Dragon Maken War

Chapter 180 - The End of the Wait (3)

Suddenly, Leticia asked him a question.

“Did you resolve your indecision?”

“Maybe.”

Azell let out a bitter laugh.

He hadn’t told his associates about Reshoo partnering up with Atein. He hadn’t wanted to break the concentration of his associates when they were learning the Dragon Soul from Reshoo.

Leticia was able to read the indecision in Azell’s attitude.

However, his feelings regarding Reshoo was different from what she was reading from him.

Azell looked far into the distance as he mumbled to himself.

“A lot has changed. A lot of stuff.......”

His gaze headed towards the mountain peak of Laus.

His old friend Carlos was there. They had been such close friends that they would have given their lives for each other.

He couldn’t say for certain that Carlos was still alive, but a part of him existed in this world. Carlos had been waiting for him, and this fact was touching. At the same time, Carlos had suffered under hardships over the long years, and Azell was afraid to witness what changes those hardships had brought about in Carlos.

He had been shocked when he saw the changes that had occurred within Reshoo. The shock he would feel at meeting Carlos wouldn’t hold a candle to the shock he felt for Reshoo. He had a gut feeling that this would be the case, so he considered himself fortunate for being able to spend some time inside the forest. It allowed him to put off the meeting.

However, his time here was at an end. Azell wanted to meet Carlos, but at the same time, he desperately didn’t want to meet him either. These two realities was about to clash against each other.

Azell spoke.

“It has always been like this. It doesn’t matter if I’m ready or not. If I have to do something, I just have to face it.”

“I don’t think that’s how it should be.”

“What do you mean?”

Azell was puzzled by the point Leticia was trying to make.

She spoke.

“If the man named Carlos is truly your precious friend, shouldn’t you treat him with honor? He went through all kinds of pain to wait for you. It would be a discourtesy to show up in front of him without a firm resolve.”

“.......”

Azell had a stupid expression on his face. It was as if he had been punched in the face.

For a long while, he wasn’t able to speak then his lips started to twitch. Soon, he was letting out an unburdened laughter.

“You are right. It really is like that.”

Carlos had done so much for him. He even worried about Azell, who would be awoken long after his death. He had made so much arrangements for Azell, because he had been worried about Azell.

That is why it didn’t matter how much Carlos had changed. It was his duty to face Carlos face to face.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll consider this debt paid against what you have taught me.”

Leticia snorted as she left.

5

Azell’s party left for the mountain peak of Laus. It was four days after Leticia had conducted the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual.

Leticia had used those four days to get a handle on the power she had acquired in the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual. She also learned the basic uses of the Dragon Soul with Kairen.

On the day of their departure, Leticia went to see Reshoo before the sun came up. Reshoo had told her that he wouldn’t be seeing her off.

“What’s up?”

Reshoo asked the question as if he had known she would visit him. Leticia didn’t speak for a long time as she looked at him.

“I heard it from Azell.”

“What did he say?”

“He said you might become our enemy.”

“I guess he really told you.”

Reshoo let out a bitter laugh.

In truth, he never thought Azell would hold back the truth from his colleagues. If a truth like this was kept secret, there were advantages and disadvantages that came with such a decision. If they were to meet Reshoo as an enemy in the future, it would shock them. It was better to tell them at an earlier date, so they could prepare themselves for the fight.

Leticia spoke.

“Is that the reason why you and Azell didn’t reveal your true powers”

“Yes.”

While they resided in the Albatan forest, Reshoo and Azell hadn’t revealed their true capabilities. Even when Azell released his magical energy in front of Laura, he had left plenty of power left in reserve.

Reshoo queried her.

“Do you resent me?”

“We aren’t enemies yet. Not yet.....”

Leticia’s eyes were cold. However, Reshoo could read the complicated emotions that was being suppressed deep down within her.

She spoke.

“If a time comes when we meet again as enemies, I won’t resent you. It is the same now as in old times. I will be thankful to you.”

“Leticia.”

“I’ll just tell you this one thing.”

Leticia raised her hand to cut off what Reshoo was about to say.

“When the time comes, I’ll be the one to take your life.”

“.......”

“You seem to have a deep connection with Azell, but I won’t yield the opportunity to him. Either you die or I die. We must settle this between us.”

Leticia displayed a mighty determination. Reshoo smiled as he looked into her eyes.

“I never taught you to be like that.”

“You taught me not to obsess about one on one battles. You told me to be willing to get help from my comrades to achieve victory at all cost.”

It didn’t matter what kind of situation Leticia faced. She set her priorities before she acted. She didn’t get caught up with emotions, and she minimized the chaos that arose within a battle. These general principles had been taught to her by Reshoo, and it was the reason why she was able to survive the fight against the Plain of Darkness.

However, she had changed a little bit after she acquired comrades. While she continued to pursue her own safety above all else, there were things that were more important to her than the prospect of future fights now.

“...I’ll probably do as you advised. You might think it cowardly, but I’ll find the best plan to end you.”

Leticia didn’t deny it. The fight with Reshoo was her responsibility, but she wouldn’t hesitate to borrow the power of others to win against him.

She was aware of the difference in power. She would never be able to win against Reshoo in a one on one battle.

Reshoo spoke.

“It seems I hadn’t taught you in vain.”

“You are a bad teacher.”

“Why?”

“You taught your student to act in a certain way, yet you won’t follow your own teachings.”

“.......”

Leticia was well aware of Reshoo’s personality. Reshoo had drilled into Leticia that she had to prioritize survival and victory above all else.

However, Reshoo moved within a different set of rules.

Reshoo shrugged his shoulders.

“I have no rebuttal to that point.”

“If you do become my enemy, I don’t want you to die in an unknown place. At the very least, don’t get killed by some random person.”

“I’ll try not to.”

“Good.”

After she told him what she had to say, Leticia unhesitatingly turned her body away from him. As she moved away from him, Reshoo suddenly called out to her.

“Leticia!”

Leticia stopped walking. However, she didn’t turn around.

“It was good to see you again.”

“...hoong.”

Leticia snorted as she moved into the distance. However, her expression was crumpled from the pain she was feeling.

6

It was a long ways away from the mountain peak of Laus.

The Albatan forest was vast, and the Atisan mountain range separated the Albatan Forest and the Plain of Darkness. It was a natural barrier. The mountain range was enormous and perilous. All kinds of danger lurked within the mountain range.

On the day of his departure, Albatan asked Azell a question when he came to say farewell to Albatan.

“You refuse to ask me the question.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the deal I made with Carlos.”

Carlos had taught Albatan a technique of massive value. Azell’s party was taught the Dragon Soul technique in return. Carlos resided in the vast and perilous land. He worked towards ending the unresolved fight of his era, and he prepared for the future when Azell would awaken from his sleep.

Of course, Azell was curious about the content of the deal.

Dragon Soul was a surprising technique. In an era where the world had even forgotten about the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual, this technique was unbelievably valuable.

Azell had realized the need to strengthen his party members, and this technique had been like a rain during a famine. Azell could have transferred his Dragon weapons to his allies, but it would have lessened his own powers in the process.

Did Carlos really predict all of this? Or....

‘No, he just took all possible steps within his power.’

It was the same during the Dragon Demon war.

Carlos didn’t have the ability to look into the future unlike the legendary sage in the legends. However, Carlos had decided to prepare for all the possibilities of the future he could think up. Aside from the plans Azell had come across, there were probably countless arrangements that was unknown to him. Azell had been able to stumble across a couple of these arrangements by pure luck.

“I am curious. However, I want to hear it from him.”

“It seems you’ve made up your mind.”

“A woman gave me an advice that I should be more courteous to my friend.”

Azell let out a bitter laugh as he thought about the words spoken by Leticia.

Albatan spoke.

“The technique taught to me by Carlos was a curse.”

“Curse?”

Azell’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected this answer.

Albatan raised his claw to point at Azell.

“It was the curse placed on you by Atein.”

“Why would you want......”

“Why did Atein put a curse on you? Did you ever think about the reasons behind his action?”

“I got in the way of his ambitions, and he probably wanted to take revenge against the person, who took his life.”

“Do you really think Atein would act based on such reasons?”

“.......”

The most obvious answer was shot down. He wanted to deny Albatan’s words, but a part of him agreed with his words.

Albatan enjoyed the confused reaction of Azell. He spoke.

“After being preoccupied with this question over the years, he finally found out the reason behind Atein’s actions. Moreover, he passed on the curse that he had been able to analyze.”

“What was the reason behind Atein’s action?”

“You can hear it from Carlos. It’ll be a great conversation starter for friends that hadn’t met for a long time.”

“As always, you are quite perverse.”

“Isn’t it the joy of being old?”

Azell sighed as he spoke. Albatan let out a sly smile. It was almost unbelievable that a Dragon could make such an expression. Azell lowered his head after he witness the Dragon’s expressive face.

“Thank you for your kindness........”

“If you live to acquire the answer, I want you to come back. I want you tell me the answer you acquired.”

“Which answer are you talking about?”

“You’ll have to find that out for yourself too.”

“If I feel like it, I’ll do so.”

Albatan snorted at Albatan’s mischievous words.

7

Azell’s party moved quickly.

For the past two days, they moved with plenty of energy left in reserve. However, they started moving like the wind on the fourth day when they entered the Atisan mountain range.

“Ooh. This place is no joke.”

Yuren had flown into the air, and he had been buffeted by the turbulent winds. Yuren shook from the cold as he hugged himself.

Was it because they were getting closer to the Plain of Darkness? The temperature at the Atisan mountain range was quite cold, and there was a bite to the winds. Yuren was unable to fly above a certain altitude.

“It seems we won’t be able travel in comfort. We’ll have move along this mountain range.”

The Atisan mountain range didn’t have any paths that looked traversable by humans. If the members of Azell’s party hadn’t possessed superhuman abilities, they would have labored to even make it to the entrance of the mountain range.

Azell spoke.

“I can see why this place is called the natural barrier between the Plain of Darkness and the Albatan forest.”

The Atisan mountain range was enormous and perilous. This was why humans refused to step onto this mountain. According to some rumors, there were dangerous beings that frequented this mountain range. They were beings that were used to such harsh conditions.

Laura queried him.

“Have you been here before?”

“Nope..”

“So how can you say......”

“I’m just saying you guys should be on alert. I was able to give you guys a rough idea on how to prepare for the Albatan forest. I cannot do that for this place...... Ah, wait a moment.”

In the midst of saying those words, Azell suddenly had a thought.

“Laura, have you been here before?”

“Yes.”

“.......”

Azell’s expression was a sight to behold. When his companions started to snicker, he cleared his throat.