There Is No World For ■■ - Chapter 55: Pavane For A Dead Dwarf (8)

* * *The red dragon, Orsay Taboul, awoke from its long slumber.

 

Its keen dragon senses informed it that a guest had arrived at its cave.

 

It spread its wings and stretched as it pondered.

 

Had the end finally arrived after decades of waiting? Or would it turn out to be yet another futile expectation?

 

Just then, a rumble echoed as stalactites and dust fell from the ceiling.

 

Someone was forcing the door open. Indeed, it seemed that a real guest had arrived.

 

Only then did Orsay Taboul raise its heavy body and begin making preparations to welcome its visitor.

 

The preparations were nothing grand.

 

First, he awakened the magic circle and guardians set up throughout the cave. A blue glow of mana illuminated the darkness.

 

Once visibility was secured, the Dragon carefully cleaned the tomb at its feet, brushing away the dust and meticulously inspecting the treasures beside it.

 

The preparations were completed quickly; it was something it had done hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.

 

Thud! Thud!

 

However, seeing that it would take the guest a bit more time to open the door, the Dragon was granted a brief moment of leisure.

 

With the extra time that old beings often came across, it closed its eyes and reminisced about the past.

 

The first thing that came to mind was its nest.

 

Though it had guarded this place for decades, not once did it think of this place as its nest because its true nest lay beyond the Dimensional Portal, in the dwarven kingdom filled with gold and mana metal.

 

A place brimming with gold and jewels, adorned with exquisite decorations and treasures crafted by dwarves.

 

Among them, the most beautiful treasure it possessed was a life-sized statue made in its image.

 

A statue that captured the moment of its younger self carrying the dwarven king on its back while battling monsters.

 

That statue was once the Dragon’s pride and joy. And for the dwarves, it was a testament to history and myth, a symbol that promised a great future.

 

…At least, it had been that way until Stalin invaded the dwarven kingdoms.

 

The Dragon turned the page to the next chapter of its memories.

 

Buried in its distant memories, it recalled the war that had destroyed the statue and its nest.

 

The cursed invader, Stalin, and the communists pelted down mustard gas and shells like rain.

 

Before the might of Earth’s deadly weapons, the dwarves’ massive fortresses and underground passages were unable to serve their purpose.

 

The later generations of dwarves came to refer to that time as the ‘Yellow Winter.’

 

The onslaught of bombardment that lasted through the changing seasons, with no signs of negotiations or appeasements.

 

After an attack so relentless that made even the most stubborn dwarf have no choice but to surrender—or perhaps wiped out all such dwarves—the dwarves finally gave in, holding up a white flag stained yellow by mustard gas.

 

However, Stalin, the victor of the war, showed them no mercy. Declaring that dwarves were not human and that animals had no right to be proletarians, countless dwarves were shipped to the gulags.

 

Entire clans were exterminated. And the Dwarf’s Mountain Range was renamed the Lenin¹ Mountain Range.

 

The fate of its nest was no different.

 

The nest, which contained a history as long as the Dragon’s life, crumbled under bombardment, leaving no trace behind.

 

The fate of its statue was even more horrifying. The communists melted down the ‘reactionary’ statue in a blast furnace.

 

After that, the Dragon had no way of knowing what happened to the statue. It could only vaguely speculate that it had either become material for the Soviet palaces or turned into a Lenin statue…

 

As it reminisced about all this, the Dragon’s right wing twitched.

 

Argh… it’s happening again.

 

The Dragon gently caressed the massive scar that ran across its right wing.

 

The scar on its right wing was from the time it had flown through Russia’s air defenses with the dwarven king on its back.

 

Like how hero defeated the demon king to restore peace, it was the consequence of its own foolishness and ignorance to try and defeat the Demon King Stalin—

 

Sensing that the seal protecting the cave was broken, and the magic circle prepared at the entrance exploded, its thoughts didn’t continue any further.

 

!!!!!!

 

A short quake followed. Unable to withstand the tremors, the ceiling of the cave showered down dust.

 

Once again, dust settled in the tomb it had painstakingly cleaned up. The Dragon frowned and looked towards the entrance.

 

And as if to further prove that the entrance had been breached, a unisex voice boomed through the cave.

 

“Come in—!”

 

It was the voice of a human, not a dwarf. Orsay Taboul was unable to hide its disappointment.

 

It looks like it’s not a guest but a thief.

 

Without hesitation, the Dragon moved the guardians into action.

 

* * *As dusk loomed over Manchuria.

Three motorcycles sped across the plains of Manchurian plain under the setting sun, casting long shadows.

 

Traveling at incredible speeds, the motorcycles quickly sped through the rough terrain of stones, sand, and dirt.

 

Considering that each motorcycle carried two people, it was almost like a deadly riding stunt.

 

Despite everything, the group managed to cross the plains without any issues. This was only possible because all the riders were Superhumans.

 

After traveling across the plains for a while…

 

As the sun set and dusk turned into darkness, a large mountain range could be seen on the horizon.

 

Soon after, they went off the plains and rode through snow-covered forests and winding mountain roads instead.

 

Perhaps because the area hadn’t been touched by humans since the fall of the Soviet Union, the mountain roads were extremely rough, to the point that even their Superhuman senses were of little to no help at all.

 

Eventually, after Kim Mansoo almost lost his balance and nearly fell down the mountain, the group slowed down.

 

With the pace eased, the Saintess spoke up.

 

“So, how’s my riding skills? Is it bearable?”

 

Hearing her obvious teasing tone, the eyebrows of Yeomyeong, who was sitting behind her, twitched.

 

“…It’s the worst ride ever.”

 

“Oh really, that’s probably because you’re holding onto weird places. You can hold onto my waist if you like, you know?”

 

The Saintess chuckled. It was likely a joke meant to lighten the mood, but Yeomyeong, who was precariously holding onto the seat while struggling to find a handhold, couldn’t laugh.

 

After all, didn’t he get into a fight with her crazy mother over some ridiculous misunderstanding about the snowfield or whatever just a few days ago?

 

Yeomyeong briefly considered giving the Saintess a smack on the back of the head, but he then shook his head, deciding against it.

 

“Enough with the pointless jokes. How much longer till we reach our destination?”

 

“Pointless, you say? I was being serious.”

 

“…Answer me.”

 

“Oh, now you’re lowering your voice again. Can’t you even take a joke?”

 

“…”

 

“Argh, seriously. We’re almost there. According to Darulma-ssi, it should be a large valley visible from afar… we should arrive there after we cross this mountain.”

 

True to the Saintess’ words, a large valley appeared once they crossed the rough mountain with no path.

 

Unlike the gentle scenery in the surroundings, the valley had sheer cliffs that were almost perpendicular.

 

If seen without context, it would have been a breathtaking view, but the knowledge that a magic item capable of destroying Manchuria was down there gave it quite a menacing feel.

 

“We’ll have to continue on foot from here on.”

 

Seeing that the motorcycle’s fuel was running low, Captain Kwon ordered the group to disembark.

 

The group carefully laid their motorcycles down and approached the valley quietly.

 

Fortunately, there were no enemies in sight. However, as they got closer to the valley, Captain Kwon frowned.

 

“We’ll be helplessly trapped and killed if there are any enemies lying in ambush.”

 

Captain Kwon pointed to the cliffs above. The walls of the valley were almost perpendicular, with no visible place to hide.

 

Even Yeomyeong, who was inexperienced, could see that if bullets were poured down from above, they would be helpless.

 

“…Should I go up and check?”

 

When Yeomyeong asked, Captain Kwon shook his head.

 

“No, it’s no use checking from here, we would need to go around the mountain… And we don’t have the time for that.”

 

“But still, putting up with an ambush is out of the question.”

 

Kim Mansoo, who was feeling nauseous due to motion sickness, interjected. He looked up at the valley with a worried look on his face.

 

“Something feels off. How about we split up the team? Some of us will go up with me and scout ahead.”

 

“Split up into an advanced team and a rear team?”

 

“Yes, Captain. You, the Saintess, and Yeomyeong will stay below and wait until we finish scouting before proceeding. What do you think?”

 

“That’s not a bad idea. But let’s adjust the composition of the advanced team a bit. Taking into account the strength we’ll need after entering the treasure’s location—”

 

As Captain Kwon and Deputy Kim Mansoo continued their conversation, Yeomyeong quietly drew his sword.

 

Srrrrgggg.

 

Everyone shifted their gaze to Yeomyeong, who was looking towards the left cliff.

 

On the cliff, they could see someone looking down with his back to the moonlight.

 

Kim Mansoo initially assumed it to be a person in a suit, but as the moonlight illuminated the figure’s face, he gasped.

 

“Pig’s head? Are they the same people who attacked us back in North Manchuria…”

 

Indeed, it was the very same grotesque beings they encountered during the North Manchuria incident. Yeomyeong confirmed Kim Mansoo’s suspicion.

 

“It’s definitely them. I told you I encountered a similar creature in the previous attack. Although it had a horse’s head rather than a pig’s head.”

 

Yeomyeong decided to keep the fact that these beast-headed monsters were actually modified humans created by the government to himself, as it wasn’t information that would prove to be useful anyway.

 

“…So it’s not a coincidence that they targeted us back in North Manchuria.”

 

Although Captain Kwon seemed to have some strange misunderstanding, Yeomyeong remained silent.

 

While Captain Kwon was deep in thought, the number of pig-headed creatures on the cliff continued to increase.

 

With at least thirty in sight, it was quite the number, even for Yeomyeong, and it seemed like they would have to prepare for a tough battle.

 

After some thought, Captain Kwon seemed to come up with an idea and looked at the group.

 

“The enemies outnumber us by several times and are better equipped. We would face certain defeat if we fought head-on, and even if we waited for an opportunity, it’s only be a matter of time before we lose the Royal Seal.”

 

“…Is there no other way? Should we retreat?”

 

In response to Kim Mansoo’s question, Captain Kwon looked at the Saintess.

 

“Saintess, you said you wouldn’t risk your life. What will you do? Will you retreat?”

 

“…What if I say I want to stay and fight?”

 

“Then we will set up an ambush. We will climb the right cliff and wait for the enemies to enter the cave with the treasure.”

 

Although Captain Kwon’s plan seemed plausible, it didn’t guarantee victory because even if they dealt with the pig-headed creatures, there was no guarantee that they would find the Royal Seal.

 

Understanding this, the Saintess closed her mouth before turning to Yeomyeong.

 

“What will you do?”

 

“What choice do we even have?”

 

All of them must be killed. Yeomyeong swallowed the rest of his words and put on a nonchalant expression.

 

Even if the group decided to retreat, he would still stay behind and fight those creatures by any means necessary.

 

Was it because he coveted the Royal Seal? No, it wasn’t that.

 

It wouldn’t be bad to obtain the Royal Seal and get a reward from the dwarf, but he had no intention of risking his life to fight a dragon just for that.

 

However, since the government was putting in so much effort … he was determined to interfere by any means necessary.

 

Seemingly misunderstanding Yeomyeong’s thoughts, the Saintess nodded with a resolute expression.

 

“Alright. Then we will fight.”

 

“…Saintess.”

 

“We’ve already come this far, so we can’t just retreat, can we? Captain Kwon, let’s go ahead with your plan. We’ll climb the right cliff, launch a surprise attack, and then—”

 

The Saintess’ determined words were cut off.

 

Because the moment she raised her rifle, a massive wave of mana surged from the depths of the valley.

 

The trees around them shook simultaneously, and the grass bowed down. The mana was so overwhelming that even the mercenaries swallowed nervously.

 

The pig-headed monsters on the cliff hurriedly leaped down into the valley on sensing the mana wave.

 

In other words, they started to climb down the steep cliff cautiously.

 

“…We’re lucky.”

 

Said Captain Kwon upon seeing this. Whether it was the right expression or not, everyone in the group agreed.

 

Those pig-headed monsters, clinging to the cliff, where a single slip would lead them to fall below helplessly.

 

There was no need for further words or plans.

 

Click.

 

The group reloaded their guns and charged toward the cliff where the pig-headed monsters were pouring down.

 

1. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until his death in 1924, and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924.