The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 55

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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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Dragon Slayer Returning After 1000 Years – Episode 055
The Dragon of Time spoke.
[Did you not say you were a human who carried my aura?]
“Yes, yes indeed, Your Majesty.”
[Yet I sensed nothing from you whatsoever.]
“That cannot be…”
In an instant, the dragon’s golden pupils bore into Alton.
[Are you saying I speak falsehoods?]
“No, no! I misspoke terribly.”
Alton immediately lowered his head.
Even an eighth-tier Grand Sword Master found High-Rank Dragons intimidating.
Yet his confusion remained unchanged.
It made no sense that a dragon so attuned to aura had detected nothing.
[I harbored interest, but you disappoint me.]
“Forgive me.”
[Still, you were rather intriguing, I must admit.]
“Pardon?”
[You heard my voice and showed no sign of alarm whatsoever.]
Alton’s pupils wavered.
‘He faced a dragon and… felt no shock?’
Though Alton had lied about it being a magical cavern, anyone would startle at hearing such a voice emerge suddenly from nowhere.
But Cain had shown no such reaction, leaving Alton utterly bewildered.
[Do you intend to keep that human close?]
At his lord’s question of whether he would take the man as a subordinate, Alton shook his head.
“No, no, Your Majesty. I am not yet at a stage where I can be certain of that human’s capabilities.”
[Very well. Do as you see fit. The affairs of men are no concern of mine.]
The Dragon of Time turned its head.
[I have wasted enough time on this.]
“I am deeply sorry, Your Majesty.”
He pressed his forehead to the ground in apology.
But no reply came.
When he cautiously raised his head, the dragon had already vanished.

* * *
‘Good thing I defeated Beratus.’
As he descended the mountain alongside Alton, Cain breathed an inward sigh of relief.
Just as he’d suspected, it seemed Alton had brought him to be introduced to some dragon.
‘Likely the lord that Alton serves.’
The Dragon-Followers have a dragon they worship in each House.
It was impossible not to know this, given his past record of subjugating all Dragon-Followers save the Drake House.
But which dragon he’d faced a moment ago, he could not discern.
‘I couldn’t get a proper look. The light was blazing too bright.’
He’d refrained from using the Relic’s power, fearing discovery.
By blocking all but his Aura through the Concealment Bracelet, he’d likely appeared to be nothing more than a Sword Master, neither greater nor lesser.
‘Is that why it sent me away?’
Had the dragon sensed Beratus’s presence, or felt even a whisper of the Relic’s aura?
Cain might have been struck down by a Breath Attack then and there.
‘At any rate, I’ve learned the location of the Lair.’
Even so, nothing changes.
By feel, the opponent was a High-Rank Dragon.
If this was the leader of the Dragon-Followers, they surely served a formidable dragon indeed.
‘There’s no margin to challenge a High-Rank Dragon now.’
So he needed to grow stronger.
The Lair’s location might shift in the meantime, but there was no cause for alarm.
High-Rank Dragons rarely moved their lairs without good reason.
‘A dragon that kills any intruder has no reason to abandon its nest.’
In any case, he had gained valuable intelligence.
Judging by how Alton’s expression had hardened since before, something had clearly not gone according to plan.

* * *
Bang!
The sound made nearby patrons jump and stare.
But Grokus didn’t seem to care, reaching for his Beer Mug again.
Gulp—gulp—
Then he set it down roughly on the table.
Bang!
“Damn it… getting thrashed by some wet-behind-the-ears brat like that….”
But what really stung was the Knights Order’s decision.
They’d said nothing all this time, and now they were casting him out?
“They knew about me tormenting the recruits the whole time. Damn it, and now suddenly they’ve got a problem? What the hell is this….”
He drained the last drop and slammed the mug down again with a crash.
The table was crowded with empty Beer Mugs.
Grokus rose unsteadily, thoroughly drunk.
His massive frame meant no one—not even the tavern keeper—dared touch him.
They could only wait quietly for him to leave.
Then.
Creak—
The door swung open, and a man stepped into Grokus’s path.
“So you’re here after all.”
“Well, well. And who might you be? Isn’t this the great captain of the Empire who threw me out?”
Captain Yandre studied Grokus with a frown.
“You reek of alcohol. How many have you had?”
“Why do you care? It’s not like I was drinking on duty anyway.”
“Sit down for now.”
Yandre summoned a server to clear away the empty mugs, then settled into the seat across from Grokus.
“Were you hurt?”
……
“I’m sorry I had to let you go. But my hands were tied.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Yandre glanced around before leaning in toward Grokus.
“One of the people you were roughing up turned out to be the eldest son of Drake House.”
“Who? The eldest son?”
Yandre sighed.
“I thought so. That green-haired kid—he’s the eldest son, Valerius Drake.”
“What…!”
Grokus had every reason to be shocked.
He’d heard the eldest son hadn’t awakened his Aura despite years of effort.
“Then how did he even get into the Knights Order? Surely not as a commoner….”
“No, he’s got Aura Level Two. That meets the entry requirement.”
It felt like a punch to the gut.
As an Imperial subject, he knew full well the power and influence of Drake House.
There were people you could touch, and people you absolutely could not.
“So stop feeling sorry for yourself and have a drink with me. Two or three months at most. Once things quiet down, I’ll get you reinstated.”
……
Yandre raised his mug in a toast, but Grokus’s insides were still boiling.
“Captain, are you joking? You knew he was from Drake House and didn’t give me even a hint? You could have at least warned me!”
“Didn’t I tell you the night before that Drake House’s eldest son and Asile’s royal family were coming in as recruits?”
Grokus’s eyes wavered.
“…Did you?”
Now that he thought about it, he did seem to remember hearing something like that.
Though the details escaped him.
“I heard the eldest son hadn’t even awakened, so when you said he was joining I thought you were joking and didn’t pay attention.”
“True, it’s partly your fault for letting it slip past you while drunk. But with Drake House on the line, anyone in your position would have ended the same way. Besides, why would I have made an exception for you? When Cassius—the second son—joined, didn’t he go through an Initiation Rite as well?”
“That one we kept light. We knew he was from Drake House.”
“You knew he was the second son and did it anyway—so how would you have held back knowing he was the eldest?”
“…Ah, damn it!”
In his frustration, Grokus downed more beer.
Crash!
Grokus stood abruptly, slamming the table so hard it groaned.
“I’m leaving.”
“Hey! Grokus!”
Ignoring the commander’s shout, Grokus stepped out of the Tavern.
He was in a foul mood.
Most of all, the fact that he’d been beaten senseless by a junior member thirty years his junior had crushed Grokus’s pride to dust.
‘This is all because of Cain, that bastard.’
He walked the dark streets with menacing eyes.
The cool touch of moonlight burned away the lingering drunkenness, leaving only raw, crystalline fury in its place.
Grokus headed to his own house.
He hefted a Two-Handed Sword of dark iron onto his shoulder.
With eyes blazing, Grokus set out again.
Toward someone.

* * *
When Cain returned to the mansion, Valerius approached him with obvious curiosity.
“Master, where were you and Father this whole time?”
“A walk nearby.”
“A walk that lasted over two hours……”
“Never mind. I’m heading out.”
“What? You’re leaving just like that? Without even sleeping……”
“Sleeping in someone else’s house feels uncomfortable.”
Cain said this and left without a second glance.
Drake House had more than enough rooms for him to sleep in, but they felt like alien territory.
No matter how one looked at it, staying under the same roof as a former enemy was far too strange.
‘Sleeping at the Knights Order Barracks would be better, regardless.’
A banquet was burden enough without adding sleep to the indignity.
Since he’d already told Alton he was leaving, he departed the mansion accordingly.
It was as he walked into the forest, leaving Drake House behind him, that it happened.
Rustle—
He turned to see a massive man approaching, a Two-Handed Sword as enormous as his own body slung across his shoulder.
Anyone else might have jumped in alarm at the sight, but Cain showed no surprise.
He knew who this was.
“Captain Grokus, is it not?”
“Well, well. I find the very man I was searching for. All those hours of waiting through that banquet have paid off.”
Though malice laced his voice, Cain answered without concern.
“You were looking for me? What brings you to these woods at such an hour?”
“Hah…… Not only younger than dirt, but smooth-tongued too, I see.”
Thud!
Grokus planted the Two-Handed Sword upright like a wall and cracked his knuckles.
“I’ve come for a rematch, you little bastard.”
“Ah…… Is this payback for last time?”
“You know damn well it is.”
“Are you sure you’re up for it?”
Cain tilted his chin up, his posture insolent.
“Your body doesn’t seem fully recovered. I doubt a second match will change the outcome.”
“You little……”
Grokus wrenched the Two-Handed Sword from the earth like uprooting a tree and channeled his Sword Force through it.
A colossal surge of power rippled menacingly through the air.
“With a weapon, things are different!”
Crash!
He charged forward with a wild swing.
A blow that carried unmistakable lethal intent.
But for Cain, who could see a few seconds into the future, it was an attack he could never be hit by.
Whoosh!
In the same instant he dodged, Cain slipped through Grokus’s opening and drove a fist wrapped in Aura toward him.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
A pain shot through Grokus’s ribs as though they might shatter, yet he didn’t hesitate—he swung his blade back with blinding speed.
Boom!
Dirt exploded upward as if magic had detonated.
But Cain had already vacated the spot, watching with calm detachment.
“A blade that heavy swinging with Sword Force like that—yes, the destructive power would be tremendous. But it only matters if you actually land the blow, doesn’t it?”
“Shut your mouth!”
He hadn’t drawn his sword and sought Cain out just to listen to lectures.
Grokus thrust the blade forward and charged at Cain.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Each swing of the sword stirred vicious winds, yet there was no way to catch Cain as he slipped past every stroke.
“Die, you miserable rat!”
“I’ve lived too long to throw my life away on someone like you.”
In a flash, Cain moved like lightning and severed Grokus’s wrist.
“Urgh!”
The Two-Handed Sword clattered to the ground with a cry of pain.
Cain didn’t stop there—he cut through the man’s leg.
Crack!
“Ahhh!”
The massive frame collapsed like a felled timber.
In an instant, Grokus was disarmed and immobilized, and despair flooded his eyes.
It was an overwhelming, absolute defeat.
Cain raised a blade wreathed in Sword Force in one hand and pointed it at Grokus’s throat.
“Shall I end this now?”

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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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