A Life Hanging by a Thread

"You!!!!!

Heretic!!!!!

How dare you insult the great Narak!

Die!!!!!"

After coming to his senses, the black-robed old man felt a sense of having been toyed with rise from the depths of his heart.

How could this little brat, spouting nothing but nonsense, dare to be so presumptuous? This was blasphemy against a god.

In his fury, he waved a hand and fired a Shadow Arrow at Havent. Fortunately, Taren appeared just in time after clearing out the ghouls that had surrounded them.

The Shadow Arrow struck the knight's shield, sending up a burst of black smoke.

"Form ranks! Defensive formation! Protect the young master! Wait for reinforcements!"

After issuing his orders, Taren gripped his sword in his right hand and shield in his left, charging toward the black-robed old man.

But clearly, the black-robed old man did not take the charging Knight Captain seriously. His fingers interlocked and shifted a few times, and an inky green magic sigil emerged.

Then, a black-green mirror appeared before the black-robed old man.

Three tall figures clad in full black armor stepped out of the mirror. Seeing Taren charging toward them, they drew the two-handed swords from their waists and met him head-on.

Facing the three approaching Ghoul Overlords, the Knight Captain let out a roar, and Flame Battle Aura ignited around his body once more.

The black-robed old man glanced at the trapped Knight Captain, then turned and continued toward Havent, who was protected in the middle by the White Lion Knights.

"Blasphemer, seek the King of Gloom's forgiveness in death.

At the final moment, I will transform you and let you watch every familiar face die.

I trust such punishment will make the great Narak forgive your disrespect."

As the black-robed old man drew closer step by step, Havent nervously swallowed. Had his unreliable old man been killed by the Demon Dragon? That shouldn't be possible. He had been pretty capable in the last few fights!

By then, more and more ghouls had gathered around them. After firing Flame Bolts repeatedly, Havent's magic power quickly ran dry, and the backlash made his head feel as though it were about to split apart.

The White Lion warriors forming a circle around Havent were also at the end of their strength. Only five or six warriors remained, still fighting desperately.

Is this it? What a shame. I won't get to find out what happens next.

"White Lions! Charge!" (Don't hurt my son, you bastards!)

With a thunderous shout, dense hoofbeats approached from afar.

Three streaks of bright silver sword aura swept rapidly through the ghoul horde, instantly carving three gaps through the packed mass.

The White Lion cavalry who had ridden out of the city with Count Havent swiftly adjusted their formation. Clad in silver-white armor, the cavalry used Count Havent as their spearhead and drove into the ghoul army in a wedge formation.

The black-robed old man looked at the White Lion cavalry a thousand meters away. His withered cheek twitched, and after glaring fiercely at Havent, he retreated into the ghoul horde behind him.

The Ghoul Overlords besieging Taren stopped their attacks. As though they had received an order, they turned and headed toward Havent.

As the Ghoul Overlords changed targets, the spared Knight Captain opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of blood. He dropped to his knees, barely holding himself upright with his knight's sword.

Seeing the Ghoul Overlords charging toward his young master, Taren roared and hurled his longsword at them.

"Young Master! Run!!!"

But Havent was already deeply surrounded, with nowhere left to run. Ghouls filled every direction. Looking at the White Lions still several hundred meters away, he gave a helpless smile.

Next time, I'm definitely bringing some big bombs! Damn it, what a shame.

The three Ghoul Overlords easily cut down the White Lion warriors blocking their path. Looking at the ghoul before him raising its two-handed sword high, Havent calmly closed his eyes.

Fus... Ro... Dah.

A powerful force struck from behind the Ghoul Overlords, instantly blasting everything in the area away.

Before Havent could react, he was slammed heavily to the ground. Enduring the pain throughout his body, he hurriedly scrambled back to his feet.

Focusing his eyes, he saw a fan-shaped empty area more than thirty meters long stretching out before the dragon's head.

Before he could thank the dragon for its timely rescue, Havent immediately sprinted toward the White Lion cavalry.

"Old man! Old man!

Help! Help!

You came so late, the Havent family nearly died out!"

The charging White Lion Knights swept past Havent and charged toward the pursuing ghouls.

Count Havent slowed to a stop beside him, dismounted, and sighed in relief at the sight of his bruised and swollen son. Thank goodness he was fine. Otherwise, he would not have known how to explain it to Louise.

He had gone back to her family home, and their son had died—on their own territory, no less.

The tall Count Havent pulled his son into his arms and gently patted Havent's back.

"Stop patting me, stop patting me. I'm fine. Taren was nearly beaten to death by those three oversized ghouls. Go check whether he's all right!"

Looking around, Havent spotted Taren being carried out nearby by the White Lion cavalry who had arrived as reinforcements.

Havent hurried over. Aside from being covered in blood and having several huge wounds that were still spurting blood, he seemed all right. At least he was alive, which was better than the last few times.

After confirming that his fiercely loyal Knight Captain was fine, Havent breathed a sigh of relief.

"Old man, the Death Cult leader ran in that direction. Go after him and chop him to death. That'd be a great achievement!"

Seeing that his son was unharmed, Count Havent left fifty cavalrymen behind to protect him during the retreat. Then he mounted his horse and led the remaining two hundred men in pursuit in the direction Havent had indicated.

Child! Come here~

Havent, who was crouching beside Taren and feeding him medicine, heard someone call to him and suspiciously turned around to look.

"No one's there~"

The White Lion Knights roamed the area, clearing out the remaining ghouls. Without the enhancement of the Death Cult's black-robed men, the ghouls seemed to have lost their brains and no longer possessed lethal offensive power.

Child! Come to me~

Hearing it again, Havent shot to his feet. It might be a world of magic, but ghosts were still terrifying, all right?

He looked around and found nothing unusual, then turned to the Demon Dragon that had just saved his life.

"Yes~ It's me. Come over, child~"

He had not expected that this enormous creature was really speaking to him. Handing the potion and bandages to the soldier standing guard beside him, Havent walked toward the dragon.

Only upon observing it up close did Havent realize that the Demon Dragon that had caused him so much trouble was actually a red dragon. He examined the dragon's entire body.

Wounds of all sizes crisscrossed its body. Dark red dragon flesh could be seen within the larger wounds, though blood no longer seeped out. In places where flesh was completely missing, dark golden dragon bones were even visible.

Thank you for helping me, child. If not for you, I would have had no way to return beneath Lord Aeolus's wings.

Havent actually saw sincere gratitude in the red dragon's dim eyes and quickly waved his hands at it.

"No, no, I didn't really help much~"