Broken Leash (1)
Nidhogg, the sharpest dragon.
But now, an elf was catching his breath on top of the stopped dragon.
“······I have to go.”
Two arrows sticking out of the dragon’s still wide eyes.
White brain fluid was flowing out of the tip of the arrow, which was deeply embedded all the way to the arrowhead.
If you don’t have enough strength to dig in, just shoot right in front.
Varadis got close enough to see each other’s faces in their eyes and eventually succeeded in shooting an arrow into the dragon’s brain.
That’s how I was able to stop one dragon.
“Everyone stand up!”
However, the glory of victory was short-lived, and Varadis’ voice was trembling as he shouted to his colleagues.
killed the dragon
But you can’t stop.
Because there was not just one dragon targeting the World Tree.
“We have to go back right now!”
At Varadis’ command, the warriors scattered everywhere began to stand up with groans.
They did their best to make a path for just one arrow, but they could not rest yet.
Nidhogg climbing the World Tree.
It seemed as if the screams that started from the young World Tree in the distance could be heard all the way here.
‘······shit.’
Everyone’s eyes were alive, but they were so exhausted.
The adult dragon was nothing short of a disaster, and the warriors had to give everything they had to stop its evil intentions.
Destruction was creeping towards the World Tree, but the warriors were not standing where they should have been.
Ahhh!
At that moment, along with the dragon’s scream, an intense light began to emerge sharply from the end of the branches of the World Tree.
Although it was only for a short time, the light sparkled so much that everyone could not help but look at it.
“······!”
A powerful presence that forced even exhausted Varadis and wounded warriors to raise their heads.
In the forest of the elves, at the highest point of Aushurin, a light that had never been seen before was shining.
Like starlight rising toward the sky.
Let the stars rise
The dragon was falling.
※※※※
The World Tree is a very precious thing to elves.
Therefore, even Auguste, who was only a guest, was able to create the current situation.
Because he was the benefactor who protected the World Tree last night.
“What did you want to see us for? “A knight of men.”
Elven elders sitting scattered here and there without uniform intervals.
Although the knight who protected the World Tree was in front of them, the eyes of the elders who had not yet escaped Nidhogg’s nightmare were still sharp.
“I have something urgent to say to you all, so I have requested your current position.”
However, Auguste took advantage of this moment to demand a seat from the elders.
The former commander of the Imperial Military Police knew well that there was no time more vulnerable than when shaken by anxiety.
The elves’ resentment against the empire was well-established, so the only time Auguste could delve into their antipathy was now.
“Tell me.”
“······Absilon, please stop the distribution of the tea called thujone here.”
As Auguste spoke, the lips of the elders became tightly shut.
Because the old knight’s words were not a request for compensation, but rather a statement in a completely unexpected direction.
“······Why are you telling me not to sell a car that is in good condition?”
“No matter how much you protect the world tree, interfering with our internal affairs is going too far.”
Resistance from elders was erupting here and there.
Selling Thujon leaves to humans is a newly discovered avenue and opportunity for the elves.
Even if Geronimo had been sitting here, he would not have easily granted this request.
“I guess I said it too bluntly.”
However, Auguste was a person who knew the behind-the-scenes stories that the elves were still not telling.
The eyes of the former military police chief, who had devoted his entire life to uncovering the truth, shone sharply.
“What I’m saying is, please stop distributing drugs to the empire.”
“······What did you say just now?”
A red light began to light in the eyes of some elders as Auguste’s remarks shot out like arrows.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
The knight in front of me is so dangerous that I can no longer accept him as a guest.
Auguste felt a clear change in the eyes of the elders looking at him and smiled softly.
After all, the elves knew that Absilon was a drug.
“Why are you trying to sway us with such clumsy lies? As expected from an arrogant knight of an empire…”
“If we sell any more absilon, the newly settled forest will not be safe.”
The article that finally revealed the truth was able to see through someone’s dirty intentions.
As expected, the elves were not the starting point.
It started with Brigantes, the capital of the empire.
“······What are you saying now?”
The elder who had the greatest say on behalf of Geronimo frowned.
I thought you would notice someday.
However, the old knight’s next words were completely inexplicable.
“Clearly now, the empire is shaking and the authority of the imperial family is collapsing. “It’s not that I don’t understand your intention to take advantage of that opportunity to release resentment that has been building up for a long time.”
The huge world called the Empire was still standing on the corpses of countless worlds.
And the same goes for the world of elves.
It was the most perfect dragon that burned down the Mother World Tree, but it was the Empire that took over the forests of the elves in the west.
“······You are talking too much. human knight. “No matter how much you drew your sword for the World Tree, your current statement has crossed the line.”
Sharp eyes like the cold frost of autumn.
The force is fierce, as if no further remarks will be allowed.
“Because of the grace you gave me, I will let you go with your life saved.”
No matter what Auguste said, the elves had no intention of stopping Green’s revenge.
There was no time when the once strong empire was as shaken as it is now, so I thought that if I spread poison a little more and gathered strength, I would be able to become independent from the empire’s influence.
“You must not be mistaken, gentlemen. “The empire is not weakened.”
Auguste is loyal to the Empire.
And it is the imperial family that forms the center of the empire.
“It’s just that the power of the imperial family has weakened.”
“······.”
The empire’s nobles were increasing their power without a single major war.
And now their influence has become so strong that it cannot be controlled by the power of the imperial family alone.
“The nobles have been looking for a reason to raise their own flag for a long time.”
Auguste knew well.
There are people in the empire who believe that just a tiny crack can collapse the sturdy walls and end the era of the Sword Master.
“And it seems to me that here is a good cause and excuse for them to raise their flag.”
They were biting the leashes that were confining them.
“······who are you?”
Because I was cooped up for a long time, I couldn’t look at the wider area.
However, the knight in front of them was forcibly widening the elves’ field of vision with a sharp warning.
“My name is Auguste.”
Auguste took off his gray hood and raised his sword.
A black scabbard decorated extravagantly, unlike its shabby appearance.
The red gem embedded in the very end of the handle, in the center, had a shining pattern engraved on it.
“He was the former commander of the imperial military police.”
A fierce dragon.
And a sword holding down the dragon.
Auguste was currently holding up the imperial emblem that only a few could use.
“Selling absilon will eventually come back as a fatal poison to you as well.”
Auguste, former commander of the Imperial Military Police.
A knight who wants to complete his unfinished mission despite being the lowest of the low.
He was giving everything for his final mission.
※※※※
“······.”
The morning sky gradually dispels darkness with the rising energy of spring.
Although last night was noisy, this morning was quiet.
However, Vlad woke up from his sleep due to the loud sound of birds in his ears.
The sound of birds chirping from early morning is cheerful.
“It’s very noisy.”
Vlad had no choice but to open his eyes and woke up with a groan.
“Keueuung.”
Bandages wrapped everywhere were constricting Vlad’s entire body.
It felt like the hands of the girl who had been crying and applying all kinds of medicine were still sticking to various places.
“······If you keep doing this, you won’t be able to be expelled.”
A body wounded here and there by the sharpest malice.
However, the emptiness felt from within was more difficult for Vlad to bear than the bitterness he felt everywhere.
‘Did I pull it out too much?’
Although it is not clearly visible, mental power is also a resource that is clearly consumed.
Last night, Vlad went beyond his limits and evoked a deep world, and the reaction against him was now tormenting his body beyond his mind.
It felt similar to when I used to forcefully use the power of my voice.
“Captain, why are you awake already?”
“Because it’s noisy.”
“Noisy?”
Goth, who entered the room to serve, widened his eyes as if puzzled by Vlad’s answer.
“It’s really quiet right now?”
Contrary to what Vlad said, it was not noisy, but a quiet and clear morning, befitting an elf forest.
Goth began checking Vlad’s hearing by snapping his fingers here and there, wondering if something had gone wrong as a result of yesterday’s battle.
“Did you get an ear injury from yesterday’s fight?”
“no.”
He was checking, but Vlad knew very well that it wasn’t that kind of problem.
‘The kids are noisy. really.’
Even now, Vlad frowned at the beeping sound coming from above his head.
Goth won’t know.
Right now, this room is full of little guys squeaking, whimpering, and purring.
A young bird sitting on Vlad’s head as if it were its own home was flapping its tiny wings that couldn’t even fly.
“ha.”
Vlad raised his hand and wiped his face in response to the young guys’ rampage, which he could no longer see without closing his eyes.
The deep world that had been evoked so strongly had not yet subsided into the world of Vlad’s imagination, like a pond whose bottom had been stirred up.
I probably won’t be able to sleep for a few days because of these guys’ harassment.
“······.”
Vlad, struggling to look away from the spirits, looked at the sword lying next to the bed between his fingers covering his face.
A silver sword surrounded by young spirits just like itself.
The appearance of the sun shining in the morning is elegant.
“By the way, Captain. What is this sword? “It’s my first time seeing him.”
A sword that shows extraordinary force to anyone who sees it.
Goth’s question about the sword he saw for the first time was natural, and Vlad answered the question honestly.
“Swordmaster’s sword.”
“huh?”
“They say it’s the sword master’s sword. “The elves did that.”
The silver sword that was with him last night.
As soon as Vlad finished speaking, the Sword Master’s sword flashed as if in response.
“So… master? Sword Master?”
“Don’t make a fuss, too. “Because the goal is already ringing.”
A legend and an honor.
A noble silver sword that will clearly show off its shine even if it is hidden among all the treasures in the world.
However, Vlad’s eyes were complex and sunken as he looked at the sword.
“I definitely need to ask this.”
A man who said he would slay a dragon.
A man who sees the now forgotten world of spirits.
And a man who uses the imperial sword.
Apparently, the man had handed this sword to himself in a fantasy.
As if it were his own.