Dragon Maken War

Chapter 193 - Transition of Tactics (4)

"Have any enemies approached this place?"

Azell asked as he looked at the corner of the room. A Guardian Shadow suddenly appeared from the bottom of the floor.

「Not yet….…….」

"Hmmm. They know that they can locate us at will once again. It seems they've given up on spying on us. Are they gathering their main force?"

At that moment, the Vitan's Chalice was in its summoned state.

It was located at a mountain that was 5 kilometers away from the palace. It had been placed within a barrier. If enemies approached the location, the Guardian Shadows would alert them. It was possible to unsummon the Dragon weapon at any moment.

It was possible thanks to the magic tome Laura inherited from Carlos. Carlos had included all his magical knowledge into the book, and Carlos had made it so that a significant amount of spells could be demonstrated by the magic tome.

For a high ranking magician like Laura, the book was priceless. Normally, magicians treasured their knowledge, and they put a premium on knowledge that was passed down from their ancestors. They also became obsessed with it.. After going through their studies, magicians had to conduct magical experiments for themselves. This was the what being a magician was all about.

Of course, there is a limit to how much new knowledge could be pioneered by a single magician. This was why magicians wanted previously verified knowledge. This allowed them to branch out more.

Moreover, this book was made by Carlos, who was acknowledged to be the greatest prodigy by Atein and the Dragon Demon general. He had researched for a time period that transcended the limitation of human life. Laura's power was increasing each day just from learning the knowledge from the book.

Suddenly, Laura spoke.

"However, it's weird."

"What is?"

"Why did Carlos Rizester give me this book?"

This book was the essence of Carlos' magical achievement. When Carlos chose to pass on the book, he had given it to Laura instead of Yuren. He did so, while acknowledging the fact that Yuren was his descendant.

Moreover, Carlos had made it so that Laura was the only one that could read the content of the book. Yuren had to receive the knowledge through Laura. She had to read and learn it before she could teach it to Yuren. He had to go through a very inefficient method to receive the knowledge.

"I'm not sure."

For some reason, Azell had a dark expression on his face as he spoke those words. Maybe, it was because the subject of the conversation was Carlos. Laura picked up on this.

"What are you hiding from us?"

"……."

"Did you hold back information in regards to what Carlos told you?"

"I did."

Azell readily nodded his head. It was such a natural response that Laura became surprised.

"What?"

She couldn't understand it.

If it was personal business between the two, she could understand him not telling others about it. However, when she deciphered the nuanced response from Azell, she realized that he had held back information that would be important to the party.

Azell's face hardened as he spoke.

"These are unverified information. That is why it is hard to speak it out loud."

"Mmm……."

Laura showed signs of being unsatisfied, but she didn't enquire any further.

Azell spoke.

"Aren't you going to press me for the information?"

"I'm sure you had valid reasons for doing so."

Azell heard absolute trust in her words.

Suddenly, it made him think about Carlos. Carlos had been touch when he witness Azell's unwavering trust in him.

He could understand Carlos' feelings a little bit. After being thrown into the far future by himself, it was a big relief to have someone that showed absolute trust in him like this.

"Please tell me one thing."

"Ask me."

"Does that mean there is a chance that Yuren might become our enemy?"

"No."

Azell didn't hesitate as he shook his head from side to side. Laura was taken aback by his answer.

When she heard Azell's story, Laura had guessed that he was talking about the identity and the business related to the Guide. There were too many basis that were pointing towards the Guide.

Carlos wasn't the Guide.

Carlos had revealed some uncomfortable information to Yuren, and he had given Yuren a very unsavory item called the Box of Hope. He even went through the steps of not giving Yuren an item that was considered to be his essence as a magician.

Naturally, her presumptions had a negative tilt to it. There was a possibility that the Guide could be an enemy.

However, Azell was firm in his denial.

Laura was confused. Countless possibilities swirled around inside her head, but she couldn't determine which one was true.

Azell spoke with conviction.

"Yuren won't become our enemy. You can trust in that."

9

Azell's party stayed at the palace of Rulain for one day. They weren't in a position to stay in one place for too long.

They decided one day was enoughn,

It wasn't just Arietta and Seigar. Giles and Boar were brought into the Guardian Shadows, and they created a framework for cooperation. These were people that Azell could trust. The number of people he could trust was small, and he needed as many trusted comrades as he could get right now.

Moreover, it was decided that Arrieta would join the party.

There was a significant amount of consternation until this decision was made. It was because Arrieta and Seigar were insistent that they should be the one to go.

Azell couldn't take both of them. The Dragon Demon princess and the Dragon Demon prince carried out important missions for the Rulain Kingdom. At the very least, one of them would need to continue their work as the front man.

This tug of war ended in Arrieta's victory, because Kairen held up Arrieta's hand.

"I'm judging this objectively. Arrieta has gone through the Dragon Slayer's Ritual, so her potential is higher than yours."

Seigar gritted his teeth at his teacher's cold assessment.

He was frustrated, but he couldn't dispute Kairen's words. After she completed the Dragon Slayer's Ritual, Arrieta's Dragon Demon magic had made a noticeable jump. It was such a large jump that it was almost unbelievable that she was a Dragon Majin.

"Moreover, you have feelings of animosity towards Laura."

He also couldn't deny that truth.

In the end, he backed off as he swallowed back his pride.

Kairen consoled the devastated Seigar.

"You will be staying here, so your responsibility will be immense. You will work with the other Guardian Shadows to cut off our enemy's lifeline. You'll have to risk your own life each time."

"I know."

Azell was the revived legendary hero, who had transcended time. Arrieta would join him to fight for the fate of the world.

The heart of any martial artist that was born in this era would be excited at this prospect. Seigar also felt the same way, so he was greatly disappointed.

"I'm jealous of you, noonim."

Seigar let out a bitter laugh.

10

Kairen was cautioning Arrieta.

"Since you've joined our party, you have to pull your own weight. Your station in life won't grant you any exceptions."

"Of course, I plan on pulling my own weight."

From a young age, Arrieta was put through harsh trainings by Kairen. It was true that she showed unbelievable amount of laziness in the palace, but she was capable of pulling her own weight in any situation.

"I have important things to teach you, but I'll have to delay these lesson for a later time."

"Why?"

"For a while, you'll have to get used to moving at our speed. We move at a very fast pace."

At his words, Arrieta's expression stiffened a little bit. She knew that her teacher boasted an abnormally fast moving ability.

'Will I be able to keep up?'

In truth, she was worried. After she inherited the forgotten techniques from Azell, she had completed the Dragon Slayer's Ritual. However, she still wasn't confident in her abilities.

At the same time, she had a question.

'They are able to keep up?'

Azell was a given, but how was the other party members able to keep up?

Soon, she was able to acquire the answer to her question. The party had started to move.

"Ha-ah, ha-ah……."

It had been a long time since she had become exhausted just from running.

She had thought she was well equipped to travel a long distance. She had been trained by Kairen since her childhood. She had climbed the mountains numerous times.

However, the speed of Azell's party was beyond the limits of what she had experienced. The more surprising part was…..

"We've reduced our speed significantly to match Arrieta's speed. Will that not cause us trouble?"

"Let us say we do prioritize our speed. The princess won't be able to adjust to our speed, and if we are ambushed, she won't have any stamina to fight. In my opinion, that would be a worse outcome…."

"I know why we are in this situation, but it still worries me."

Kairen and Azell were having this conversation as they prepared their meal.

"Here. Please have some water."

There was an awkward atmosphere amongst the party members. Arrieta was close with Azell and Kairen. However, she wasn't sure how to treat Laura, Leticia and Yuren.

Fortunately, Yuren behaved in a pleasant manner. He talked to her first.

"T...thank you."

"It is only your first day, yet you are doing very well in following us.."

"……."

It didn't matter how great one's skill was. No one traveled in the manner Azell's party traveled.

They ran on their own two feet to traverse across mountains and lakes. How many would think about running across several hundred kilometers through all types of terrain? If it was a short distance, it was understandable to ignore the terrain. It was extremely odd to travel long distance when a carriage or a horse was available.

Basically, she had not experienced anything like this in her life. She never had to use her abilities in such a manner. However, if she moved like this for couple days, she thought she would be able to slowly adjust to it.

"Still…. You guys are amazing."

Laura, Leticia and Yuren weren't showing any signs of fatigue. Arrieta was proud of her ability, so she felt her unyielding spirit rise up.

"May I call you by Ms Letica?"

"Please take out the Ms. You can just call me by Leticia."

Leticia answered in a blunt manner. It seemed she didn't care if the other person was a princess. She wasn't going to show Arrieta any deference.

However, Arrieta didn't get mad as she asked a question in return.

"May you just call me by Arrieta?"

"…hmmm."

Leticia's expression turned peculiar.

"As a royal, I thought you guys place much importance on your rank. You guys stake your life on it."

"You can think of me as being a bit strange. Other royals aren't like me."

"I see. Then I'll do as you say, Arrieta."

At her words, Arrieta had a peculiar expression on her face. Leticia was puzzled by her reaction, so she asked Arrieta a question.

"What's wrong?"

"…Ah. This is the first time I've experienced this."

"What are you talking about?"

"A woman of similar age as me just called me by my name. When I was young, some called me by a false name. I've just been called by my real name… Hmm. It is a strange feeling, but it isn't as if I don't like it."

Arrieta nodded her head as she mumbled to herself. When Leticia saw this, she smirked without realizing it.

"You are a strange princess."

"Should I take that as a complement?"

"I think so."

In truth, Leticia hadn't like the idea when she heard that Arrieta was joining their party. She had already formed a strong bond with her party members. Someone was going to intrude into their party dynamic. Of course, she wouldn't welcome it.

She became more opposed to the idea when she found out that the person joining their party was a princess. However, some of her trepidation went away when she saw Arrieta's attitude.

Arrieta decided to talk to Laura next.

"Ms Laura……."

"I'm throwing this out there just in case….."

Before Arrieta could speak, Laura cut her off with an expressionless face.

"Please do not add Aunsarus to my name. I've thrown that name away."

"Hmmm. It is an unwelcome name even for me, so I welcome the suggestion."

"You can just call me by Laura. I'll call you by Arrieta."

"Thank you."

Arrieta looked to be enjoying herself. After being taught by Kairen starting from her childhood, she had always lived her life as a princess. The current experience was stimulating her in new ways.

After a short meal, Kairen gave an explanation.

"As I've explained yesterday, we are going to go around destroying the waypoints of the Road of Emptiness.

Laura, Leticia and Yuren consolidated their information, and they were able to name a total of 222 locations.

"…there are a lot of them."

Arrieta was surprised. However, if she thought about it, this continent was large. If there weren't that many, the Dragon Demon king worshippers wouldn't be able to suddenly appear and disappear like they had been over the years.

"Currently, there are 204 of them left."

If they included the ones destroyed by the Keepers of Prophecy, they had destroyed 18 waypoints.

It hadn't been easy fights. The Plain of Darkness had set up defensive measures, and they had to charge into the teeth of the defense. Moreover, all the Dragon Demon king worshippers in the region were called into the fight. There were cases where several groups of the Guardian Shadows were almost wiped out. This was why Kairen transitioned into being extremely careful in directing their attacks.

First, he sent in the Guardian Shadows to check the response of their enemy. If there was a high ranking official that they couldn't handle, the attack was aborted.

Of course, Azell's party was the exception. Azell's party only had to avoid Almarick and Reygus.

Arrieta was dismayed after hearing Kairen's explanation.

"We are talking about the legendary hero and the Dragon Demon Generals. It feels unreal. They are the enemies we'll have to fight but…..."

"When they approach us, they'll snap you right out of such feelings."

Kairen snorted.