Chapter 19

# Chapter 19: < Saw a Dragon >

The location where the Miao siblings, On and Hong, planted the black pearl was unexpected to Kale.

It was a dragon breeding cave, 30 meters away from the baron's villa. On and Hong had planted the black pearl 50 meters away from the cave, in a place covered with trees and shrubs.

"You guys are amazing."

"It's not that difficult."

Though he said it was easy, On's nose twitched.

Kale, Chaihan, On, and Hong squatted at the spot where the black pearl and the mana orbit disruption device were planted, watching the cave entrance 50 meters away and the baron's villa even further.

"Do you remember the plan?"

Kale had explained the plan on the way. In fact, there wasn't much to it.

"There are six guards on duty at this time."

Kale recalled what he had read in 'The Birth of a Hero.' The black dragon was as intelligent as a dragon should be. Having not wasted the four years, it knew a lot of information, and there was a reason it attempted to escape two days later at this time.

There were about 30 people staying in the mansion. When the dragon was first brought here, nearly 100 armed personnel were stationed here. However, over the four years, as they realized no external eyes could see them, they gradually reduced the number of personnel.

Of course, 30 people might seem few, but among them were three senior knights and seven intermediate knights. There were also soldiers, torturers, and servants, so it wasn't a huge burden, but this number indicated that the viscount's family had been quite cautious.

But we have Chaihan. The guy who can easily defeat a duke, the strongest in the Loen Kingdom, in just 10 moves is on our side.

"Let me repeat. At the cave entrance, there's one senior knight, two intermediate knights, and two soldiers. Inside, there's one senior knight, and at the very end, one torturer."

At the mention of the torturer, Chaihan flinched, but Kale ignored it. The compassionate thoughts that would unfold in Chaihan's mind were none of Kale's concern. What mattered was that the black pearl would soon activate, and they needed to move quickly.

"Thanks to the black pearl, the video storage devices from the cave entrance to the baron's villa will be inactive for 40 minutes. Also, no alarms or magic traps will work."

The viscount's family, unable to get help from mages, had instead covered the area with magical items to raise a dragon. The small number of guards was due to their trust in the secretly planted magical items.

Thus, the dragon trying to escape had no choice but to cause a mana surge.

'Eye for an eye, and money for money.'

Since the viscount's family spent money, Kale did too. He patted the magic large-capacity bag attached to his waist. It contained various magical items and other objects.

"Will we just take care of the guards?"

Of course, Chaihan would handle all the fighting. With a strong guy by his side, there was no need for Kale to fight. Kale, who would be in pain if even a piece of paper cut him, didn't want to risk getting cut by a sword.

"Yeah. You're the only one I can trust to cover my back."

Here, now. Kale looked at him seriously, and Chaihan nodded solemnly.

"I will definitely do it."

"Good. Just knock them out. Show them our clothes, but don't reveal your sword skills. Remember the rest?"

Chaihan's unique aura color, a transparent black, wouldn't be visible at night if used carefully. Kale had explained this several times, so he must have understood.

"Yes, I remember everything."

"Good. I trust you."

Kale patted Chaihan's shoulder and handed him a voice changer. In case he spoke during the fight.

"It's expensive, so don't break it."

"Yes, don't worry."

Kale looked at the cats. They wagged their tails as if expecting something, so Kale responded.

"I'll give you meat after we're done."

But they turned their heads, snorting, as if it wasn't the right answer. Kale shrugged and checked his watch.

Five minutes left. The sky was already dark, and it was night.

He recalled his conversation with Villos.

'Magical devices affected by the mana orbit disruption device will become inoperative and shut down to prevent explosions. For top-tier devices, a malfunction alarm will sound. It's not a magical alarm, but similar to a clock alarm.'

"It'll be noisy, right?"

"I don't know what you're planning, but the enemies will hear it."

Villos smiled and said cheerfully.

'However, if there are many magical devices planted, the alarms will ring everywhere, causing confusion.'

Confusion was enough.

"Get ready."

The cats smeared black charcoal on their fur to blend in and disappeared into the darkness, out of Kale's sight. They wouldn't show themselves to the enemies but would follow the plan and stay close. Chaihan neatly folded the handkerchief he used to clean his sword and put it in his inner pocket.

When everything was ready, Kale stood up.

Hum. The ground beneath where they were squatting began to vibrate. The black pearl had started to activate.

Tick, tick. The second hand of Kale's watch approached the scheduled time.

And finally, tick.

"Let's go."

At Kale's command, Chaihan started running at high speed according to the plan, and On began spreading fog in the darkness. The fog gathered around Kale, making him hard to see.

At the same time,

Whirr.

The black pearl started to activate.

"Not all of them are top-tier, it seems."

In several places, magical devices began to sound loudly, indicating malfunctions. Kale followed Chaihan, wrapped in the fog, and ran towards the cave.

Now it was a race against time.

At the cave entrance, Chaihan was already fighting the knights.

'What a scary guy.'

The soldiers were already unconscious, with deep cuts on their arms and legs.

"Who are you? How dare you come here!"

Chaihan shouted, easily deflecting the senior knight's sword. He took a step forward and deeply slashed his side. Ignoring the blood gushing from the wound, Chaihan struck his back with his elbow and knocked him out with a blow to the back of the neck.

"Damn! What's going on?"

Another senior knight inside the cave soon appeared.

"Poison."

Kale, whose voice was altered, said. The fog around him spread, and Hong began secretly sprinkling paralyzing poison into the fog. The unconscious would not be able to get up for a while.

Meanwhile, Kale's eyes met those of the senior knight. Kale said one word.

"Cover."

Chaihan immediately stood in front of Kale and started running towards the cave entrance. Kale followed.

"Stop them!"

At the senior knight's shout, the two intermediate knights immediately raised their swords, which were emitting aura smoke. But their swords were cut and lost their power.

Clang, clang. The two sword blades fell to the ground.

"Impossible! A Sword Master?!"

The senior knight's voice was filled with shock and despair. Only a Sword Master's aura sword could cut a sword emitting aura smoke. In an instant, Chaihan cut their swords and, taking advantage of the darkness, stabbed the intermediate knights in the neck and chest with his sword and scabbard.

"Ugh!"

"Choke!"

...One move was enough. Kale, admiring Chaihan, moved as low as possible behind him. Then, from far behind, a noisy sound came.

"Intruders!"

The sound came from the direction of the mansion. Kale turned his gaze forward.

The intermediate knights staggered and fell. Kale met their eyes. The paralyzing poison had taken effect.

"P-Poison...!"

"S-Save us!"

Chaihan knocked them out again and quickly approached the running senior knight, swinging his sword. Kale took the opportunity to run towards the cave entrance. He didn't forget to show the six stars to the intermediate knight before he passed out, thinking he was a poison user.

"Ugh! Where did these guys come from!"

"Shut up."

Chaihan easily deflected the senior knight's sword, which was full of mana smoke. He was deliberately stalling for time.

While Chaihan drew attention in the fight, Kale followed the Miao children, who had secretly entered the cave, and entered the cave entrance. As soon as he confirmed this, Chaihan immediately moved to the cave entrance.

"Come on."

Of course, his gaze was beyond the senior knight, towards all the enemies approaching with torches.

"Please."

Chaihan smiled slightly at Kale's voice, which was still calm despite the voice changer. But he erased the smile and released some of his power. Black mist, specifically the aura of nothingness, enveloped him.

"No one will pass here."

He always kept his word.

At the same time, there was another guardian. It was the torturer, the one guarding the dragon's prison. When Kale arrived, he was already in a state of confusion.

"Why, why! The crystal orb isn't working!"

The torturer was the only one with a magical crystal orb, one of the precautions set by Benyon.

"Stay back! Do you know what's here?"

The torturer was shaking violently at the sight of Kale. It couldn't be helped. If he received an attack of a certain intensity, his body would explode.

One of Benyon's arrangements. The explosion would also destroy the