who stuck her tongue out, smiled bashfully and then clenched and unclenched her fists.
Although I didn’t look back, I had a gut feeling that during the moment I met the golden dragon, virtually no time had passed.
“Anyway, should we go now?”
To defeat Billvine and rescue Bluebeard.
“It’s the procession of legal troubleshooters.”
Cordelia stepped forward, her fangs flashing and her grin growing, and instead of following her, Uther looked up at the sky for a moment.
‘Oh, golden dragon.’
Maybe you made a slight mistake.
‘No, maybe not a little bit.’
Yuder, who had laughed bitterly, lowered his gaze and looked straight ahead.
I kicked the ground to catch up with Cordelia, who was already passing the temple entrance.
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< Chapter 31 - Holy Land #3 > End
