The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 87

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

The Strongest in Our Neighborhood (87)
“So you’re asking me to introduce you to a noble with enough wealth to buy that Dragon Born Knight that defeated Fiolder just now?”
The Emperor recalled what had transpired in the training grounds moments before.
The Dragon Born Knight’s next opponent after Fiolder was the Sword Master Bruoli Kante, and Bruoli Kante had smashed the Dragon Born Knight to pieces in what seemed like retaliation for his subordinate’s defeat.
And then, as if it had never been broken at all, the demolished Dragon Born Knight was restored perfectly when a dragon named Virus cast magic upon it.
“Yes, Your Majesty. While weaker than a Sword Master, it’s a Dragon Born Knight capable of contending against an Expert of the highest tier—I’m confident there are nobles who would wish to purchase it.”
“How much are you planning to sell the Dragon Born Knight for?”
“I’m thinking a minimum of one hundred thousand gold.”
The Emperor’s eyes widened in surprise.
While not an enormous sum for him, it far exceeded a year’s territory budget for any baron-class noble.
“One… one hundred thousand gold! Even if it can stand against an Expert of the highest tier, isn’t one hundred thousand gold absurdly expensive?”
“Your Majesty, absurdly expensive? I consider that the bare minimum. Consider this: it’s not the magical power of some ordinary mage—it’s imbued with the mana of a Worm-class Dragon itself. Moreover, because I personally trained it in combat, its fighting methods are diverse, and above all, it requires no maintenance costs whatsoever. Knights must be fed, clothed, lodged, outfitted with expensive equipment, provided with horses, and assigned several servants to tend them. Even after all that, they must sleep and cannot remain at their lord’s side at all times. But a Dragon Born Knight can be stored in a Subspace and retrieved whenever needed to receive commands. When you consider practical utility, one hundred thousand gold is hardly expensive at all.”
After hearing Jang Gain’s lengthy explanation, the Emperor paused to consider, then nodded.
“Your reasoning does make some sense, but doesn’t the Dragon Born Knight require the dragon to continuously supply mana to it?”
“A noble wealthy enough to purchase a Dragon Born Knight would certainly have capable mages in their employ. One of them could simply inject the mana.”
“But wouldn’t a mage’s mana differ greatly from a dragon’s?”
“Ah, but there’s no need to worry about that. Even if a mage provides the mana, it will perform exactly as you witnessed today.”
“The mana differs, yet the performance remains the same?”
“Virus told me directly. If the original dragon supplies the mana, any damaged parts recover completely, so it can be used indefinitely. But if a human supplies the mana, that doesn’t happen, so it can only be used roughly one hundred times before it breaks, he said.”
“What! Only one hundred times?”
“Yes. If it’s damaged fighting someone strong like a Sword Master as we saw today, that’s one hundred uses. Otherwise, it can continue to be used.”
“One hundred times doesn’t sound like good value for the price.”
“A Dragon Born Knight capable of defeating an Expert of the highest tier, usable one hundred times until it breaks—that’s not good value? That’s the best value there is!”
“Hmm. I suppose you’re right? Until it breaks! That’s actually quite reasonable. Very well. I’ll purchase the Dragon Born Knight for one hundred thousand gold.”
When the Emperor suddenly announced he would buy it, Jang Gain’s expression turned puzzled.
“Your Majesty? You, Sire? Don’t you have many powerful knights under your command, and aren’t they rotated to guard you even while you sleep? There hardly seems a need to spend such a sum.”
“The idea of storing it in my Subspace and retrieving it whenever needed appeals to me.”
“Hmm! Well, I don’t care who I sell it to, but are you truly certain you wish to purchase it?”
“Yes. Sell it to me.”
“Very well. Here it is.”
When Jang Gain withdrew the Dragon Fangs and Scales from his Subspace and handed them over, the Emperor’s face brightened with satisfaction.
* * *
From within the sea mist, Virus had been observing the warships of the Bermuda Maritime Alliance when he suddenly opened his mouth in astonishment.
“Huh! So human greed truly knows no bounds—those people have carved an entirely new sea route where none existed before, just so their warships could pass through.”
“They carved out a new sea route? You mean they dug up the sea bottom so the warships could navigate through?”
“Yes. I had deliberately commanded the earth spirits to transform that entire area into a reef-filled zone so no ships could pass. But they’ve cleared a path right through it for the warships to sail.”
“There must be an exceptionally skilled earth spirit master among the humans.”
“No, that’s not the work of spirits. The humans are diving down into the water and swinging pickaxes themselves.”
Upon hearing Virus’s words, Jang Gain tilted his head in confusion.
“Humans are able to swing pickaxes underwater?”
“Look over there, look! See how they’re currently cutting another sea route off to the side? Don’t you see them swinging pickaxes in the water?”
“I don’t see anything.”
“Oh right! You’re human. Even though I’m aware that you’re human, I keep forgetting. At any rate, it might not be visible to human eyes.”
After hearing Virus’s words, Jang Gain’s expression turned dumbfounded.
The three of them were now hidden within the sea mist, so only the faint silhouettes of the ships floating on the surface were visible through the haze. But when Virus spoke of observing the sea bottom, Jang Gain found it hard to believe.
“Noxcasarsis, can you see it?”
“I can’t exactly see it clearly either, but I do sense humans down on the sea floor destroying the reefs.”
“You sense it but can’t see it? I don’t even sense it.”
Jang Gain extended his Aura Sensing downward to probe below but detected nothing, and let out a short sigh.
Shortly after, Virus moved the invisible barrier that surrounded them.
After flying along the invisible barrier for about five minutes, small boats floating on the water became clearly visible, and so did the people pumping inside them.
“Can you see it now?”
“Yes, now I see it. Multiple connected tubes push air down so the people working underwater can breathe.”
“Those air pumps are originally used by fishermen when they dive underwater to harvest fish and shellfish. They’re using them to breathe while smashing reefs with pickaxes.”
“But even with air supplied through those tubes, wouldn’t swinging a pickaxe in deep water be extremely difficult?”
“Of course it’s difficult. Look there. That person looks nearly dead.”
“Honestly, I still can’t quite see them clearly with my own eyes, but I can sense that the workers underwater are struggling desperately for breath.”
“Wait! One of them just collapsed.”
“No, he hasn’t died yet.”
The moment Jang Gain sensed one of the pickaxe-wielders collapse, he burst through the transparent barrier surrounding them and plunged into the seawater.
In the past, he’d held a hollow bamboo tube in his mouth to ambush enemies while crossing a river, so his swimming prowess was unrivaled—as fluid as any fish.
‘His breath has stopped, but his heart still beats.’
Jang Gain approached the unconscious man.
The long-tubed helmet the man had been wearing had already slipped free, now bubbling gently as air rose from it.
Jang Gain cradled the man in his arms, kicked hard against the seabed, and surged upward with powerful strokes of his legs.
Splash…….
In an instant, he broke the surface and vaulted over the ship’s railing, landing on the deck.
“What—who is that?”
The armed crew members—those bearing swords and whips at their waists—started in alarm, drawing their blades toward Jang Gain.
They raised their weapons, but what they’d just witnessed was beyond the reach of ordinary men; none dared advance.
Jang Gain looked up at the two dragons concealed within the sea mist.
“Can you use Heal Magic on this man?”
“How am I supposed to heal someone who suffocated and then died from exhaustion? Heal Magic doesn’t work that way.”
The moment a voice spoke from the empty air above, the crew members gasped in bewilderment, their eyes darting toward their commander.
But their commander was equally lost, grasping nothing of the situation.
Meanwhile, Jang Gain pressed on.
“His heart’s still beating, so he’s not dead yet. Just try the Heal Magic.”
“I thought you had some grand plan, the way you dove into the sea so suddenly. Now you’re asking me to cast Heal Magic—fine, I’ll do it, but the chances of him surviving are slim. Heal!”
Light streamed from within the mist, sinking into the prone man’s chest; his eyes snapped open and he convulsed into violent coughs.
“See? Heal Magic worked. He’s alive now.”
Jang Gain rose, relief washing across his face, as the commander—clearly the highest-ranking man aboard—approached with blade still drawn.
“Who are you?”
“I am Marquess Cain of the Smed Kingdom.”
“The Smed Kingdom? The one beyond the Cram Empire, past the Crerarion Mountain Range?”
“The very same.”
Why would a marquess from such a distant kingdom come all this way? And how did you even board this ship?”
“How do you think? I saw a man down there dying while wielding a pickaxe, so I brought him up here to save him.”
The commander looked up toward the mist, as if to verify the story.
He’d heard voices moments before, yet saw nothing now.
“Who is it that speaks from above us?”
“Ah, they prefer to keep their identities hidden, so I can’t reveal them. Still, it seems those working beneath this ship need rest. If you keep driving them like this, they’ll all suffocate and die.”
“The men at the seabed are Cram soldiers—expendable. Don’t concern yourself with them.”
“But if they’re dead, how will they work? You can’t work a corpse.”
“Of course. We intend to wring every last drop from them before they die. In an hour, we’ll haul them up to the ship and let them rest for ten minutes. Any who die before then feed the fish.”
“That’s far too cruel. You’re saying half of them will die.”
“Cruel? When I think of my comrades killed by the Cram dogs, I’d like to grind them into powder. This isn’t cruelty enough.”
“It’s the nature of war—soldiers kill soldiers. Of course you bear them a grudge; I understand that. But I, and the two above as well—we’re tired of watching people die.”
“Who do you think you are? Some marquess from a far kingdom acting as though you matter here? Frankly, I don’t even believe you’re a marquess of Smed, and even if you were, there’s no reason we should heed your words.”
Whoosh——
In that instant, roughly a dozen figures wearing long-tubed helmets erupted from the water and were hurled onto the deck.
Retch, retch, gasp, gasp…….
They breathed heavily and coughed up seawater, their bewildered eyes scanning their surroundings.
The commander, mid-conversation with Jang Gain, gasped at this inexplicable phenomenon, his voice dropping with caution.
“What—what is this? Who pulled all those men from the water at once?”
“Who else? Not me. Those two up there, I’d imagine.”
As Jang Gain gestured upward, the commander’s eyes trembled, fixed on the mist.
Swish…….
Moments later, the sea mist parted, and the two dragons in human form descended onto the deck.
“I thought you’d keep hiding and just watch. Why are you getting involved now?”
“I was content to watch, but listening to you talk… I realized this isn’t your affair. It’s mine.”
“For people to stop dying, the war has to end. That does make it your responsibility.”
“W-what are you? Who—who are you?”
The commander asked with trembling fear; Virus furrowed his brow.
“Cease. Humans killing humans—let it end now.”
As he spoke, he swept his hand lightly, and every laborer working beneath the other ships surged upward and was cast onto the deck.
“Stop humans killing humans, you say? As though you yourself were not human…… Who—who are you?”
“I am the master of the Homal Strait.”
“The—the master of the Homal Strait? Could it be…… Are you a great one?”

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