Chapter 256: Night at Argon Port (4) (2/2)

“Ah! Is this a dragon! Eh, Lord Jude?!”

It was Bentham who had shouted in surprise.

He was dressed in his pajamas as if he had just run out of his bed, but behind him were dwarves in similar outfits, though each of them were holding weapons such as hammers and axes.

They had probably ran out after hearing the commotion.

“Lord Jude, what in the world is this…”

“You can rest assured now since the situation has been resolved. We’ll give you a detailed explanation once it’s completely over.”

Jude who had opened the sixth door of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors was not an ordinary human being.

He was a bit closer to a transcendental state, so his words had a supernatural persuasiveness to it.

“I-I understand.”

When Bentham agreed, the other dwarves nodded their heads too instead of saying anything else.

Or rather, their interests seemed to have changed when they saw the dragon’s corpse in the first place.

If it weren’t for Jude, they would have rushed in and began dismantling the corpse.

So Jude wanted to warn them, but he stopped. Because Landius who had cleared up the place soon ran towards them.

“The dragons?”

“I’ve finished them.”

At Jude’s answer, Landius nodded and turned around again. Without a moment’s rest, he flew towards another direction again. It seemed like there was still a lot of work left for him to do.

‘It’s always amazing to see it.’

Iron Man Landius.

The sight of him beating the Black Dragon’s body and throwing it away had remained in Jude’s mind.

It was an unbelievable sight when one used their common sense, but it was not strange for Landius, as if it was as natural as water flowing from high to low places.

Therefore, Jude felt a sense of incongruity in other areas.

‘Why is he so strong?’

Landius was clearly a strong person.

He was the main protagonist of the first episode of Legend of Heroes.

Ancestral Regression and Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors were added to this, so it was natural for Landius to become stronger than the Landius in the first episode since he had trained for ten years.

But isn’t he too powerful?

Landius’ power was so great to the point that he felt that something was strange.

‘How did he die in the game?’

Landius was obviously not invincible.

Even Malekith, the enemy they were going to face this time, was stronger than Landius.

But it was also like saying that no one could kill Landius unless they were on the same level as Malekith.

‘It’s impossible for Duke.’

He couldn’t imagine Duke killing Landius. There seemed to be some other reason for Landius’ death.

‘Maybe it has already changed due to the butterfly effect.’

Landius’ survival and even his increase in strength.

‘Because a lot of things have changed.’

Like the Ascalon he was holding in his hand right now.

In the game, Ascalon was kept in the ruins that Gamorr Khan had found.

‘Of course, that’s how it was mentioned in the game, but I never ever found it in those ruins… Perhaps it was a fake that was kept there.’

It was common to display a fake in order to hide the real treasure.

‘Anyway, we did it.’

Jude let down his shoulders and restrained the power of Ascalon that was still emitting a biting chill.

After returning it back to its normal sword form and wearing it on his waist, he felt that Valencia was smiling in satisfaction in the depths of his mind.

She seemed to be pleased that he returned to one sword and gave up on wielding two swords.

‘But what if I learn dual wielding?’

Will she get mad at me from suddenly having three swords instead of two?

Jude was a little curious, but shook his head afterwards. Because Valencia was already complaining and staring at him coldly because of Ascalon, so it would be far worse if he added another one.

Just imagining it was already terrible.

‘Anyway… the results are good.’

Not only did they acquire Carlos’ token, but they also got Ascalon, a weapon that could be considered as Malekith’s natural enemy.

The heroes of Paragon that were led by Landius had also joined in, so the forces that could face Malekith had instantly increased.

‘We can’t waste any more time.’

Waiting for Malekith to be resurrected before they attack was the worst idea.

‘We should attack Malekith.’

Before Malekith was resurrected properly, they had to create a situation in which there was no other result but victory.

‘Sicilia.’

The present attack had convinced Jude.

It was Sicilia who was now leading Malekith’s subordinates.

Then what would she do from now on?

What would she do next after losing Gamorr Khan and Madhur, and failing to get Ascalon?

‘There’s only one answer.’

The thing she would do next and the consequences of that.

And Jude would come up with countermeasures in anticipation for that.

With a dark smile, Jude turned to the south.

He looked over the horizon.

***Sicilia raised her head.

As soon as she broke her mental connection with the wyverns, she leant back on her chair and roughly breathed.

“Haa… haa…”

Her entire body was drenched in sweat, but she didn’t even have the time to wipe it off. Sicilia stabilized her breathing before she got up from her seat and left the room.

Gamorr Khan had disappeared.

Madhur was killed, and Ascalon was taken by the enemy.

Moreover, these were not the only losses.

Sebastian whom she had charmed was already free from her spell.

The Kraken which had been released in the sea to cause chaos was sealed again too.

‘Jude Bayer and Cordelia Chase.’

Two people that the demon followers had warned her about.

In fact, Sicilia was not aware that everything she had planned had gone wrong because of Jude and Cordelia.

The capture of Gamorr Khan, the death of Madhur, the sealing of the Kraken, and the stealing of Ascalon.

And even Jabberwock in the Forest of Eternity.

Nearly everything that Malekith had prepared to cause chaos to the south before his resurrection had been ruined by Jude and Cordelia.

‘Matteo Luculia.’

Sicilia erased his name from her mind.

He was a man whose life or death had yet to be confirmed, but she had a feeling that even if he was alive or dead, she would be unable to use his power again.

‘We’ve already been revealed. In that case, I have no choice but to hit them harder.’

Sicilia stopped in her tracks for a moment as she adjusted her breathing again. She then straightened her clothes before looking at the large steel doors in front of her.

The being who was beyond that door.

One of the Three Knights of Malekith, and a powerful being who was the actual leader of the Dragonflights.

“Orga, I’m coming in.”

The steel doors opened to the sides with a dull sound as if responding to Sicilia’s voice.

Sicilia swallowed hard at the sight beyond the door that was completely black as if it was the entrance to the abyss. She caught her breath once more and clenched her fists in determination before taking a step forward.

She entered the residence of Dragon General Orga, Malekith’s successor.

***

“Disciple, how many doors have you opened?”

“Six doors.”

“F*ck.”