Chapter 369 – Night Has Arrived (2)

Cale was also looking at the woman in front of him.

Peek.
The woman slightly turned her head and made eye contact with Cale.

"This is my polymorphed form when I was an adult Dragon."

Her unique demeanor caught more attention than Eruhaben's beautiful appearance.

Dragon Lord.

The one that is known as the strongest of the Dragons. That was why it was easy to expect class and dignity from her.
However, she seemed more mischievous than anything. She looked more like a villain.

"What is it? Do I not look very strong?"

Lord Sheritt laughed as she looked toward Raon in Cale's arms. Raon flinched but still looked right back at her.
Sheritt warmly looked at her weak child before starting to speak.

"That's right. I am weak. I am a weak Dragon."

Raon flinched and his body started to shake after hearing her say that she was weak. However, Sheritt leisurely continued to speak.

"I always lost to other Dragons whenever I sparred with them only using our attributes and no magic. I've never won even once. Well, I lost pretty much every spar even using magic when I was younger."

Raon looked confused.
The strongest Dragon became the Lord. The Lord needed enough strength and magic abilities for the other Dragons to acknowledge them as Lord.

But she was weak? She always lost when she sparred?

Raon was confused, but could only move his mouth around as he could not ask.
It was at that moment.

Ooooooooong-
Oo- Oooooong-

He could hear the ground shaking.
Cale moved slightly to the side of the shield. He could see what was going on once again.

"Shit!"

Mercenary King Bud Illis let out a gasp.
The Cats then started to speak.

"He must have been nearby. He's here faster than I expected."
"I know, right? Hurry over! There's a lot of fun things here!"

Oo- Oooooong-

Once the ground stopped shaking…
Cale could see a bright light as the air fluctuated.

Tap. Tap. Tap.
There were people landing on the ground full of white pebbles.
A person wearing a mage's robe was in the front with a group of people wearing Arm's battle uniforms behind them.

"One mage and more Cats."

Eruhaben started to frown.
There were around thirty Cats.

"…Noona."

Cale lowered his head after hearing a voice under him.
He could see Hong still shaking behind On. His ears and tails were all lowered and his body was curled up.

"Grrrrrr."

On was still growling.

"Chief!"

Cale's gaze moved at that moment.
The three Cats who were here were calling one of the new Cats the chief.

He could see someone with silver hair like On. The Cat who called out to the Chief approached him and started to speak.

"Chief, those mutants are here! Those trash that ran away in the past!"

The man who seemed to be in his mid-thirties looked toward Cale, no, toward On who was growling with half of her body covered by the shield.

On and Hong were said to be part of the Chief's bloodline.
Did that mean that this Chief was related to On and Hong?

As Cale's mind started to quickly move…

"I thought you were dead, but I guess you are still alive."

He heard the Chief's cold voice. The mage next to the Chief started to speak as well.

"They are the last of that bloodline, so they must have been persistent. But I didn't know they were on Cale Henituse's side. Is that why we didn't find them?"

The Chief took a dagger out of his robe as he continued to speak.

"That dirty blood needs to disappear from the world."

On could see the cold eyes of the man as she looked out from behind the shield.
On's front paws on the ground started to shake.
However, On just tensed up even more.

"…Noona."

It was because she heard her younger brother's voice.

Hong was strong, but he was weak.
It was at that moment.

"What crazy nonsense are they talking about?"

On felt someone pick her up at the same time. Hong felt someone lift him up as well.

On turned her head.
She could see Cale looking down at her with a stoic expression. She could also see Raon, who was now hanging on Cale's back looking at her.

"On."

She heard a stoic voice.

"Your family-"

On shouted before Cale could even finish.

"No! They are not my family!"

She sounded both shocked and angry.
The Chief responded as well.

"Correct. We can't call those impurities a part of our Fog Cat Tribe."

On started to frown.
It was at that moment.

"Does that bastard think he can say whatever the fuck he wants?"

On flinched.

She turned her head back toward Cale. Cale was definitely the one who just said that, and his voice was extremely cold.

However, his face was as stoic as usual.
He didn't look like a person who had just said something like that.

"Hey, you."

However, Cale was definitely the one who had just said that.
The Chief looked toward Cale with an odd smile on his face. He could clearly see Cale, who was standing half a step away from the shield.

The Chief looked around as well.
As Cale started to frown after seeing the Chief looking around…

Oooooooong- ooooooong-

The ground started to shake again.

Paat, paaat!

Two or three Cats appeared each time the ground shook.
There were close to fifty Cats here now.

The Chief heard the mage's voice in his mind as he stealthily motioned to the other Cats with his eyes.

– Looks like that is all of the enemies. We will surround the castle walls.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaa-

A gust of wind blew by.
The approximately fifty Cats all dispersed at once.

Tap. Tap.

They lightly kicked off the ground and moved to surround the castle walls.

"Shit! Cale, it looks like we need to leave as well!"

Eruhaben urgently shouted after seeing the Cats move and Choi Han looked ready to run out at any moment. It was the same with the Molan duo.

Mercenary King Bud Illis started to frown as he shouted.

"Crazy! Magic bombs?!"

The approximately fifty Cats all had magic bombs in their hands. The one leading them was the mage who was with the Cats.

It was expected that everyone would look worried.

Thirty people at once.
This mage had teleported that many people at once.

"…He's human."

Eruhaben scrunched his eyebrows after seeing this mage who was a highest-grade mage, no, slightly stronger than a highest-grade mage.

'This is getting complicated.'

This mage was stronger than Rosalyn and probably would be as strong as Mary if he was a necromancer. Having such a mage as an enemy was a big headache.

In addition, the White Star was not even here yet.

The mage made eye contact with Eruhaben at that moment.
The mage started to smile as he asked.

"What is it? Are human mages not allowed to use magic at the level of Dragons? You Dragons really are arrogant."

The smile quickly disappeared from the mages face and his mana started to gather.

Ooooooong-

The bombs in the Cats' hands started to rumble as if they were responding to the mana. The Chief started to speak at that moment.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

He was still looking at Cale. The Chief looked relaxed and indifferent.
He continued to speak to Cale.

"You called out to me so say something."

Cale quickly responded back.

"You."
"Yes. What is it you wish to say?"

The Chief motioned with his chin as if he was saying hurry up and speak. He could hear Cale's voice.

"Shut your dirty trap. You're too loud."

Silence suddenly filled the area.
Cale didn't care as he continued to lean on one foot and frown.

"Trash? Dirty? I may be trash, but even I don't say things like that to children. You're the real trash. Are you out of your mind?"

On and Hong blankly looked up at Cale.

"He's right. Our human is very right."

They could also hear Raon quietly mumbling.
Lord Sheritt was looking at Cale with an odd expression. Cale was just annoyed while the others were moving to deal with the magic bombs.

"Hahahaha."

Sheritt started to laugh.
She could see the corners of her child's lips twitching as he looked at Cale. That made her think of an old memory.

The Chief nodded his head and responded back.

"Sure. I understand."

'Hmm?'

Cale looked at the Chief who was nodding his head as if he was an oddball.

'Is he a lunatic too?'

However, Cale could see why the Chief said that.
The reason Cale, Eruhaben, and the others could not relax started to appear again.

Ooooooong- Oooooong-

The ground started to shake.
It was much stronger than last time. Then a light started to appear.

Oooooooong-

The light started to get bigger.
Cale could feel it as soon as he saw the light.

'That bastard is here.'

"It's the White Star."

The ancient Dragon said that as he started to float up.
White gold mana started to surround him.

Paaaat!

Approximately 100 people appeared once the light flashed.

'…The White Star.'

Choi Han clenched the handle of his sword.
His shining black aura started to grow on his sword.

Choi Han could see the White Star walking through the light.
He seemed like the main character of this scene with approximately 100 people behind him.

"…Shit."

The Mercenary King started to frown.
He could see Arm members behind the White Star. There were Bears and Lions as well.

As expected, the White Star brought strong individuals with him and did not come alone.

'Is he trying to end everything today?'

The Mercenary King realized that the White Star was not planning on making today's battle a small one.

"There are many familiar faces."

The White Star had a fatigued expression as he confidently walked out of the light.
Cale and the White Star made eye contact with each other. They quietly observed each other.

However, the silence was quickly broken.

"Throw them."

The ground started to shake once the White Star gave the short order.
A large wave surrounded the white castle.

It was blue.

The blue mana belonging to the mage standing by the Cats came toward the white castle like a wave.
The approximately fifty Cats shot up into the air.
The Chief started to shout.

"Move as close to the castle wall as possible!"

Loud shouts shook the ground that was covered in white pebbles as well.

"Rooooooooooar! Get revenge for our tribe!"
"Roooooooooooooooar!"

The approximately twenty Bears turned berserk. The mane-like hair of the Lions fluttered in the wind as they kicked off the ground behind them.
They were all charging toward the castle walls without fear.

"Step back!"

Eruhaben shouted toward the group on the ground.

"They know! They know that these castle walls will not break from getting hit by magic bombs!"

That was why the enemy was coordinating their attack for after the magic bombs explode.
Eruhaben got goosebumps on his back at that moment.

Rumble- Rumble-

He heard an ominous sound.

He heard what sounded like thunder coming from the sky that was covered in white fog so that they could not see the sun or the moon.
Eruhaben's frown became even worse. He shouted someone's name.

"…White Star!"

The thunderbolts that had struck down on the Empire's capital.
It was a portion of the White Star's sky power.

Eruhaben was not confident in overcoming this power. No, even if he managed to block them with Raon and Sheritt's help, they would be too tired afterward to be able to fend off the enemies.

Magic bombs.
The White Star's thunderbolts.
Then the attack by the Bears, Lions, Cats, the mage, and the other Arm members.
The White Star was also still alive.

Eruhaben wanted to laugh in disbelief the more he thought about it.

It could not be helped.
The White Star seemed to have been waiting for this moment in order to wipe them out at once.

There was someone who was having the same thoughts as Eruhaben at that moment.
Cale turned away from the magic bombs in the Cats' hands and looked toward the White Star.

"Were you waiting for this?"

The White Star started to smile.

"Isn't it obvious?"

He pointed to Cale.

"I noticed something when I fought against you last time."

The Mogoru Empire.
The White Star realized something while fighting against Cale at the Alchemists' Bell Tower.

"The crown in your possession. Did you think that I didn't know that you had it? You know I am its owner, right?"

The White Star started to smile brightly.

"That is why I knew you would come here at some point. The crown would guide you."

His gaze went toward Raon and the Mercenary King before looking back at Cale.
"Of course, I didn't expect you to bring two wonderful gifts for me."

His gaze then stopped at Sheritt who was holding the large shield.

"I also didn't expect to see that illusion, that fake."

The White Star raised his hand.

"No more going easy. This is the end."

Snap!

He snapped his fingers.
That was the signal to start.

"Go!"

The mage shouted and the Cats threw the approximately 50 magic bombs into the air.
All of them were highest-grade magic bombs.

Oooooong- oooooong-

They got caught in the mage's wave-like blue mana and slowly headed toward the castle wall.
Cale's group did not need to question why they were delivering the bombs slowly.

The White Star's subordinates quickly started to move.
The close to 150 enemies got into formation before the bombs could explode.

The Cats started to take daggers out of their chest pockets.
The Chief quietly gave the order.

"Spread the fog."

Shaaaaaaa-

Fog started to spread throughout the area.
They then slowly started to disappear into the fog.

Choi Han faced forward.
A thick fog surrounded the outside of the castle walls as the bombs flew toward the castle.
The fog started to hide the Lions, Bears, and the rest of Arm along with the Cats.
They would all soon disappear into the fog.

However, Choi Han could not charge toward them.
He didn't know when the bombs would go off and the White Star's thunderbolts would strike.

He couldn't easily move because he needed to protect everyone here.
Choi Han heard Ron speaking with urgency for the first time.

"The weak, we must protect the weak! The Cats kill the weak first! That is their strategy."

The Cat tribe was known for its supreme stealth techniques.
They would try to kill the weakest members or those who make any mistakes while Cale's group fights against the Lions, Bears, the mage and the rest of the White Star's strong subordinates.

That frustrated Choi Han who wanted to protect everyone.
He couldn't even imagine how burdensome this battle would be.

But surviving inside the castle?

'…How long can we last in there?
Should we run away?
…Then what about Raon's mom?'

Choi Han's mind was turning into a complicated mess.
It was at that moment.

"You."

He heard a relaxed voice.
Choi Han turned his head. He could see the Dragon Lord looking at Cale.
Sheritt was the one who spoke.

She calmly asked even though the bombs would soon hit the castle.

"You have a shield power, right?"

Cale flinched and nodded his head.
He flinched because he had just made up his mind to use the Indestructible Shield.

However, he didn't have a chance to do it.

"Take a look."

The shield in the ground was lifted by the Lord.

"Dragons are the most selfish, independent, and violent living creatures. However, I am a mutant. I am different from them."

Cale and Sheritt made eye contact.

"Why?"

She started to laugh as she added on.

"My attribute is protection."

Protection.
An attribute that protects something.

"That is not an attribute that someone who only thinks about themselves can have."

Sheritt's gaze headed past Cale's shoulder.

"My child."

Raon looked into Sheritt's eyes.

"Raon Miru."

Sheritt called out the child's name.

"Take a look."

Sheritt.
She knew that she was just an illusion.
Her task was to make sure the child was not lonely and to help the child's growth.

She was planning on teaching her young child one thing today.

"I only have the strength of a Dragon who has gone through their first growth phase, and I am much weaker than that Dragon Slayer bastard known as the White Star."

There was a simple reason that she was able to become the Dragon Lord.

"But I will show you how I became the strongest being."

She always lost against others.

"I am terribly weak when I am alone. Probably too weak to even be called a Dragon."

However, there were times when she became strong.

Protection.
When she needed to protect someone.

"However, I become strong when there is someone to protect."

Raon could see Sheritt smiling at him.

"I want you to remember that there are these kinds of powers as well."

The moment she finished saying that…
The mage shouted out.

"Explode!"

Cale twisted his body at the same time.

Oooooooong-

The ground continued to shake.
The air was rumbling as well.

He lifted his head up.

'A Shield.'

He could see a large white shield surrounding the white castle.

"…This!"

That shield even surrounded Eruhaben who was floating in the air.
A large shield covered up the whole white castle.
Someone was shooting from up above that shield.

Lord Sheritt.
She could not leave past the castle walls, however, the ground and even the sky within the castle walls were all parts of her territory.

Her white hair fluttered with the wind.
The shield in her hand slowly started to get bigger.

Then, the moment she made eye contact with the White Star…

"Mm!"

The White Star's eyes opened wide.

The shield that Sheritt threw was heading toward him.
She could not leave the castle, but her power could leave the castle.

The large shield flew forward, aiming for the White Star's neck.
The White Star made eye contact with Sheritt at that moment.
She smiled as she started to speak.

"The best way to protect your allies is to kill anyone who might become an enemy."

The shield almost instantly reached the White Star's neck.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

The magic bombs thrown toward the white castle exploded.
The shield flying toward the White Star's neck exploded.

The two explosions shook the white ground.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]