Book 2: Chapter 215: The lone flame in the ice (3)

Book 2: Chapter 215: The lone flame in the ice (3)

<The lone flame in the ice (3)>

The Chief, who should be answering Cale’s question, was currently not in a state to answer.

He was looking at Witira and Gashan with a dazed look on his face.

However, there was someone who was more shocked than him.

It was the middle-aged hunter.

“H, how-”

He was so shocked it looked as if he had received an electric jolt.

“...Did he say us?”

He recalled what Gashan had just said.

‘Hoho. I definitely agree. I thought that the Beast people here were just a bit different from us but they must have experienced something during the cataclysmic period.’

That could only mean one thing.

“...Are you both Beast people as well......?”

The answer came from an indifferent voice.

Cale answered with a nonchalant look on his face.

“This lady over here is a Humpback Whale, Miss Witira, and this sir over here is a Tiger and a shaman, Gashan. Ah!”

Cale realized something at that moment.

“Gashan, do your incantations work?”

“!”

Gashan’s eyes opened wide.

He quickly tried an incantation.

He then frowned.

“It does not, young master-nim.”

He shook his head.

“The power of nature seems to be blocked.”

Eruhaben interjected into the conversation.

“It is not just aura and mana, the overall flow of nature is being controlled. It looks like those Dragon bastards of this world have messed with it.”

The Chief and his people all flinched in shock and looked at Eruhaben.

The old man hesitated before asking.

“Is this sir a Beast person as well......?”

He sounded a bit cautious.

Eruhaben answered extremely confidently and haughtily.

“No. I'm a Dragon.”

Plop.

The hunter who had jumped up earlier felt his knees go weak as he plopped back down on the chair.

However, the ancient Dragon did not care. In fact, he looked as if he was happy with this development and asked the Chief a question.

“Hey Chief. Why are the Dragons gods here?”

The first question Cale had asked...

‘How did the Dragons end up as gods?’

Eruhaben wanted to know about the same thing.

He had heard something from Cale before.

‘Dragons cannot become gods.’

“T, that-”

The Chief could not speak properly.

He could not think straight after learning about the Beast people by Cale’s side and finding out that Eruhaben was a Dragon.

“Senior.”

Someone handed him a cup of warm tea.

“Please take a sip and calm down.”

Cale had a gentle smile on his face.

The Chief extended a hand before realizing that his hand was shaking and grabbed the teacup with both hands.

He seemed to calm a bit after drinking the warm tea as he let out a deep breath and started talking.

“During the cataclysmic period, the world was turning into a mess as magic stopped working. At that time, the Gonia Free city... Umm, the current Holy Empire stepped in.”

Gonia Free city.

That was the original name of the Holy Empire.

“Gonia free city was originally created by a human who claimed to carry the blood of Dragons.”

‘It is a city built by a Dragon half-blood?’

Cale's eyes clouded over.

Dragon half-bloods could not live very long. Humans were unable to handle the Dragon blood in their bodies. But there was a city built by such a half-blood?

Cale suddenly thought about the Dragon half-blood who turned into a Bone Dragon.

The Chief continued to speak as Cale thought to himself.

“Of course, only human marriages were recognized after the first city lord so the Dragon’s blood became weaker, but they were known to have the protection of Dragons.”

And once the cataclysmic period started...

"that city lord appeared to inform the entire continent. He said that he asked the Dragons to stop the chaos.”

The Chief frowned.

“It is said that society was full of unspeakable chaos at that time.”

That was obvious.

The world would get chaotic even if only teleportation and video communication went down. If all magic stopped working, it would be similar to electricity going out on Earth.

“While that was going on, some Dragons helped support the areas that were chaotic because magic suddenly stopped. They also took the vanguard to execute the Beast people when they became violent. Their magic and attributes then rescued the areas that were suffering from weird climate changes.”

Cale quietly listened.

“That led to people starting to worship and praise the Dragons. Maybe that was to be expected. The gods they originally believed and prayed to did not listen to them but the Dragons fulfilled their wishes. They did so without receiving anything in exchange.”

How would the Dragons have looked to the humans during the cataclysmic period?

“Mm. The view of the temples were quite bad at that time. You had to pay to even go to the temples to pray.”

The Dragons handled things that their gods simply avoided.

"Anyway, the city lord of Gonia changed the name to the Holy City at that time and started expanding. And finally... He proclaimed that he would treat the Dragons like gods.”

That was the moment the Gonia free city became the Holy City.

“It was then...”

The Chief stopped talking for a moment.

Cale felt as if he knew why the Chief stopped.

‘That is probably around when the Haru Empire became the Haru Kingdom.’

The Chief would probably also talk about how the Holy City became the Holy Empire.

“It was then that the last Emperor of the Haru Empire said that he could not accept worshiping the Dragons as gods.”

“.......”

Koukan used silence to show his agreement.

Cale looked at the old man this time.

This person seemed to know too much and seemed quite smart with his thinking for the Chief of an old village.

"Then what about you, senior?”

“Huuuuuu.”

The old man sighed before answering.

“...I am the descendant of the butler who served the Archduke's House of Snow. Only my family survived and have carried on the Chief position of this Winx Village.”

The corners of Cale’s lips went up a bit more.

‘I can see the picture.’

He asked.

“Senior, you have been hiding the identity of our family to look after the village. You must have been working with the Wolves in the Erghe Mountain Range to protect this place.”

The Chief silently nodded his head.

Cale finally understood why the Chief spoke respectfully about the Empire and the Emperor but talked lowly about the Dragons.

The Chief was silent for a bit as if to organize his thoughts before he started speaking again.

“As for that Choi Jung Gun person you just mentioned, I do not know anyone with that name.”

“...You don’t know?”

“Yes sir.”

The answer was quite firm.

However, this was where they had last heard from Choi Jung Gun.

That was why Cale realized that his question had been wrong.

“Has there been an outsider who came here?”

It was likely that Choi Jung Gun did not reveal his name.

“...Mm.”

The Chief contemplated for a bit.

“This is a dangerous area so there are outsiders who show up, but...”

The Chief had been quite thorough about the outsiders who came here in order to protect the Beast people.

“I would need to know about his appearance in order to know who you are talking about.”

‘Mm.’

Cale gulped.

‘Would Choi Jung Gun have been moving around in his own appearance?

If he hid his name, wouldn't he have changed his appearance as well?’

Choi Jung Gun was also the original Dragon Slayer.

Someone like that would have been extremely cautious in a world ruled by Dragons.

“We do have a record of the outsiders who have entered. Should I show that to you? There are simple records of their names and appearances.”

Cale nodded his head at the Chief's comment.

This guy truly was different from your typical village Chiefs.

“Yes sir. Thank you very much.”

He might be able to get some clues about Choi Jung Gun after looking at that entrance record.

"And when will the subjugation squad show up?”

The Chief and the hunter looked at each other after Cale asked that question once again.

Cale had an ominous feeling after seeing them exchange glances.

‘No way.’

The moment he thought of the worst possible situation, the Chief awkwardly smiled as he answered.

“I believe they will be here tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

At the latest, it will be in three days.

The subjugation squad of the Holy Empire will be here by then.

“Cale, isn’t that too soon? The Holy Empire might learn about us too quickly if the subjugation squad finds us.”

He heard the ancient Dragon's concerned voice. The others looked at Cale with worried looks on their faces as well.

As for Cale, he laughed.

“That’s great. I have a lot of things I am curious about regarding the Holy Empire.”

He cleanly assessed the situation.

"We can capture them and ask.”

Regardless of how many subjugation squads showed up, wasn’t it fine as long as they captured them?

There was no way for the Purple Bloods to hear from people captured here.

"Ah, that’s true.”

The ancient Dragon agreed.

“I forgot that there was such an easy method.”

The ancient Dragon, Cale, Witira, and Gashan all laughed with relaxed looks on their faces.

The Chief and the villagers blankly watched them.

Cale didn’t care and looked at Koukan as he asked.

“Where do the Beast people reside?”

And then...

"Gashan. How are the Beast people here different from all of you?”

Cale asked the Tiger shaman a question before addressing Ron, who was standing by the door.

“Please tell Lock to come here.”

Wolves should be best at dealing with Wolves.

Cale looked toward the window.

He could see the field of snow outside.

He could also see his own red hair faintly reflected on the window.

He thought about one of the items in his possession.

Although it had lost its original appearance and was a red crown now...

‘...The item of the first Emperor is in my hands.’

After taking care of the subjugation squad...

‘I should barge into the Haru Palace. I mean... visit the Haru Palace.’

—

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