Dragon Maken War

Chapter 12 Dragon's Shadow (1).

Chapter 12 - Dragon's Shadow (1)

(TLN: I think I have to make a clarification. The author uses Yong-ma-juk and Young-ma-in. Youg-ma = Dragon Demon. Juk = tribe/race , In = being/human. I used Dragon Demon race and just shortened the second term to Dragon Demon. However, they are two different factions. Yong-ma-juk is the pure mix between Dragons and Demons. Yong-ma-in includes the pure mix who defected and the offspring of humans and the Dragon Demons.)

In a flash, the excavation site fell into pandemonium.

In the initial ambush, couple dozen lives were extinguished. They were in a defenseless state, so the continuous explosion of the powerful magic resulted in a lot of damage.

Also during the confusion, the monsters were able to completely mask their presence and now they were pouring out.

The trolls had a relatively high intellect, so they would lead ogres from the central cluster. The group included a large ogre-like humanoid species, Blood Wolves, Gray Bears and other beast-like creatures.

This caused mass confusion to unfold. The soldiers that were running back and forth couldn't properly deal with the monsters. Additionally, there were increased casualties when they were swept by the monsters.

Arrieta took action at this moment.

She blocked the monsters' path while holding a pure white blade with a curved hilt.

"I command you! Earth, rise up and sweep them away!"

Qwa-qwa-qwa-qwa-qwa!

The ground in front of her turned over, and the monsters in front of her was buried.

Arrieta jumped up on top of the wave of dirt. Then she shouted, while pointing her sword in the air.

"Rain of Stone, pour down!"

Within the wave of dirt, numerous stones flew out into the air and they fell like rain. It was sped up with Arrieta's magical energy, so it brutally pierced through the monsters' body.

Afterwards, Arieta spun her body as if she was dancing, and she swung her sword.

"Evil darkness, split!"

A pure white light emerged along the path of the sword. It split everything in front of it for 30 meters…

Poo-hwa-ah-ah-ah-ahk!

All the monsters simultaneously fell down, while spraying blood. After a delay, the trees fell, because it was also cut. (TLN: classic scene where blood sprays and after a second the tree slides down also)

The spirit of monsters, who had caused the chaos amongst the humans, was broken in a breath.

Arrieta shouted.

"Commanders! Organize the battle line!"

After hearing those words, the commanders put their mind in order, and they started to collect their troops. After seeing their response, Arrieta tried to use a large scale attack again. However, an aggregate of darkness flew towards her, while crawling. (TLN: guessing the outer skin was of the ball was rippling/crawling)

Qwa-qwa-qwa-qwa-qwa!

Arrieta swung her white sword to block it, and the darkness dissolved into pieces. The pieces resembled a myriad of leeches, and it started bubbling with smoke and foul stench when it touched its surrounding.

It was at that moment.

Jjak-jjak-jjak-jjak-jjak….. (TLN:clapping sound)

In the middle of the battle field, an incongruous sound of applause rang out.

Amidst the thick smoke produced by the explosion, a person came walking out. He wore a black robe, and beneath his hood, a veil of magical darkness was covering his face. The veiled person spoke.

"Indeed, you are the Dragon Demon Princess. You are so valiant that I am having a hard time believing that you are a girl. If someone told me, you had commanded in battle since birth then I would believe it."

"Who are you? I can see that you are a Dragon Demon."

"Yes. Although, I am a mutt compared to you."

The man elegantly bowed like a noble. On top of his hands, he had gems that looked like Dragon's eyes akin to Arrieta. The embedded Dragon Magic Stone had a murky green color to it.

Since he displayed his Dragon Magic Stone, it was evidence that he wasn't trying to hide the fact that he was a Dragon Demon. For a moment, Arrieta glanced at the man, who was emitting a powerful magical wave from his whole body, before she asked a question again.

"I'll ask again. Who are you?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot answer that."

"Then….."

Arrieta raised her eyes. At the same time, a translucent light wave spread with her at the center. Her silver hair started to flutter in the air.

"I will not ask any more."

She pointed her sword forward and shouted.

"Emanate, Rage of the Dragon!"

Puh-uh-uh-uh-ung!

The transparent blue power shot forward, while distorting the air.

She delivered a blow that couldn't be blocked. By the time the hooded man reacted, everything in front of him was pierced at a speed greater than light.

Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo-goo….!

Belatedly, the air within the path was sucked in, and a strong gale vigorously blew the dust into a thick cloud.

For a moment, there was silence on the battle field. One person was able to wield a destructive power that was comparable to a natural catastrophe. Both the humans and the monsters were all frightened.

Pul-luk…..!

The sound that broke the silence was the skirt of Arrieta's coat fluttering in the wind. She turned around with a stoic face.

However, it was at that moment.

"Princess, it hasn't ended yet!" (TLN: he said "Princess" in honorific but "it hasn't ended yet" was spoken in a casual way like how you speak to someone in equal standing)

The urgent shout made Arrieta pause in her steps. For a moment, she felt an odd sensation when she heard the warning. The warning was all messed up with the honorific. Right then a black sword burst up from the ground.

Che-eng!

It was an ambush that took her entirely by surprise, but it was stopped in front of Arrieta's body. However, it wasn't Arrieta, who had blocked the attack.

"That was close."

It was the blue eyed man with the roughly grown red hair and dirty beard. He had cut in with perfect timing, and he had blocked the ambush aimed at Arrieta.

"Azell Zestringer?"

Arrieta was so surprised that she spoke his name.

He was Azell.

Azell grinned and he looked at the princess before speaking.

"Princess, I'm sorry but….."

"Huh?"

"Could you clean this up for me? I don't have much strength, so it's hard for me to maintain this."

Azell's arms that was blocking the black blade was shaking. He had blocked the ambush, but he was having a hard time suppressing the surging power.

Arrieta grasped the situation, so she responded immediately.

"Earth, flip over!"

Ku-gwa-ah-ah-ah-ah!

The whole ground flipped over, and a large amount of earth and sand flew all over the place.

From inside, the man in black robe jumped out. It was the Dragon Demon, who had confronted Arrieta from before.

Arrieta wondered.

"He was able to dodge at that moment?"

"I'm also a Dragon Demon, so I do have some talent."

The man shrugged his shoulder. (TLN: it implies he shrugged his shoulder with pride)

Azell clicked his tongue.

"Aren't you embarrassed that you are boasting about a trick to an innocent princess?"

"What did you say?"

"You merely tricked our eyes with an illusion, then you dug yourself out of the ground. The technique that allows you do move freely underground is decent."

"……."

The man flinched at his words. He couldn't see the man's face, but Azell was able to sense that his opponent was agitated. Azell smiled broadly and he started goading.

"I don't know who or where you are from… It isn't good for you to boast, while trusting a cheap trick."

"You weak bastard is talking trash, because your perception is decent."

At the same moment he spoke, Azell hopped backwards. The surface of the ground was pierced by a black blade. Previously, the man used the same magic to create a blade, and he had ambushed Arrieta.

"You only know how to ambush?"

Azell snorted. He focused his mind, and his energy pulse vibrated.

Bu-dump! (TLN: Du-gun in korean)

His heart pulsated.

The vibration reached the ring of life and it resonated. The magical force that was circulating along his energy pulse started resonating with the ring of life, and it started amplifying. The vibration caused by the process started vibrating the blood vessels, and it was transferred into his muscles. This in turn amplified the energy more and it returned to the ring of life to pulse once.

This all happened within the time it took for the heart to beat once.

Before the 2nd pulse could happen, Azell had pulled his magical force up to his maximum output.

"Hup!"

Azell's body shot forth like an arrow.

His previous move was fast, but his movement right now was on a different level.

This was the Instantaneous Movement method that Arrieta had used earlier. In a moment, he accelerated faster than an arrow, and he appeared couple dozen meters in front. He proceeded to to kick the ground and jumped obliquely. Then he stepped on a branch, and flew into the sky.

The man ridiculed him after seeing this.

"Foolish!"

He knew Azell was a Spirit Order practitioner at one glance. Moreover, the amount of magical force he had was subpar. Currently, he was fast enough to catch him off-guard, but that was it. Once he jumped into the air, it was the same as begging him, a magician, to cook him.

That was what he thought.

Pu-ook.

"Uh….?"

He froze in place, because he was surprised. The moment he tried to attack Azell, who had jumped into the air, he felt something sharp stabbing him.

"What the heck….!"

His abdomen was pierced by a short knife. Did Arrieta move? He was taken aback, so he forgot about the situation he was in. He looked towards her, but even she had a surprised expression.

Then……

"Ha-ah-ah-ah!"

Azell's shout broke through his mental barrier, and a violent wave of negative energy exploded.

It was like a roar of a lion, which overwhelms herbivores. It wasn't a simple shout. Inside the shout, it contained negative energy which attacked the mind like angry waves.

Thoughts could be scattered in an instant. If one broke the train of thoughts then a fatal weak spot arises.

Qwa-ha-haht!

Azell didn't miss this chance in the air, so he swung his sword towards the man's face.

2

"Kuk….."

Azell made a face after he landed past the man. The reason being his sword was cleanly broken.

"This is why orc's swords are unusable."

Azell threw away the broken sword, while complaining. He had defeated an orc with his bare hands amidst the confusion, and he had taken away that sword.

"Of course, he had a companion."

Even though Azell had lost his sword, he spoke as if he wasn't intimidated at all.

His gaze was focused on another person. This person had appeared like a ghost. She(TLN:refers to the person in a gender neutral way- but I'll just go with She) wore a black cape, and the magic of darkness formed a veil underneath the hood. The person looked like the first man that showed up earlier. She had a Dragon Stone on the back of her hands, which had a bluish tint, and one could tell that the person was also a Dragon Demon.

"You're pretty good."

The voice that leaked out of the veil was a very hoarse female voice.

"Ku-ook…..!"

The man groaned in pain next to the woman. There was a knife buried in his abdomen, and there was a long rip in his veil of darkness, which was covering his face.

Azell felt some regret inside.

'If I was a bit faster, then I could have ended him.'

Before Azell's sword attack could find its mark, the woman casted a magic of protection on the man. Since he only had a trifle amount of magical force, Azell couldn't pierce through the shield and his sword broke.

However, the man didn't escape in one piece. His veil of darkness was ripped, and one could see a long wound on his face dripping with blood.

"You bastard. You are an inferior human yet you dare….!"

"Someone from a Dragon Demon race might say that. However, it isn't a dialogue a Dragon Demon would say." (TLN: Dragon Demon race =/= Dragon Demon)

Azell snorted.

It was a line he had heard from the Dragon Demon race in the Dragon Demon war until he was fed up. The Dragon Demon King Atein wanted the Dragon Demon race to rule over the world, and they believed that they were the most outstanding existence on the face of the world.

However, it felt new since a Dragon Demon was saying the same words. Maybe this generation of Dragon Demons had a superiority complex like the Dragon Demon race of the old?

"I'll kill you…!"

"Stop."

At that moment, the woman raised her hand and she held him back. The man, who was in a frenzy, stopped as if his actions were a lie.

The woman was disgustingly calm. Azell spat out, while looking at her.

"Four, no… Is it five?"

"……"

"Is that right, Princess?"

"I don't know."

Arrieta replied back. Her expression was stiff, and cold sweat was flowing down.

Hidden powerful beings were checking her out. Each of them might be inferior to her, but she wasn't sure if she could take on this many.

Azell had noticed the invisible confrontation. Therefore, he didn't say anything to her even when she did nothing while he fought. (TLN: I guess if she helped then the hidden people would have attacked both Azell and the princess. )