abcnovels
Chapter 122: That didn't sound human
Chapter 122: That didn't sound human
One of the oldest cultures of Camelot was Dragon hunting.
There have been many times where previous kings prove to their people that they are worthy to be followed after taming a dragon. Some people with higher status also participate in this ritual.
After the great war, most dragons went into hiding, their numbers reduced to near extinction, making only few have dragons.
But even till this date, Camelot still happened to be the only nation with higher chances of running into a dragon, Pendragon once lived there after all.
With that said, Ha Joon, Modred and Yukio were on their way to find a dragon for him to tame.
Mordred rode on one horse, and Ha Joon rode on another, with Yukio hugging him from behind. The sun, warm on their skins.
"Ha j- Your majesty, are you sure about this? Taming a dragon can be very difficult, and what's even more difficult is finding one" Mordred spoke, riding her horse close to Ha Joon.
"Oh wow, Mordred, you break my heart, you doubt your own king?..." Replied Ha Joon.
"Was I wrong? Do you have a plan?" She asked.
"Of course I do, why? Do you think I'll just head there and beat a dragon with brute force?" Ha Joon uttered with the most steel face ever seen.
'He's lying so hard he can't even convince himself!' Mordred was fed up.
"In any case, you don't have to worry, worst shit scenario, I'm unable to tame the dragon and I end up killing it."
[Killing a dragon could lead to other dragons viewing you as an enemy.]
'What would you have me do?'
[The dragon tracker app you recently downloaded is being of help. You are a few meters away from a dragon's sleeping ground, I suggest you take camp somewhere, to rest your head, as it will take you two days to reach there.]
'She completely ignored me…'
Eh?
Ha Joon pulled the rope, halting his horse.
"What's wrong?" Mordred also stopped.
"Observe." Ha Joon said a single word, his haze fixed in front of him.
Both Mordred and Yukio followed his gaze.
Just a few distance away from where they stood was a military checkpoint.
This was something Ha Joon brought to the kingdom recently. Long before, the kingdom would give merchant soldiers as escorts in order to protect them from getting ambushed by bandits and so on.
In exchange for the soldiers duty, the merchants were meant to give them 5% of their earnings. The merchants failed to do this and would sometimes cheat the soldiers, this lowered the motivation for any soldier wanting to help.
But Ha Joon came up with a solution to set up military check ups in different areas and places, this way, even if a bandit was going to attack a moving merchant, there would be military service nearby. And merchants would have to pay weekly to cross the check points.
Like every rule, some are tempted to be broken-
"What are you talking about?! I already paid for this week! Check my damn name on the list!" The fat man yelled, pointing aggressively at the guards and his colleagues.
"Sir, if you had paid your fee, your name would have been written on the sheet, but it's not, which means you haven't painted your 300 eres, do not make us use brute force." Said the squad leader.
"And now you're threatening me! I will report you to your commander!" The merchant yelled.
"Not paying your fee, is also refusing to follow his majesty the King…"
"His majesty doesn't know what is happening here!"
"What exactly, is it I don't know?" Ha Joon walked right into their conversation.
"Your highness!" The soldiers bowed.
The merchant in question went to his knees, bowing his head and shivering fear… what if his majesty overhead me? Was the thought running through his head.
Ha Joon walked towards them on foot, Yukio helping him drag his horse.
"What seems to be the problem here?" He asked.
"Uhm, this… man refused to pay his fee of entrance, we've tried all we could to reason with him." the squad leader responded.
"Is that so…" Ha Joon slowly looked at the man, a shrugged look on his face, his teeth fully shone and his eyes bulging with veins, "You really don't want to pay your fees? On my land?"
"No your majesty! I would never, I'll…I'll pay them right now, I was stupid, please forgive me!!!" the merchant yelled.
'What's with that expression on his face? Makes me want to hit him sometimes… probably not a good idea.' Mordred whispered to herself as she gave Ha Joon a side eye.
Ha Joon sighed, "Well then, hurry up, don't waste me time, I have places to be".
"O-Of course, how foolish of me to dely his highness." The merchant stood up, reaching for his pockets hastily to settle the soldier.
Suddenly-
[Ciel feels she should tell you, she senses something suspicious inside the man's wagon.]
'Yeah…I can sense it too.' Ha Joon said to himself as he stared at the wagon, 'seems dangerous too.'
—(Mind reader)
He activated his skill.
And immediately he got a response from someone inside the wagon.
?Damn humans!!! I'll kill them! I'll kill them!!! Every single one of them!!! Dead! Dead!
Dead!!!?
Ha Joon's eyes widened in shock as the voice of a beast in anger echoed inside his head. It was so frightening, that he had to take a step back, his hand covering the left side of his face.
'What…the hell?'
"My Lord! Are you alright?" Yukio showed up at this side, her hand on his back.
'That didn't sound like a human…'
He pointed at the wagon, "Hey… I'll ask you this once… what the hell do you have in that wagon?"
Ha Joon asked the merchant, his face slowly growing with anger, although he couldn't fully understand why.
The merchant was frozen in fear, not only because the king had just asked him a question, but because Mordred, the strongest knight in Camelot, didn't hesitate to draw her sword.
Ha Joon's words… were absolute.