Chapter 26

In the game Heroes and Dragons, orcs weren't beginner monsters that you could kill after a few hours of improving your character's strength.

First of all, it should be mentioned that the Orcs in this world had extraordinary physical resistance to cutting and blunt attacks, with a regeneration that only lost to that of the Trolls, who were apparently immortal demons as long as their hearts were intact.

Secondly, while magic and more arcane arts were generally quite effective when it came to hunting demons, orcs had above-average magic resistance, making them very difficult for the average adventurer to kill.

In fact, many high-ranking female players considered orcs to be one of the best ways to increase the strength of Arthur and other mage-type capture targets in the game, leading them to hunt multiple groups of orcs to improve their skills.

This was because high combat difficulties accelerated the growth of both NPCs and the player themselves, and compared to those monsters that could annihilate them in an instant if just two of them gathered together, Orcs were a safe strategy to improve your favorite NPC.

Also, unlike other demons, these ones reappeared very quickly.

However, unless the player and their party had reached the level of strength necessary to fight a Demon General, killing Orcs like chickens in a slaughterhouse was out of the question, especially if we were talking about a single person against an Alpha Orc who was much stronger than normal Orcs.

It was simply impossible…or so it should have been.

So what just happened?

How could Kaiser, the future crown prince and inevitable Emperor of Hazar, kill even an Alpha Orc like a piece of junk?

Simple; because he's the hidden leader of the empire and… because he has the natural ability to use Dragon magic… also known to some as Chaos Magic.

A powerful form of primordial magic in this world that predates even the earliest forms of magic developed by mortals, capable of manipulating reality on a fundamental level that surpasses human magic, regardless of whether it is ancient or modern, as it interacts with the chaotic potential that gave rise to existence to achieve its effects through the tongue of Dragons.

Similar to magic or unique forces, it was a power that relied primarily on the power of the soul to control chaos energy.

However, it was not limited to one or two abilities nor did it require complex formulas like humanoids, but involved a wide range of applications that made it extremely powerful in comparison, although it should not be used recklessly.

It was what made dragons one of the most powerful beings in the world since they could use it at will, without formulas or triggering names, although that same thing made it extremely unpredictable, requiring the use of dragon language so that it did not get out of control.

And it was a power that their human descendants, the 'Dragonborn,' shared, at least once they awakened the blood that flowed within them. It was with this power that the first prince, Kaiser, defeated the mighty Orcs like insignificant trash in seconds.

And it was also thanks to this ability that the 'Dragonbloods' were naturally destined for the throne of the Hazar Empire, although it was something unknown to the general public.

With Draconic Magic, players would hardly have any hope of defeating someone like Kaiser without first reaching a power level that allows them to fight a weakened version of the King of the Eternal Abyss.

That's how tough this hidden boss was; even during the game, not even Ekaterina's father was at its feet in terms of combat power... With that, in a world without pure dragons, the 'Dragonborn' are arguably like gods on earth, and one wonders why they haven't attempted to conquer the world yet...

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Kaiser, who had quickly realized that his path was being blocked by a carriage and a group of ugly orcs devouring several corpses at a great distance, was the first to move to eliminate the plagues from his empire without saying anything, to the bewilderment of his men.

It didn't take much; it only took a few draconic words to reach a physical level beyond which the orcs had no hope of surviving.

With his draconic magic, it was easy to move at great speeds, and one couldn't even perceive how he did it, as it altered his soul to bring about changes in the physical plane. With just that and a magic sword, killing these demons required almost no effort, and the chaos energy was perfectly under his control.

The dragon's language was different from that of humans. It was a language spoken through the power of the soul, not with a normal voice.

Therefore, even if a user of this magic were standing next to you, unless you are ultra-sensitive to the extremely weak fluctuations of spiritual power caused by this tongue and can understand the information it conveys, you won't notice anything until it's too late.

Of course, the Dragonborn had a much harder time learning this language compared to pure dragons. However, it was still an extremely terrifying power that could annihilate a city with enough spiritual power in its hands.

Kaiser, in particular, was extremely talented with draconic magic, much more so than his mother, the current ruling Empress. Forget about using this magic for something as simple as gaining superhuman strength; if Kaiser had wanted to, he could have easily eliminated everything in his path without lifting a finger.

After that he would have felt very exhausted...

But that would have been too conspicuous for his taste. Above all, he wasn't crazy enough to destroy two girls who were about to be raped when he could have saved their lives. He wasn't their mother, who was a true sociopath who threw other people's lives away without a second thought.

That's at least what he told himself.

Anyway, after giving the maiden a cloak to cover her privacy, Kaiser simply offered them to go with them since, no matter how coincidental it was, it would be a waste for citizens of his Empire to die at the hands of stray demons after he had saved them, something they naturally hesitated to accept due to how abruptly everything had happened.

However, since traveling alone would be dangerous with possible demons lurking, Melbiana and her maid quickly accepted the unknown boy's proposal. After all, they couldn't wait for someone to appear and save them when they were in trouble.

"Excuse me…"

Ojou-sama, who was involuntarily reminded by Kaiser of her incident, quickly boarded the carriage both out of embarrassment and caution, not wanting to further fill the air with the unpleasant smell of her urine and wanting to feel somewhat safe inside her carriage.

The poor girl had no idea that the prince wasn't referring to the smell of urine, but to the disgusting smell of blood she smelled for the first time in her luxurious life... not that anyone could have guessed such a thing.

After all, Kaiser didn't seem fazed by this death scene he also contributed to, so to think he had killed for the first time in his life was crazy no matter how you looked at it.

However, to be honest, most Dragonborn don't feel any real repulsion toward murder or the sight of blood. That's why Kaiser was quite calm about the whole scene at the time.

The maid Ramna climbed into the driver's seat and decided to drive it, showing exceptional skill as she followed the mysterious merchant caravan.

Inside her carriage, in the middle of the road, Melbiana tried unsuccessfully to push her mind away from the recent overwhelming events that had filled her with a seemingly overwhelming horror and hopelessness, before glancing slightly in the direction of the guard who had saved them through the curtain; the only one among them all who was carrying a very expensive-looking sword.

Why would such a powerful mercenary take care of such an ordinary caravan…?

She felt a little curious: What's going on here?

And her eyes were very beautiful….

She shook her head as the thought suddenly came to her, trying to push the image of the boy's blood-red eyes, who somehow looked as young as she was, out of her mind.

—Melbiana Ojou-sama, we're almost at the capital! We're almost home! —Ramna's cheerful and relieved voice was soon heard and Melbiana poked her head out, looking at the beautiful views that only the capital of the Duchy to which she belonged could offer.

She sighed in relief when her carriage suddenly stopped before reaching the bridge. Fearing the worst due to recent events, Melbiana timidly peeked her head out the window… but was as dumbfounded as her maid when she saw the cheap carriage in front of her magically change its appearance.

As if all this time had been nothing more than an illusion, the image of a common carriage used by a commoner with some money in his hands faded away, to be replaced by something completely different, a sight that surpassed in luxury what she had.

The carriage in front of him was not something that could be called ordinary, as it was a large and very ornate carriage.

The carriage frame was painted pure white with a metallic sheen, its sides and door adorned with gold and silver flower-shaped decorations.

The window was covered with transparent glass, through which a curtain made of red velvet fabric could be seen. On the side carriage, the emblem of the Empire and the flags fluttering at the top of the carriage could be seen.

It was pulled by four equine animals similar in appearance to those used by the knights-errant, in a pair configuration. This similarity was merely superficial, as they had golden fur and mane, sharp and intelligent emerald eyes, and dark hooves covered in shining metal.

Furthermore, they were much taller and larger than the strong horse used by the knights in his father's service, giving him a more gallant appearance.

To put it simply, it was an extravagant carriage, fit for a royal. One could only wonder how much this carriage cost... in thousands of gold coins?

Probably more.

That's what she believed.

Although the carriage affair puzzled her, that was really just the beginning.

The men guarding the carriage and the goods transported by the 'peddling merchants' quickly removed their hoods from their bodies, which magically disappeared, revealing military-style outfits, very noble and expensive looking.

Their cheap swords were quickly replaced by well-decorated magic swords and their horses, which had previously looked very ordinary, were now warhorses, looking very fierce and imposing in their eyes.

“What… what’s going on?”

The carts carrying the goods also magically vanished into thin air, along with the merchants following them. The guard who had saved them quickly boarded the luxurious carriage. Soon, a cloakless man with black hair and a middle-aged face, who bore no resemblance to the guard Melbiana knew, stepped out of the carriage.

Was that his true appearance?

She wondered, feeling somewhat disappointed for some reason. Deep down, she really wanted to believe that wasn't the case...

But leaving that aside, what was going on here? Who were they? What were they doing here, magically disguising themselves? What powerful figure were they following who seemed to be wearing expensive storage rings?

Melbiana's thoughts stopped when the black-haired guard, who she sincerely hoped wasn't her savior, approached her carriage.

"By order of our lord, we ask that you head to the capital first. We don't want people to think you have any connection with His Highness."

"Your Highness?!" Melbiana shouted, covering her mouth in surprise.

The guard quickly realized his mistake and brought his face close to hers, speaking in a low voice, "Don't say anything about this!"

“Jhonatan, you are really stupid…”

"Calm down!"

Melbiana and Ramona quickly obeyed the arguing gentlemen, walking away quickly, while inside, the young woman from a wealthy family digested the revelation she had just received.

“Red eyes and blond hair… The only person, apart from Her Majesty the Empress, with such features… is the First Prince…”

Due to her situation, Melbiana had easily forgotten information that seemed trivial at the time. But it was a well-known fact that the First Prince and the Empress were the only ones in the nation, aside from the previous Dranalian Dukes, who possessed blood-red eyes.

Kaiser Lian von Hazar, the prince most likely to succeed to the throne, was so famous that no one knew his name; naturally, she had no reason to believe that such a figure would save her, so such a thought did not even occur to her.

“I… was saved by the future crown prince of this nation!”

Now, realizing that she was saved by a real prince like some kind of damsel from a fairy tale, Melbiana's face somehow turned bright red from the excitement and sudden embarrassment that washed over her, before being startled by an equally cruel voice in response to her words.

“Is it true, Melbiana Ojou-sama!? A prince saved us!?”

—Ah, Ramna, you scared me!

“I’m sorry, Ojou-sama!”

Such was the discussion between the maiden and her Ojou-sama at this revelation as the sound of horseshoes against the ground resounded as they continued across the bridge.

When the two finally arrived at the capital city checkpoint with their carriage, they were quickly approached by the gate guards who knew them, who upon seeing the bloodstains on the seat and the cloak covering the maiden's body, quickly guessed what happened and interrogated them.

“We were attacked by bandits and then by orcs… all of our guards were killed. If it weren’t for a powerful mercenary who appeared in a timely manner, we could have…” Ramna looked like she was about to cry at this point, causing them to immediately stop the interrogation upon seeing her traumatized by what had happened.

After searching the interior of the car as standard procedure (much to Melbiana's embarrassment), they were finally allowed inside.

Shortly after, they heard the commotion the gate guards raised upon noticing the arrival of the prince's luxurious carriage and the knights escorting it. Meanwhile, a curious thought appeared in the blue-haired girl's head.

Why did His Highness the Kaiser come to the Dranalian capital…?

He had completely forgotten that today was the Duke's second daughter's birthday...