The place where the kittens, He and Hong buried the black ball exceeded all of Cale's expectations.
The Viscount's villa was thirty meters away from the dragon's cave. He and Hong buried the black sphere fifty meters away from the cave, in an area filled with trees and bushes, making it difficult to find.
- You two are simply amazing.
- It was like a piece of pie.
She said it was easy, but Cale could see her nose twitching with joy.
Cale, Choi Han, On, and Hong crouched around the place where the black ball, officially known as the Mana Destruction Tool, was located and looked at the cave as well as the Viscount's villa, which was a little further away, fifty meters away.
— Do you remember the plan?
Cale explained the plan on the way here. Honestly, there wasn't really a plan.
— For someone who supposedly doesn't have a plan, you've prepared surprisingly meticulously.
The prince could not help but be surprised by the contradictory nature of these words. Especially considering the needlework on the way. He could not help but chuckle.
— There are currently six people on guard.
Cale remembered the information he had read in Birth of a Hero. The Black Dragon was intelligent, like most of his race. He had been gathering information for four long years in captivity, and there was a reason he had attempted to escape two days later.
There were about thirty people living in the villa in total. Initially there were about a hundred people there, but their numbers gradually dwindled as they gradually realized that no one was planning to visit the area.
Of course, among the remaining thirty people, there were three high-level knights, comparable to the vice-captain, and seven mid-level knights. There were also soldiers, an executioner, and casual workers. The number of people here showed how much attention the Marquis paid to this place.
The ancient dragon looked down at the child who was using him as a pillow. The little brat. He couldn't help but notice the vitality and intelligence of this member of the great dragon race.
True, this same representative now looked more like a kitten before it was about to jump on a butterfly. Frozen with huge eyes and only slightly scratching his leg with his claws.
The black dragon, meanwhile, was delighted. The strange man had used his knowledge for his plan. He was proud of how smart he was. So it wasn't just for nothing. He would be saved. And he would see it.
His Highness meanwhile was noting on a piece of paper the number of forces left to guard the cave. Not that it was essential for them to know, but it would help to estimate how many forces Marquis Stan himself had. At the same time, he began to think about how to do all this on their side.
However, Cale had Choi Han. This young man was the one who was able to destroy the strongest knight in the Roan Kingdom in ten strikes. And someone so powerful was on his side.
The swordsman was very flattered by this. He didn't really understand where he stood on the power scale with other people. He had no reason to find out. Until recently.
"Let me explain again. At the entrance of the cave, there is one high-level knight and two mid-rank knights, as well as two soldiers. Inside the cave, there is only one high-level knight, and the executioner is at the very end of the cave.
Choi Han winced at the word 'executioner', but Cale didn't care. He didn't care what kind of worries were plaguing Choi Han's mind. What mattered was that the black sphere would activate soon, and that they needed to move quickly once that happened.
— The Magical Surveillance Devices located from the villa to the cave entrance will not work for forty minutes thanks to the black sphere that He and Hong buried. The same applies to the alarm system, magical traps, and everything else. Nothing will work for forty minutes.
These people wanted to tame the dragon, the greatest magical creature in the world, but they did not dare to ask the Mages for help. That is why Marquis Stan decided to fill this area with magical items. The reason why there were only a few guards at the entrance was also because they had complete confidence in their magical items.
That's why the dragon had no choice but to use Mana Burst.
A feeling of regret filled the black room, but not for long. Why? Because…
"An eye for an eye and money for money."
Mr. Crossman tried very hard not to roll his eyes.
Since the Marquis used money, Cale also used money. Cale patted the magic bag on his waist. It was a magic bag that allowed you to store many items. Inside this bag were all sorts of magic items, useful tools, and other items.
— I just need to lure the guards out?
Choi Han looked at himself and couldn't help but be surprised by his double's calm. And then he realized. As long as everything went according to plan, there was no point in worrying.
Naturally, Choi Han would have to fight. Why did Cale have to strain himself trying to fight when he had such a strong man next to him? Cale thought that paper cuts were very painful, so he didn't want to even think about getting hurt by a sword.
- Tsk. You're miserable...
Seeing the sidelong glances towards the frozen child, Eruhaben finished his sentence differently than he had originally intended.
— …a man. Yes. An unhappy man.
- Yes, you are the only one I can rely on, the only one who can watch my back.
"At least for now."
The sword master was surprised. The fact that someone was willing to trust him with his back was very appealing to him. And then he wondered, who would watch Cale's back later? Another good question was "why"? Wasn't he planning on living the life of a "potato on the couch"? What else was he planning?
Cale looked at Choi Han with a serious expression, and the boy nodded, sincerely responding to this call.
- I will definitely live up to your expectations.
- Yes. As I mentioned, make sure they see your outfit, then knock them out. Don't kill them or show them your swordsmanship. Do you remember what to do after that?
Choi Han's unique black aura should be easily disguised by dark clothing if he carefully controlled it. Cale believed that Choi Han should have learned this, he had already repeated it many times.
- Yes, I remember everything.
- Okay, I'll leave it to you.
Cale patted Choi Han on the shoulder before handing him the voice changer. It would be bad if he was forced to speak during the fight and his voice could be recognized later.
- This is an expensive thing, be careful not to break it.
- I see. You don't need to worry about it.
"So you trust cats with a billion dollar item that you need to return without question. But a much cheaper device only gets into a person's hands after a warning? Who do you think he is?"
The Crown Prince wanted to ask this question, but he didn't want to embarrass the swordsman.
Cale looked at the kittens. The boy responded, looking at their wagging tails, the kittens seemed to be asking for something.
- I'll give you some meat as soon as this is all over.
That seemed to be the wrong answer, as they snorted and turned away. Cale didn't think much of it, checking the time on his watch.
"Pet the cats, idiot. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
- Five minutes left.
The sky had already darkened, and night was falling upon the earth.
Cale remembered the conversation with Bylos.
- Magic items affected by the Mana Suppression Tool will instantly stop working, and most of them will shut down to prevent self-destruction. However, the highest quality magic items may start making a sound, signaling that they are broken. It does not sound like a magical alarm, but rather like an alarm clock.
- Can it be loud?
- I don't know where you plan to use it, but the sound should be loud enough for the enemy to hear.
Bilos began to smirk before continuing:
"However, if there are a lot of magical items in the area, it will probably happen chaotically, with all the alarms going off at once."
There was enough chaos for Cale.
Locke, a kind, innocent, unblemished soul, could not help but be surprised:
- They look a lot like villains right now.
- That's true.
- I have another question. Where did "quietly" suddenly disappear from this plan?
— Perhaps we need to reconsider the concept of quiet...
Get ready.
The kittens also covered themselves in coal dust to hide the color of their fur. They then left Cale and disappeared into the darkness, so that Cale could no longer see them. Both of these rascals should not encounter any enemies today.
Having made sure that the children were really being protected, Vitira calmed down completely.
However, Cale knew that they would not follow the plan and would be hanging around somewhere near him.
Choi Han folded the piece of cloth he had used to polish the blade and put it in his pocket.When all the preparations were complete, Cale stood up.
Brrr
Something began to vibrate right under where Cale stood. The black sphere began to activate.
The little dragon began to vibrate along with the sphere. It also twitched in sync with the clock. Honestly, it was a kitten, not a dragon.
Tick-tock.
The second hand on Cale's watch slowly approached the set time.
And finally, the last "click" was heard.
-Right now, right? Are they starting?
The dragon's energy knew no bounds.
— Let's begin.
— LET'S START!
Everyone smiled at the Black Dragon, but watched what was happening carefully.
Under Cale's orders, Choi Han, following the plan precisely, quickly ran forward, while On began to create fog in the area, leaving Cale in the very center. It was quite difficult for him to see anything. At that moment…
Brrr
The black sphere finally activated.
"These are probably not all high quality magic items."
Some magical items began to ring loudly to indicate that they were broken. Cale followed Choi Han under the cover of the fog. He slowly walked towards the cave.
From this moment on, the race against time began.
Choi Han was already fighting the knights in front of the cave.
"Scary bastard."
The swordsman was a little offended. Although he was praised, right?
In such a short time, the soldiers had already received wounds on their arms and legs and were also thrown to the floor.
- Who are you? How dare you come to this place?!
Choi Han easily dodged the high-level knight's attack. He then took a step forward and stabbed the knight deeply in the side. Choi Han then avoided the blood splashing from the wound and used his elbow to attack the knight's back, and then appeared behind him. The knight instantly fainted.
- Shit! What the hell is going on?!
Soon a high-ranking knight appeared from the depths of the cave.
- I.
Cale spoke through a voice changer. The fog around him began to expand, and Hong began to move stealthily, spreading poison to paralyze the enemy. The falling people would be unable to move for a while, even if they woke up.
Cale then made contact with the high-ranking knight and said only one word:
- Cover.
Choi Han instantly appeared in front of Cale and rushed towards the cave entrance, Cale followed him.
Ron couldn't help himself:
— For those who are going on a job for the first time, they are very coordinated. And I mean all four of them. Not all even close-knit teams are capable of such a thing. I don't think they trained in the forest on rabbits along the way.
"Did you specifically mention rabbits? Are there no other animals in the forest?"
But it was really striking.
— I think it's because Cale is the undisputed leader of this group. Cats are "useful" and work off their food, Choi Han and Cale because... well, also kind of work off their food.
The swordsman wanted to argue, but his double said exactly that. The one talks, and this one suffers. Aaaahhhhh…
— It turns out that, despite the good deed, they are all there as if at work. And they do what their "boss" says. Maybe that's the point?
- Maybe. But if Choi Han has already dealt with battles, I will also admit that cats have similar experience too, this does not explain Cale's calmness.
- This guy is really weird, maybe we'll find out why.
- You're distracting!
- Sorry, baby.
While they were apologizing to the upset child, the group on the screen had moved on and had already begun to abuse other people's property.
- W... What? This... This is the Sword Master?
Alberu couldn't help but ask again in shock, looking at Choi Han:
- Are you a Sword Master?
The said Master, not understanding what was so surprising about this, replied:
- That's right, Your Highness. Is something wrong?
— "What's wrong?" No, no! Everything is fine! It's just that our kingdom hasn't had a Sword Master in a very long time. Very few people are capable of achieving such heights in the art of swordsmanship. Our kingdom is very lucky to have such an amazing young man in it.
Alberu's questions about "The Cheerful Paranoia of Cale Hanitus" disappeared at once. It was not worth angering the sword master. He did not even bother to think that the young man was not as young as he seemed.
The Sword Master himself was currently embarrassed and blushing rapidly. He was not used to such praise. "Scary bastard" was much more common.
— DON'T GET DISTRACTED!
Two ashamed voices answered:
- Yes, dragon-nim! Forgive us...
- Hm…
But the dragon had no time for apologies; Cale was already entering the cave.
Choi Han made them lose consciousness before quickly rushing towards the high-level knight who was charging into battle swinging his sword. Cale used the space that opened up to enter the cave. Even as he did so, the youth made sure that the mid-level knights who called him a murderer saw the six stars on his suit before they fainted.
The chuckles that did slip through were very quiet. I didn't want to distract the dragon.
- Ugh! Where did these people come from?!
- So loud...Choi Han easily avoided the high-level knight's aura-filled sword. He was deliberately distracting him.
While Choi Han acted as a distraction, Cale entered the cave after the Cat Tribe children who had secretly entered earlier. After confirming that Cale had entered, Choi Han rushed towards the cave entrance.
Blocking him with his body, the young man beckoned the high-level knight to him:
- Come here!
Of course, his gaze did not look at the knight, but was focused on all the enemies who came from the villa with torches in their hands.
- I leave this to you.
Choi Han heard Cale's words, whose voice was still calm, coming from behind him, and began to smile. However, he quickly focused on the energy emitted by it. The Dark Sword of Destruction. This sword art consisted of two components: Darkness and Destruction. It was the power of destruction that began to surround Choi Han.
- No one will be able to pass me by.
He was the one who always kept his word.
"That's true, of course. And it looks cool, actually. But why do I feel SO awkward?"
He had no problem with his double simply distracting his attention. The main thing was that everything worked out.
While Choi Han was protecting the entrance, someone else was still protecting something inside the cave. That person was none other than the executioner. He was the one protecting the dragon prison. By the time Cale arrived inside, the executioner was already in a state of utter chaos.
— Why? Why?! Why doesn't the Magic Crystal Ball work?!
The Magic Crystal Ball that the executioner held in his hands was one of the extremely rare items that Venion had prepared in case something went wrong.
Alberu decided to remind himself to buy himself one of these later. Not a Crystal Ball, but a Mana Destruction Tool. It turned out to be a categorically useful thing. One such sphere, and the carefully guarded object turned into an anthill that didn't understand what was happening.
- N... Don't come here! Do you know what's here?!
The executioner shook as he looked at Cale. He was shaking with fear. And how could it be otherwise? If the Crystal Ball was hit by a person above the average level, it would explode instantly.
This was one of the safety measures taken by Venion. The force of the explosion was enough to blow up both the chamber and the executioner. Naturally, the executioner knew about it.
- If you come near, everyone here will die!
"Tsk," Cale waved his hand, looking at the trembling torturer. As soon as he did, the mist began to form in the air, heading towards the executioner. She, the mist's owner, was hidden in the shadows of the cave, and had yet to be discovered by anyone.
- These cats are very smart.
- Yeah. It's like they do this every day.
— TSSSSSSSS!
- Oh, I'm sorry...
— Ah.... Aaaaaaaaah! Go away!
The sounds of battle came from the entrance of the cave. The fog was approaching. Of course, the poison was already concentrated inside the fog. The paralyzing fog quickly surrounded the executioner.
- Just now... ugh... I... Poison...!
Ugh!
The executioner's body began to shake as he fell to the ground. The executioner looked so scared, unable to speak or move, continuing to twitch convulsively on the floor. Cale walked up to the executioner and rummaged through his clothes.
"Here he is."
Cale grabbed the key and covered the executioner's eyes as he began to pass out from the poison. Cale wondered if they had used too much poison, but he really didn't care.
"I don't think he'll die, but if he does, it's no big deal."
"I can't understand you, you miserable bastard, but you're right."
Eruhaben thought to himself, stroking the still vibrating dragon.
He looked ahead and didn't even blink.
After all, the knights were eliminated, the executioner couldn't move, and the key was already in their hands. There was just a little bit left.
Cale snapped his fingers. Two small black kittens fell from the ceiling almost instantly. They were On and Hong. As soon as they approached the torch Cale was holding, he could finally see them clearly.
Cale confirmed that He and Hong were safe before heading to the farthest corner of the cave.
As soon as he arrived there, he saw a black creature curled up inside the now useless magical prison. It was the Dragon. What shocked Cale more than the Dragon itself was the blood covering the Dragon's body and the lingering smell of it in the air.
As soon as not only the dragon but also the environment in which it was kept became visible, the room noticeably became colder.
If anyone had been paying attention, they would have seen clouds of steam, but they didn't.
They remembered the dragon's state when they first found him under the chair. The last few fragments of his memory had been more like a normal child, so it was easy to miss.
Nobody said anything out loud, but everyone looked at each other.
If they were now shown the main villain, the leader of the organization, given his exact coordinates, weapons and the method of the most painful murder, Venion would still die first. They had decided on this firmly.
Eruhaben hugged the dragon tighter, but the dragon seemed oblivious to the plight of his double and was completely focused on the moment when he would finally be free.
There was no point in worrying. He saw it every day. And it wasn't his "supposed" future, it was his "present." He wanted to focus on the "future."
Cale quickly approached the prison.
The dragon continued to lie there with its eyes closed even as Cale approached it. Right now, this little one was in an unstable state.
Rosalyn imagined how the dragon must have felt at that moment. Year after year, the same thing. Nothing but pain and suffering. And then suddenly, everything was different. Other people came, and he was still defenseless against them. It was humiliating for anyone, and even worse for the dragon.
Vitira gripped the whip tighter.
Cale inserted the key into the door lock and opened it.
* Click*
The black dragon shuddered and froze completely.
The lock opened with a soft click. Cale slowly opened the iron gate and entered the prison.
It was a large enough room to be called a prison cell. There were whips and other torture instruments, as well as a luxurious sofa that Venion apparently liked to sit on. Cale headed to the corner of the prison.
Bikros assessed the assortment on display from a purely professional point of view. And then he promised himself to use his entire arsenal on the presumptuous nobleman.
A small figure about one meter long lay on a bale of hay in the corner. The Dragon's inner eyelids were shaking, but he remained lying there with his eyes closed. There were chains on all of his limbs, and a chain of mana shackles was wrapped around his neck, completely preventing the Dragon from using any force.
- Hello.
Cale squatted down in front of the Dragon. The dragon did not open its eyes even after the boy called out to it. Cale checked the time. It was time to leave. He continued talking to the Dragon.
- Let's get out of here?
Cale used the key he received from the executioner to remove the chains.
The kid felt these shackles falling from him, as if the Strange Man was now removing them from him, and not from his double.
At that moment, the Dragon opened his eyes. Cale smiled, looking into the baby's eyes.
It was a very manly look. He had not yet lost his will to live.
It wasn't the fading gaze that Choi Han encountered in the novel. It was a gaze with a strong will to live. That's why it was filled with energy, anger, and a thirst for confrontation.
It was the look of the Dragon.
- What a beautiful look.
Everyone smiled.
And then they remembered that this look could fade away in just three days.
Cale picked up the Dragon.
After leaving prison, Cale placed the dragon in front of the two kittens.
- It looks like he's in pain.
- It's so sad.
He and Hong circled around the motionless, silent Dragon. The baby began to show his teeth and growl at them. It was probably the first time in his life that he had seen anyone other than humans.
Cale checked the time on his watch. It seemed they had enough time to escape.
"It looks like he's in pain," He said, walking up to Cale and tapping his leg with her paw. She seemed to be referring to the potion Cale had brought in his magic box. She couldn't ask about it, so she acted this way.
The dragon turned to his older relative:
- Why doesn't he treat me? He's saving me!
- Because of the chain on your neck. It will interfere with the treatment.
- Aaaaah! Thank you, Uncle Goldie!
Satisfied that everything was still going well, the child stared at the screen with the same enthusiasm.
In fact, many wanted to ask this question, and they got their answer without distracting the dragon. Small favors.
Eruhaben, sighing at "Goldie Uncle", thought that it was good that it wasn't "Goldie Grandpa", and also returned to watching.
- Keep an eye on him.
Cale did indeed bring the potion to use on the Dragon. However, he had to wait until the mana restraining chains were released. The potion would only work properly when the mana, which was as important as the Dragon's heart itself, was no longer restricted.
- True, a strange but smart man! Uncle Goldie confirmed.
He even nodded his head. It was simply lovely.
Cale walked to the opposite side of the prison cell, where the executioner was apparently guarding. The sound outside was no longer very loud, but Choi Han could be heard fighting in the distance. Cale assumed that Choi Han's battle was about to end.
- Let's see.
The boy began to stroke the cave wall with his hands. He kicked the executioner out of the way and continued searching every inch of the wall. The dragon growled when he saw the executioner, but remained motionless, continuing to watch Cale.
"Venion's last line of defense must be somewhere around here..."
"The novel said there was a flat area on this bumpy wall... Ah, here it is!"
On this uneven cave wall, there was an area the size of a human hand. Although Venion looked like he had OCD and would never train, everyone in the Marquis's family studied martial arts.
— What is OCD?
The adults thought about how to explain this to the child more simply. The first to come up with a worthy definition, in his opinion, was Bikros:
- Do you remember how Eruhaben-nim called him a mentally ill psychopath?
— Yes!
- That's it.
It's not quite accurate, but it's enough for a four-year-old. He'll grow up and understand the difference himself.
"If you apply enough force to that point, the wall will open."
It wasn't a magical device. Instead of magic, a strong enough blow would cause the door to move. Cale turned his head to look at the man who had entered and asked,
— Is everything done?
— Yes.
Choi Han swung his sword slightly to shake off the blood from the blade, and then walked towards Cale. His gaze soon turned to the Dragon and gradually darkened. It was a natural reaction to such a small creature being covered in blood. Choi Han's gaze moved to the executioner. He was very angry.
- Choi Han.
That's why Cale called Choi Han. The protagonist of the novel still looked at the executioner as he answered Cale:
- As you ordered, I left the fleeing workers alone. I also made sure that all the strong people could not fight.
The prince once again noticed that Cale did not allow Choi Han to think. He instantly distracted him.
"If I'm going to work with him, I have to keep that in mind."
- Good job.
Cale praised Choi Han before pointing to a flat area on the wall:
- Hit this place.
— How hard should I hit?
"Are you planning to destroy this cave?!"
Everyone looked at the Sword Master. Even the child.
Realizing that he was not threatened by the dreaded childish "shhh!", he decided to answer what he thought:
- I don't know why he thinks that! He's never done that!
- Not really. Control your power. Just pretend you're making a dent in that wall.
- Mmm... So, very easy.
- Certainly.
"Very easy?"
Cale quickly moved away from Choi Han after hearing him call what was impossible for Cale "easy", meaning he only planned to use a small portion of his power.
Choi Han, remembering that Cale had told him to hurry, immediately punched the wall.
Boom!
- Sorry, I can't help but ask... Do you know the meaning of the word "dent"?
The swordsman rubbed the back of his head shyly.
— Oh.
— Ooooh.
Cale picked up Dragon and the kittens expressed their delight at what had happened.
* Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!*
A long creaking sound came from the wall, and one side of the cave wall slid away, revealing a passage the size of a grown man. Choi Han quickly raised the torch.
— Let's leave.
On Cale's orders, the kittens followed Choi Han as he entered the tunnel first. Cale followed them. The dragon remained calm in Cale's arms. The only sound that could be heard from him was his breathing. However, the eyes that looked at Cale were still extremely angry.
Instead of any gratitude for saving him, he seemed to be filled with thoughts and fear of being tortured by someone else, as well as anger and resentment towards people in general.
"Stop looking at me like that," Cale said casually to the Dragon sitting in his arms.
As the entire rescue mission moved further down the tunnel, accompanied by Cale's thoughts about his own physical worthlessness and the rescued dragon's excessive fatness, Alberu began to think hard. A plan began to form in his head that could help them with several problems at once.
After walking through the dark and narrow tunnel for several minutes, Choi Han suddenly called out to Cale:
— There is a wall in front of us.
- Hit the center of the wall with your fist with the same force as before, then we will continue to act as discussed earlier.
- I understand!
The kittens jumped off Choi Han's shoulders and ran. Choi Han put his strength into his fist and punched the center of the wall with the same force as before.
Boom!
The wall collapsed almost instantly and they saw the night sky. They were outside the cave. This time Cale took the initiative and looked around.
The black dragon shuddered, as if a wall had fallen in his own soul. Whatever happened next, he was free. He had been pulled out of the cave. He was no longer shackled. Unlike his double, he knew that the Strange Man would not do anything bad to him. He felt very strange. He sniffled and hid his wet eyes, burying his muzzle in Eruhaben. He understandingly covered him with a wide silk sleeve, so that the child would not be embarrassed.
That was the reason they needed the Mana Destruction Tool to carry out their plan on this mountain. At this secret entrance to the tunnel, Venion had placed a magical recording device. He was quite a thorough man.
- He's nowhere near as good as you, Mr. "We Came Without a Plan."
Everyone was smiling. The dragon was free and no one was hurt. Well, no one was hurt on their side.
And the Prince, meanwhile, was intensely… drawing something?
Cale didn't know exactly where this exit was, which required the Mana Destruction Tool to affect the entire mountain.