A Dragonslayer’s Peerless Regression

Chapter 50

A low hum resonated.

The sword held by the hound emitted a clear and sharp sound.

It signified that its owner was at least at the level of a Yellow Knight.

In truth, in a head-on confrontation, a Southern hitman could never hope to defeat a knight from the Central Continent.

The difference lay in the very foundation of their training methods.

But Sieg was no ordinary Southern hitman.

Harnessing the power of wind into his dagger, he hurled it toward the leading hound.

Clang!

The hound swung his aura-infused sword, deflecting Sieg's dagger. He then immediately shouted to his companions.

"He's using an artifact! The dagger carries magical power—be cautious!"

It seemed they had mistaken elemental energy for magic.

Sieg drew out more daggers, one in each hand.

And then, he darted forward with incredible speed.

Swoosh!

Sieg moved with the agility characteristic of a Southern hitman, targeting the vital points and openings in the knights' defenses.

Thud!

However, the hounds were wearing sturdy armor beneath their clothing.

It didn't take long for Sieg to realize that the cheap daggers he was wielding weren't enough for this fight.

"Hm. Looks like I'll have to kill them all, then."

Making a quick decision, Sieg discarded the daggers and drew Bahamut from his back.

A deep hum echoed from Bahamut as Sieg unsheathed it.

The unexpected shift caused the hounds to falter in surprise.

"He's not some Southern thug. He's a knight!"

Sieg shifted his focus to the hound who had been coordinating the others since earlier.

Wind energy surged into Sieg's sword.

Swoosh!

The hound trusted the strength of his armor.

After all, it was designed to deflect ordinary sword strikes.

But that trust was a grave mistake.

Slice!

Sieg's blade cut through not just the armor but the hound's waist in one fluid motion.

Thud!

As the bisected hound collapsed, the remaining ones tensed up, heightening their vigilance.

A few tried to retreat, but they soon realized something was amiss.

CRACK!

An invisible barrier was blocking the passage.

When Sieg had drawn Bahamut, he had also torn a scroll, erecting a magical veil.

Sieg grinned as he looked at the hounds.

"Seems like a good chance to test the results of my training."

Bahamut's vibrations grew more intense, and an aura blade surged forth from its edge.

The hounds were stunned as they saw Sieg's aura blade.

"He's... a Blue Knight!"

Sieg raised his sword, taking the opening stance of the Dragonslaying Art.

Dragonslaying Art: Dragon-Cutting Sword Technique

1st Chapter, 1st Verse

Sky Cleave

The sword form itself was from the basic Dragonslaying Art, but the profound intricacies of the Dragon-Cutting Sword Technique were imbued within it.

Sieg's sword moved in a wide arc.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The energy of the aura blade Sieg unleashed spread in all directions.

The hounds tried to resist, raising their swords, but it was futile.

"Arghhh!"

The aura blade cut through their swords, armor, and even their flesh without mercy.

Thud!

In an instant, more than a dozen knights were reduced to scattered pieces of flesh, strewn about the area.

Those who had managed to stay outside the aura blade's range were left barely clinging to life, coughing and wheezing on the ground.

Sieg methodically walked through the battlefield, ensuring each survivor was dead by striking them down with Bahamut.

Finally, he approached the last one still alive and asked, "Why are the Imperial hounds here?"

The hound refused to speak.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Sieg spoke again.

"You're here under orders from the emperor to find an ancient artifact, aren't you?"

The hound's surprised expression gave Sieg all the confirmation he needed.

Without hesitation, Sieg swung Bahamut, decapitating the last remaining hound.

He then summoned the power of fire, directing it at the scattered corpses.

Fwoooosh!

Pure flames engulfed the remains, incinerating them completely.

"This should leave evidence that a Blue Knight and even mages were involved in the attack."

Hoping that the Pavela Cartel would see the traces and retaliate against the Mechain Cartel with greater force, Sieg left signs suggesting a large number of knights and mages had been present.

After finishing his cleanup, Sieg turned his attention deeper into the tunnel.

'The fact that the Imperial hounds were working with the Pavela Cartel is something I didn't know in my previous life.'

In this life, Sieg had arrived at the camp at the age of sixteen, while in his past life, he had only come here after turning eighteen. That left a three-year gap.

It was possible that, in his previous life, the hounds had already found what they were seeking and withdrawn by the time he arrived.

Sieg decided to investigate what the hounds had been searching for.

Opening his map, he identified where the tunnel led and moved swiftly toward the connected area using Shadowless Footwork. It appeared to be an underground ruin.

After running for a while, the familiar sight of a dungeon came into view.

'So there was a dungeon in the South as well.'

Ordinary people often believed that dungeons only existed in the Giant Mountain Range, but in truth, they were scattered all across the continent.

Using the Dragon's Eye skill, Sieg scanned the dark dungeon with ease, searching for any traces left by the hounds.

The dungeon's paths twisted and turned like a maze, but with his map, Sieg had no difficulty navigating.

Then, he sensed movement ahead.

Sieg concealed his presence and focused his hearing.

"Patrol Unit 3 has lost contact?"

It seemed the ones Sieg had taken care of were Patrol Unit 3.

With those words, the other hounds began to move busily.

They scattered throughout the dungeon, searching for the missing patrol, leaving the camp they had established almost completely empty.

'Perfect. Now's my chance to gather some intel.'

Concealing his presence, Sieg infiltrated the camp's interior.

The camp was significantly larger than the one he had seen in the Barbarian territories.

Sieg examined the Southern Continent map pinned to the situation room's wall.

Markings on the map denoted the location of the Pavela Camp and various points throughout the jungle where deployments had been made, encoded with symbols.

It was clear this was the central base overseeing the Imperial hounds' efforts to locate ancient ruins across the Southern Continent.

Realizing the Empire had extended its reach into the Southern Continent, Sieg shook his head in frustration.

'What could that lunatic emperor be searching for with all this madness? Surely he doesn't actually believe in immortality.'

Sieg memorized all the deployment locations marked on the map.

『The locations have been recorded on the map.』

To his surprise, the system automatically mapped the information.

'How convenient.'

With the map securely recorded, Sieg gathered critical documents from the situation room and stored them in his inventory.

Having secured everything he needed, he drew his sword.

"Let's leave some traces here too."

Flames surged from Sieg's sword.

Fwoooosh!

The fire spread rapidly, engulfing the situation room and soon consuming the entire camp.

As the fire roared, the remaining hounds inside the camp ran out in panic.

"Fire!"

Sieg immediately sprang into action, striking down the startled hounds with his sword.

To create the illusion that multiple knights had attacked, he left different types of wounds on each victim.

"Aaaargh!"

The hounds, overwhelmed by the flames and Sieg's attacks, fell helplessly.

Once he had dealt with all the remaining hounds, Sieg prepared to leave the camp.

But just as he was about to depart, he felt something unusual behind him.

'What is this?'

The map showed no indication of anything nearby.

Yet, behind him, he could sense an unmistakable presence—one so vivid it was almost unbelievable.

Slowly, he turned his head.

BOOM!

A young knight with long red hair, clad in the Imperial Hersion Magic Armor, stood watching Sieg.

Unlike the other hounds, this one wasn't wearing standard attire.

Sieg immediately raised Bahamut.

'Hersion armor? Why is an Imperial Red Knight here?'

A full plate armor that covered the body without a single gap.

Not only was it engraved with various auxiliary enchantments, but it also had magic for weight reduction and automatic restoration, allowing it to repair itself if damaged—a masterpiece among masterpieces.

So expensive to produce, fewer than a hundred individuals across the Empire owned one.

As Sieg watched the Imperial knight approach him, a question arose in his mind.

'Who is this?'

If someone possessed a Hersion, Sieg should have at least known their appearance or name.

Yet, the young knight approaching him was someone entirely unknown, even in his past life.

Moreover, the Hersion he wore seemed slightly different from the standard Imperial design.

The Imperial knight stood before Sieg and spoke.

"I thought several squads of mages and knights had stormed in, but this mess was caused by just one man?"

Judging by his accent, he was unmistakably an Imperial noble.

Sieg raised Bahamut and asked, "Who are you?"

The Imperial knight drew his sword and replied, "You seem young, but with skills like this, you deserve to know my name."

Raising his sword high, he announced, "My name is Cain."

In an instant, Cain charged forward with his sword raised.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The weight of his full plate armor, combined with the power of his aura, created a crushing charge that struck Sieg with tremendous force.

Bang!

The impact pushed Sieg backward.

The attack was far stronger than expected, suggesting that the armor wasn't just enchanted with aura, but also enhanced with strength augmentation features.

Cain seemed surprised as Sieg blocked his attack.

"To block my strike? Impressive indeed."

He looked at Sieg with an expression akin to a child discovering a fascinating new toy.

Sieg adjusted his stance at the sight and gripped Bahamut tightly, unleashing his aura.

A vivid aura blade surged forth.

Cain observed Sieg and grinned.

"To meet a true knight like you in such a remote place! What a joy!"

Without a word, Sieg launched himself at Cain using Phantom Footwork.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Sieg's sword struck fiercely at Cain's vital points.

However, the blade bounced off the Hersion, unable to penetrate its defenses.

Cain smirked as he looked at Sieg.

"My Hersion is no ordinary armor. Even aura blades can't cut through it."

Watching Cain's confident grin, Sieg tightened his grip on his sword again.

Taking a deep breath, he activated the Mana Reflection skill.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

A field of Mana Reflection radiated outward from Sieg's body.

Zzzt!

To his relief, the Hersion Cain wore appeared to be affected by Mana Reflection, as small sparks crackled across its surface.

His expression had changed from before.

"You... What have you done just now?"

Sieg's skills weren't finished yet.

He activated the Dissonance skill stored in a quick slot.

Screeeech!

A strange, nerve-wracking sound echoed through the air.

Cain grimaced in irritation.

"So, you're just a trickster, after all!"

Without responding, Sieg charged at Cain and activated the Flash Bomb skill.

Flash!

An intense burst of light exploded right in front of Cain.

"Ugh!"

Momentarily blinded by the Flash Bomb, Cain couldn't open his eyes properly.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sieg swung his sword at Cain.

Clang!

Even in that state, Cain managed to block Sieg's strike with his sword.

Then, with his eyes still closed, Cain retaliated with a counterattack.

Clang!

Surprisingly, Sieg deflected Cain's blow barehanded.

He had reinforced his body using the Draconian Skill: Dragonscale Armor.

Without hesitation, Sieg closed the distance between them.

Using a technique he had learned during his time in The Cradle, he attempted to grab Cain's leg, employing a Pankration move.

But just then, an ominous energy erupted from Cain's body.

Like sharp blades, the energy surged outward in all directions, spreading like the quills of a porcupine.

CRACK!

Instinctively, Sieg rolled to the side to evade it and used Shadowless Footwork to create distance between himself and Cain.

Cain, with a calm yet piercing gaze, spoke as he looked at Sieg.

"You've got quite a collection of curious tricks."

Sieg, now just as serious, adjusted his stance and pointed his sword at Cain.

'A warrior of this caliber without a famed title...'

There was only one explanation.

'A secret weapon of the Empire.'

One reason the Rom Empire didn't wage full-scale war against the Draker Household was the disparity in the number of Black Knights each side possessed.

The Draker Household, as a single family, had five Black Knights.

Including their allied families and nations, they could mobilize up to ten Black Knights.

Officially, the Rom Empire only had three Black Knights.

No matter how vast the Empire's forces were, when Black Knights—known as one-man armies—were deployed, ordinary knights, no matter how numerous, couldn't make a difference.

For a young knight of the Empire to possess such skill yet remain unknown suggested a high likelihood that he had been raised in secrecy as a hidden weapon, potentially groomed to become one of the Black Knights.

Sieg decided to test Cain further.

"The Rom Empire is laughable. Treating a hidden weapon like you as a mere hound, sending you to dig up ancient artifacts."

At Sieg's words, Cain smiled and shook his head.

"You're not bad. You know how to provoke, I'll give you that."

Taking a step closer to Sieg, Cain continued.

By now, the effects of Mana Reflection had worn off, and the sparks dancing across the surface of Cain's Hersion had subsided.

Slowly opening his eyes, Cain spoke.

"A knight of your caliber certainly deserves to know my full name."

Raising his sword in a formal gesture, he introduced himself.

"My name is Cain. Cain Zimmens Constantinus."

Sieg was taken aback.

'What?'

An entirely unexpected name had been revealed.