Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

While the Elven Continent was dealing with the changed Monsters spreading through its forests and city routes, the other continents were not facing anything smaller, because the people living there were not prepared to fight Monsters of that level. The Dwarven Continent - Kharzach, was one of those places.

Dwarves were known more for crafting, Spirit technology, barrier construction, and relic development rather than for Cultivation or Ruin exploration, and because of that the number of high-rank fighters they had was much lower. They still had strong individuals, but most Dwarves spent their lives learning how to build something rather than how to destroy it, which meant the appearance of changed Monsters across the continent had created a problem they could not solve by sending Explorer teams outside.

These monsters coming out of Ruins slaughtered many as they went on a killing spree but...that was onlyoutside cities, because as soon as people of the Dwarven continent came to know about this massacred, they fled, how? They had spirit crafts, crafts that could fly and they directly went towards the Central City.

Only so much Dwarves were dead, around hundreds, while the other continents were suffering much more, truly the knowledge of Technology made them have the upper hand.

Around the central city of Kharzach, Monsters of several ranks had already gathered. There were S-ranks among them, at least twenty from what could be seen, along with hundreds of A-ranks and B-ranks, all of them surrounding the city and attacking the barrier covering it.

The barrier stretched over the entire central city like a massive dome, its blue colour becoming visible every time claws, fists, teeth, or Spirit attacks struck it, and the size of it was difficult to understand because the city itself extended for thousands of kilometres. Even with that size, the barrier did not shake.

The A-rank and B-rank Monsters attacked first, biting and striking at it repeatedly, but every hit only caused a small blue shimmer to spread across the point of impact before disappearing. The S-rank Monsters were different, their bodies larger and their Spirit density much higher, and several of them looked similar to the Monster Atlas had fought near the Lumivale-Solara route, with broad red bodies, two horns, and eyes that did not look empty despite having no pupils.

One of those Monsters stepped forward and punched the barrier with its full strength. The surface bent inward slightly, and when the Null mixed into its Spirit touched the barrier, a small crack appeared.

The crack was tiny compared to the size of the dome, no wider than a hand, and it remained open for less than a second before the blue energy around it closed the gap and restored the surface completely. The Monster stared at the repaired section for a moment, then several of the S-ranks moved at the same time.

They used the same spatial movement Atlas had seen before, their bodies disappearing from their original positions as they tried to bypass the barrier rather than breaking it, but the result was not what they expected. Their bodies reappeared directly against the outer surface of the dome, and blue electrical waves moved through them the moment they made contact.

TZZZTZZZ echoed from the barrier as the force threw every Monster several metres backward before they stabilised themselves in the air or on the ground. The Monsters looked at the barrier again, their eyes narrowing as they tried to understand why the movement had failed.

That reaction once again showed that they were not behaving like normal Monsters. They were observing the barrier, testing different methods, and remembering the result of every failed attempt. Their intelligence had already crossed what was expected from most S-rank Monsters, and none of them were attacking without thought.

Inside the barrier, however, the situation was completely different. The roads were crowded, markets were open, and Dwarves continued moving through the city without showing much concern for the Monsters gathered outside. Some were checking metal, crystal, and relic materials in the market districts, while others travelled between the larger sections of the city using crafted flying machines powered by Spirit formations.

Those machines looked far more advanced than anything used commonly on the other continents, but to the Dwarves they were only transport. No one was running, no one was gathering supplies to escape, and most of them did not even stop to look toward the barrier.

It was not because they were unaware of what was happening. The attacks could be heard across the outer districts, and every time the S-rank Monsters struck, the blue dome became visible above the city. They simply trusted the barrier.

The central city had been built with the possibility of an outside invasion in mind, and the barrier had been maintained, repaired, and improved for generations. The Dwarves had never expected this exact event, but they had always expected that something powerful could eventually reach their city, so they prepared for that possibility long before anyone living now had been born.

There was also no immediate danger from Ruins inside the city. Every Ruin located within a city’s territory had been cleared before construction began, and this rule was followed across every continent. Cities were not built around active Ruins because doing so would mean placing civilians beside an unknown threat. New Ruins appeared outside city boundaries from time to time because of conditions no one fully understood, but those same conditions had never produced one inside an established city.

Deeper inside Kharzach stood the Dwarven Royal Palace. It did not look like the palaces used by Human or Angelic Nobles. There was no gold covering the walls and no tall decorative towers designed only to display wealth. The structure was made from black metal, each section fitted together without visible gaps, and across the front were three long carved lines moving in one direction while another three crossed through them.

The pattern did not appear decorative. It was part of the structure itself, though what it did was not visible, and whatever function those six lines served had been built directly into the palace rather than added later.

At the highest level of the palace was an open platform large enough that calling it a balcony felt inaccurate, and on that platform stood the King of the Dwarves. He was looking straight toward the barrier and the Monsters beyond it, even though they were thousands of kilometres away, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

”Hmm....interesting. That energy around them can affect the barrier, even if only by a small amount. More importantly, how did this many Monsters leave their Ruins together? Twenty S-ranks, along with A-ranks and B-ranks....this was not a natural event.”

His voice was heavy and carried across the platform without him needing to raise it. The King stood six feet tall, which was unusual enough for a Dwarf that anyone from another continent would have noticed it.

Most Dwarves were shorter, but there were exceptions, and those exceptions were usually connected to Special Ranks. A Special S-rank Dwarf was not limited in the same way as an ordinary Dwarf, and the same applied to Special SS-ranks and anything beyond that. Their bodies grew differently, and their potential was not restricted to crafting, construction, or relic work alone.

Thorsin Morlado was one of those exceptions. He wore compact red royal attire fitted around his broad body, without loose cloth or unnecessary decoration. His hair and brows were brown, his eyes carried the same colour, and his ears were slightly pointed, separating him clearly from the other species of the world.

He continued watching the Monsters and spoke again, ”Something is happening....something capable of raising ordinary Monsters into S-ranks and giving them an energy our barrier does not recognise. It feels intentional.”

Footsteps came from behind him, but Thorsin did not turn because he already knew who had entered the platform from the person’s Spirit presence alone.

”Your Majesty, I have a report.”

”Speak, Marthino. What is it?”

Marthino stopped several steps behind him and bowed. He was five feet six inches tall, much shorter than Thorsin, and wore a clean black butler uniform with white gloves.

”We received reports from several routes and foreign information channels. Some are claiming that the Human Continent is responsible for this event, including the new energy carried by the Monsters.”

Thorsin finally turned. He did not walk toward Marthino or show any visible anger. He simply looked at him for several seconds before speaking, ”I see....so the Humans are being blamed again. The father of their current King also committed something that could not be forgiven. Do you know what happened to him?”

Marthino raised his head carefully and answered, ”No, Your Majesty. I have no knowledge of that.”

”That is fine. It was better that most people did not know at the time....but you should know now.”

Marthino stayed where he was and waited for the King to continue, while Thorsin’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke.

”That Human King was butchered by the Dragon Emperor.”

Marthino’s eyes widened, and his gloved hands trembled slightly as he looked at Thorsin’s face, trying to understand whether the King was using the word in some different way.

”Y-Your Majesty....when you say butchered, do you mean the same way we butcher animal meat?”

A small smile appeared on Thorsin’s face as he gave him the answer without changing his tone.

”Yes....that is exactly what I mean.”