novelraw Chapter 52 : Chapter 52
Chapter 52 : Chapter 52
Chapter 52. Nox (1)
Rude looked at me with an expression of respect, but the reality was different.
‘I’m going to die.’
If my power hadn’t returned, I would never have been able to be this composed.
It was early morning when I left the grand cathedral.
To wait until evening felt a bit off, especially since I had already said my goodbyes to Isabel.
I also didn’t want others to find out I was at the royal palace.
Using invisibility magic might have been fine, but there was always that one-in-a-million chance, wasn't there?
I had no choice but to immediately head to the outskirts and ride Anonymous back home.
The high-speed dash of Anonymous was something I could hardly get used to.
‘I’m just missing Pegasus.’
Just as I was feeling nauseous and on the verge of throwing up.
Fortunately, I could see the landscape of Rarc Village in the distance along with the setting sun and I felt my power returning.
I barely managed to stop my dry heaves and was able to get off Anonymous' back with a composed face.
“Daaaad!!”
Noemi rushed to me in an instant.
I hugged Noemi tightly and then patted the head of Adel, who was standing behind her.
“Has everything been alright?”
“Yes. Did you resolve the matter at the royal palace, Father?”
“Yes. I succeeded in revealing the Marquis' atrocities.”
But then Anonymous, transformed into a human, approached.
And wouldn't you know it, she thrust her head forward as if asking me to pat her too.
‘She’s not some pet dog.’
I tried my best to ignore her and walked towards the house with my two daughters.
Fortunately, the place where Anonymous had stopped was on the outskirts of the village, far from the mansion.
Most of the residents seemed to have found the dragon’s paradise, as there was no one on the streets.
“It looks like you two were training.”
“You could see that?”
Yes. Because my power had just returned.
The difference between when my power had returned and when it hadn't was huge, how should I put it?
Should I say it was like a person with 0.1 vision suddenly having 2.0 vision?
‘Suddenly, I can see things far away clearly, and I can hear all sorts of sounds.’
That wasn't all.
The range of my perception had greatly expanded, allowing me to capture even the minor movements of small animals.
To use a StarCraft analogy, it felt like I had taken a Stimpack, so the difference between before and after was huge.
‘This must be why people get addicted to bad things. They can never forget that feeling of elation.’
The feeling of being an unintentional addict.
But what could I do.
There was no other way but to adapt quickly.
How great would it be if a new Magic Potion just dropped out of nowhere.
***
After returning home, I told everyone in detail about what had happened at the royal palace.
Rude nodded with a solemn face.
“Justice will prevail. So that’s what happened to the Marquis in the end.”
A bitter smile formed on my lips without me realizing.
The setting was clearly the middle ages, but the words being used were mixed with four-character idioms.
A moment when I once again realized that this place was a game world.
Anyway, Adel couldn’t take her eyes off the Armor of Reflection I had brought.
‘Does she like this? But it feels a bit much to just give it to her.’
My current condition was not at its best.
During the day, I was not much different from an ordinary person.
It was an item I had painstakingly acquired to make up for that, but I hadn’t anticipated such a reaction from Adel.
‘What should I do? Should I give it to Adel?’
They say no parent can win against their child.
In the end, I handed the Armor of Reflection to Adel.
“It seems you like this. Would you like to have it?”
“Is that really okay?”\
“Of course. Think of it as a gift from your dad.”
“Thank you, Father!”
Adel hugged the Armor of Reflection tightly, looking as if she would jump for joy.
You say Adel’s favorite thing is East Camellia?
No. What Adel likes are high-performance items.
Tears welled up in my eyes, but what could I do.
What’s for my daughter would ultimately be for me.
After handing over the Armor of Reflection with a bitter face, I brought up another topic.
“As I said before, we don’t know when the Lombard Kingdom will invade this place. It would be best for us to prepare for war as well.”
Adel asked with a troubled face.
“But there aren’t many people here, are there? Wouldn’t it be better to request the royal palace to dispatch a knight order?”
“No. We have something much better than a knight order, don’t we.”
“What is that?”
I smiled faintly and slowly opened my mouth.
“I’m talking about the dragons that have now become the residents of my domain.”
I could see looks of surprise on everyone’s faces.
That would be natural.
Who could dare to imagine using dragons as soldiers.
Even as I thought about it, this was truly a stroke of genius.
***
The total population of the barony was about 300 people.
In modern Korean terms, it was at the level of a depopulating city.
Nevertheless.
In this world, 300 was by no means a small number.
‘The population of Tournai, the capital of the Benedict Kingdom, is merely thirty thousand.’
So I guess I could act as a lord with just about 300 subjects.
But recently, as the dragons moved into the barony I ruled, the population had increased significantly.
The number of dragons was about 100, which meant a third of the original population had newly joined.
Moreover, one dragon possessed power comparable to hundreds of strong men,so it went without saying how much our military strength had increased.
I moved to the dragon’s paradise with Anonymous.
While all the human residents were waiting in the village, the dragons, transformed into humans, looked at me with anxious eyes.
“What on earth is going on?”
“I don’t know. The queen told everyone to gather.”
“The queen? Surely she’s not going to tell us to move our nests, is she?”
As if they had taken quite a liking to this place, the dragons glanced at the buildings with anxious faces.
“They seem reluctant to leave this place.”
“Isn’t that obvious? This is a place we built with our own hands, together with the villagers. We will never leave this place!”
A dragon said everything he had to say, though he couldn't look Anonymous straight in the eye.
I reassured them, telling them not to worry.
“I have no such intention either.”
“Then for what reason have you gathered us like this?”
“It is to prepare for war.”
“War, you say?”
“The ones who invaded this place a while ago were wearing the clothes of the neighboring Lombard Kingdom. They will surely invade this place again.”
“That can’t be!”
Who would think of them as dragons, seeing them all flustered and not knowing what to do.
I emphasized the duty they had to perform.
“As you have become my people, you have a duty to protect this place. This place is like a fortress of the Benedict Kingdom. If this place is breached, Rarc Village will also be broken through, and the kingdom will fall.”
At the mention of Rarc Village being broken through, the dragons raised their voices.
“That is an absolutely unacceptable act!”
“That’s right! We have received a lot of help from them. This time, it’s our turn to step up!”
“This is revenge for our comrades who were attacked by them! Let’s all rise up!”
I nodded and continued my words.
“I understand your desire to protect the villagers well. As long as you are here, this place will never become a sea of fire. However, training is necessary.”
“Training? To deal with humans, is there really a need for that……”
“The Demon Tribe is hiding behind the Lombard Kingdom. Isn’t that a result you have confirmed with your own eyes?”
No one opened their mouths.
The magic device that puts dragons to sleep must have left a great trauma on the overconfident dragons.
‘The power of the magic device was so great that just five of them attacked the dragon’s paradise. There’s no law that says there’s only one of those.’
Weren’t there two of the Magic Potion that had only appeared once in the game?
In that respect, there was no way of knowing what other hidden weapons the Demon Tribe might have.
“In that respect, you will need to face the enemy in your humanized state.”
“What? We can’t use our full power in our humanized state.”
“I know that too. You will only be able to exert about a tenth of your original abilities. But as a result of an experiment, we were able to escape the influence of the magic device that puts dragons to sleep when humanized.”
This wasn’t a lie; I had conducted such an experiment on Anonymous before coming here.
It was last evening.
“Anonymous, let’s check what kind of effect this has in your humanized state.”
“Ugh. Just looking at it makes me feel sick.”
“Don’t worry. It will be over soon.”
“A-Are you going to pour your magical power into that?”
“It’s fine. It won’t have much of an effect in your humanized state.”
As I injected magical power into the magic device, Anonymous grimaced and shut her eyes tightly.
But nothing happened.
“My prediction was right, after all. It seems it has no effect in a humanized state.”
“Ugh…… Still, it’s true that it’s unsettling.”
“It’s just a matter of feeling. You don’t know what kind of trump card they might have, so it would be good for you to get used to it too.”
Recalling that event, I once again put strength into my voice and shouted.
“Therefore, you must undergo separate training in your humanized state. Fortunately, my domain has the best wizard and swordsman, so if you train under them, you will be able to quickly get used to combat even in a human body.”
The instructors I recommended were Rude and Adel. And my youngest daughter, Noemi.
‘This isn’t a bad outcome for the three of them either. It’s true that a humanized dragon is weakened, but they’ll still be similar to a mid-tier Demon Tribe member, so it will be helpful to them too.’
The dragons could train in their own way, Rude could conduct magic training.
Adel could teach swordsmanship, and Noemi could instruct on tactics.
Isn’t this what you call killing two birds with one stone?
Be it the Lombard Kingdom or the Demon Tribe.
No one would be able to touch even a small pebble in my domain.
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
In front of a drooling Alboin, Dekal casually set up a crystal ball.
“Phew, it wasn’t easy to get this. I just hope Lord Nox doesn’t get angry.”
Dekal gulped down his dry saliva and injected magical power into the crystal ball.
Wooooong.
Soon, the crystal ball shone brightly and revealed someone’s face.
The original version’s Demon King.
But now, he had become a subordinate of Primus, it was Nox.
Fearsome eyes filled the entire orb.
The space seemed to vibrate from his voice alone.
“You contact me quite quickly.”
“I-I apologize, Lord Nox. It wasn’t easy to obtain this……”
“Enough. So what happened to the dragon’s paradise? Did you make Anticus a slave?”
Dekal broke out in a cold sweat and with difficulty, shook his head.
“I am sorry, but we have failed.”
Nox clicked his tongue with an expression of disbelief.
“Hah? Wasn’t it Silentium who went there? He was defeated?”
“That is what happened.”
“I’m so dumbfounded I’m speechless. Are you telling me he was defeated even though I gave him the magic device that puts dragons to sleep and the Magic Potion?”
Dekal tried to maintain his composure as much as possible, but it was difficult to control his trembling hands and feet.
‘Damn it. Who would have thought it would turn out like this.’
He should have stopped Silentium when he said he would attack the dragon’s paradise with just five men.
A dragon was a dragon, but Anticus, who was said to be scarier than the Demon King, was holding out there.
As he was thinking that, the other party spoke as if it were no big deal.
“Hmph. Failing to enslave Anticus and Silentium’s death are unexpected, but we have plenty of forces of that level. Begin the invasion of the Benedict Kingdom immediately.”
“I will obey your command.”
“However, if you fail this time as well, it will be difficult to preserve your life. Keep that in mind, Dekal.”
With those words, the other party ended the communication.
‘Phew. I thought I was going to die. The trembling in my hands and feet still hasn’t stopped.’
Dekal wiped the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand.
At that moment.
“Who goes there!”
Sensing a strange presence behind him, Dekal fired magic towards that spot.
A wave of darkness shot out rapidly.
Fwububuk!
One of the castle’s pillars was greatly damaged, but the unseen opponent instantly concealed their presence.
Dekal moved his body towards the destroyed pillar with a look of surprise.
Looking at the floor, he saw a bloodstain.
“There was definitely a sense of impact. How did they sneak in here?”
It was surprising that they had dodged his magic and fled,but he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t even known someone was here until now.
“Remarkable stealth skill. What kind of person is this?”
Dekal furrowed his brow and immediately called his subordinate.
“Capture this person at once. If you fail to capture them, I will turn you into a shish kebab.”
Dekal dabbed the blood on the floor onto his subordinate’s nose.
The subordinate, who had been in human form, soon turned into a wolf and disappeared from sight.
“Damn it. Because I was in human form, my presence detection is not the same as when I’m in my original body. To think I would make a mistake like this.”
Dekal felt like something was going wrong.He had failed to enslave Anticus,and now he felt pathetic for letting an intruder get away.
“I must catch that person and find out who’s behind this. If I fail this time too, my life is over.”
Dekal clenched both fists and returned to his original form.
As a giant octopus-shaped monster began to fill the king’s reception room, the scene, with the added face of Alboin staring blankly at Dekal’s transformation, was truly grotesque.