Dragon Poor

The dead soldier who had fallen over staggered up and lurched towards the pitch-black veil of darkness. The veil shook and swallowed the soldier when he stood in front of it. Not long after, a skeleton soldier jumped out of the veil with all his flesh melted off him. 

Such scenes were occurring everywhere. It was only natural there weren’t any bodies. 

[The mages are ready and waiting for permission to attack, sir!]

[Permission?! What permission! Do the mages not have eyes?! If they don’t immediately use their magic, the defense line will be breached! Tell them to use the strongest spell they have!]

[But sir! What about our allies? It’ll be friendly fire, sir!]

[You dumb bastard! If we tried to save those bastards, we’re all going to die!]

The middle-aged commander replied with a miserable look on his face. And soon after, colorful spells exploded everywhere.

[Damn it! Damn it! Don’t ever forgive me! Curse me! I will die as horribly as you and I won’t be leaving behind a corpse either. So take comfort in that!]

The middle-aged commander’s screams could be heard from the explosions. The spells soon subsided and the number of demons and the undead crawling out of the veil decreased significantly. 

[The knights are here!]

[Wow, they sure came quickly…]

The video disappeared with the sight of the knights arriving late, spreading brilliant sword energies and hacking at the demons. 

“With the current video recorder, this is the limit.”

The mage stepped forward and informed him that the video was over and from next to him, the knight explained the situation on the frontline. 

“The video you just watched is a record of the 67th Armored Infantry Regiment’s battle in the southern part of Astoria. They had been sent by Iberia to support the Central region. From a total of 1,942 soldiers from the 67th regiment, 624 soldiers were killed in this battle. All the injured had died, so there were only a few soldiers who were wounded.”

“Other videos are also available, sir. This one is about the joint battle between the 59th Imperial Armored Infantry Regiment and the Royal Infantry Regiment of the Tennessia Kingdom.”

The mage brought up another video. A scene, not very different from the video they had previously watched, unfolded in front of their eyes.

“1,300 of the 1,612 men of the Tennessian Royal Infantry Regiment were killed, and 482 of the 1,933 soldiers from the 59th Imperial Armored Infantry Regiment died, sir.”

It was a horrendous number of casualties, but there was something more terrifying.

“All these battles took place in just two hours, sir.”

In just two hours, the regular infantry, people who could be considered to be seasoned and elite troops of each country, had suffered a defeat that was close to annihilation.

“The veil surrounding the Holy Kingdom of Astoria is usually hard and does no harm. Of course, it's a different story if there’s direct contact. However, there are times when the veil weakens and thins at times. And that weakened veil lasts for two hours. Sometimes it changes like this three times a day, and other times, it stays quiet for several days. That’s when the veil becomes dangerous. When the veil weakens and thins, the demons pour out in all directions. The frontlines call this phenomenon a Wave and gave each one a number.”

The knight continued after a short pause. 

“The videos you saw earlier were all from the First Wave, sir. The demons that came out in the Second Wave were far more ferocious than what you saw in the video. It is said that in the Third Wave, greater demons rushed out in droves.”

“Then why wasn’t there a video recording of the Second and Third Waves? Wouldn't that have been better to understand the situation on the frontline?”

When an old nobleman in the conference room asked the question, the knight who had been explaining responded with a hard face.

“All the units who blocked the Second Wave were annihilated. There were few survivors and we could not obtain a recording.”

The already heavy atmosphere in the conference room became heavier. 

“To date, 4,800 of the 24,000 allied troops that have volunteered from Iberia have been killed. In just two weeks, twenty percent of the entire dispatched force was killed, and even at this moment, the death count continues to accumulate.”

“Haa! Our ally’s men are going to a distant place and shedding blood!”

“Shouldn’t the troops be moved right away?”

When the nobles began clamoring, the knight answered with a slightly firm voice.

“A new Central Kingdoms Alliance has formed around the Warrior, Park Joon-Min, and is requesting more extensive support.”

When he brought up the Warrior Park Joon-Min, all the nobles’ gaze simultaneously turned to one place. They stared at Kim Seon-Hyeok who sat with a hard face.

“Let’s end the meeting here. Mage, remain.”

Because Ophelia wasn’t feeling well, he had been in charge of the meeting. When he ordered the meeting to end, the nobles hesitated before they left. 

“That video recorder… is a mage absolutely necessary for it?”

“No, Your Grace. If you use this magic stone over here, you can use it a couple of times without a mage.”

“Then leave the recorders and the magic stone behind and head on out.”

When even the mage left, he was left alone in the conference room. 

Alone, he continued to look at the video recordings several times throughout the night.

The fluttering black veil looked as if it was alive, and even looking at it through the video, he could feel an incomparable wickedness in the purple sky of the West.

~

[Hyung, I feel pathetic that I’m his adversary but I have to do this over and over again. I also feel apologetic towards you. I’m afraid that it’ll really be difficult for me to do this alone this time. Please help me this once.]

Before the video recorder had arrived, the Warrior Park Joon-Min had requested for direct communication. At that time, the Warrior confessed that he could not prevent the disaster that occurred in the Holy Kingdom alone and asked for Kim Seon-Hyeok’s help.

“I’m sorry, Joon-Min. Right now, I want to rest.”

He had rejected the Warrior’s request. The Warrior had been terribly disappointed, but he didn’t try to convince Seon-Hyeok by force.

[That’s true, you’ve done so many things in the past. I can’t keep asking you for help each time. I understand, Hyung. I’ll take care of this here. Don’t worry too much. It’s just a shame that my nephew’s born but I can’t even go visit.]

“Thank you for understanding, and I’m sorry.”

[Don’t worry about it. Even without you here Hyung, I’ll do my best not to fail. Hyung, I’ll contact you again in a few days.]

~

Park Joon-Min had said he would contact him, but Park Joon-Min never contacted him. The only news that came was that the damage to the defense line surrounding the Holy Kingdom was increasing to an unmanagable level. 

And today, Kim Seon-Hyeok had been able to see the battle on the frontline in detail.

“Whoo.”

The magic stone finally died and the video abruptly stopped. Kim Seon-Hyeok had been sitting there as he stared blankly into the air for a long time, immersed in deep thought. Only then, did he leave the conference room.

He had lost track of time as he stared at the records of the battle. So when he returned to his bedchamber, the sun had already set a long time ago.

He looked at Ophelia who was asleep with her back towards him. He carefully laid himself down next to her. 

He had a hard time falling asleep because of his troubled thoughts. After tossing and turning for a while, he was finally able to fall asleep. Not long after he fell asleep, Ophelia opened her eyes.

Her eyes were too clear for a person who had just woken up.

She looked at Kim Seon-Hyeok for a long time. She looked at her sleeping husband and child with a shadowed face.

***

“I’ll be back. Victor, be good and listen to your mother.”

After shamelessly telling a child who still couldn’t move on his own to listen to his mother, Kim Seon-Hyeok left the bedchamber. None of the previous day’s worries were visible on his face.

“Haa.” Ophelia sighed after Kim Seon-Hyeok left the room. “My father and I made him a hero, but I regret that so much now.”

Victorius didn’t understand what his mother was saying nor did he notice her worries; he just continued to look for milk.

***

Leaving Ophelia behind, Kim Seon-Hyeok attended a meeting with the nobles to devise a countermeasure against the disaster that occurred in the Central region of the continent.

“For now, we’ll suspend additional support for general troops for a while. The fact is that the number of troops dispatched to the Central region has already placed a huge burden on us as compared to any other kingdom, so the Central Kingdoms Alliance cannot blame us for making this decision.”

No matter how many regular soldiers were deployed, all they could do was maintain the defense line. In order to deal with the catastrophe in the Holy Kingdom, they had to break through the veil and remove its source, not just block the veil.

And once beyond the veil, only the knights, and mages, as well as the superhumans, could do that. 

However, the Empire had shed too much blood for them to send in the superhumans recklessly. Even if the Empire had the most superhumans on the entire continent, they couldn't take unlimited damage, so it was necessary to spend a bit more time thinking about whether they would continue to send in superhumans as support.

“It’s said that a seat makes the person, and it’s true. If it was the Grand Duke of the past, you would have run off to the Central region.”

After the nobles separated and he was left alone, Marquis Reinhardt came to see him.

“I never imagined that you would withhold deploying the knights in order to preserve the Empire’s power, Grand Duke.”

“Even if it’s only for a short time, Her Imperial Majesty didn’t entrust me with administering the state affairs so that I could push the Empire’s treasured superhumans to death as I please.”

Ophelia’s total trust in him made him take a step back and adopt a defensive stance. The burden of maintaining the status quo she left him until she returned to the forefront of the state affairs weighed down on him.

“I’m not trying to criticize you. To be honest, who on this continent could blame you, Grand Duke? Just based on what you’ve done in the past, everyone on this continent should be bowing down in front of you and worshipping you.”

Marquis Reinhardt was telling Kim Seon-Hyeok that since he had already done a lot of hard work, he should take a step back and in the future, entrust the risky and dangerous work to others. The marquis also emphasized several times that the Indomitable Grand Duke wasn’t the only influential person on the continent.

It was unlike the marquis to be consoling him.

“Hoo.”

Kim Seon-Hyeok didn’t feel any happier. It felt as if a large boulder was lodged in his chest.

Of course, he let Ophelia know what he was feeling. Whenever he was with her, he was an outrageous and overreacting father as well as a fastidious husband. 

“Victor! Victor!”

Ophelia’s expression was complicated as she looked at Kim Seon-Hyeok who was making a fuss over little gestures without seeming to tire of it. 

“Grand Duke.”

“What is it? Do you need something? Should we go on a walk?”

Ophelia sighed at his overly cheerful tone.

“Promise me one thing.”

He titled his head at her abrupt words.

“That you won’t get hurt. Promise me that you’ll return safely, unharmed.”

“What do you…”

Completely frozen, he questioned her. Ophelia responded in a strong voice.

“Go to the Central region.”

“Ophelia!”

Kim Seon-Hyeok exclaimed in shock. But she didn’t stop talking.

“Just your words are enough. Grand Duke, I’ve seen you trying your best to keep your promise. That is enough for me. So, don’t hesitate any longer and go to the Central region.”

“What on earth are you saying right now?! I am not going! My home is here. Where would I go?”

“Grand Duke.”

Ophelia’s voice became calmer.

“But, even if you’re heading to the Central region, you must first do what you have to do, Grand Duke.”

“What do you mean… do what…”

“I mean for you to take full advantage of the power that you hold, Grand Duke.”

She raised her hand and pointed north.

“If you’re with the Dragon, then I will be able to send you off with a peace of mind.”

“Ophelia…”

Unable to come up with something to say, he could only repeat her name over and over again. She lightly pushed his back.

“By the time you return, Grand Duke, the Empire and the Eastern kingdom’s soldiers will have prepared everything. You are a knight who only knows victory. Lead them and bring me another glorious victory.”