Chapter 69 - Dragon Weapon Producers (3)
5
The Dragon Sword wasn"t easily manufactured. It was also something that couldn"t be done with only Kairen and Michael. Kairen had to gather all the qualified individuals in his Domain, and he would have to begin his preparations.
Kairen asked a question.
“So when are you going to entertain my knights?”
“I"m interested in fighting them, but I would like to train on my own for now.”
“All right. I have a lot of work backed up, so I"ll leave you unattended.”
“Unattended sounds a bit...”
“When I"m done with my work, you better play with me often.”
“Duke. If someone overhears you, they might misconstrue what you are trying to say.”
Azell spoke sarcastically.
Kairen ignored him, and he spoke.
“Anyways, I won"t be able to do anything else once I start making the Dragon Weapon. This is especially true in the beginning.”
“How long will it take to complete it?”
“It"ll take around half a year. I could do it faster, but I"m not in that much of a hurry.”
“Then I"ll finish my training within that time frame.”
“You do that. If I do drop by in the middle of your training, don"t forget to play with me.”
“I can do that at the very least.”
Azell smirked. Kairen spoke.
“If you need anything, don"t hesitate to speak up. If my budget allows it, I will help you in any way I can.”
“Hmm. How big is your budget?”
“To my regret, the Dukedom of Tarantos is very affluent. I have so much stuff that even if I half-a.s.s my work and focus on my training, my wealth would expand.”
“I see. Then…….”
Azell thought for a brief moment, then he asked for what he needed.
“In the end, this is for your benefit too, so I won"t turn down your help. If possible, please provide me with as many weapons, armors, magical recovery potions and Healers a.s.signed to heal me. Also, I need a location where I can make a lot of noise without causing any problems.”
“I"ll lend you one of my villas I retreat to when I train. Why do you need weapons and armors?”
“I have a use for them.”
“Also, the Healers... Do you need more than one?”
“I would like as many as possible.”
“Why do you need them?”
“I plan on getting hurt a lot. It"ll probably be a bit too taxing for a single Healer.”
“I have no idea what you are trying to do.”
“Well, if you are curious, you can come visit me. Also, you can a.s.sign someone to observe what I"m doing. Since you are investing in me, I can tolerate that.”
“That"s…….”
Kairen put on a smile.
“That"s an attractive offer. So does this mean you aren"t worried about others stealing your secret?”
Spirit Order pract.i.tioners were like the magicians. They were very sensitive about the training methods they used. No, anyone would be wary about revealing secret techniques that was related to one"s survival. If one kept that in mind, Azell"s offer was unprecedented.
Azell spoke.
“I won"t stop you.”
“All right. I"ll give you servants, and I"ll stick someone to you that"ll steal all your secrets. Since you need some time to get ready, you can leave for the villa tomorrow morning. I require your presence when I"m making the Dragon Weapon, so I"ll notify you when I need you.”
“Understood.”
Azell would be leaving the Tarantos Castle, and he would travel to Kairen"s villa, which was located near the Lance Mountain. There were several locations designated as places where Kairen would train, and this was one of them. It was deep within the mountain, and it was far from prying eyes. The Lance mountain was the closest one, and this was why it was prepared for immediate human habitation.
Moreover, Azell was a bit surprised at the person that had been a.s.signed to him by Kairen.
“I"ll be by your side for a while.”
During the night, Havanz had come to Azell to speak to him..
Azell had a expression as if he had been struck a blow.
“Aren’t you the steward of this household, Mr. Havanz?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Yet you are going to attend me?”
“Even if I am not here, the castle will run pretty well by itself. This was true when the duke wasn"t here, and it will still be the case now. There are a lot of talented people in the Tarantos castle.”
“Hmmm…….”
“Moreover, I don’t want you to pay attention to my ident.i.ty. I"m a Dragon Majin and a n.o.ble, yet I have spent a long time waiting on human guests. I don"t feel any resistance towards it. Moreover, it isn"t as if I"m going to serve you alone.”
“How many people are you bringing?”
“I"m thinking about bringing around 30 people....”
“…….”
“Please don"t look at me like that. Those personnel are needed to maintain the country villa.”
“I guess the place is quite big.”
“Amongst the training locations used by the duke, it is the ideal spot if you want to live in the wild. It is the closest location to the castle, so we spent a lot of effort in maintaining it. Still, if you don"t like the place to be crowded, I can bring around 15 people.”
“That still seems like a lot.”
“You aren"t the only person we have to serve, sir Azell. Three Healers will be staying with us.”
“Understood.”
Azell acquiesced. It would have been different if he was going alone. However, he didn"t want to inconvenience the Healers, because of what he preferred.
Azell spoke.
“I guess you are the spy the duke is sending, Mr. Havanz.”
“I feel like I"ve been pulled into a game, and it’ll be quite fun. The duke didn"t have anyone else suited for the job, so he sent me. Since it has been awhile since he had to listen to my nagging, I think he needed an excuse to send me away for a bit”
Havanz had a wide smile on his face. When he saw his smile, it reminded Azell of Rogan, and he became distracted.
Azell tried his best to hide his reaction as he spoke.
“Well, you seem to be quite skilled. I can tell from looking at your Dragon Demon magic that you"ve tempered it at some point.”
Those from the Dragon Demon race and the Dragon Majin was like the humans and their magic. There was a huge difference between those, who trained their Dragon Demon qi, and those who didn"t. Havanz had the profile of someone who had trained his Dragon Demon qi.
“Do you mind if I ask why a person like you is working as a steward? You seem to be in your prime as a Dragon Majin... Isn"t it too early to retire from being a knight?”
“As you have surmised, I was a knight until 10 years ago.”
Dragon Majins were different from the Dragon Demon race. They matured at the same speed as humans until their secondary s.e.xual characteristics developed. Still, the early stages of their life was longer than the humans, so Azell guessed Havanz was in his late 50s or early 60s.
“However, the work wasn"t right for me. It didn’t matter if I had the talent or not. As I lived my life as a knight, I found myself more interested in how an organization was run instead of the battles. Moreover, I found I liked fixing odd problems. This was why I told the duke my intention to retire and become a steward. The duke made me the heir to the previous steward on the spot.”
“…….”
“That"s the truth. If the duke makes up his mind, he"ll immediately act on it.”
“He definitely does that.”
Azell let out a bitter laugh. At the same time, he thought about Rogan.
‘It seems appearance isn"t the only thing that is similar to him.’
Rogan had been a powerful warrior from the Dragon Demon race. Rogan had won the confidence of his third teacher Liglan as a comrade. However, Rogan always focused more on preparation and planning rather of a battle rather than stepping forward to fight on the battlefields. In truth, he was more talented at it. Azell remembered him grousing at times.
‘Azell. What are you going to do when this s.h.i.tty war ends?’
‘I"ve never thought about it.’
‘You are young, yet you are speaking that way? You need a dream.’
‘I"m sorry, but there can be no dreams bigger than defeating the Dragon Demon King. What about you?’
‘I want to go to my wife"s homeland, and I want to become a merchant. I"ll become a great merchant that everyone will look up to.’
‘Jeez… It is a dream that is very befitting you. If someone else heard it, they"ll say it is a dream that doesn"t suit someone from the Dragon Demon race.’
It was as Rogan had said. He had returned to his wife"s homeland when the Dragon Demon war ended. Maybe, he did become a great merchant as he had once dreamed. The only thing thing he could confirm was the fact that Rogan had descendants. Even after 200 years, the descendant remembered how Azell and Rogan had fought together.
Azell was lost in reverie when Havanz spoke.
“This is the first time I"ve been tasked to spy on someone. However, I"ll give it my best. Please don"t get uncomfortable if I stare at you too much.”
“I don"t really like receiving such a hot gaze from a man. However, it was something I suggested, so it can"t be helped. Please look after me.”
6
It was the afternoon of the next day. Azell and Havanz climbed the Lance Mountain. Azell was shocked when he found out 70 people would be ascending the mountain. However, Havanz was unperturbed.
“There are a lot of porters here. They"ll descend afterwards. You requested too much luggage, sir Azell.”
…Azell had requested as much weapons, armors and magic recovery potions that could be spared. Kairen had gathered all the items within the castle. It was so much that it would be impossible for 15 people to transport it.
The Lance mountain was pretty large. They reached the summit where a villa was built next to a valley. By then, the sun had almost set.
The workers were busy moving and organizing the luggage.
Azell was surprised by the villa"s facilities.
“Which era was is this ruins from?”
The estate on the Lance mountain was about as big as one would expect from a n.o.ble. However, the surprising part was the fact that the estate was connected to a relic built towards the inner mountain.
Havanz spoke.
“I"ve heard it was made around 4-500 years ago. After excavating it, all the dangerous elements were cleared out. While building this estate, part of the ruins were renovated. It was meant to be a place where one could evacuate to in case of emergency... However around 30 years ago, the duke added another facility where he could train by himself.”
“I see.”
Azell had thought there would be an estate inside an untouched mountain. So what the h.e.l.l was this? This was a training facility connected to a ruin. Even if the training facility hadn"t been built, there was a very useful magical solution here.
‘It"ll be hard to destroy this place, since it is equipped with a magic circulation device. It would have been really expensive to build all of this.... This is much better than what I expected.’
If one expended magical energy within the training facility, it"ll be absorbed and circulated. It would create an ideal environment for a Spirit Order practioner. When he asked Havanz about it, he was told the amount the facility could absorb could be increased.
“I"ve never even thought about these kinds of methods. I"ll have to thank the duke again next time I see him.”
He was honest in his admiration. This facility would be very useful for Azell. If he wanted to recover a great deal of magical energy in a short amount of time, it would require drinking magic recovery potions. However, if he used this facility, he would be able to progress much faster than his previous estimation.
Havanz spoke.
“I don"t know about other things, but he is very meticulous about his training. The problem is he doesn"t spare any expense when he builds these facilities.”
People made a big fuss about organizing the villa, and since the sun was already set, the employees had to stay over for the night. However, Azell started his training immediately. He wasn"t in a state where he could use the facilities available at the estate. The mountain was a good enough training ground for him right now.
‘I have to build up my body.’
Azell was going to prioritize doing that instead of expanding his magic reservoir.
He had been awaken two month ago. He had been a skeleton, but now he was healthier than a normal person. Still, it wasn"t enough. Magical energy had to seep into every part of his body or he wouldn"t be able to exceed limitation of a human.
The Spirit Order Pract.i.tioner used magical energy to amplify one"s physical ability. However, the amplification would be more effective if one"s basic capability was high. Moreover, it would be easier to cope with bigger amplification when one had a st.u.r.dier body.
He had to eat, train like crazy then rest.
If he didn"t eat, he couldn"t remake his body. No matter how much he trained, his body would be slowly ruined if he didn"t eat.
There were those who had become strong through live battles, but that was the experience side of becoming strong. If a martial artist received a wound in a live battle, there was a possibility of regression.
In the past two months, Azell didn"t have the time to recover and train. He didn"t have that luxury. He had to fight powerful foes with a lacking body, and he had to repeatedly squeeze out every ounce of his capabilities. He hadn"t made as much progress as he wanted, and it was a wonder that he had taken any steps backward.
He had made an astonishing amount of progress in the two month, but it paled in comparison to his former self.
Azell was thankful for the environment he was in, and he exhaustively went through what he had learned in the past.