Soul of Searing Steel

Chapter 196: The Changed World

After a long, deafening silence, the warrior reached out his hands and flipped pages of the report that was on the table in front of him. The black-haired warrior narrowed his gaze and focused his attention on reading the report in his hands.

In recent days, dragon attacks were sighted, not just in the land of Moldavia, but in all four territories in the North. Most of the reports that came in stated that the attacks were consists of the Original World Dragons. Villages and settlements that were situated by the riverside and forest edge were the primary targets. Based on Moldavia’s report, there were four villages that had been attacked. The death toll had reached to 642.

That was merely the death toll. The numbers had not included the injured and those that had gone missing. The officials had merely counted the corpses but they had not managed to account for those that were missing on site. All in all, the number should more likely be higher than 600.

The population in the North was decreasing each year. If the numbers were to include dwarves, goblins, and gnomes, the result would reach only over a million. Humans would only take up one-third of the total population there. 600 and counting. That close to a thousand deaths was something the territory leaders could not accept. Something had to be done.

The reports that arrived was made and written with magic. Illustrations were etched in with magic to depict the catastrophe that had befallen the villages. Pictures of houses being burnt and flattened to the earth, charred bodies of what once were hardworking villagers, beautiful architectures, and most importantly, lives. Everything was destroyed. Joshua carefully read through each picture and spotted one that illustrated of what seems to be the lower half of a woman’s body. In her severed hands, there was another half-of-a-body of a young child.

She was trying to protect her children. She must have thought of sacrificing herself to protect them.

However, that was of no use. Like her children, she was devoured by a dragon.

The days in Moldavia were not easy. The dreadful, heavy atmosphere filled the room. What was supposed to be a room filled with air, warmed by the brilliant moonlight, seemed to return to what was when he had first arrived; a cold winter’s night.

Ling, who had just delivered the letter to his master, stood by the edge of the table. He slowly raised his head, only to witness his master’s expression. The man who he had only met once at the start of the year, was wearing… an expression.

His master was a man with a temper that cannot be easily swayed. Ever since he was summoned to the dwarven settlement, went to the alternate world and back, he had never once shown his anger to the world. Even when there were fights occurring on a daily basis, his master would only treat those sort of conflicts the same way those nobles treated hunting trips—a relaxing excursion—the kind that would not mean much.

Just like the times when they were off to hunt and kill a demon that was summoned from the Book of Eibon, the master was… calm. He had merely treated them to an afternoon tea break, a little snack on the side. A demon’s head was comparable to something that required a little cooking. That is how the warrior viewed battle. Or rather, the strong.

Even when the fights were considered to be rather dangerous, the master would not falter. Yet, right then, the young Divine Armament could feel it inside him; the master’s burning rage. Like the aftermath of a volcano eruption. Molten lava will flow down and burning that is to be burnt. A calamity to the world.

“Ah… I’d been making myself busy for the entire day. How could I forget about this matter? Looks like there’s something wrong with my head.”

Joshua mumbled a little when the atmosphere was about to plunged deeper into depression. Just when he was about to open his mouth to say something, he closed it again only to whisper something to himself.

“A man can only do so much by himself. That said, I’m only still human.”

His voice was monotonous; without emotion, which made Ling breathe a sigh of relief.

If his master could utter something as self-reproaching as that, it only meant that he still had some sanity in him that kept him from doing something out of the norm.

At that moment, Joshua’s mind was racing with many thoughts. With the events that transpired around him, it would only make things worse if he allowed anger and other negative emotions take control. He must first calm down and think things thoroughly to prevent future losses.

As he calmed down, he began to recall many other information that he had obtained from before.

After killing the giant mammoth back in the Dark Forest Fortress and obtained the Marine Abyssal Spawn, the magician with white hair and strong body, Feng, had once told him that he had once felt a weird a presence amongst the Northern White Dragon’s clan. And yet there were not many dragon beasts appearing during the event of the Dark Tide.

Based on those points, there was something odd about the Dark Tide. That, and the overwhelming connections between the Berserk Dragon Plague and the Pentashade Dragon race. For better or worse, Joshua had already known about this due to his “past” experience.

Truth be told, he knew something was wrong when he connected all the pieces of information that he had obtained. At that moment, he knew that there was something evil flowing in the continent when he pieced all the clues together. Joshua had the information and even took action for it. However, the one thing he had least expected was that the event started a little too early.

In his previous life, the event was only supposed to happen in the summer of next year. Right then, it was only Starfall Year 832, 17th of July.

“The Dragon Calamity… could it be brought forward? That’s almost a year’s time.”

Joshua turned to gigantic magical map that was hung on the wall of his room. He got up from his chair slowly and paced to face the map. His eyes swam around the map as he carefully traced the lines on the map that determines nation and city borders.

Truly, the omen of the Dragon Calamity had appeared. It was also true that it had been brought forward. However early it may be, it should be before the coming of autumn. By then, the event known as the Dragon Calamity would start with the far South and soon spread towards the entire continent. Countless of berserk daemons will start their assault on the human settlements.

Unlike the Dark Tide, which was of only a natural occurrence whereby killings amongst beast were a natural event, the Dragon Calamity would be said to be like a war. Dragons will form their own forces, similar to that of an army. They would gather, work together, and use whatever little intelligence they have to wage war on humanity.

Compare to the recent dragon attacks in the northern lands, it was nothing but a small tropical rain. The Dragon Calamity, however, is that of an Armageddon. Now that the thought had come to his mind, Joshua could not help but shake his head in dismay.

It was unexpectedly normal. There were no more gamers in the Mycroft Continent. Still, it’s not a major factor to play in the events that had transpired. Without players that had the ability to revive without limits was a scenario that had greatly impacted the world. The event of the Dragon Calamity being brought forward was only a small, predictable effect.

The warrior mumbled to himself.

“Without players assisting the army to fight the orcs… without players to accept quests to foil the plans of the Pentashade Dragons… It is inevitable that history has changed.”

However, it was not the time for any of that.

“Damn those Pentashade Dragons. I was planning to knock on your doorsteps just a little later…but…”

Joshua cracked a sinister smile and turned to the northern ice land on the map.

“Looks like I might have to move a little early.”

Those bastards… looks like they lived a little too long.

He lifted his fingers and pressed it on the white-colored area of the map.

Crack…

The wall started to break apart with his finger as the center of it. Cracks spread out fast and with just a light push of his finger, the wall crumbled into dust.

A large fragment of the wall dropped on the floor, which was a piece of the map. There was a huge white mark that symbolized the white dragons.

There were also large words beside the marking.

Caution! White Dragon’s Roaming Zone!