Dragonslayer’s Class Regression 254

Chapter 254

“Lord Hades, I think I’ll need to be away for a while.”

Zeke spoke to Hades, who was floating in the air sunbathing in the garden.

Hades turned his head slightly and said to Zeke.

“You’ll be away? Then hurry up and make your wish before you go. I’ll go take care of some business too.”

At Hades’ answer, Zeke asked back.

“Are you going to look for other dragons?”

When they stayed at Ishtar’s main palace, Zeke had told Hades that he might be the only living dragon.

Hades snorted at Zeke’s words.

Then he said most of them probably either dug deep holes and fell asleep, or moved to the Eastern Continent.

They likely chose either hibernation or fled to other continents to avoid demons trying to take over dragons’ bodies.

Hades shook his head at Zeke’s question about whether he would look for other dragons.

“Dragons are different from humans. Even if I am the only dragon existing in the current world, so what? That too is other dragons’ choice.”

“Then where are you planning to go?”

“I haven’t decided anything specific. Haven’t you heard of dragon’s play? I wander around looking for fun things, and if I find a place I like, I settle there and play for about 100 years, then move elsewhere when I get bored, and when I get bored again, I sleep for hundreds of years. That’s the typical life of dragons. I lost a lot by making contracts with humans.”

Despite having immense power, dragons’ lives were more mundane than expected.

Being born with such strong power meant they had many karmic restrictions, so there wasn’t much they could do in the physical world to begin with.

Looking at Hades, Zeke said.

“Since you have nothing to do anyway, why don’t you spend time here researching movement techniques? I’ll prepare everything you need.”

“This guy’s trying to freely use high-grade dragon power for free.”

“What if I give you orichalcon as payment? Enough to make the Guardians you like.”

“What? You have that much orichalcon?”

“I don’t have it now, but I think I can make it.”

Hades gave Zeke a suspicious look.

Then Zeke took out Agamemnon’s mask and showed it.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a holy relic containing the sage’s power you mentioned.”

Hades was taken aback at Zeke’s words.

“Why do you have this?”

“I received it as it was passed down as Agamemnon family’s sacred object. The holy relic’s power is sealed now, but it should regain its power if we find the Fairy Lake.”

“HMM.”

After hearing Zeke’s words, Hades contemplated before finally nodding.

“Alright, fine. You definitely said you’d give me enough orichalcon to make Guardians.”

“Yes. However, I’ll need a lot of your help for that.”

“Indeed, cunning like a human. Ah well, just give me a room to make a workshop.”

“I’ll prepare the best room in the castle.”

Just having Hades stay at Agamemnon Castle was a great benefit for Zeke.

Having obtained satisfactory results, he gave orders for Hades and Yelin’s group to stay at Agamemnon Castle, then summoned Bucephalus.

NEIIIGH!

Summoned after a long time, Bucephalus whinnied happily at seeing Zeke.

Bucephalus, the Dragon Horse King, felt even more affinity towards Zeke whose dragon authority had grown stronger.

Seeing the spirit beast Bucephalus, Hades approached with curiosity.

“Oh, the Dragon Horse King. You have a precious spirit beast.”

While stroking Bucephalus’s mane, Zeke said.

“I wish I could travel with him more often, but as you said, he’s a precious spirit beast and looks different from normal horses, so I regrettably can’t summon him often.”

“Is that so?”

Hades thought for a moment while looking at Bucephalus from different angles, then waved his hand.

WOONG!

Bucephalus’s body was enveloped in light, and changed from a dragon horse’s appearance to that of a dark blue warhorse.

Zeke asked Hades in surprise.

“Is it magic?”

“I just changed the outer appearance using the spirit beast’s power. The dragon horse should be able to do it on its own now, so ask when you need it.”

Perhaps because he was a dragon, he certainly had many fascinating abilities.

Zeke felt it was worth the trouble of freeing Hades from his bindings.

He mounted Bucephalus who now appeared as a warhorse.

“Bucephalus, now we can travel together more often.”

NEIIIGH!

Bucephalus too seemed pleased as he raised his front legs and whinnied loudly.

He briefly bid farewell to Hades and left Mycenae for the Senior Knight exam.

* * *

Zeke rode Bucephalus towards ‘Canus’, the city where House Valdek’s main family resided.

Canus was located in the north of Atlas, and while it wasn’t among the 5 major cities of Midland, it played a strategically important role within the Draker family.

This was because Canus was the largest weapons production site in the entire central continent.

The three blood-allied houses of Draker are expressed as Tourn of Power , Jiemens of Knowledge , and Valdek of gold.

Here, Valdek’s gold referred to the metals used in making weapons.

They would bring iron from the northern continent mines to Canus, turn it into weapons, and supply them to the Draker family.

As the Draker family’s influence extended throughout the central continent, their military forces stationed throughout the continent were not insignificant.

Half of the weapons used by these forces could be considered to be made by the Valdek family.

Valdek was originally a family of blacksmiths who made armor, but they earned merit during the Holy Empire era and received a title to become a knight family.

Despite being a knight family, they didn’t forget their traditions and still considered weapon-making an important business.

Moreover, the Valdek family owned mines in the north, and the quality of iron from there was excellent, making Valdek weapons known for their durability since the Holy Empire era.

Also, today’s Valdek family was working with Jiemens, as well as alchemists and magic towers, to develop new magical weapons.

Though not as much as the transcendent Nirvana family, they made and exported cost-effective magical weapons, accumulating great wealth and profits.

It wasn’t for nothing that people said the Valdek family, not Graham Bank, had the largest amount of available cash in the continent.

While it was quite a distance to Canus where the Valdek family resided, Bucephalus was so fast that Zeke reached the castle of Canus in just two days.

Since Valdek was also an allied family of Jiemens, he chose to travel by land with Bucephalus rather than exposing his movements through portals, thinking it might catch them off guard.

Beyond the castle walls of Canus, hazy smoke could be seen rising from various places.

Dozens of weapon workshops set up in Canus were operating at full capacity without rest.

Zeke rode Bucephalus toward the main gate of Canus castle.

As a city developed around weapon workshops, numerous military suppliers from across the continent were lined up at the gate to buy weapons.

Security was strict, given that they dealt with weapons.

Fully armed soldiers were standing guard vigilantly everywhere, and knights and wizards of the Valdek family could be sensed stationed throughout, even in unseen places.

A soldier approached Zeke as he headed toward the gate on horseback.

“You cannot proceed on horseback from here. Please dismount.”

Zeke obediently dismounted at the soldier’s words.

Then he said to the soldier.

“I have a message for the family head, please guide me to the main house.”

At those words, the soldier snorted and said:

“The family head isn’t someone you can meet casually. Better stop talking nonsense and quietly line up for a pass.”

Zeke, now nineteen years old, outwardly appeared to be just a rookie knight candidate who had barely graduated from knight school.

Moreover, since he wasn’t wearing Draker uniform, it was impossible to recognize his status.

After some consideration, he showed the soldier his dragon slayer  badge.

Seeing the badge that proved he was an official Draker knight, the soldier gasped in shock.

“C-could you be Sir Zeke Draker?”

There was only one Draker knight who was not even of age.

That was the Sea Knight, Zeke Draker.

The youngest Blue Knight promotee and the knight who broke the curse of the Ghost Mansion that no one had managed in a thousand years.

The soldier finally recognized Zeke’s face and saluted.

“Sir! I-it’s an honor to meet you! This way, please.”

The soldier’s attitude was completely different from before as he guided Zeke.

After revealing his identity, passing through the gate was smooth sailing.

Past the gate, a private carriage came to pick up Zeke and headed straight for the Valdek family’s main house.

Zeke, now famous as the Sea Knight, was no longer the despised outcast of the past.

With powerful central families like Agamemnon and Graham as his patron houses, and receiving territory in Troy before even coming of age, he was truly a person who had set unprecedented records.

Though his fame was slightly overshadowed recently by Abel’s promotion to Black Knight, the achievements Zeke had accomplished in his name were still tremendous.

The carriage crossed the city and stopped at the main house building located in the highest area to the north.

The Valdek family members, having already received word of Zeke’s visit, were waiting for him outside.

And when Zeke stepped out of the carriage, surprisingly there was a familiar face.

“Jacken.”

His cousin and cradle companion, Jacken Valdek, was standing at attention in uniform.

Jacken bowed his head politely to Zeke and greeted him.

“Greetings, Sir Zeke.”

Jacken had previously set a trap for Zeke and Liam during an Academy test.

Zeke calmly observed Jacken, whose attitude was completely different from his Academy days.

Then he instantly assessed Jacken’s ability.

‘He still hasn’t crossed the Purple Knight barrier.’

In truth, for those of Zeke’s age group, even this level of achievement would be considered prodigious.

Reina and Liam, who had already surpassed Purple Knight, were in the realm of genius, rare talents even within Draker.

Zeke approached Jacken and patted his shoulder.

“It’s been a while.”

“Y-yes, it has been a while, Sir Zeke!”

Jacken was extremely tense, worried that Zeke might hold a grudge over past events.

But Zeke already couldn’t care less about someone like Jacken.

“I came to see the family head. Could you guide me?”

Jacken answered with cold sweat at Zeke’s words.

“The family head is out hunting right now.”

“Is that so? Then you can guide me there.”

Jacken, who had been trying to get away from Zeke somehow, was now trapped into having to guide him to the hunting grounds where the family head was.

“I will guide you. This way please.”

To go up to the hunting grounds, Jacken brought a horse, and Zeke mounted Bucephalus.

The vast forest located within the Valdek main house’s territory was essentially the family head’s private hunting ground.

Since Canus was a territory close to the north, winter had already arrived here and snow was piled thick in the forest.

Riding alongside Jacken, Zeke asked him.

“Are you still attending the Academy?”

Jacken’s face turned red at Zeke’s words as he barely managed to answer.

“…I graduate this year.”

He felt ashamed of his situation of not having graduated from the Academy yet, while Zeke had long since graduated from Valhalla, become an official Draker knight, and even earned the title of Sea Knight.

Zeke’s casual question flew like a dagger into Jacken.

‘I will repay today’s humiliation someday.’

Jacken burned with useless thoughts of revenge, forgetting about what he himself had done to Zeke during their Cradle and Academy days.

That’s when it happened.

BANG!

A gunshot echoed from deep in the forest.

Jacken looked at Zeke and said.

“Hearing the gunshot, the family head seems to be that way.”

Jacken first led his horse and rushed toward where the gunshot came from.

Following behind him, Zeke’s expression had hardened unlike before.

‘Why would the Valdek family head have a magic gun?’

In his previous life, magic guns had appeared in the world during the Continental War when the Night Killer emerged.

But in this life, the appearance of magic guns had been accelerated.

The future was changing bit by bit due to Zeke’s regression.

He followed behind Jacken while harboring these doubts.

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