Chapter 340: Empty-Handed

“Enough with this commotion,” a low voice echoed from behind the three figures.

Strangely, despite the Sun Hall being in ruins, the voice carried across the entire area, as if it were an opera house.

BANG—!!!

The red-haired man twisted his flamberge to deflect Karyl’s blade upward, pushing him back and creating distance.

“...”

Karyl raised his head.

[Focus your mind and shield it with magic. While Spirit Language isn’t exactly a mental spell, if your concentration wavers, you might fall under its influence,] Allen warned.

Karyl nodded, acknowledging the power he had been unaware of in his previous life. Olivurn’s voice, which he used to trust without question, now felt laden with deceit.

“Not only have you stormed into the empire’s capital alone, but you’ve also defeated two of our knight commanders and threatened the life of a duke... Your martial prowess is undeniable. Indeed, you’re worthy of surpassing your father and claiming the title of the continent’s strongest.”

Murmur... Murmur...

Everyone knew that the greatest swordsman was Kuwell MacGovern. But now, with the emperor himself declaring Karyl as the true master of the sword, the people couldn’t help but feel unsettled.

“Of course...”

“Isn’t he Viscount Kuwell MacGovern’s son?”

“I suspected as much. He once crossed blades with his father, even before His Majesty ascended the throne.”

Indeed, after seeing Karyl in action, the knights couldn’t deny his skill. Still, their pride as imperials made it difficult for them to fully acknowledge him, even if they begrudgingly recognized his strength.

“Viscount?” Karyl scoffed at Kuwell’s newly elevated rank. “So the MacGovern family has become a viscount’s house... Why? Are you trying to cover up something dirty?”

“Of course. You of all people would know what happened at Heim. Sir Kuwell and his knights saved my life, didn’t they? Or am I wrong... emperor-slayer?” Olivurn sneered.

At that, Karyl’s eye twitched.

“What?”

“He’s the one...! The one who killed the previous emperor!”

“That makes sense...”

“He betrayed his own family, and now he’s attacking the nation that took him in!”

It was absurd. As soon as Olivurn’s words, laced with the power of Spirit Language, spread throughout the hall, fury ignited like wildfire in the hearts of the people.

[To twist the facts like that... He ain’t no ordinary foe, that man...] Allen growled as he glared at Olivurn.

[If they find out you’re an immigrant as well, this will turn into an even greater uproar.]

“I don’t care about that.”

Allen gave a chuckle as he patted Karyl on the shoulder.

[I know it feels unjust, but this is as far as it goes. I hate running away just as much as you do, especially when the goal is right in front of us... But you know what we’re dealing with. The ones standing in your way are

dragons

.]

“...”

[The war has only just begun. Like I said before, hunting dragons is the ultimate challenge for a human. And now, you have to hunt not just one, but four of them. Don’t be rash.]

Allen kept speaking in Karyl’s mind.

[The blonde one... He might seem calm, but did you notice his lip twitching? We need to get out of here before they finish casting a dragon’s barrier. Golden Dragons are the most adept at magic among their kind. Their magic isn’t something as simple as the seals used in regular lairs.]

Allen’s gaze was filled with apprehension.

[Going up against multiple dragons... Even in the Magical Era, I never experienced anything like this.]

“Are you scared?”

[No. Quite the opposite.]

Karyl smirked at Allen’s response.

“As I expected, there’s no one quite as insane as you, Allen. But that’s why you’re willing to pull off something like this with me.”

While Allen maintained his cautious stance, Karyl stepped even closer to the three dragons.

“Don’t worry. They can’t use magic.”

[What?]

“And they definitely can’t Polymorph either, just like that one.” Karyl motioned toward the soldiers and knights who had previously surrounded him.

“Dragons? So what?” Karyl scoffed. “I came here fully aware of who that dragon pretending to be human is. If you think you’re going to stop me, think again.”

“You insolent—”

Python gripped his sword again, stepping forward, but he was stopped by the blonde-haired man.

“Calm down.”

The man was Enuma Elashi, a direct descendant of the Golden Dragon Toska—one of the oldest dragons, second only to Narh Di Maug.

“Look at his ring,” said Enuma Elashi.

The other two dragons also focused on Karyl’s hand.

“A ring crafted with gnome magic, and quite expertly too. The mana condensed within it would be difficult even for us to break.”

The Four Canines—Karyl had acquired it from the black markets of Tatur, an extraordinary creation of the master artisan Calypson.

The ring, embedded with a small, blood-red gem, gleamed with a shade deeper than crimson—almost the hue of freshly-spilled blood. Magic artifacts crafted by gnomes were difficult to detect, even for experienced sorcerers, but Elashi had spotted it instantly.

“Impressive little trick... Fitting for an old dragon to notice so quickly,” Karyl remarked, holding up his hand.

The ring, which siphoned the wearer’s mana to create a barrier, had been growing in power for years, feeding off Karyl’s draconic mana. Even Karyl himself wasn’t entirely sure of the full extent of the shield’s power.

“But you all know this already, don’t you? Even without the ring, it would take extraordinary magic to harm me. You’d need at least 7th Class magic, wouldn’t you?”

Krrreeee...

As Karyl gathered his mana, a milky-white barrier formed around him.

“Go ahead, try casting one of those draconic spells you’re so proud of.”

The barrier grew thicker, reaching four layers in total.

“But do you think these people behind me would survive such magic?”

The faces of the three dragons hardened.

Fortunately for Karyl, though they could sense the power within the Four Canines, the dragons had no idea it could only be used a limited number of times.

Had they truly decided to unleash their full power to kill him, Karyl might have been in real danger. But instead, he confused them by displaying his shield and linking it to his own mana, deepening their uncertainty.

“Using even the enemy as a tool... You are no ordinary man,” said Enuma Elashi, his gathered mana beginning to dissipate.

The green-haired woman standing next to Enuma Elashi smiled faintly. “But do you really think that as dragons, we’d be concerned about the lives of humans?”

A shiver ran through Karyl’s head from the magical energy in her voice.

“Ugh...”

“Gah?!”

Some of the nearby soldiers buckled under the pressure of her single utterance and collapsed.

“Well, if you weren’t concerned, that red-haired dragon would have already dispelled his Polymorph and unleashed his flames. The fact that he still maintains his human form proves you can’t afford to sacrifice everyone here.”

At Karyl’s words, the woman shrugged and then turned to the other two dragons.

“It’s most intriguing that dragons would heed the words of a single human...”

Even after witnessing Karyl’s prowess, it seemed the dragons still found his abilities in the realm of what they could imagine.

The woman’s composure, however, belied a deadly nature known to those aware of the unique traits of the Green Dragon Cruah. With her poison and acid abilities, she could easily lay waste to the entire area without relying on magic.

“As you said, we are dragons.”

Enuma Elashi, who stood in the middle of the three, stepped forward.

“We have led a peaceful life so far, keeping out of human affairs. We have only intervened with the empire out of necessity. However, we did not expect such a situation to arise.”

He pointed at Karyl.

“I have one question.”

“...”

“Depending on your answer, it may become a reason why we have to involve ourselves in human affairs.”

Karyl scoffed at Enuma’s question.

“To me, it looks like you’re desperate to find a reason to get involved. Isn’t it unseemly for a dragon to scheme like that?”

“The dragon heart...”

Despite Karyl’s provocation, Enuma’s voice remained sharp.

“Where did you obtain it?”

“...!!!”

“...!!!”

Everyone was stunned by his question.

“Th-The heart of a dragon?!”

“I heard that you made a pact with the Spirit King, but does that mean you possess dragon power?”

“You’re a monster...”

“No wonder... It’s the only way to explain such strength.”

The murmurs around Karyl grew louder, and he could feel their hostility intensifying.

“That power is not granted to humans. If you use it to disrupt the balance of this world, we dragons have an obligation to stop you.”

[What a slippery snake. He deliberately brought this up to create justification for their involvement in the war,] Allen murmured, glaring at Enuma Elashi.

Karyl, however, merely scoffed. “Why is that your concern? Riseria was killed by Kaye Aesir. It’s only natural that the victor decides the fate of the loser. This war is no different, is it? Between you and me, the victor will decide the fate of the other.”

He then pointed at Olivurn standing behind him.

“The heart of Riseria belongs to Kaye Aesir, not to you. I found the heart he hid, and you didn’t. Nothing more, nothing less.”

The three dragons looked at him with slightly hardened expressions.

“Desire it...

That’s the message Kaye Aesir left along with the dragon’s heart.”

“...This is human greed.”

“Futile... Surely you realize that such greed is the surest path to ruin?”

The dragons clicked their tongues in disdain.

“No, humans are capable of desire because they are human. We’re human, so we desire to live, to fight. Have you ever had a pure will of your own? No, I suppose not. Don’t pretend to be noble or high-minded. You’re more like lap dogs.”

Karyl swallowed his final retort.

You don’t even know what will is. If you did, you wouldn’t have been hiding in your past life.

“What...?!”

“How dare a mere human like yourself...!!”

“...”

The three dragons flared up.

“If you want to participate in the war, then do so. I’ll fight you as you wish. After all, you’re just looking for an excuse to fight me alongside Olivurn.”

“Well said.”

“We’ll see if you can maintain that attitude until the end.”

[Karyl, stop provoking them. It’s dangerous to face them all at once,] Allen warned again.

[He’s right. You’ve yet to fully master spirit power or divine energy, so it’s best we retreat for now.]

[We should be content with having assessed the empire’s strength.]

[There’s no guarantee they’ll adhere to the rules of the human world. If provoked, they could sweep this area clean.]

The Spirit Kings felt the pressure from the three dragons.

“I understand.”

Karyl slowly turned around.

“It’s a shame, but this is as far as it goes. The final shield I must break in order to bring my sword against your neck is quite thick, Olivurn. But when we meet on the battlefield, I won’t back down so easily.”

With that, Karyl walked away, and no one among the dragons or the thousands of soldiers dared to stop him. In fact, the soldiers parted, making way for him.

At that moment, Karyl’s gaze fixed on a figure lying on the ground.

“But I...”

It happened in the blink of an eye.

“...!!”

Even the dragons were caught off guard, flinching from Karyl’s swift sword swing.

Swoosh—!!

Blood spurted everywhere.

Cam Gray’s head fell to the ground, his eyes wide open. He hadn’t even registered his own death.

“...!!!”

Just like that, the empire had lost its commander of 500,000 troops.

“...I am not going back empty-handed,” Karyl told Olivurn in a low voice, tossing Cam Gray’s head at his feet.