Overgeared

Chapter 1585

Xenon’s method of recovering his father’s remains was simple. He could’ve shot a Breath as soon as he arrived at his goal. Considering the personality of the tower members who were reluctant to appear before the public, making a big fuss was a method to avoid them.

However, Xenon had no intention of using such an extreme method. He could avoid the tower members by making a fuss, but he would end up catching the eye of the top dragons. He would become a victim himself if he did this. There were many difficulties and limitations in a dragon’s activities.

Xenon planned to do things as quietly and smoothly as possible before returning to his lair. He wanted to block the rumors that a dragon was flying around. This was why he had to rush to make a decision a little while ago.

Xenon couldn’t allow the escape of the vampires. He quickly recognized the artifact triggered by the humans who intruded into the scene and set up a barrier with the rule ‘you can’t leave this space.’ This series of processes was very fast. It was natural since a dragon’s will was realized immediately.

The barrier was unfolded first before the artifact was triggered but it missed. It was because the technique imprinted on the artifact was surprisingly powerful. The one-time artifact turned into dust after it was triggered and the barrier became useless.

‘It’s a nice flow.’

Dragons had an eye for determining the value of treasures. Xenon regarded the artifact that had just been destroyed as a pretty good thing. By human standards, it was a treasure where a replacement would probably be hard to find. Such a treasure was sacrificed in order to allow the vampires to escape? It was too much to simply be loyalty. It was clear that there was a trick.

‘If it is something that can be done with the vampires…’

It was easy to infer. Vampires were beings that came from Beriache. It was a clan led by ‘Blood Queen’ Marie Rose, Beriache’s most powerful legacy.

‘Is there a way to wake up Marie Rose using the vampires?’

Before Xenon fell asleep, Marie Rose was sealed by Pope Chreshler. However, the seal was actually close to what Marie Rose ‘allowed.’ It was a seal that Marie Rose could leave any time she wanted. Of course, the Curse of Sloth was different. The Curse of Sloth was one of the most powerful curses derived from the gods of the beginning and couldn’t be easily rejected.

Even so, Xenon had a high evaluation of Marie Rose’s potential. Marie Rose was the one whom Beriache, one of the three original evils, gave birth to in order to transcend her. She was likely to be able to temporarily overcome the Curse of Sloth.

‘The situation will become bad if I become hostile to her. I have to go back now.’

The only one Xenon was wary of among the humans and vampires was naturally the Dragon Slayer Hayate. This didn’t mean he looked down on Marie Rose. He had no intention of fighting her, even if she currently wasn’t free. The odds were low and the moment he collided with her, he was more likely to be caught by the tower members.

The moment that Xenon turned back, the spheres circling around him were shot at Asuka. He was going to leave, but he still wanted to punish the intruder. Xenon absurdly wanted to kill the human blocking his way, but he couldn’t kill her.

The Eraser Sword—it was due to the unique rated sword, which had a probability of negating magic, luckily slashing at the sphere. The Eraser Sword was supposedly made around three years ago by Grid, but it was still a new product among the items on the market. Putting aside the unstylish name, the power was excellent. Of course, this was a story of when the anti-magic effect was activated. The chance of triggering it was only 9% and the sword’s attack power wasn’t very high. It was an item that wasn’t good for the Overgeared Guild…

“Hahat! I was lucky!”

Asuke, who felt like her life was shortened by ten years, threw the Dragon Harpoon. It was an item optimized to constrain large monsters. The improved Dragon Harpoon had been distributed in large quantities to the army of the Overgeared Kingdom in recent years and it was relatively easy to obtain.

Ttang!

It fired with a nice momentum. The Dragon Harpoon that hit Xenon’s gray scales fell to the ground helplessly. It couldn’t even scratch the scales. It was a very disappointing result for Asuka, who had already lost a significant amount of health in the aftermath of several explosions by Xenon.

‘There is no effect even though my attack power has risen by 43%?’

Asuka was well aware of how powerful a dragon’s absolute defense was. However, Grid had slashed the scales of a dragon during the 3rd National Competition. It might just be a small scratch, but it should be taken into account that the high rankers of that time had levels in the 300s. This meant that the current Asuka was much stronger than Grid at the time. She couldn’t even scratch the scales even after using the Dragon Harpoon?

‘Do I have to use a special method to hurt a dragon?’

Asuka was an enterprising person. The moment she established a new hypothesis, she didn’t obsess over the Grid-made weapons and instead took out other weapons. It was a scythe she got after a boss raid. It was a must to aim at the gap in the scales.

She had no intention of escaping death. She knew it was impossible and was ready to die from the beginning. She had achieved her desired goal of letting the vampires escape and had no regrets other than getting a hint on how to attack a dragon.

However, Xenon didn’t allow it.

[Impertinent.]

Xenon used magic for the first time. The magic power spheres that destroyed Reidan’s troops and plunged Noll and the vampires into a crisis were merely ‘magic power united and moved’ while magic was a law established with magic power to create a phenomenon.

“……!”

Asuka’s two feet sank deep into the ground and were stuck. The sight of her slim body being sucked into the ground was strange. It was as if she was in an antlion’s pit.

The connection between gravity and a sinkhole—it was a technique that made the increase in stats from the loss of health useless.

‘Look at him using his brain?’

Asuka laughed from the absurdity. Gravity weighed down on her body at the same time that the ground she was standing on disappeared. It caused restrictions on all types of actions. It was impossible to even perform an ‘action’ to take out items from her inventory.

This meant that Xenon had blocked all variables with a single move. This was even though he had overwhelming power. He was able to subdue her with force, but Xenon sought efficiency without showing off his strength. There was naturally a reason for it.

‘He doesn’t need to fight.’

Berserkers didn’t die easily. Somehow, they could hold on a few times. Xenon was wary of luck variables on those few occasions. She could take out some means to threaten himself.

‘Besides, the level of the weapons used is extraordinary.’

They weren’t ordinary, human-made objects. Xenon looked back at the weapons Asuka used and ignited a fire in the hole that swallowed Asuka. After a while, the ground of the area ran red and dark smoke rose. An explosion followed. There was a deep, earth-shaking rumble and a gray ray of light soared from the center of the explosion. It was a light that meant Asuka’s death.

Xenon immediately left the scene.

The second largest building in Reidan—no, thanks to the castle turning to ashes, it became the largest building and he had a view of the city from the roof of the alchemy facility. It was disastrous and silent. Most of the facilities that produced goods had collapsed and no survivors were seen. Even so, Xenon could feel numerous signs of life from the building he was stepping on.

‘In any case, I have already missed the vampires.’

Keeping a few more eyewitnesses alive wouldn’t change anything. Despite this, Xenon trampled on the roof. He broke the ceiling of the building and looked inside through the gap. Those who witnessed the huge pupil started screaming.

They were alchemists. They had been celebrating that they were starting to prove their worth after at least 10 years of just eating rice. The reason they ignored Garitsha’s evacuation order was due to lingering regret. They could never give up on this facility, which they had developed while eating rice. If they abandoned the facility like this and ran away, they would just return to being useless people.

“Be sure to protect Apostle Mercedes’ commission…!” the chief shouted. In particular, a coating agent with an excellent waterproof function—Mercedes had requested a few months ago for a thin and transparent film that wouldn’t be noticeable even when overlaid over a painting.

The six apostles—one of the beings who was considered as the greatest after His Majesty the Emperor personally came to them. How could they fail her request? The chief wanted to complete the quest, regardless of dragons or whatever. He didn’t want things to go wrong because of this bastard who was nothing but a monster.

Xenon read the enmity in this human’s eyes and was flustered.

‘The activities of humans have been too good for too long.’

How come every person he met didn’t seem to be very afraid of dragons?

Flames rose under Xenon’s feet. This facility had made a great contribution to the development of human civilization. They would keep stretching out while he was asleep, so he needed to obliterate it in advance…

[Your blood can’t wet me.]

Xenon, who was trying to make the flames flow through the gap in the roof, suddenly opened his mouth.

They were Dragon Words. The words that became real with strength. The waterfall of blood couldn’t reach Xenon’s flesh and scattered everywhere. Still, it didn’t disappear. It divided into millions or tens of millions of drops, but maintained its strength as it flew in the direction it came from. A strong bloody smell filled the area.

[I can’t smell the blood.]

Xenon used Dragon Words again. He felt pain from the middle of his forehead. The continuous development of Dragon Words was causing various problems. However, Xenon had to endure it.

“You have just become an adult.”

The Blood Queen—the sight of the white face smiling between the dark magic power and red blood flowing was so chilling that it made Xenon’s dragon heart sink. The most beautiful duality in the world with the most sinister smile. It was seductive so Xenon had to use Dragon Words again.

[I’m not fascinated.]

Was he finally breathing properly? Xenon’s chest swelled up and he let out a long breath.

[The life you have lived is much shorter than mine to call me a child.]

Xenon held onto the end of his words and stretched it out. He wanted Marie Rose to not focus on the current ‘situation.’ After leading the conversation and disrupting the topic, he planned to take the opportunity to break away. It was just that Marie Rose wasn’t stupid.

On average, it was once every few decades. She woke up for only a few minutes every time, so she knew the value of her time.

“The power to determine my kin.”

The last child Beriache gave birth to—even so, she was pointed out as a successor and beat all her siblings.

“You said that ‘my’ blood can’t wet you.”

The shadow of the city fluctuated greatly. To be precise, it was a scene where all the blood all over the city shot up.

“What about the blood shed by my people?”

[……!]

Xenon’s eyes widened and he eventually shot a Breath. It was to prevent the flood of blood that was like a tsunami and to create a chance to escape. The collision of the powerful forces caused an unstoppable wave.

Just as Marie Rose woke up after hearing the fuss from below Reidan’s desert, the dragons all over the continent slowly opened their eyes while the tower members noticed the change.