The legendary Moonlight Sculptor

V55C3P2 - Undeniable Danger

He went over to Oberon and spotted the radiant Kaybern sculpture he made in the past.

A sculpture made from crystals of Agathe glistening like the milky way, carved intricately into beads and threaded through a silver string.

Under bright light, the crystals weaved like waves, sparkling in radiant brilliance.

He worked intensively on it and it was deemed one his best works until now in terms of beauty.

But, it was an unfortunate piece of work that had to be offered to Kaybern.

"At last, I am taking it back. Grab it please."

"Yup.Leave it to us."

The dwarves diligently sent down treasure from the lair to the mine.

Even with the expansion, the items were being smuggled through a long and narrow mine passage, forcing the dwarves to shuffle faster on their short legs.

Nide who was scouting came back running.

"No signs of trouble yet?"

"No, hyung. Nothing dangerous yet near this area. It's almost foreboding."

"It's reasonable to think that way. We are in Kaybern's lair of all places."

Weed was also vigilant of this silence.

Nothing could really bring assurance, but the treasures that he already grabbed made him happy.

"I can see a lot of footprints of patrols on the path heading to the lair entrance."

"Draconic warriors?"

"Well actually, the footprints are a lot bigger and steeper than normal draconic warriors."

Nide, ever studious, prepared extensively.

He memorized the tracks, smell and traits of the monsters.

"That makes sense. They must be boss-level if they patrol inside the lair. There would be more of them."

"As you know hyung, the draconic warriors are different from other monsters. They do not slack off even without the supervision of the dragon. They will patrol at precise intervals."

"How much time is left until the patrol?"

"By the extent of the footprints, it won't be long. 30 minutes? Maybe an hour?"

"Alright. We have to hurry and save time."

The draconic warriors had a routine of entering and inspecting the lair. However, they were not known to scout the entire lair.

***

Castle Bawell was on its bare bones!

The castle wall and vital structures were all dismantled by the group of architects,but the total territory of the city had expanded several fold from before.

The weakest of weak buildings spread endlessly across to the plains and beyond.

- I have come to punish the humans!

When Kaybern arrived, the inner part of the city was empty like it always was.

- Fire Stone!

Flaming spheres fell from the skies and struck Castle Bawell and everything else in proximity.

*Crash!*

The castle that was barely supporting its own weight after losing the outer wall finally crumbled and the nearby buildings met the same fate.

Kaybern was content with the scene of destruction it caused.

- Rip to shreds. Chains of Darkness!

Dark chains that linked the land and sky began to strike down on the city.

Houses, roads and trees were crushed mercilessly.

The users were watching from a faraway forest after the evacuation.

"It's crazy watching from here. It would have been devastating if I was still inside the city."

"I gained proficiency for wind magic just now. It almost went up by one level."

"Just by watching, our skills gain levels. It's worthwhile to observe."

Now that several cities had been destroyed by the dragon, the users had become resigned to the carnage.

Powerful magic spells at times increased the skill proficiency for mages just by observing, and apart from that it was still a spectacle to watch.

The live scene of a dragon destroying a city!

Such a devastating scene sent shivers down their spinest, but on the other hand it felt very awesome.

There were tourists that seeked to watch it every week.

That being said, there were Hermes Guild members in these groups.

" I will never let Weed have his way."

Calcus and the death squad were wiped out at Thor and logged into Royal Road once again.

They did not want to return to Haven territory after losing levels, proficiency and even equipment.

"Since it has come to this, I will go all out to get my revenge."

Calcus tried to convince the squad to go with him to Castle Bawell. Not all agreed, but almost half of the guild members followed him.

"Keu-Keuk. It's simple. I just need to go to Kaybern and tell him that the lair is being robbed…"

He would die due to the merciless dragon, but Weed and his followers would also suffer huge losses. Rather than rationality, he was led by his vengeance.

"It's so easy because this is such a simple method for stopping Weed."

Calcus was getting overconfident, while a group of users surrounded them from a distance.

"You think we'll let you do that?"

Michel of the Black Sword Mercenaries and Gunter of Lion Star Guild led the elite users and surrounded them all of a sudden.

Their objective was to subdue the Hermes Guild that may head to Castle Bawell!

"How did you know we were coming?"

"Weed-nim informed us. The one who couldn't get a punch in will never give up that easily."

Calcus did not realize it at first, but things began to unravel in his eyes now that the Hermes Guild was rounded up in the forest.

Weed already had prepared countermeasures for several tricks.

Michel had a deep grudge against the Hermes Guild.

"Don't worry. I will end you all painlessly."

The Black Sword Mercenaries and the elites of Lion Star pounced with their weapons.

Warriors and swordsmen comprised the surprise attack and took part in the actual combat.

A few area of effect skills exploded, but with no real need for large-scale magic spells as they flooded in from every direction and quickly took care of the situation!

Meanwhile, Kaybern demolished Castle Bawell and was now bombarding magic spells against the entire city.

Michel got her revenge and laughed in satisfaction.

"Everything here went down the way we thought."

They looted after taking care of Calcus and the death squad. Also, it was enough to signal the rebirth of the Black Sword Mercenaries as this scene would be on live broadcast.

The users that split away after losing to the Hermes Guild were now returning to the mercenaries.

These users were under the Arpen Empire but also chose to affiliate with the prestigious guild factions.

They were joyful in that the honor of the old days was coming back.

Michel sheathed her sword handsomely and spoke.

"I am reporting to his royal highness, the emperor Weed."

- Weed: how did it go?

"Calcus appeared. We took care of him."

Michel after reporting to Weed felt as if she was his subordinate.

'It's just a stupid hunch. Yeah, just a hunch.'

- Weed: What about the dragon?

"It has destroyed a third of the city now. The buildings are spread wide apart, so there still seems to be a lot of time left."

- Weed: Thank you for watching over the scene. Please carry on.

Michel was happy to hear his appreciation as if she felt like Weed recognized her success.

"It is an honor, Weed-nim. I will keep you updated."

***

"Please be cautious so that the treasures don't get chipped. Everyone, pick up the pace!"

The dwarven users were working hard to transport the treasure from the dragon lair.

"I never had a day in my life with such a jackpot."

"How much will it be after selling all this? It's going to be hard to think of an estimate."

The speech of the dwarven users was filled with the joy of success.

They were moving piles of equipment and treasure that they normally couldn't even lay eyes on. The jolt of excitement that they scored the most outstanding load!

It hyped them up even more thinking about how the many broadcast stations would be watching them live.

"The draconic warriors are on the way here now. 20 of them."

After hearing from Nide who was guarding the entrance stopped the dwarves in their tracks. Only silence remained.

Weed signaled with his hand and the dwarves moved swiftly behind covers they previewed before.

Dwarves had small stature, able to hide just by going behind treasure chests and piles of gold.

As for the large hole connecting the mine and the lair, a painting was put over on top.

Yurin had prepared an elaborate painting in advance.

- Yurin: Oppa, this painting is not perfect either. I didn't have enough time… The paint isn't fully dry yet. They will find out if they get close.

Weed thought there was no other choice but to bet on luck.

If the draconic warriors were to inspect the entire lair, the dwarves in hiding would be discovered first.

Or the tracks left from transporting the treasure would be revealed.

By their tracks, the draconic warriors were said not to be too keen in their patrol, but I can't rely on that information entirely.'

*Pat-pat.*

The sounds of footsteps by the draconic warriors drew closer.

Weed kept silent but got ready to swing the Loa Sword in case he got discovered.

'The patrolling draconic warriors aren't a problem. The real issue is the army outside the lair.'

If the draconic warriors and monsters come charging as a whole, a face-off was inevitable.

The dwarves were each hiding behind cover and rolled their eyes. The dwarves were small, perfect for hiding.

- Pale: We are waiting.

The assault squad was also positioned in places suitable for an ambush.

"It is quiet."

"Krrk. That's because Kaybern-nim isn't here."

"There are a lot of incredible treasures in here."

"This is the home of the great Kaybern-nim. The dwarves offered these in respect for him."

The draconic warriors surveyed their surroundings with their snake-like eyes.

Weed's group hadn't touched the treasures near the route of the patrols.

"Kaybern-nim hates our scent. We cannot be here for long."

"We have to patrol the outer layer now."

"Let's do that."

A moment later, the draconic warriors slowly walked out of the lair.

"Whew. They left."

"Let's carry on."

The dwarven users continued loading the treasures.

Weed searched around for the Brazier of Sacrifice, but his mind was unsettled after the draconic warriors passed through.

'This is a race quest with S rank difficulty. But, I feel like this is all turning out too well. Kaybern should have been in his lair if it was the usual pattern.'

Even though the dwarves dug through the mine into the lair, as long as Kaybern was inside, it was highly unlikely to succeed.

Just the presence of a dragon could turn a quest into the worst success rate of all S rank quests.

'Kaybern's absence must have changed the difficulty. I would say it went down by a lot… But, even then this is way too easy."

Weed read too many stories of villains meeting their demise because of poor planning and underestimating; he was weary.

For a villain, self-conceit had to be avoided at all costs.

'Am I slacking nowadays because I became emperor of the Arpen Empire? Well, I'm well fed and I'm starting to sweat. I think I've smuggled enough treasure already for good profit even if the quest fails.'

Though if someone asked if he could throw out the yogurt lid without licking it, there was not a chance that he would.

(To be continued…)