NOVEL NEXT Chapter 113: Hero King (1)
Kim Hyunwoo, who successfully blocked the soldiers of Landaron, was able to arrive in Lartania after about five days.
“Hoo…”
Kim Hyunwoo comes straight to the office upon arriving in Lartania and sighs.
Kim Hyunwoo, who had essentially finished his work and was returning from Tesnoka territory, felt lighter rather than burdened, but to be honest, he felt quite uncomfortable over the past five days.
No, more precisely, it was not physical discomfort but mental discomfort he felt.
Right away, during the five days returning, he had heard enough from Elena and Shadra about how cunning Rania, the Lord of Tesnoka, was.
By arriving in Lartania, Kim Hyunwoo, who could escape from their admonitions of never going to her alone, was sighing in relief around this time.
“My Lord.”
As soon as he crossed the walls of Lartania, a trainee knight approached him as if waiting and began to speak, to which Kim Hyunwoo nodded and replied, then he said,
“It seems that the leader of Tienus Merchant Group wishes to see you, My Lord. What should we do?”“The Tienus Merchant Group?”
“Yes. It seems they arrived three days ago and have been waiting to meet you.”
Kim Hyunwoo pondered for a moment upon the trainee knight’s words.
‘I’m a bit tired now.’
Tired from the journey taking more than five days to Lartania, but considering their good relationship and the fact that the head of the Merchant Group had already waited for three days, Kim Hyunwoo nodded as if to say he understood.
“Tell the head of the Merchant Group that they can come to see me right now.”
“Yes, understood.”
After responding, the trainee knight turned to leave immediately, and Kim Hyunwoo then headed towards the Lord’s castle.
A little time passed after that.
“How are you, My Lord?”
“It’s been a while.”
Kim Hyunwoo saw Adria greeting him lightly.
And then.
“…So, who is this person next to you?”
“Hello? I’m Shadra, Master of the Blue Tower.”
She was also able to greet Shadra.
During the meeting with Adria, Shadra’s interruption briefly cast an odd atmosphere over the room, but soon, Kim Hyunwoo could hear why she had come.
“Twenty Skeleton scrolls?”
“Yes. In fact, there aren’t many necromancers, and even fewer can make scrolls, so I thought it would be hard to find, but somehow I managed to procure them.”
“That’s indeed good news.”
Upon hearing this, Kim Hyunwoo found himself blurting out such a response without realizing it.
This was because, despite being a recent development, the Magnifying Glasses produced nearly ten thousand a day had finally begun to sell out.
This meant that due to the influx of new mercenaries, the demand had increased, and the existing supply couldn’t catch up as before, which allowed Kim Hyunwoo to speak with a smile.
Not long after promising to buy all the scrolls Adria had brought, they were having a light conversation.
“Ah, speaking of which, I have a gift for you.”
“A gift?”
At Adria’s words, Kim Hyunwoo looked puzzled, but she smiled, took a scroll out from her bosom, and handed it to him.
“…What’s this?”
Kim Hyunwoo, looking puzzled as he received the scroll.
Adria smiled and said,
“It’s a Teleportation scroll.”
“…A Teleportation scroll?”
“Yes, I heard about the recent demon invasion. If you ever find yourself in danger, you can use that scroll to escape from a critical situation.”
“…Isn’t this expensive?”
At Adria’s words, Kim Hyunwoo couldn’t help but ask such a question.
This was because, while he wasn’t sure about other fantasy novels or games, in the world of Arteil at least, Teleportation scrolls were outrageously priced.
However, in response to Kim Hyunwoo’s question, Adria gave a slight smile and said,
“I’d appreciate it if you accepted it as a token of my feelings. I always gain a lot from our transactions, so I’m quite good at negotiating myself.”
“Even so, this is…”
“Don’t worry. I have someone I know, so I didn’t have to spend that much gold on it.”
“Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”
After seeing Kim Hyunwoo bow his head in deep gratitude, Adria let out a satisfied laugh, and it wasn’t long before they resumed their conversation.
“Then, I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Ah, understood.”
After Adria bowed her head and finished speaking, she left, and Kim Hyunwoo let out a satisfied sigh.
“…?”
Suddenly, he remembered Shadra’s presence and felt puzzled.
This was because Shadra always liked to interject and join conversations with anyone.
However, during the conversation with Adria, except for when she introduced herself, Shadra had remained silent from beginning to end, which made Kim Hyunwoo turn his gaze with a puzzled look.
“…?”
Soon, he saw.
Instead of her usual innocent expression, Shadra was sweating profusely with a face filled with terror.
And then,
“What, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Upon seeing Shadra’s sudden change, Kim Hyunwoo, with a puzzled look, opened his mouth, and she turned her neck towards him, creaking like a broken doll,
“Ah, Dad…”
“Why?”
“That, that person – a dragon?”
She blurted out.
“Dragon…?”
To Kim Hyunwoo’s bewildered question,
“I-I don’t like that person…”
Shadra, trembling, clung to Kim Hyunwoo.
And just as Kim Hyunwoo began to care for Shadra’s suddenly broken mental state, outside,
Adria was sitting in the office chair, letting out a genuine sigh, appearing exhausted.
“…Sigh-”
Adria sighed as if exhausted.
Despite having talked to Kim Hyunwoo for just around 20 minutes, the reason for her excessive tiredness was indeed because of the Crimson Dragon.
No, to be more precise, it wasn’t because of the dragon, but because of Shadra, the Master of the Blue Tower, who was beside Kim Hyunwoo.
Right away, as if intending to provoke her while she was talking with Kim Hyunwoo, Shadra tried to hug him from behind.
Of course, Adria wasn’t mentally shaken by just that.
However, the Crimson Dragon, witnessing the situation along with Adria, as soon as Shadra took that action,
[ImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillherImgoingtokillher-!!!]
Truly, it began to curse Shadra with all the murderous intent it could muster.
The Master of the Blue Tower, with enough magical talent to hold a position in the Mage Tower, eventually noticed the Dragon’s curse.
Because of this, Adria had to converse with Kim Hyunwoo, who noticed nothing, while witnessing Shadra trembling in real-time under the Dragon’s curse for about 15 minutes.
“Ah, that was tough.”
Therefore, Adria sighed, her body drained of strength, but soon thought,
“…At least I’ve delivered everything I needed to.”
Adria recalled the Teleportation scroll she had handed over.
The scroll, made even by deceiving the Crimson Dragon that created it, contained coordinates ensuring her guardian’s absolute victory should Kim Hyunwoo fall into peril.
…No, in fact, it was a scroll that would activate after a certain time, regardless of danger.
‘I should have told the Dragon by now.’
Adria’s original plan was to do this first and then tell the Dragon.
She judged this to be the only way the dragon, unable to roam outside and possessing a rather grim personality, could win in this battle.
…Furthermore, she concluded this was the only way to protect one’s mind from being influenced.
However,
[I’m going to kill, that magician- I’lllllllkillher…]
Her guardian was continuously mumbling dark curses.
“…I hope it turns out well.”
Adria sighed deeply, like a middle manager, mumbling almost without realizing it.
At the peak of the demon world,
under a purple sky, facing the grotesque corpses of demons, the First Legion Commander, the Hero King, was looking at the site filled with demon corpses.
No – more precisely, because of the Fifth Legion Commander, Noxius, who was climbing up towards the peak.
Certainly, a Legion Commander, who not only should not be touched by anyone in the demon world but also should be bowed to, appeared to be in a dire state physically.
His arms and legs were gone, vanished to who knows where, and there was a huge hole in his abdomen.
“Cough-!”
Noxius, coughing up blood.
“…Just a mere elf…!”
Looking at her with dull eyes, unemotionally, Noxius spat out a curse filled with anger, but she,
“Please go back. I do not wish to kill anyone.”
Ignoring Noxius’s words as if they never mattered, she turned around and sat down at the peak.
“Ha- Just because you’re at the peak doesn’t mean your high-and-mighty master in the higher dimension can find you-”
Noxius, seemingly irritated by the Hero King, clenched his teeth and was about to speak with a scoffing expression,
The next moment.
Noxius had to stop talking.
The Hero King, who had been so impassive a moment ago, with her back to him, was now holding Noxius by the throat.
“No more, no talking.”
Into the pitch-black walls.
“Before I tear you limb from limb, demon or not.”
Numbly, she muttered.