Chapter 201 — The Creator of Dragons

Rumble, rumble!

The road to the Sanctum.

Behind the Star’s Legion racing through the rising dust, a black flag fluttered in the wind — a skull impaled on a sword, the emblem of the Black Skull Mercenaries.

“Stylish, isn’t it?”

Karot, captain of Black Skull, watched Elric charging far ahead and grinned. Beside him, Hayes frowned deeply.

“Stylish? I’m nervous just looking at him.”

All through Elric’s confrontation with Viscount Kuranshivil, Hayes had wrestled with whether to step in or not — her hands tightening and relaxing around the haft of her sledgehammer again and again.

But in the end, she didn’t interfere.

Thankfully, Elric had overwhelmed Kuranshivil, and Hayes — as a Melvinger herself — wanted to preserve the authority of her family’s young head.

“Still,” Karot chuckled, “it’s impressive. How many people his age could command an organization with that kind of presence?”

He narrowed his eyes, watching Elric’s back.

Karot had grown up an orphan, trained under Sailor, wandered through mercenary bands, and built his own with comrades gathered along the way. He had seen countless people — and many who called themselves leaders.

Elric was easily among the best of them.

Sure, he was still young — a bit raw, a bit brash — but perhaps that was part of his charm. That reckless confidence made him seem all the more heroic to the younger warriors.

If I were ten years younger, I might have followed him too…

Even within Black Skull, the perception of Elric had shifted dramatically after the incident. Until recently, they had thought of him only as the “reckless kid” Hayes often described.

Now that prejudice was gone. Plenty of mercenaries now looked at him with newfound respect — “He’s the real deal, huh?”

Hayes felt a mix of pride and worry. It made her happy to see her comrades recognize her younger brother’s strength — but also afraid of what lay ahead.

Elric…

She was several years older than him — old enough to remember the fall of their family vividly, and the ugliness behind it.

How corrupt the Imperial Court had been back then. How greedy the Franz family was. How many so-called allies had turned away once the Melvinger name lost its political weight.

She had seen it all — and spent those dark days protecting the young Elric.

So her worry wasn’t baseless. He was destined to witness even greater ugliness — to endure and overcome it.

She knew exactly how deep the scars of that path could cut.

Outwardly gentle, inwardly unyielding — that was Elric. No matter how calm or easygoing he seemed, his resolve was forged of steel.

But still, she wished… maybe this path didn’t have to hurt him so much.

“You know the real test starts now, right?” Karot said.

“That’s what worries me. He’s a walking disaster sometimes…”

“Heh. Don’t act like you don’t trust him.”

Unlike the anxious Hayes, Karot was brimming with excitement.

“Demon hunting, huh? This war might turn out a lot more fun than I thought.”

Originally, he had joined the campaign to settle his old grudge — to face the Legion of the Crimson Lion, enemies of his mentor, Sailor. But now, he sensed something far more interesting might be waiting ahead.

Maybe it’s time to stop drifting and settle down somewhere…

It was the kind of thought that would make Hayes panic — thinking he wanted to turn this war camp into a mercenary haven — but Karot just tightened his reins and shouted,

“Hyah!”

Meanwhile— there was another place where opinions of Elric had begun to change.

“You all saw it, didn’t you?”

Silence.

Kanata, captain of the Azure Lion Knights of the Vail family, spoke to his subordinates. No one dared respond.

“As always, the Lord’s judgment was proven right.”

Until now, discontent toward Elric had been festering within the Vail family and its knights. They believed he had exposed their humiliation to the world, stolen the position of successor to the Azure Lion — a title that should have been theirs — and worse, become co-heir to the Blue Hawk’s lineage.

For a warrior family, that was unbearable. A magician claiming the lion’s mantle? Unthinkable.

Some had even suggested open rebellion — to pressure Lord Herman into retracting his decision.

But each time, Kanata had opposed them.

“Nonsense,” he’d said. “Do not question the Lord’s will.”

And now, today, he was vindicated.

Elric had proven, with his own strength, that he possessed a natural gift for combat — not merely magic. More than that, his movements showed deep understanding of martial arts, refined theory, and applied technique.

In subduing Kuranshivil, every strike had carried the essence of the Blue Hawk’s swordsmanship, improved and evolved in his own way.

It was no secret that the Blue Hawk himself had been in unusually good spirits after witnessing it.

Kanata too had realized — if he ever crossed blades with Elric, he couldn’t guarantee victory.

In pure swordsmanship, they were equals. If magic entered the equation — defeat was certain.

Even as a fourth-chain Swordmaster, Kanata felt an uneasy respect. Perhaps even equality was too generous, he thought — he still didn’t know exactly what Elric had channeled during that fight.

But whatever it was, it was undeniably brilliant.

“What are the virtues of a knight?” Kanata asked suddenly.

His adjutant straightened up and answered loudly. “Chivalry, sir!”

“And its core tenets?”

“Loyalty to one’s lord and the Empire. Devotion to training. Justice in defending the weak.”

“Never forget that.”

The words were directed at his adjutant — but the warning was for everyone.

“We serve our lord, our Empire, and our people. That is the essence of knighthood. Do not forget how our doubts once shook the family — or how our misjudgment nearly caused disaster again.”

Silence hung thick in the air.

“It’s fine to worry for the family’s future. And if our lord ever strays, it’s not blind obedience I ask for. But at least, once — ask yourself why he chose that path. Were we too narrow-minded? Too closed off?”

Every knight was listening now, their eyes fixed on him.

“So what must we do here?”

“We must correct our mistakes.”

“And how?”

“By winning.”

“How do we win?”

“By running harder than anyone, by swinging our swords faster than anyone — and by proving to the world that our lord’s decision was never wrong!”

Kanata’s voice rang with conviction.

Lord Herman had proven himself many times before. Now it was their turn — to become his will and his sword, and show the world the truth of his judgment.

To do that, they would have to acknowledge Elric — follow him, fight under his banner, and wield their blades for his cause.

Kanata glanced around at his knights. Beneath their helmets, eyes blazed bright — the same fire that had burned twenty years ago, when the Vail family was still struggling to escape the shadow of a merchant house, desperate to make its name known.

Back then, the Azure Lion Knights had been smaller, and Kanata just an ordinary soldier — but the memory filled him with strange nostalgia.

“In this war,” he declared, “we will be the foremost contributors.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes!”

Their voices echoed like thunder.

“We cannot let a mere mercenary band outshine us,” Kanata added with a grin.

At the mention of Black Skull, every knight nodded fiercely.

“Then let’s go. Let the Azure Lion’s banner fly high!”

They spurred their mounts forward.

The blue lion banner flapped proudly — higher and brighter than even the other legions’, determined to fill the sky.

Thunderrr—!

“Huh? What’s gotten into them all of a sudden?”

Herman blinked, startled as he turned to see his knights radiating overwhelming energy. They hadn’t even reached the battlefield yet, and he hadn’t said a word to rouse them — but somehow, their spirits were ablaze.

“Hah! Why look so shocked?” laughed Sailor. “If they’re eager to fight, let them! Thanks to them, even my boys are fired up now.”

The Azure Lions’ fierce momentum spread quickly — the White Company and Black Skull glancing at each other, then matching it with renewed vigor.

Then the Borfur warriors, unwilling to be outdone by the Imperials, joined in too.

The very air along the forest edge trembled from their combined zeal.

Better high morale than low — but too much could lead to chaos, and that worried Herman.

Sailor, however, just grinned. Youthful blood was a powerful thing — why dampen it?

“Anyway,” Sailor said, “let’s discuss the demons occupying the Sanctum — the ones holding the dragon’s nest.”

Herman nodded. Beside them, seated calmly on Sailor’s saddle, Sarnai began to speak softly.

“There was an oracle, a few months ago.”

“An oracle?”

“Yes. A message from the one I serve.”

Sailor’s eyes gleamed, and even Herman’s expression stiffened slightly — for a god to speak directly through an apostle was exceedingly rare.

“And what did it say?”

“That after a thousand years… the Master of Dragons would appear.”

The Talent-Swallowing Magician.