Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. Volume 16

Chapter 6: Black Dragon ◊ ◊ ◊

GRAAAAAAWR!

Stepping on the wall to stand, the supersized King Hydra's 9 heads sought prey. The heads shot around like arrows, swallowing up Priests and Soldiers.

GRA-RAWR!

It demolished the stone tower and gobbled up the Archers.

It was on a different plane from Yellowy's rumination of fresh grass, which was leisurely enough to make one blow up in frustration.

A sight inducing horror and vertigo.

In a bog three prestigious guilds united to explore, there was a legendary monster, the King Hydra. Then, in just a few minutes, the King Hydra ate up all the prestigious guild members and moved to yet another location to eat more prey.

An existence burning with an endless appetite, the King Hydra!

“F-fire!”

The Archers' target changed from the Undead to the Hydra. They loosed arrows towards the Hydra's body as it stepped on the wall and cleared away their teammates.

The Hydra's 9 heads saw the arrows. The majority of the arrows couldn't pierce its thick hide, and even if they left a wound, it only lasted a minute; its green blood would immediately stop flowing, and the wound would heal. It was thanks the Hydra's special characteristic of regeneration, which surpassed even Trolls'.

“The attack isn't working.”

“Save me!”

“Dark Knights, protect the Priests.”

The Hydra's heads each moved several meters to search for food. Each head boasted a snout bigger than a castle tower and even emitted a fire and poison gas attack!

On the fortress wall, there was a clamor of exploding screams.

“Dark Knights, come back!”

The Dark Knights, who faced the Undead on the front lines of the battle tried to gather to fight the Hydra. However, before they could attempt an organized maneuver, the corner of the wall the Hydra had stepped on crumbled down. Suddenly, a part of the fortress wall gave in all at once, unable to bear the Hydra's ponderous weight.

“Uhuhuhu.”

“The wall collapsed. Let's go up.”

Climbing the wall collapsed from the ground up, the Zombies, Ghouls, and Skeletons at the head of the Undead army pressed forward in a line. There were also many Embinyu Soldiers who were crushed to death.

“Fight!”

“Embinyu Soldiers, don't give up our holy ground to them!”

A mass of Embinyu Soldiers rushed out from within the fortress and charged at the Undead, including Dark Knights and Priests, they were the Embinyu Church's remaining troops! Unmobilized in the fight until now, it was the first appearance of the Embinyu Church's hidden forces.

Balkan did not let them eliminate the Undead.

“Core Explosion!”

Due to the ultimate evil Necromancer's magic, the dead corpses erupted in a massive explosion. As bones and flesh splattered, the terrain where the Embinyu Soldiers had gathered took enormous damage. More than several hundred people lost their lives, and far more were rendered unable to fight because of large wounds. Without shields and armor, they would have taken damage near to impossible to shake off.

Even normal Necromancer spells became chilling spells of mass destruction when Balkan cast them.

Rustle.

Debris in the collapsed wall moved. Living Death Knights who became Undead from the Dark Rule magic swung their swords to slaughter those who had been their allies not long ago.

“Holy power, protect us. Grant your servants wills and bodies like steel. Iron Armor.”

The protective magic of the Priests encased the Soldiers. In addition, the High Priest Feylord, who hadn't shown himself, finally appeared.

Apparently, Feylord was also plastered with high-class items not falling too short of Balkan's. Jeweled rings hanging from each finger, a bracelet, necklace, and earrings! The peerlessly expensive accessory items sparkled in the sunlight. A high priest robe embroidered with golden thread was draped over his obese body.

Feylord yelled, “Servants of the Embinyu Church, your pain will disappear and joy will burn within you. Divine Bless!”

Feylord's propensity to bless primarily Soldiers was also strong. If Lich Shire or the Bone Dragon's overall force was undoubtedly explosive, then the High Priest Feylord did not show such offensive power. However, in the eyes of the Embinyu Church's army, he was so great that there was no wall sturdier than he.

A part of the fortress wall had collapsed, but the Embinyu Church's Soldiers filled the gap instead.

“Oh. Oh. OH!”

“We won't let our land be stolen.”

“Eliminate the enemies. Embinyu God, give them eternal pain.”

Covered in the blessing magic of Feylord and the Priests, the Soldiers easily overcame most of the attacks and their pain.

The footmen were perfectly equipped with shields and armor! They demonstrated strength firm enough to feel threatening. As they swung their hammers and axes, they pushed the Undead army back. Though a Dullahan was adept at battle, it wasn't able to penetrate the wall of footmen easily when three or four footmen defended together and counterattacked.

However, it was only after many of the Undead had already entered the fortress through the fallen wall. Doom Knights and Death Knights went around picking Priests and slaughtering them.

“I am Sowed Veron, Knight of the Embinyu Church 11th Sect.”

“Ke. Ke. Ke. Ke. I'm Death Knight Teirum, Balkan-nim's minion.”

It wasn't hard to see a Dark Knight and Death Knight having a one-on-one match. There were cases when the Dark Knight dominated and beheaded his opponent with a holy sword. However, when a Death Knight won, the dead Dark Knight immediately became the same Death Knight or Doom Knight and revived.

“A huge demon.”

“Let's go. Let's fight.”

Some of the Undead went after the King Hydra. With their fear removed by Balkan, the Undead tried to hunt even the likes of the King Hydra. However, there was no way the King Hydra would be hunted down by scores of impertinent Undead! Whenever the 9 heads moved in turn, Undead flew into the sky and scores of Soldiers and Priests were eaten.

The battle of the Embinyu fortress continued on as a grand dogfight.

Whenever the King Hydra moved, Soldiers and Undead were crushed underneath.

GRAAAAAAAAAAWR!

The King Hydra's fearless roar rang out in all directions like thunder.

Standing by with the barbarians over at the rocky mountain, Weed looked at the sky. The direction of the drifting clouds had changed. Of course, Weed's actions weren't for probing the secrets of nature, as legendary genius philosophers have done.

“The sun is at high noon. It's time to eat. Let's eat, everyone!”

Weed ate a meal with the barbarians first. It was time to give his stomach sturdy fuel.

“Your body can't endure if you don't eat up.” Weed didn't spare the back meat of Black Wild Boar and roasted it.

The ultimate wild boar barbecue! It was the delicacy of all delicacies one could eat with a big battle ahead. As he turned the boar round and round, he sprinkled on plenty of salt and pepper.

Gulp!

The sound of the barbarians swallowing their saliva rang aloud.

The well-roasted barbecue was savory and melted gently in the mouth. As they ate boar, which boasted the most delicious taste, they watched what could be called the ultimate view.

“It's gonna take quite a while.”

The King Hydra, Embinyu Church, and Balkan's fight was now kicking into high gear. The Undead army's numbers rose steadily, and the King Hydra ran amok while destroying the fortress as if it owned it.

The Embinyu Church's remaining forces all came out as well— it was hard to judge where the course of the battle would flow. It had seemed the Embinyu Church was briefly getting pressed back when the wall fell, but they blocked it with additional forces. Thanks to the service of the elite Dark Knights, the Embinyu displayed unfaltering might. Since they were fighting with the Demonic Spirits' aid as well, the Embinyu Church seemed to be alive and well.

“Since the fortress isn't completely destroyed, either.”

Archers shot arrows while hidden in cover! The Priests also eliminated the Undead with Holy magic by using the narrow passages and structures. The Embinyu Church seemed like they could beat the Undead army in a moment if they could restore order!

The King Hydra began to spray poison gas as it leapt around hellishly. As was characteristic of Necromancers, Balkan raised the Undead army from the safety of the rear.

The incredible scenes, awful enough to make a watcher's eyes spin, did not cease.

A tower rising high into the air steadily tilted to the side with a roar and completely collapsed. The stone gargoyle mounted askew on the spire spread its wings as it flew towards another place. It seemed Balkan had also summoned the stone gargoyle and a harpy-like aerial monster at some point.

A fire broke out in the castle and was blowing acrid smoke into the sky; there were also many Soldiers falling on the wall.

The dogfight of all dogfights!

Finished with his meal, Weed spread his arms wide. “It's finally time for the last guest to arrive.”

He was positioned to actively welcome the most precious guest. It was time for the last guest to be summoned by the Power of the Deliverer.

As the three groups leapt about in the Embinyu fortress, the space above distorted greatly and something black and lump-like bulged out.

The crystallization of dignity and nobility! With scales sturdier than mithril and perfect aesthetic quality, it was an existence possessing even beauty. The race no one on the Versailles Continent did not know.

There was a rumor that by simply consuming the Dragon Heart, their body would experience an increase of maximum Mana by over 5,000, and if a Magician were to eat it, it would raise their magic level up a step.

The embodiment of great authority, the Black Dragon.

At the tremendous flow of Mana, the King Hydra, Balkan, and the High Priest Feylord looked up at the sky. It was an existence capable of throwing them all into despair.

A monster with small wings in contrast to its 60 meter body appeared. Not only was it very different in appearance from a Black Dragon, but it was much shabbier as well. For starters, it didn't have a beard, and the head, which looked like a giant snake, and didn't exude dignity either. A real dragon's body exceeded 300 meters. However, the black lump which had appeared wasn't even 70 meters from head to tail. Its body was thin and long. Rather than calling it a dragon, it was more like a snake with wings.

It was a fellow trying to molt into a dragon by training a lot and eating tons of good food for a long time. The Black Imoogi!

[T/N: An Imoogi is a legendary creature in Korean mythology, said to aspire to become a true dragon. It is a large, python-like creature (Wikipedia).]

Weed had summoned a dragon, symbolizing its own kind of strength and authority. Only, it was just a fake!

Of course, it was something you absolutely couldn't underestimate for being an Imoogi. A monster at the level of a King Snake had to undergo hundreds, thousands of years to become one. This fellow was a big-shot even in the boss-class.

Even the fake was in a different class.

“Because it's not a normal fake, but a dragon fake!”

The Black Imoogi opened its maw wide.

MUUAAOOOOOO!

Dragon Fear!

The Embinyu Soldiers covered their ears with both hands as they staggered. The Undead also made groaning noises, as if they were in pain. Apparitions like Spectres and Ghosts were even forcefully unsummoned.

The Black Imoogi announced it appearance in an incomparably flashy way. Though it was an Imoogi and not a real, legitimate dragon, the force of the Dragon Fear it used was immense.

The entire castle was in its range, and since it was enough to deal a huge blow to the monsters, Weed's Lion's Roar was no match for it.

As they looked at the Imoogi, Balkan and Feylord's fighting spirits flared.

“This one is of an appropriate size to kill and make into a Bone Dragon.”

“I shall sacrifice that one to the Embinyu God.”

The Black Imoogi did not turn a blind eye to these challenges. 'Foolish humans, unsightly Undead, and a hideous Hydra! The bunch I dislike are all gathered here.'

The Black Imoogi scorned all three groups without reserve. The amount of pride it had was similar to a real Dragon.

As the Imoogi butted in, the Embinyu fortress fight entered a new situation.

Controlling the skies, the Imoogi used magic. It was a being which didn't even need complicated spells or embellishments. Lightning bolts the size of the Imoogi's body and huge insects were summoned and fell below. The fortress was crushed as Undead were exterminated, and Embinyu Soldiers also died mercilessly.

Though it was a fake dragon, it wasn't an Imoogi for nothing.

KMC Media's production!

Personnel were mobilized to analyze and edit the video that was being transmitted in real time. Including the director-in-chief, director, and the chairmen above them, the personnel were absorbed in watching the video.

“Oh!”

“Really!”

“How can that be…”

“So the King Hydra looks like that.”

God of War Weed's war! It was the biggest war in Versailles Continent's history. A battle of overwhelming proportions that showed beings no one could even dream of, gathered in one place!

The station employees were, of course, Royal Road players.

'Yeah, skeletons are scary.'

'The monster army is really strong. If I were the commander, I would never go down the wall with those Soldiers.'

The area below the fortress was seething with the Undead army. No matter how you looked at it, descending with the Soldiers was suicide, but the Embinyu army had no fear. A group of Knights and Soldiers leapt down from the wall to 'punish' the Undead. Though they had briefly boasted of being the strongest force, when the Skeletons and Ghouls came in from all directions, they quickly reached their limit. Once they disappeared like a boat sinking in the middle of the ocean, they were born as Undead. It was even the cause of the Undead army's expansion.

However, it was a feat which could only make you say the Embinyu army was truly terrifying. Even as they took enormous damage, they swarmed forward and were opposing the King Hydra.

'Impressive.'

'Ah, if I were there…'

'I wanna fight too. My level is also over 320…'

The staff were energized. As they watched the video, the directly conveyed tension of life and death and the excitement of the scene hit them hard. From the perspective of making broadcasts, how long had it been since they had been this impassioned?

'If I could receive a quest like this once too, I'd have no more to wish for.'

'How awesome it would be if I could fight even one of the skeletons there.'

The personnel were standing in place. The vigor that had disappeared with age was boiling up. They forgot their hunger, and were unaware of the pain in their legs.

Weed took out a fan.

It was the 30 Copper fan he'd bought at the general goods store in case he needed it one day. Cheaper than cheap, it had almost no function.

As one day passed in Versailles Continent time, the Embinyu fortress fight steadily became more gruesome and intense again.

Weed gently waved the fan. Yellowy came to his side and suddenly shoved his head in, but he went back to grazing because it wasn't refreshing.

A full smile was on Weed's lips. “As expected, it's going as I planned.”

Weed slapped the fan onto his palm, and consequently, two of the already scant feathers fell out. There were barely 11 feathers left!

“Zhuge Liang is also an admirable tactician.”

The Embinyu Church had the advantage of overall might and geographic element. Balkan raised low and intermediate Undead as he fueled an endless war. The King Hydra agitated the heart of the battlefield with its nearly indestructible regeneration. The Black Imoogi was no different from an executioner. Though it was a fake dragon, it mercilessly destroyed the Embinyu Church and the group of Undead.

The Embinyu Church, Balkan, King Hydra, and Black Imoogi!

“This is truly a four-part division!”

It was an upgrade from the three-part division Zhuge Liang was said to have caused. Of course, those were completely only Weed's thoughts.

[T/N: The three-part division refers to the Wei, Shu, and Wu kingdoms warred in China's Three Kingdoms period. Zhuge Liang was a brilliant Shu strategist. Although Shu was much smaller and had far less troops than Wei, Zhuge Liang's genius kept the Wei on the defensive. He is a famous hero in Eastern Asia. (Wikipedia)]

The Phoenixes asked Bingryong. “Senior, what is 'four-part division'?”

“I don't know either. Yellowy, do you know?”

“I also do not know. Moooo.”

The sculptures asked amongst themselves, but they were finding no answer! Despite it all, since he was the big bro, Bingryong thought about it and replied, “I think the four-part division means the four groups fighting over there. The four groups are divided and fighting as they attack each other. As in, they've been trapped and frozen even without my Breath.”

The Phoenixes were in awe. “It's a really awesome plot.”

“To think Master had such a good trick.”

In a general sense, the Phoenixes were classified as birds. Unable to overcome the limitations of fowl, they were easily surprised by Weed's strategy.

Bingryong swaggered as he said, “Don't underestimate Master. He is a person who is shockingly smart at times.”

“Yes, senior.”

Having stayed mostly out of the conversation to nonchalantly munch on grass, Yellowy asked, “This, right now, how is it different from just summoning three more guys to make four guys fight?”

“…” Bingryong couldn't think of anything decent in response. With just a slight change in perspective, it could easily be regarded as such.

If Zhuge Liang had formed the three kingdoms Wei, Shu, and Wu from a foundation of genius resourcefulness and a tactical victory, then Weed was different. His foundation was the experience he'd gained while struggling a great deal and the combat ability of monsters his body learned while fighting to its limits.

He had chosen which monsters to summon through the various pieces of information he'd acquired through the Dark Gamer Union or Royal Road info forum. Consequently, he made four incompatible groups fight.

Unaware of the conversation between the sculptures, Weed fanned himself leisurely. “The true object of this four-part division isn't here!”

Zhuge Liang's plot was greatly admired even today. Though Zhuge Liang had been in a disadvantageous situation, he had restrained the Wei, one of the three kingdoms!

“However, Zhuge Liang couldn't bring about national unification in the end.”

Even if he called forth incredible guys to arouse a fight, it was no use if he failed the quest.

“You can say this four-part division has a waiting aspect. When those four groups are tired from fighting hard, when their armies are weakened, we will attack. We'll become the final victor.”

As they listened to Weed's words, Bingryong and the Phoenixes were perfectly appreciative.

“A truly outstanding plot.”

“As expected of Master.”

“We'll drive the Embinyu Church to the bottom, and catch all the other guys to top it off— this is the best approach.”

The supermarket also lured in customers with buy one get one events. But because they had a basic margin, there was a limit to the giveaways. They also needed to make a living!

However, the merit of Weed's scheme was he could get one and an additional three. This could be called the resolution of a crook's wickedness.

Yellowy still didn't retract his cynical gaze. “Aren't you just planning to make others fight tons, then catch them all when they're tired? Mooooooo.”

Though it was called a genius scheme, a great challenge, it was ultimately extremely simple! The difference between success and failure could be seen as paper thin.

Weed remained taut with tension, as if he were tightrope walking. 'This is gonna be damnably difficult. I expected it wouldn't be easy since it's an S-class difficulty quest.'

He assessed the Embinyu Church's power very highly. Since he had gone through an awful lot for each success in the quest, he had to keep plenty of hidden schemes in mind as well.

The remaining troops swarming out of the fortress were still existences to be leery of! If he had just taken the barbarians and fought, he could have never assured victory.

Even if Balkan won, it would still be tough. In order to succeed the quest, he needed to capture the fortress. Capturing the fort against the Undead army rather than the Embinyu Church would be difficult all the same.

“The time is slowly approaching.” Weed's eyes sharpened.

If he just waited around, he would earn almost no profit even if the quest succeeded because his contribution was low. If only for the enormous reward of an S-class quest, he couldn't just watch.

The four groups were exhausted from fighting desperately. Balkan was a Lich with endless Vitality, but he was being harried by the Embinyu Priests' concentrated attacks. Just like how the Priests killed the Undead, hymns and holy magic flew towards Balkan. Even the High Priest Feylord launched offensives. Consequently, having come up the fortress with the Undead under his command, Balkan was struggling. The King Hydra's movements were slowed, and the Black Imoogi's Mana wasn't the same as before.

The fortress became a sea of fire from the tracks of the intense fight. The battle was precipitating towards the climax.

Weed pulled out his sword. “Now it's time to go.”

The loosely relaxed and resting barbarians rose with gleaming eyes. They had rested up and eaten well, so their fighting will surged. Their recovery strength was fairly fast. Granted it was in part due to Weed commanding them to not pay attention to the fight and not showing them the sight of the Embinyu fortress. They would soon cower if they saw the Black Imoogi, King Hydra, and Undead army.

“It's time to hunt. All troops, advance!”

Weed advanced to the fortress with the barbarians, Yellowy, Bingryong, and the Phoenixes.

RAAAAWR.

The Black Imoogi was summoning and throwing down large rocks from midair as it flew around.

“It's close to the ground. Now! Shoot.”

“Concentrate magic attacks on the dragon!”

The divine magic of the Priests and the Archers' arrows went skywards. Skeleton Archers and Skeleton Mages discharged fireballs and poisonous green auras into the air.

They were paltry attacks that could be neutralized and disabled with a mere glance if it were a real Dragon! However, the Black Imoogi had to flap its wings to dodge the magic attacks. Some of the spells crashed into its body directly. Every time it moved while flinging itself about, countless magic attacks chased it from behind. There were even Doom Knights and elite Dark Knights swinging blades on top of the Imoogi's body.

It was weaker than when it had first appeared was palpable from just watching it fight. It had easily deflected arrows with the defense of its scales alone, but now it took pains to avoid them. From taking the combined attacks of both the Undead and the Embinyu Church, there were scratches on the flawlessly smooth scales which had sparkled like jewels.

But an Imoogi is still an Imoogi!

In the beginning it had spewed searing attacks and sent over 7 of the King Hydra's heads flying, and it smashed half of the Embinyu Church's fortress. It ejected poison and melted about half of the Undead army as well. It was weakened because of severe Mana depletion, but the Imoogi's combat ability was outstanding.

“It's a tasty dragon. Let's eat it!”

Though it had already eaten up over 1,000 Soldiers, the King Hydra's heads flew towards the Imoogi with gaping maws.

“You dare? A tiny thing like you!?”

The Black Imoogi wheeled in midair to tear at the back of the King Hydra's neck. The King Hydra's head went flying in an instant, but the Imoogi's joy was short-lived. The King Hydra's new head was generated immediately.

Regeneration surpassing trolls!

Having exchanged attacks with Balkan, the High Priest Feylord commanded his Priests, “Recite the sacrifice spell.”

“Noble Embinyu God, we dedicate our bodies; send down a blade to swing at the world.”

Sacrifice Sword!

100 Priests lost their Health and collapsed. Immediately afterwards, a huge sword of golden light was formed above the Imoogi. Without delay, it plummeted down.

The Imoogi flapped urgently as it turned to one side, but the thin wing joint was cut.

“KUAAAAA! Cowardly bastards!” The Imoogi screamed in agony.

The Black Imoogi wheeled round and round as it crashed into the fortress. Hundreds of soldiers, Demonic Spirits, and Undead were smashed underneath.

“Hunt down the dragon.”

“Catch that bastard!”

Soldiers and Undead swarmed forward. Despite losing one of its wings, the Black Imoogi totted as it fought fiercely. When its eyes flashed viciously, the Human Soldiers froze and were prickled with gooseflesh, rendering them unable to fight.

However, it didn't work on the Undead. Doom Knights sliced wildly at the scales, and arrows and magic flew in without giving the Imoogi a chance to use recovery magic.

The Dark Knights and Doom Knights came at it like a swarm of gnats, dealing damage little by little to the Black Imoogi.

Weed, Bingryong, the Phoenixes, and the savages descended the rocky mountain.

“Strike the undead first!” Weed targeted the Undead at the outskirts. “Hunt the undead far away from Balkan.”

The barbarians shot arrows at the Ghouls and Zombies. Filled with the power of the Lekiye Tribe Shamans, Undead who were hit with the arrows burst into flames or froze.

“Completely obliterate them so they can't regenerate!”

Weed was completely eliminating the Undead little by little. He fought with the Vejague Tribe's Warriors in places where Bingryong and the Phoenixes trampled and passed. He cleaved through vital points with his Sculpting Blade and completely destroyed them so they couldn't revive.

He even acquired japtem. It was the most definite sign of the Undead being destroyed!

Bingryong went in first, trampling and tearing, and the Undead melted as the Phoenixes spewed flames. Flames were second best for facing Undead, next to holy magic! The Phoenixes' fire even had a slight purification effect, so average skeletons, Ghouls, and Zombies were dead meat.

MOOOOOOO!

Yellowy was also fighting hard around Bingryong. He had an admirable desire to earn money for the sake of buying hay to feed his calves, when the time came, and to build a cowshed to stave off the rain!

However, he didn't approach the area around the Phoenixes. There were a few fatty slabs hanging from his muscular, robust body. Yellowy avoided roasting his rib eye, shank, and prime ribs!

Weed was easily able to slice the weakened Undead at the outskirts of the fortress. The main force of high-leveled Undead were inside the fortress, so it wasn't so difficult.

“The size of both sides has really fallen a lot.”

There had been over 10 thousand Undead and more than 20 thousand Embinyu Church troops. However, the remaining power of both sides was weakened to about 2,000 each.

The soldiers had been melted away by the Black Imoogi or eaten by the King Hydra! There was also huge losses from fighting between the two enormous armies.

It could make you realize how cutthroat the war was.

His contribution would be much less when he completed the quest, but he was forced to accept the loss!

Over the collapsed wall, the Undead and Embinyu Soldiers were fighting as they raised a turmoil. The King Hydra, Black Imoogi, Balkan, and Feylord were fighting a fierce battle there.

“Let's enter the fortress and sweep up the remnants!”

Weakened enemies!

Even so, Weed and the savages couldn't guarantee victory over any of the groups. Balkan would be as tough as ever, and the King Hydra was violent. The Embinyu Church was still hostile towards them, and the Black Imoogi was fighting so well that you had to see it to believe it.

There was no rule saying it couldn't be a life where shrimp were crushed in a fight amongst whales.

Weed shouted vigorously, but the savages just hesitated.

“It's dangerous inside.”

“It's better if we don't enter.”

Perhaps because they felt very uneasy, the savages stepped back. However…

“We must capture the fortress. If you retreat here, you will have to live as pawns of the Embinyu Church forever. Alliance of the Deliverer, let us fight courageously!”

At Weed's Lion's Roar, the savages gained the will to fight again.

But Bingryong, the Phoenixes, and Yellowy were also shrinking back.

“Master.”

“I don't think we really need to go in.”

The Sculptured Lifeforms' disobedience!

Even if Weed were to use violence, this problem would persist. No matter how much they were hit, they did not want to enter the dangerous fortress. Yellowy had already eaten more than one sack of japtem! Like a peace-loving cow, he did not want to fight anymore.

Weed nodded. “I understand your position as well. I was not considerate enough. I am really sorry.”

A frank self-reflection and apology! These were things shouldn't come from Weed.

Weed, the man who always forced and insisted, bowed his head to his subordinates. “Forgive me. And forget about me.”

“Master?”

“This will be the last time you see me. I will fight bravely with the alliance tribes and meet my end… Remember that and forget about me now.”

“Master!”

“Forget about me and go to a safe place to rest comfortably and live well. I am especially burdened with deep regret because I won't be able to treat you well to the very end, Yellowy.”

UMMOOOOOOH!

“Eat plenty of good grass and father many little cows. Even if you don't have money, you absolutely must not take any loans.”

MOOOOOO!

At the words similar to a will, the highly sensitive Yellowy cried big tears.

“I'm sorry I just caused you to suffer without doing anything for you. The atmosphere will get weird if the parting is too long, so I'll go now. Live well.”

And then Weed turned and walked away. However, his pace wasn't fast at all. He gave the sculptured lifeforms plenty of space to follow him. He deliberately hunched his shoulders and his head hung low to the ground.

“Master, let's go together.”

Bingryong flew towards the fortress, followed by the Phoenixes.

Yellowy furrowed the ground with his hind leg and positioned himself to charge.

The Sculptured Lifeforms were ready for battle!