C353 - The Final Stage of Bradamante's Strengthening (2)
[It can't be acquired with money or goods.]
"Of course, I already suspected that."
[But you'll need quite a bit of gold. More than a little.]
"Gold?"
As soon as the word "gold" was mentioned, something seemed to click, and Murakan's eyes widened.
"Hey, Picon. Are you talking about Ozdock?"
[Oh, you remember that name.]
Jin also knew that name.
"Ozdock, you mean... the monster from the popular tales of the eastern continent?"
There were popular tales related to Ozdock, a demon creature, on the eastern continent.
A monster that eats gold, greedy humans who offer gold to harness its power, and nations that fall into ruin as they become prosperous due to its influence.
It was a fairly common type of legend that could be found anywhere. An allegory warning against excessive greed and the ruin brought about by corruption.
[Time has passed. Nowadays, the younger generation only knows Ozdock as a creature from stories. In our time, it was a real headache. Around 30% of the world's gold production was devoured by that thing.]
"Is it still alive? Wasn't it subdued after I fell asleep?"
[Just before you fell asleep, he was sealed beneath the Royal Capital of Sarba. It was his stronghold, and with the fall of the Sarba Kingdom, he couldn't get any more gold.]
Ozdock is a demon creature that awakens through gold, so it could only exert its power with gold. When the Sarba Kingdom fell, Ozdock couldn't obtain more gold, so it chose to sleep.
At that time, Ozdock instinctively made that decision because it couldn't survive if it stood in the way of the powerful Runcandel and Zipple, who ruled the world at that time.
It was a good choice, but luck wasn't on Ozdock's side.
While Ozdock hid in the underground depths of the fallen Sarba Kingdom, the territory of the Black Sea started to "expand."
Today, everyone considers the place where the Sarba Kingdom used to be as part of the Black Sea territory. However, a thousand years ago, it was just ordinary land not included in the Black Sea.
[As the Black Sea expanded rapidly, Ozdock ended up swallowed by the tainted land of the Black Sea. You could say he remained dormant but buried in the poisoned territory.]
"So, the plan is to awaken the sealed Ozdock and capture it to obtain its core?"
[Exactly.]
"This guy is crazy... Do you think this kid is one of the Ten Great Knights of ancient Runcandel? How is this kid going to capture Ozdock?!"
[You're here. And Ozdock is much weaker now compared to then. It's likely on the verge of death.]
Having gone without consuming gold for a thousand years, Ozdock had lost much of its incredible strength from the past.
"What if it's still okay? Are you suggesting we awaken it unnecessarily and end up with more trouble? Have you forgotten the headache that thing caused a thousand years ago?"
As Murakan pointed out, Ozdock was a major troublemaker in those times.
Before settling in the Sarba Kingdom, it caused countless civilian casualties, and the fluctuating price of gold disrupted the world economy.
Runcandel, Zipple, and even Vermont, the major forces of that time, invested considerable efforts in capturing Ozdock.
There was no reason why those powerful forces couldn't have subdued Ozdock using brute force.
The problem was that until Ozdock was on the brink of becoming a "demon creature with a core," no one recognized its threat, and the same occurred even after its transformation was complete.
In other words, the response came too late.
When the major forces finally decided to subdue Ozdock, the creature had already taken the residents of the Sarba Kingdom hostage and used them as shields.
Thus, while the major forces tried to minimize casualties and seize the opportunity to kill Ozdock, the Sarba Kingdom fell.
[Ha, it's definitely weakened!]
"Oh, this bald bastard... It's quite suspicious, isn't it? Last time, we had a tough time when we faced Sylderay in the first tomb. I'm sure he's plotting something similar with Ozdock. It's the first time I've heard that you need a demon creature's core to build a weapon."
Snap!
Murakan slapped his palm as if he remembered something.
"I see, you bastard. So now you have a Guardian Dragon, right? Are you planning to use Ozdock's core for some kind of elixir?"
It was known that a demon core was useless for humans.
But for dragons, it was a top-tier elixir. It was one of the few means that could dramatically boost the strength of their heart's energy in an instant.
[Ha! What are you saying? This Picon Minche has never told a lie in his life. A Guardian Dragon? I didn't even ask Jin to look for one. I probably just sent a Guardian Dragon.]
"I really can't believe it."
b"Mr. Picon, I didn't say that. Uh, Murakan. Why are you doing this? Why?"
Jin began to gently persuade Picon.
In reality, Jin's thoughts were somewhat similar to Murakan's. Awakening such a dangerous creature was a burden in itself, and he also remembered the difficulties of the first tomb.
But it didn't seem like a lie.
Furthermore, he thought that capturing Ozdock might have more uses than just crafting a weapon.
"Please, calm down, Mr. Picon. After all, you also need to complete your masterpiece, right?"
"Hmm, hmm. Yes, yes. I'm sorry. We'll go awaken and capture Ozdock or Modok, right?"
Murakan looked around cautiously and spoke, and Picon nodded.
[Anyway, damn Black Dragon. If it weren't for Jin, there wouldn't even be soup, just bones.]
A vein popped on Murakan's forehead. However, he patiently swallowed his anger and scratched his neck with an awkward smile.
"Haha, sure, sure... we're going. Well, it wouldn't be bad to finally cut Ozdock's throat for good this time."
[When you retrieve the core, don't take a single bite out of it. Bring it back as it is, Murakan.]
"Understood. I'm strong even if I don't eat that thing."
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August 28, 1799.
A massive cat with cheeks puffed as if about to burst was walking on the outskirts of the Black Sea.
It was Shuri.
Once again, Shuri was using her spiritual abilities to easily locate the ancient capital of the Sarba Kingdom.
Shuri was familiar with this area from her time as Helluram's Cat.
"I've thought about it before. I really want this cat. Can't you give it to your big sister? It seems like I'm liked as well."
While Mary was petting Shuri's back, she spoke.
"It's not possible."
"Then I'll win this duel and use the winner's command to take it. Hehehe."
The reason she was riding on Shuri's back alongside Jin and Murakan was for a combat session.
This time, it wasn't a one-on-one duel, but they had chosen the "Subjugation of Ozdock" as their combat.
By subduing Ozdock together and determining who landed more blows and performed better, they would decide the victor.
Murakan had taken on the role of referee and security personnel in case of unexpected circumstances. If they, combined, couldn't defeat Ozdock and considered it too dangerous, they would cancel the combat and engage in a duel.
Of course, Mary was unaware that this duel was also related to the strengthening of Jin's weapon.
'I am deeply grateful to my older sister, Mary, but revealing the existence of Vin Branche and Lord Picon could be risky.'
It's not that Jin didn't trust Mary Runcandel as 'his third sister.'
But once Mary learned of Vin, the God of Smiths' contractor, and Picon Minche, 'the Seventh Flagbearer of Runcandel, Mary,' she would likely make a decision advantageous to the clan.
It would mean that the legendary blacksmith Picon Minche would have to forge weapons for all Runcandels, not just Jin.
'Someday it might come to this because of me, but not now.'
Proud Picon couldn't accept it.
In the end, Runcandel could use Vin as a hostage or force Picon to work for them, which was very likely to cause trouble.
The natural course was to restrict all personal benefits that Jin could gain through Picon.
Until Jin was convinced that Mary was a sword of Jin Runcandel, not the Runcandel sword, he needed to be cautious about sharing information.
"By the way, it's a demon creature with a core. I've wanted to face such a thing at least once. They say it's on a different level from those trivial monsters that roam near the outskirts of the Black Sea, so it won't end in a boring way, will it?"
With the idea of fighting an extraordinary monster, Mary's heart raced all night, and she couldn't sleep well.
The reason she didn't ask Jin how he knew about such a monster was that.
If she could have a proper fight, other things didn't matter much to Mary.
"Huhu, if Ozdock were in his prime, you wouldn't have been able to do anything."
As if Mary had made an adorable comment, Murakan chuckled to himself.
Mary didn't seem to mind much.
"Our Guardian Dragon seems to like the term 'prime' a lot. Guardian Dragon, I'm just curious, but you wouldn't give biased judgments, would you?"
"Of course, I'm an impartial Dragon."
"Good, once we catch it and return, let's have a good drink. I've heard you also have a liking for magazines, right? I have some nice articles in my collection that you might like."
"Good liquor and good magazines, excellent. I'll make sure to do that."
Throughout the journey, Murakan and Mary got along very well. They seemed to effortlessly get along as if they had been close from the beginning, which somehow didn't seem very fascinating to Jin.
He had suspected that they would get along.
"It looks like we've arrived."
Shuri stopped walking.
In the desolate black land on the outskirts of the Black Sea, only the sky and the earth could be seen, but this used to be the location of the ancient capital of the Sarba Kingdom.
Nyaa!
Shuri opened her mouth wide.
Suddenly, a flurry of gold nuggets spilled out. These gold nuggets they had been carrying since they left the main house were prepared to attract Ozdock.
Naturally, the entry and exit of humans to the Black Sea were extremely rare.
Moreover, they were the only ones coming to the Black Sea with such a quantity of gold, and also to the location of the ancient capital of Sarba.
"A monster that eats gold, huh? Let's see where and how it came from. Since we've brought its food, it should come out quickly!"
As Mary jumped off Shuri's back and shouted, a powerful vibration began to spread through the ground beneath them.
Crunch...
The intense vibration began to shake the ground they stood on.
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