Chapter 322: Treasure Hunt (1)

The Dragonian Kingdom’s reconstruction was progressing smoothly. The dragonkin, slumped on the streets like soulless husks after the Dragon God's death, had sprang to their feet to rebuild their shattered kingdom as if nothing had happened.

As a race, the dragonkin possessed inherently powerful mana and could wield a wide array of magic with ease. They didn’t have modern construction equipment, but with magic at their disposal, the pace of rebuilding far exceeded anything the latest technology on Earth could have accomplished.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

“

Ugh

, seriously... what am I, Rapunzel? These guys won’t even let me raise a finger. I'm practically imprisoned here.” Song Ha-Eun pounded her chest, feeling stuffy from being cooped up indoors.

With her personality, she much preferred being outside and getting her hands dirty rather than sitting around. Thanks to the dragonkin’s extreme overprotectiveness, she couldn’t participate in any of the reconstruction efforts.

“Well, you’re basically a god from the dragonkin’s perspective,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

They couldn’t exactly have their god carrying bricks now, could they?

“I mean, Jesus was a carpenter, wasn’t he?” She did have a point.

“Is it really that suffocating being inside?”

“It’s killing me. I tried training just a little, and they almost foamed at the mouth trying to stop me from doing even that.”

Maybe the trauma from losing their god once already still lingered. Even from Kwon Oh-Jin’s perspective, the dragonkin went a bit overboard.

“Anyway, you won’t have to feel that way for long,” he said.

“

Huh?

Why?”

“Because I was about to get moving soon.”

Now that things had more or less settled down in both the Khan and Dragonian Kingdoms, all that remained was to head toward the demonkin’s kingdom, Niflheim.

“Are we heading straight to the nipple?”

“Nipple what now?”

“Nifl-heim sounds like nipple-heim, you know.”

“What?”

Has she officially lost it after being locked up too long?

Kwon Oh-Jin laughed quietly. “

Ugh,

I shouldn’t be laughing at things like that.”

“

Hehe

. I’m funny, just admit it.”

Honestly? That was kind of funny.

“Seriously, unnie. Must you make such shallow jokes?” Isabella sighed and shook her head.

“I’m stuck here all day. Let me have my jokes!” Song Ha-Eun flopped onto the sofa and tossed her slim legs over Kwon Oh-Jin’s lap. “By the way, are we really heading out already? The kingdom isn’t even fully rebuilt yet.”

“To the nipple—

Ugh,

now I can’t get that name out of my head thanks to you, Ha-Eun.”

“

Hehe

.”

My god.

“Anyway, we’re not going to Niflheim just yet.”

They still weren’t fully prepared to face the demonkin head-on.

“But honestly, after fighting them last time, I feel like we could take them. For all that talk about being empowered by the Heavenly Demon or whatnot, they weren’t that strong,” Song Ha-Eun said.

“That’s because the ones we fought were lower rank demonkin.”

“Wait, really?”

It was like rewatching a movie and catching the foreshadowing one missed the first time. Now that Kwon Oh-Jin knew that the Heavenly Demon had orchestrated the entire incident in the Dragonian Kingdom like a giant scam, it all started making sense.

None of the Demonkin executives showed up in the lair.

The demonkin already knew about the lair, which meant they also knew that the tides of battle would instantly shift if the Dragon God awakened. Why hadn’t any executive demonkin like Kalike shown up?

Because the higher-ups were in on it.

They all knew about this elaborate setup to strengthen Song Ha-Eun and build a loyal following around her.

Looking back, everything had always been suspicious—the weak surveillance at the castle walls and the way the demonkin retreated right after Song Ha-Eun absorbed the Dragon God's power. In hindsight, their entire strategy had been riddled with red flags.

But what’s the point of overanalyzing it now when everything’s already done?

Kwon Oh-Jin faintly sighed and shook his head.

“Then, where are we headed next?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

The dragonkin still needed time, and the beastkin weren’t quite ready to fight at full strength either.

“I’m thinking we pay a visit to Elder Megrez.”

“That weird gramps?”

“Yup.”

He ranked first among Deneb’s apostles simply because he was the first to become an apostle. Still, he surely had to be strong if he belonged to the Seven Stars.

We can’t charge into Niflheim without an ally who’s a Seven Stars.

The Khan and Dragonian Kingdoms were one thing, but Niflheim was the stronghold of the demonkin and the root of all chaos in the Demonic District. Kwon Oh-Jin’s group couldn’t possibly infiltrate it alone as they were now. That place had to be full of the Heavenly Demon’s influence.

“But didn’t Elder Megrez say he was looking for some kind of treasure?” Isabella asked.

No matter how desperately they sought more manpower, they couldn’t exactly win over someone like Megrez with words alone.

“That’s why we’re going to help him find that treasure of his,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“Oh.”

“Come to think of it, that is a pretty good idea,” Song Ha-Eun commented.

They still didn’t know exactly what this treasure was, but Megrez had to have made some progress by now after wandering the Demonic District for so many years. If they could help him finally track it down—

“We could bring him in as a powerful ally.”

Last time, they had been too pressed for time and too short on information about the Demonic District to bother helping with his treasure hunt. Now, things had changed.

Both the dragonkin and beastkin needed time to recover and strengthen their forces. Plus, sitting around waiting would be a waste. They could use that time to do something useful.

Song Ha-Eun sprang up from the couch, exhaling hot air like a fired-up bull. “Alright, let’s go right now!”

She clearly wanted to escape the confines of this suffocating house.

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled and shook his head. “Not right now. I want to talk to the elder first.”

“With gramps?”

“Yeah.”

Kellion had mentioned that he personally knew Baek Mu-Kang, so he might know what Megrez’s so-called treasure was.

“I’ll come with you. I should say goodbye to Gramps before we head out.”

“I’ll join too,” Isabella added.

Kwon Oh-Jin had planned to go alone, but the two naturally followed him.

Good thing Vega and Riarc are staying in the Sanctum.

Those two had manifested in the physical realm for a bit too long lately. Until they left the kingdom, Vega and Riarc decided to rest in the Sanctum to avoid facing the restrictions of the Law.

“Alright.”

Kwon Oh-Jin headed to see Kellion with Song Ha-Eun and Isabella.

As soon as Song Ha-Eun stepped outside, the dragonkin warriors who had been standing guard swarmed around her.

“M-Maiden!”

“It’s dangerous for you to be outside!”

She scanned the crowd with a look of mild annoyance. “I’m just going to see Gramps. Move.”

“We’ll summon him here for you!”

“

Huh?

” Song Ha-Eun instantly frowned.

The dragonkin flinched instinctively at her beast-like eyes.

“You bastards. How dare you tell your elders to come to you?”

Song Ha-Eun usually didn’t care about manners or etiquette, but she still grew up in a culture that respected elders. The idea of summoning an old man like some kind of servant rubbed her the wrong way.

“Move it before the Confucian dragon[ref]The term is a humorous expression used in South Korean internet culture, figuratively referring to a person or situation that overemphasizes Confucian values or politeness.[ref/] in me goes wild.”

“Confucian... dragon?”

“I-Is there another dragon soul besides the Dragon God within you?”

“

Ugh!

You idiots!” Song Ha-Eun shot forward like lightning and delivered a picture-perfect dropkick to one of the warriors blocking her path.

“

Kugh!

”

“Move it, you jerks!” She rampaged like a drunk warlord. “Stop wasting time here and go do some work!”

“We’re just trying to protect your sacred temple—”

“Cut the crap and go fix your buildings.” Song Ha-Eun kicked the dragonkins’ butts and broke through the escort.

It felt kind of wrong to see a so-called Shrine Maiden act this wildly.

“

Ahhh.

”

“T-The Maiden kicked me...!”

“To think such a lowly one as I would receive such an honor!”

“They’re just like Lady Vega.” Isabella coldly looked at the dragonkin, who seemingly enjoying being kicked.

“Please never say that to Vega,” Kwon Oh-Jin advised.

Shaking his head, Kwon Oh-Jin continued heading to Kellion, who was overseeing the reconstruction with a massive magic blueprint floating in front of him.

“Gramps! I’m here!” Song Ha-Eun greeted him.

“Oh? What brings you here today?”

“Oh-Jin has something he wants to ask you.” Song Ha-Eun pointed to Kwon Oh-Jin.

Kellion dispelled the blueprint and approached. “You want to ask me something?”

“You mentioned that you knew Elder Megrez, right?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“Megrez?

Ah...

You mean Baek Mu-Kang?”

“Yes.”

Kellion nodded and continued, “We’ve known each other for some time now.”

“How did you two meet?”

“He once came to the kingdom looking for some kind of treasure. He’s a bit of an odd human, but he cleared out all the demonic beasts in the surrounding area. We invited him to stay in the kingdom.”

That’s why the mountains around the kingdom were mostly free of demonic beasts.

Megrez had cleared them out himself.

“Did he ever tell you what exactly that treasure was?”

“The treasure,

huh...

” Kellion trailed off and stroked his long gray beard, then shook his head. “He never told me the specifics.”

“I see.”

So, even Kellion didn’t know what Megrez’s long-sought treasure was.

“But he did mention who stole it.”

“Really? Who was it?”

“Deimos the Golden, he’s one of the highest-ranking executives among the demonkin.”

“Highest-ranking...?”

Does that mean he outranks Kalike?

“He’s one of only three demonkin who hold the title of archduke.”

It became clear why even someone as powerful as Megrez hadn’t been able to reclaim his stolen treasure after all these years.

“Is he in Niflheim?”

“No. The archduke demonkin are granted their own dominion, which they govern directly. That place used to be home to a small minority race... but they lost it when they were defeated in the war.”

Because the dragonkin were located closer to Niflheim than the distant Khan Kingdom beyond the Sky Mountains, they naturally knew more about the demonkin.

“And where is that exactly?”

“It’s a place once inhabited by the Salamander race. They called it the Black Rock Mine. Even if you go there, finding Megrez won’t be easy. As you know, he’s rather unpredictable.”

Kwon Oh-Jin faintly smiled and pulled out a compass from his pocket. “You don’t need to worry about that. I have a way to find the elder.”

As he channeled mana into it, the compass’s spinning needle gradually came to a stop.