Boom!*
*Booooom!*
Two explosions, which were impossible to compare with the previous ones, simultaneously resounded in the square. Everyone crouched, covering their heads with their hands.
It was very loud. Everyone jumped in their seats. It felt like the explosion had happened right in the room, because the chairs and the table shook noticeably. Even the walls shook. The only thing that didn't react to the explosion was the fog.
The black dragon, taken by surprise, climbed onto Eruhaben's head and grabbed his shoulders with a death grip.
— Aaaaaaaaah!
— *Argh!* My… My hand!
— *Uuuugggh!*
The screams of people injured or dying filled the square. And then…
The screams of the victims were loudly heard and heard by the creatures in the room. But they knew it could have been worse. Much worse.
*Sweeeeeeeeeeeesh!*
Something that sounded like rain flew over the heads of the people. Those who remained in the center of the square were covered in dust that rose from the ground, and the people by the fountains were soaked through with water. Soon, both slowly raised their heads.
The force of the explosion was truly colossal.
From what they saw, the windows in the houses around the square were mostly broken. Some of the tiles were missing. Fortunately, at the beginning of the attack, the people who had taken up positions on the roofs hurried to get down.
But in fact, only one bomb exploded.
The first thing they saw was what was happening to the north of the square. None of the royal family was hurt because the two layers of defense created a strong shield, but the people around them were injured.
These were the people who had arrived at the square before everyone else to see the king up close. In addition, the victims included servants and officials of lower rank, as well as low-level knights and mages who did not have enough time to activate their own shields.
Some of them were wounded, others were dead. The black smoke made it impossible to see the fair hair of the royals.
The Crown Prince sighed to himself. If the mages had done a better job, these casualties could have been avoided. But they were doing their job. Protecting the royal family.
The people who were still alive raised their heads. Then they looked towards where the nobles and ordinary citizens were standing.
*Klaaaang*
The silver shield slowly began to crack, like glass shattering into pieces. The silver wings also crumbled. As they began to crumble, black smoke appeared from their surroundings. There was definitely a person inside. However, nothing, not even a piece of flesh or a drop of blood, was visible.
With each new crack and with each falling fragment of the shield, something cracked within them.
The black dragon flinched at every sound the shield made as it crumbled.
In fact, no one expected Cale to use the shield. More precisely, they thought he would protect himself. Maybe a few more people nearby who would fit under the protection. He kept saying that he didn't want to stick his head out. He wanted to turn on the shield so that it wouldn't be noticed. He didn't want to draw attention to himself at all. And yet... The shield took off in all its glory. And protected everyone who was on the other side. No one was hurt behind the red-haired aristocrat.
The sword master thought that perhaps he had been too harsh on the new Cale's character. Perhaps he was not as selfish as he thought.
It's just that...
All witnesses felt a chill run through their bodies. This helped them understand the force of the explosion.
- This will hurt...
"What do you mean, Eruhaben-nim?" The swordsman's voice was still empty.
The gaze of those present naturally turned to one point. It was the end of that very silver thread of light.
- Young Master Cale!
- I already said this once. Ancient Power is not a panacea. In order to repel an attack, the shield must take damage. Any shield. Wooden, steel, or Indestructible. You may not take a direct hit, but you will feel the recoil in any case, - the ancient dragon finished in a slightly tired voice.
Now Cale was looked at with concern.
Rosalyn quickly supported Cale as his legs gave way and he began to fall. Rosalyn looked between Cale and the silver shield that was slowly dissipating into the air. She then looked at the royal family. There were two very powerful explosions.
Of course, Rosalyn knew that the Black Dragon's shield had absorbed most of the blast, but it was still true that Cale's silver shield had done something amazing.
Eruhaben couldn't help but think that if Cale hadn't raised the shield, the dragon child would have protected only Cale and Rosalyn. As Rosalyn had done, by the way, by placing shields around them. But the child had seen the shield in the cave and knew that the shield was strong. So he decided to back up. Clever kid.
This meant that the recoil from it was also quite serious.
Rosalyn grabbed Cale's hand to support him and kept calling out to the boy:
- Young Master Cale, are you okay? Young Master Cale?!
Cale stood with his head down at this time, deep in thought:
"Damn, that hurt!"
Cale weakened the power of the silver shield after seeing the Black Dragon launch its own shield just before the explosion. Thanks to this, the recoil was not as severe. However, his palm still throbbed. Cale, or rather Kim Rok Soo, usually exaggerated everything when it came to pain.
- That's it? His... palms hurt? - Choi Han, who was starting to recover from the initial shock, asked with skepticism in his voice. And that's all the feedback Eruhaben was talking about? It didn't sound scary.
Ron didn't like the idea of the Young Master getting hurt at all. It was a professional habit. He really wanted to sharpen his dagger.
Eruhaben frowned. And the little dragon crawled onto his shoulder.
Even a small amount of pain was still painful. He tried to lift his head.
"Kale-nim!"
- Young Master!
Cale heard voices approaching him. Then he looked up.
- Cale, are you okay?
- I'm fine... Cough-cough!
- B... Blood!
- STRANGE MAN! - the child was seriously scared. He was shouting, of course, in Eruhaben's ear. He even sympathized with the sword master, who had gone through this once. But nevertheless, he was more worried about the man on the screen, - WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE MAN?!
- What's wrong with him?
— Is this the return?
- He'll be okay, right?
- Oh my god, it's blood!
Choi Han mentally apologized for thinking that it didn't sound scary.
"Calm down. Nothing terrible will happen to him. We are only at the beginning of history," the ancient dragon said, but he did not stop frowning. The recoil was strong, even taking into account that the main blow fell on the dragon's shield, and the shield itself was strengthened by another Ancient Power. He had a vague suspicion that it was not only his palms that hurt.
Hearing this, everyone calmed down a little, but only a little.
Locke finally had no more questions about why the Young Master had not taken part in his taming in the arena.
Eric's face turned pale and he almost fell over backwards.
However, Cale himself began to feel better after coughing up this small amount of blood.
"Living Heart is really good."
The pain in his body disappeared, and it began to return to normal at a very fast rate. In fact, Cale's body became healthier than ever before, as the Living Heart began to work.
"So the blood is the result of the second Ancient Power?" the sword master's eyebrows quickly crawled up to his hair.
- It looks like it...
— The boy is lucky.
- What do you mean? - Coughing up blood didn't seem like a sign of good luck to anyone.
- Just imagine what would have happened if he hadn't possessed the second Ancient Power.
Everyone frowned.
A refreshing feeling, similar to the one he felt when he could sleep peacefully because Ron had gone on vacation, surrounded Cale.
"A very revealing comparison."
Then he slowly closed his eyes and began to mentally study his body:
"My arms and legs are still there. My palm was throbbing a little earlier, but even a paper cut would hurt more than that. My body is healthier than it's ever been since that one cough."
They had never been so happy that Cale had taken the Ancient Power of the Heart instead of Taylor.
Cale felt like he was beginning to understand why heroes never threw away the Ancient Powers, even if they didn't seem particularly useful. There were benefits to using even the Ancient Powers. Using the shield hurt less than Cale had expected, and he felt fine now.
But Choi Han thought that if the Life-giving Heart could help, then the Unbreakable Shield could hinder. In a battle where all your attention is focused on the enemy, it was dangerous to be distracted. And if you hit the shield with a decent force, you can be disabled only from the recoil. Under normal conditions, dragons were unlikely to help mitigate damage. On the other hand, it's not every day that you catch magic bombs with a shield…
Cale began to smile with satisfaction filling him.
When he did this, the people around him became nervous.
- Do you think that was funny just now? Stop laughing!
- Make your face simpler, you unfortunate man.
- You can understand him, everything worked out.
- We can understand him.
- Ah! That's true!
Cale opened his eyes, hearing Taylor's shocked and sad voice. He opened his eyes, checking his body and realizing that everything was just fine. However, the sun seemed to be shining too brightly, so much so that he had to squint.
- Don't try to open your eyes!
"The sun is blinding your eyes, isn't it?" His Highness quipped, rubbing his temple.
He was still nervous, but relief was slowly washing over him. They had initially thought that Cale would simply avoid all danger. Then they had been relieved when they had learned that he would intervene, albeit minimally. Once the plan had been made, there was hope that everything would end well. Admittedly, given the two suicidal variables, they had done the best they could. Cale himself had been the last to intervene and smooth things out as much as possible.
- But instead of the sun it could have been you, Your Highness!
Forget about relief.
What's happening to him?"
Cale felt a little confused, which is why he looked at Taylor as he sat down with Rosalyn's support. A noble shouldn't do something like this, but he felt that considering the situation, it wasn't that bad. Cale simply plopped down on the ground, not caring what the people around him thought of him.
"You were coughing up blood in front of everyone! Even if you lie down and sleep, no one will say a word against you, you miserable bastard."
The Black Dragon continued to speak in his ear:
- Weak man! You can't die! You're too weak! If you die, I'll destroy everything! I'll kill everyone! Destroy everything. And once everything is gone, including your corpse, I'll kill myself!
The Black Dragon seemed to be troubled, but the words coming out of his mouth were quite vicious. Cale began to frown at the content of those words.
Admittedly, it sounded very radical. Glances glanced at the Black Dragon, who, perched on the ancient dragon's shoulder, continued to watch the action with his huge round eyes. At least he wasn't threatening to destroy the world.
- Young Master Cale, we will call the priest immediately!
- I'll go with you!
Amiru and Gilbert said this before rushing towards the priest who was entering through the gate. They didn't care about ruining their dresses and hairdos. Seeing them rushing forward, Cale didn't have the courage to say that he didn't feel any pain.
"When they test me, I'll have to pretend that I'm in pain, even if I'm not."
— Continues to hide the Ancient Powers?
— Considering how difficult it is to collect them, he does the right thing.
It was even good for Cale if the priest showed up. Eric Wilsman stood next to his friend and glared at the other nobles of the Northeastern region, as well as the nobles of other factions, to keep them from approaching.
"The Young Masters of the Northeast Region are wonderful people. So responsible!" Rosalyn couldn't help but be touched by them.
- That's what I'm saying, "LOCKS".
"Why are they suckers right away, Eruhaben-nim?" the sword master stared at the elf in confusion.
"Because they're protecting Cale?" he replied, looking back with equal bewilderment.
That's how they looked at each other. Oh, these misunderstandings.
Cale didn't look at it as his attention was focused on a discussion that could create big problems.
— …Please get out of my way.
- No way. Civilians are not allowed inside.
— … Civilians? Who came up with this shit?
Choi Han spoke to the knight in charge of guarding the nobles with coldness in his eyes.
Admittedly, the Sword Master currently looked the most like their local specimen since the Western.
Cale told the boy not to push forward no matter what. Cale began to frown and gave Choi Han an irritated sign, implying that he had gone against his orders.
Choi Han saw Cale's reaction so he bit his lip before bowing his head.
- I'm sorry.
"Why should I apologize?"
"I told him not to push forward. That didn't mean he had to apologize."
"Thank you for being on my side, Professor!"
Cale then saw Lock, as well as On and Hong on the shoulders of the boy standing behind Choi Han. Cale smiled to let them know that he was okay and turned away, as the whole group seemed completely lost.
Locke could imagine the chaos his double was in now. The man who had helped him had suffered before his eyes. The wolves knew duty well, too.
— … Young Master Cale, are you alright?
Cale nodded at Rosalyn's question and wiped the blood from the corner of his lips.
- Yes, I'm fine.
Cale's movements seemed normal as he wiped away the blood that was as red as his hair. However, Rosalyn had just seen what he had done. Could a princess like her take such an action. She muttered in her mind.
"…I really can't understand you."
Rosalyn asked herself the same question as her counterpart. She understood the red-haired nobleman's actions a little more, but she still didn't expect him to decide to save everyone he could. Could she do the same? If something similar happened in the Kingdom of Breck? She was a very talented mage. She was strong, and this was not empty boasting. But when the time came, what would she do? The answer was right before her eyes. She didn't even think about shielding the attacker.
While she was thinking about it, the crazy mage managed to notice the red head. Well, it was hard not to notice.
Redika met Cale's gaze, and then noticed Rosalyn next to him. Although her hair was dyed brown at the moment, Redika had to recognize Rosalyn, whom he had met in the Blue Wolf Tribe Village. The metallic shrill voice filled the square again:
- Wow... So many different colors of blood that I like!
Many of the mages began to use attack magic towards Redika.
— Attack!
It wasn't visible because of the mask, but Redika's eyes narrowed, becoming like crescents.
- I want to put them in a display case.
In the midst of everything that was happening, they had forgotten a little about the crazy mage's bloody passion. But they quickly remembered it now. They didn't need another reason to hate Redika, but it wouldn't hurt either.
The crunch of Bikros' popcorn sounded to everyone like the crunch of an enemy mage's skull.
Cale's gaze froze and he involuntarily spoke his thoughts out loud:
- Is he crazy?
Usually, crazy characters like that die quickly. Cale thought about it and looked at Choi Han.
"But he's not a character," Eruhaben thought, but didn't say it out loud.
The black-haired youth nodded and disappeared into the crowd.
Naturally, Choi Han moved against this mage in order to capture and kill him. However, he did not move directly towards Redika.
Redika looked at the king as the magical attacks were about to hit him and began to speak:
- Then see you next time!
Then the magician disappeared. Not only that, he took all those who came with him. This bastard's specialty was teleportation magic. The people who attacked Redika did not know where exactly he and his people went. However, the novel mentioned where Redika teleported to after disappearing from the square.
Choi Han, On, Hong and Lok, they should all be there first.
If Redika and the secret organization members actually teleported there, they will most likely die at the hands of Choi Han.
"I'm just worried that Choi Han will get too carried away."
That's why Cale sent Hong, On, and Lok with him. These three could help Choi Han stay rational. Choi Han was weak in the face of young and weak creatures.
- Puppy, can two kittens and a wolf cub stop you? - Ron turned to Choi Han with a mocking grin. The accumulated stress needed to be released, and the popcorn was over. So he could take on the swordsman, that was also an option. And here was such a reason.
The sword master stared at him with a murderous expression in his eyes.
- How can you say that, Mr. Ron? These cats are wolf hunters! They should be able to handle the puppy with flying colors! - the red-haired girl considered it necessary to point out the former butler's mistake.
"I beg your pardon, Miss Rosalyn. I did forget for a moment about their main profession," he replied as if nothing had happened, with a friendly smile on his face.
Choi Han continued to burn holes into the butler with his gaze. He pretended not to hear Rosalyn at all. He didn't want her to remember him. He knew how to pick his opponents.
Locke prayed to everyone he knew that they would forget the kitten training episode. It was more embarrassing than it should have been.
While they were figuring all this out, King Zed Crossman had already managed to give a speech.
Cale turned away from the king to look at Rosalyn. The original plan was to hide her presence today, but the girl had revealed herself in an attempt to protect Cale.
"She probably intervened because the Black Dragon couldn't reveal itself."
Rosalyn began to smile as she watched Cale's eyes. Then she said only one word to answer his gaze:
- Secret.