Chapter 42 : The Dragon God’s Silent Protection

A sword made of water struck the enemy, cutting through the dark night.

The red demon died without even realizing it was under attack, turning into a porridge-like form.

Even expert-level swordsmen like them would have perished without realizing it. The knights were filled with awe as they reached that thought.

They had always been the strong, protecting the weak, but now they were the ones being protected.

Strange emotions bloomed, yet their minds were calmed by an indescribable sense of stability.

Count Arnus glanced at the Dragon God’s sword, which was seeping into the ground, and then spoke to the knights.

“The Dragon God protects us. But do not let your guard down.”

The Count then glanced at Jonan. It seemed as though he was telling him to speak, with a light gesture of his chin.

It might seem as though he was looking down on him, but it was the greatest respect the Count could show.

He was letting Jonan speak first, allowing him—the Dragon God’s first knight—to add weight to Jonan’s words.

He was conveying to the knights that the one who currently represented the will of God was not Count Arnus himself, but the hunter, Jonan.

Count Arnus understood his place.

“······If I had lived in Estel Village…”

“······??”

However, the fact that he was jealous of Jonan’s relationship with the Dragon God was a problem.

“For now, we will only grasp the overall situation of the mountain and the locations of the paths.”

The investigation team began to move again. As expected, red demons were not visible.

When the investigation team started moving again, Jonan saw the corpses of demons that had been aiming at them being lifted into the sky.

The Dragon God was clearing away the nearby red demons in preparation for any unforeseen danger.

‘Thank you, Dragon God.’

A little later, the investigation team reached the place where the landslide had occurred. Because Aria had fallen ill due to the landslide and the exposed magic stones, the investigation team brought something to wrap around their respirators.

“Everyone, wrap a cloth around your mouth and use your aura······.”

Jonan then called Failer, who was wrapping a cloth around his face.

“Sir Failer.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t see any magic stones.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. I looked around lightly, but I couldn’t find even a rock fragment, let alone any magic stones.”

“······Could it be?”

“Yes, it seems that the Dragon God helped us here as well.”

Failer and Jonan immediately informed the Count of this discovery, and they confirmed Jonan’s hypothesis by directly investigating the soil where the landslide had occurred.

The soil piles, with something clearly embedded in them, were perfect evidence.

“······Then we really just have to investigate the cave.”

It seemed that his heart had become much lighter. Of course, it was true that he had been sufficiently relieved from the moment the Dragon God said He would help, but when he actually confirmed it, that feeling grew even greater.

The investigation team thanked the Dragon God, who was watching over them, and quickly scouted the surroundings.

Since the main dangers—red demons and magic stones—were gone, reconnaissance was a piece of cake for expert knights.

“We have identified the locations of all the caves in the vicinity.”

“It seems better to modify the entry route. The cave entrances between the bushes are low in height, making it difficult to retreat quickly······.”

Instead, the investigation team used the extra time to further reinforce the operation, without wasting it.

When the moon reached its peak, as scheduled, the investigation team set up a watch and fell asleep.

The first two were, coincidentally, Count Arnus and Jonan. In fact, the Count strongly insisted on it, so the knights had no choice but to agree.

Tadak, tadak.

The Count spoke to Jonan, who was quietly burning the fire in the center of the campsite.

“Jonan.”

“Yes, Count.”

“I have a question. May I ask?”

“If it’s something I can answer, I will do anything.”

Jonan’s calm answer. Arnus liked Jonan, who treated him so comfortably.

“It’s simple. It’s related to me, too.”

“I understand.”

“Let me ask. When did you receive that sword?”

That sword. It referred to Jonan’s Haeilgum. Jonan hesitated whether to answer that truthfully.

This was a matter he had not asked the Dragon God.

Perhaps sensing Jonan’s distress, the Count changed his approach and continued his question.

“Was it at least two weeks ago?”

“Yes, it was.”

At those words, Count Arnus fell silent. But the silence was broken faster than Jonan’s.

“Who else knows that that sword is strong enough to defeat a 3rd-class knight?”

“·········.”

Jonan fell silent again. Then Count Arnus’s attitude became more straightforward.

“Let me ask lightly. What did you do with Ras Ront?”

“······!”

“Did you kill him?”

“······.”

“······I’ll ask you something else. Are you confident in wielding a sword against an enemy?”

It might have seemed like a question about courage, but Jonan realized that was not the point. From the beginning, the Count had only one question to resolve.

That’s why Jonan answered.

“If it is His will, I can do it at any time.”

“······He’s dead.”

There was no need to say who. It was a fact no one knew in Estel Village, but the Count knew.

“Are you curious how I knew?”

“······That’s right.”

“Ras’s personality, the value of Haeilgum, your status… I inferred it through three things. And finally, I was convinced by your reaction.”

If Ras’s vicious and greedy personality had been at play, he would have tried to rob the sword from a commoner, Jonan.

But Haeilgum was in Jonan’s hands, and he was now sitting next to the Count.

“I have no intention of blaming Estel Village for Ras’s case. Rather, I should compensate for the tyranny Ras would have committed. Not only to Estel but also to other villages that have suffered for two years.”

“······.”

“So, I am grateful to you and the Miko. For stopping him from committing any more sins.”

“The Dragon God would have wanted that and sent us.”

“······I haven’t done anything for Him yet, but I’m receiving too much.”

The Count let out a self-deprecating sigh.

Jonan found it difficult to predict how much help the Count would give to the Cheongnyongsingyo after this was over. To that extent, the Count was outwardly expressing his faith.

‘······Is this going to put the position of the first knight in danger?’

Jonan was wary of such an Arnus Count. At the same time, he continued to pray to the Dragon God, hardly breathing.

The next day, the investigation team headed for the cave designated the previous night.

As winter approached, the surrounding mountains shed their leaves one by one, but this mountain seemed even more desolate.

The investigation team headed for the right side of the mountain where a landslide had occurred two years ago.

When they entered a dry waterfall and valley about 2 meters high, they noticed it was quieter here than elsewhere.

“There are no red demons here either.”

“Still, we have to remain alert. We’ll need to fight when we enter the cave.”

They chose this dry valley cave for two reasons.

First, it was one of the few caves with a wide entrance that did not require an adult male to bend over.

And the distribution of caves was significantly lower than in other places.

The fact that there were fewer intertwined caves meant it was relatively easy to enter the underground cavity.

Clang!

“Enter.”

The knights drew their swords. With Count Arnus, a 2nd-class expert, at the forefront, they began entering the cave in the formation they had made the night before.

The inside of the cave was very dark, proving it led underground. Then, a 3rd-class knight, who was right behind the Count, took out a lamp from his waist.

When the flame was lit, the view was clear enough to distinguish objects in front of them.

That was sufficient for expert-level swordsmen. Their eyesight was excellent due to their superior physical abilities.

It was only natural that Jonan, who had not awakened Aura, stood in the center of the formation.

“It’s a fork in the road. The path to the left is ahead.”

The sound of something running along the cave began to echo. Then, two knights naturally blocked the left passage and revealed their Aura.

-!!!

A red demon resembling a large rat rushed in, but it was split into three parts by the disciplined gestures of the two knights wrapped in Aura.

Due to the cave’s nature, there was a constraint on swinging their long swords freely, but they won the battle smoothly.

After that, several forks and red demons appeared, and the investigation team slowly but steadily headed deeper into the cave.

Because everyone was familiar with battle and red demons, there were no major issues.

Furthermore, if they were ever surrounded, a blue water sword would fly like the wind from afar, securing an escape route.

With the support of the Dragon God, the investigation team could continue moving forward without losing their resolve.

Then, when the hour hand of Count Arnus’s pocket watch passed six, Jonan whispered.

“From now on, we will not be able to receive the support of the Dragon God.”

“······Is that so.”

It seemed the blue water sword had not been seen for a while. Jonan seemed to feel something through Haeilgum.

“Haeilgum feels drier than before.”

“From now on, it means we will have to rely on our strength alone.”

But there was no concern. The investigation team felt they were nearing the underground cavity.

This was because a cool wind began to blow from the front of the cave, and the stuffy air grew somewhat clearer.

However, this only prompted them to increase their guard as they proceeded.

After about 30 more minutes, Count Arnus stopped walking.

If he took one more step, it would be a fall.

And Count Arnus, standing at the cave’s end, said in a dry tone as he saw the underground cavity in front of him.

No, it might have been a nonchalant tone. Or perhaps it was better to describe it as one of awe and helplessness.

“There is such a relic in a place like this…”

A huge cavity. A giant trapezoidal relic in the middle. And countless magic stones and the eyes of red demons that illuminated that relic.

And finally, something like a black stone placed atop the relic.

All the members of the investigation team immediately realized that the object atop the relic was the culprit of this situation.