The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 593: We Are the Only Ones Left. (1)
Step, step, step.
In the shadowy mountains of the Turian Kingdom, a lone elf ascended the monster-infested paths.
“Kraaaah!”
Dozens of orcs let out blood-curdling roars, charging at the elf with crimson eyes glinting and saliva dripping from their mouths.
It was clear to anyone that these creatures weren’t normal.
The monsters of the Shadow Mountains were all like this—driven by an endless urge to destroy, attacking any living thing on sight.
“Hm...”
The elf, Ereneth, gazed at the approaching orcs. She had heard rumors of these creatures before but was now seeing them firsthand.
The monsters were maddened to the point of fighting amongst themselves. Despite this, their overwhelming numbers were remarkable.
No one could explain the cause of this bizarre phenomenon. The only thing known was that, at some point, these monsters would spill out into the world in a devastating “Monster Wave.”
To combat this, the Turian Kingdom, which bordered the mountains, had built numerous fortresses to continuously cull the monsters.
“...Why would anyone create such a thing?”
Although this was Ereneth’s first time witnessing it, she didn’t dwell long on the mystery. She had her suspicions about who might have caused it.
Humans would struggle to investigate these mountains thoroughly. The monsters were too numerous, and humanity was already preoccupied with fighting the Salvation Order and the Rifts.
Snap!
Ereneth snapped her fingers, and towering flames erupted around her, engulfing the orcs.
“Kaaaargh!”
The intense fire spirits swirled around her, reducing the orcs to ashes.
Even as they burned, the orcs desperately tried to reach her, their relentless bloodlust unwavering.
After dealing with the orcs effortlessly, Ereneth glanced at her hand.
“My power...”
Her strength was gradually returning to its peak.
Surprisingly, when she had allied with the Ruthanian forces, she had not been at full power.
In her prime, Ereneth was regarded as the second strongest among the Seven Powers of the Continent, her renown unmatched despite rarely engaging in battle.
“...The curse is nearly broken.”
For centuries, a curse had confined her to the Forest of the World Tree. Even after it lifted, her full strength had not returned.
While she should have been glad about her restoration, Ereneth instead wore a sorrowful expression.
“Does this mean... he has returned?”
Her regaining power was proof that her ancient adversary, the Adversary, had reappeared.
Moreover, his influence on the world was growing stronger.
With a heavy heart, Ereneth pressed forward. She needed to meet someone in the mountains, someone crucial.
“Kraaah!”
As Ereneth ventured deeper, monsters lunged at her relentlessly.
The deeper she went, the more monsters emerged, their numbers increasing.
It wasn’t as overwhelming as during a Monster Wave, but the unending battles were exhausting.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The mountain paths crumbled under her power, scattering monsters left and right.
However, no matter how strong Ereneth was, she couldn’t handle the entirety of the mountain’s creatures alone.
Even sneaking past them had its limits—the sheer volume of monsters was staggering, enough to trip over.
The war had kept the Turian hunters inactive, allowing the monster population to swell uncontrollably.
As Ereneth began to tire, a strange resonance echoed from the depths of the mountain.
“Booooom...”
It was an indescribable sound, like a horn being blown or the very air reverberating.
The moment it spread, something remarkable occurred.
“Grrr...”
The monsters’ madness subsided.
Their bloodlust remained, their crimson eyes still glowed, and their saliva still dripped. But they ignored Ereneth, treating her as if she were one of their own.
“Finally... you’ve noticed me,” Ereneth muttered, exhaling deeply.
She turned toward the direction of the resonance and began walking.
After a long trek, Ereneth arrived at the entrance of an enormous cave.
Before the entrance stood a bowing goblin.
“Crrk, crrk. My master has requested that I escort the honored guest. Crrk.”
Ereneth nodded in acknowledgment. Such things weren’t unfamiliar to her.
Deep within the cave lay a vast chamber. Inside resided the true ruler of the Shadow Mountains.
The goblin led Ereneth forward, then prostrated itself before the master.
“I-I have brought the honored guest, as ordered by the great master,” the goblin stammered before scurrying to the side.
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A chilling voice echoed from the master of the mountains.
“Ereneth... Guardian of the World Tree, Chieftain of the Elves. It has been a long time...”
The very air turned frigid as the words were spoken. The goblin froze, ice covering its body as it trembled.
Ereneth bowed slightly before the being in front of her.
“It has indeed been a while, Arterion.”
The master of the mountains was no ordinary creature.
Scales shimmered like shards of celestial glass.
A massive, elegant form stretched out in grand arcs.
Teeth and claws gleamed like ice crystals, while folded wings exuded the majesty of a fortress.
His eyes glowed with a cold, icy light, piercing through the deepest darkness.
He exuded an aura of mystery and supremacy, like a god reigning over all winters.
He was Arterion, the White Dragon.
Once, in an ancient war, he had lost his land of blizzards and become confined to the Shadow Mountains as the last of the Dragon Lords.
In Ghislain’s past life, Arterion was known as the Mad Dragon, one of the final enemies he faced.
Now, he was the ruler of all the monsters in the Shadow Mountains.
Ereneth studied Arterion’s form carefully before speaking.
“It seems the curse binding you is not yet fully broken.”
“Indeed... but it will not be long...” Arterion replied slowly.
Black chains of energy emanated from the air, coiling around the dragon’s massive body.
The chains, cracked and splintering, suggested they were weakening. Soon, they would break entirely.
The stronger the bound creature, the longer the curse would hold. Unlike Ereneth, Arterion was still unable to move.
Arterion fixed his gaze on Ereneth and asked,
“The breaking of your curse means... the Salvation Order has revived, and he has returned. Have you found him...?”
“No, I have not,” Ereneth replied.
“...So the Salvation Order has returned. What is the current situation?”
“The humans are holding them off ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) well,” Ereneth replied. “Though the battles are fierce, the humans have the upper hand for now.”
“The rifts in the Turian Kingdom were once occupied with fighting the monsters of these mountains,” Arterion said slowly. “What about the other rifts?”
“Most of them have been contained, their expansion suppressed for now, though it is only a temporary measure.”
At this, a flicker of surprise crossed Arterion’s icy gaze.
“These humans of today... they are remarkable. How can this be possible...?”
Ereneth’s thoughts turned to Ghislain, the human leader who had orchestrated Ruthania’s victory in the civil war with unparalleled skill and foresight.
A faint smile crept onto her lips as she recalled him.
“There is one exceptional human sovereign,” she said. “He acts as if he can foresee everything, preparing and moving with precision.”
“Impressive... Then, it seems all that remains is to find and kill the ‘Betrayer,’ and everything will finally be over,” Arterion said, his voice laced with venom.
A palpable bloodlust began to seep into the dragon’s piercing blue eyes.
Ereneth hesitated briefly before speaking.
“We cannot yet be certain that he has truly been resurrected. The Salvation Order has long lingered, even after their peak.”
Growl.
Arterion’s growl rumbled through the chamber, low and menacing. His voice took on a chilling edge.
“Even after seeing the breaking of our curses, you still doubt? You, who have surpassed your natural lifespan only because of that curse?”
“...”
“That ‘Betrayer’ has returned. I can feel it. He has come back to enact his vengeance, just as he swore he would long ago!”
Boom!
Arterion’s roar reverberated through the cavern, causing part of it to collapse. The goblin that had been cowering nearby vomited blood and collapsed.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Arterion attempted to move, but the black chains binding him held firm. His voice was thick with rage.
“The goddess herself abandoned us—us, who risked our lives to protect humanity! Instead, she let his curse take hold. You became slaves, and we were driven to extinction! Is this justice?”
“...”
“I will not stand for it! This time, I will ensure his soul is obliterated once and for all!”
Arterion’s glowing blue eyes burned red with fury.
Ereneth remained silent. She knew all too well the depths of the dragon’s wrath.
Arterion growled again, the sound more like a warning than words.
“He is nothing but a traitor who betrayed humanity. Do not harbor any hope or lingering sentiments for him. Just wait a little longer. I will find and kill him myself.”
“...”
“We will have to fight him anyway. Do you think he will ever forgive us? Never.”
“...”
Ereneth closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.
Arterion was right. The Adversary would never forgive her—or anyone else still living. He was a being bent on destroying everything in this world.
How much had humanity sacrificed to defeat him and the Salvation Order in the past? Even now, the entire continent was engulfed in chaos because of them.
The Adversary was an existence that had to be eradicated.
Arterion exhaled a frosty breath that filled the cavern.
“Find the relic. The relic left behind by the Saintess. It will guide you to him.”
“...”
Ereneth did not respond. She already knew that Ghislain possessed the relic—she had helped him obtain it.
If the relic truly could lead to the Adversary, staying by Ghislain’s side would suffice.
But she had no intention of sharing this information with Arterion.
Something about it didn’t sit right with her.
Instead, she asked about something else that had been troubling her.
“Why... did you release the monsters in such a maddened state?”
“I told you already,” Arterion replied. “For a fleeting moment, I felt his resurrection. He was reborn in the Turian Kingdom. I sensed the accursed energy unmistakably.”
“So... you sent them to the Turian Kingdom...”
Arterion’s eyes gleamed with renewed bloodlust.
“Yes. I have been sending monsters to kill him.”
Ereneth was stunned. This meant that Arterion had been unleashing these maddened creatures based purely on instinct.
For over twenty years.
Because of this, the Turian Kingdom had been reduced to ruins, forced into an unending struggle against the monsters.
She found it hard to believe. Arterion had always been a wise and measured dragon.
“Why would you do such a thing? The humans there are suffering, forced to battle monsters endlessly.”
Arterion sneered at her.
“Why should it matter if a few insect-like humans die? They owe us their lives. They have no right to complain if we take them back.”
“...”
“The goddess abandoned us. I cannot move. So what other choice do I have but to send the monsters after him?”
“But to go so far as to harm innocent humans...”
“To kill him, I must annihilate every last human in the Turian Kingdom!”
Boom!
Arterion’s fury cracked the cavern walls. The goblin, already barely clinging to life, died instantly, its head crushed by the immense pressure.
This was the secret behind the Turian Kingdom’s ceaseless war against the monsters.
And if Arterion’s words were true...
The Adversary truly had been reborn in the Turian Kingdom.
