241
Red disaster
Felix is the storyteller of the Gartin Castle.
Originally, Felix was destined to become an oil merchant, following in the footsteps of his father, who was also an oil merchant.
It was one ordinary day that Felix’s fate changed.
Felix woke up early that morning and was managing the oil.
Oil was sometimes a problem, so it was managed away from the castle. While I was muttering curses at the foul smell of oil, something strange happened.
A huge roar that shook the ground was heard from afar. Felix turned his head to it and his eyes widened.
A giant red dragon was flying very high. Its size was so huge that it was intimidating even from a distance.
The Red Calamity was clear. Castle Gartin was the closest castle to the Red Calamity Zone. The oil house where Felex was was located between Castle Gartin and the Red Calamity Zone.
Probably the only person who saw it was Felix.
Felix stared blankly at the red disaster.
It was only a brief moment, but it was vividly remembered by Felix.
I messed up the oil management that day and got a big beating from my father.
Felix came home from work and had a drink with his friends, telling them about it.
Felix originally had a horse around him, but he was able to convey it more vividly because the image of the red disaster was deeply engraved in his mind.
When his friend, impressed by the story, bought him a drink and the guys at the next table threw Cooper over him to hear more, Felix realized.
I can make a living by selling stories of red disasters without being a stinking oil salesman.
That’s how I got into being a storyteller.
At first, it went quite well. Since no storyteller had actually seen the Red Disaster, he enjoyed great popularity even though he was a novice storyteller.
The story of the Red Calamity sold well, as many people visited the Gartin Castle to hear it. It was so popular that other storytellers were accepted as disciples.
However, no matter how much I exaggerated and embellished it, it was just the same old story over and over again.
As time passed, even the memories of the Red Disaster faded. Memories were not something that could be restored through effort.
Eventually, Felix was pressing oil again.
After failing so badly that I couldn’t even eat bread, I started making oil again and became a good oil seller. I didn’t have to worry about the burden of the story and eat dinner every night.
However, my heart did not beat.
When I was taking a deep breath-.
A familiar sound was heard from somewhere. Felix threw the oil can he was holding at Abi who was next to him and ran outside.
Even though Abi swore at him from behind, Felix didn’t stop.
When I arrived at that place and looked up-.
Felix once again encountered the red disaster he had dreamed of.
A red disaster was flying.
Higher than before-.
It soared so fast that it seemed as if it would reach the sky.
It was an overwhelming majesty that made my whole body tingle.
Felix looked at him with sharp eyes, unlike before.
What is the flapping of wings like and how should it be described?
How to express the powerful presence that emanates from that huge mass-.
I analyzed it coolly, not as moved as before.
While I was looking around like that, I found something near the Red Calamity’s chest.
As the red plague circled the forest, Felix could tell what it was.
It was a large man wearing armor. The man attached to the carapace under the red disaster’s chest was swinging a club in one hand vigorously.
Felix blinked at the sudden appearance.
‘······Are you beating up the red disaster?’
Felix, who realized this, opened his mouth wide.
Yes. The man attached to the red disaster was repeatedly hitting the red disaster with a huge club.
With each direct hit from the club, the red disaster twisted its body.
I realized that the red disaster’s howl was a scream of pain.
‘What the… what is that…’
Felix couldn’t believe it even though he saw it with his own eyes.
What kind of being is the Red Calamity? It was a legendary being that had endured for so many years as an imperial achievement.
Beating that red disaster like a beast-.
Felix opened his mouth at the pained howl of the red disaster flying far away. In fact, the red disaster’s body was shaking more and more violently. As if it was really going to be caught-.
Only after the red disaster had disappeared, Felix came to his senses and muttered in a trembling voice.
“The legendary warrior hunted the red disaster-. The brilliant club shined brightly-. No, the sword shined brightly-.”
Felix, who had been mumbling, trailed off. Could he risk his life for that dragon who was being beaten with a club?
“I have to finish cleaning up the oil today.”
Felix shook his head and returned to the oil shop.
And then he got spanked by his father, who was covered in oil.
***
‘There’s a lot of resistance.’
I clicked my tongue and looked down. I had risen so high that everything looked like dots.
Even though I had let go of all my strength, I had been struggling all day. Right now, I was hanging on to the guy’s shell and pounding on it.
‘It’s fortunate that I couldn’t shoot the breath.’
If it weren’t for that, it would have been very difficult to access.
‘If you don’t fall after being hit ten times, you can try hitting a hundred times.’
I muttered a famous saying and pulled at the shell. The shell, which had been holding on for a moment, split open. I put my foot in there and held it in place, then picked up the club.
He habitually swung his club. Kwung-. He hit the shell, and it made a heavy sound like he was hitting iron.
I shook my hand slightly from the recoil and swung the club again. Even though its shell was thick, the bastard’s body flinched as if it had taken the impact.
I swung my club diligently. At that moment, the giant tail of the creature approached from the side. Because of its large size, its tail was also huge, and even the tip was thicker than mine.
It hid itself in the crevices of its shell, but its tail twisted and struck me. The dragon’s movements were extremely delicate, as if its tail were a hand.
I hugged the tail. The tail moved quickly, and blood rushed to my head for a moment. The tail moved greatly as if trying to shake me off.
‘be high-.’
The view from below, hanging on the tail, was dizzyingly high. The harsh wind beat against my face. It was hard to open my eyes.
My hand slipped for a moment. I hurriedly put the club between my shells and grabbed it. I could barely stop at the end. My legs were shaking in the air.
‘That was a close call.’
I barely managed to cling to the tail and muttered curses. Cold sweat ran down my back. Fortunately, I had at least experienced an aerial battle with BbungBbung.
‘I expected it to be impossible, but-.’
The bastard’s resistance was rougher than I thought.
[How to tame a monster? First, you need a divine power specialized for monsters. Oh, and even without that, there are a few ways. First, you communicate with them through eye contact. It’s important to let them know that you have no intention of harming them.]
The words of the guy who was driving the earthworm came to mind. Why hasn’t he given me the earthworm he said he would give me yet? – I shook my head and set a goal.
In order to exchange glances, you first have to go all the way to the head.
I clicked my tongue and looked up. I couldn’t see the end of the thing’s size. It felt like I was stuck on a flying island.
There were places where the shell had fallen off. Most of them were traces left by the apostles. A few were my work.
It was a long time ago when I would arrive at that far away place.
‘It’ll be over soon.’
It was a trivial matter compared to the work.
He fastened the club to his back and held the shell tightly. His tail swung wildly. It felt like the world was blending together.
I gritted my teeth and reached out to the shell above. I could barely reach it with my fingertips. I had to jump to get up.
It was crazy to have to run while hanging on to the wagging tail like a dog that met its owner.
‘It’s medieval climbing.’
I took a deep breath. I waited for the right moment, feeling the wagging of the tail.
Finally, when the tail reached the end, it jumped up.
As time slowed down, the shell that was nearby began to feel far away. It was only after I finally caught the shell that the loud wind noise returned.
‘It’s kind of fun.’
If given the chance, it could be developed into a sport later on. Like high-flying dragon climbing.
He muttered a joke and turned his gaze to the next shell. He waited for the tail to move.
Kkak-. My hand slipped slightly and it was a little dangerous, but I was able to hold on by holding the end with my thumb and index finger.
After repeating it over and over again, I started to get the hang of it. For example, when jumping to the next shell, if you kick your feet hard, your tail will go up and it will be easier.
As my know-how accumulated, I gradually gained speed. I was soon able to reach the seam between the tail and the body. I leaned back against the carapace, which was bent like a chair, and took a breather.
The carapace near the seam seemed immobile.
‘The view is nice-.’
Looking down from above, it was quite a beautiful view. I took out my water bottle while admiring him. The liquor I drank from between the dragon’s buttocks and tail was very delicious.
I started climbing again, my neck hunched over. As I reached the back of the creature, past the tail, the wind became much weaker. The tail seemed to be the hardest part.
It was actually easier than going straight ahead. Plus, since I was moving along the spine, I couldn’t even reach the bastard’s tail.
At that moment, the shells trembled. They shook wildly as if rejecting me. The shells moved in each direction as if the thing had its head on them.
‘The difficulty level has increased.’
He clicked his tongue and picked up the club that was on his back.
The next shell vibrated and shook. I put the club in and fixed it in place just in time for the shell to open. Crunch-. There was a dangerous sound, but the club held its ground.
By fixing it like that and jumping up, I was able to climb up easily.
He climbed diligently, sometimes hitting them with a club, and sometimes tearing their shells.
Now I was standing over the guy’s head.
The sunset was beautiful in the distance.
It was a heavy ride that couldn’t be compared to when I was riding a buggy. It felt like riding a truck after riding a tricycle.
‘Exchange of glances.’
I glanced down. The guy was still struggling.
It was impossible to exchange glances right away.
First, I had to administer a sedative.
By chance, there was a place where the apostle had torn the shell. The flesh underneath the shell was hard, unlike that of humans.
Still, it wasn’t to the extent of a shell. He spat on his hand and adjusted his grip on the club.
He took a stance and struck down with all his might.
Kuung! The sound was still heavy, but unlike when I hit the shell, it felt good.
The guy staggered back as if he had been shocked.
[Who dares to cut off my head-.]
‘You haven’t come to your senses yet.’
He struck the club again, pondering the bastard’s name.
Kwung! I felt the strength leave the guy’s neck.
Kuung! The attack seemed to have landed, and the guy’s wings flapped.
Kwah! The guy’s head went down.
Kwah! The other wing also lost strength. It began to shake precariously.
Kuung! The guy let out his first ragged breath.
Kwung! The giant body lost its strength and began to fall.
Kwung! The wings that had been struggling folded and the speed of the fall increased.
I lowered my posture and grabbed the nearest shell. My head was spinning because of how fast I was falling.
As the speed increased, it became so fast that it was difficult to breathe.
Kwaaaaaaaah!
The red disaster has fallen.
***
Red Calamity opened his heavy eyelids with a sharp headache.
The guy was looking down at me right in front of me.
The Red Calamity felt truly strange about having someone looking down on him.
The guy wasn’t in great shape either. His arms were bent in strange directions, and his armor was broken in places. He looked like he could collapse at any moment.
However, the bastard was standing up, and the red disaster was lying face down.
‘I lost.’
The Red Calamity admitted defeat.
The Red Calamity remembered the bastard. He was the bastard who had looked up at him and made such arrogant remarks.
At that time, the reason I saved his life was because of a very small interest.
Plus, he was the one being chased by the damn empire.
That guy who wasn’t that good-looking became so strong in such a short period of time.
“hey.”
Then the guy called out in a rough and arrogant voice.
For some reason, the guy reminded me of the one and only friend of the Red Calamity.
The friend who was always honest and spoke only of justice and the guy had absolutely nothing in common.
The red disaster naturally brought back memories.
Before he was called the Red Calamity, a boy came into his area. The Red Calamity was curious to see a human for the first time in a long time.
The boy stood firm and declared that he would use the area. The logic was that there was no owner to the land, but the bored Red Calamity gave permission.
After that, the boy swung his crude wooden sword every day. Although his movements were very poor, he did not give up and continued to do so steadily.
It was a fun spectacle for the Red Calamity.
The boy looked at the red disaster with sparkling eyes and told it various stories. The boy spoke in a whining tone, but it was full of interesting things for the red disaster that was just sleeping in the forest.
After a very short time, the boy became a young man. Even though he only swung his sword by himself, the boy’s once rough swordsmanship was now refined.
One day, a young man entered a swordsmanship competition. He must have had talent, because he won right away. After that, the interval between visits increased. However, for Yong-in Red Disaster, it was only for a moment.
Every time the young man came, his armor and clothes changed. But his sparkling eyes remained the same.
The young man’s story became more colorful and rich. The red disaster waited for the stories the young man brought.
After the young man became king, the cycle became even longer. Of course, for the red disaster of Yongin, even that was only a moment.
Then one day, a young man, now a man, came to see her, carrying a sword just like before.
An evil demon has declared an empire to devour the continent, and the man who became king will form a suicide squad to stop him.
He told Red Calamity to go with him. The man’s eyes were shining brightly as they did when he was a boy.
Because I had been staying up late listening to the man’s story, I couldn’t go with him.
He promised. He would come back.
He also promised him a red disaster. He said he would wait.
Red Calamity fell asleep, anticipating the story he would bring.
When the Red Calamity opened its eyes again, the forest was incomparably quieter than before.
I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but the trees around me were different than last time.
The red disaster waited for the man, but he did not return.
It turned out to be untrue after a long time, but the man was not killed by Hyuksun. He was killed by another human in the suicide squad.
The suicide squad failed to reach its goal and collapsed due to human greed.
The man was recorded as a villain rather than a hero, and all those associated with him were hanged.
The man with those sparkling eyes was a villain.
From then on, the red disaster did not sleep.
Only then did Red Calamity realize why this guy had reminded him of him.
‘Your eyes look similar.’
Although the appearance was clearly different, the feeling he gave off was the same. The light that had not changed since he was a boy, a young man, a man was visible in him too.
‘It was definitely dead eyes last time.’
[I lost.]
Red Calamity closed his heavy eyelids.
I knew all along that he wouldn’t come back.
I had expected that a day like this would come someday.
at that time-.
“Yeah, you’re a bumblebee now.”
The guy was saying something strange.
Red Calamity forced his heavy eyelids up.
“I’m thinking of catching hypocrisy. Do you want to come with me?”
The man with his eyes wide open smiled brightly and spoke roughly.
The tone was rough and crude, but the content was the same as what the man had said.
Plus, the guy’s smile was just like a man’s.
Red Calamity blinked blankly.
“You’re a fucking empire too, aren’t you?”
At the bastard’s light words that followed, Red Calamity forgot his pain and laughed.
Because the guy who said that this time sounded like a young man.
[Just ask one thing.]
The red disaster stared at him clearly. For some reason, the guy kept overlapping with him.
“There’s no salary. You lost.”
He nodded while saying something that the guy couldn’t understand.
[Why do you aim for the empire?]
The Red Calamity remembered him clearly.
Back then he was a lowly fugitive. Now he’s suddenly trying to catch hypocrisy.
The guy was silent for a moment, scratching his cheek.
The red disaster waited quietly.
“Because it’s like shit.”
Although he didn’t know what it meant, Red Calamity nodded, moving his heavy neck.
Because he laughed just like a boy.
[Yeah, that sucks.]
***
‘It’s stronger than I thought.’
Even though I was so relaxed, it took a whole day to catch it. Even now, I was not giving in.
It was a truly strong-willed dragon. I muttered and brought the water bottle to my mouth. There was nothing coming out, as if I had run out of water. I clicked my tongue and searched through the corpses of the knights.
There was a water bottle, but it had a strong fishy smell, probably because it had been stored for a long time. I didn’t think I would die, so I just drank some water.
I glanced to the side and saw that the guy was still lying there, staring at me.
He must have come to his senses after being hit in the head, because he wasn’t running wild anymore. I almost wondered if he was the same dragon as before.
As expected, hitting the head was an effective and proven treatment.
At that moment, the guy blinked his eyes wide. I looked at him and wondered if we were communicating at this point.
‘Is it possible?’
I squinted my eyes, but the guy still remained still. It didn’t seem to work. After all, each person had their own way of communicating.
“Are you feeling okay? Can you fly?”
Because that really bad apostle guy had been bullying him, BbungBbungIl’s body was in shambles all over. Judging from the fact that he still hadn’t gotten up and was just blinking, his condition seemed to be quite serious.
[It can move.]
The guy answered calmly. It was to the point where I doubted if he was the guy who had been causing a fuss earlier.
“How do I recover?”
[Mana is needed.]
Vivian came to mind naturally. I thought that if I took her to Vivian, she might be able to help me recover.
‘So BbungBbung liked Vivian?’
Vivian had more uses than you might think. She was very strong, so she was good for construction, and she also had flying skills, so she could be used as a pilot or dragon recovery center.
‘Is this okay?’
Suddenly, I felt curious and used magic. Then, a dark red light appeared on my hand.
The crimson light that shimmered as if a flame was burning was obviously unusual.
‘There’s a small amount of mana in here too.’
Most of it was divine power or arrogance, but this unknown thing also contained a small amount of mana.
‘Just in case.’
Since it also had divine power, the effect could have been better.
And when dealing with the apostle, the power of the crimson light was superior to that of the aura. The thick flesh was easily cut.
I thought this would be more effective if the dragon recovered mana.
He put a crimson light into the balloon.
I was expecting a reaction of admiration from him, but-.
[···Hmm.]
Contrary to expectations, the response was unfavorable.
“Not really?”
[No, the effect is good. But the taste is um······.]
The bastard answered with a gruff voice, as if he had just eaten shit. In fact, the scars all over his body were slowly healing.
“Picky eating is bad.”
[Hmm······ hmm······.]
The guy continued to sniffle, but he didn’t seem to be refusing at all.
At that moment, a familiar sound was heard from far away.
Kkeeeeek-!!
It was the cry of a wyvern.
‘Did you notice that the apostle was dead?’
Well, it took more than a day for the apostle to be caught and sent to Bungbungil, so it was only natural that news would be sent.
‘There seem to be more of them than I thought···.’
It seems that the apostle was an important figure on the hypocrisy side.
No, it couldn’t be helped. He was the one who fed the sword’s owner and the eldest son.
‘···This is becoming annoying.’
Because it took so long, I ended up in an unexpected situation.
The Wyvern Knight was extremely troublesome. Even after receiving some treatment, BbungBbungIl wasn’t in a condition to move right away.
at that time-.
[Dare.]
BbungBbungIl slowly raised his head.
The guy who had been quiet until just now has his presence felt again.
“You don’t have to push yourself too hard.”
Even though the Wyvern Knight is tricky, if you know how to catch it, you can do it.
The bastard blinked his reptilian eyes for a long time. He snorted as if he was dumbfounded.
Then, without answering, the bastard got up. It looked like a huge mountain was rising.
The shells were falling off here and there, and blood was flowing out, but the bastard didn’t flinch. He was a real man… no, he was Sangyong.
Soon, the tall man looked down at me.
[I am the red disaster.]
It was only then that I realized. It wasn’t me who tamed him, but for some reason, he accepted me.
“I said it was a blast.”
I clicked my tongue as I looked at the tail of the guy sticking out as if to say, “Tara.”
***
‘It’s my work, but it looks neat even to me.’
Balhar Khan nodded firmly as he looked at the ten rabbits whose fur had been very neatly removed.
The rabbits that were caught had not a single hair on them, and even their entrails were removed. This was an imitation of Aaron’s handling.
For this purpose, Balhar Khan caught twenty, not ten. After practicing the handling sufficiently, Balhar Khan began in earnest.
That’s why I did such a perfect rabbit grooming.
It was also because of his efforts to pursue perfection that Balhar Khan was able to rise to the rank of Imperial Knight Marshal.
‘At this point, even he has nothing to say.’
Balhar Khan muttered as he looked into the distance. He had come too far in his pursuit of the rabbit.
‘That guy···.’
Not content with catching the apostle, Aaron rushed straight to the red plague.
Considering the precision with which he dealt with the Apostles, he must have been quite tired, but he rushed straight to the Red Calamity.
‘···You’re as great as me.’
Since ancient times, grooming rabbits required willpower and concentration. Balhar Khan nodded and gathered up the rabbit meat that had been spread out.
at that time-.
Kkeeeeek!!
The wyvern’s howl was heard from afar.
Balhar Khan raised his head in a panic. The wyvern’s howl was familiar, but this time the volume of the sound was unusual.
The sound was heard from the sky on the opposite side of the sunset. Balhar Khan turned his gaze to it and narrowed his eyes.
The sky was filled with wyverns like dots. There were probably dozens of them.
Even Balhar Khan had never seen so many wyvern knights before.
Since each wyvern was worth quite a bit of money, it was rare to send them all out in bulk like that.
No matter how many I sent, the maximum was twenty. But even at a glance, that was over fifty.
Even with just a few Wyvern Knights, you could take down any castle, but fifty? You could tell how much attention the imperial family was paying to this.
Kkieeeeeek-!
The wyverns’ tearing cries echoed for a long time.
Wyvern Knight Fifty-.
It was despair.
That number would be enough to clear the entire forest. Balhar Khan dropped the rabbit, his strength drained by the terrible sound.
‘Damn, is he still-.’
Balhar Khan looked at the place where the red disaster had fallen. The distance was too far to see the situation. He looked back and forth between the place where the red disaster had fallen and the Wyvern Knights.
‘No matter how much of a bastard he is, if he’s fifty Wyvern Knights-.’
Balhar Khan, who had been chewing his lips for a moment, hurriedly ran to where the red disaster had fallen. If it weren’t for that guy, Balhar Khan would have been dead too.
He raised Kangshin and Aura on the opposite side and kicked the ground. This was a technique he had learned while catching rabbits, and it allowed the ship to move quickly while also making less noise.
at that time-.
······························································!!!
A huge noise erupted from far away.
A single howl easily drowned out the wyvern’s cries that had filled the air.
‘Red disaster-.’
Balhar Khan stopped walking and swallowed hard.
The forest stirred violently. The giant body slowly rose up as if a mountain were rising.
The huge wings spread out long to the side. The wings were torn and messy in places, but their weight did not get lighter.
Finally, as the wings fully spread, the red disaster fully revealed its presence.
Balhar Khan gaped at the sight of the being atop the red disaster.
‘Are you saying you’ve really tamed the Red Calamity?’
Simply capturing the Red Calamity and keeping it under were two entirely different things. How did you tame that Red Calamity?
At that moment, the red disaster flapped its wings. The wingbeats that started slowly soon grew strong enough to create a huge wind.
Balhar Khan narrowed his eyes at the flying leaves.
A red disaster slowly rose from the wings that had entered orbit. The sunset sky seemed to gradually be consumed by it.
As the flying red disaster spread its wings, the sunset beyond it was completely obscured.
At that moment, the wyverns rushed forward fiercely. The wyvern knights who reigned as objects of fear, stood next to the red disaster and looked like flies swarming over a corpse.
‘Fifty Wyvern Knights and the Red Calamity-. But the state of the Red Calamity-.’
Balhar Khan muttered softly. No matter how red the disaster was, fifty Wyvern Knights in that state-.
At that moment, the red disaster slowly opened its mouth.
Even though numerous wyvern knights were rushing towards him, there was no impatience in his actions.
Just before the wyverns arrived, the red disaster’s mouth opened wide and-.
·································································!!!
The red disaster roared for a long time.
The roar erased, muffled, and crushed all the noisy sounds of the wyverns.
The world became silent as if holding its breath in the wrath of the Red Calamity.
Then-.
Thud.
All of those wyverns stopped flapping their wings at once. As if frozen, the wyverns stopped flapping their wings and began to fall one by one.
The knights on top grabbed the reins and turned, but the wyverns fell headfirst.
It was just one roar.
All the wyvern knights that were full of it disappeared-.
Soon, only a red disaster was flying in the sky.
The red disaster seemed to be the master of the sky.
It flapped its huge wings proudly.
