Chapter 140: The Deal with Miliana

“A deal? What kind of deal do you think you can make with me?”

Miliana looked at Karyl with an incredulous expression.

“What terms did the empire offer you? What did they promise that made you even sell out the honor of the south?”

“...What?”

Karyl lightly snapped his fingers.

“Ah, to be precise, was it Olivurn rather than the empire? How naive, putting your trust not in the emperor, but in a prince.”

“You crazy bastard!” Miliana growled.

“Whatever it is, I’ll offer you something more tempting than that. Join me in my plan.”

“Ha... Hahaha.”

Kary’s confidence was so absurd and outrageous that Miliana couldn’t help laughing, her shoulders shaking.

“Fine. You want to make a deal with me?”

Miliana glared at Karyl with piercing eyes.

“If you claim to be the lord of the south, you must know the rules of the south.”

Karyl nodded as though he had been waiting for this.

“Barbarism as befits barbarians,” he uttered in a low voice, almost like singing a song.

BOOOM―!!

BANG―!!

The encampment was instantly shaken by a deafening roar.

Miliana shot forward from her throne like a bullet, drawing her twin rapiers from her waist and swinging them at Karyl.

“Hmm.”

She was relentless. The faint sword energy on her beloved dual swords, Ark and Gale, was not the Mana Blade commonly seen among the empire’s swordsmen, but pure mana. Though it was too faint to even call it sword energy, it was undoubtedly similar to Karyl’s aura blade.

Weak, but it’s definitely dragon mana. The tingling sensation isn’t bad. I can tell it’s more powerful than a typical Mana Blade.

The murderous blades brushed past his cheek. Miliana truly possessed the power befitting the ruler of the south.

Boom—!!

Karyl pushed her swords away with all his might, knocking her back,

“Oh, you blocked my sword? So the rumors about you killing Curan and taking Tatur weren’t lies.”

“Hey...” Karyl chuckled at her words.

Miliana tilted her head slightly, not understanding why Karyl reacted like that.

“That’s all you’ve got?”

Swish—!

Upon swinging his Freezing Talon, Miliana quickly crossed her twin swords in an X to block his attack.

“Ugh?!”

An unexpectedly immense force pushed her back, bending her like a bow. Karyl looked down at Miliana as she barely held on with one knee on the ground.

“To boast about using a sword, you should at least be able to sweep away a knight,” he whispered.

“No way... You’re from Randol’s...!” Miliana exclaimed wide-eyed.

Crackle... Crackle—!

Damn... How can he be this strong...?!

She tried her best to push Karyl away while their swords were locked, but her stance was just broken further.

“Of course, I don’t particularly dislike the barbarian way.”

Karyl lightly hooked her supporting leg, and as she lost her balance and toppled over, he grabbed her by the collar and flung her outside the encampment.

Crash!

Thud—!

With a dull sound, Miliana almost fell flat on the ground but managed to stabilize herself as though she had stepped on the air. Despite that, she still staggered backward, unable to completely withstand Karyl’s force.

She knows how to control her mana. Her unique rhythm is almost perfect.

Even in her current state, her abilities could rival a Sword Master’s. But the Miliana he remembered from fulfilling the Oracle was far superior to this.

Even though she had inherited dragon mana, it was the teachings of Platinum Dragon Narh Di Maugh that had helped Miliana, previously without a master, unlock her true potential.

But still...

Karyl lightly twirled his Freezing Talon and slowly walked out of the encampment.

“If you’re going to fight, do it properly. Like a barbarian.”

The sudden commotion brought out the Digon tribe members, who watched the duel between the two.

“You’re okay with so many people watching this?”

“Shut up!” Miliana shouted in a clear voice, though she still felt the tingling pain.

“Alright. Let’s see what the queen is capable of.”

Swish—!

In an instant, Miliana closed the ten-meter gap between them with a single step. One could feel her power in the dust that kicked up around her and the deep footprints left with each step.

Swoosh!

Her sword danced as if it were alive.

Whoosh—!

In that split second, Miliana swung for Karyl’s vital points a dozen times, moving so fast that the onlookers couldn’t even follow with their eyes.

Clang...! Clang! Clang! Clang—!

This kind of swordsmanship didn’t seem like something she had practiced, but an instinctive flurry of strikes.

Why...?!

Despite her incredible speed, Karyl calmly maneuvered through her barrage of attacks without moving too much.

Fwoosh―!!

At that moment, flames burst forth.

“Flame Finger.”

The Ein Trigger embedded on the back of Karyl’s right hand glowed red, forming three red fireballs.

“...!”

These weren’t ordinary flames but imbued with the power of the Blazing King.

“Ignite.”

As soon as Karyl chanted that, the three fireballs shot toward Miliana, aiming for her head, chest, and rear blind spot.

“Hup!”

Instead of dodging, Miliana held her breath and dashed forward. Spinning her body, she slashed with her swords up and down, neatly splitting in half the fireballs aimed at her head and chest. Moving faster than the exploding flames, she aimed her sword at Karyl’s neck once more.

Clang―!

Karyl blocked with his Freezing Talon, but as if waiting for this moment, Miliana stepped on his shoulder and leaped in the air, a triumphant smile spreading across her face as she did so.

As Miliana disappeared from sight, the final fireball, originally aimed at her blind spot, now flew toward Karyl’s face.

Thunk—

“...!!”

But before it could reach him, Karyl grabbed her ankle, ignoring the fireball that flew inches from his face. Then, with all his might, he slammed her into the ground.

CRASH!

THUD—!

As though an explosion had occurred, black smoke billowed up.

“Ugh... Cough, cough...!”

Miliana was trembling all over from the sheer impact.

It seems she can’t use proper protective magic, but her dragon mana naturally shielded her from the heat.

Karyl quickly assessed her condition. She possessed unique dragon mana but not enough of it, unfortunately.

When she met Narh Di Maug, her mana veins were bulging, breaking through her limits and enhancing her skills.

Miliana’s swordsmanship was highly refined, but she was nowhere near the level of the Dragon Empress Karyl remembered from his past life.

At that moment, the black smoke surrounding them dispersed, and a murderous wind blade flew directly at Karyl.

CLANG!

Unlike Miliana’s swift strikes, this was a heavy, powerful blow.

“You...!” a familiar voice pierced through the smoke.

Karyl sighed lightly as if conceding.

“I thought we’d meet in Tatur, but it seems I’ve caused too much of a commotion.”

It was none other than Randol. Though they had finally met after a long time, Randol looked at Karyl not with the eyes of a brother, but of an enemy.

You’ve changed since then. Your sword stance has improved. Digon’s swordsmanship truly is among the finest.

Fortunately, but also unfortunately, it seemed that Randol had been receiving Miliana’s training, just as Karyl had planned.

Karyl wished he could teach Randol his own swordsmanship, but the five stances he had created within the corridors of Pharel required an eternity of training with the sword to master.

The empire’s swordsmanship was strong not because of the technique itself but because it incorporated mana.

In terms of pure swordsmanship, the south’s and north’s techniques are far superior.

Since they were born without inherent magic, they had no choice but to hone their technical skills. Among them, Digon’s swordsmanship stood out because it combined barbarian techniques with dragon mana, making it perfect for those who could wield Mana Blades like the people of the empire.

It’s a bit disappointing that you don’t recognize me.

But on the other hand, it would’ve been an issue if he had recognized the one who had annihilated the Ryeo Knights.

It’s fortunate that you’re not as suspicious as Tiren.

Karyl slowly put on his mask.

Randol, though our time together in my past life was cut short due to your early death, I realized you had a gift for the sword.

After going back in time and watching Randol train, Karyl was convinced. Having reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship himself, he could easily gauge Randol’s potential.

“The only thing lacking is the blood.”

Boom—!

In the blink of an eye, Karyl closed in on Randol. Startled, Randol tried to step back, but Karyl didn’t give him any room.

“Perfect timing. You shall be the sacrifice.”

“Shut up!”

As Randol focused his mana, flames more intense than Karyl’s Ein Trigger erupted from his sword, making him look like a fire god, burning with fury. Even Miliana was dumbfounded, as she had never seen anything like this from Randol before.

“Not bad.”

But despite Randol’s impressive appearance, Karyl’s assessment was cold.

“Raahh!”

Randol swung his sword with all his might. Mixing the light footwork of the Digon tribe with the heavy strikes of the MacGovern family, he attacked.

At that moment, Karyl’s sword blade glowed purple.

Shink—!

Unlike the loud, aggressive attack from Randol, Karyl took a light stance, extending his arm without shifting his weight, and slashed with the Freezing Talon.

Everyone watching instinctively rubbed their eyes.

“Huh...?”

The flashing light wasn’t an illusion.

The time we spent together was less than a year. That was no brotherhood, Randol. I had a different reason for keeping you alive.

Karyl straightened up slowly, sheathing his sword.

“Ugh... Cough!”

Randol was trembling all over. As if struck by lightning, powerful mana coursed through his body, head to toe. Steam also rose from his shoulders.

Thunk!

Like a puppet with its strings cut, Randol fell to his knees and collapsed forward. Unlike his fight with Miliana, Karyl had shown no mercy.

Overwhelming strength and a huge difference in power—Karyl had used Randol to demonstrate that.

Not yet.

Karyl glanced at him briefly before turning his attention away.

“No way...”

At that moment, Miliana’s eyes twitched. She alone had recognized the mana contained in the purple flash from Karyl’s sword.

“This can’t be...”

That dragon mana was far stronger than her own.

“How could you possess that?”

She quickly understood the nature of Karyl’s power, as it was the same as hers.

Thud... Thud... Thud...

Karyl slowly approached her, stepping past the unconscious Randol.

“Deal.”

At his single word, her shoulders flinched and trembled.

“I promised to give you something the empire couldn’t, didn’t I?”

Sizzle...!

In an instant, the purple mana flowing from Karyl’s hand disappeared, and was replaced by a pure, milky-white aura.

Miliana, I can’t afford to wait for you to meet the Platinum Dragon in order to grow. I will bring that past time forward for you.

“I will teach you...”

His whisper pierced her ears.

“...about dragon mana.”