Chapters Chapter 266: Lee Gong-Myung’s Despair (2) (1/2)
A barren land… the Nürburg mountains in front of Lee Gong-Myung were in ruins. Suddenly, Lee Gong-Myung felt a chill running down his spine.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump!
His heart began to race.
Drip.
Cold sweat flowed down his skin.
Don’t tell me...
He didn’t have a good feeling. In fact, it wasn’t just a feeling. The sight in front of him was telling him a rough story. Evidence of battle, splashes of blood everywhere. Destroyed weapons lying around.
And…
“Cyamodus!”
The death of the gigantic fire turtle, Cyamodus, was extremely shocking.
“What in the world…!?”
Something was definitely wrong.
However, it was unlikely that the whole group had been massacred by just the Gold Dragon.
Most notably, there wasn’t a single dead body in the area.
If a massacre did happen, then numerous corpses of the soldiers and explorers were to be expected.
Think about it. Would a monster like a dragon clean up the battlefield?
One could assume that the Gold Dragon had eaten all the dead bodies, but Lee Gong-Myung did not buy that explanation. Even if that were true, a limb or two would have been tossed around.
There was only one other explanation.
A cleanup.
Someone had deliberately cleaned up the battlefield.
That’s right, I probably arrived too late. His Majesty would have returned to his territory after the raid and cleanup…
Lee Gong-Myung tried his best to be optimistic. He began to seek for traces of Rothschild.
-Bark!
While he was searching, something barked at him.
-Grrrr…!
About ten Dire Wolves flashed their sharp canines at Lee Gong-Myung. Seeing how they were gathered around, it seemed like they were feasting on a body that had been missed out on during the cleanup.
“...?”
Beyond the ten Dire Wolves, Lee Gong-Myung noticed a sign.
The following was written on the sign with atrocious handwriting, even worse than that of a kindergartener’s:
[Here lies Rothschild, the ultimate coward, idiot and fool.
– The Supreme King of the West, Kang Chul-In.]
Thump!
Lee Gong-Myung could feel his heart sink.
Kang Chul-In.
The horrendous handwriting aside, that name left such an ominous impression on this situation.
This name never meant anything good.
-Grrrr!
The Dire Wolves paid no attention to Lee Gong-Myung’s feelings or thoughts. They began to charge at the intruder.
Psssst!
And they soon met their end.
“Y-your Majesty… this can’t be… your Majesty…!”
Lee Gong-Myung, who had easily ripped the Dire Wolves apart, began to walk forward as if he was possessed.
After walking some distance, Lee Gong-Myung finally let out a scream of despair.
“Ah, ah… ahhhhhhh…!”
A corpse. Not only was it missing both arms and its head, it was also disfigured due to the Dire Wolves’ feasting.
“A-Alex...”
However, Lee Gong-Myung could immediately identify the corpse. His bond with his master was deep and genuine. The body was that of a monster’s and was heavily disfigured, but Lee Gong-Myung could point out Rothschild’s physical traits in one glance.
Pitter-patter!
Cold rain crashed down onto the crestfallen Lee Gong-Myung.
“E-Even though… I have returned...”
His voice contained a tone of resentment and regret.
“I’ve even become a cursed being… just to… just to meet you again… just to be by your side… Alex… Alexxxxxxx!”
Thump!
Lee Gong-Myung collapsed onto the ground and embraced Rothschild’s corpse, after his cry of despair.
He then began to wail in anger and agony.
“Keheuk… heuk…!”
He just couldn’t stop crying.
His tears were as relentless as the heavy rain pouring onto him.
“My Alex… my dear Alex… Keheuk…!”
To Lee Gong-Myung, his master’s death was more heartbreaking than his own.
***
“Urgh… urghhh…!”
For the first time in his life, Kwak Jun experienced an indiscriminate beating known as ‘mental training’.
“H-How…? This is too p-painful… Eek…!”
“There is a saying that you can tell as much truth as your experience.”
“...?”
“After being beaten up countless times, I’ve finally mastered the technique. Turns out the art of violence is quite a complex one.”
Kwak Jung shrugged. He had learned well from his teacher Kang Chul-In, the king of violence.
If he had witnessed this, he might have felt proud and said, ‘Hmm… not bad, Kwak Jung!’
“Oi, Kwak-something.”
Kwak Jung said coldly after completing the mental training.
“Yes, yes...”
“This is my first and final warning.”
“...”
“If you mess up my big picture with your stupid ideas one more time… you know what’s going to happen.”
Kwak Jung did not have to explain further. Kwak Jun knew that only death awaited him.
“I-I understand...”
“I will be keeping a close eye on you.”
“Certainly, I will report before arriving at any decision.”
Kwak Jun bowed.
“Right right~! Do it better next time! You get it?!”