Chapter 261: Surprise Attack (5) (1/2)

Morning dawned at Argon Port.

The view of the sun rising above the horizon was the same as always, but the scenery that Argon Port had now was different from yesterday.

“We’re not allowed to set sail?”

“Yes, the port is under lockdown.”

Dozens of ships that were of various kinds were anchored in Argon Port.

Normally, the dock would have been busy with ships preparing to depart in the morning, but this was not the case for today.

Because no ship could leave the port.

It was a sudden order, but the ship owners decided to observe the situation instead of protesting immediately.

They didn’t know exactly on what happened last night, but everyone knew that at least hundreds of monsters attacked Argon Port.

Under normal circumstances, those who were afraid of attacks would definitely try to leave Argon Port by boat, but the situation was a little different this time.

Because the 7 southern families who were always fighting and having power struggles had all agreed to block the port.

“There’s a rumor that Malekith is coming back.”

“Malekith?!”

“Yeah. Hans said that he saw the corpses of Black Dragons lying in the central square. Members of the Guardians of the Holy Cross were preventing the drooling dwarves from approaching it.”

“Ho? The Guardians of the Holy Cross?”

Hearing that name was unexpected, but it was strangely relieving at the same time.

“And I’ve heard that it was none other than Paragon’s heroes who stopped this attack.”

“Is that true?”

“I heard that too. And think about it. Who else but Paragon’s heroes can deal with all those monsters overnight?”

“Oh, you’re right.”

The story of how the five heroes of Paragon defeated a transcendent existence called the Demon Prince was widely known throughout the continent.

“And there are rumors that the fantasy couple is here too.”

“Who are those?”

“You don’t know about the heroes of the royal capital? They’re the young heroes who protected the royal family from the Lord Protector… no, that blasted traitor.”

“Ah, aren’t they the ones who run away from home every now and then?”

“Uh-huh, but be careful with your words. What if someone hears you?”

“I mean… they’re quite famous.”

The fact that the fantasy couple were masters of night escapes was a story that the entire Sälen Kingdom knew.

The two of them had even created a trend of couples running away at night in the royal capital now.

“They say that one should refrain from talking about it so that couples who are in love will not try to run away at night.”

“Ahem, ahem. Anyway, the heroes of Paragon and the fantasy couple… it seems like something really strange is happening.”

“Perhaps that rumor about Malekith is true.”

“It’s possible…”

There was no one in Argon Port – no, the entire south who did not know of Malekith.

Three hundred years was clearly a long time, but it was too short a time to erase the scars he had carved on the land.

The legend of the great hero Carlos and his seven knights.

The story of an evil Black Dragon who tried to destroy the south.

While all kinds of rumors were circulating around the port, the heads of the southern families left their mansions.

‘Carlos’ dragon sword is back.’

The words written on the letter bearing the crest of the Guardians of the Holy Cross and the Knights of the Sea Lion were enough to move the family heads of the southern families.

Because they all knew what having the dragon sword meant.

At the Knights’ meeting room.

Standing in front of the podium, Kamael looked straight ahead.

Behind him sat Landius, Lena, and Sir Marcus, commander of the Knights of the Sea Lion, while on the opposite side were the six heads of the 7 southern families excluding Matteo Luculia, who were seated at a distance from each other.

The facial expressions of the family heads varied.

Excitement, anger, fear, and concern.

As he faced their various emotions, Kamael closed his eyes for a short moment before speaking in a low voice.

“Malekith is back.”

Everyone had already guessed that at this point.

But Kamael’s declaration was like a final sentence.

The family heads reacted differently to the reality that they were finally facing.

Some groaned while others struggled to remain calm. There were also those who clenched their teeth in fear, and those who closed their eyes to escape from reality for a while.

But no one denied Kamael’s words.

Because no one here was so foolish as to not know what happened last night or what the corpses of the Black Dragons in the central square meant.

“And as you can see here, Carlos’ sword is also back.”

Kamael raised Ascalon.

Because it was in its sealed state and no one could feel any divine power from it, it looked like a bit of an ornate dress sword, but none of the family heads doubted the authenticity of the sword.

The words of Kamael, who was one of Paragon’s five heroes and one of the Guardians of the Holy Cross’ six generals, had that much weight and power.

“Malekith’s subordinates stole the family heads’ tokens and tried to find the sword’s whereabouts. Because they feared the power of Dragon Sword Ascalon, Carlos’ legacy that defeated Malekith in the past.”

Count Kaolan, a white-haired old man, clenched his fists as he calmly spoke.

He was the oldest among the family heads of the 7 southern families, and the most ardent follower of Carlos among those present here.

Kamael continued to speak.

“Count Jude August Bayer and Countess Cordelia August Chase defended Ascalon from Malekith’s subordinates. They also saved Count Kagehama’s life.”

At Kamael’s words, everyone turned to Count Kagehama.

Count Kagehama could only narrow his brows because he could barely remember the events last night due to his head injury.

“I am well aware of what Carlos’ sword means to the south. But I cannot give this sword to any of you. Because we’re in a real emergency.”

The gazes of the family heads turned sharp at that moment.

In the case of Count Kaolan, he clearly expressed his anger towards Kamael who dared to take away Carlos’ legacy, but the reactions of the other family heads were slightly different.

‘This is better.’

Now that Malekith was about to be resurrected, the fate of the south was hanging by a thread.

So they had to gather the forces of the south.

Someone had to take Carlos’ sword and lead the 7 southern families.

However, it was quite awkward for one of the 7 southern families to take Carlos’ sword.

‘But now is not the time to fight.’

This was not the time for the 7 southern families to wage a civil war over who would take Carlos’ sword.

A person foolish enough to wage a civil war in the face of a common enemy could not be a family head of the 7 southern families.

Count Kaolan was unable to hide his anger that preceded his emotions, but he did not stand up or shout.

Because he understood the current situation just like the other family heads.

‘Then who is it?’

Who will take Carlos’ sword and lead the 7 southern families?

They had guessed it to some extent.

But they had to keep their eyes peeled this time too until a definite answer was given.

And at the reactions of the family heads, Kamael inwardly sighed in relief. With a small compliment to the family heads who didn’t act foolishly, he continued his words that were interrupted for a while.

“I’m going to give Carlos’ sword to Landius. And when this battle is over, Landius will return Carlos’ sword to the south.”

As if responding to Kamael’s words, Landius rose from his seat and stepped forward.

With the appearance of a giant who was like a moving castle of steel, the family heads did not object this time too. Rather, there were those who breathed a sigh of relief.

‘It’s as Jude said.’

There were actually six candidates for Carlos’ sword.

Kamael himself, Landius, Lena, Jude, Cordelia, and Sir Marcus.

Among these people, Jude said that no one would worry if Landius was entrusted Carlos’ sword.

“He’s the one person they would least object to.”

Kamael was a high-ranking member of the Guardians of the Holy Cross.

He belonged to a powerful organization that was influential in the entire continent, so from the perspective of the 7 southern families, they couldn’t help but feel burdened.

Because the Guardians of the Holy Cross might try to influence the south after taking Carlos’ sword – an assumption that was unlikely but not completely impossible.

“In that sense, neither I nor Cordelia are good.”

Jude and Cordelia were nobles of the Sälen Kingdom.

In other words, them taking Carlos’ sword meant that there was a huge possibility that the two would settle down in the south.

From the standpoint of the 7 southern families, having their leader be an outsider or coming from the 12 northern families was not something they welcomed.

“As for Sir Marcus… I apologize, but he lacks authority.”

Moreover, he worked for the royal family, so the 7 southern families couldn’t help but reject him.

Although the 7 southern families were loyal to the Sälen royal family, simply belonging to the Sälen Kingdom and being directly governed by the royal family was like the difference between heaven and earth.

“Then the only ones left are Master and Lena-nim, but Master is probably better, right?”

Both were wandering people who were not affiliated with any organization and also had a reputation for being one of Paragon’s five heroes, but there were still some clear differences.

A fist fighter – no, a swordsman and a wizard.

If one had to choose on who would be entrusted with the sword, which of the two would most likely be entrusted?

“There’s also the visual reason.”

Anyone could tell at one glance that Landius looked crazily strong, but Lena only appeared to be a beautiful and slender woman.

“So I think we should entrust Ascalon to Master.”

Kamael also agreed with him.

Regardless of the reasons Jude had said, he had also thought that only Landius could lead everyone in this crisis.

‘Like how he did in Paragon.’

He who did not give in to despair before the Demon Prince.

A man like the sun who eventually saved everyone with his mind of steel.

Kamael snapped out of his thoughts.

He handed over Ascalon to Landius in the presence of the family heads, and Landius respectfully accepted it.

“I’ll hold the sword of the great hero for a while.”

When Landius spoke in a serious tone, even Count Kaolan who wanted to protest ended up nodding his head at that moment.

It was because Landius’ appearance as a hero was quite overwhelming.

‘As expected.’

Kamael uncharacteristically smiled in satisfaction before he continued speaking again.

“The situation is urgent, so we’ll move on to the countermeasure meeting immediately.”

However, Kamael had no intention of exchanging opinions with the family heads.

Because he had already decided all the general measures.

“Malekith is now asleep here.”

Kamael said as he pointed to a place in the huge chart that a squire had set up.

It was an island located quite far from Argon Port, where the surrounding currents were unusual and had a lot of reefs, making it difficult to approach.

“Malekith has yet to wake up. So the best thing that we can do is to invade the island before he wakes up, and use Ascalon to end his breath while he’s still sleeping.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Landius at Kamael’s words, and Landius lightly raised Ascalon with a solemn expression.

In fact, it was Jude who would use Ascalon in the battlefield, but there was no need to tell that to the family heads since they wouldn’t be going to the battlefield anyway.

“Of course, we need a fleet to do that. It’s also necessary to punish the traitorous Luculia family.”

The forces of the 7 southern families were scattered throughout the southern region.

It was a priority to bring all those forces to the neutral Argon Port.

They needed troops to take over the island.

“Count Matteo Luculia, the family head of the Luculias, is currently detained by Marquis Ophand. Most of Count Luculia’s men in Argon Port have been captured, but since we don’t know what Count Luculia’s forces might do, we need to hold Matteo as a hostage to control them. I’ll leave this role to Marquis Ophand.”