The Great Basin of Assia.

It was located about 110 miles from the Red Moon Valley, and it was the source of the small and large streams of water flowing throughout the Great Forest. It played a critical role in how the Great Forest of Assia was able to claim its humongous mass.

In essence, the starting point of the Assia Great Forest was the Great Basin.

The Great Forest was quite flat in its elevation overall, but as one neared the basin, the elevation gradually increased. Moreover, there was no proper way for people to travel back and forth due to the mountainous, rough geography.

Well, in the first place, no one had a reason to head towards the basin.

However, Raven had led the Red Moon Valley elves to such a place and found his way in a matter of days. The route had been formed naturally over the last few years from the movements of the various monsters. At the end of the road was the base of the Troll King.

A temple of unknown origins – no one knew who built it or when. No, rather than a temple, it was more accurate to call it a maze. It was so large that it was hard to guess the overall size of the structure.

Perhaps it had existed since hundreds, or even thousands of years ago. It had not been known to the world until the demonic army and the coalition had pushed forward with their last offensive in Raven’s past.

But with the annihilation of the Troll King’s forces, its existence became known throughout the world, and as many as 2,000 human lives had been shed in that place at the time.

And now, unlike the original history, Raven and the Red Moon Valley elves were in the vicinity of the maze.

Wooooo…

Despite it being midday, the road to the Great Basin was engulfed in silence. Not a single sound could be heard, including even the cries of birds, and the road was covered in a dark, ominous fog. Giant trees taller than dozens of feet were ripped apart from the ground which made the road look like a battlefield.

It was the aftermath of large monsters moving, such as the trolls and the ogres.

“…..”

Raven and the Red Moon Valley elves advanced through the dark fog. Tension was evident on the faces of the elven warriors as they held on tightly to their respective weapons.

They had encountered three battles on their way here.

Even though they had faced hundreds of monsters, no one had suffered any serious injuries, let alone death. Only two or three of them had suffered minor, superficial injuries.

The miraculous results were only possible because of one person.

The one who always fought in the front whenever there was a battle.

He was not an elf, but a human being.

In addition, it was his first time in the Great Forest, unlike the elves who were born and raised in the forest. Nevertheless, he was as knowledgeable about the forest as they were, the ones who had lived here for decades.

He found paths that even the older elders were not familiar with, and defeated ferocious, large monsters with the sword strike containing the Dragon’s Spirit.

No monster could avoid or endure the human’s Dragon Spirit-containing strike, which burned with frosty light.

Large monsters such as trolls, ogres, and manticores could not be injured with ordinary weapons, let alone be killed. It held true for the elves’ buffalo horn weapons as well.

Goblins, harpies, and lizardmen could be eradicated with the poisoned swords and boomerangs, but the weapons were ineffective against monsters any larger. Trolls, in particular, had tremendous regenerative powers, and ogres and manticores were highly resistant to poison.

The elves’ poison could kill any humans or lizardmen in an instant, but had limited effects on the larger monsters. The most it could do was to slow the monsters’ movements for a short time.

However, even such frightening monsters were helpless in front of the sword of light.

In a single blow, limbs were cut, and holes were pierced through the heads of the monsters. With the strongest, leading monsters of the group collapsing helplessly, it was only natural for the smaller monsters like goblins and lizardmen to fall into collective panic.

They could not even think to fight properly because of the instinctive fear they felt from the sword and armor engulfed in the Spirit of the Dragon.

Tap. Tap.

‘If it were not for that human…’

All of the elven warriors and Eltuan felt the same way.

Raven led the way, walking through the heavy fog without hesitation. The elves followed behind.

Raven suddenly stopped walking, and the elven warriors followed suit before taking a vigilant stance.

Sssssssshhh!

The fog changed colour. It had been dark until just now but now started to turn reddish as if blood had permeated the fog. And despite the lack of wind, the red fog began to move as if it were alive.

“W, what?”

The elves became flustered. But soon, all of their gazes naturally headed towards one person

Shiing.

A sword escaped its sheath with a cold, metallic sound.

Fwoosh!

Raven’s entire body was permeated with a haze-like energy, and a silver-white light began to fill the Widow’s Scream, the Pendragon family’s heirloom.

Wooong!

The sword trembled lightly with a low hum.

It was as if the blade was sending a warning towards the evil beings standing in its way. But for the elves standing behind the illuminated sword, the sound was like an encouragement of a trusted friend.

The sword shone brilliantly in the red fog, and Raven stretched the sword forward.

Fwoosh!

At the gesture, the fog started to move rampantly around them before slowly backing down. It was as if the fog feared the sword.

Raven advanced slowly with his sword raised. Along with his steps, the fog fluttered like a wave and retreated to the sides. It felt as if the evil energy hidden in the fog had been whispering curses, but as the fog disappeared, the ominous feeling vanished as well. Soon, the path became visible.

“That is…”

The elven warriors became wide-eyed. The red fog had been limiting their vision, but once it disappeared, they could see something on the far side.

“This is the Troll King’s labyrinth.”

Raven’s cold voice brought them back to their senses.

“Let us hurry. He will have noticed our presence by now.”

It was true.

Raven had used the Spirit of the Dragon to drive away the fog just now, and as the ominous energy suggested, it was not a normal fog.

There was a reason why the Troll King was able to become king. It was not simply because it was stronger than a normal troll and possessed intelligence close to humans.

The Troll King possessed the regeneration capabilities of the trolls, the strength of the ogres, the poison of the manticores, the bewitching abilities of the harpies, and the griffons’ ability to fly.

The red fog that had threatened Raven and the elves was a cursed fog composed of the manticore’s poison and the harpy’s bewitchment.

When Raven had arrived here with the demonic army, hundreds of people had perished in the fog. After falling into various delusions, they had stabbed themselves in the neck or attacked nearby allies.

Without the help of the priests who accompanied them at the time, more than half of their total forces would have succumbed to the fog.

If Raven had been unaware of the fog’s true identity, many elven warriors would have been sacrificed as well, even if they did possess higher resistance than humans. But now, no ominous energy could dare to approach Raven. It was because Raven had the White Dragon Armor and the Widow’s Scream, both of which contained the Spirit of the Dragon.

In particular, the Widow’s Scream had a tremendous effect in these types of situations. Most of the battles Raven experienced so far were against fellow human beings. In physical battles, the Widow’s Scream was just a simple sword.

However, Raven was now facing the Troll King and its subordinates. The Troll King had been created by magic, and its subordinates received its influence.

The Widow’s Scream was crafted from the horn of Soldrake, the Queen of Dragons. It possessed properties that were completely opposite and effective against theTroll King and the monsters; it was the worst possible nightmare for the monsters.

“Maybe even back then…”

Raven murmured in a low voice as he recalled the moment when he killed the ogre with the strike containing Soldrake’s spirit.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Eltuan asked while walking with an anxious expression, and Raven shook his head lightly before tightening the grip on his sword.

It did not matter whether the Troll King had sensed the spirit or not.

The monster would die by this sword no matter what.

***

“A fleet! The Arangis Duchy’s fleet has arrived off the coast of Malta!”

A soldier shouted in an urgent voice. He was currently on a watchtower built on a cliff that served as a natural breakwater for El Pasa’s port. The might of the battle ships that blackened the horizon were as threatening as the imposing typhoons that visited the sea once every few years.

“Don’t make a fuss please. I just need a report of their exact number.”

However, the man standing on a ship’s crow’s nest looked relaxed. His ship was anchored right under the cliff.

“Six battleships! For the large galleys… A, about thirty of them!”

“Hmm, then that should be around 7,000 troops. That’s worth a shot.”

John Myers spoke while stroking his bearded jaw. He was once the captain of the great Winter Storm Pirates, but now he was a ‘temporary’ captain of the Winter Storm Fleet, which served the Pendragon Duchy.

At that time, the soldier of the watchtower raised his voice once more.

“Gr, griffons! The sea griffons are flying this way! Fif, fifty! No, a hundred…!”

The soldier was filled with fear when he saw the griffons. The sea griffons of the Arangis Duchy were one of the most terrifying forces of the sea.

The other soldiers of the 13th regiment and a portion of the knights took on gray expressions as well.

However, they did not know.

This man, who led his ships from the middle of the inland sea to help El Pasa, had faced a stronger bunch of griffons than the Arangis Duchy’s sea griffons.

“Have you never seen griffons before? First, all the galleys will weigh their anchors please. The ballista squad on the cliff will prepare to fire. 13th regiment, are you ready?”

“Ready!”

A knight replied with a look of determination.

John Myers nodded with a satisfied expression, then jumped off the crow’s nest before sliding down on a rope. The eyes of the seamen were focused on him. They were prepared for battle.

Craaack!

John Myers cracked his neck out of habit. He spoke towards the members of the Pendragon Duchy’s fleet, the same men who had followed him to piracy in the past.

“Half of the people gathered here could die today, but please don’t feel bad. We are men who have already died once before.”

“…..!”

John Myers continued while looking at the men who dropped their heads.

“However! We are still alive and can once again raise our sails to sail through the inland sea because of him, isn’t that right?”

“Uwuh!”

“I’m not telling you to fight for him, His Excellency Duke Pendragon. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we were, we are, and we will always be seamen. Let us fight to protect our sea!”

“Whoaaaaa!!”

The men shouted together in one voice, burying the sound of the waves knocking against the ships. Once, they were pirates and those who pursued pirates, but today, they were all seamen.

***

“I see the enemy ships!”

“Hmph! A flock of sardines is nothing but prey to killer whales.”

Arigo snorted with a cold expression as he observed the enemy ships appearing from the entrance of the breakwater.

“We will strike first! The sea griffons will attack the enemy ships with fire! The galleys will form a circle! Do not leave the formation no matter… Hmm?”

Arigo paused with a frown.

The soldier who had been relaying his orders by signaling with flags had suddenly stopped.

“What do you think you are doing!?”

A knight shouted after noticing Arigo’s gaze remain on the signaling soldier. However, the soldier did not respond and kept staring at one side of the sea with blank eyes as if he were hypnotized.

“You bast…!”

“Dragon! A dragon is coming!!!”

The knight’s swearing was buried by someone’s shouts.

“…Dragon?”

Arigo’s mouth opened slightly. The word ‘dragon’ did not fit in with the sea at all

Rumbleeee!

A thunder-like sound resonated across the high, clear sky.

Arigo’s head turned towards the origin of the sound.

Fwooooosh!

In the far distance, a dazzling white foam was soaring from the water. It was a silver-white dragon, sweeping through the blue surface and causing huge waves to rise like a storm.