Chapter 134
Sowhere along the riverbank of the Great Jungle, where Yuwon and Ipalim had fought a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering blood battle.
Despite the ferocity of the previous battle, the riverside had grown tranquil. Only the gentle sound of flowing water winding along the bank could be heard, and within that silence, Yuwon lay alone, unconscious. About ten minutes after Yuwon had collapsed like that.
Whoosh—!
A blade-like gust swept through the riverside where not even a breath of wind had stirred before. At the end of that wind stood a man. The mont his instincts told him that sothing had happened to Yuwon, he had run here as if his feet were on fire.
“Your Highness…! So you were here.”
It was Hastings.
Hastings had been escorting the children of the Thunder Bird Tribe whom Terrien had rescued back to Valaris, but as Yuwon’s presence grew increasingly violent, he had half-abandoned the children and rushed straight here. Hastings was that kind of man.
If Yuwon was in danger, he was the sort of man who could cast aside pitiful children with no one else to rely on but him, like worn-out shoes, and run to Yuwon. That was Hastings.
As soon as Hastings found Yuwon, he confird that Yuwon was sleeping while breathing softly, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
“Still, thankfully… he doesn’t seem to have any serious external injuries. Was it a loss of too much magic power that made him pass out….”
Soon after, as if intending to stand guard until Yuwon awoke, Hastings planted himself firmly right beside him.
‘He’s soone whose recovery is strangely fast, so he’ll probably recover quickly this ti too.’
After taking his place at Yuwon’s side, Hastings circulated his internal energy and sharpened his instincts, scanning the surroundings in case of any threat.
‘Monsters are… coming. No, so are already here. That was close. I was so focused on finding Your Highness that I missed their presence. If those monsters had mistaken for Your Highness’s enemy and attacked… I might not have died, but I could’ve been badly injured.’
Although Hastings had grown so strong that it was hard to find a match among ordinary swordsn, dealing with monsters that could throw their weight around in the Great Jungle was another matter entirely.
In that sense, the fact that the monsters following Yuwon had naturally recognized Hastings as an ally was nothing short of miraculous.
At that mont!
“Hup!”
An overwhelming presence, strong enough to make the back of his head throb, was caught by Hastings’s instincts. Startled, Hastings imdiately reached for the sword at his waist.
From the mont he sensed the presence to the instant he finished preparing to draw his sword, everything happened in the blink of an eye. Just as Hastings was about to draw.
“That sword. Do not draw it. If you do, I will have no choice but to kill you.”
Thump—!
The low voice that rang out echoed coldly in Hastings’s ears, like the breath of the Grim Reaper. Standing before Hastings was a man he had never seen in his life.
The man’s identity was none other than ‘Teacher’. The very mysterious man who had taken Yuwon as his disciple in the Great Jungle.
“…I am not a rciful person who would let soone live after drawing a blade in front of .”
Hastings froze on the spot. By the ti Hastings thought he had sensed sothing, Teacher had already approached to within arm’s reach.
‘H-how…!’
The overwhelming difference in power. Hastings’s eyes widened until they felt like they would tear. In his entire life, Hastings had never seen movent so stealthy and so fast.
“You look like you’re wondering how I knew. When the ti cos, you’ll know too. You’re young, yet you’ve already reached that level, so it’s not impossible… Consider this a bit of unsolicited advice, but rember this.”
Even then, Hastings could not take his hand off his sword. But still, he could not draw it.
“That loyalty of yours may soday harm the one you follow.”
“H-harm… you say…?”
“Are you pretending not to know? You don’t look that foolish… hm. Look. Isn’t that already the case right now?”
“….”
Teacher continued, gesturing toward Yuwon with his chin.
“Do you think that just because you’re blocking , I wouldn’t be able to kill that child lying there?”
“That is….”
Hastings hesitated to answer. It was not that he did not know the answer to the question. He simply hesitated because admitting it out loud would an acknowledging his own weakness.
‘This man is strong. Perhaps… even stronger than Lord Marcellus… If this man intended to harm His Highness… with my current strength, I couldn’t stop him….’
Hastings’s thoughts did not last long. As if reading his mind, Teacher continued speaking without waiting for an answer.
“That’s right. Exactly as you’re thinking. If I decided to kill that child, you would never be able to stop . So don’t let that burning loyalty blind you, and look further ahead.”
“…?”
“You should at least be able to tell who will help and who will poison you. You may understand it in your head, but your heart refuses to trust others….”
Teacher, who had been speaking, suddenly cut himself off and got to the point, easing Hastings’s tension.
“Right. No need to make it complicated. For now, I am not an enemy. I ca to protect that child, just like you. I am that child’s master… no, his teacher. Just as the Thunder Bird Tribe’s child taught you instinct, I also taught that child Yurion a few things necessary to survive in the Great Jungle. Feel a bit more at ease now?”
After those words, Teacher put on a smile that did not suit him at all. It was an awkward smile, like soone smiling for the first ti in his life.
“Why….”
Hastings’s question was so short that its aning was hard to grasp, but Teacher imdiately understood it.
“Well… partly because of an old debt I owe, and partly because of personal curiosity… and now that I’ve watched him for a few days, I’ve grown attached to him, for better or worse.”
“Then… I understand. Though it was originally my duty alone, I shalessly ask you to guard His Highness. Sir. As I am now… if soone as strong as you were to target His Highness in this land, I would not be able to protect him.”
Hastings readily acknowledged that the man standing before him could have killed Yuwon over and over if he had wanted to. Of course, that did not an Hastings would back down.
“…Are you going to stay here the whole ti?”
“My lord is in this state. Where else would I go?”
“Hm. And what if the children you abandoned end up as monster feed?”
“…!”
Teacher’s words, spoken as if he had seen everything, startled Hastings. Even so, Hastings did not move from his spot. His answer was unwavering.
“As far as my strength allows, I wish to help them, but not now. What I must do is stand here and guard His Highness until he awakens. I ask this of you.”
With those words, Hastings bowed to Teacher, ending the conversation, then took his position opposite Teacher to guard Yuwon. Seeing Hastings like that, Teacher let out a small chuckle. This ti, it was a genuine smile.
‘Why soone like … It’s amusing to hear such words from a fellow who should have been a leader rather than soone’s subordinate.’
Still smiling, Teacher shifted his gaze to Yuwon.
‘You really are… blessed with good people… just like that fellow back then.’
It was not only because of Hastings. The presence of Terrien and Bernid was also drawing closer to Yuwon.
Another corner of the Great Jungle. There, chaos was unfolding. Strangely, the snakes were not attacking only the southern soldiers, and thanks to that, as the battle dragged on, the southern soldiers naturally grew distant from the pursuing force.
But it was one mountain after another. Orcs and other monsters that appeared late were brutally pressuring the roughly fifty southern soldiers.
“Kraaagh—!”
“R-run away, my lady!”
The situation here was growing worse by the mont. Then, flas ignited on the battlefield.
“Huh…!”
“Hoo… looks like I wasn’t too late on this side.”
The appearance of Third Prince Bernid Aphahiel! Bernid appeared before the cornered Renania and the southern soldiers, his hands wreathed in fiercely blazing blue-white flas.
“Hup! Th-Third Prince, Your Highness…!”
At Bernid’s sudden appearance, Renania’s eyes grew as large as oil lamps. But it was still too early to be surprised.
Swoosh—!
“…!”
“Th-there…!”
A tearing sound rang out across the battlefield of the Great Jungle. Startled by the sound, the southern soldiers hurriedly turned their heads, only to see more than a dozen trajectories slicing through the air.
Pak—! Papapak—!
At the end of those space-cleaving trajectories, without fail, were the vital points of the monsters that had been targeting the southern soldiers.
Kwoooong—!
Kieeek!
The orcs and monsters of the Great Jungle that had even veteran southern warriors at their wits’ end were being cut down like fallen leaves by an invisible sword.
Watching that, Bernid drew a grin at the corner of his mouth.
“One more has arrived.”
As if on cue, the sword that had just swept away the enemies ca to a halt. The man holding it slowly walked out, leaving the remains of the enemies behind.
“Thankfully, it seems I was not too late.”
The Knight of the White Dragon. It was Terrien.
Renania, who had survived the crisis thanks to the two of them, exclaid,
“If both of you are here, th-then what about His Highness…!”
At Renania’s foolish question, Bernid and Terrien turned their heads at the sa ti.
“That place looked like you’d die if you got any closer.”
“His Highness will be fine. In this Great Jungle, it’s not only the two of us who wish to protect His Highness. We have already confird his safety on our way here. You need not worry.”
At the consistent answers from the two n, Renania wore a blank expression.
‘That’s right… I asked a pointless question.’
There was no way the two of them would have co all this way without checking on Yuwon’s condition. And with Yuwon’s safety assured, there was no reason for them to hesitate.
“Then from now on, we will guard you.”
Tap tap—
Yuwon lay unconscious with his face buried in the sandy riverbank. Sothing gently tapped his cheek, waking him.
“…?”
When Yuwon lifted his heavy eyelids, he saw the figure of the Hatchling of the Dragon-Scaled Serpent in front of him.
Piiiii—!
At the greeting that sounded as if it were asking whether he was all right, Yuwon chuckled softly and lightly patted the creature’s head.
“So it was you. I thought as much….”
Before Yuwon could finish speaking, a voice calling out to him rang from afar.
“Hey, you awake? How’s your body? You feeling okay?”
A familiar voice in the Empire’s language. Yuwon quickly turned his gaze toward where the voice ca from.
“That voice is…?”
As he suspected. A familiar man ca into view. Third Prince Bernid stood about fifty ters away, waving his hand at Yuwon.
Seeing Bernid’s face after so long, Yuwon pushed himself up and greeted him.
“Why are you staying over there instead of coming here?”
“Oh, co on? You passed out in the middle of the Great Jungle. Do you think you didn’t get eaten alive just because you were lucky? If you’re awake, take a look around you.”
“What’s wrong with my surroundings…?”
Half in disbelief, Yuwon raised his internal energy and scanned the area. Soon, a faint smile spread across his lips.
“Ha, haha. I see. So you were protecting . All of you.”
Amazingly, within a fifty-ter radius around Yuwon, the area was packed with all kinds of reptilian monsters. The monsters that served the King of the River had gathered here en masse to protect their wounded king.
Along the riverbank, snakes, crocodiles, and turtles hid while concealing their presence, and in the ground, snakes and lizards that had burrowed in were guarding Yuwon’s side.
The very Yuwon they were protecting was unconscious after the battle and recovering, so he had not known it, but in truth, Yuwon’s surroundings were practically an impregnable fortress.
“Now you get it? Why I couldn’t co any closer and had to stand here.”
“Yeah. Now I get it.”
“And even then, if that snake you raised over there hadn’t recognized , I would’ve had to just wait around. Luckily for . It didn’t act like that with Hastings or Terrien, but it made a huge fuss over . Those monsters.”
Perhaps feeling wronged at being treated as hostile by the monsters, Bernid pouted and complained. Normally, Yuwon would have scolded him, but right now, he did not mind the sight.
“I see. So that’s how it was.”
“Oh, and I ca thinking I’d help, but it looked like I was already a step too late. So I left this side to them and went to help over there instead.”
“Over there?”
“You brat… playing dumb again.”
At the sa ti, a voice burst out from behind Yuwon.
“Y-Your Highness…!”
Renania’s voice. Seeing Yuwon again after several months, Renania’s voice trembled as if sothing were welling up inside her.
“So Ipalim was dealt with by Your Highness. Just when I thought I had caught up a lot, Your Highness goes even further ahead. In any case, it is truly a relief that you are in such good health, Your Highness.”
Unlike before, Terrien, who had always been busy pushing himself whenever Yuwon grew stronger, now readily expressed his respect for Yuwon’s growth.
“….”
Hastings was also there, having remained hidden and guarding Yuwon’s side until he awoke.
Hastings too was glad to see Yuwon again after so long, but he did not show any sign of it outwardly.
Hastings, who had been considered a heaven-sent shadow since his days as a new mber of the Ravens, was gradually coming to resemble his forr master, Marcellus, more and more.
Lastly, Bernid spoke with a wry smile.
“It hasn’t actually been that long since we last gathered like this… but it feels like it’s been forever. Right? Maybe because we’ve been through hell….”
Terrien and Hastings, Bernid, and even Renania. Familiar faces had gathered together in one place at last. Slowly looking over each of their faces, Yuwon drew a smile.
“Judging by how leisurely you all ca just to see my face, I guess the battle is over.”
At the question that was not really a question, Bernid answered with a broad grin.
“Yeah. We won. Good work. Yurion.”
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