< Chapter 95 - Victory #2 >
&
Every fight, big or small, always requires cleanup.
Such as tracking down fleeing enemies, capturing prisoners, and recovering friendly survivors.
“I can’t see Sicily.”
Kamael frowned at the report from Carmen, a member of the Order of the Holy Cross.
Because Malekith had used so much large-scale magic, not only the battlefield but even the corpses were a mess.
So, is Sicilia’s body also damaged?
Could it be that Cecilia is among the unidentified corpses?
‘No way.’
Even though it was difficult to confirm identity, it was not to the extent that it was impossible to distinguish between races.
Given these conditions – a woman, an elf, a body imbued with powerful magic, silver hair, and the light purple skin characteristic of fallen dark elves – it would be possible to distinguish Sicilia’s corpse, even if her face was disfigured or parts of her body were missing.
But I couldn’t do it.
Sicilia’s body was never found.
‘Did he run away?’
Given the circumstances, that was highly likely. So Kamael frowned and clicked his tongue.
“I can’t help it.”
Although her light was diminished by the great threat of the ancient dragon Malekith, Cecilia was also a powerful necromancer.
If she had escaped the island alive, it would have been highly likely that she would have caused harm to the continent in some way.
“Put out a wanted notice in each area through the Guardians.”
“All right.”
There was no way Sicilia, who was good at magic, could be caught with just a bounty, but it was better than not doing anything at all.
If anything, big or small, could hinder her progress, the continent would become safer.
‘Still… it’s fortunate that Malekith and Orga were killed.’
Malekith was dead, and of his three knights only Cecilia survived.
The Dragon Legion was virtually annihilated, with only a few leaving the island, so the threat from the south that had persisted for three hundred years was effectively eradicated.
“How did things go with the orcs and goblins?”
“Most of them surrendered without much resistance. Most of them were held captive due to fear of the Dragon Legion… and they saw such a sight before their eyes.”
Such a sight.
A 150-meter-tall evil dragon rampages, a giant flash golem attacks the evil dragon, and lightning strikes continuously from the sky.
A human hero who cut through the dark sky and the evil dragon with a sword of light over 100 meters long amidst earthquakes and storms.
There was even a single stroke of light that took the life of the evil dragon, so it was like witnessing a myth with my own eyes.
Any race other than orcs and goblins would have to give up the thought of confronting them.
“That’s good. Did you hear how to handle it?”
“The South still has slaves, but there are too many of them, so they won’t take them all as slaves. They will either hand them over to the surrounding orc tribes for ransom, or they will make contact with the goblin kingdoms.”
“It won’t be easy either way.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we can just kill everyone who surrenders.”
The number of captured orcs and goblins was in the thousands, so it would be impossible to just close our eyes and annihilate them.
Aside from ethical issues, the orc tribes and goblin kingdoms located around the south would not tolerate this.
“Well, I guess you guys figure it out.”
What happened after that was the job of the Seven Southern Clans. It was not something the Holy Cross Guardians could intervene in.
So Kamael spoke of more important matters.
“What happened to Malekith’s body?”
“As you said, the Seven Southern Clans are being greedy. Our Holy Cross Guardians are currently protecting them, but we don’t know when they will start throwing tantrums.”
As always, to the victors went the spoils.
And the greatest spoil of this battle, no matter what anyone says, was Malekith himself.
Even the corpse of an adult dragon would have enormous value, but it was the corpse of an ancient dragon.
Its body length is 150 meters!
‘Honestly, I can’t even imagine.’
Even Kamael, who was a quick-thinking man, could not quickly calculate how much Malekith’s corpse would be worth in monetary terms.
Because the numbers would have been astronomical.
‘I’m going to run at you with my eyes wide open.’
They had gathered their strength to fight back against the threat of Malekith, but now that threat had disappeared.
Then, what was left was a struggle among themselves to secure the family’s benefit.
And Kamael’s prediction was not wrong.
As soon as the battlefield was somewhat cleared up, the heads of the seven southern clans, led by Marquis Offand and Count Kagehama, who had directly participated in this battle, stormed into Kamael’s barracks.
“We are not being unreasonable, we are simply asserting our legitimate rights!”
As Count Kagehama raised his voice, the representatives of the seven southern clans nodded in unison.
It seemed that they intended to maintain an alliance until Malekith’s body was taken from the Holy Cross Defenders.
“In this battle, our Southern Seven Clans have indeed spent enormous amounts of money. We have also made great sacrifices. The number of people killed or injured in this battle alone exceeds one thousand.”
As Marquis Offand added in a rather polite tone, Count Kagehama clenched his fist as if he was enthusiastically agreeing.
“Malekith was our long-time southern enemy. Now we must pay the price for the bloodshed of three hundred years ago.”
I thought this battle alone was a weak justification, but it was Count Kagehama who brought out his ancestors as well.
And that’s why Kamael smiled coldly.
Because these were all stories within the expected range.
“I understand. Your contribution in this battle is by no means small. After all, the Seven Southern Clans operated the fleet.”
At Kamael’s words, Count Kagehama laughed heartily, and the representatives of the heads of the families smiled broadly.
But it wasn’t the Marquis of Orphan, because the divine blood flowing through his body sensed an ominous aura.
And as always, that premonition came true.
“How about the rights to the corpses of the Dragon Legion, including Dragon General Orga – that is, the corpses of the adult dragons – all belong to the Seven Southern Clans?”
“Hmm, that’s obvious… Wait, what did you just say?”
Count Kagehama, who had been nodding with a satisfied expression, asked again with wide eyes. Kamael answered again with a very beautiful and refreshing smile.
“It was said that the corpses of the Dragon Army would belong to the Seven Clans of the South.”
Adult dragons of the Dragon Corps, including Dragon General Orga.
Count Kagehama raised his voice again at the story that left Malekith out.
“Oh! What are you talking about now? In this battle, our Southern Seven Clans-.”
“You did a great job. You fought well against the dragon army, orcs, and goblins. So, the rights to the orcs and goblins should also be given to the Southern Seven Clans.”
“No, what are you talking about! Our Southern Seven Clans-”
That was it. Count Kagehama’s face was red with excitement, but he could not continue speaking.
Because Kamael was glaring at him with such cold eyes.
The Sword Demon Kamael.
The strongest swordsman in the Holy Cross Guardians, considered to be on par with the swordsmen of that continent.
A Paragon hero who defeated the Demon Prince together with Iron Man Landius.
He smiled coldly. He continued speaking while looking straight at Count Kagehama.
“Tell me, what did the Seven Houses of the South do? What role did they play in the fight against Malekith?”
“That, that······.”
Count Kagehama was speechless. He was afraid of Kamael’s cold gaze, but he really had nothing to say about the fight with Malekith.
“We have struck him down. So we will have Malekith’s body. You may have the rest.”
The five heroes of Paragon.
Most of them were wandering wildlings without any affiliation, but Kamael was not one of them.
He was the highest ranking of the six commanders of the Order of the Holy Cross, and in terms of military power alone, he was the strongest in the Order of the Holy Cross.
The weight of his words was never light.
“Ugh.”
Is this how it’s going to be?
The fight with Malekith was truly mythical, and so there was no room for the seven southern houses, who were usually mortals, to interfere.
As Kamael said, he was of no help in the fight against Malekith, so it was difficult to claim his rights.
“Then… are you saying that the Holy Cross Guardians are going to take everything?”
When Count Gaolan’s agent mustered up the courage to ask, Kamael shook his head slightly.
“I will share it with those who have distinguished themselves in this battle. The Holy Cross Guardians will only take my share.”
“then······.”
“I’m going to divide it into exactly six.”
The share of four of the five heroes of Paragon: Kamael himself, Landius, Lena, and Velkian.
And the shares of both Uther and Cordelia.
“You don’t have to worry, the Holy Cross Guardians will take responsibility for transporting it to the mainland.”
“Uh …
It was a situation where I couldn’t use force because my opponent was my opponent.
Moreover, it was difficult to criticize it ethically, as it was not just the Holy Cross Guardians swallowing it up, but rather those who actually participated in the battle dividing it among themselves.
‘I guess I have no choice but to collect some commission since it’s come to this.’
Because if we were going to dispose of Malekith’s body, it had to go through the upper ranks anyway.
The five heroes of Paragon were likely to go through the Holy Cross Guardians where Kamael was, but it might be possible for the nobles of the kingdom, Uther and Cordelia, to somehow be roasted here.
‘Then are we the ones who have the most advantage?’
The Marquis of Offand thought of the face of his youngest daughter, who had also participated in this battle.
Uther and Cordelia were close friends with Caesar, so they were at the forefront of the seven southern families.
And Kamael, who witnessed the joy and sorrow being divided again among the seven southern families, smiled faintly.
Because it was obvious what they were thinking.
‘But it won’t be easy.’
The opponent was a dark-skinned Yuder.
‘Anyway, I feel relieved.’
Since the people in this place are mostly martial artists, it was easy to convince them.
There has never been anyone so shameless as to make excuses in the face of obvious truth.
‘Landius and Lena would love it. And so would Professor Belkian.’
It’s not like the three of them, who were wandering wild men, were free of material desires.
In the first place, it would have required a huge amount of money to travel across the continent.
Moreover, in the case of Belkian, who used to spend astronomical amounts of money on experiments, he would be even more pleased with this.
‘You could just use it as experimental material, though.’
Anyway, now that he had secured Malekith’s body, his part was done.
“Then let’s discuss the rest.”
Kamael changed the subject altogether, and the seven Southern Clans sighed deeply and talked about issues such as the withdrawal and transport of prisoners.
&
Two days later in the afternoon.
A bedroom – or rather, a bed – in a luxury accommodation located in Argonne Harbor.
Cordelia, also wearing a hospital gown, was next to Uther, who was lying on the bed.
“How are you feeling?”
“It’s okay. It’s still a bit difficult to use my internal energy… but I feel like my external injuries have all improved.”
As a result of using the Yin-Yang Unity, Yuder’s body became like a rag.
This is because, unlike Cordelia, who simply consumed a lot of magic power, both her body and soul were destroyed.
“But it gets better, right?”
“Of course. There is a life sphere inside me. I may need some rest, but I will definitely get better.”
“Hehe, that’s a relief.”
When Cordelia smiled warmly as if relieved, Uther smiled as well.
“How about you, Cordelia?”
“I’m fine. My magic power has recovered. I’m just a little weak, but I’ll feel better soon if I rest.”
When Cordelia raised her arm as if to show off, Uther smiled brightly. Even though it was a smooth arm without any muscle, it seemed to be healthy anyway.
“Anyway… I caught Malekith.”
Cordelia nodded at Uther’s words.
Ancient Black Dragon Malekith.
In the original, he was the incarnation of destruction that devastated not only Argon Harbor but the entire southern part of the Kingdom of Cailun.
“In the original, wasn’t this only possible in the latter half?”
“Yeah, maybe… it might be the biggest change to the original work I’ve ever done.”
Because defeating Malekith was only possible towards the end of the original story.
Moreover, the influence of a man with power comparable to that of the Demon Prince was incomparable to that of the Great Demon Kremler or the Guardian Prince who were scheduled to appear in the North.
“Now the Kingdom of Seilun will never fall.”
Because we’ve eliminated all the factors that could cause it to collapse.
The North was intact, and the wild lands that would normally have been invaders had become staunch allies.
Although the royal road suffered great turmoil, the royal family itself remained intact, and because of the work of the Duke of Guiseong, the contemporary king, Henry II, was reborn as a wiser and more powerful king than in the original.
Malekith and his dragonflight, who had the potential to overthrow not only the South but the entire kingdom of Cailun, were destroyed before they could properly rise up.
It was a situation where it was impossible to fail even if you wanted to fail.
Cordelia laughed happily again at Uther’s story and leaned her upper body against the bedside and said.
“We’ve already prevented two of the seven great plagues. Now there are only five left.”
In the original, the empire collapsed before the seven great disasters, but this time it would be different.
The number of disasters was reduced, and there was a kingdom that could stand together against them.
“Yeah, so… from now on, there’s a high possibility that things we don’t know about will happen.”
A great upheaval was needed to bring about a great resurgence.
The fall of the Kingdom of Seilun and the Empire.
Chaos in various places caused by the seven great disasters.
The South, turned into hell by Malekith.
Because all of these conditions were met, the great summoning occurred at the end of the original work.
“The ones who cause the Great Summoning… In the original, it was slightly different depending on the route, but no matter what, they won’t stay still. They’ll try to cause a new chaos that we don’t know about.”
And the tribulation was more likely to occur in an empire than in a kingdom.
“Because a fire needs a spark.”
There was no longer any spark left in the Kingdom of Seilun.
‘and······.’
Perhaps the demon followers would also now begin to feel burdened by the presence of Uther and Cordelia.
They’ve been involved in every single thing they’ve planned and failed to do in the past year.
“Then, Yuder, when you get better this time, will you go to the empire?”
“Maybe so?”
Because I had to meet playable characters from the Empire, including the pearl artificial Maximilian.
“However, we will move a little differently than before. Up until now, we have been moving more passively, knowing that a great danger would arise and preparing for it, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right.”
“Yes, but now it’s our turn to attack. The us from now on is different from the us from before.”
Cordelia tilted her head at Uther’s words, but soon understood what he meant.
“Because you have power and authority?”
“Bingo. There’s also wealth and connections there.”
If Uther and Cordelia had talked about the demon followers about a year ago, no one would have listened.
In fact, didn’t they have to use every means necessary to mobilize the Knights during the kidnapping incident targeting the children of the 12 Northern Clans?
But now it was different.
Juder himself was Count August Bayer and Cordelia was Count August Chase.
He had a fiefdom, and he also had immense wealth that he did not yet have but would soon have.
And that’s not all?
These two people also had close relationships with the royal family that led the kingdom.
‘Here are the five heroes of Paragon.’
They weren’t the same people they were a year ago.
It was also possible to directly attack the headquarters of the demon followers located within the Kingdom of Seilun.
“Hehehe, I like it. I like the attack.”
As Cordelia smiled brightly, Uther also smiled brightly and nodded.
“First, we clean up the kingdom, and then we stir up the empire. Based on our experience so far, it may be possible to block some of the seven disasters early.”
Remove it before it becomes a disaster.
“And in the meantime, do you pack anything you need to pack?”
“That’s right.”
Acquisition of the Ultimate Four Magic Blaster, the last remaining unclaimed item in the Ultimate Series.
Here I had to collect the Arcaman series and the stone tablet pointing to the tomb of Garius.
I also had to obtain the protection of the fairies.
“You must be quite busy.”
“But I’ll have some free time for a while. In the original, there was quite a gap after the fall of the Kingdom of Seilun.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Let’s get some rest for now. Getting healthy is the priority. Let’s also put off training for now. Okay?”
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
When Uther answered obediently, Cordelia smiled again, then suddenly wiggled her fingers and glanced around.
In the large bedroom, there were only two people: Uther and Cordelia.
And so Cordelia pursed her lips a few times, then reached out and grabbed Uther’s sleeve.
“Cordelia?”
Instead of answering Uther’s question, Cordelia just pulled at his sleeve more, and Uther coughed in vain at Cordelia’s face that had turned red.
The reason Cordelia is acting like that.
The reason why he pulls his sleeves as if he is being pressured with a red face.
Yuder, who had been suppressing his embarrassment by coughing, eventually ended up laughing.
Because what Cordelia did was so cute.
So, Uder asked in a small voice, a little mischievously.
“Do you want to…?”
Cordelia’s face grew even redder. But instead of getting angry or cursing like usual, she nodded slightly and pulled at his sleeve again, sending him a longing look.
“Ahem.”
Unknowingly, Yuder crossed his legs and laid down, looking around, then grabbed Cordelia’s arm and pulled her, and Cordelia crawled up onto the bed and approached Yuder. Without saying who would go first, they kissed.
Lightly, gently, but soon heavy and dense.
And Uther had no choice but to admit it.
Cordelia was a genius, after all. She had completely conquered Uther himself in just two days.
As Uther gently caressed Cordelia’s back, Cordelia hugged Uther’s neck and began to attack him more aggressively.
They hadn’t progressed beyond kissing yet, and had stopped there, but they had made great progress in many ways compared to two days ago.
And one minute, two minutes.
That moment when they were longing for and attacking each other.
Uther and Cordelia both flinched at the same time and stopped moving.
Even though we were deeply in love with each other, we felt a small movement through the door.
Who came?
But no matter how long I waited, the door did not open. Instead, I could only feel a small sound moving away into the distance.
‘Was he just a passerby?’
Or maybe a small animal.
But Uder couldn’t continue thinking any further.
As soon as the sound disappeared, Cordelia took an active offensive again.
If things continued like this, we might end up in complete defeat.
‘I don’t really know the criteria for winning or losing.’
No matter what, I can’t lose.
Uder put strength into the arm that was holding Cordelia’s waist, grabbed the back of her neck, and changed their positions. From the position of being pressed down to the position of being pressed down, this time Uder himself took the offensive.
And that was when the battle between the two continued.
“Hmm.”
“Ahem.”
Two people outside the door.
The two counts, who had hurriedly used silencing magic and the removal of their presence to hide their presence, faced each other.
Unlike Scarlett, the two of them knew what to do, so instead of just swinging the door open, they conveyed their intentions with their eyes, gestures, and magic messages.
‘Can I have a drink?’
[I’ll be back in about an hour.]
Count Bayer and Count Chase.
The two counts, who arrived late, left the hallway cautiously and quietly.
And half an hour later.
When the two counts were sitting across from each other in a cafe on the first floor of a luxury hotel, they were having a heated discussion about the name of their child.
There was a knock on the door of Uther and Cordelia.
&
< Chapter 95 - Victory #2 > End
