Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 235 Swaying in the Wind and Rain
"Mother, you've always considered the Whisperers your mortal enemies, how could you be with them?"

From Rosalind's perspective, the Whisperers, who have been stirring up trouble for Griffin, are mortal enemies.

In a sense, the Whisperers' influence was the source of all the disasters and Rosalind's unfortunate life. But the Whisperers' "knowledge" seemed to have been brought by the Owl, and Rosalind's birth was a result of the harm caused by this knowledge.

"Tsk, what a mess."

Rean understood why Hela looked down on the kingdom.

This small country, pieced together from just a few cities, is full of messy and chaotic things. You won't actually benefit from it; the bad things will just keep happening.

There are two "beast" seals alone, and a whole bunch of cults and Outer God followers.

It's too difficult for this country to even survive. Hela has absolutely no need to step into this quagmire. The continent is vast, and the multiverse is vast.

Perhaps, if Lex had left the kingdom back then, he would have found happiness.
"You're making me want to go," Rean sighed. He felt that the kingdom was reaping what it sowed in a way, and that the prerequisite for saving it was that the target had to be worthy of being saved.

If more than a decade hadn't passed, and if most of the people here weren't innocent, Rean would have run away long ago.

Lex's initial idea was not wrong. If he directly implanted the "memories" into Rean, it would probably make him hate the kingdom even more.

Ultimately, Hela gained her "freedom." In her own words, she planned to stay there for a while before heading to the north or south of the continent.

"After all, she's my mom." She had hesitated a bit before, but now it seems she doesn't need to think about it at all.

Her mother has completely lost control, and now the queen sisters will probably fight to the death. If this civil war starts again, can the kingdom, which is already on the verge of collapse, really hold on?

Fortunately, the princess lost most of her retinue and subordinates in this attack, so she shouldn't cause any trouble in the short term.

Rean also realized that the goal of "relocating the capital" was, in a sense, a do-or-die reform, but from another perspective, it was also a helpless move of "isolationism".

Or rather, it's about escaping.

The new capital still controls an area, and abandoning it completely would be tantamount to confining the kingdom's administrative power, core institutions, and military forces to Radiant City and several surrounding second-tier cities.

"The idea that we are too weak to maintain our current sphere of influence and have to abandon secondary resource and population areas sounds terrible and hopeless."

But it seems to be a helpless choice. The empire is already in its twilight. Abandoning the unsustainable areas and concentrating all its power on the core homeland is an ugly but life-saving way. It is also a hope that its enemies will not exterminate them after they have devoured the living space they have given up.

If we stay in our core area and honestly remain a small country for another three to five generations, we might still have a chance to rise again.

"The prerequisite is to get rid of that revived deer."

It can only be said that the kingdom committed too many sins in the past, leaving it vulnerable on all sides and surrounded by enemies. Now, even with all its might, it can only manage to survive.

"Oh right, there are also Whisperers. Maybe we should just give up and destroy them directly."

Clearly, these things are still lurking in the kingdom, and the Great Red Dragon's disinfection is incomplete.

If the Great Red Dragon were here, it would probably be very unfair to Outer Gods. They are like viruses and bacteria in the human body. Once they appear and cause infection, they are basically impossible to completely eradicate (they are always present in the world and in the air). As long as they can coexist, they can make do.

If it's truly and completely cleaned up, the world and mortals might lose their immunity.

The fact that a single breath from the Great Red Dragon could transform a world-ending level of pollution into something as "harmless" as a "scattered cult" is quite outrageous.

"Damn it, Lee Eun-suk! That bastard, the Thousand-Faced Dragon!"

Rean couldn't hold back any longer and started doing what the Thousand-Faced Dragon usually does: berate himself.

But there's a reason for that. You're the one who understands yourself best, and you're also the one who's most likely to screw you over. The "main quest" that led you here was definitely a huge trap.

If Rean had just arrived here, and had accumulated some resources and power in a small town or village, and was developing in a big city, he would have run away without saying a word upon seeing this muddy mess, perhaps taking a few more people with him.

Now, look at Sallyman, Dania, and their friends in the dock area. With the situation not completely hopeless, can they really just walk away?

Logically, one should cut losses promptly, but if one were truly completely rational, one might not even be considered human.
"Damn Lee Eun-suk!"

In the end, Rean could only vent his anger by cursing a couple of times before going about his own business.

Hellabi was more rational than expected, which relieved Rean. Although Dania was panting the whole time, it was really good that they didn't fight.

"Damn it, Lex, you're influencing my judgment again." In a sense, Rean was quite stubborn.

If Dania goes back to work overtime, even just issuing arrest warrants for various cult members will probably be a hassle.

To show her sincerity, Hela did not hesitate to betray some of her "allies." The various families in the old capital had actually been infiltrating the kingdom all along; they were open about it in the old capital, but were treated like rats in other cities.

For a long time, the spies sent by the Kingdom to the old capital have mostly died tragically. The various factions and survivors in the old capital truly hate the Kingdom. This is not only the cultists and outsiders, but also the citizens who are the main force behind the hatred of the Kingdom.

In their view, they were not only victims of the dragon plague, but also the abandoned by the kingdom, and this was an undeniable fact.

These citizens are able to survive surrounded by cultists, elemental creatures, and various monsters, so it's hard to describe them as "ordinary citizens." In their eyes, outsiders are also "resources" delivered to their doorstep, and the spies who try to infiltrate them usually don't survive more than two episodes.

Growing up in such an environment, Hela truly had no good feelings towards the kingdom.

"Lia, how are you feeling?" Rean asked the mechanical maid who greeted him as he returned home.

She's probably overloaded; the surrounding temperature is clearly too high, is she still in an overheated state? "It feels so good, can we go again?"

The mechanical girl blushed and asked Rean if he wanted to go again.

Rean remained silent; he had no more drops left. Although the scene might be misleading, Rean was still self-aware.

His current bloodline strength is insufficient to support the full-power firing of the "Liya Solar Cannon".

The powerful force poured into Liya also clearly caused her to grow stronger.

Red crystalline structures appeared on her body, complementing her metallic form and making her appear more like a living person.

If it were put into artillery mode, let alone a continuous barrage across the entire city, Rean's current "sun" power could drain him dry in a single shot.

But this was actually the original design. Snake was created to give Rean a means of long-range sniping to avoid being killed by Owl, and it was not originally intended for rapid-fire.

Unable to satisfy Lia, Rean could only go to work overtime amidst her resentful gaze.

However, returning to his own territory made Rean relax a bit. But listening to the returning adventurers constantly boasting about the legendary stories and power of the heroes made him feel uneasy. He decided it was better to go to the courtyard to practice his sword and calm his mind.

While possessed by Lex, magic is essentially useless, but it would be foolish not to use that time to practice swordsmanship.

Returning to the courtyard, he activated "One Mind, One Heart" to enter sword practice mode. By the time Rean looked up, it was already dark.

But the sweat covering his body and the familiar scenery finally put him at ease.

They're back, everyone's back. Back to their familiar daily lives, at least for the short term, there shouldn't be any messy things going on.
"Snapped!"

"Keep going, good."

The sound of wooden swords clashing nearby caught Rean's attention.

He turned around, rubbed his eyes, and wondered if he had seen wrong.

He actually saw Lana and Hela practicing swordsmanship; to be precise, Hela was instructing Lana.

Rean glanced at them and realized that both of their sword skills seemed to be better than his own.

But unlike before, this time I understood it.

Lana's swordsmanship is the standard "hero's swordsmanship," which is in a completely unbalanced state, yet she still pursues the opportunity to win.

Hela, however, is no longer part of the kingdom's swordsmanship system.

"The swordsmanship system of the Scarlet Dragon Kingdom? Dual-wielding style. One sword is long and the other is short."

Unbeknownst to him, Rean had deciphered something he himself didn't understand: Hela seemed to be following an Eastern swordsmanship system.

Even though she's fighting with one hand now, Rean can subconsciously read the sword path of her idle arm.

“Father Rean Sudar, spying on other people’s swordsmanship is not a good habit.”

Rean's "awakening" also brought the sparring session to an early end. Hela had long lost interest, but Lana was unwilling to let her go.

"Excuse me, but it's a very beautiful sword technique. I think so no matter which 'I' it is. Is this sword technique from the East?"

"Ha, the one who enlightened me was a ronin from the east, who was wicked and was killed by my mother. Now."

As she spoke, Hela tossed a wooden sword over.

"Practice with me and let me see your sword."

For swordsmen, words are sometimes superfluous; when swords clash, much is revealed.

"Alright. Go easy on me, I probably can't take a serious sword strike from you."

Rean sighed. Do other people's fathers have to worry about whether they'll get beaten to death while playing with their daughters in the yard?
But with his single-minded focus, he quickly entered combat mode. It seemed that this also surprised Hela for the first time.

"A merciless sword of justice, a passionate and persistent sword of a wanderer. A sword of judgment and protection that is still in its infancy and hesitating. Father, you may be even more ill than Mother."

What could Rean say? Keep trying to kill, at least don't lose too badly.

There was no other outcome for a swordsman of rank seven or higher against Rean in his current state. And when he entered the dream prematurely due to exhaustion, he finally encountered the Avoider who had been hiding all along.

"Lex, when do you plan to activate your Heroic Spirit inheritance? Are you really that afraid to see your two daughters?"

Lex paused for a moment, then revealed his pre-existing idea.

"How about you, the shell you're wearing, carry on my legacy?" This person seemed ready to continue being a deserter.

"Heh." Rean responded to the cowardly man who held the title of hero with a cold laugh.

(End of this chapter)