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The ones that came from Vermont were the earth dragons, Labus and Untiel, along with the mages associated with them.
The ones that came from Zipfel were the Fire Dragon Theo, Blue Dragon Laramaqua, and their mages under them.
In total, there were four dragons and eight mages, all of them gazing with their eyes wide open at the sky tainted with shadow force and the crumbling Black King Mountain Hideout.
In particular, all four dragons had experienced the prime of Murakan.
The mages felt the accelerated heartbeat of the dragons as it transmitted from the backs of the dragons they were each riding.
'Are the dragons... feeling fear?'
'This is unprecedented. Is it okay!'
An extreme sense of tension.
The dragons were hardened, so it left the mages with no other option but to share the same anxiety.
The battle prowess of the 12th flagbearer of Runcandel and his guardian dragon being formidable were well-known to the public due to incidents such as the Sword Emperor's Terrorist attack. Back then, Murakan had almost single-handedly defended the skies.
Furthermore, considering the radical actions of the 12th flagbearer and his battle prowess, it was only natural for the mages to harbor such misconceptions.
'12th flagbearer of Runcandel attacked the Black King Mountain Hideout with his guardian dragon...'
'And they won!'
The mages gulped simultaneously, pondering the thought.
'I heard that he has regained his strength, but has he already reached the point where he can single-handedly handle the Black King Mountain Hideout?'
'The speed at which he is recovering his old power is remarkable. Just a few years ago, he couldn't even compare to Sis Cuicantelle.'
Labus and Untiel exchanged glances, and coughed awkwardly as they eyed Murakan.
[Hmm, ah-hem! I greet the ruler of Mt. Murakan, and the friend of Solderet, the Black Dragon Murakan. I didn't expect to meet you here.]
[I didn't expect to see you here either. Have you been well, great Black Dragon?]
Labus and Untiel said.
Jin had met these dragons during his time as reserve flagbearer.
'These are the dragons we met on the day I first saw Ms. Cuicantelle. Back then, they were quite proud as well.'
Murakan locked eyes with the two dragons. Specifically, it was Murakan who looked at them, while they didn't dare to meet Murakan's gaze.
These two dragons were among those who had faced Murakan most frequently during his prime.
[Labus, Untiel. What brings you here?]
[We came because we sensed something unusual in the Bise Kingdom.]
[There seemed to be a big battle going on, but if it's alright, could you provide us with more details…. Nevermind!]
Flutter!
Before Untiel could finish her sentence, Murakan flapped his wings loudly. It was a gesture of dragons expressing displeasure, much like delivering a heavy punch to a human.
[You insignificant earth dragons! How dare you tell me to inform you of what happened here?]
[No, oppa. It's not like that.]
[Murakan, it's a misunderstanding! We're not demanding you to tell us what happened. We're simply asking if you could, if possible, share the details with us... Of course, we can understand it if you don't want to.]
The tone of earth dragons quickly shifted. They couldn't help but feel embarrassed. If Murakan had truly regained all his former power, there was no force in the world that could stand in his way. At least, that was how the dragons perceived it.
If they spoke too rudely, Murakan could turn them into ashes, and the Empire would be the one to bear the consequences.
[Is that so? I've been feeling it since the last time, but it seems quite a bit of time has passed since I taught you all a lesson. I see that my own kind is not treating me as carefully as before, and this uncomfortable feeling has been growing day by day.]
Hoo-ung!
The shadow force that covered the sky grew even denser.
[And especially you all seem to be itching for death.]
In an instant, awls made of shadow force burst out from the black sky. Labus and Untiel were stunned and frantically lowered their heads.
[Oppa, that's not what we meant. We're sorry!]
[I think I made a mistake, please calm down and have a peaceful conversation!]
The sharp awls effortlessly pierced through the protective shield the two dragons quickly casted. Even the dragons themselves couldn't react properly. If Murakan had decided to, this single attack could have been fatal.
Initially, the target of these shadow force awls was not the earth dragons, but the fire dragon and the blue dragon behind them.
Theo and Laramaqua quickly descended and dodged Murakan's awls, but they refrained from counterattacking because they were well aware of how severe the situation could become.
The reason for Murakan's sudden rage was clear.
Fire Dragon Theo.
He was a relative of Kadun, the fire dragon and guardian dragon of Kelliark Zipfel.
Murakan and Kadun had never been on good terms, and just before the Holy Kingdom incident, Kadun's attack had almost rendered Murakan powerless.
Now, to Murakan, the Fire Dragons were a race he'd like to tear apart just by looking at them.
[Fire Dragon Theo, didn't your king relay that message to you? Do not confront me at all costs. And unfortunately if we do meet, you should run away as fast as you can with all your might.]
Shadow force awls formed once again, and Theo, Laramaqua, and theZipfel's mages concealed their bewildered expressions.
'Could that immense power we detected an hour ago really be from this crazy black dragon?!'
Of course, that was just Theo's misunderstanding.
The power that brought down the Black King Mountain Hideout was not Murakan's shadow force but Zephyrin's demonic energy. However, since the demonic energy exploded and vanished after Zephyrin left, there was no doubt that it was Murakan's power.
'No matter how much he's regained, fighting Murakan so arrogantly is an act of suicide.'
'I thought this might be like the battle between Valkas and Amela, but it's gone way beyond what I expected. We need to retreat immediately.'
Like nearly all dragons in the world, Theo and Laramaqua had always feared the Murakan in his prime. Especially Theo had a deeper fear because he had seen fire dragons and red dragons suffer many times just because they were relatives of Kadun.
[Answer me, Theo, and Laramaqua. I'll decide whether to kill you or let you live depending on your response. And this answer will affect the fate of the earth dragons too.]
[Oppa? W-why? We haven't done anything wrong. Please, do not do this.]
[Alright, we'll withdraw.]
Murakan glared at Theo and Laramaqua, ignoring the earth dragons' heartfelt pleas. The dragons could only flutter their wings, not knowing what to do.
All the dragons trembled. Their eyes were filled with anxiety, and there was absolutely no hint of arrogance left.
'Wow, Murakan... I am really not used to these situations no matter how many times I see it.'
To Jin, Murakan felt much more familiar when he was scratching his thigh while reading magazines and eating a strawberry pie with no dignity, a somewhat pathetic and unimpressive presence.
But in moments like this when his dignity of a thousand years stood out, he appeared to be a completely different being.
Although he hadn't definitively demonstrated that he had fully regained his old power, he had managed to terrify the Zipfel and the Imperial dragons.
'By the way, it might be a headache if they decide to resist.'
In reality, Murakan was exhausted. Jin, as a contractor who used the shadow force, was the only one who truly grasped this fact.
Murakan had already expended almost all of his power in his battle against Zephyrin.
However, Murakan was confidently confronting the dragons even in this state; it was simply his "personality."
Murakan had lived as the most powerful being from the moment he was born, for over 3,000 years.
Whether he regained his older power or recovered only a quarter of it, or he had nothing left, Murakan could not imagine having a different attitude from his prime.
It was because of this Jin didn't step forward even after knowing Murakan was exhausted. He didn't want to bruise his pride.
If the dragons decided to attack, he could fight alongside Murakan, which was fine, as neither Zipfel nor the Empire had any valid justification for attack in the Bise Kingdom. On the other hand, Runcandel had a legitimate reason after having just assisted the Black King mercenaries.
The Black King mercenaries remained silent in the midst of the misunderstanding and escalating tension. Maybe it was best to consider that they were unable to do anything.
The recent explosion caused by Zephyrin had left most of their high-ranking members incapacitated or still searching for their comrades. Besides, Valkas had lost consciousness.
The Black King mercenaries had to act extremely cautiously. They couldn't risk trying to correct the misunderstanding and potentially face an unpredictable situation.
Furthermore, before losing consciousness, Valkas had transferred command authority to Jin.
Thus, it was necessary to stay still until Jin took over.
After some thought, Jin reached this conclusion:
'If the dragons of Zipfel and Vermont retreat, I can somehow manage the situation to my advantage.'
If only the dragons of Zipfel and Vermont would withdraw.
The reason Jin's conclusion was clouded like this was because he still hadn't deeply 'felt' Murakan's presence despite hearing everywhere about Murakan's grandeur a thousand years ago. It was something only those who had shared those thousand years with him could truly understand.
In other words, the dragons from ZIpfel couldn't even think of fighting with Murakan.
[... Murakan, we apologize for unintentionally offending you. I, along with Fire Dragon Theo, will quickly withdraw. Could you find it in your heart to forgive us?]
Lalamaqua replied. Her tone was calm but her response was almost pitifully humble. Jin was rather surprised once again.
Of course, Murakan had no intention of letting the matter go. He didn't know about other dragons, but the fact that a Fire Dragon had come to visit only further enraged him.
So at the moment when he was about to respond that he would let Theo go after crippling him, Jin spoke up first.
"I accept! The dragons of Zipfel and Vermont will return to their homelands soon. Before the heart of my guardian dragon changes."
Upon hearing this, the dragons from Zipfel and Vermont were taken aback, and Murakan understood Jin's intention instantly. He regained his composure. Not controlling his anger at this point was equivalent to putting his contractor in danger.
The Earth Dragons continued to roll their eyes, while the Fire Dragon and Blue Dragon met Jin's gaze. After a moment, they could only respond like this:
[Great... we thank you for clearing up the misunderstanding, contractor of the Black Dragon. I hope we can meet again under better circumstances.]
Lalamaqua's response carried an undertone of "I am retreating today but I will remember this humiliation," but Jin couldn't help but smile.
"You have nothing to be grateful for. Take care."