There was no need to prolong the story any further.
Hans set off immediately with Helia riding a wyvern, aiming to deal with the dragon situated halfway up the mountain range. He couldn’t help but think that it might have been better if Yuren had come along instead.
He entertained that thought, but it was already spilled water. He never truly believed that a dragon would be causing trouble here. Forgetting about such hindsight, he moved on.
Perhaps sensing the dragon’s momentum, the wyvern started trembling in fear. Luckily, it didn’t take off on its own. Upon arriving at the location, Hans immediately entrusted the wyvern to Helia.
“Sensei, but if that happens…”
“If we don’t have the wyvern, it’ll be hard to get out of here.”
“…Understood.”
Helia rarely insisted on her way. This was partly because the teacher directly stated it, but also because she sensed a peculiar atmosphere — it seemed the teacher was avoiding her.
Was there something wrong? If so, they could fix it. Helia thought that way, but her heart ached regardless. So she followed him without a word.
She didn’t want to be disliked any further. Hans, surprised by Helia’s willingness to step back, quickly turned his gaze away. This was once the land of the orcs, but now only an uncomfortable silence lingered. It felt as if they were exploring ruins. To shake off his foul mood, Hans started moving again.
“There’s the dragon.”
The dragon was conspicuously sleeping deep inside. Hans gulped nervously. What should he do here? Should he ambush the sleeping dragon with a surprise attack?
No, but what if, by some chance, there was a valid reason? Or if the news reached the dragons’ ears? What if they started to see the Royal Knights as enemies…?
Just imagining that sent chills down Hans’s spine. As a commander, that was the sort of position he was in. He had to think of every possibility and act accordingly, given the potential repercussions.
“Wake up, dragon.”
[…Who dares disturb my sleep without fear?]
“Look before you— I’m right in front of you.”
[A voice that conveys no fear at all.]
The dragon was covered in black scales. As it opened its eyes, they were an icy shade of blue. The dragon rolled its eyes to see the man beneath it.
[You have no fear. Or have you lost your wits before overwhelming terror?]
The dragon openly laughed at Hans, who appeared weak and powerless in its eyes. Anyone who knew Hans as a Royal Knight wouldn’t think like that.
But unfortunately, this dragon didn’t recognize the man in front of it as Hans. And that meant the dragon’s bravado wouldn’t work. It was a serious miscalculation.
Hans racked his brain as much as he could. He didn’t want to fight a dragon in a place like this. Winning might be secondary; he just didn’t want to lose precious fighting power.
“First, I want to ask why you killed the Rusted Overlord?”
[Rusted Overlord? Are you talking about that orc?]
“That’s right.”
[He ignored my warning. I planned to make this land my home. I told him to leave, and he suddenly came at me.]
“…”
Hmm, what the hell is this idiot?
That was Hans’s honest thought. Of course, anyone would reach for their weapons if someone suddenly showed up claiming they were going to make their home there.
Just because they were called the Race of Benevolence, not all dragons loved every race. Some favored certain races, and some simply despised all other races.
Even so, the reason they were called the Race of Benevolence was because the majority of dragons loved other races and aimed to maintain balance. In other words, this idiot was truly a heretic.
“This place is the territory of the orcs. Return it to them.”
[How amusing. What can a pathetic thing like you do?]
“You won’t know until you try.”
[Haha! Alright, let’s see what you can do…]
In that moment, Hans flicked his fingers together. At the peculiar motion, the dragon questioned it just as all color disappeared, freezing everything in place.
“I tried my best not to kill you.”
After all, he considered them comrades, akin to Yuren, who dealt with demons together. He didn’t want to lose such overwhelming power. But if it came to this, Hans had no choice.
He let out a sigh and drew his sword.
*
Jet-black dragon Zairkan.
He prided himself on his strength among dragons. The dragons were divided into radicals and moderates. The radicals claimed that dragons should dominate and manage the continent, while the moderates advocated for harmony and coexistence.
Sadly, the moderates were now overwhelmingly dominant among dragons. Even if there were radical dragons, there were barely ten of them altogether.
Zairkan did not like this at all. Why must they toil for those bugs? They could just sweep everything away and dominate comfortably.
In fact, Zairkan had acted on such thoughts before. He had released his power hundreds of years ago and put a nation under his command. At least until other dragons stopped him.
No matter how powerful Zairkan was, he couldn’t withstand dozens of dragons attacking at once. Zairkan himself wasn’t particularly strong among dragons.
‘Have the bugs come to ignore me now?’
Of course, Zairkan was in a bad mood. Who am I? A dragon. I am truly worthy of being called the strongest race on the surface. Yet they don’t recognize me.
[This land is ours. I cannot give it to you.]
[How dare a mere orc speak so boldly.]
[Orcs always fight for their lives.]
Despite being annoyingly troublesome, Zairkan easily killed the orc. He wanted to kill the rest as well, but he couldn’t be so reckless. It was too predictable he’d be stopped.
He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. To deal with those beings, he would first settle down here and slowly expand his influence. This was for true dragons to receive their proper respect.
Thus, Zairkan mercifully chased away all the orcs. The oblivious orcs attempted to retaliate, but one orc who understood a bit better stepped forward.
[I cannot die here like this.]
‘But now what is this pointless little thing…’
Zairkan disliked all races equally, but the one he hated the most was undoubtedly humans. Dwarves had at least some skills, and beastmen or orcs had their strength.
Humans were truly worthless. If they didn’t join forces, they were nothing. Recently, the commander of the Royal Knights has been making noise. But they were just humans.
He thought it wouldn’t be hard to easily suppress them if he took action himself. He yawned while eyeing the human, wondering if he should just watch what the ignorant creature would do.
[Haha! Alright, show me what you can do…]
However, he couldn’t continue speaking. More accurately, his voice wouldn’t come out. Zairkan felt puzzled. What’s going on? Why did my voice suddenly cut off? At the same time, his vision swayed.
It felt as if the world was spinning wildly. Zairkan could not comprehend the situation. Could it be that human did something? He had no intention of playing along.
Zairkan lifted his gigantic body. His claws swiped at the man’s body, tearing him apart. Looking at the blood and entrails on his hands, Zairkan wore a satisfied grin.
At least in his mind.
[W-what is this……!!!]
His body didn’t move as he wished.
So Zairkan shifted his gaze. He thought he had finally calmed down. But at the same time, Zairkan saw it. That which was covered in black scales was his own proud body.
Why is my body over there?
Soon Zairkan understood the reason. Because the body had no head. Only then did Zairkan realize his position. His neck was severed in that fleeting moment.
[That can’t be! I, to a mere human!!!]
“Hubris and inattention. You just pay the cost.”
[You! Who the hell are you!!!]
“The commander of the Royal Knights, Hans.”
At the coldly spat words, Zairkan went pale as if struck by lightning. That man is Hans, the dangerous one they spoke of…!!! Zairkan screamed in anger.
[Am I just going to die like this?!]
Yet contrary to his words, Zairkan’s voice was fading away.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
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Bro please can’t you introduce hero character already , I want to see hans , hero combination fighting demons. Please consider it bro