Dragon with a cold heart (3)
Crackling-
“Turn it off… Ugh.”
With a helpless scream, the barbarian man’s eyes began to roll.
Even the last red tears he shed along with his screams were frozen by his cold breath.
Intense red color scattered over a pure white snow field.
And piles of barbarian shackles spread out on top of them.
No, they had not yet become corpses and were desperately trying to crawl away from the white dragon, but their pitiful struggles were in vain.
The arms and legs that were supposed to be moving were cut off and rolling around on the snow.
Crunch-clack-clack-
The dragon, whose mouth was covered in bright red blood, raised its head as if satisfied.
It is different from oak, which has a tough taste.
It’s different from monsters that smell like fun.
Lindwurm, the white dragon.
The dragon, which had the taste of humans engraved on its tongue by someone’s intention, opened its mouth wide and roared.
It was a loud sound that even the dispersing snow fog could not swallow.
※※※※
“Rutger has arrived!”
“Open the door!”
With the shouts of the gatekeepers, the gate hung on thick chains began to come down.
Rutger placed his hand on the handle of his sword as he watched the castle gate slowly coming down in front of him.
Uninvited Guest, Dragon Slayer Knights.
There must be a good reason why they, who had no interest in the North until now, suddenly came to this place in the northernmost part of the country.
And there must have been a good reason for raising the flag on top of the fortress without permission from the person in charge.
“Lord Rutger!”
“Report.”
Rutger crosses the castle gate above the moat with an unusually stern expression and quick gait.
A knight rushed out to him and began to report the situation.
“The Dragon Slayer Knights sent from the center arrived about two days ago.”
“The reason is?”
Seeing Rutger’s momentum change in an instant, the driver swallowed his saliva without realizing it and opened his mouth.
“They say it is the subjugation of Lindwurm.”
“······They are quick to get information.”
Rutger clicked his tongue in response to the knight’s answer and made a fierce expression.
Sending an armed group to another territory was not only rude, it was an act that was close to a declaration of war, but the Dragon Slayer Knights currently in Bernhem Fortress came with a good justification.
“It’s too fast.”
Dragon Slayer Knights.
As the name suggests, they were created to kill dragons and were a group run by the central noble, the Dragon Blood Dukes, with the guarantee of the imperial emperor.
In other words, if it was related to dragons, it also meant that activities were guaranteed in accordance with imperial law along with the emperor’s guarantee.
Since they came in with a flag and a cause, even the knights in the fortress would have been unable to do anything about it.
“······.”
Vlad followed Rutger as he hurried along and was snooping around here and there as was his usual habit.
Bernhem Fortress was built of stone because there were no trees around, and the stairs were narrow and the corridors were winding. It was built in such an obvious way that you could tell at a glance what purpose it was built for.
“Bernhem Fortress is also called Bayezid’s beacon tower.”
“I think there is a beacon tower above here?”
When asked if there was a beacon tower so large that it could be seen from afar, Ramund just shrugged his shoulders.
“This itself is a beacon tower. “When it’s on fire, it’s visible from afar.”
“······ah.”
Vlad looked at the surrounding walls attentively again at Ramund’s hinted words.
Although they tried hard to cover it with lime paste, blackened traces were visible here and there.
Taken away and taken away again.
Rebuilding the charred fortress again.
Bernhem Fortress was a huge wall for barbarians and monsters, and an indomitable will for Bayezid’s people.
“I’m waiting out there.”
“······.”
Rutger had no reason to try to hide his boiling anger, as they had raised their flag in a place that was Bayezid’s pride without anyone’s permission.
“You’ve finally arrived. “I was waiting.”
Although the hallways were narrow, the lobby was built wide so that knights could gather together.
Step by step, there was a man standing at the highest point of the place built with Bayezid’s blood, greeting the group.
“I’ll see you later. “I am Mirshea, leader of the Dragon Slayer Knights.”
A man wearing shiny silver armor was looking down at the group who had reached the lobby with a relaxed smile, as if this was his home.
Although he looked arrogant, his aristocratic appearance suited even an expression that would have repulsed others.
“······A precious person has come to visit me without my knowledge.”
The moment he made eye contact with Mirshea, who was looking down at him, Rutger’s heart jumped wildly.
This is because he was angry at Mirshea’s attitude of daring to overpower the master.
“Rutger Bayezid. “I am the temporary commander of Fortress Bernhem.”
Mirshea’s smile deepened as she looked at Rutger’s black eyes looking straight at her without the slightest hesitation.
Exciting-
And Vlad, who was looking at the man named Mirshea, also felt his heart pounding.
Because I felt the same sensation from the man above me as I did when I saw the death worm.
The beating of the heart was something that could not be controlled by will.
Because it only moved by instinct.
“······!”
Forcing his heart to calm down, Vlad raised his head and was surprised to see Mirshea there facing him.
The boy was not the only one who was driven by instinct.
“Were the corpses of the barbarians outside created by the Dragon Slayer Order?”
“······exactly. “It was necessary.”
Mirshea, who naturally adjusted her expression in response to Rutger’s question, answered his question with a relaxed smile.
There were barbarian corpses rolling around in the snow with terrible wounds, and their deaths were not caused by vicious teeth but by sharp swords.
“Lindwurm is the fastest remnant of the fallen dragon. “It means you can’t catch up and cut it down.”
Josef tried to convey information about Lindwurm to Rutger through Age. However, the Mircea in front of him was someone who already held information about Lindwurm even without Age.
The Dragon Slayer Knights, created under the permission of the founding king Frausen, had their own experience accumulated over hundreds of years.
“I can’t keep up, so I have no choice but to bring it in. “The corpses outside are bait for that.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Before Mirshea finished speaking, Age was letting out an angry roar and was about to jump forward.
“You bastards of the Empire! “You guys won’t mind even if I chew you to death!”
Since he was a prisoner, he would have drawn the sword if he had not retrieved it beforehand.
If Ramund, who was watching him, had not stepped, he would have already jumped up towards Mirshea.
“Off! “Get out of the way, old man!”
“······If you say one more word, I will cut your head off.”
Age’s anger was justified.
Is there anyone who would not be angry at the idea that their own people were used as bait?
However, no matter how justified the anger was, it had to have some power to be justified.
The anger of the powerless barbarians was nothing more than an insignificant being rolling around on the ground like Agee now.
“The son of Bayezid is raising a spoiled dog.”
Mirshea looked at Age, who was screaming at her with cold eyes.
“You also raise a cat.”
Dorothea quickly lowered her head as she saw the cold gaze on her.
It was not because he was afraid of Mirshea’s eyes, but because he was afraid that his presence would be a nuisance to Rutger.
“I don’t know if you trained well. Lowly things sometimes forget their subject.”
“······.”
Rutger remained silent at Mirshea’s words.
Central nobles, and central lords.
Those who believed that they were the center of the world used to sneer at those on the outside in this way.
Not only for barbarians and beastmen, but also for people in the North.
“······But aren’t they still standing in their seats?”
Rutger nodded and exhaled as if he had made up his mind.
It doesn’t matter whether it was intentional or not.
The nobleman in front of him had crossed the line, and Rutger was the representative of all Northerners here.
The anger deep in his heart, which he always hid behind a leisurely smile, was slowly leaking out.
Rutger’s world is hot red, like an active volcano.
A thick anger like lava began to flow towards Mirshea, who was standing where Bayezid should be.
“So you should find a place too. “Director Mirshea.”
One step at a time.
Rutger ascends to the highest point by stepping on the stairs made by Bayezid.
As he advanced toward Mirshea with the confident steps of a qualified person, the members of the Dragon Slayer Knights around him began placing their hands on the handles of their swords one by one.
“Who got permission to raise the flag?”
Rutger finally got close enough for their foreheads to touch and looked into Mirshea’s blue eyes without moving a single inch.
“I asked for it. “My men raised it because no one was moving.”
He doesn’t growl like Agee or pressure the other person with a smile like Mirshea, he just stays still.
“Whose permission did you get to come up here?”
“······this.”
It wasn’t unexpected, but Mirshea smiled coldly as she saw Rutger openly attempting a power struggle.
“The Dragon Slayer Knights, who deal with the disaster-like dragons, have the right to properly use all facilities and personnel in the imperial territory in accordance with imperial law.”
“Assuming you get permission from the owner.”
Rutger and Mirshea slowly turn their bodies according to the momentum they encounter.
Rutger’s well-deserved momentum was pushing Mircea toward the stairs.
“Does this mean you won’t cooperate?”
“I plan to cooperate.”
Rutger’s finger was pointing towards the lobby below.
“As long as you go through the proper procedures.”
Bayezid’s knights, who understood Rutger’s intentions, hurriedly opened the lobby door and began running toward the highest point of the fortress.
“Ask them to raise the flag. “Director Mirshea.”
“······.”
The highest point of the fortress.
The dragon that was fluttering next to the Bayezid flag carved into the solid wall was lowering its head.
“Please help me kill the dragon in Bayezid’s land.”
Their worthy, just, and loyal masters bared their teeth at the dragon slayers.
“Nobody move.”
“The owner of this place did not allow it.”
Bayezid’s knights, who had issued a sharp warning, had already surrounded the Dragon Slayer Knights and were blocking their path.
Rutger and Mirshea.
The Knights of Bayezid and the Knights of the Dragon Slayer.
The sharp force they created enveloped the lobby with a coldness worse than the cold of the north wind.
“Let’s start again from there.”
Mirshea turned her head and looked in the direction Rutger was pointing.
Center of the lobby.
A position where you have to raise your head to look at Rutger.
“You will regret it.”
“Anyway, no matter what you choose in life, you will only regret it.”
Rutger only smiled softly at Mirshea’s low threat.
“And if you’re going to regret it anyway, you should do what you have to do and regret it.”
The black eyes that flowed through Bayezid’s veins looked at the man in front of him with a thick aura leaking out like lava.
Blonde hair and blue eyes.
And an aristocratic appearance.
Towards a man with a cold heart who uses even living people as bait for the dragon.
