Episode 451
Chapter 129: The Majesty of Murakan
Rushing in from Biment were the Earth Dragons, Labus and Untiel, along with the mages allied with them.
From Ziphl came the Fire Dragon Theo, the Azure Dragon Laramacua, and their supporting mages.
Four dragons in total, accompanied by eight mages, stared wide-eyed at the spirit-infused sky and the shattered Black King’s Mountain Fortress, all fixated on Murakan.
Notably, all four dragons had witnessed Murakan in his prime.
The mages could feel the frantic pounding of their dragons’ hearts beneath them.
“The dragons… they’re scared!?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. Is it really okay?”
An intense tension filled the air.
With the dragons frozen stiff, the mages couldn’t help but mirror their unease.
It was already common knowledge, from incidents like the Sword Emperor’s Terror, that the twelve Rune Kandel Guardians’ dragons were incredibly powerful.
Back then, Murakan had single-handedly defended the skies.
Given the unprecedented actions of the twelve Guardians and Mu-Wi’s involvement, it was only natural for the mages to spin such assumptions.
“The twelve Rune Kandel Guardians attacked the Black King’s Mountain Fortress with their guardian dragons…”
“And they won!”
The mages swallowed hard in unison.
“We knew he was regaining his strength, but to already be capable of clearing the fortress alone?”
“The speed at which he’s reclaiming his old power is no joke. When we met a few years ago, he couldn’t even hold a candle to Quikantel.”
Labus and Untiel cleared their throats nervously, carefully watching Murakan.
“Hmm, hmm! So, so this is the friend of Solderet, the mighty ruler of Mount Murakan, the Black Dragon Murakan. I never expected to meet you here.”
“To see you here… how have you been, great Black Dragon?”
Labus and Untiel spoke with forced politeness.
They were dragons Jin had met during their trainee days.
“Those are the dragons we met the day we first saw Quikantel. They were all about saving face back then, too.”
Murakan met their gaze.
More precisely, only Murakan looked at Labus and Untiel; they dared not meet his eyes.
These two dragons had taken the brunt of Murakan’s wrath in his prime.
“Labus, Untiel. What brings you here?”
“We sensed unusual energy in the Bise Kingdom and came to investigate.”
“There seems to have been a big fight. If it’s alright, could you tell us the details… um!”
Before Untiel could finish, Murakan gave a powerful flap of his wings.
It was a gesture among dragons akin to pounding a fist on a table—an expression of displeasure.
“Pathetic Earth Dragons, do you dare demand that I report to you what happened here?”
“No, brother, that’s not it.”
“Murakan, it’s a misunderstanding! How could we ever make such a request? We just wanted, if possible, to hear your side of the story… Of course, if you don’t want to, that’s fine.”
Their tone shifted immediately, embarrassed but resigned. If Murakan had truly regained all his old power, no one in the world could stand in his way. At least, that was the Earth Dragons’ understanding.
Frankly, if that were the case, even if Murakan turned them into half-corpses and killed all the mages, the Empire would be the ones who’d have to tread carefully.
“Is that so? I’ve noticed lately that time has passed. The way my kin treat me is no longer as cautious as before, and this deeply unpleasant feeling only grows.”
Whoosh!
The spirit energy blanketing the sky thickened.
“And especially you two seem eager to die.”
Suddenly, spirit-energy spikes shot out from the blackened sky. Labus and Untiel panicked, shaking their heads frantically.
“Brother, it’s not like that! We’re sorry!”
“I think I made a mistake. Let’s calm down and talk!”
The dark spikes pierced through the protective shields the dragons hastily raised without effort.
The Earth Dragons couldn’t even react properly. Had Murakan wished, this strike alone could have been fatal.
But the real targets of the spirit spikes were not the Earth Dragons, but the Fire Dragon and Azure Dragon behind them.
Theo and Laramacua quickly descended and dodged the spikes with swift turns.
Yet they did not retaliate, clearly aware of how much worse things could get.
The reason for Murakan’s sudden fury was none other than Fire Dragon Theo.
Theo was kin to Kadun, the Fire Dragon of Keliak Ziphl, and was acquainted with Murakan.
Murakan and Kadun had never gotten along, and just before the Holy Nation incident, Kadun’s attack had nearly stripped Murakan of all his power.
Now, to Murakan, Fire Dragons were nothing but creatures he wanted to tear apart on sight.
“Theo, Fire Dragon. Didn’t your king warn you never to cross paths with me? And if, by misfortune, you do, to grit your teeth and flee as fast as you can?”
Spirit-energy spikes formed again, and Theo, Laramacua, and the Ziphl mages barely concealed their shock.
“Could that overwhelming energy sensed an hour ago really have been from that mad Black Dragon…?”
Of course, that was Theo’s mistake.
The force that shattered the Black King’s Mountain Fortress was not Murakan’s spirit energy, but Zephyrin’s magic.
However, since Zephyrin had left and exploded, leaving no trace, there was no reason to think otherwise.
“Fighting Murakan, who has regained any amount of his power and is this arrogant, is suicide.”
“I thought Valkas and Amela had settled things, but this is way beyond expectations. We need to retreat. Now!”
Like almost all dragons in the world, Theo and Laramacua feared Murakan in his prime.
Especially Theo, who had witnessed countless Fire and Red Dragons suffer because of Kadun, harbored deep terror.
“Answer me, Theo. And Laramacua. Depending on how reasonable and fitting your answers are, I will decide whether to annihilate you or merely cripple you. Your answers will also affect the fate of the Earth Dragons.”
“Brother? W-why us? We haven’t done anything wrong. Please don’t do this.”
“Yeah, we’ll back off right away!”
Murakan ignored the Earth Dragons’ desperate pleas and glared at Theo and Laramacua. The Earth Dragons flapped their wings helplessly.
All the dragons trembled. Their eyes were soaked with anxiety, and there was no trace of confidence anywhere.
“Wow, Murakan… I still can’t get used to this.”
To Jin, the image of Murakan scratching his thigh while reading an erotic book, completely obsessed with strawberry pie, shabby and somewhat pitiful, was far more familiar.
But when the thousand-year-old majesty surfaced, he looked like a completely different being.
Without even proving he had fully regained his old power, Murakan was freezing the dragons of Ziphl and the Empire in place.
Even if the Earth Dragons were uncertain, Fire Dragon Theo and Azure Dragon Laramacua were by no means low-ranking.
“Still, if they decide to resist, this could get complicated.”
In truth, Murakan was exhausted.
Jin, as the only one sharing spirit energy with him, was keenly aware of this.
Murakan had already used nearly all his strength in the battle against Zephyrin.
Yet Murakan’s confident scolding of the dragons was simply his nature.
Born over three thousand years ago, he had lived as the strongest being.
Whether he had regained all his old power, only forty percent, or none at all, Murakan couldn’t imagine acting any differently than he did in his prime.
Jin’s decision not to intervene, despite knowing Murakan’s fatigue, was for similar reasons.
He didn’t want to bruise Murakan’s pride unnecessarily. If the dragons attacked, Jin would fight alongside Murakan. Neither Ziphl nor the Empire had any legitimate claim in the Bise Kingdom anyway.
On the other hand, as a Rune Kandel, Jin had the justification of having just aided the Black King’s faction.
“Those who came here seem convinced we destroyed the Black King’s faction, not helped them.”
Amid the misunderstanding and mounting tension, the Black King’s faction remained silent.
Perhaps it was better to say they were unable to speak.
Most of their leaders and officers were severely injured or still rescuing members after Zephyrin’s recent explosion, and Valkas was unconscious.
They had to act with extreme caution. If they tried to clear up the misunderstanding, who knew what might happen.
Above all,
Before losing consciousness, Valkas had handed command over to Jin.
So until Jin stepped forward, they had to stay quiet.
After organizing his thoughts, Jin reached this conclusion:
“If the dragons of Ziphl and Biment simply retreat now, I can steer the situation to my advantage, one way or another.”
If the dragons of Ziphl and Biment were to simply retreat like this—
The reason the conclusion was burdened with such unnecessary formalities was that Jin still hadn’t fully grasped Murakan’s true stature among the dragons.
He had heard countless times how formidable his guardian dragon had been in the past, but that was a realm only those who had lived through a thousand years alongside him could truly comprehend.
In other words, the dragons of Ziphl didn’t even dare to consider standing against Murakan.
“…Murakan, I apologize for the unintended disrespect. My fire dragon Teo and I will withdraw immediately. Could you please temper your wrath just this once?” Laramacua spoke. Though his tone was calm, the words were so utterly servile that Jin was inwardly taken aback.
Of course.
Murakan had no intention of letting this slide so easily. If it had been any other dragon, perhaps, but the fact that the fire dragon himself had come only fueled his fury.
Just as Murakan was about to reply that he would maim them, Jin spoke first.
“I accept. The dragons of Ziphl and Biment shall return to their homelands swiftly—before my guardian dragon’s resolve changes.”
At those words, the dragons of Ziphl and Biment blinked in surprise and looked down at Jin. Murakan, meanwhile—
Immediately grasped Jin’s intent and regained his composure. He realized that failing to quell his anger here would only endanger his contractor.
The earth dragons continued to roll their eyes, while the fire and azure dragons locked eyes with Jin.
Finally, they had no choice but to respond.
“To the great… contractor of the Black Dragon, we thank you for clearing up this misunderstanding. Hopefully, next time we meet under better circumstances.”
Laramacua’s reply sounded like a veiled warning: “We’ll withdraw today, but we won’t forget this humiliation.” Jin simply smiled wryly.
“No need for thanks. Take care on your way, all of you.”