Not A Regressor - Chapter 311

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 311
Faded Promise (3)
The moment I gazed down into the ruins of the Royal Palace, a curse rose unbidden to my lips.
Wisps of smoke drifted faintly between collapsed buildings reduced to ash and cinder.
Even from a distance, the lingering heat was unmistakable—a clear sign that the Draconian Kingdom had not fallen long ago.
‘Did they dispatch their army upon hearing news of the Beastkin Kingdom?’
According to the map, Niflheim—the Demon Race’s kingdom—lay far closer to the Draconian Kingdom than the Beastkin Kingdom, which was blocked by the Sky Mountain Range.
That was precisely why I had gambled on crossing the Sky Mountain Range, desperate to reach the kingdom swiftly.
“What is it? What’s the situation inside?”
Ha-eun approached me as I landed, my Lightning Step’s duration finally exhausted.
I exhaled deeply, recalling the state of the Draconian Kingdom from above.
“We’re too late.”
“…Too late?”
“The interior of the kingdom has been completely overrun by the Demon Race and their demonic beasts.”
The ruined city was filled only with demonic beasts of every variety and the Demon Race overseeing them.
Not a single dragon-race was to be seen anywhere.
“Are you saying the Demon Race moved faster than we did?”
“That appears to be the case.”
I nodded grimly.
I had believed we had saved considerable time by crossing the Sky Mountain Range.
Yet even that was insufficient.
“But how could the Demon Race, strong as they are, have already…”
Isabella trailed off, unable to comprehend.
It had taken our group merely ten days to cross the Sky Mountain Range.
We had arrived at the Draconian Kingdom in record time, reducing a journey that should have taken over a month to just one-third of that distance.
Yet the Draconian Kingdom had fallen to ruin in those mere ten days?
“There must be a reason. Either the Demon Race was far stronger than expected, or conversely, the dragon-race proved far weaker.”
“What do we do now?”
Originally, I had planned to root out the Demon Race parasites infesting the dragon-race from within, just as we had done with the Kan Kingdom, then unite our forces with them.
But the Demon Race’s preemptive strike had rendered that plan null and void.
“I’ll ascend once more to investigate the situation inside.”
There was still a chance that some dragon-race survivors remained.
I launched myself skyward once more using Lightning Step.
Beyond the towering Sacred Wall, a vast city carved from an entire mountain came into view.
The dragons’ city, which had once flourished with brilliant civilization, now lay in ashes—trampled beneath the feet of the Demon Race.
‘Weaver Star’s Hunting Dog.’
An invisible, faint blue lightning rippled outward in waves.
A deluge of countless information flooded in.
Along with the information came a splitting headache, but there was no skill more effective than Weaver Star’s Hunting Dog for extracting maximum information in minimal time.
“Ugh…”
The image of the kingdom’s interior took shape in my mind.
Countless Demon Race members and demonic beasts roamed the city streets—far more numerous than anything I’d witnessed in the Kan Kingdom.
Their movements suggested they were still searching for any remaining Dragon-race survivors.
Among them, clusters of Demon Race warriors raised their goblets in celebration of victory.
Then.
Something snagged against my senses.
‘That is….’
At the city’s heart.
Within a colossal circular structure reminiscent of the Colosseum, thousands of Dragon-race members were gathered.
Bound by some form of restraint, the captive Dragon-race showed almost no signs of movement.
‘They’ve herded all the captured Dragon-race into one location.’
At least they hadn’t slaughtered them all indiscriminately—that much was fortunate.
After observing the site where the Dragon-race were imprisoned, I descended the cliff face to where Ha-eun and Isabella waited.
“I’ve found where the Dragon-race are being held captive.”
“At least they haven’t killed them all, it seems.”
Isabella narrowed her eyes, gazing up at the towering Sacred Wall.
“Are you considering rescuing the captive Dragon-race?”
“I’d like to if it were possible, but….”
I crossed my arms, lost in thought.
After a moment of deliberation, I shook my head slowly.
“A rescue operation seems too difficult.”
The situation differed vastly from what we’d faced in the Kan Kingdom.
Back then, the Demon Race numbered merely five, and they commanded no legions of demonic beasts.
Now, even at a glance, over a hundred Demon Race members and thousands of demonic beasts surrounded the circular structure where the Dragon-race were imprisoned.
Forcing our way through them to liberate the captives would prove formidable, even for a party as formidable as ours.
“So we’re just going to leave without doing anything?”
Ha-eun frowned, her tone dissatisfied.
I nodded gravely.
If we had allies, perhaps things would be different.
With only those present, there was nothing we could accomplish.
“Ugh. This doesn’t sit right with me.”
Though I’d never spoken with the Dragon-race before.
Perhaps it was because I’d built considerable rapport with the Beast-human Tribe, who faced similar circumstances.
A heavy stone seemed to weigh upon my chest.
“Then let’s at least search the surrounding area for any Dragon-race who may have escaped.”
I didn’t want to withdraw empty-handed.
“Understood.”
“Yes, let’s examine the surroundings.”
Thus, my party began circling the Draconian Kingdom’s perimeter, searching for any groups of escaped Dragon-race.
How long we searched.
“O-jin, look over there.”
Ha-eun came to an abrupt halt and pointed toward a specific location.
Once again, it was a cluster of blue light visible only to her.
“It’s the same thing we saw near the Kingdom.”
Of course, the number of light clusters here was noticeably fewer than what we’d observed at the Kingdom.
Still, discovering a clue was what mattered.
“Come this way.”
Ha-eun took the lead, guiding our group forward.
She directed us toward a narrow passage cutting through the maze-like tangle of the Narrow Gorge.
Our group proceeded along the cramped path, which measured barely ten meters across.
“Grrrrgh.”
Poppy, finding the narrow passage uncomfortable, hunched his shoulders and released an irritated growl.
We were roughly halfway through the Narrow Gorge when it happened.
Whoooooosh!
With a sharp cutting sound, arrows began raining down upon our heads.
These weren’t ordinary arrows made of metal and wood.
Blue arrows—composed entirely of mana from arrowhead to fletching—descended like a meteor shower across the Night Sky.
“Gather around me!”
Unfazed by the sudden ambush, I drew Dantalian from my waist.
As I transformed the weapon into a spear and swung it like a windmill, the blue lightning coalescing on its shaft spread wide like an umbrella.
Boom! Boom-boom-boom!
The mana arrows detonated with tremendous force upon contact with the blue lightning.
The shockwave from the explosions shook the surrounding earth, and the towering canyon walls began to crumble and collapse.
“Crash!”
Hundreds of tons of stone cascaded down like rain.
‘Charge.’
I drew upon the stigma’s mana, condensing lightning at the spear’s tip.
Just before the avalanche of stone could bury us.
I planted my feet firmly and raised the spear high.
Crackle-crackle-crack!
Like a beast bursting from its cage, the lightning condensed at the spear’s tip erupted skyward in a violent explosion.
With a deafening roar that shattered eardrums, the hundreds of tons of falling stone shattered into fragments and scattered in all directions.
Destructive power that far transcended human scale.
Having reduced the avalanche to gravel in the blink of an eye, I showed no signs of fatigue as I turned the spear’s tip toward the direction from which the arrows had come.
I attempted to close the distance using the Wire Shooter to quickly reach those who had fired the mana arrows.
“I’ll handle this.”
Before I could act, Isabella stepped forward first.
“Don’t kill them.”
“Yes, I understand.”
I didn’t need to see with my own eyes to know who was orchestrating this sudden ambush.
Isabella offered a faint smile as she drew her sharp nails across her palm.
Drip, drip.
Blood pooled and fell from the gash in her hand.
“Flow forth.”
With a soft incantation, the blood that had fallen to the ground began to proliferate explosively.
From the spreading pool of blood, chains woven from blood extended outward and shot in the direction from which the magical arrows had come.
“Grrgh!”
“Kyaaaah!”
Screams echoed from afar.
Soon, the attackers who had been hiding above the Narrow Gorge were dragged before Kwon O-jin’s group, bound by the chains.
As I had anticipated, the attackers bound by the chains were Dragon-race.
Much like the Beast-human Tribe.
The Dragon-race’s appearance itself differed little from humans.
The distinguishing features were perhaps the vertically slit pupils that evoked reptiles and the scales that covered the nape of their necks and portions of their cheeks.
‘Judging by appearances alone, they look more like a fusion of lizardmen and humans rather than dragons and humans.’
I had seen the Dragon-race being held captive in groups from a distance earlier, but the distance had been too great then to properly observe their features. This was my first clear look at them.
“K-kill us!”
“Filthy Demon Race bastards…!”
There were twenty Dragon-race captives bound by the chains.
Helpless before Isabella’s formidable power, the Dragon-race glared at Kwon O-jin’s group with eyes burning with hatred and fury.
“…Huh?”
“W-wait, they’re not Demon Race?”
The Dragon-race, who had been eyeing Kwon O-jin’s group with killing intent as if ready to tear them apart at any moment, soon realized they were not Demon Race.
The Dragon-race turned their bewildered gazes toward Poppy, who stood quietly behind Kwon O-jin.
‘They must have mistaken us for Demon Race because Poppy was with us.’
Come to think of it.
Only the Demon Race—aside from Cassia—could command a ferocious beast as a subordinate, so it was natural they would have mistaken Kwon O-jin’s group for Demon Race.
“Why are humans here…?”
The Dragon-race stared at Kwon O-jin’s group in confusion.
Unlike the Beast-human Tribe, who feared humans and called them ‘demons beyond the veil,’ the Dragon-race showed no particular aversion to them.
In fact, they gazed upon Kwon O-jin’s group with eyes tinged with something akin to reverence.
“Heh, so these are Dragon-race?”
Ha-eun, who had removed the eye patch covering her left eye—apparently prepared in case the battle escalated—approached the captive Dragon-race.
The Dragon-race looked at Ha-eun’s left eye and widened their eyes in shock.
“D-dragon’s eye…?”
“A woman bearing the dragon’s eye shall come….”
“Y-yes! The prophecy! It matches Kailous’s prophecy!”
The Dragon-race erupted in astonished exclamations.
As Kwon O-jin’s group stood bewildered by this unexpected reaction.
“A-are you… the ‘Maiden of the Dragon’?”
A Dragon-race warrior cautiously asked Ha-eun a question.
“Huh?”
Ha-eun’s eyes narrowed as if to ask what nonsense he was spouting.
“I’m not a virgin.”
“….”
A heavy silence descended within the narrow gorge.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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