Chapter 37: Dragon Hunt (3)

The old man swung his spear.

Each time the tip of his spear pierced the air, a fierce shockwave echoed through the cave.

The pain in his arm, which seemed as if it might fall off at any moment, and the spirit worn down by endless hardship—both were gone now.

All that remained was pure instinct.

“Huff, huff!”

Muscles, impossible to call those of an old man, swelled as if about to burst.

Blood surged unnaturally through his thick veins.

This was, in every sense, Tempering.

Like steel that’s been hammered and forged thousands, tens of thousands of times, Gide pushed his own body to its absolute limit.

He would slay the Dragon.

He would rip out its heart and offer it to the Young Master.

That single goal was the driving force behind his Tempering.

Countless Knights tried to stop Gide.

Why, they asked, would he sacrifice himself for a scoundrel like Richard?

Gide’s answer was simple.

Just because.

There was no need for grand words or flowery speeches.

Truly, he just wanted to show that child the mystery of Mana.

He wanted, even if it was belated, to reveal a new world to that bloodied, despised boy.

His body was useless now anyway.

Why not burn it up, just once—That’s what Gide said before he left.

And so, months passed as he settled in this place.

Thunk—

His body, which had moved tirelessly like a machine, finally stopped.

A strange light began to flicker in his unfocused eyes.

Crack!

The swollen muscles seemed about to burst even more, then suddenly contracted.

This process repeated over and over, and Gide’s body flushed red with heat.

His fiercely pounding heart drew up every ounce of strength with the blood coursing through him.

Rumble—

Above his flushed body, a crimson haze shimmered.

Tempering.

A forbidden art that forcibly shatters the limits of frail human flesh.

At this moment, Gide could briefly attain the Superhuman State.

***

At last, the day of the final battle arrived.

Richard struggled to calm his pounding heart.

“Status Window.”

[Hor] [Lowest-Ranked Deity]

[Church Level -1]

ㅁ Number of Devotees -12

ㅁ Faith -54,772

ㅁ Divine Power – [Devotee Appointment] [Receiving Prayer]

ㅁ Unlocked Positions – [Lowest-Ranked Evangelist] [Lowest-Ranked Paladin] [Lowest-Ranked Priest]

Only fifty-four thousand…?

As a deity, his Faith was embarrassingly paltry and weak.

“I really should’ve done more evangelizing.”

Muttering to himself, Richard shook his head.

It was too risky to recklessly proclaim his godhood before the Knights, and he had no time to visit other villages for evangelism.

It was far better to take his time and build trust slowly.

Still, standing at the brink of this decisive battle, the amount of Faith he had felt woefully insufficient.

Each day, he accumulated about 1,500 Faith points.

Of those, a full thousand were spent on Adele’s meals, and of the remaining 500, 300 were steadily consumed to raise the proficiency of the Holy Aura Skill.

For nearly a month, he’d hardly been able to gather any Faith at all.

“Adele. You really can bear fruit, right?”

“Mhm! Just leave it to me!”

Adele clenched her tiny fists, puffing out her cheeks.

Her excessive cuteness was her own way of trying to ease Richard’s tension.

Pat, pat—

In response, Richard gently patted Adele’s head.

“Yeah. I’ve spent my Faith where it needed to be spent, after all.”

Honestly, fifty thousand points wasn’t a small amount.

The problem was that his opponent was a Dragon.

He steadied his breath, doing his best to calm himself.

The recent promotion of his Holy Aura to Rank 6 was at least some consolation.

“If you’re that tense, you should rest at the base. I’ll bring back the beast’s heart in no time.”

Just then, a gruff voice rang out beside Richard.

Turning, he saw Polk standing there with a crooked grin.

Richard squinted at him for a moment before speaking.

“You planning to eat it all while I’m gone?”

“What! How could you suspect me of such a thing?”

“Well, I suppose you might want to keep it for yourself.”

Call it an unspoken agreement.

The two of them exchanged a few idle words on purpose, letting the tension ease.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Gide.”

“I’ve warned you already, but don’t go near Sir Gide. Absolutely.”

“Alright, alright. How many times are you going to say it?”

Even as Richard protested, Polk’s expression remained stern.

His tone made it sound as if Gide was even more dangerous than the Dragon.

“Sir Gide has likely lost his reason by now. He won’t be able to tell friend from foe. You’ve reviewed the subjugation plan thoroughly, so you should be fine, but…”

In short, don’t get skewered by a blind spear.

Not even your bones would be found.

“By the way, is this really where we’ll fight the Dragon?”

Eager to change the subject from Polk’s nagging, Richard looked around.

He and the Knights, fully armed and ready, were not at their base.

Instead, they waited in a broad clearing halfway between Dragon’s Peak and Gide’s cave.

This was the optimal hunting ground the Third Knight Division had painstakingly selected over the past few months.

“It’s open—perfect for ballistic shots, and the Knights can move in formation. There’s no better place.”

“Hmm.”

Staring out at the clearing, Richard turned his head.

Behind him, countless Knights stood in formation.

Their tense, hardened faces left a deep impression.

“Don’t die, any of you!”

“Ah, Young Master! How many times are you going to say that?”

Jack groaned at Richard’s words, and the other Knights followed suit.

“We can’t die until we’ve had a chance to kick your butt, Young Master!”

“That’s right! We’re not dying, so you’d better watch your own back!”

What was he supposed to do with these insolent guys?

After a few moments of pursed lips, Richard just chuckled and turned away.

At his side was his loyal personal Knight, Aaron.

Richard placed a hand on Aaron’s shoulder.

“Aaron, don’t worry about Gide. If it’s Adele’s Fruit, whatever aftereffects there are, we’ll be able to heal them without fail.”

“You’ve already said that. At least a dozen times, in fact.”

“Oh, come on. You too?”

Why was there no one who would just let it go?

As Richard grumbled, Huger approached.

“Chwik, what are you so tense for? It’s just one or the other. Today, either that lizard brat dies, or it doesn’t! Of course, I’ll be the one to kill it! Tch!”

Despite his words, sweat beaded on Huger’s forehead.

“I’m not nervous at all. And it’s not one or the other. The Dragon will definitely die today.”

After all this hardship, if they failed to slay the Dragon, he’d die of regret.

He might just die of frustration.

Richard adjusted his crown.

As the chill seeped into his head, his mood gradually calmed.

At the same time, the Knights sharpened their scattered fighting spirit.

It was time to begin the battle.

The flow of air around the mountain range seemed to confirm it.

“…Before we head to Bartenberg, let’s fill our bellies with Dragon meat.”

“That’s an excellent idea.”

“Guhiik!”

And then, at that moment—

Rumble—

From the direction of the cave where Gide was, an overwhelming force surged toward them from behind the clearing where they stood in formation.

Every hair on their bodies stood on end with a jolt.

The unfiltered Superhuman State radiated so powerfully that it felt like the mountain itself was trembling.

“Life is burning. If that’s not my Fruit, there’s no other explanation.”

“Adele, you must save enough strength to bear the Fruit.”

“Daddy, just take care of yourself. I’ll definitely save him.”

Richard nodded at Adele’s reassuring words.

Then it happened.

Gide’s presence suddenly exploded outward.

Screeeech—!

At the same time, a massive spear—thicker than a man’s arm—tore through the sky with an earth-shaking roar.

Crash!

In an instant, it slammed into Dragon’s Peak.

No, it didn’t just strike—it shattered the entire peak.

And then—

…#####-!!

A monster’s furious roar swept over the mountain range.

“Uwaaaah!”

Dragon Fear.

Several of the Knights who heard that terrible roar clutched their heads in agony.

But this much had been expected.

Richard drew up his Faith.

Channeling it through his Mana Route, the Faith reached his vocal cords.

“Third Knight Division—!”

He shouted with all his might.

His voice, brimming with Faith, had the power to clear the minds of all who heard it.

“Prepare for battle—!”

The shout echoed through the mountains.

It reached not only the Knights in the clearing but even the lower-ranked Knights stationed throughout the woods to man the Ballista.

…####-!!

From the collapsing peak, the Dragon revealed itself.

Still radiating Dragon Fear, it spread its wings.

Its reptilian eyes fixed on a single point.

It paid no mind to the weak humans in the clearing.

It had only one target.

The being that had disturbed its slumber and exuded that intensely irritating energy.

“It’s coming.”

The beast, exuding a savage aura, flew straight toward Gide’s cave.

The distance closed in an instant.

Polk held his breath, waiting for the right moment.

One, two, three—

“Young Master!”

“Fire—!”

Richard’s Faith-filled voice rang out again.

Bang! Crash!

Immediately after, as if responding to Richard, thunderous booms erupted from all over the forest.

It was the sound of the ballista firing—the declaration of war that would drag the Dragon to the ground.

“Kraaaagh!”

Massive projectiles hurtled at the beast as it flew.

Clang!

Chains attached to the projectiles spread like a spider’s web through the air.

A total of nine shots were fired.

Some struck the beast’s enormous body, but its tough scales couldn’t be pierced.

The rest merely grazed it, unable to even scratch the creature.

Still, that was enough.

“Infuse Mana!”

Richard’s fourth command.

At his shout, five lower-ranked Knights assigned to each Ballista focused their eyes.

They poured all their Mana into the power devices attached to the ballista.

The thick chains connected to the ballista pulsed, greedily absorbing the Mana.

Chrrrk!

Then, as if possessed by a will of their own, the chains began to move.

“Kra, KRAAA—!”

The young Dragon howled.

Five chains instantly tightened around its body, restricting its flight.

The activated ‘Great Dragon Ballista.’

The strongest net in the world—a masterpiece of Dwarf craftsmanship—had become its shackles.

Thud—!

The Dragon crashed to the ground, the impact so loud it made their ears ring.

Within the swirling dust, a massive shadow writhed.

At the same time, Gide’s presence rapidly approached.

“Special Skill—Hyper Focus, activate.”

Now—

Richard and the Knights drew their swords.

At last, the Dragon Hunt had begun.