CH 258

EPISODE 258 – SURPRISE ATTACK (2)

“So, to summarize, this is Carlos’ legacy and one of the Ultimate Series, Ultimate Three – Dragon Sword Ascalon?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Cordelia responded with a smile to Kamael’s question.

Because she somehow felt proud at the fact that Kamael had look so surprised now.

“Amazing. Really amazing.”

Kamael exclaimed in admiration again as he looked down at Ascalon that his hands were holding.

As soon as it left Jude’s hand, Ascalon had returned to its original form – which was its sealed form, so it could only be seen as a beautiful dress sword, but Kamael was someone who was called the Ghostblade.

He was able to sense the power hidden underneath Ascalon’s sealed form.

Moreover, Kamael was not the only one present here.

“Jude, and Cordelia. May I take a look at Ascalon too?”

Cordelia quickly nodded at Lena’s question, and so did Jude. They had no reason to stop her.

“Of course.”

Lena approached Kamael who handed Ascalon to her immediately.

“The Ultimate Series… I’ve only heard of it so this is actually the first time I’ve seen one.”

Lena said in a low voice and examined Ascalon, and Landius drew closer as he looked at the sword too.

“It seems to me that it’s been sealed… Do we need a ritual to use it properly?”

“You’re right, Landy. It cannot be used in this state.”

Lena sweetly smiled at Landius and looked at Ascalon again, but she soon narrowed her brows.

Because she found a crucial difference between a normal sword from the Ultimate Series and Ascalon.

“Lena?”

“Umm… I think this is going to be a little difficult…”

She muttered quietly instead of answering Landius’ question, and when she raised her head, Kamael asked her this time.

“Is there a problem? Is it something you can’t unseal?”

“Well… I think so.”

Lena timidly smiled and looked at everyone before speaking again.

“This sword has a bit of a special seal. If you don’t have a Dragon Factor, you can’t use it.”

“Dragon Factor? Are you referring to those who have the blood of dragons?”

Lena nodded when Kamael asked again.

“Basically, yes. Because a normal human can’t have the Dragon Factor. It seems like this sword is for… draconians and the like in the first place.”

At Lena’s words, Kamael also furrowed his brows.

Kamael had been studying and researching ways to fight the demons for the past decade, so he knew about ancient relics more than a wizard.

Therefore, he quickly understood Lena’s words that they needed the Dragon Factor.

“Is it because a dragon’s body and soul was used to make Ascalon?”

A dragon who hated dragons.

But in the end, it was a dragon.

So the Dragon Factor was needed in order to reveal Ascalon’s true power.

“By the way, wasn’t Carlos a quarter dragon?”

“Yes, it was said that he was born with atavism, so his dragon blood was as thick as a half-blood.”

When Lena replied to Landius’ question, Kajsa quickly nodded too.

Because when the conversation mentioned Carlos, the great hero of the south, she unknowingly wanted to join in too.

Unfortunately for Kajsa though, the group was not in the mood to discuss about Carlos in length.

Because what mattered now was Ascalon.

“It can’t be helped. It’s not like we can suddenly have dragon blood in us.”

Moreover, just having the blood of dragons was not enough.

They had to be a person capable enough to fight and wield Ascalon themselves.

“Hmm… Then is it impossible to use it as a dragon slaying sword? Of course, for the 7 southern families, the legacy is something valuable.”

Landius spoke with a face full of regret, and Lena lightly pursed her lips as she looked at Ascalon and said.

“It’s not that there isn’t a way.”

“What do you mean?”

When Kamael promptly asked, Landius also gazed at Lena with eyes full of anticipation.

Lena continued with a smile that was unknown if it was because she found the gazes of the two to be a little burdensome or she thought that Landius’ expectant face was cute.

“You can use transformation magic. If you transform into a draconian, you’ll have the Dragon Factor.”

“Oh.”

She was correct when they thought of it.

If they didn’t have the Dragon Factor, they could just make it so that they could have it.

“However, we need a lot of ingredients in order to properly get the Dragon Factor. And… Landy and Kamael probably can’t use transformation magic. You two know why, right?”

“We know.”

Because Landius and Kamel were already far from being pure human beings.

Landius was born a human and could become a giant through Ancestral Regression, so it was only a transformation that changed his appearance. But transformation magic changed one’s nature itself, which could lead to various side effects later.

In Kamael’s case, it was a little different. He had already strengthened both his body and soul beyond its limits through the various secret arts of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, so there was a risk that the balance of his body and soul would collapse if he used transformation magic that changed one’s nature.

“But there is no need for me or Landius to use Ascalon. Simply looking for someone capable enough to use Ascalon is much easier than finding someone with the Dragon Factor.”

Or rather, they didn’t even have to look in the first place.

There was Jude, and there was also Sebastian Leguin, the other member of the Ten Great Swordmasters from the southern region who did not become a traitor.

“What ingredients do we need for the ritual?”

“Basically, we need various dragon body parts. Like their tooth or heart. And to add a few more…”

As Lena enumerated the ingredients one by one, Kamael nodded slowly.

“If it’s dragon body parts, there are already two dragon corpses in the square, so we don’t have a problem in that regard. And if I mobilize the Guardians of the Holy Cross, we can quickly get the other ingredients.”

As soon as Kamael smiled a little, Landius burst out into laughter.

And it was at that moment.

“Excuse me, can I say something?”

Jude slightly raised his hand and spoke, prompting Kamael to flinch and look at Jude with anticipation before asking.

“Don’t tell me you already have all the ingredients mentioned?”

“Ho, my disciple. Is that true?”

When Landius and even Lena’s eyes lit up in anticipation, Jude had an awkward smile and waved his hand.

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

In response to the question of Kamael who looked disappointed, Jude continued to speak while pretending to be composed.

“Cordelia and I have the Dragon Factor.”

“Yeah, the Dragon Fac-… What?”

“We have the Dragon Factor.”

As Jude raised his right hand, Cordelia snorted and also raised her hand as the two showed everyone the back of their hands.

The dragon emblems that were engraved by the Golden Dragon King himself were seen.

Kamael blinked as he looked dumbstruck, while Lena’s eyes widened in surprise.

And the only one left – Landius, widely opened his eyes with a stunned expression and soon laughed out loud.

“As expected of my disciple.”

You’re quite prepared.

Landius was greatly satisfied as he warmly smiled and patted Kamael on the back. Kamael reverted back to his usual calm face, and then cleared his throat.

“Ahem, ahem, next time, please tell us that a little earlier.”

“Yes, I understand.”

When Kamael coughed again at Jude’s answer, Cordelia sent Jude a <Message> magic.

[Jude, Jude. Look at Kamael. It’s the first time I’ve seen Kamael’s face turn that red.]

[Me too.]

In the second episode, Landius and the others were all dead, so Kamael was less talkative and expressive than in the first episode.

But the Kamael in front of them now was different.

Because he was blushing in embarrassment.

‘He really looks handsome.’

No, he’s beautiful.

Kamael usually had a neutral charm, but he looked more beautiful than a woman now when his embarrassment led to his cheeks and the tips of his ears to be slightly dyed red.

“Anyway, that matter is solved then. Because Jude can used Ascalon, right?”

At Lena’s question, Jude nodded his head and so did Landius.

Because he knew that Jude had already reached the sixth door and could be relied on then.

“Ahem, that’s good. Now, we just have to think on how we’ll use Ascalon to unite the forces of the 7 southern families. However… I want to ask you something before that.”

Having barely erased his ashamed expression, Kamael glanced at Jude and Cordelia before continuing his words.

“Why did you have Ascalon in the first place?”

Having Ascalon now saved them from the trouble of collecting the tokens and finding Ascalon, but it was still a matter that needed to be addressed first.

At Kamael’s question, Jude replied smoothly like he always did.

“Just like what Kamael-nim had thought, I also thought that it was necessary to gather the forces of the 7 southern families in the fight against Malekith.”

Jude recounted the events at Count Kagehama’s place one after another.

“Malekith’s side were already collecting the tokens of the 7 southern families. Perhaps they were afraid of Ascalon itself rather than the 7 southern families uniting into one.”

300 years ago.

Ancient Black Dragon Malekith was fatally injured and fell into a deep sleep after his defeat from Carlos, the great hero, and Lion D. Sälen, the founder king.

“Indeed, it seems like Ascalon played a bigger role than we thought, given their reactions.”

Otherwise, they had no reason to put in so much effort just to acquire Ascalon.

Kamael nodded in agreement, and Jude conveyed a few more points.

“And as you may have already heard from the Guardians of the Holy Cross, we learned a lot of information from Gamorr Khan.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of that too. What you did was really amazing. It’s amazing that you got those information by defeating Gamorr Khan.”

Jude and Cordelia had defeated Gamorr Khan at the border between the southern and northern regions, and not at the southern region itself.

And as soon as the two captured Gamorr Khan’s soul there, they immediately headed to the south without any delay.

“We were lucky.”

“Luck is also a skill.”

It was when Kamael revealed an unusually faint smile.

Having been silently listening to their conversation, Lena raised her hand and spoke to them.

“I apologize since we’re in the middle of a conversation, but why don’t we postpone the rest of the story for now? I think those people are starting to get nervous.”

Turning their heads as they followed Lena’s gaze, they saw a group of people nervously looking at them.

“Ah, my second older brother.”

There was a handsome young man at the forefront of the group, and as Kajsa had said, he was Ricardo Ophand, the second son of Marquis Ophand.

“They seem to be from the Ophands.”

Kamael nodded quietly at Landius’ words before asking Jude again.

“Jude Bayer, do you what it means for us to contact the Ophand family now?”

“Yes… We’ve already made an agreement with Kajsa here.”

His words omitted the details, but both sides still understood what he was saying.

Because it was obvious on what he meant considering the current situation.

‘Even if the forces of the 7 southern families are united, they will be divided into the leader and follower roles in the end.’

The power of the 7 southern families were essentially equal.

But in the end, the family that had Carlos’ legacy, the Dragon Slaying Sword Ascalon, would become the new leader of the south.

Kamael was asking if the Ophands would take on that role, and Jude answered yes.

As he himself had said, he had already made an agreement with Kajsa.

“Okay, I will trust your judgment. We’ll join hands with Marquis Ophand.”

Kamael’s remarks couldn’t be taken lightly.

Unlike Landius and Lena who didn’t have any official positions, Kamael was a general of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, and if one exclude that he was a general in that organization, he was also its second most powerful person.

So it was strange for him to support Marquis Ophand instead of advocating neutrality.

Kajsa grasped the current situation with her wild senses, and grinned as she turned to Jude who likewise smiled before he looked at Cordelia.

[I did a good job, right?]

[Yes! Good job!]

Jude’s question was a little childish, but Cordelia had a big smile and even gave a thumbs up, so he was deeply pleased.

***

At dawn.

Although they had joined hands with the Ophand family now, Jude and Cordelia did not make an appearance at that time.

Because Kamael was with them.

Therefore, Jude was able to rest in the guestroom prepared by the Ophands.

‘Because we’ll be busy again starting tomorrow.’

The Ophands and Kagehamas were attacked, and hundreds of enemies stormed the port.

In addition, the Luculias led by Count Matteo Luculia had committed a betrayal, so the southern families had to gather in one place even if the dragon sword was not involved.

‘They need to punish Count Luculia… and ask the royal family for help…’

Perhaps they would argue about Ascalon’s authenticity.

There would be a heated debate on who would use Ascalon.

No one could use Ascalon unless they had the Dragon Factor like Jude, so it was clear that the southern families would argue on who would formally own it rather than who could actually use it.

Now that Carlos’ legacy had reappeared, the southern families who had stood shoulder to shoulder until yesterday would have to bow their heads to one family that would soon become their leader.

‘Well… Kamael will take care of it.’

Even until now, Kamael was talking with Marquis Ophand.

The commoner Landius and the wise and powerful wizard Lena had never been engaged in political activities since they were born. But unlike them, Kamael was originally royalty. Although he was an illegitimate child, he was forced to participate in the political arena since childhood, and he had worked as a general of the Guardians for nearly a decade, so he was very good at this kind of work.

‘It’s nice to have Kamael here.’

If Landius and Lena were the only ones here, Jude himself would have to take care of this and that.

‘Good, everything is going well.’

They had safely obtained Ascalon, defeated Madhur, one of the Three Knights early, and even got two Black Dragon corpses.

Furthermore, there were the elimination of the traitorous Matteo Luculia and the gathering of Landius and the others, so their gains overnight were staggering.

But there was only one thing that he didn’t like.

“I miss Cordelia.”

He was used to Cordelia being by his side every day, but she was not here at his side now.

Because she was in the next room with Lena, Scarlet, and Kajsa.

It was a kind of side effect (?) caused by the number of people increasing.

‘Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s just go to sleep.’

It would be morning once he woke up, and he would be able to see Cordelia again by then.

Today’s battle had used up most of his strength anyway.

But it was the moment when Jude was about to close his eyes.

Knock-knock-knock.

He heard a knocking on the door.