章節 45: CHAPTER 204
'A reward…'
Jin let out a relieved sigh in his mind. Although he did anticipate it, hearing it with his own two ears felt completely different.
"Firstly, go get the horses that ran away. I won't be walking across this barren land at this age."
"Yes, ma'am."
Jin quickly moved his feet to seek out the horses. With the hoofprints still on the sand, finding them was not so hard.
Thankfully, they didn't go too far, and Jin found them quenching their thirst at a pond.
The day ended as soon as he dragged the horses back to Vanessa.
"Well done. Sit here."
A small fire burned brightly in front of her. Oil sizzled on the dried meat and fish that she stuck onto a stick.
She also had three barrels of wine with her. She opened two of them and filled two steel goblets.
'So she initially filled up the carriage with wine? She prepared this even after speaking like I'd fail for sure.'
Jin smiled and bowed.
"You as well. I didn't think you'd prepare such a great table."
"Well, you treated me in Tikan."
Clang!
They gave their cheers.
The knights' wine was strong, but their resistant bodies refused to fall to inebriety. Yet, even among a variety of wines, Vanessa's concoction was especially toxic. As soon as Jin drank it, his inherent antidote reacted to it.
'It's stronger than the jewelled wine that I had before getting the Heart of Light.'
Vanessa shocked Jin by chugging the entire goblet and proceeding to empty out a barrel. He tried to match her pace, but towards the end, he left her to herself.
She looked as if she were about to cry.
"Do you recall when I said our time in Tikan reminded me of something?"
"Yes, I do."
"I remembered my younger sibling. I'm this old, but in my memory, he's as young as you, which makes me forget how old I am."
She spoke calmly.
Jin only thought she looked sad, but it had been so long since her brother's death. Instead of sadness, she felt bitter and lonely.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm telling you this."
"Do I look like him?"
"Not at all. He didn't look as fine as you, nor was he strong. He was special to me, but in every other aspect. He was just a normal kid, and we weren't from any royal family."
Vanessa cleared her throat after a refreshing last sip and took out a cigarette. She lit it with the campfire in the middle and took a deep breath. As she exhaled, the smoke covered her face.
"On the other hand, I've had an immense potential since birth. Just like you Runcandels. As I prepared to become a knight of the Schucheron Kingdom, I got into a little scuffle at 17. I beat the hell out of one of the capital's knights."
"The knight must've been startled."
"He visited his hometown during his leave. I didn't know until he left with a nosebleed. The one witness, the bar owner, told me afterwards."
"The King must've been shocked as well."
"Damn right. They didn't think an intoxicated knight would provoke a civilian girl. How could they even let that happen to a knight?"
She lit another to smoke.
"The next day, the knight killed the bar owner. Then, he began to kill off the few relatives I had. The King sentenced me for crimes I didn't even commit, and even sent out troops. They couldn't afford to taint the Royal Guard's name."
Vanessa hadn't been as strong as she was now. Back then, she was just a 17-year-old girl with potential.
"So I tried to run, but I made that decision too late. My brother got caught, and I had to go to the castle without any weapons."
Her brother lay unconscious in the castle's front yard then, whip marks decorating his body. The knights told Vanessa to take off her clothes and crawl to the castle.
Jin's fists shook as he listened to her story, but Vanessa shook her head.
"Thankfully, I never had to comply with such conditions. At that moment, I heard a booming roar… and fire balls began to rain from the sky. A fire dragon had ambushed the castle."
In a split second, the fire dragon destroyed the castle and killed many in the process.
Ironically, the only one who fought the dragon was Vanessa.
"Absolutely insane. During the commotion, prisoners of the castle and the Royal Guards escaped. My brother didn't die immediately from the dragon, so I had no choice but to fight."
Due to that fight, Vanessa unlocked her potential. She unleashed her strength, and inconceivable power emerged from her every move.
"I picked up a sword from a dead knight to protect myself—the one that kidnapped my brother—and that sight looked pretty entertaining to the dragon. I kept swinging the sword furiously with my brother in my arms."
However, going against the power of a fire dragon was impossible.
The dragon took her brother away and intentionally left her alive.
"After burning down the rest of the village, he told me to come to the Ante Mountains if I wanted him back. And so I went."
Yet her brother had already died.
"That dragon didn't even confront me. Just left me there and flew away. He just wanted to see me hopeless. He figured that it was more fun than burning down villages."
"…Did you remain in the Ante Mountains after that moment?"
"Yep. I didn't think of looking for him at all. It was too tiring."
Jin also began to drink as much as Vanessa was.
She had never left the mountains until she met Cyron.
Every single dragon who passed, she killed. Every human who passed, she killed. It was pretty rare for a human to come, but when they did, some of them gave her a challenge.
All of whom either had their grievances with the fire dragon or simply came to face her.
"I slowly descended into insanity. No, I was already insane. Over a hundred dragons died, and the fire dragon still hadn't appeared. Fifteen years later, your father, Lord Cyron, visited me."
He was the first one to take her down.
"The day after he defeated me, he caught the fire dragon and its babies. Apparently, they were related to Kelliark Zipfel's Kadun. So, Kadun came as well, saying that he'd protect his kind. What do you think happened?"
"Father killed all of them, and Kadun fleed with an injury."
"Lord Cyron only helped so that Kadun couldn't interfere. Killing off the other ones was completely up to me."
Revenge exacted by Vanessa's hands.
In the end, she killed them all. However, before she killed the culprit, she asked him what his motive was over and over again.
"As mentioned before, he just killed my brother because he thought it'd be funny. My disappointment and depression were entertaining to him. He'd probably accepted his fate, so he tried to piss me off until the end."
"Ha."
"After that, Lord Cyron made me his knight. Wearing the black helmet, I went through situations that made my youth feel like nothing. As I got used to the lifestyle, I slowly transitioned into a proper knight."
Jin didn't answer and continued to refill her goblet.
"If you become the strongest, just like your father, give your subordinates the opportunity for revenge. It is crucial."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Remember, do not let some civilians sway you. They die too swiftly and depend on us too much. And when you become hopeless some day…"
Vanessa paused for a moment to look into Jin's eyes.
"It's not because you lost to a stronger blade, but because you share the tragedies of regular people. Your father and I faced the same conflicts and became monsters. Now, I don't feel a thing when I think of my brother."
As the fire crackled away, a long silence ensued.
She opened the last barrel.
"Listen to your father whenever you get the chance."
"I'll make sure to do so."
Did transcending humanity mean to forget one's emotions? Jin thought of his team back at Tikan.
"That's enough advising… so take this."
Vanessa handed a folded piece of paper.
It was a map. A very accurate representation of some place he knew.
And seeing the empty areas on it, he knew it was incomplete. Some areas were also smudged and hard to read.
"A map of the Black Sea. Go to the place marked in red. It doesn't matter if you go alone or with your team, but it'll be hard to get through the toxic gases."
"Is this my reward?"
Jin never knew there was a map of the Black Sea. The previous Dark Knights created a map over the generations, and that had still been a work in progress.
"As soon as Lord Cyron created the map, he gave it to me. He told me to give it to whoever among the siblings seemed worthy. In a sense, this is another mission, not a reward."
"I presume you wouldn't tell me what lies in this area?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"Why would I withhold the obvious? There are monsters in the red-marked area. Kill them. They're the ones that the Witch, Helluram, raised many years ago."
Jin's eyes widened.
章節 46: CHAPTER 205
Southern region of the Schucheron Kingdom, Vanessa's hometown. The village that was burned down by the fire dragon's attack.
It had become a wasteland that couldn't be revived.
Across the vast land, Vanessa's house stood alone.
"You haven't surprised me this much in a long time, milord. You sent me a letter last week, and this time, you're visiting without notice."
Vanessa opened the door to her house. Inside the small room, Cyron sat alone. She shrugged and sat down in front of him.
"As if you haven't done the same."
A kettle of hot tea sat on the table. Cyron filled a teacup for her.
"Khan must've done a lot. I can tell he brewed this and left hastily. How about you do something yourself for once?"
"Well, that fellow does everything exceptionally."
The two admired the tea for a moment.
'Is he not a father who just wants to boast about his child?'
Over the fifty years that passed since she became his knight, it was her first time seeing him like this.
"So, how was it?"
"Very impressive. It also seems he found a wonderful crew."
"That's not what I asked."
Vanessa knew that he wanted to hear about the battle, yet she tried to evade the topic.
"Fufu, it seems you've aged as well. So impatient."
"It seems to be that way."
"Jin Runcandel… He performed well enough. It definitely seems like he can keep his word."
The corners of Cyron's mouth twitched.
"So I gave him the map."
"I would've never expected that to happen."
"So you've become more lenient? I thought you already knew the outcome."
Cyron only chuckled instead of giving an answer.
"If you still had fondness for Luna, he would've never received the map."
Vanessa smiled bitterly. The map had been designed to land in the hands of Luna.
As Cyron drew out the map of the Black Sea and saw 'that' creature, he kept it away and had wanted to pass it on to Luna ever since.
"It was a time we had placed all of our hopes and dreams on that child. Had you given her some more attention, she wouldn't have given up. She would have been ruling the Runcandel Clan by now, and we could have finally been able to do our own things."
"Do you blame me for it, Vanessa?"
"No, I blame myself and my unit. At the time, the Dark Knights could do anything but keep an eye on Luna."
"How is that your fault? It's Rosa's and mine."
"Hence, we must prevent Jin from straying from his path. I might keep an eye on him for a bit. As for Joshua… He's a troublemaker. He's been preparing things for Jin to face."
Cyron shook his head.
"I would've never batted an eye if he needed guardianship. Do not interfere with him. If he can't take over the clan by himself, he can't take on the world."
"…And what if he turns out like Luna? Once Jin returns to the clan, will he be able to take on Joshua? There's still the question of whether or not he will come back alive."
"Yet you still gave him the map?"
Vanessa laughed at Cyron asking her not to interfere with Jin's ventures.
"I, of course, know not to do such things. Since you're here, let us have a drink. Tuven is around the area, so I'll let him know."
"Tuven… I haven't seen him in years."
* * *
Jin and his companions stared blankly at the map.
"…It is indeed possible to create a map of the Black Sea. I heard that monsters spawned like water and that toxic gasses contaminated the air."
As Kashimir said, no other clan, empire, or kingdom could create a map of the Black Sea. Not even the Zipfels dared to encroach it.
Or, at least, that was what the world thought. Each person who scanned this map had their jaws dropped. Everyone thought it to be impossible, but the Runcandels had already succeeded.
Traversing the Black Sea without the map was possible. There were faint paths from the entrance, but that was because Cyron bulldozed his way through.
If they could defeat the monsters along the way, anyone could visit the center.
"It's probably a project that contains the blood, sweat, and tears of the previous generation of the Dark Knights. It's also probably confidential. To my knowledge, no one else has sent out troops to the Black Sea."
"That's correct, Gilly. Only Father, Mother, the previous generation of the Dark Knights, and some elders knew of this. The flag-bearers aren't even allowed this knowledge."
"Hm… So that's why this kid's father always goes there. It's because of Helluram's monsters."
The wife of Beast King Orgal and the master of dark magic, the Witch.
Dark magic had become forbidden, but there were records of her doings in historical books. Many historians referred to her as an apocalypse, with every single one of her records consisting of destruction and massacre.
Whenever her name was mentioned, a terrible tragedy ensued.
Fifteen hundred years ago, a then-unidentified plague called 'Lunacy' threw the entire western region into crisis. Three hundred years later, the Demon God descended. Two hundred years after that, the northern region explosions occurred, and three hundred years later, there was the stillbirth crisis.
She wasn't behind just one or two tragedies. No human could intentionally incur such events.
Five hundred years ago, during the War of the Holy Kingdom, Helluram summoned an army of monsters, which didn't really surprise anyone.
Instead, it sparked a new debate of whether 'Helluram' truly was just one person or a group of magicians.
Many magicians supported the latter claim. It was impossible for someone to be active for over fifteen hundred years.
"I don't think bothering her is a good idea. Doesn't feel too good…"
Quikantel commented on the map, and the entire group looked surprised. They would've never thought that Quikantel would be afraid of a magician.
She also spoke as if Helluram were an individual.
"So are you implying Helluram is a person, not a group?"
Quikantel nodded to Enya's question.
"She's one person, alright. She's half-demon. Looks like a human, but has the lifespan of a demon."
Jin knew of this already. His master, Valeria, claimed that she'd met Helluram and passed on some information to him.
"In fact, her existence is a curse. All kinds of gods praised her and didn't seek other contractors. When Beast King Orgal shared her curse, dragons went to congratulate her."
Enya gasped.
"My goodness. Then are all of the historical calamities true?"
"Yeah, they're pretty damn true. Dragons know it for sure. So, about that one monster that Helluram raised… You got any ideas, Quikantel?"
"Are you sending Jin there? He might come across her."
"HAHAHA! The kid and I are immune to curses, so it won't matter. And according to that Antes Terror or whatever, the monster is under the Runcandels' control. But still, not searching for it means that it might be dead."
"It may have been three hundred years since its last activity, but I don't think it's dead."
Quikantel constantly made claims to stop Murakan.
However, Jin and Murakan had the same opinion. Vanessa said it was another mission, so they couldn't just turn it down.
"It's my Father's reward. I don't know what he'll take from me if I refuse."
"I agree. The Lord's orders are final."
Kashimir, Alisa, and Jet nodded. Quikantel could no longer stop them.
"I guess it can't be helped. Instead, Murakan and I will accompany you until we reach the entrance. Any further than that and the toxins will be too much. I'll be relieved if I take you there, at the very least."
"Let's take the runt too. We need someone to take care of the food."
"…Might I remind everyone that I was a prince in the past."
"You can't cook?"
"No."
"Then we'll take Jet instead."
"I can definitely cook!"
"Taking that weakling to the Black Sea? I don't think so. Just take Kashimir. Or maybe Lathry? He can cook."
"The cookie shop has been busy, and I'd prefer not to leave Euria's side… I can still pack a ton, though."
Thud!
Kashimir slammed the table with his fist.
"My goodness. Are you crazy?"
"I am a warrior deemed the Ghostblade and the leader of the best intelligence agency! My pride does not accept being treated as a mere peasant!"
"Honey, just let them go. Lathry is a dragon and runs a cookie shop."
"You too? I'm Kashimir 'Ghostblade' Alfleon!"
Jin was about to say that he could cook for himself, but Murakan shook his head.
"Then we'll take Jet and the runt. Jet with the food, and the runt will fight."
"I can work with those conditions."
Jin was at a loss for words.
He, Murakan, Quikantel, Kashimir, and Jet were about to head for the Black Sea.
Jin felt a little sorry for Kashimir, but he looked too satisfied to be pitied.
每周推薦票狀態
200+ 推薦票
榜單 
51 推薦票 
段落評論