Chapter 182:
There was a man waiting for Reed, who had retrieved the Pope's ring.
As Reed was about to teleport and climb the tower again, the man approached and stopped him.
"Master of the Silence Tower."
Reed turned his head to look at the man.
Blonde hair with yellow eyes, and impressive horns like branches. He was a half-dragon.
"Sir Gorgon."
"I apologize for disturbing you during your busy time, but may we have a brief conversation?"
At Gorgon's question, Reed nodded his head.
Reed, guessing what he wanted to talk about, entered the tent Gorgon had guided him to.
Tea had been prepared in advance, and it was appropriately cooled when Reed entered.
"What have you decided to do with Phoebe?"
"She's with Astrophe, and Rosaria as well."
In case Roderick took the worst-case scenario, not fighting and targeting Rosaria and Phoebe directly, they were already evacuated.
Phoebe didn't insist on staying, and she went inside with Rosaria, holding hands.
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Since he took them to the safest place, he had already eliminated the variables.
"How about you?"
"I have also made my own preparations."
Gorgon was also fully prepared.
An artifact was hanging around his neck that suppressed his power so that the authority of the dragon did not reach him.
He couldn't use the unique power of the half-dragon that Gorgon possessed, but it was a countermeasure to allow him to cut off his breath at the last moment.
"I finished talking to Phoebe last time."
Gorgon stared at Reed quietly.
His face was expressionless, but it felt different than usual.
It was a gaze that was enough to make him feel intimidated, but he accepted it calmly.
"Well, you'd know that since we've come this far... what's going on?"
"What do you intend to do with Phoebe?"
"What do you mean?"
"That woman... as always, she doesn't reveal her true feelings well. She's always suffering inside, crushed by a sense of responsibility."
"She seems like the type who would be the scariest when she explodes."
A quiet child is the scariest when angry. As he brushed it off like that, Gorgon made a puzzled face.
"That's not the question I intended to ask."
"Then..."
"If you don't give Phoebe a definitive answer even after this incident is over, I won't stay still."
Reed couldn't help but be surprised by Gorgon's remark.
The rational sword of the empire was threatening the Silence Tower's master.
However, considering his words as a family member, it wasn't such a strange issue.
"Your family love is truly strong."
"It's not about family love."
"Then...?"
"When Phoebe and I met, it was a time when our heads had somewhat dried of blood. She and I were already strangers."
Reed could understand what he meant.
'You liked Phoebe.'
In Reed's mind, he recalled the gazes he had received from Gorgon.
The reason he had been cautious of Reed was due to 'emotion,' unrelated to the empire.
The atmosphere became more awkward.
The air was so unfamiliar that he thought of running away.
"Do you resent me?"
Nevertheless, he asks what needs to be asked.
Reed couldn't help but ask, curious about Gorgon's true feelings.
Gorgon let out a sigh.
"What would be left if I resented you? You saved Phoebe, and she has goodwill towards you. It's just the words of someone incompetent."
Gorgon leaned his body against the backrest.
The knight of the empire, who had maintained his dignity, rarely showed such a disheveled appearance.
"What's most bitter is that I can't be like you..."
"Everyone feels that way. I also feel bitter at times because I can't be like you."
"When was that?"
"It must have been when I fought the hero. When all the things I had made with various tricks didn't even work against the geniuses, my lack of talent was truly hateful."
"If that's the case, I've felt that emotion too."
"When was that?"
"It was when I was young, after I became a half-dragon."
"Because of Phoebe?"
"Yes."
Gorgon nodded his head.
His strangely smiling expression didn't seem like a bad memory.
"You have a good expression for someone talking about defeat. Are you the type not to dwell on such things?"
"Would that be possible? I also have a strong desire to win. If I didn't have that, I wouldn't have been able to rise to the position of the empire's vanguard."
"Then, what's the reason for the smile?"
"I just remembered Phoebe back then. It makes me laugh when I think about how different she was compared to now."
Gorgon, who had lowered his head, stared at Reed again.
"Please make Phoebe happy. This is a sacrifice for her."
Reed felt sorry for Gorgon for no reason.
He didn't express it.
Gorgon didn't care about Reed's reaction either.
It wasn't to gain sympathy, but to let go of a secret he couldn't reveal before the end came.
Rather, the fact that he didn't sympathize with him made him feel lighter.
"Don't worry. I'll tie the knot with that child after this matter is over."
"Thank you. And..."
"And?"
"Please keep this conversation a secret until we die."
Gorgon touched his face, and it was flushed as if he was drunk.
Gorgon was not used to revealing his true feelings.
"Of course, I'll keep it a secret."
"Saul, you too."
Gorgon stared at the back of the tent and spoke.
"..."
"I know you're there."
"Really, you have a dog's nose."
Another half-dragon, Saul, appeared, scratching his head.
Gorgon frowned and asked again.
"Your answer?"
"Well, I'll keep my mouth shut."
"If this story gets out, we'll have a sword duel."
"Gee, how scary."
Gorgon responded indifferently, but it was different for Reed.
With a more respectful and polite tone, he asked him.
"If you get married to my sister, will you become my brother now?"
"Brother-in-law."
"Brother-in-law. It sounds a bit weird. Can't we just call you brother?"
"What's wrong with that if we get close enough?"
"So are we close?"
"Now, be respectful, Saul."
When Gorgon bluntly said it, Saul smacked his lips.
"Anyway, I'll make sure the conversation between the Silence Tower Master and the vanguard is not leaked. I'll especially be careful not to let it reach the ears of the main character."
Saul answered, pounding his chest, but Reed didn't blink and turned his head towards Gorgon.
"Can he be trusted?"
"I will watch him closely."
"In that case."
Since Gorgon guaranteed it, Reed finally believed it.
Reed looked up at Saul and said,
"If Gorgon fails, you'll become a dragon. Are you okay with that?"
"There's no shortage of regrets."
"What?"
"By any chance, I inherit the blood of the Azure Dragon, so I'll transform into a Azure Dragon. When I looked up what a Azure Dragon was, it was said to smell like a rotting corpse."
"...So that's the reason?"
"Isn't that the most important reason?"
Considering the greater good, it was an incredibly trivial reason.
Thanks to that triviality, he gained confidence.
The fact that even if Saul, not Gorgon, had to absorb the dragon's origin, it would be no big deal.
"I will take my leave now. It's rude to leave before a guest, but I apologize as I need to check my weapons and refine my tactics one last time."
"Go ahead. I'll just finish this tea and leave."
"Thank you for your understanding."
Saul and Gorgon got up from their seats.
As they crossed the tent, Saul tapped Gorgon's shoulder and said,
"By the way, is it true what you said inside? That you liked that woman?"
"Keep your mouth shut. And Phoebe is not yet old enough to be called a middle-aged woman."
"Even if she's not a middle-aged woman, what's so great about a woman who always wielded violence and frowned... Don't tell me you fell for her because she's now smiling and laughing?"
"......"
"Hey, there are plenty of women on the streets. Even the widely spread noble ladies can smile and laugh brilliantly. If you fell for just that, you're really stu..."
Thump-.
Something broke loudly, and Saul's words were cut off.
Then a large something was dragged away, making a sound that faded into the distance.
What a brotherly conversation.
Reed thought so as he drank his tea.
***
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It was a day when the sky was unusually high.
As autumn approached, the green forest began to change into colorful clothes.
Who would know for sure?
The fact that thousands of people would die today.
"Hoo..."
The magician holding the crystal ball glanced sideways at the people around him.
Everyone looked tense.
With death taking them, who could be calm?
"Let's survive and see."
"If possible, that is."
The man injected mana into the crystal ball, playing back the record inside.
Goooooooooo!
A chilling sound echoed through the empty air.
The knights outside the fortress seemed to receive a signal and formed a line.
Soon after, a dot appeared in the clear sky above.
"Chaaaarge!! Hold your positions!!!"
At the shout of the commanders leading the front, the knights raised their shields and watched the front.
Shortly after, a giant monster landed in front of them.
Kwoooong-!!!
The earth shook.
The vibration was so strong that even the people inside the fortress faltered.
Length 100m, height 30m.
Its size was on a different dimension compared to the recorded dragons.
Even though it was still far away, it was so huge that it was difficult to see it all at once.
-Pathetic humans! Did you think I would be fooled by such a flimsy sound?
The dragon, Roderick, sneered.
-Your petty tricks won't be able to stop this immortal body!
Krooaaaaaa!!!
The dragon's roar resounded.
Even in the deafening noise that seemed to tear the eardrums, the command continued calmly.
"Magic Knights! Deploy the barrier!"
"Children of Light! Glory of Alte!"
At the shout of the commanders, the priests and magicians cast magic and buffs on the knights standing at the front.
Feeling their bodies strengthened, the knights maintained their formation and stood in front of Ruderick.
To his eyes, which spanned tens of meters, they appeared as nothing more than a neatly lined-up group of ants.
-You insignificant creatures. Do you think you can stand against me? You are destined to live in fear, you pitiful beings. I will show you that.
Roderick's large pupils contracted.
At the same time, a sinister energy spread around him and began to envelop the soldiers one by one.
Hands holding swords trembled, and heads held high gradually dropped.
They tried to endure it somehow, but they couldn't stop that fear.
That's when it happened.
"Warriors of Baltan!!"
With the shout of the orc warrior, they stomped their feet.
The quiet fear was shattered.
"What is our destiny!?"
"The sky has determined it!"
"What is our mission!?"
"To send the impure ones back to the ground!"
"Who are we!"
"We are Baltan's warriors!"
"Baltan!"
"Baltan!"
The roaring voices and stomping feet resounded like the sound of drums.
The knights' trembling gradually subsided, and they sympathized with their courage.
"Who are we!"
"We are the knights guarding the emperor at the forefront of the empire!"
"Let's not forget that, too!"
The knights who regained hope.
Seeing their form, Ruderick's face contorted.
-What difference does it make if useless humans have hope?
His long snout opened wide.
The knights, without exception, were taken aback at the sight of the gathering inside the snout.
"What in the world is that..."
"Light is gathering in his mouth!"
He didn't have anything like the venom sac or flame sac that other dragons had.
Light began to gather and condense inside his mouth.
"It's magic! Switch to anti-magic!"
The shape of the mages' defensive magic changed, and the knights also gathered to concentrate their shields in one place.
With enough mana condensed, at the very moment when Ruderick was about to release the mana.
-Hmm!!
He closed his mouth and twisted his body.
It was an agile movement that was hard to believe for such a giant.
A moment later, a beam of light touched Ruderick's face.