Chapter 574: 574

V53C9P1 – Hero rescuing the world

“K-hmm . ”

Weed was preoccupied at the corner of the dungeon .

“Van Hawk . What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Forget it . My fault for asking a skeleton like you . You’re an empty skull head . ”

“… . . ”

Weed tried to organize his thoughts while sewing the artisan’s rainbow silk, but it did not go howhe wanted .

“Torido . How about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Nevermind . I cannot trust the decisions of a vampire like you . What else would you ever think about anyway, other than sucking blood?”

“… . . ”

Van Hawk and Torido .

They were the undead unfortunate enough to be continually scolded by Weed .

“Sigh . How should I go about this?”

Weed crafted armor with blacksmith materials sewed new clothes in order to gather his thoughts . Despite his efforts, his concerns were not resolved so easily .

“Castle Evaluk…”

He had been hunting excitedly due to the recent increase of monsters, but now there was only a day left until Kaybern’s attack on castle Evaluk .

“Realistically, there is no way to stop him . ”

He could not round up an estimate of Kaybern with just having gone through one short instance of battle .

The castle was under the attention of countless users .

If Weed were to wait bravely at the castle and face Kaybern, that would be a perfectly meaningless death!

“If the Hermes guild helps out, and the users of the entire Versailles continent were to unite… Even then, the chances are slim . Quest log . ”

< The True warrior .

There are countless achievements that you have attained thus far .

You have defeated the immortal legion and travelled from one end of the world to the other .

You travelled back to the past of the Versailles continent, defeated the Ambinu cult and reached the pinnacle of the arcane sculptural technique .

You are the most famous throughout the continent and succeeded in the most dangerous commissions .

From the city’s drunk to the young ones living in mountain villages, there isn’t a single person that does not know of you as the sculptor, adventurer and warrior Weed .

Poets created lyrics out of your adventures and sing them in the streets .

Now, the dark dragon Kaybern swears its ruthless vengeance and plunged the continent into danger .

This is the time for you to step up .

To save the continent, defeat the dark dragon .

First, you must gather information .

Before you valiantly draw your sword, you must get a deeper understanding of the dark dragon Kaybern .

Difficulty : S

Reward : Leads into the decision of the warrior .

Quest requirement : Hero rescuing the world

Highest adventure honor . >

“The only hope I have is this quest . ”

He had received the quest from Kaybern’s rise while Weed was active as an adventurer and warrior . As the emperor of the Arpen empire he must stop Kaybern, but he was feeling the pressure even before it even began .

“If I proceed with this quest, I will have to confront Kaybern in the end… . ”

Weed had pushed himself through many impractical quests, but each had its kindling of hope . He somehow desperately stopped the immortal legion and the Ambinu cult, but hardships just kept coming .

“Anyhow, I should take a look from castle Evaluk given the situation . ”

He hadn’t a hint of thought of placing himself in any serious danger .

“Yellowy . ”

“Mooooooo . ”

Yellowy rolled its innocent eyes and stared at him .

It grew consistently as the carrier following Weed around the hunting grounds . It became abnormally stronger and became bulkier in equal proportion .

“You stay here . I have a feeling Kaybern is going to make a meal out of you . ”

“Thanks . Moooo . ”

“Knight Serville . You rest too . ”

“I understand, Master . ”

He gave the human form sculptural creatures and also Yellowy some rest .

The non-human ones like Goldman and crocodile Nile were chosen to tag along .

“Van Hawk, Torido . ”

They were subordinates that followed him anywhere .

“Why do you call us? Master . ”

“I am here . ”

Weed spread his voice with authority .

“You guys have always been loyal . Come with me . ”

***

Castle Evaluk of Kalamor .

“Everyone gather your things and leave! There is no time!”

Lord Dain was evacuating the citizens and users .

Many lords were appointed in the Arpen empire, but castle Evaluk was one that was scheduled to be invaded by Kaybern .

Not one desired to be lord of castle Evaluk, and Dain surrendered by quitting the Hermes guild and maintained her lord position .

She broke away from the Hermes guild without any regrets after witnessing Lapei causing this entire incident with Kaybern .

“Take whatever you can carry . If there is no ownership, whoever is closest is the owner . ”

“Can I take the things inside the castle?”

“Yeah . Of course! You can take them all . ”

Dain chose evacuation over confrontation .

As she mindlessly scrambled around in the streets for the citizens, knight users approached her on their horses .

“Though we lack in skill, we would like to help . As users from Kalamor, we cannot overlook this situation . ”

“We do not need fighters . ”

Dain was popular because she was exemplary even under the Haven empire Age . Along with the rumors of her being Weed’s comrade, people that criticized her past were rare .

“It is ridiculous to go against Kaybern . Choose life over a meaningless death . ”

“Are you going to let this castle and city go to waste?”

Castle Evaluk had taken many stages of development and flourished more than the capital of the Kalamor region .

Dain directly overlooked the castle and had an attachment for every building, but she wasn’t about to obsess over them foolishly .

“What’s not meant to be cannot be . Just because the city is destroyed, it does not mean that their lives end here . The continent is spacious, and they could return in the future and repair it . ”

“But, what if it gets destroyed again by Kaybern?”

“We still have to live on . I learned to not give up until the very end . Life is precious like a gem which is why I do not want senseless sacrifice . ”

Dain’s speech and actions were covered live through the broadcast and left a deep impression on the viewers .

Her honor as the lord of castle Evaluk was renowned, but this broadcast worldwide displayed her true worth of character .

– Castle Evaluk is nowhere near the level of castle Aren, but for her to give it up it takes great courage .
– It seems to be a difficult decision . Wouldn’t she be regretful?
– She isn’t going to make a rash decision . She is wise .
– Giving away everything in the castle is quite impressive .
– Lord Dain was very popular among the users to begin with . Even when she was associated under the Hermes guild .

Even the broadcast hosts praised her as a wonderful individual .

“Everyone, escape . Quickly!”

Dain rushed the evacuation in person and led all the soldiers, users and civilians .

Vault doors with war supplies and food were wide open, and she had contacted several major merchant associations in advance .

“Please lend me your horses and wagons . The northern bulls will be even better as they carry can carry more . ”

“Who is going to fund this loan?”

“There is no money . Instead, take all the items without ownership in the lord castle . Take as much as you want before Kaybern gets here . ”

The merchants pounded away at their calculators and deemed that this was a profitable transaction .

Castle Evaluk was prosperous ever since the pioneer days of Royal Road .

Countless artwork and jewelry decorated the city and thus, there were many items to collect .

“Alright . The deal is good . ”

A golden opportunity for the merchants .

Even for the novice merchants that just started, this was the chance to collect loot worth thousands of gold .

Users from regions near Kalamor all swarmed in and loaded hefty in their bags and wagons .

In a few days, the picturesque castle Evaluk was uncovered entirely, leaving just the structural frames .

Marble stones and rare lumber were ripped away, as well as steel joint frames were all taken out .

“I’m a bit sad for these buildings…”

“Better than being destroyed by Kaybern . Let’s uproot the whole thing . ”

The stone landmarks that were the basis of the city’s scenery were disassembled and loaded onto wagons as expensive construction materials .

“Hurry . Come!”

Dain and the volunteering users were assisting the migration .

All the doors of castle Evaluk were open, allowing the users to leave the castle freely .

***

“Hmm . She made a wise decision . ”

Weed stared down at castle Evaluk from a mountain afar .

5 sculptural creatures followed Weed, some of them being Goldman, Bahamorg and the high elf Eltin .

“Shouldn’t we get closer? Growl . ”

“It’s fine . This is just the right distance . ”

“We won’t be able to get a clear view of the dragon from here . ”

“That is what I aimed for . He shouldn’t not even spot us . ”

Weed used the sculptural transformation technique and turned into a short-legged dwarf .

‘Kaybern’s rage is directed at humans . He didnt touch the dwarves near his lair so it will be safe this way . ’

Kaybern would not kill him as long as he stays in dwarf form and does not get on his nerves .

That was the reason why he brought the non-human sculptural creatures .

Though he couldn’t bring Yellowy because he was a tasty beef regardless of race .

“I need to gather as much information on Kaybern as possible . ”

Bahamorg who overheard Weed talking to himself spoke in sincerity .

“Such courage… Is he trying hunt down the dragon?”

“No . Wouldn’t you need to know about your enemy so you can avoid them?”

He had an S rank quest at his disposal, but he was up against a dragon this time . He couldn’t rely his back solely on the quest .

‘Even if I proceed with this quest… I need to figure out how much of a force I need to muster to fight . It’s too much to fight alone and I need to mobilize a large number of users . If it fails, the damage will be severe . ’

He cannot afford to risk everything on a battle with no chance of winning .

He needed to assess if he had the odds, even if it meant pulling up a few tricks .

‘He despises humans and uses dark magic at free will . I’d say magic won’t work with him, but does he really have no weakness?’

He planned to assess everything from the very beginning .

If he were to observe Kaybern’s battle more closely, he would be able to grasp his exact abilities .

Weed waited as he sewed, and when it came to daytime, Kaybern flew towards castle Evaluk .

– Humans . Disappear without a trace!

Kaybern’s first greeting was a breath spewed from afar!

Refined corrosive breath struck castle Evaluk .

The castle gates that were barely hanging melted away instantly, and the central walls crumbled with a loud bang .

Kaybern’s breath seeped into the towns, corrupted the buildings and erected fire .

Castle Evaluk was now on high flames!

– Perish!

Kaybern raised fire magic against the castle and the city .

Users that failed to flee in time trying to fulfill their greed for fortune died out .

Dain who stayed behind wishing to share the same fate as the lord of castle Evaluk also lost her life .

– Kuuraahhh!

Kaybern flew across the sky and continued pouring magic spells on castle Evaluk .

He desired to wipe out everything so that one would not be able to make anything out of the remains .

Weed hid between a tree and a rock, watching the entire scene .

“Hmm . Extremely aggressive . He looks to be blinded by rage…”

“Is rage its weakness? Growl?”

“That is bad news . When weak fools are overwhelmed by rage, they reveal openings . However, strong guys become even more powerful . ”

Users that were in proximity of castle Evaluk also lost their lives to the raining fire from the sky . The broadcast stations were conducting live coverage, and posts were rapidly being uploaded on online discussion boards of Royal Road .

– Kaybern is completely crushing the city .
– He had his way with castle Aren just like that . So it can never be revisited . It was pleasant to watch back then, but for the hope of Kalamor to be ruined like that .
– Ah… I bought a house and farm in castle Evaluk . I planted melons and blueberries and I was just waiting for the harvest . Sad .

Castle Evaluk .

Users with an affection for the Versailles continent all observed pitifully .

(To be continued…)