Chapter 303: The Honcheon Sword (2)
“Kikikiki!”
Guff’s frivolous laughter echoed through the silence, grating on the dragons’ ears. The dwarf’s crazed eyes, hardened by ages of solitary suffering, glared at them.
“Now you need the Honcheon Sword to behead Kaiders? Ptooey! Filthy, disgusting bastards!”
A thick glob of spit landed near Genelocer’s foot.
“That son of a…!” Khan lunged forward in anger, but Louis raised a hand to stop him.
Instead, Louis stepped forward calmly. “Mister, could you explain that in more detail?”
“Why should I? Kikikiki.”
”…Good point.”
“From what I’ve heard, Kaiders has somehow been resurrected.”
”…”
“Excellent, kikiku. My choice was right all along. I endured those bitter years for this very day… exactly as it should be. I’ll witness it all with my own eyes! I’ll watch the blood of your vile clan flow like a river across this land! I’ll see the last dragon’s head fall with my own eyes!”
Guff spat out words bordering on a curse without hesitation, revealing the full extent of his hatred for dragons.
Louis sighed, observing Guff’s typically reticent demeanor. “So, roughly summarizing, during the conflict between Kaiders and Lotberia, your ancient dwarves sided with Lotberia and forged the Honcheon Sword to kill Kaiders, right?”
”…”
“So, after Lotberia fell, Kaiders took revenge, forcing them to bear the karmic burden of the Blood Bonds?”
If Kaiders, the victor of the war, had distorted history, he certainly wouldn’t have left the dwarves’ story untouched.
That was Louis’s initial deduction, but as the story unfolded, Guff’s wavering gaze confirmed that Louis’s inference was more than just speculation.
A faint smile crept onto Louis’s lips.
“He must have wanted to avenge himself against the dragons. But the Blood Bonds, forged in blood, wouldn’t even allow him that.”
”…”
“Is that why he spent all those years living like a broken man?”
”…You little brat, wagging your tongue so carelessly.”
A murderous glint surged in Guff’s eyes.
Louis calmly accepted the situation.
Genelocer and the Twins silently observed him, assuming he had a reason for provoking Guff.
Meanwhile, Louis glanced at Guff and offered a faint smile. “Cooperate with us. Or rather, cooperate with me.”
“Kluk. What do you want me to do? Cooperate?”
“If you forge the Honcheon Sword… I’ll lift the curse plaguing the Dwarf Clan.”
”…?!”
Guff’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Then, a raucous laugh erupted from him. “Kwahahaha! Kukukuk!”
After laughing as if he were dying of amusement, Guff’s gaze turned murderous. “You little brat from a clan that can’t even remember its own past. Don’t make promises you can’t keep so lightly.”
“Why do you think I can’t protect it?”
“Heh heh heh. Why do you assume that among all those people, no one remembers the true history?”
”…”
“Do you think Kaiders merely distorted history? If so, you gravely underestimate him. That man… that monster… he warped the very fabric of common sense in this world.”
”…What?”
“Kaiders made the lie that Lotberia was a demonic dragon and that he, Kaiders, had stopped him, into the world’s common knowledge. How long do you think it took him to accomplish that?”
“I don’t know.”
“A month? A week? A day? Heh heh heh! It took him no more than the blink of an eye! In that fleeting moment, he made the entire world believe a falsehood as truth!”
”…”
“That monster left me as the sole witness to history, and I’ve proclaimed the truth thousands upon thousands of times! Yet the world only points fingers at me, calling me a madman! That’s another curse he inflicted upon me!”
“Hmm…”
“You don’t understand the power of Kaiders… He’s a monster who manipulates the very laws of this world. A curse cast upon our clan by such a creature… only another monster can break it.”
Guff gazed at Louis with amused eyes, his expression challenging Louis to claim he was such a monster. Louis scratched his cheek in response.
“Yeah, a monster’s definitely a monster.”
“What?”
“I realized that after fighting him.”
“You fought… Kaiders?”
“Yeah.”
Guff’s face hardened at Louis’ nonchalant reply.
Meanwhile, Louis’s expression grew noticeably more relaxed. A deeper smile curved at the corners of his lips.
“So, what I’m saying is…”
”…”
“…it might be worth a try, don’t you think?”
“If nonsense were an art form, you’d be a master.”
“Time, Space, Strength, Mental.”
”…?”
“These are the attributes I was born with.”
”…?!”
“And Time and Space… those are the attributes I’ve reached Zero Rank with.”
Louis’s not-quite-a-confession left Guff and the others gaping. If what he said was true, virtually no dragon could stand against him. No, scratch that—no being in the entire world could.
Louis’s gaze settled on the stunned Guff, his expression sobering.
“Do you still think the promises I make are just the empty boasts of a clueless kid?”
Guff had no answer to Louis’s question.
Instead, Louis continued his story.
“And you said… you wanted to see the last dragon’s head fall?”
”…”
“That’s absurd. Even if we all die, Kaiders will still be alive. After all, wasn’t it Kaiders who drove the dwarves to their current state? Do you really want to see that bastard survive?”
“What makes you think you’re any different?! I was deceived by Lotberia’s words and forged the Honcheon Sword for him… and what did we get in return? Nothing but the humiliating and wretched shackles of the Blood Bonds! At the very least… at least you dragons should have believed me. You should never have forgotten us, the ones who fought for you!”
“It wasn’t intentional, was it?”
”…What?”
“We didn’t forget because we wanted to.”
”…”
“As you said, the situation arose because of Kaiders’ actions. We didn’t torment the dwarves out of hatred.”
“You think… you think those words alone can dismiss the centuries of suffering endured by our people?!”
“No, if you’re angry, take it out on Kaiders! Why blame us? The cause is clear! And were we the only ones unaware? The dwarves didn’t suspect anything either! They endured it all without questioning it! That’s all because Kaiders twisted history!”
”…”
“From a dragon’s perspective, how could we possibly like the ones who created weapons to kill us? This whole mess started with Kaiders’ actions—stop shifting the blame onto us dragons!”
“How can you say that when your own people have suffered centuries of oppression? Besides, wasn’t Kaiders himself a dragon?”
Guff and Louis snarled at each other.
The dwarf had cooperated with Lotberia to kill Kaiders, only to become bound by the Blood Bonds.
The dragon had lived his entire life believing the history Kaiders had rewritten.
From their respective viewpoints, both were right, and their opinions remained diametrically opposed.
The Twins, Genelocer, and Fin could only stare blankly at their standoff.
The two continued their heated argument for quite some time.
Suddenly, Louis changed his tone. “Alright, alright. Let’s discuss that issue in more detail later. For now, let’s deal with Kaiders first.”
“Why should I do that?” Guff retorted.
“This old man keeps repeating himself,” Louis sighed. “Ultimately, both our sides were victims of Kaiders, weren’t we? You want to kill that bastard Kaiders as much as we do, right?”
Guff remained silent.
“Kaiders is the root of all this,” Louis continued. “What’s the point of us arguing ourselves hoarse? Let’s take him down first. Afterward, we can discuss how our dragons oppressed the dwarves.”
“Hmm, I suppose I’ll…”
Guff, who was about to nod in agreement, suddenly startled and glared at Louis.
“You little dragon whelp! Trying to trick me with your silver tongue! I almost fell for it!”
The surrounding onlookers nodded vigorously, their faces etched with disappointment. To them, it seemed Guff had nearly been swayed, barely managing to pull back at the last moment.
But Louis refused to give up. Almost falling for it meant there was a high probability of success. Now was the time for a relentless assault.
“Think about it carefully, Guff. If you cooperate with me on this matter, I’ll break the Blood Bonds that bind the Dwarf Clan.”
”…”
“And on top of that, you’ll get a chance to take revenge on Kaiders!”
“Hmm…”
“On the other hand, all you have to do is forge a single Honcheon sword for me. Easy, right?”
“Hmph…”
A conflicted expression clouded Guff’s face.
At times like these, Louis knew exactly what to do: remind him that time was running out and that this was a limited opportunity.
“Do you really think you’ll ever get another chance like this in your life? If you let this golden opportunity slip away, do you think another one will just fall into your lap? Absolutely not! This is your last chance. If we fail, Kaiders will rule the world.”
”…?!”
Guff’s eyes darted wildly, his mind reeling with conflicting thoughts.
He’s a hopeless case… but the brat’s words ring true. This might be our last chance to deal with Kaiders.
Moreover, if the boy truly possesses the Four Attributes… perhaps he could even break the curse etched into the blood of the dwarves.
A flicker of inner conflict clouded Guff’s eyes.
He spoke in a resigned tone.
”…For a fledgling dragon, you certainly have a silver tongue.”
Those observing the situation blinked in surprise.
Wow, Louis…
Wow… is he actually winning him over?
That’s our boy!
As expected of Lord Louis!
Who would believe this old dwarf had been berserkly attacking a dragon just moments before?
Moreover, it seemed Louis had almost completely won him over.
The onlookers inwardly shook their heads, but this was only because they didn’t truly know Guff.
The dwarf artisan’s pride and stubbornness were legendary—a dragon itself would pale in comparison.
The ancient dwarves, even when facing imminent death, never carelessly wielded their hammers.
And Guff was no ordinary dwarf; he was the king of the ancient dwarves.
Could such a being easily abandon his convictions?
Guff chuckled, a glint in his eyes, and spoke, “So, you desire the Honcheon Sword?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I regret to say I cannot help you with that.”
“Why not?”
“Lotberia supplied all the materials for forging the Honcheon Swords. I guarantee you, that metal is unlike anything else in this world. It was the first time I’d ever handled anything like it in my entire life. And with those materials… we only managed to forge ten Honcheon Swords.”
”…”
“But Kaiders destroyed nine of them. We barely managed to salvage the last one… and even that’s gone missing now.”
”…So you can’t make them anymore, even if you wanted to?”
“Pretty much. Kluk.”
Guff’s nod sent the Twins into a frenzy.
“Then why didn’t you say so sooner!”
“Were you just toying with the dragon?!”
Guff responded to the Twins’ furious cries with a mischievous grin.
“Kill Kill, you want a Honcheon Sword? Fine! I’ll make you as many as you want! But!”
”…But?”
“Bring me the materials to forge one! Or, if you can’t do that, find the last Honcheon Sword left on this continent!” Guff puffed out his chest defiantly, his belly protruding like a pregnant woman’s. He grinned mischievously, as if daring them to even try.
The Twins’ temples throbbed as they glared at the irritatingly smug, half-mad dwarf.
”…Think we can kill him?”
“Yeah, I think we should.”
The Twins reached for their weapons.
Just then, Louis suddenly stepped between them.
Seeing him, the Twins withdrew their hands from their swords, confident that Louis would handle this without their intervention.
As if mirroring the Twins’ unwavering faith, a sword suddenly materialized in Louis’s hand.
They assumed he would use it to beat Guff into a pulp.
Instead, Louis simply thrust the rusty blade forward, right under Guff’s nose.
“Ah, so… this?” Guff frowned slightly at the sight of the rusty sword so close to his face.
”…Huh?”
“Thissss?”
Initially bewildered by Louis’s actions, Guff quickly scanned the sword before his expression underwent a drastic shift.
“W-wait… what?!”
“Sooo… thissssssss?”
“N-no way!”
Guff snatched the sword from Louis, examining it with bulging eyes as if trying to pry them out of their sockets.
Louis grinned smugly, watching Guff’s face contort through a rapid succession of emotions.
“That’s the one, right?”
Unlike Louis’s radiant smile, Guff’s face crumpled as if he’d just bitten into something foul.
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