Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart - Chapter 48

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

◈ Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart ◈

Chapter 48: A War for Liberation

──────

The march continued for several days.

They did not simply walk. To Han Yujin's surprise, they used “gates” that connected one location to another along the way, so the actual distance they covered was enormous.

As they traveled, they joined forces with other armies that had departed from different castles, and the scale of the expedition swelled to a ridiculous extent.

Thanks to that, Han Yujin could move around quite freely without arousing anyone's suspicions, gathering all sorts of information. The larger the group became, the less attention people could pay to small details.

He even had the chance to observe the leading figures of this massive offensive from fairly close by.

There were six in total, and all of them were mages.

It seemed that, in this world, knights could never reach the same heights as mages, no matter how strong they became. Much like how body refinement arts had ultimately fallen into disuse in the cultivation world.

In any case.

All six mages were Archmages and masters of their respective magic towers. They seemed to possess at least Nascent Soul Stage-level power, yet according to the information he had gathered, they were all only around a hundred years old.

There was a problem, though.

'Why do they all look so old?'

They had acquired power at least equivalent to the Nascent Soul Stage in barely a century. Even by the standards of the cultivation world, they were undoubtedly peerless geniuses. Yet they looked frail enough to collapse and die at any moment.

It was not just their appearances. Every movement they made revealed an unmistakable weakness that made even onlookers feel tired.

'Their bodies can't keep up with the strength of their souls!'

That was the only conclusion he could reach. It was almost incomprehensible how they had achieved such extreme growth.

After identifying the six Archmages' weakness, he realized that the people called Grand Knights, whose presences barely brushed the Core Formation Stage, had obvious weaknesses as well.

Their souls seemed terribly frail. Han Yujin had even taken a slight risk and probed them with Divine Sense, only for them to react like confused fools.

'How can they possess that much power and still be this insensitive to spiritual matters?'

Even though body refinement arts had fallen into disuse in the cultivation world, they did not suffer from such a glaring weakness. They had merely been too difficult to advance in, without offering any exceptional advantages.

Yet these knights, even the Grand Knights, seemed like they could be toyed with using the Illusory Dream Heart-Seizing Art if Han Yujin, a mere Dharma Soul Stage cultivator, put his mind to it.

As he gathered more information, he nearly slapped his forehead at a startling realization.

'This is the result of a cultivation method derived from dragons, the so-called magic control!'

In other words, there was no explanation for this unnatural growth except that it had all been deliberately engineered by the dragon race.

'No wonder they betrayed their former masters and switched to new ones!'

Once he understood the circumstances, he began noticing things that had previously escaped his attention.

Whenever they rested during the march, the Archmages set up a large structure and meditated beneath it.

The structure resembled a hemispherical tent with only its frame remaining. When the Archmages began meditating, a mysterious deep blue light gathered overhead, and countless starlights poured down upon them.

Bathed in that starlight, the Archmages wore peaceful expressions as they slowly grew younger. The severe imbalance between their bodies and souls was gradually being resolved.

In the end, this War for Liberation seemed like the dragon race's karma coming back to haunt them.

If they had treated humans well from the beginning instead of raising them however they pleased as insignificant creatures, would humans have joined hands with unknown outsiders called Asterions?

In any case, it might prove to be an opportunity for Han Yujin.

The weaknesses of the Archmages and Grand Knights were problems shared by everyone in this army, but that did not make the army weak. For one thing, its numbers were enormous.

'I've personally seen around two or three hundred thousand.'

Considering that even the weakest soldier gave off an aura comparable to a D-rank Hunter, and that there were almost no noncombatants in this army, it was a truly terrifying number.

Numbers might be meaningless before a truly powerful opponent, but that depended on the situation.

Even if they could not directly contribute to battles among the strongest, simply clearing up the surrounding situation was help that could not be ignored.

Their middle ranks were not weak either.

Among the disciples of the six Archmages and twenty-four Grand Knights alone, there were roughly a hundred high mages at the Core Formation Stage, while the number of high knights at the Dharma Soul Stage was at least four digits, judging by the knightly orders they had formed.

Most importantly, this entire army had gathered to face a single dragon. They were here to execute Casarnox, the evil dragon that oppressed the Astradia Continent.

'It'll be fun just watching the outcome.'

According to the information he had gathered, they were not far from the evil dragon's nest. Unable to suppress his anticipation, Han Yujin blended in among them and continued onward.

* * *

The attack began the moment they arrived. Preparations had already been completed before their arrival.

“Begin the attack!!”

An Archmage's command boomed across the battlefield like thunder, and majestic horn calls rang out from all directions as the massive army began to move. They advanced in coordination, forming a vast encirclement.

Their target was a mountain that rose like a solitary island from a flat plain.

It was an exceptionally tall and beautifully shaped mountain. Artificial structures could be seen throughout it, while all kinds of buildings, walls, and spires had been erected around it, creating an extravagant yet majestic sight.

Back when the dragon race's rule had been firm, it would have been a sacred place that no one could dare approach...

Now, however, it was merely the stronghold of an oppressor that needed to be destroyed.

“You vermin...! How dare you betray your master's grace!”

The oppressor's stronghold responded to the attack.

First, the spires rising throughout the mountain flashed and fired fierce beams of light. Just before those beams could strike the army, however, blue barriers rose before them and successfully blocked the attack.

Next, more than ten large spheres of light came flying from various points on the mountain, crackling wildly like lightning as they traced arcs through the sky. They left long tails behind them, making even the empty air ripple. They looked extremely threatening.

'Oh, those are fairly...?!'

Just as Han Yujin, who had been watching, was slightly startled and prepared himself...

One Archmage flew into the air and raised a staff set with a gemstone the size of a human head.

At once, an enormous flow of spiritual energy arose, and brilliant light burst from the staff.

Nine rings of light, formed from countless dharma patterns woven into formula sequences, unfolded. Then they created a phenomenon that seemed to crumple the entire space ahead.

Within that distortion, hundreds of intensely sharp rays of light appeared, each drawing a colorful pattern. The patterns connected like a net and wrapped around each incoming projectile.

Then, as if by magic, the projectiles reversed direction and flew back even faster. Surrounded by those patterns of light, they were now completely under the Archmage's control.

'So that's why they're called Ninth Circle!'

Han Yujin's jaw dropped.

He had estimated the Archmage's power to be at least at the Nascent Soul Stage, but that display had felt almost equivalent to the Spirit Transformation Stage. The method was also remarkably complex and precise, making it impossible not to admire it.

Though it did not seem to be a matter of preference or choice.

Rather, they appeared capable of fighting only in that manner.

“A paltry trick!”

More than ten figures leaped out from various places on the mountain and moved to defend against the returning spheres of light. Spiritual energy surged again, light flashed, and deafening explosions echoed throughout the area.

The figures who had appeared looked strangely like a blend of humans and dragons. With pairs of horns, wings, tails, and scales protruding from parts of their skin, they resembled the half-human, half-yao beings of the cultivation world.

The ones who stepped forward to face them were the Archmages' disciples.

Around a hundred Core Formation Stage mages advanced behind the Grand Knights, bestowing all sorts of beneficial blessings upon them. They were a force that the defenders could not possibly ignore.

Meanwhile.

Bwooooom...!!

With the repeated blasts of horns, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers surrounding the mountain from six directions let out earth-shaking war cries and launched their attacks in sequence. Given their numbers, their speed and coordination felt almost impossible.

The solitary mountain now resembled a small boat drifting precariously through a tidal wave of enemy soldiers.

The impression grew even stronger when countless flashes burst from the front of each army advancing from the six directions, followed by enchanted arrows soaring into the air in numbers great enough to cover the entire sky.

At that moment.

A palace at the mountain's summit exploded into fragments, and a gigantic dragon revealed itself.

─!!!

An indescribable roar spread across the battlefield, swallowing every other sound.

All the arrows that had been fired so confidently were deflected at once, and even the raised blue barriers shattered with a Crash!

To Han Yujin, the dragon that appeared was truly beautiful.

A dreamlike violet light flowed across scales that reflected every image like mirrors. Its widely spread wings had such indistinct boundaries that they seemed to merge with the world itself, fluttering amid clusters of light in every color.

Several pairs of horns, stained with violet darkness condensed to its absolute limit, gave off a faint halo that added to its majesty. From its open eyes with vertical pupils flowed lights resembling galactic nebulae, inspiring awe.

A dragon. A Void Refinement Stage being. The ruler of Astradia.

Casarnox.

After appearing, the dragon said nothing. It merely swept its gaze over the army whose barriers had crumbled, then powerfully flapped its wings.

Dazzling clusters of light burst forth, transforming into countless violet blades that spewed out as though they would cover heaven and earth.

It did not end after one attack. The clusters of light formed spheres and rose into the air, unleashing several more storms of blades.

Terrifying destruction, accompanied by tremendous booms, began tearing through the entire area. The human soldiers caught in it were ripped apart like rags.

Given enough time and breathing room, the dragon looked capable of slaughtering the entire army of hundreds of thousands by itself.

“Asterion Yezal!!”

At that moment, the six Archmages rose high into the air and activated something at their center.

It was a metal structure that looked as though it had been made from countless overlapping rings. Endless clear blue starlight seemed to pour from the white metal, and as it accepted the Archmages' power, it shone brightly like a second sun.

In an instant, a massive projection of a being that looked vaguely human, yet was clearly something else, appeared higher in the sky.

Han Yujin only caught a glimpse of it, yet goosebumps rose all over his body and a shudder ran down his spine.

It had four limbs, one head, and a body shape that seemed suited for walking on two legs like a human. Yet its body was translucent like a jellyfish, with countless tentacles made of light drifting from it.

The innumerable starlights glittering from those tentacles all felt like some sort of gaze, filling him with fear.

'They want to serve something like that as their new master...?'

Rather than wondering whether it might be kinder than it looked, he found himself sympathizing more with the dragon with at least Integration Stage-level power's earlier description of the “disgusting Asterions.”

Regardless of Han Yujin's impression.

The Asterion called Yezal extended both hands toward the dragon, which was displaying violence powerful enough to suit the ruler of this continent.

A single sparkling light fell from its outstretched hands. It expanded into something resembling a cage and sealed off a section of space at terrifying speed.

Han Yujin made an instinctive judgment and activated Lightning Escape Art and Wind Escape Art in succession, entering the enclosed space.

'Most likely a spatial art-formula restriction that suppresses the target's power and prevents escape.'

It would be vulnerable to attacks from outside, but escaping from within would be nearly impossible. From the human army's perspective, it was a trump card that would isolate the battlefield according to rank and let them fight at their best.

If he did not enter, he would not be able to watch the outcome at all.

His judgment was correct.

The instant he barely made it inside, the spatial confinement art-formula restriction that had settled like a cage completely cut off all surrounding light and sound.

The inside became considerably darker and quiet in an instant.

Aside from the minor fry who had been caught up in it by accident, the true main figures within the sealed space were undoubtedly the six Archmages and the dragon.

“You prepared quite well.”

At that moment, the dragon's will took the form of a voice and rang in everyone's minds. It was a beautiful voice that sounded like that of a young man.

“So this is my fate, to be disposed of like this...”

Unexpectedly, the dragon displayed no fighting spirit or anger whatsoever. It simply seemed calm, as though it had known this day would come.

“Casarnox.”

An Archmage spoke in a magical voice dripping with coldness and resolve.

“Today, we will kill you... and we will be liberated!”

“Yes.”

The dragon Casarnox answered just as calmly.

“Do your very best, insects.”

Dreamlike violet light thickly rose from its entire body, and cosmic colors shone from its eyes.

“Only then will the ‘liberation’ you struggled so hard to seize be worth something.”

After that faintly mocking remark.

The six Archmages simultaneously raised their staffs and cast their spells, while the dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a breath attack.