Dragon Maken War Chapter 75 - Those Who Covet the Blood a Royal (1)

Chapter 75 - Those Who Covet the Blood a Royal (1)
1
The Dragon Demon King worshipers always moved carefully.
At one time, they were at the doorstep of controlling the world from behind the scenes. When the Nadick Empire fell, the humans were divided, and the Dragon Demon King worshipers had skilfully penetrated deep within the cracks that had formed within the ranks of the humans. They were leading the humans into darkness. They manipulated the history, and they were able to hide the important facts from the humans. They were on their way to shaping the situation to their liking.
However, the Guardian Shadow suddenly appeared out of nowhere and the Guardian Shadow had stalled their activities in their track. The Guardian Shadow used the human population as a surveillance network, and they backed the powerful Dragon Demon King worshipers into a corner.
‘Still… There are numerous ways we can avoid their detection.’
Niberis bit her lips.
It had been awhile since she had come out of the Plain of Darkness. For the past 4 month, she had confined herself as he focused on increasing her ability as a magician. Now she had received a new mission, and she was heading towards the eastern part of the continent. She was travelling with Duran and Regina by her side.
Niberis suddenly asked a question.
“Did you hear about it, Sir Duran?”
“What are you referring to, Miss.?”
“Laura is being sent into the Rulain Kingdom.”
“Yes.”
“…….”
Niberis bit her lips.
Laura Aunsaurus.
She was the direct descendant of ‘The Goblet containing the heaven’s tears’ Aunsaurus, who had served the Dragon Demon King Atein. In terms of bloodlines, she was of lower quality compared to Niberis, who was related by blood to the Dragon Demon King Atein. However, Laura was of her generation, and she was her rival. They fought to outdo each other in terms of achievements as officials.
Niberis heard the news indicating her rival was being inserted into the region where she had failed. It frustrated her to no end. If Laura stylishly succeeded where she had failed, she would lose face.
Duran spoke.
“The mission given to Miss is very important. You are in charge of finding his whereabouts.”
“I know.”
Niberis had come to the eastern part of the continent to find a figure, who was very important to the Plain of Darkness. He went missing around 10 years ago, so no one knew whether he was dead or alive. The power vacuum created by his disappearance had caused a lot of disturbance in the inner power structure of the Plain of Darkness.
After a careful and tenacious search, they were able to find a trace of this figure. It was a dangerous region in the Eastern part of the continent. It was a place where humans and Dragon Demon worshipers dared not enter. This was why high quality individuals such as Niberis and Duran was being sent in.
Niberis spoke.
“Will Laura run into him?”
“Are you talking about the man named Azell Zestringer?”
“Yes.”
“I have no idea. Do you have any more information regarding him, Regina?”
“Once he joined up with the Dragon Sword Duke, we rarely get any information about him.”
Regina, who had been following silently, spoke up. She had been transferred to work directly under Niberis. She was able to learn surprising secret techniques at the Plain of Darkness, and her overall battle capabilities had increased significantly. Moreover, she was acknowledged for her attention to detail, so she was put in charge of receiving information and dispatching personnel.
“Currently, he is holed up in the Dukedom of Tarantos, and he continues to train. We haven't received much information beyond that.”
“He is training.”
“It is said that the Dragon Sword Duke is giving him unfettered support.”
As Dragon Demon King worshipers, they couldn't approach anyone under the protection of Kairen Tarantos, since he's a member of the Guardian Shadows. There were hidden Dragon Demon King worshipers in the Dukedom of Tarantos, but they weren't in positions where they'll be able to get quality information.
Niberis grumbled.
“I hope he does appear in front of Laura. That'll be fair.”
“Miss.”
“I know that my thoughts are petty. However, they are using the carefully prepared measures for Laura. It pisses me off that they'll be using such methods to divert the attention of the Guardian Shadow.”
After their dream of dominating the world from the background was smashed to pieces by the Guardian Shadow, the Dragon Demon worshipers developed several methods that'll allow them to avoid detection. One of the method was to use the Dragon Slayer's Ritual as bait to mobilize a dragon.
When Niberis was given the mission to kidnap Arrieta, her organization hadn't used such extraordinary measures to help her. However, they were willing to use such carefully prepared methods to assist Laura Aunsauras. This put Niberis in a bad mood.
‘Let's see how you do, Laura. I want to see how good your luck is.’
Niberis furrowed her brows when she thought about Laura's expressionless face.
2
He pushed himself to the extreme for 30 days, and he recovered for 10 days. Azell's training cycle had been going smoothly. He had finished his third cycle, and he had just started his 4th cycle. Today Azell was using a variety of methods to push himself to the brink.
Cheng!
Azell clashed with his clone. Accompanying the sound of an explosion, a cloud of dust rose into the air.
At the same time, Azell desperately flew backward as he tried to create distance. There had been nothing in front of him, yet something cut past the bridge of his nose, and a wound was formed.
“Huhk, huhk…….”
Azell was catching his breath as he looked at his surrounding.
He had an unobstructed view of the training ground. However, aside from the clone, Azell was acting as if there were unseen beings was surrounding him.
“Koohk!”
Azell was moving in a flashy manner as he left behind after-shadows every time he used his Instantaneous Movement. He used the Instantaneous Movement to travel a short distance, and he made a flashy turn to change the trajectory of his movement. It was as if Azell was continuously skipping space.
However, wounds kept forming on Azell's face and body. Something kept flying in to cut him, then....
Puh-uhng!
A magical spell flew in, and it exploded. Azell was sent flying as the sound of the explosion rang out.
Surprisingly, this was a form of Image Training. The clone in front of his eyes was given autonomous control, and it had substance. However, everything else was occurring within Azell's mind.
Azell's mind techniques were trained to its zenith, and he was pushing himself in various situations he had constructed. He recreated situations he had experienced during the Dragon Demon War as he fought full tilt against his clone. Others couldn't see the entities around him, but these constructs felt like reality. It was also able to have strong physical influence on Azell's body.
'Shit!’
When Azell lost his posture, his clone ran in towards him. Azell was in an unfavorable position, yet he was getting ready to counterattack with a do-or-die attitude.
“Sir Azell!”
A thunderous shout rang out.
At the same time, the desperate atmosphere disappeared as if it was a dream, and the Azell's clone disappeared. By the time Azell righted himself, the ownerless armor and sword fell to the ground.
Havanz was calling him from the estate. He was in such a hurry that he used his Dragon Demon Qi to amplify his voice. It was so loud that his voice reverberated across the mountain.
“Something terrible has happened!”
“Mmmm?”
Azell had a quizzical expression on his face. He closed his eyes as he took deep breaths. He had purposefully blurred the line between reality and the construct he created with his mind. After withdrawing the constructs, he ran towards the estate. Havanz had a hardened expression as he relayed a shocking news.
“The Dragon Demon Prince has gone missing.”
“Missing?”
“Yes. The Duke sent an urgent message to you asking for help regarding this problem...”
“Please ready the healers and magic recovery potions. Hurry.”
Azell didn't need further explanations. He headed inside.
3
After Seigar Weil Rulain had completed his coming of age ceremony, he was involved in around one battle per month. He was now working more in the public eyes, and his fame was increasing.
The throne wanted Seigar to take it easy, but he wouldn’t listen to them.
‘I have to work hard right now to put my name out there.’
He asserted himself as he took on the work that had been meant to be shared with Arrieta.
A the same time, the troops under his direct command was rapidly increasing.
As he traveled to various parts of the country, he scouted for useful prospects, and he gave them offers to serve under him. He also advertised that he would always welcome those, who are confident in their skill. Those who looked up to the Dragon Demon Prince, and the ambitious people with no background continued to gather beneath Seigar.
He moved with about 200 people around him when he was summoned to battle. Moreover, the A and B teams rotated every time he went out. Even at such a young age, Seigar displayed the knack for gathering men, and he was able to efficiently use a budget to support the men under his command. He was talented at it.
“Still, shouldn't you take a break soon, prince? We are fine, but you are pushing yourself too much.”
The old knight Pulmun had kept an eye on Seigar since his debut. He was an experienced knight, and he was the vice commander of the Royal Knights. He had been thinking about retiring from his post, but he went to serve under Seigar at the request of the Dragon Demon Queen. The Dragon Demon Queen was well aware of her son's ambitions, so she determined that he needed the support of an experienced veteran.
Seigar spoke.
“Mmmm. You are right, sir Pulmun. However, I'm fine for now. I'm not that tired since only minor skirmishes have occurred recently.”
“It isn't as if the prince's work ends after a battle is fought.”
Two teams were being rotated, so Seigar was doing well at managing the fatigue felt by his personal troops. However, Seigar continued to go into battle without rest.
Seigar was doing so much that it was hard to think of him as a 15 year old. As he stepped up in the battlefield, he also maintained good relationships with the high nobles and various departments that supported the throne. He had a talent for politics, and he even paid attention to the business side of having an outfit. He gave only the best gears to the men serving under him. He supported his men both materially and morally.
Moreover, when he wasn't out on the battlefields, he didn't rest. He accepted invitations from nobles, and he went to parties to build his personal connections. This required Seigar to have incredible amount of physical energy and mental power. Seigar's body was much sturdier than a human, but his schedule was going to sap him dry from fatigue.
Seigar let out a bitter laugh. There was still a child-like quality to his face, and one could see signs of fatigue on his face.
“I'm sorry for making you feel concerned. However, I have to do it for a little longer... At the very least, I have to maintain this pace until the beginning of next year.”
“Why? Your reputation is already well established...”
“I want my sister to have some free time.”
“…….”
Pulmun was at a loss for words. Seigar spoke.
“I'm not saying I'll entirely take over the role being fulfilled by my sister. I'm not that impertinent. I have a better understanding of the work she is doing.”
Originally, Seigar had thought differently. He planned on doing all the work required of the Dragon Demon royal family. He hadn’t wanted Arrieta to do any work. He wanted her to gain her happiness as a woman.
However, he soon realized that he had been too arrogant when he started to do the work. There were a lot of work required to be done by the Dragon Demon royal family, and the responsibility increased as the throne became stronger.
“The previous incident changed my sister's mindset. She is moving incrementally towards making her own organization... I want to buy her some time until she can set up a proper system under her leadership.”
After Arrieta made Giles her personal knight, she was slowly gathering her own people. However, she wasn't as good at politics as Seigar. This was why she was gathering her people at a much slower speed.
Seigar wanted to give her some time. This was why he went on a mission meant to be given to Arrieta, and it had resulted in him overworking himself.
Pulmun shook his head from side to side.
“Prince is really... You put me to shame.”
“I'm able to do what I do, because I have all of you with me.”
“Understood. As a knight and a man, how can I stop you from fulfilling your task? I'll do my best assist you. We'll end this with no problem at all.”
They were tasked to eradicate the bandits infesting the north eastern County of Baldan.
Unusually strong Orcs were mixed in with this group of bandits, and they controlled wild animals as if they were pets. They had struck down the knights as if they were trampling reeds. Moreover, the bandits used the harsh terrains as a weapon. They moved liked trained troops as they conducted a guerrilla warfare. The County of Baldan had taken massive damage from them, and they had already tried to hire famous knights from outside their region. However, it was all for naught. Two towns had already been thoroughly pillaged. When the upper class started taking massive damage from the bandits, Count Baldan raised his two hands in surrender. He asked the throne for help.