The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 73

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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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Our Neighbourhood’s Strongest (73)
When Dimitrion asked what the Emperor of Kram had done to eliminate the Demons and Demonic Beasts flooding Sapir, Meiruji of the Orpien Clan clenched her teeth.
“W-well, Your Majesty did not send a subjugation force, but even so, this is Kram’s land and remains the fief granted to the Orpien Clan by Your Majesty.”
Dimitrion snorted at her response.
“Given that you’ve revealed yourself to be the daughter of a lord whose territory crumbled the moment you arrived, your intentions are transparent enough. Very well then—what can you offer the Dragon and Duke Gain in return for saving your fief from the Demons? Surely you don’t intend to simply thank them for driving out the Demonic Beings and call it a day?”
“The fief has quite literally been ruined. What could I possibly offer beyond words of gratitude? Even if I wanted to give something, there is nothing I have to give.”
“You drove out the Demons, Demonic Beasts, and Magical Creatures, yet you cannot pay any price for it—and you came here dangerously to call yourself a lord’s daughter?”
Upon hearing Dimitrion’s words, Meiruji clenched her teeth before speaking.
“If the Dragon demands compensation for saving the fief, I would offer even my own life.”
“What use would your life be to a Dragon? In any case, I am neither the Dragon nor Duke Gain, so I cannot speak to what price they might demand. Since you’ve come this far, wait for the Gate to close, offer your thanks, and then depart.”
As Dimitrion lowered the sword he had been pointing at her, Meiruji swallowed dryly and looked toward Sallin, her master and the Orpien Clan’s knight.
The truth was, she had taken the lead in coming here because she had heard that the Dragon had shown favor by treating Sallin’s wounds.
“Sallin, what should we do now?”
“For now, I think it best we withdraw somewhat and wait for this situation to end.”
The two of them withdrew a considerable distance with the other knights who had accompanied them and settled in to rest.
“Sallin, but I really don’t think just offering thanks to the Dragon will be enough. Is there anything at all we could give?”
“Did not the Dragon’s knight just say that even if he offered you, the Dragon would find no use for you and would refuse?”
“Y-yes, he did. It stings my pride, but he wasn’t wrong. And I doubt the Dragon would accept me anyway.”
“In my view, there is only one thing we can offer the Dragon: this fief itself.”
Her eyes widened in an instant.
“What! Give the fief to the Dragon? This land was granted to my father by His Majesty!”
“Miss, you must face reality.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your father has fallen to the Demons, and now you are the lord of this fief. But the population has largely perished or fled, the land lies in ruins, and our remaining military strength amounts to nothing more than you, myself, and a handful of knights. Do you truly believe the neighboring lords will simply stand idle and watch?”
“S-surely you don’t mean the neighboring lords will try to seize this land?”
“Yes. I suspect multiple lords will descend upon it and tear it apart to divide among themselves.”
“But His Majesty granted this land…… how could they?”
“It is His Majesty’s grant, but if neighboring lords divide it among themselves, it does not become foreign territory, does it? And currently, His Majesty is preoccupied with war against the Bermuda Maritime Alliance and has no attention to spare for this place. The Gate has opened and Demons and Magical Creatures pour out, yet he has not sent reinforcements for over two months—has he not?”
“S-so you’re saying if I offer this fief to the Dragon instead, the neighboring lords won’t covet it?”
“Precisely. What mad lord would dare covet a Dragon’s territory?”
“But if His Majesty learns that I have ceded the fief to the Dragon, he will not take it lightly.”
“No. He will accept it. Could His Majesty go to war with a Dragon?”
“Wouldn’t the imperial forces be capable of contending with a Dragon?”
“They might contend, but the imperial forces would not emerge unscathed. Would His Majesty attempt to reclaim this land at such grievous cost?”
“It seems likely he would abandon the effort. Then I suppose I must offer this fief to the Dragon.”
“Truthfully, only if the Dragon accepts the fief and declares it his own territory will you, myself, and the remaining people of these lands have any hope of survival. So we must earnestly pray he accepts.”
Having heard all of Sallin’s words, Meiruji could no longer hide the darkness that had settled over her expression.
* * *
“Let’s rest here a moment.”
Noxcasarsis, who had just engaged in fierce combat within the Sapir Inner Fortress, withdrew a Potion from his possession and drew heavy breaths.
“I thought Dragons never grew tired, but it seems that’s not the case.”
Jang Gain was also drinking from a Potion, since even with increased Internal Power from growing Demonic Energy, fatigue remained inevitable.
“I’ve been casting Seven-Star and Eight-Star Magic almost non-stop for well over half a day. Even for me, it would be strange not to grow weary.”
“If it’s that exhausting, why not return to your true form like when you fight me? That would make the battle much easier, wouldn’t it?”
“They’re all Marquis-Rank Demons at best. I’ll consider returning to my true form if a Duke-Rank Demon appears.”
“Understood. But is there a particular reason you’d choose to endure such inconvenience?”
“Actually, there’s no real benefit to casting Magic recklessly in my true form. Strangely, when I use Magic extensively in this human form, my skills improve.”
“What? I’ve never heard such a thing. Why would that happen?”
“I don’t know the reason myself. But apparently, not just we Dragons, but other Demons and celestial beings like angels also prefer to take human form rather than their true forms—because training in human form mysteriously accelerates growth. Ah, I heard this from my parents when I was a hatchling.”
“Why does such a phenomenon occur? Do you know that much?”
“According to the Genesis Myth, the Creator took human form, so unlike other creations, humanity received many special favors. Because of that, humans can grow infinitely, while we who are born strong reach a growth plateau once we mature. Only by training in human form can we continue to grow at all.”
“That explanation sounds terribly weak. To be honest, it doesn’t make much sense to me.”
“But in reality, when I cast Magic in human form, my skills do improve. When I’m a Dragon, no amount of casting improves them at all.”
“Your skills don’t improve at all when you cast Magic in Dragon form? Not even a little?”
“Right. Since I matured, there’s been no improvement whatsoever. Of course, the rate at which my skills improve in human form is much slower than when I was a hatchling, but there’s a vast difference between no growth and steady growth.”
“I see. I don’t fully understand it, but since you’re the one experiencing it, I’ll simply trust your word.”
“But I’m exhausted to this degree—how are you still in such good condition?”
“What do you mean good condition? Haven’t you seen me drink two Superior Potions?”
“Those Potions just replenish depleted stamina. What about your Aura?”
“Your Aura! Ah, you mentioned earlier that you can absorb Demonic Energy and convert it into Aura.”
“Even so, something’s different about this. Her Aura’s quality seems to have changed. It feels much denser, more concentrated.”
Jang Gain shrugged at Noxcasarsis’s words.
“You’re really sensitive to Mana and Aura, aren’t you? Yeah, you’re right. Because I absorbed so much Demonic Energy, the Aura density inside my body has increased and become more concentrated.”
“Won’t that become dangerous? Could you start having strange thoughts—wanting to destroy things, drink blood, kill anyone, or… assault women indiscriminately? Anything like that?”
“I told you already. No matter how much Demonic Energy I absorb, I don’t experience Madness.”
“Your eyes look perfectly lucid, so I suppose that’s true. I was a bit worried, but thank goodness.”
For some reason, no Demons or Demonic Beasts appeared while the two recovered their strength.
After recovering most of their stamina, they walked deeper into the Inner Fortress, which was darkened by heavy clouds as if night had fallen.
“Hm?”
“What is it?”
As the two walked toward the Gate, they stopped upon seeing a long-haired woman in a red dress kneeling before it.
“Where did all those Demonic Beasts and Magical Creatures go? Wasn’t the Gate supposed to be guarded by the strongest Demon? Wait—is that woman a Demon?”
“Watch out, this is dangerous! Damn it!”
While Jang Gain tilted his head in confusion, Noxcasarsis, who had been surveying their surroundings, suddenly began transforming from human form back into a dragon.
“Noxcasarsis, what’s wrong?”
“We have to kill that woman immediately! Attack now!”
Jang Gain started in surprise and was about to fire a Thin Force at the woman when she, still kneeling, began chanting an incomprehensible incantation and pressed herself flat against the ground.
Suddenly, the earth beneath their feet undulated like waves, and blood fountains erupted from dozens of points in the ground, spraying dozens of meters high.
“What—what is this? This reeks of blood… why is blood coming from the ground?”
Unable to see the woman through the blood spray, Jang Gain raised a wind with the Wind Character Technique and flew toward where she stood.
But in that brief moment, she had vanished.
“Noxcasarsis, what are all these fountains of blood? Where did the woman go?”
“Damn it, we’re too late. What kind of powerful Demon did she summon… Impossible. She’s forcibly transferred an entire space from the Demon Realm and overlaid it onto this place.”
“What? What do you mean, overlaid a space?”
“In simple terms, when a high-ranking Demon descends, she didn’t just bring her body—she brought the entire space she inhabited here with her.”
“That’s… is such a thing even possible?”
“A Demon strong enough to do that. With that level of power, she’s at least Marquis-Rank, maybe even Duke-Rank!”
“Duke-Rank!”
Blood had spread across their surroundings, and now a large crimson flower bud rose before where the woman had vanished.
A deep, resonant roar echoed out.
Without hesitation, Noxcasarsis gathered Mana from his heart into his mouth and unleashed a Breath.
At that moment, the flower bud unfurled, revealing a blood-red, naked man, and as he spread his hand toward the Breath, a massive petal detached and collided with it.
A massive explosion erupted, and seeing the red woman flying through the blast, Jang Gain reflexively swung his sword.
A sharp metallic ring.
When the sword imbued with Sword Aura clashed with the sword imbued with Demonic Energy, sparks erupted as if molten metal had burst.
‘She’s strong!’
Through the sword strike, Jang Gain sensed her strength matched his own and was startled.
“I watched with gritted teeth as you slew my subordinates. I’ll kill you and make you the finest Death Knight, so you’ll serve eternally in place of my fallen soldiers!”
“You don’t seem confident enough in your strength to guarantee you can kill me.”
“I acknowledge your skill—you’re blocking my attacks well. But once my father finishes with the green lizard, it’ll be your turn!”
“Before that happens, you might die by my hand. You’re worth at least ten thousand Gold.”
“Ten thousand Gold?”
“Count-Rank Demons fetch ten thousand Gold.”
“Such insolence! I don’t need my father’s hand—I’ll kill you myself!”
The female Demon’s assault intensified suddenly.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang…
As Jang Gain exchanged offense and defense, he noticed that while her strength was formidable, her swordcraft itself lacked refinement.
‘When overwhelming strength is yours, special technique isn’t needed—but with equal power, life and death hinge on skill alone.’
When he feinted to block her blade, then twisted it diagonally to redirect it, the female Demon’s eyes widened.
He spun his sword half a rotation to aim for her throat, but her flowing hair suddenly gathered, twisted together, and blocked the strike.
A sharp clash rang out.
‘What?’
He’d never imagined her hair could block a blade filled with Sword Aura, so he hesitated for an instant.
In that gap, her sword thrust toward his chest.
A wet sound.
He dodged quickly, but blood sprayed as her blade grazed his shoulder.
‘No matter that she’s a Demon—her hair is as tough and resilient as steel!’

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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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