Chapter 19: The Heroic King’s Tomb (III)

As Louis’s sword struck the Heroic King’s heart, it unleashed a massive beam of light that split the world apart. The cataclysmic shockwave shook the entire royal tomb, scattering countless golden coins everywhere.

Rrrrumble…

Oh no…

Louis’s eyes widened as he felt the ground tremble beneath his feet. He had confirmed that his all-out attack had hit its mark, but at the same time, he knew this would be his end. Despite having his chest pierced, the Heroic King continued to swing his blade down on Louis. His body, depleted of energy, felt heavy like waterlogged cotton, and facing such immense pressure from an opponent of much higher caliber rendered him utterly helpless.

That was Louis’s last memory before blacking out.

But…

“Huh…?” He slowly opened his eyes.

Louis was surprised to find himself still alive and breathing without a scratch on him.

…What happened?

He blinked several times, dazed, then turned toward something to his left.

“Oh!” His jaw dropped at what he saw. “Wh-what is that?!”

It was only about twelve inches away from him: a massive gouge of unfathomable depth. Not only was it incredibly deep, but its length seemed endless as well.

The sword strike didn’t stop at the floor but continued along the outer wall and up to the ceiling as well. The slash had even torn through the roof, revealing clear blue skies hundreds of meters above Louis’s head.

In other words, with just one blow, the Heroic King had split the royal tomb in half from floor to ceiling.

Is this…the pinnacle of mastery?

Could a human really achieve such a feat? This was no different than splitting a mountain apart!

As Louis marveled at the aftermath left by the Heroic King, tremors throughout the tomb intensified.

Rrrrumble.

Louis paled and snapped out of his daze, turning his attention back to the Heroic King.

Louis finally realized why he was still alive.

Protect the young…dragon…

The Heroic King’s left hand had been restraining his right arm holding the sword. It looked like the left hand was trying to prevent the right from moving.

Krrrk!

Eventually, the left hand crushed the right, and the rusted blade tumbled to the ground. Louis stared at the Heroic King just as their eyes met.

Rrrrumble.

As the tremors intensified, cracks began appearing on the walls of the royal tomb. The decay accelerated, threatening to bring down the entire chamber imminently.

Through it all, the Heroic King opened his mouth.

“Go…”

“But why…?”

As Louis spoke, the Heroic King’s body began crumbling from his legs upward. The king quickly disintegrated before their eyes.

His final words echoed faintly in Louis’s ears.

[…tak…fro…awa…]

“What did he say…?”

Due to the king’s damaged vocal cords and the surrounding noise, Louis couldn’t make out what was said precisely. With that, the Heroic King vanished completely.

BOOOOM.

Louis stared blankly at the swirling dust amidst the deafening explosion when…

“L-Louis, we need to leave now!”

“Ahhh! Louis!”

“Ahh! We’re gonna die!”

The twins and Fin snapped Louis back to reality.

There’s no time for this!

Suddenly, Louis snapped out of his daze and urgently shouted, “Everyone, follow me!”

Louis transformed into a dragon and led the way. If they tried to retrace their steps, they would be buried alive along with the royal tomb. Fortunately, the Heroic King had been kind enough to create an escape route before disappearing.

“Stay close behind me!”

With a flap of his wings, Louis shot upward toward the ceiling where the Heroic King had carved an exit. The twins and Fin closely followed him.

Not long after Louis’s group escaped, the entire royal tomb collapsed completely.

Crash.

The ancient great king and his valiant warriors were now entombed forever, never to awaken again.

Fwump.

Three shadows burst through the blanket of snow and flew away from the collapsing area at top speed before landing safely some distance away.

“Huff…huff.” Louis transformed back to his human form, panting heavily.

What…just happened?

His face was filled with confusion.

If it weren’t for the Heroic King’s left hand, we would’ve been killed for sure.

Despite their exceptional skills, they were still young, and encountering a rank-zero warrior had proven disastrous. Louis pondered over why the Heroic King had changed course at the last minute.

Sigh…I just don’t know.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer.

Wait, I think the Heroic King said something right before the end.

Louis thought he’d seen the Heroic King’s mouth moving toward him as it faded away, but he hadn’t been able to clearly hear anything due to hastily escaping from the collapsing royal tomb. He was curious about what the king had said, but with no trace of the Heroic King left behind, there was no one Louis could ask. Not that Louis would have dared to inquire anyway…

With his thoughts organized, Louis let out a sigh of relief.

In any case, I’m alive. And…I got what I wanted.

Although he had to abandon many treasures due to the crumbling tomb, he managed to secure the most valuable artifact.

I need to take some time and examine it properly.

The thought of safely storing away the Heroic King’s black magic cheered him up considerably.

Let’s rest for a bit…

With that, Louis flopped onto his back and used his blanket as a pillow. However, it wasn’t long before he had to sit up again.

“Hiiiik…”

“Heeeeek…”

He heard sniffling from beside him. When he looked over, he saw the twins crouched on the floor with their shoulders shaking.

Oh dear… They must’ve been really spooked.

It was understandable considering how young they were. With a sigh, Louis retrieved some elixirs from his pocket dimension and handed them to the children.

“There, stop crying and drink this.”

“Sniffle— Hic!”

“Bluh— No, give me another flavor…”

“…Thank you.” Through their tears, they accepted the potions from Louis and began to sip them slowly as he took his own dose. His dragon heart was strained due to overexertion, so he needed to replenish his mana levels.

I’ve never pushed myself this hard since my birth.

It had truly been quite a day. As some of his mana returned, Louis felt suddenly exhausted.

Now it’s time for a real rest…

He closed his eyes again, ready to sleep. Soon, Louis drifted off, with the twins cuddling close beside him before also falling asleep. The three children lay huddled together atop the white snowfield.

Rest well.

Fin stood guard to ensure their peaceful slumber.

The group rested on the snowy field until morning.

“We should get going now.” Louis felt his mana had recovered enough to stand up with some difficulty. He was still tired, but they couldn’t stay put for too long.

“You’re leaving?”

“You’re leaving?”

The twins emerged from their snow burrows.

“Yes, it’s time to go.”

“Where to?”

“For now…let’s head down the mountain.”

“All right!”

With their leader moving, the others followed suit. The twins bounded out of the snow, and soon, Louis’s team continued their trek downhill.

Several hours later…

We’ve come quite far, but there’s still so much snow.

They had been walking nonstop since exiting the royal tomb, yet all they could see was more white ahead of them. Luckily, dragons were unaffected by extreme temperatures and ate only to gain Attribute Power; otherwise, Louis’s group would have succumbed to hypothermia long before reaching the bottom of the mountain if they were ordinary children.

Louis looked back at their trail. Three sets of footprints marked the snow, leading up to the ridge where he assumed the Heroic King’s tomb lay hidden. The sight reinforced his resolve.

I need to be even more cautious from now on.

Perhaps due to the traumatic experience within the tomb, Louis felt increasingly vigilant.

Speaking of the twins… I wonder if they’re okay after such a shocking experience.

While Louis himself had been rattled by what happened, it must have been even more terrifying for his young children. He worried about their mental state, but fortunately, they were doing much better than he expected.

They remained as talkative and energetic as ever, acting like nothing had happened at all.

“Yes…I was unnecessarily concerned.” Watching them frolic energetically through the snow, Louis shook his head with relief.

The twins, who had been running around everywhere, gathered in front of him. They waved their arms wildly while circling Louis.

“Look, Louis! Snow, snow!”

“…How can snow still be fascinating to you after seeing it all this time?”

“But we’ve never seen it before!”

“Yes… You’ll see plenty of it soon enough.” Seeing Kani’s sparkling eyes, Louis lost interest immediately. He felt like he would develop stress-induced gastritis if he continued to engage with them. If teleportation hadn’t been his doing and he didn’t feel even the slightest guilt about their predicament, he wouldn’t have bothered responding at all.

“Yippee!”

“Hahaha!”

Despite Louis’s lack of participation, the twins bounded through the snow like puppies encountering it for the first time. They joyfully ran around the pristine white landscape without tiring, pushing aside drifts that reached up to their knees.

They truly possessed a dragon’s stamina.

Louis simply marveled at the sight.

“How peaceful.”

It was indeed very serene.

Not even one monster has appeared.

The winter continent, adjacent to the Magic sea, had more monsters than other continents. Due to the harsh conditions, these creatures were perpetually hungry and aggressive, making attacks on travelers commonplace.

Yet despite traveling through this treacherous land, Louis’s group hadn’t encountered any monsters, not even the common snow goblins.

I suppose no creature would dare approach with three dragons radiating such energy.

Although young, both Louis and his twins naturally exuded a dragon’s aura.

Although they could conceal their energy signatures, Louis and his team chose to let them loose freely for a more comfortable journey. No monster dared approach them despite sensing their presence.

Unless it’s corrupted by magic.

A magic beast overtaken by dark energy might attack them regardless of their power, but such creatures were rare.

“How lovely.” Louis was quite content with this peaceful trek. He smiled happily as he caught up to the twins ahead.

It didn’t take him long to reach them, since they had stopped just up the path.

“Louis, look at that! It’s smoke!”

“Oh?”

Khan pointed toward the side of the mountain, and Louis immediately spotted what he indicated.

The smoke rising over the mountains wasn’t just one or two plumes.

Smoke…

That meant there was fire, and monsters didn’t start fires. In other words, whoever was responsible had to be human or possess intelligence comparable to humans’. Given how many sources of smoke they could see, it likely indicated a village.

This would be their first encounter with civilization since being stranded, so Louis felt slightly giddy.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Louis sped ahead, followed closely by the twins.

Thirty minutes later…

Louis eagerly anticipated entering the village.

“What is this…?” But what he saw crushed his excitement instantly.