A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 93

Kwa-kwakwakwakwa!

The spear of aura launched by Sieg pierced through the heart of the demonic beast with precision.

The beast, whose head was almost fully regenerated, screamed in agony as its core was pierced while it was about to regain consciousness.

Goooohhhh!

A gaping hole appeared where its heart used to be.

The wings that had sprouted on the beast's back melted away and disappeared.

Kaaaghhhh!

With a final death cry, the beast staggered and then collapsed to the ground.

Sieg, who had been observing the beast from atop Buchephalus, descended slowly while remaining vigilant.

"Attacking the core was the correct choice."

Simultaneously, a message appeared before Sieg's eyes.

『The skill level of "True Dragon Sword Art(S)" has increased from Novice to Skilled.』

The True Dragon Sword Art left behind by Shaton Draker was a secret technique intricately designed to target the vital spots of dragons.

In contrast, the Dragonslaying Art currently taught at Draker had been adapted to combat humans rather than dragons.

After Terakan Draker, many families had used the Dragonslaying Art as a foundation to create their own secret techniques and application formulas, leaving the original form only as a basic Dragonslaying Art.

At Draker, as well as among the blood alliance families, the focus had shifted to the modified application formulas and secret techniques, thus viewing the basic Dragonslaying Art as mere introductory swordsmanship.

However, Sieg realized while mastering Shaton Draker's True Dragon Sword Art that the real essence of the Dragonslaying Art was embedded in the basic form.

While the sword strikes and forms were important, the vital aspect of the True Dragon Sword Art was how to combine and utilize aura with each technique, and how to link the movements together.

Through his battle with the swamp master, Sieg was able to grasp the essence of the True Dragon Sword Art.

'I finally understand what the True Dragon Sword Art means by slaying a dragon.'

As the beast fell, the area that had turned into a complete swamp slowly began reverting to its original state.

Sieg rode Buchephalus down to the ground.

Then, he approached the fallen beast.

It was still not completely dead, as the clay-like surface of its skin slightly twitched.

At that moment, the clay-like skin slid off, revealing the beast's eyes underneath.

The eyes resembled those Sieg had seen in the past in Shaton Draker's vision of Bahamut.

'Is it really a dragon?'

Just then, something was transmitted to Sieg's mind.

『... Dragonslayer... thank you...』

This time, unlike the interrupted words from before, the beast communicated clearly.

Sieg was surprised by the words of gratitude from the beast.

"What do you mean by thanking me? And are you a dragon? Why do you appear like this...?"

As Sieg spilled out his questions, the beast seemed to have breathed its last and closed its eyes.

The organics that resembled clay had again covered the beast's face, leaving no trace of the dragon-like eyes.

Sieg looked at the swamp master, now dead.

It felt different from the other demonic beasts he had captured in either his past or present life.

'A dragon thanking a dragon slayer. Bahamut, known as an evil dragon, being Terakan Draker's contracted dragon also... There seems to be something undiscovered.'

Even records on Terakan Draker were kept restricted within the Draker family.

The Draker family held many secrets, including the unknown legend of the dragon slayer.

'If I were to take control of the family, I could unveil all these secrets.'

Sieg contemplated how to deal with the corpse of the deceased demonic beast or dragon, deciding to absorb it through Devour.

Though he couldn't precisely identify what it was, being a type of dragonkin was evident, thus perceiving potential gains from devouring it.

'I hope there are no adverse effects from devouring it.'

Considering he had faced no issues so far, it seemed okay, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy recalling the nasty acidic solutions and poisons it had unleashed.

"Well, it should be fine. Let something good come out of it."

Sieg used Devour on the swamp master.

Sssssss!

Sieg's shadow spread wide and enveloped the beast entirely.

Soon, the beast's body was completely absorbed into Sieg's shadow.

It was so massive that the absorption took quite some time.

Finally, the shadow of Devour engulfed the entire beast.

Simultaneously, a message window appeared.

『You have devoured a corrupted dragonkin fully tainted with demonic energy.』

『Your depleted stamina, mental strength, and mana are restored.』

『By devouring a designated execution target, the level of Devour skill has increased.』

『As the Devour skill grows, you can now devour items and acquire abilities.』

『You have acquired the ability 'Decay' from the devoured creature.』

『By absorbing the dragon heart of the dragonkin, a part of Bahamut's heart seal is lifted. The current compression seal rate is 80%.』

『You gain 1000 Karma Points.』

『You obtained 3 Random Boxes.』

"Hoo?"

Previously, by absorbing just one head of the Hydra, Sieg had attained the constitution Immunity to Hundred Poisons. The rewards were tremendous for devouring an entire dragonkin.

Sieg was surprised by one of the messages that appeared.

"I can devour items too?"

Although he wanted to test this function immediately, considering the situation, he decided to do it later.

"Acquiring abilities, a large number of points, an upgrade in the True Dragon Sword Art skill, and Random Boxes—even though it was challenging, I've gained quite a lot."

Satisfied, Sieg mounted Buchephalus.

He swiftly made his way to where Boris and Prince Carus were.

* * *

"Your Highness, this way."

Boris guided the prince into hiding deeper in the woods.

Due to the swamp master, no other demonic beasts were visible.

But simultaneously, their pursuers could also chase them without being hindered by beasts.

"Grrr!"

Boris clenched his teeth in pain as his wound tore open.

He tore his clothes to staunch the bleeding and calmed his breathing.

The Special Force was relentlessly pursuing Carus.

'Damn it. These bastards are truly relentless, even though I was one of them.'

The Special Force had pursued them into the depths of the swamp area woods, splitting apart from Luo's side.

Although Boris was a special operative from the Intelligence Bureau's 13th Division and a blue knight, it was difficult for him to handle the Special Force while protecting Carus.

'I wonder if I can hold on until the boss arrives.'

His new boss, Sieg, was indeed a monstrous individual.

He believed they could escape if Sieg arrived.

At that moment, one of the Special Force members approached the direction where Boris was hiding.

"Whoever you are, your skills are impressive. You gave us quite a run for our money."

The Special Force member began to persuade them.

"You won't escape this place with the prince anyway. Let me make a proposal. Hand over the prince and your life will be spared."

Boris knew better than anyone that the Special Force's promise was a lie.

There was no way they would let them go, knowing the Empire's secrets.

He held his sword, staying vigilant of his surroundings.

'Surely they'd say that and then stab us in the back.'

Boris drained the potion Sieg had given him and pulled out a scroll from his chest.

He didn't have many left, having used several to evade the chase.

'I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out with this.'

Then, the Special Force member shouted again.

"I'm not lying! I promise to spare your life!"

Boris was readying himself to throw a smoke screen scroll and flee.

At that moment, unexpectedly, Carus rose from his position and moved towards the Special Force.

Boris was astonished.

"Your Highness! What are you doing?"

Carus wore a bitter expression as he spoke.

"You've done enough. I'll surrender, so escape from here alive."

Naively swayed by the Special Force's persuasion, Carus had given in.

Just then, Special Force members burst from behind, immediately subduing Boris and Carus.

"We have secured Prince Carus."

Hearing these words, the persuading Special Force member grinned.

Thunk!

Suddenly, a dagger embedded itself into the temple of the Special Force member, who collapsed without even a scream.

The Special Force members restraining Carus and Boris were startled.

"An enemy is hidden! Stay alert!"

Thunk!

Before that command concluded, daggers lodged into the necks of two more Special Force members.

Boris got up and grabbed Carus.

"Get up, Your Highness! We need to escape from here!"

Carus, bewildered, started running alongside Boris.

The Special Force resumed their pursuit.

But something emerged from the forest, blocking the Special Force.

Whiiip!

Sieg, holding his sword, tackled the oncoming Special Force members.

Whooshhh!

A shield automatically deployed from his armor, repelling all the Special Force's attacks.

"A- no wor...!"

Unable to finish his sentence, the Special Force member's head was severed.

Having disposed of all the Special Force members, Sieg trailed after Boris.

As Sieg caught up, Boris and Carus sighed in relief.

"Boss!"

"Boris, how far to the smuggler's ship?"

"We must cross that mountain to reach the coastline."

"Even though it would take more time, there's no guarantee they haven't circled the forest. Let's hurry."

* * *

Sieg's party took a full day to traverse the demonic beast-infested woods and reach the southern coastline.

Thankfully, there were no more pursuit teams dispatched from the Special Force.

Exiting the mountains revealed the expansive ocean.

"Boss, over here."

Sieg's group moved towards the southern shore where the smuggling ship was docked.

The southern coast of the Dorata Republic, being near the Sea of Death, had rough waves and was composed of basalt formations, making it an unfrequented place.

Due to such geographical conditions, southern Continent smugglers used it as a base to enter the Dorata Republic.

The safer route was through the Kingdom's northern passage, but given the circumstances, they had no choice but to take the southern path.

Sieg asked Boris.

"Is there always a smuggling ship docked there?"

"Most smugglers using the southern route are traffickers bringing in drugs. With the high demand for Soma in the Casino City, small-scale smuggling ships constantly come and go."

"I see. But will they willingly take us to the Southern Continent?"

"As long as we mention we are with the Syndicate, they won't refuse."

The Syndicate, having taken control of the Southern Cartel, was a power too large for small-time smugglers to handle. Sieg acknowledged Boris's explanation with a nod.

Sieg's party traversed the basalt area heading towards the cave where smugglers had set up a camp.

As they neared, sounds of fighting emanated from within the cave.

Bash!

Crash!

Sieg gestured with a hand signal, instructing his party to stay back.

"It seems they're about to discover the smuggling ship's dock."

Boris gritted his teeth at their relentlessness.

Missing the smuggling ship meant struggling to find a route to escape.

"Boris, stay and protect His Highness. I'll check it out."

Sieg activated his 'invisibility' skill and quietly approached the ongoing battle within the basalt cave.

Peering in, he surprisingly saw Draker's knights engaged in combat with smugglers.

'Those are the Crimson Lion Knight Order.'

As expected, they had circled the coastline to pursue their party.

Fortunately, Abel or William were nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, someone from the Crimson Lion Knight Order shouted.

"Capture them all!"

As the knights rushed into the cave, the smugglers fired crossbows and threw military power bombs at the knights from behind cover within the cave.

Boom!

Even knights at the level of purple knights and above from the Draker Knight Order had to be cautious, as the powerful explosive strength of the bombs could cause significant injuries if underestimated.

Assuming them to be just mere smugglers, the knights were taken aback by such fierce resistance.

Outfitted with military magical weapons sourced from the Southern Cartel, the smugglers fortified defense turned out to be surprisingly resilient.

'I need to create a diversion to shift the focus of the Crimson Lion forces and open up a gap.'

Assessing the situation, Sieg pulled out an explosive magic scroll purchased from the shop from his inventory and began moving quietly yet swiftly.

Meanwhile, the deputy leader of the Crimson Lion Knight Order, Doner Rafelt, expressed his frustration.

"Damn it. Can't even handle those bastards."

The Crimson Lion Knight Order consisted of young knights loyal to Abel.

Having mainly dealt with outlaws or massacred poorly-armed rebels in the Central Continent, they lacked experience with messy melee battles like this, especially in cramped quarters.

Doner's frustration mounted as the troops failed to sweep through enemies effortlessly as usual.

Raising his sword, he shouted.

"Step aside! I'll go in and clean them all up."

At that moment, something flew in from behind.

Boom!

Unlike the military-powered bombs thrown by smugglers, it was the sound of real magic exploding.