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Black Knight Billvine.
One of the strongest mid-ranking demonic humans of the Devil’s Eye.
He raised his head and gazed at the basin.
“The sacred place.”
He came from a fallen family of knights in the Argon Empire, so he did not know much about the barbarian lands.
But even he could not help but feel that there was something special in the sacred place ahead of him.
‘According to the information, it’s guarded by one wild god and four low-ranking angels.’
In fact, the western part of the barbarian lands was already in the hands of the Angry Bull tribe and the Devil’s Eye.
Because of that, the Devil’s Eye was able to acquire all kinds of information about the barbarian lands, including the eastern wild gods’ information, location of the dragon veins, the sacred place, and so on.
‘Blue Whiskers is a wild god in the form of a dragon.’
Although he was a dragon, he was still a young one, so he wasn’t that strong. Nevertheless, he was both a dragon and a wild god.
He was not an easy opponent to fight against.
‘Moreover, our goal is to capture him alive.’
Billvine’s mission was to pollute the dragon vein, subdue the wild god, and the corrupt Blue Whiskers with the power of the great overlord Belial.
‘After luring him, we’ll trigger the spell. If we defeat the Tomb Guardians while the wild god is tied up, the sacred place will become an ownerless land.’
After confirming their strategy in his mind, Billvine stopped at about a hundred meters from the entrance of the sacred place and ordered his subordinates to go into their battle positions.
‘He’ll have no choice but to come out.’
The dragon veins spread out like a network of threads throughout the barbarian lands, like that of a human body’s veins.
The sacred place was where such dragon veins gather and circulate, which was like the heart of a human.
In order to properly contaminate the dragon vein, the dragon vein’s heart must be captured, so that the rest of the dragon veins would easily be contaminated.
“Begin.”
“As you wish, Sir.”
When Billvine ordered in a low voice, the men in black armor obeyed their master and began to stab spears with the curse of the overlord Belial into the ground.
“May the power of Belial fill this land…”
After the cursed spears were stabbed on the ground, Billvine chanted the spell to activate the curse, and the snow around the area began to melt. A purple aura surged along the spears, and at the same time, a deadly green curse permeated the ground.
Billvine looked up and watched the entrance of the sacred place.
What he had hoped for was coming true.
***
Ten minutes before Billvine stabbed the cursed spears on the ground.
Jude and Cordelia looked at each other and quickly exchanged words.
“Billvine isn’t just a musclehead character.”
“He has a brain, right? He also has a cautious personality.”
“Yes, do you remember what Violent Avalanche said?”
“The method to subdue the wild gods?”
“Yes, that method. Violent Avalanche said that its movements were restricted because of the evil energy and curses that they had prepared. So there’s a high possibility that they’ve prepared something similar this time.”
“So we block Blue Whiskers and prevent the Tomb Guardians from leaving?”
“That’s right. We have to crush Billvine’s plan from the ground up.”
“How? With a F*ck Bang?”
“No, not that. Though it’s true that if we blow up the sacred place, they wouldn’t be able to occupy it.”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’m not a bomber. I’m not that kind of person.”
“…Then, apart from that.”
“Apart from that?”
“What do you think Billvine is missing right now?”
“Can’t you just tell instead of asking me? It’s bothersome to think.”
“…Madam, your servant doesn’t want Madame to give up yet.”
“Okay, okay. You want me to say it, right? What Billvine is missing.”
Billvine had no information about Jude and Cordelia.
Moreover, Jude and Cordelia had unintentionally annihilated the demonic humans of the Devil’s Eye and their subordinates in Violent Avalanche’s mountain and in Gentle Snow Breeze’s fields.
So it was highly likely that they had not yet been informed of Jude and Cordelia, and even if they were informed, they wouldn’t easily think that the two would appear in the sacred place.
“Ooh…as expected. My child could do it. Let’s keep working hard in the future.”
“That’s enough work for my brain. Moving on, the root of his plan is Blue Whiskers, right?”
“Yes, Billvine’s plan is likely to start with ‘restraining Blue Whiskers.’ In other words, if he couldn’t restrain Blue Whiskers, we’ll be able to get rid of his plan from the very roots.”
“What about their method?”
“That.”
Jude turned around and pointed to the sacred place’s temple, and Cordelia narrowed her eyes.
“Uh…you said we shouldn’t blow it up.”
“No, not the dragon vein. I’m talking about the temple of the wild gods and the sacred place of Solari.”
At Jude’s words, Cordelia blinked her eyes several time before she understood it.
Jude and Cordelia knew little about the wild gods, but not for Solari.
“Can you do it.”
“I can do it.”
“Will it be on time?”
“That’s why I need to hurry from now on.”
Cordelia nodded at his words before she ran towards the entrance and shouted.
“I’ll buy time!”
“Don’t overdo it! Okay?!”
“You too!”
She roughly shouted and then ran without looking back. On the other hand, Jude headed to the temple.
And around ten minutes later…
Blue Whiskers reacted to the cursed spears that Billvine stabbed on the ground.
***
“Who dares pollute the dragon vein!”
Blue Whiskers burst with anger as he ran out of the temple.
He was about to rush towards Billvine and his men at that moment.
No, he would have done that if he was alone.
He had been protecting the sacred place for nearly a hundred years, but this was the first time it had been attacked.
But Cordelia was there.
“Wait! Stop! You can’t go!”
Cordelia boosted her power with the witch’s power and shouted, and Blue Whiskers stopped on his feet but still remained angry.
“What do you mean by stop! Can’t you see what they’re doing!”
They stabbed cursed spears on the ground and spread Belial’s curse.
Cordelia had already seen similar things in the land of Gentle Snow Breeze, so she understood what was happening, but she still didn’t back down.
“I know! But it’s a trap! It’s obviously a trap!”
In order for them to properly contaminate the dragon veins, they had to go to its heart. In other words, what they were doing was a pointless task, and there was only one reason for doing such a pointless task.
‘Fishing!’
It was a bait to lure Blue Whiskers.
“Jude is inside, okay? He’s drawing a magic circle inside, okay? We have to wait until Jude is done!”
Jude might be ignorant about the dragon veins, but he knew a lot about Solari.
He was drawing a magic circle to use the power of the sacred place, so they shouldn’t behave rashly until he completes the magic circle.
“But they’re polluting the land!”
“We can cleanse it later!”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
Having been alone in the sacred place, his eloquence was weak, so Blue Whiskers slowed down for a moment, but only for a brief moment.
“Eiii! I won’t stop! I am the guardian of the sacred place! I’m going to beat those guys up! Tomb Guardians! Get up and face the enemy!”
“Kwoooh!”
The four Tomb Guardians at the entrance responded to Blue Whiskers’ command and spread their wings at the same time.
Cordelia stamped her foot with a look of urgency, and soon made a decision.
“”
“What?!”
magic was Cordelia’s second specialty.
However, Blue Whiskers was a wild god. Cordelia’s spell made paralyzed him, but it didn’t last long.
On Blue Whiskers’ neck hung Solari’s necklace, which gave off a blue glow and canceled Cordelia’s magic.
‘Solari’s Curse-lifting Necklace!’
It was a necklace that protected the wearer from harmful spells once a day. Although there was a limit on the number of times it could be used per day, its power of protection was so strong that it was a must-have item.
In any case, the necklace’s power repelled Cordelia’s magic, and Blue Whiskers angrily shouted.
“I thought you were a good child, but you weren’t!”
“No! Just listen to me! Okay?!”
“Get out of my way!”
Blue Whiskers yelled in a threatening manner as if he was going to attack if she interfered further, and he then kicked the ground and rose to the air. He rode on the wind and clouds and together with the Tomb Guardians, he flew towards Billvine.
“Ah, seriously!”
Cordelia held back her cursing and then looked at the temple where Jude was as she clenched her teeth.
She was worried about Blue Whiskers, but she had to stay near the temple in case something else happened.
‘Please!’
Since that’s what happened, show me the majesty of a wild god!
It was the moment when Cordelia wished for that.
“Belial’s Cursed Hammer! Strike the enemy! Cursed Net! Capture the enemy!”
When Billvine loudly shouted, five of his men cut their own throats, offering themselves as human sacrifices.
The vivid red blood spilled into air, and at that moment, a dark red power rose from the cursed spears and headed towards Blue Whiskers.
The Devil’s Eye had invested a long time to develop this sealing curse for the wild gods in order to carry out their plans.
“Kuaaaah!”
Blue Whiskers grew stronger as time passed, but he lacked combat experience so he couldn’t properly fight against the curses that came in succession.
He was hit by the Cursed Hammer, crashed to the ground, and the Cursed Net tied not only his flesh but also his soul.
Solari’s necklace, which already used up today’s protection, was useless.
No, it didn’t change even if it hadn’t been used up.
To begin with, what the Devil’s Eye prepared was something that activated ten curses in a row.
“Strengthen the curse! Seal the wild god completely!”
When Billvine shouted, five of his men stepped forward again and cut their own throats.
They were brainwashed offerings that had been prepared as human sacrifices in the first place.
“Kuaaaah!”
Blue Whiskers painfully screamed as he desperately fought against the curse. The power of the curse nearly doubled the moment the five humans were sacrificed again.
“The wild god is sealed. Let’s strike the sacred place now!”
Billvine drew his sword and shouted, and his subordinates raised the flag and blew on the horns.
They were like an order of knights that belonged to the Devil’s Eye, and they passed by Blue Whiskers and began charging towards the sacred place.
“Kuaaaah!”
The Tomb Guardians spread out their wings and rushed towards Billvine’s men.
However, they had already prepared countermeasures against the Tomb Guardians. By forming groups of ten people each against the four Tomb Guardians, they created a situation that was similar to a hunter and a prey on a hunt.
“I’ll cut their breaths one by one.”
As he grasped his pitch-black sword, Billvine hurried towards the Tomb Guardian instead of immediately heading to the sacred place.
It was a simple yet reliable hunting method in which Billvine himself killed the Tomb Guardians while ten of his men tied its feet.
“Kaaa…”
The first Tomb Guardian lost its life helplessly.
As she watched it, Cordelia clenched her teeth and thought.
The situation had already gone badly. So she had to step out and protect the Tomb Guardians. Working with them was the best in order to stop Billvine and his men.
“I’ll go.”
Cordelia took a deep breath and then kicked the ground.
But at that moment, a loud noise broke out from behind her back.
Kwaaaaa-!
The noise came from the temple.
There was an open space at the top of Solari’s temple which let the sunshine in, and from there, a bright golden pillar of light shot up.
Cordelia quickly turned around and saw the pillar of light before she cheered. Because she realized what Jude’s plan was.
“Long live the sun!”
Cordelia raised her hands up high to worship the sun.
Her actions had no meaning, but the pillar of light responded as if it reacted to her.
Craack-!
The pillar of light split into hundreds to thousands of pieces with a sound similar to breaking glass. The pieces remained in the air as if the time froze, and the world was soon covered with an intense light.
.
It was a magic technique which temporarily created a sacred place for Solari by spreading Solari’s power around the surrounding area.
And its effect was truly amazing.
“Oooooh!”
The size of the Tomb Guardians grew. Their eyes glowed gold, and the sacred power that surrounded their entire bodies became twice as strong.
The effect was not only that. Belial’s curse that was suppressing Blue Whiskers was also broken at that moment.
Billvine and his subordinates’ power also weakened.
“As expected of my Jude!”
The magic technique used up the power of Solari that was stored in the sacred place, but what mattered now was to repel Billvine and his men.
Cordelia widely smiled as she looked at the temple’s entrance. She waited for Jude to come out so that they could attack Billvine together.
But contrary to her expectations, Jude did not come out.
Or rather, he couldn’t come out.
Because something happened that neither Cordelia nor Jude would have thought of.
‘The magic technique, the magic technique won’t stop!’
At the center of the temple.
At the center of the large magic circle, Jude stood with a puzzled expression.
There wasn’t anything wrong with the magic technique.
He had succeeded in casting by using the power of Solari that was stored in the temple.
But the magic technique didn’t stop.
Despite having already exhausted the stored power of Solari, it continued to gather power.
And Jude realized it.
At the present moment, the magic circle was not gathering Solari’s power that remained in the sacred place.
The magic circle was actually devouring the dragon vein’s power.
“Jude!”
Cordelia appeared at the temple’s entrance. She looked at Jude and realized it with her animal-like instincts.
“Hey! You told me not to blow it up!”
The dragon vein was violently shaking.
It seemed that an incident similar to when Cordelia deliberately made the dragon vein runaway was about to happen at any moment.
And two realized it again.
Jude detected it because he was standing above the magic circle while Cordelia became aware of it through her animal-like instincts again.
It was different.
The flow of the dragon vein was not normal, but it was not a runaway. An explosion wouldn’t happen either.
It was something different.
Not an explosion, but something that made the power of the dragon vein to flare up.
It wasn’t the magic technique.
The magic technique was just an opportunity for that something, and it was the will of that ‘something’ that moved at that moment.
Kwaaaa-!
“Jude!”
A golden pillar of light shot up again from the magic circle. At the moment she saw it envelop Jude, Cordelia thoughtlessly rushed towards the magic circle without considering the consequences. She threw herself at the pillar of light and tried to grab Jude.
And thus, he saw Cordelia.
Jude was the only one who originally saw it, but now that she was here, they saw the sight in front of them.
A golden color.
A world that was full of shining gold.
“Cordelia!”
Jude hurriedly pulled Cordelia towards him and directed her to his back as if to hide her.
As she stood behind Jude’s back, Cordelia raised her head and stared at the sky instead of saying anything.
They were no longer in the temple.
They didn’t know if they were in a real or mental space, but what appeared in front of them was not the sunset against a dark sky but the eyes of a huge being.
“Golden Dragon.”
When Cordelia spontaneously spoke, Jude also raised his head.
Cordelia was right.
A huge golden dragon covered in golden scales was looking down at them with shining blue eyes.
“I am the one who is called the Golden Dragon.”
The voice spread out from the sky to the ground.
At the voice of the huge and enormous being, Jude and Cordelia felt their very existence become smaller.
“I am one with the dragon vein-”
The head of the golden dragon that was up high began to slowly descend towards Jude and Cordelia.
Cordelia flinched but raised her mana, and Jude moved half a step to the side to hide Cordelia a little more.
“I recently experienced a series of explosions in the dragon veins. And those explosions were caused by you.”
The golden dragon’s voice sounded monotonous. So they couldn’t read its emotions.
After he plainly enumerated those facts, Cordelia bit her lips and winced again while Jude thought over and over again on how to protect Cordelia from that great being.
‘Should we run away? No, that’s impossible. If this space itself is the golden dragon’s mental space, we cannot escape. Then, should we ask for forgiveness? It was to save the wild gods… If you ever punish us, please punish me instead-’
While Jude’s head was busy thinking, Cordelia stepped forward. With a determined face, she opened her lips that were tightly closed.
‘I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Please let Jude off. Everything is my fault.”
It was the moment when she was about to let out her voice.
“Thank you.”
“I was wrong- eh?”
The stunned Cordelia blinked her eyes, and the golden dragon spoke again.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to open my eyes.”
What is he talking about?
Didn’t the golden dragon appear to punish them?
“I am one with the dragon vein. That is why I live and die together with the dragon vein. Evil groups have taken full control of the wild lands in the west. By taking advantage of the time I was asleep, they polluted all the dragon veins in the west, making me fall into a deeper sleep.”
The golden dragon did not wake up in Legend of Heroes 2.
Because the Devil’s Eye polluted not only the western dragon veins but also the eastern dragon veins, causing the golden dragon to sleep forever.
But Jude and Cordelia, or to be precise, Cordelia changed the situation.
They prevented a series of attempts to pollute the eastern dragon veins.
Only the western dragon veins were contaminated, so it was still possible for the golden dragon to wake up and recover its consciousness.
“The runaway of the dragon vein.”
Jude said in a small voice. He figured it out the moment he spoke to himself.
The explosions in the dragon veins caused ripples throughout the entire dragon vein.
And the ripples reached the deeply asleep golden dragon’s consciousness.
“At first, it was a small ripple. But I was able to open my eyes because of the recent big shock.”
The big shock was the big explosion she caused at the dragon vein in Endymion that caused the whole city to collapse.
Cordelia blinked her eyes again.
Although she didn’t fully understand it like Jude, she roughly understood the general circumstances through her intuition.
So she spoke in a rather timid tone.
“Uh…then did I do well?”
“You’ve done a good job. Your actions deserve praise.”
A bright smile spread over Cordelia’s face.
Her back and shoulders which had been hunched over the past few days were now straightened out.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Cordelia raised her chin up and Jude struggled to avoid Cordelia’s gaze. He then asked the golden dragon.
“O Golden Dragon, may I inquire if you are fully awake now?”
“No, sadly not. Though I opened my eyes, I only regained my consciousness for a while because of the shock. So children, do me a favor. Help me completely open my eyes.”
“I’ll help you!”
When Cordelia shouted right away, a small smile spread over the golden dragon’s face.
“Thank you, child. Then listen to my instructions carefully and carry it out.”
The golden dragon closed its eyes once, and a map of the wild lands appeared over the golden sky, with the dragon vein locations drawn over the map.
“Blow up the polluted western dragon veins to shake off the evil power and create ripples throughout the entire dragon veins. I’ll be able to completely open my eyes then.”
“….Eh?”
Jude couldn’t help but ask back.
In short, we have to blow up all the western dragon veins?
“Wow, so we’re legal now?”
Jude tried hard to look away from Cordelia’s awe as he thought rationally.
‘Yes, the land’s contaminated anyway.’
Everything in the western part of the sacred place was contaminated already. Thus, blowing it all up was the only way.
“The wicked will try to protect the polluted dragon veins. But don’t give in and destroy them all.”
“Yes, I’ll surely do that. I promise!”
“I see, thank you.”
Good and evil seemed to have been reversed. Jude felt confused at the golden dragon and Cordelia’s warm but not warmhearted conversation. But he soon came to his senses and said the most necessary words at that moment.
“O Golden Dragon, we will follow your command, so please give us the strength to carry out your will.”
Whatever the case, if there was an opportunity to get it, then they should get it.
Cordelia also came to her senses at Jude’s words and said as she bowed politely.
“Please give us your protection.”
“I will. My blessing will be with you, so that all the wild gods will help you.”
And at that moment…
A burning sensation was felt at the back of Jude and Cordelia’s left hands, and the emblem of the golden dragon was tattooed there.
‘Eh! The Dragon’s Emblem?!”
It was an emblem that gave its owner the power of a dragon.
Among the numerous emblems in Legend of Heroes 2, it was particularly rare, and it allowed its owner the power to use the dragon’s power in their human body.
‘Warriors became dragon warriors, and wizards could use the dragon’s mana.’
Particularly for the wizards, if the power of the emblem continued to grow, it would even allow them to use dragon magic, which is the magic used by the dragons.
“Uwaaa…”
Cordelia’s face loosened as she looked at the emblem as if she was looking at a diamond ring. And in fact, Jude was no different.
“Children, please. The wild lands-… All those who live in the wild-”
After saying its last request, the golden dragon closed its eyes.
Jude and Cordelia also followed it and closed their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, they were back at the temple.
“The magic circle has stopped.”
Jude said, and Cordelia gazed at the back of her hand again. It was a white hand without a mark, but when she focused on it, the golden dragon’s emblem came to her mind.
“It’s real. In addition, I got a license.”
“License?”
“Yes, an explosion license.”
It was permitted by Golden Dragon, the king of the wild gods and the true master of the wild lands.
Now, no one could stop Cordelia’s actions.
“N-not a chance. It’s not a license to kill.”
“But it’s permitted? And it’s an explosion license, an explosion.”
Cordelia stuck out her tongue and faintly laughed before she lightly clenched and opened her fist.
She did not measure it, but she realized that time did not actually pass during the moment when they met the golden dragon.
“Anyway, shall we go now?”
To defeat Billvine and save Blue Whiskers.
“It’s time for the legal troubleshooters.”
Cordelia brightly smiled with her canines visible before she stepped forward, while Jude looked up the sky for a moment instead of walking together with her.
‘Golden Dragon.’
Perhaps it made a slight mistake.
‘No, maybe not a slight one.’
Jude bitterly smiled and lowered his gaze as he looked straight ahead.
He spurred on the ground to catch up to Cordelia, who had already passed the temple’s entrance.