Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 37 The Beast and the Brave

As the head of a noble family, the reason why Sallyman Sudar came to support without hesitation and even sacrificed her own reputation was certainly not simply out of love.

At least, not now.

Going back a little bit in time, before Sallyman came over, she had a private conversation with someone.

"Your Highness, why do you want to do this?" Faced with her boss's request, Sallyman was a little hesitant and confused.

"Dragon Hunt", Dainya D. Elyse, the heir to the Kingdom of Eselin, a seventeen-year-old princess, has a huge burden on her shoulders.

It was she who gave the order for Sallyman to fully support Rean and his group.

Now the engagement might even be exposed in advance. After thinking about it, Daniya finally decided to reveal it to her confidant.

"You may think that I help them too much. In fact, it's not us who are helping them, but they are helping me." Daniya's tone was very gentle. It didn't sound like she was communicating with her subordinates, but rather chatting with her sisters.

In this era, the royal family and the nobility were more of allies than superiors and subordinates.

If you have authority and reputation, what you say will be effective. Otherwise, you are just a useful decorative vase.

The royal family of the Kingdom of Aselin is the weakest among the vase royal families.

The kingdom has weakened, and too many regions have become effectively independent. But this does not mean that the royal family of Aselin is weak and incompetent. On the contrary, the reputation and ability of the current royal family members and the bureaucrats of the old and new capitals are quite good.

The disaster occurred only sixteen years ago. At that time, the Kingdom of Aetherin was still vying for the throne of the empire. There were still survivors of the royal family, and the core team had not actually completely fallen.

Princess Dainya, who was born as a posthumous child of disaster, has never stopped her education as a royal heir. The ruins of the old capital still preserve inheritance and knowledge accumulation close to the imperial level, and her mother can also orally recite her ancient secrets.

Daniya knew a lot, but she was still hesitant to share it with her sisters, not because of distrust.
"Come on. I need your help with some things." Finally, she made up her mind.

She took Sallyman to a secret cell.

In the partition room there, there were several bottles of black turbid liquid, which were the ones that Sallyman had entrusted to Rean.

"This is..." Sallyman became more and more confused.

Daniya did not respond, but spoke to the guard indifferently.

"Make another one."

So, soon, a cursing criminal was dragged up.

Then, he was held down on his head and asked to kneel and recite a prayer.

"Merciful King of the Gray Sea, the Great Horn Pillar that controls the boundary between the sky and the sea, merciful Elsena, please grant me your mercy."

This scene made Sallyman very puzzled. The nobles in this world had some understanding of the great existence, and many things about this prayer were wrong.

"How can you chant the name of God directly without using a pseudonym? If it's a true God, he wouldn't respond to such blasphemous prayers. If it's an evil God, he'd at least offer sacrifices to whet his appetite."

Sure enough, the prayer did not cause any extraordinary fluctuations, and it seemed that nothing had happened.

"Look." And where Daniya pointed, the prisoner had grown a spiral horn at some point.

There was a strange black liquid oozing out of it, which was stored in the compartment.

"How is this possible? How could the gods answer such a foolish prayer? There's no reason for them to give out rewards so casually!"

This scene completely broke her religious common sense, which made Sallyman completely unable to understand.

"For He is not a God, but a beast."

Daniya walked over silently, looked at the spiral horns, and frowned even more.

There are already seventeen whorls on it, which is closer to the thirty-three whorls mentioned in the record. The gray elk is closer to fully waking up.

After receiving the news from Yinghun, Daniya made a decision.

Results similar to the scene before our eyes have repeatedly verified the worst reality.

Not only was the ancient beast truly about to revive, but its "grace" came so quickly and completely, so it must be quite close to him.

It should be just as Yinghun said, right at the foot of this city.

In other words, these underground ruins, which were used as resource points, were specifically built to seal Him.

"Your Highness, what is a beast?"

Sallyman, with a confused look on her face, had never heard of such an existence, and wondered what the difference was between it and the evil god.

“It’s our ancestors.”

Daniya's calm tone revealed the most horrifying truth.

"The beast is generous and forgiving; it will not deny its offspring what they ask for."

The "love" on earth is the proof.

It will give as long as someone asks for it.

However, Daniya's tense little face definitely did not say anything good.

"The beasts will not refuse their offspring's requests, but they also do not care what this 'milk (gift)' for their offspring will bring to fragile mortals. In fact, they don't care about anything."

"It has no heart."

“The beast with a heart is us.”

Daniya touched the photo frame pendant on her chest and fell into confusion.

The beast awakens again, but where is the hero this time? —
"This time, it's really a ceiling I'm not familiar with at all."

Looking at the ceiling with gorgeous crystal chandeliers, Li En felt a little uncomfortable.

This time, he didn't wake up in his home in Nanming District.

"Don't run, Lana, breakfast is almost here."

Along with the clatter of bare feet passing by, there was also the familiar sound of chasing.

The place has changed, but the people remain.

This is the guest room in Sudal's mansion. The walls are hung with tapestries and murals depicting heroic stories, and the wooden floors feel very high-end.

The bed, table and chairs are all decorated with simple yet exquisite carvings, and the backrests are covered with a material that looks like velvet. It feels soft to the touch and does not look cheap.

Li En couldn't understand the price of these decorations, but he was shocked and really felt as if he had entered a castle in a fairy tale world.

Rean was not the only one who came to the mansion in the Glowing District. After accepting Sallyman's invitation last night, Rean went straight home to take Lana away and gave the maid and cook a holiday.

The reason was quite direct. He seemed to have accidentally offended the slave market and became famous.

Even if it is to avoid some trouble caused by greed for money, it is still better to avoid some risks.

After all, it is better to avoid situations like an assassin knocking on your door in the middle of the night and causing an unsolved injustice in advance.

"Tsk, I was still impulsive." Li En originally went to "reason" yesterday, but from beginning to end, it seemed that neither side cared much about each other's reasoning.

Perhaps, it is because in this world, "fist" is the truth.

“It’s really exaggerated”

Looking out the window, there was a manor with a fountain as its core. Rean could even see a small lake with a trickle of water leading to it.

This large house, resembling something out of an anime, is the Sudar House, the face of this ancient viscount family. "But, it seems there aren't many servants."

When Li En came here in the middle of the night, he didn't see many servants, and the mansion seemed empty.

Now, walking down the aisle outside, it's the same thing.

There seemed to be voices in the distance, but after walking for a long time, I didn't see anyone.

Li En was not a young master who needed to be served, so he took his sword and walked downstairs. It was already this time, and if he didn't do some morning exercises, he would always feel like something was missing.

There are portraits and sculptures hanging on the stairs. I was in a hurry when I came here yesterday and didn’t pay much attention to them.

Now the sunlight illuminated the room. Li En looked over and saw that the quality of these oil paintings seemed to be quite good, and they seemed to be works of famous painters.

It can be seen that many of the portraits are probably of Sudar's family.

Snake people and lizard people are the most numerous. These two bloodlines are relatively strong in this family, and their genes are more dominant.

But when he reached the upper floors of the first-floor lobby, Li En was a little confused by the two portraits in the most conspicuous place.

They should be a young couple. The young lion girl has blonde hair and blue eyes. She is wearing a gorgeous long dress and holding flowers in her hands. Her eyes are as gentle as water. She looks very virtuous with a smile and joy on her face.

She grabbed Li En's attention at first sight.

She looked familiar to Li En, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
"Although she's from the same clan, she's not the Hero Reina. Her hair color is different, and her temperament and appearance are completely different. But she does look familiar."

Before Rean could remember who it was, the painting next door became even more peculiar.

It was a young man in military uniform, facing people with a sword in both hands. The silver mask on his cheek covered most of his face, leaving only his chin which was completely indistinguishable.

The reason why he attracted Rean's attention more than the beauty was the sword in his hand.

"Sword of the Brave." If nothing unexpected happens, this sword is now in Rean's hand.

"This sword is the prototype of the replica you hold in your hand, the true Sword of Courage. It is said to grant its wielder near-infinite courage and strength, creating a beacon of sunlight amidst the dark tides. Sadly, with the disappearance of the second generation of heroes, the kingdom's original also disappeared."

Sallyman's voice came from above, she was still holding little Lana.

The girl waved happily at Rean. She was now dressed like a cute little princess.

At this moment, Rean's expression was quite subtle. You are holding the second generation hero's hand and talking about the regret of the second generation hero's disappearance?

"What's wrong?" Noticing Rean's eyes, Sallyman was a little puzzled. There shouldn't be any problem with her outfit today.

"Uh, it's okay. I'm just a little confused. This warrior on the wall must be the first brave warrior, Lord Rex. Why is he wearing a mask? I don't think it's mentioned in the legend."

Li En casually changed the subject, but the response he received was quite subtle.

“He wasn’t wearing a mask.”

These are no longer secrets in the circle of old nobles. After thinking for a while, Sallyman spoke.

"It's actually not that big of a secret. It's about the disaster sixteen years ago. The royal family was cursed by the Great Red Dragon, and the hero suffered as a result. It's said that the curse he suffered was particularly terrifying. His face was directly erased from all records. This erasure even included the memory of knowing others."

Is that so outrageous? A direct erasure? No, just the face, but the name and memories remain? What's the point? Just completely erasing the face?

For some reason, Li En felt something was wrong, but it seemed that it was not something he could investigate with his identity.

"Well, then, this is the current Queen?"

Even Rean knew that the kingdom was now ruled by a queen, and the previous king had died in the disaster sixteen years ago.

"Yes, Queen Marianna, the Princess Royal back then. It's said that she wasn't the Ice Queen she is today, and was very gentle."

The queen, who was a princess back then, looked very young and beautiful.

Sallyman sighed a little, and hesitated to say something.

She glanced at the sword in Li En's hand and spoke anyway.

"Have breakfast first, then go for morning exercise."

Of course Rean would not refuse. He was even somewhat interested in what the nobles of this era ate.

But the result was quite subtle and completely different from the feast he had expected. It was no different from what he had eaten the previous two days: a cream soup, a garlic bread slice, a fried egg and two slices of barbecued pork.

The fact that there was only one maid in the huge restaurant also made Lien certain that there were really not many servants in this manor.

"Not to your liking?"

"No, it's delicious. But... did you make it too?"

"Well, cooking is my hobby. If I have time, I will cook it myself." The woman smiled confidently.

At this moment, Sallyman, who was a typical aristocratic lady, did not behave aristocratically at all.

Both of them had their own concerns and didn't really have much to talk about. After exchanging polite greetings, they ate in silence.

After eating, Rean went downstairs to work, while Sallyman left Lana to the maid and went upstairs.

There was another distinguished guest in the mansion whom she had to receive personally.

"call!"

After dozens of minutes, Rean put down his sword, wiped the sweat off his face, and felt a little uncomfortable.

The overly large yard made him feel a little uncomfortable. He missed his own small yard a little. At least he wouldn't always be so nervous and feel like someone was watching him.

"Hmph, his heir is just so-so. Terribly useless, far inferior to him."

However, this was not just being overly nervous. Not only did someone look at him through the window, but they also disliked him, Rean, for not being worthy of Soul's reputation.

Daniya was in a high-rise room in the same building, and she happened to see the people practicing martial arts below clearly.

She also commented with great interest on how bad the sword skill was and how far inferior it was to a certain man. In fact, she didn't understand at all. She didn't know why she was chosen by the Paladin's heroic spirit, even though she couldn't even be called a warrior.

If Rean saw her at this time, he would know where the familiarity in the portrait came from. She and Queen Marianna had an obvious resemblance in appearance.

The princess thought for a moment before continuing.

"Saliman, continue to complete the mission I gave you. Keep him alive. We need people like him."

"Not only for the present disaster, but also for our kingdom."

After thinking for a while, she issued another secret order.

"Some noble must have leaked the news of the 'beast', which led to the Tail Severance Case. Find him, no matter who he is, and kill him. Eliminate all those who know about it that cannot be controlled."

At this moment, the person in front of the former royal spy Sallyman was not the cheerful little dragon hunter girl, but a cold and realistic young king.

"If necessary, even if it means sacrificing my life to prevent the beast's name from being spread, it is worth it."

At the same time, something had been triggered within the internal mechanism of the Heroes' Atlas that Rean could not perceive.

[Heroic Soul Atlas V2 detected a Heroic Soul Relic and a powerful Heroic Soul Last Wish. The next Heroic Soul has been locked, and random draws will be replaced with designated acquisitions.]

[Heroic Spirit's target: 'Continental Hero' Lex Thorne]

[Please forget me! —Lex Thorne.]

(End of this chapter)