The Dragon Slayer Who Regressed After 1,000 Years - Chapter 58

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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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The Dragon Slayer Returns After 1000 Years — Episode 58
Anaktrass’s shock gave way to outright fury.
When someone slaps you without warning, there’s only one reasonable response.
[This insane dragon……!]
He was not about to take it lying down.
He lashed out with his tail in kind.
The mad talk of a path meant for dragons fell on deaf ears.
Crack! Snap!
A brutal tail-to-tail melee erupted between them.
When dragons fought each other, it was an unspoken rule: no magic, no Dragon Language.
Beratus pressed forward, refusing to yield.
Anaktrass, his cheek now bleeding, cried out in indignation.
[You mad whelp! Why did you suddenly show up here and start this?!]
[I’m sorry!]
Even as he apologized, the green dragon raked his claws across his own face — and Anaktrass felt his blood boil.
[Screech! This is what “sorry” looks like?!]
[I really am sorry! I didn’t want to do this either!]
Yet Beratus never stopped attacking.
Anaktrass found himself utterly speechless at this sudden assault.
‘What kind of insane fool is this?!’
Further words were pointless.
If the dragon wanted a fight, he would gladly oblige.
Anaktrass abandoned the scattered treasures and began exchanging blows with Beratus in earnest.
For quite some time.

* * *
The Mandras Plateau lay to the north of the Empire.
Heavily armored knights marched forward, the Imperial Flag held aloft at their vanguard.
The Mandras Plateau was barren wasteland, battered by fierce winds year-round.
It was high ground, sparsely populated.
Yet with reports of a dragon’s presence, the knights could not stay away.
“We rest here for a moment.”
At the commander’s word, the knights removed their helms and took their ease.
Cain settled himself against a tree stump.
‘Beratus should be handling things well.’
Just before departure, Cain had given Beratus one instruction.
Go to the Silver Dragon’s Lair and provoke him.
Fight, trade blows — do whatever it takes to buy time.
Beratus had looked uncertain.
“Seer, but why——”
“Why? Because that dragon is about to flee. The Empire hasn’t failed at dragon slaying all these times by accident. Alton Drake feeds them information beforehand. That dragon is likely preparing to abandon his Lair as we speak.”
“Ah……!”
“The reason the Empire keeps failing at dragon hunts? That’s it. Alton Drake passes along intelligence in advance. I’d wager that dragon is readying his escape right now.”
“Ah…….”
Beratus blinked, then voiced his doubt.
“But is it necessary to pin him down? If that dragon is relocating his Lair, couldn’t we simply follow him in secret and learn the new location that way?”
Cain gestured with his eyes toward the rear.
“You know there’s a rat clinging to my tail, don’t you?”
“That rough fellow, you mean. Yes, I’m aware.”
“To deal with him as well, we need to keep that dragon occupied. So do as I’ve instructed — don’t question it. This is all to prevent the dragon’s ruin. Ask no more.”
“Very well, I understand.”
Cain knew the truth.
He knew Grokkas was trailing him.
The Magical Fragment he’d embedded in the man made tracking his position effortless.
‘I expected he’d seek revenge once his body healed, but I didn’t think he’d move this quickly.’
It seemed the man had heard of the extermination campaign and followed in haste.
The other knights hadn’t noticed, being too far away.
‘Now that he’s here, I might as well use him.’
At that moment, someone approached Cain’s side.
“I confess, I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to join the subjugation force, Cain.”
It was Casius Drake, come on a courtesy visit.
“How on earth did you manage to persuade the Commander?”
“He listened when I explained. Frankly, wouldn’t it be wasteful not to employ someone of my caliber?”
“Ha ha…… quite right.”
I’d taken him for a man of justice, but there was an unmistakable edge of arrogance beneath the surface.
He was impossible to pin down.
“You handled the reconnaissance yourself, didn’t you, Casius?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Do you have information about the dragon? More detailed information?”
Casius nodded and told me what he knew.
“According to eyewitness accounts, it’s a Silver Dragon, and based on its size, we estimate it’s approximately 1,300 to 1,700 years old. It’s been capturing and killing villagers from the surrounding settlements, and it appears to kill anything that encroaches on its territory.”
“And the location of the lair?”
“There’s a canyon beyond the plateau with a cave that we believe to be the lair. Ogres are guarding the perimeter.”
My head bobbed up and down.
It matched perfectly with my memories from before the Regression.
‘The Silver Dragon we’re hunting must be Anaktrass.’
If we’re talking about dragons that inhabit the northern reaches of the Empire, there are three.
Of those, the Silver Dragon that attacked the village is Anaktrass alone.
A dragon of 1,500 years old—one I’ve hunted before.
‘Though Beratus is 300 years younger, he won’t be easily overwhelmed.’
Among dragons that live ten thousand years, a difference of 300 years is negligible.
Their sizes are comparable, so Beratus can hold out for a considerable time.
‘The problem is that timing must align perfectly…….’
Now that all the necessary pieces are in place, there should be no variables.
“You’ve rested enough? Now we depart!”
At the Commander’s cry, the Knight Order creaked into motion.

* * *
As the Knight Order moved, Grokkas dusted off his rear and rose to his feet.
He’d been carefully tailing them from a distance that wouldn’t trigger any detection, so there was no risk of being discovered.
Yet one worry gnawed at him.
‘When will the chance to kill that bastard Cain come?’
The plan was simple enough.
Stalk the Knight Order in secret, like an assassin hunting for the kill.
But since he’d moved on impulse, he couldn’t be sure an opportunity would even arise.
‘Usually when hunting a dragon, there’s chaos—the chance will come……but.’
He couldn’t be certain.
He’d faced a dragon only a handful of times himself.
No—faced was the wrong word.
He’d merely stood frozen, overwhelmed by that suffocating pressure.
His hunting experience amounted to nothing more than observation as scout or reserve member.
‘My legs just wouldn’t move.’
That bastard would be the same.
In Grokkas’s estimation, there was exaggeration in the title Dragon Slayer.
How could a mere Expert-rank Sword Master slay a dragon alone?
‘He must have killed it while it was hibernating, asleep.’
To join the Imperial Knight Order off a single corpse kill—
The man had luck.
Until he met me, anyway.
‘If I keep following, the opportunity will come.’
This time I won’t let my guard down.
I’ll kill him for certain.
With iron resolve, he trailed the Knight Order.
Then they stopped.
A deep canyon loomed before them.
The Knight Order descended carefully, single file.
Grokkas watched intently.
Or rather, he watched where they were headed.
‘There are ogres out there?’
The moment he glimpsed the monsters in the distance, Grokkas understood.
That must be the dragon’s territory.
There’s a lair nearby.
At last, his chance had come.
It was then that Grokkas’s eyes gleamed.
A deep, resonant rumble tore through the air.
A sound like thunder echoed through the canyon.

* * *
“What in the world was that?”
At the sound—as if lightning had struck—Yandre and the entire Knight Order scanned their surroundings.
But towering canyon walls hemmed them in on all sides, severely limiting their field of vision.
“Casius.”
“Yes, Commander?”
“Is this the only path forward?”
“Yes, sir. Following this route, we should reach where the ogres have made their camp, and nearby there appears to be a cave—likely the lair.”
“So we haven’t gone in the wrong direction… but what was that sound? Did you hear anything like it during your reconnaissance?”
“No, sir. That’s the first time I’ve heard such a sound.”
The sound came again.
A deep, rolling rumble.
Like thunder crashing down.
But Cain knew what it was.
‘The sound of a cliff face breaking apart.’
It seemed Beratus and Anaktrass were battling each other and had brought down a section of the cliff wall.
Boom! Crash! Boom!
The way the canyon shook left no doubt.
Cain sensed the timing was right.
The Knight Order pressed deeper into the canyon, puzzled by the mysterious sounds.
At one point, Yandre raised his hand and signaled them to halt.
The ogres came into view.
“Combat teams, prepare for engagement. We eliminate the ogres first.”
Teams One and Two—comprised of knights ranked six-star or higher—drew their blades.
As they drew closer, the ogres turned their heads in unison.
A bestial roar erupted.
The creatures thundered forward with deafening footfalls.
The combat teams rushed to meet them.
Only those at Expert level or above could hope to stand against them, so the rest had no choice but to wait.
The impact shook the air.
“Strike them down!”
A creature’s cry split the canyon.
Human and beast clashed.
The remaining knights held their breath, watching the spectacle unfold.
‘We have more than enough strength for this.’
Yet Cain didn’t let himself assume the battle would end quickly.
There were fewer than twenty ogres, but the scout team had overlooked something crucial.
These were no ordinary ogres.
A shrill cry pierced the air.
As wounds accumulated, the ogres’ eyes turned crimson.
“Rage Ogres?”
“Damn it all!”
“Everyone, stay calm and fight carefully!”
Rage Ogres grew faster and more resistant to pain with every wound they sustained.
They were naturally far more troublesome than ordinary ogres.
The difference was subtle enough that a careless misstep could prove fatal.
‘I’ve faced them before, so I know them well enough.’
But there was no way the scout team could have known to prepare for this.
Identifying the creatures beforehand would have been impossible.
Their initial confusion was brief.
True to their training as Imperial knights, they quickly regrouped and engaged the ogres.
Still, it would take time to bring them all down.
Rage Ogres were twice as powerful as their ordinary kin, after all.
‘Besides, the commander needs to direct operations, so he can’t throw himself directly into the frontlines.’
Cain saw his opening and slipped quietly out of formation.
No one noticed his departure—all eyes were fixed on the ogre.
All except one.

* * *
‘Where the hell is that bastard going?’
Grokkas, who had been watching the fierce battle between the Rage Ogre and the Knight Order, turned in surprise as Cain suddenly abandoned his post.
The way he moved made it look like he was fleeing, furtive as a cat burglar.
‘There’s no pressing business in this situation, is there…?’
Whatever the case, it was welcome news to Grokkas.
If Cain broke formation on his own, he’d be that much easier to assassinate.
As Cain headed back up the canyon toward some unknown destination, Grokkas followed him carefully.
Then, suddenly, Cain threw himself off a cliff?
‘What? Why is he—’
Grokkas rushed forward, worried he’d lose him, and saw something extraordinary.
Cain had driven his sword into the rock face to control his descent, landing smoothly below.
‘There was a way down like that?’
A deep rumble shook the air.
Startled, Grokkas turned and froze at the sight before him.
A silver dragon and a green dragon were locked in vicious combat.
“Insane… what in the—”
But that wasn’t even the strangest part.
While the dragons clashed, Cain slipped into the Lair.
‘That son of a bitch… is he trying to claim the treasure for himself?’
Now Grokkas understood why he’d moved so stealthily, like a thief in the shadows.
Even if they defeated the dragon and recovered the treasure, it would all go straight to the state treasury—so Cain wanted to secure his own cut on the side.
It was a grievance Grokkas had harbored countless times during past hunts, so he had little trouble imagining it.
‘Actually, this works perfectly. A chance to kill him in secret.’
If he struck while everyone was distracted by the dragon hunt?
Who would suspect him?
They’d assume the dragon had killed Cain.
With that thought, Grokkas drove his sword into the cliff face as Cain had done, controlling his speed as he descended.
Then he crept quietly into the Lair.
A confident smirk played across his lips.
‘You’re trapped now, you bastard.’
But Grokkas didn’t know.
The rat in the trap was himself.

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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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